#granny flat Oak Flat

[iceman-soup]

request!

sorry if you've done this already, but what would Ghost and Soap's first leave together look like? could be sfw or nsfw, everything is up to you

yes yes yesss this is sfw because my descriptive brain took over, also autistic ghost supremacy 🫶🫶

ghost x soap

Simon wasn't ready to meet Johnny's family yet. Hell, they'd only been dating five or so months before deciding to stick with each other on leave, and by that point it was far too stressful and overwhelming to think about meeting a whole bunch of new people to mask around and make good impressions. Ghost needed the time off to re-regulate, and honestly, Soap wasn't up to introducing a boyfriend he had barely warned his mother about beforehand.

So instead the two taxi'd over to Manchester from the airport, arriving at a tiny, cheap flat with even cheaper security cameras dotted on each outside wall and above the front door. "Enough of a deterrent, even if half don't work," explains Simon, seeing Johnny looking around curiously. He unlocks the door and pushes it open an inch, baited breath for a couple of moments as he appears to listen for anything unusual, before opening the door properly, flicking on the warm overhead lights and pulling Soap in by the hand, who gazes at the inside of his flat whilst Ghost locks the door again.

"Dinnae take you for an interior designer, Lt," John grins, glancing at the taller man before going back to admiring the space. It's dusty, sure, but otherwise not quite as awful as expected, and although cramped, holds a feeling of comfort and rest. The two are standing in the kitchen, cupboards naked oak wood and counters hand-painted daffodil yellow, the honey-coloured floor tiles chipped but superglued back together. The image of Si sitting cross-legged on the ground fixing them fills Soap's mind, his heart fluttering at how domestic his lieutenant suddenly seems.

There isn't a wall between the kitchen and living room, and Johnny takes that opportunity to wonder straight through, taking note of a comfy-looking secondhand sofa to cuddle up on together later. An old TV with a jumble of cables is stood upon a coffee table, which simultaneously doubles as an actual coffee table, evident by a few mismatched coasters with just as many water marks as the surface they're supposed to be protecting. Splintering wood in the tried-to-be-aesthetic bare floorboards are covered by a granny rug which contrasts the baby blue walls surprisingly well. Two doors lead off from the living room, and Ghost walks over to the first one, opening it to show the other.

"Bathroom," he comments as if it isn't obvious. There's nothing extraordinary about it, but Soap does notice his unwavering loyalty here and on base to his very specific shower products - of course. He nods and they move on, entering the fourth room. Si hovers at the doorway whilst Johnny wanders inside, taking in the bedroom.

Most of the space is taken up by a double bed pressed up in the far corner, white paint on the metal frame missing in spots, showing its age. The bedding is black with little bone prints patterning it, soft cotton and all matching. Shoved next to the bed is a chest of drawers, one of the handles missing and replaced with a nail bashed into the wood. Hung up precariously on the picture rail over it is Simon's formal uniform - clearly unused for years due to his skilful avoidance of social events. Again, the floor is stripped of carpet (the bedroom in slightly safer condition than in the living room) and the walls are painted, this time a pale pink and dotted with glow-in-the-dark plastic stars.

"Never got them as a kid," Ghost mutters, gesturing to the stars and then the general soft colours of his flat. He shuffles awkwardly on his feet, avoiding eye contact - and subsequently his boyfriend's loving smile too. "You want something to eat? I don't have anything," he adds quickly.

"We can go doon to the chippy?" John suggests, walking over to kiss him tenderly. "Or if you don't feel like seein' people, I could order us something." The taller man nods at the second option, then proceeds to wrap his arms around Soap's waist, burying his face into the crook of his neck and pressing his lips to the skin, simply savouring his warm embrace.

"I love you, Johnny. I'm happy you're here."

The next few days go by far too quick for either's liking. They're spent with long mornings just laying in bed, doing fuck all on their phones in the oddest cuddle positions known; alternatively, smothering each other in hugs and kisses until they have to give them attention until they're satisfied. Time is spent plodding around the flat, wearing pyjama trousers and fluffy socks and with blankets draped over their bare shoulders.

Meals are cooked with very little skill but a whole lot of try, so at least that's something. Neither go out much; just to the shops when they need something or one night to get fish and chips from the good place across the street. They eat sitting on the countertop or the sofa, watching some shitshow with a laugh track that winds Simon up.

Evenings involve making out during conversation, quietly murmuring and laughing between kisses, chests pressed together so their hearts can talk directly. Ghost realises he's never felt so safe and content on leave before this one night when they're lying in bed, a dim lamp the only light in the room as he runs his fingers through Soap's hair, now slightly curly from growing out whilst not on base. It's quiet, but not in the lonely, terrifying way it usually is when he's alone in the flat, left to his own thoughts for however long between deployments.

Maybe, just maybe, leave will become something that he doesn't dread anymore. And perhaps next time - he thinks, pressing a kiss to his boyfriend's forehead and flicking off the lamp - it might be nice to meet Johnny's family.

[fnhomehaven]

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Understanding the essence of ADUs is crucial in the journey of building an innovative living space. An Accessory Dwelling Unit is a secondary housing structure on a single-family residential lot. Commonly referred to as ADUs, these units come in three types: Attached ADU, Detached ADU, and ADU Garage Conversion. LA County ADU Contractors are well-versed in the intricacies of each type, offering a range of options to suit your preferences.

Building an ADU: Benefits and Opportunities

Building an ADU presents a myriad of benefits, especially in the State of California. Affordability is a key advantage, as ADUs don't require purchasing additional land. LA County ADU Contractors recognize the potential for homeowners to generate income through these versatile living spaces. Moreover, ADUs serve as an ideal solution for accommodating family members, whether it's providing a space for an elderly parent or a young adult attending college, allowing them to stay close to home.

Exploring ADU Zoning and Regional Focus

As ADU construction evolves, understanding ADU zoning regulations becomes crucial. LA County ADU Contractors are well-versed in local zoning requirements, ensuring a seamless construction process. Their expertise extends to various regions, including Palmdale ADU, ADU Woodland Hill, ADU Lancaster, ADU Valencia, ADU Santa Clarita Valley, ADU Antelope Valley, ADU San Fernando Valley, and ADU Thousand Oaks.

Embark on a Journey with LA County ADU Contractors

Discover the future of living spaces in Los Angeles County with LA County ADU Contractor. From granny flats to tiny homes, they turn visions into reality, enhancing property values and creating functional spaces tailored to individual needs. Explore the possibilities of ADU construction with LA County ADU Contractors, where innovation and craftsmanship converge to shape the next generation of residential spaces.

[forrestsmallhomes01]

Forrest Small Homes have 30 years of experience in engineering and building homes. They can make your dream of beautiful granny flats in Oak Flat possible within your budget. For more info, visit - https://bit.ly/3v6SV3B

[witchofthecycle]

i was born and raised just outside the foothills of the appalachian mountains in north carolina. circumstance forced me to steal away from my childhood home and move to the too-flat midwest, away from the mountains that once cradled me like a baby, fresh into the world, love for the natural ever unfettering. ever since, my soul has ached for the embrace of mountains, of pines, of oak, the rock and grass and sky touching the very top of my head. 

i listen to my folk music and yearn. i practice the granny magic i can learn from scraps on the world wide web, and mourn not having traditions of my own to have passed to me and to pass on to others. 

i save my money, and one day, i will be back. i will be one with the mountains that raised me, and i will return their kindness. i will defend and nourish them and give them gifts as if they were family - ‘cause ain’t they?

[zrtranscripts]

Home Front, Mission 22: Red Riding Hood

What's the time, Mr. Wolf?

~

PHIL CHEESEMAN: Hello again, ci-ti-zens, and welcome back to Radio Lock-In. Zoe’s still waiting out the super horde in an animal shelter and talking to me via ROFFLEnet, but she and I have a special treat for you today. We are going outside. Not literally outside. While the horde seems a bit smaller than it used to be, two-thirds of way too many zoms are still way, way too many zoms. No. Instead, we are going outside through the power of storytelling.

So start warming up because you are in for a treat... possibly. Anyway, Zoe and I had such a good time bringing you Cinderella that we're going to retell another fairy tale classic, complete with ministry workouts and our own spin on the story. We thought about doing Rapunzel, but being trapped in a tower seems a bit too on the nose at the moment, so instead, we've gone with Little Red Riding Hood. I never cared for it much myself, but uh, Zoe insists it's great and it's actually all about a young girl coming to terms with her burgeoning sexuality. I'd fill you in on the explanation, but we haven't got two hours.

Anyway, it's definitely a story that features two things we are both very sorely missing at the moment: fresh air and delicious baked goods. And with that, let's begin with an imaginary skip down a peaceful forest path. Your riding hood is beautiful and uh, red. Your basket is full of goodies, and you're enjoying the scenery. So saunter along to this track made for the perfect summer day.

~

[PHIL alternates between different voices for characters and his own voice for narration and exercise instructions]

PHIL CHEESEMAN: Ah, the smell of imaginary oak and blackberry jam. But wait, is that a big bad wolf further up the forest path? Let's listen in on the conversation between him and Red Riding Hood, which was written by Zoe and yours truly. Zoe wrote the wolf and I wrote Red Riding Hood, which you'd probably never be able to guess if I hadn't told you. Zoe's wolf speaks first, obviously.

“Hello, little boy, I mean, little girl. Aren't you bored of staying on the forest path like mother New Canton taught you? Life's much more fun if you stray.” “Is that why you're out here in the forest, for fun? Or is it because you went for a walk and got lost and then when the zombie horde descended, you ended up stuck miles away from home, sleeping in a nest made of old jumpers? You know, hypothetically speaking.” “Oh, maybe, but just think, straying off the beaten track could lead you to a shelter full of adorable animals, one of whom is now named Snuffle McCheeseman because he bears a strong resemblance to a man named Phil whom you haven't seen in ages. Also hypothetically speaking, of course.”

It went on like that for a bit, but we should skip ahead. So Red Riding Hood decides to take a detour from the path through a bramble patch to reach a beautiful field of wild daisies, carefully squirming away through the undergrowth to avoid being prickled by the thorns. Let's do the same and inch our way through with some inchworms.

Start in a standing position, feet hip-width apart and knees slightly bent. Now bend over and put your hands on the floor in front of your feet as close as you can get, then walk your hands forward until your back is flat and you look like you're at the top of a push-up. Once you're there, walk your hands back to your feet. Perfect! If you were near a bramble patch right now, you'd be getting through scratch-free.

All right, let's do a minute of inchworms. Go! 15 seconds in. Red Riding Hood can see the daisies through a gap in the bushes, but they're not quite in reach. Halfway there. Now she's nibbled on a few wild blackberries and composed a short limerick that begins, "There once was a red hood for riding." 15 seconds left to go. The daisies are almost close enough to touch. Keep going! All done!

And wow, absolutely worth it! Red Riding Hood is surrounded by the biggest and most beautiful daisies she's ever seen. Now she just has to inch her way back to the path and skip along to Granny's. Feel free to continue doing inchworms during this next song along with her, or use it to rest and smell the imaginary flowers.

~

[PHIL alternates between different voices for characters and his own voice for narration and exercise instructions]

PHIL CHEESEMAN: With sweets and flowers in hand, Red Riding Hood has now reached Granny's cottage. Finding the door ajar, she creeps down the hallway to find a suspiciously furry grandmother who says, "Hello, little girl whose name I definitely remember because she is my granddaughter. Come here and hug me." "How convincing. You are definitely not a wolf trying to eat me, I'm sure."

"Of course not! Would I lie to you and say, try to convince you that the radio studio was haunted until you tossed salt over your shoulder whenever you stepped over the threshold every day for a month?" "Obviously not, and if I'm backing away right now, it's absolutely not because I'm beating you at your own game by say, making you think I'm going to stage an elaborate studio spirit cleansing ritual until you admit your wrongdoing." Um, but of course, Red Riding Hood is backing away as fast as she can.

Let's join her with some backward lunges. Start by standing with your feet hip-width apart again, then take a big step backwards with your right foot. Now bend both knees to lower yourself to the floor. Your left shin should stay vertical and your left knee should stay behind your toes. Once you've got as far down as you can, rise back up. Step that right foot forward so your feet are parallel, and then do the whole thing again on your left side.

Ready? Let's do this for one minute. Go! 15 seconds in. "Granny, what a lot of fur you have all over your body. Perhaps you should have that looked at." Halfway done. "An unfortunate side effect of my blood pressure medication, my dear." Only 15 seconds left. "The same medication that seems to have given you fangs and a tail?" And done!

Red Riding Hood has made it all the way back to the front door, but the wolf, who's sensing that she's not falling for his nonsense, gets out of the bed and starts charging forward. Fortunately, I have the perfect song for this moment of dramatic tension. While it plays, you can keep lunging your way backwards or practice your favorite fighting stance as you get ready for a showdown!

~

[PHIL alternates between different voices for characters and his own voice for narration and exercise instructions]

PHIL CHEESEMAN: I have some bad news for you. While we were listening to that track, the wolf ate Red Riding Hood. "So rude." "I agree, my dear. I thought the same thing when he gobbled me up not an hour ago." "Granny, how are you still..." Look, sorry, losing track of the voices a bit there. I meant to say, "Granny, how are you still alive?" I don't know much about biology, but this seems a bit far-fetched, like that time I told my mum that I had a separate stomach compartment for sweets, which is why I could be full from dinner and still want pudding. Uh, but that's not the point.

Right now, we're gonna help Red Riding Hood and Granny get out of their furry food prison with some wolf fighting uppercuts! Begin by getting into boxing stance by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart, stepping back with your right foot and bending your elbows to put your fists up, left fist in front of your face as a guard and right closer to your body. Now to do an uppercut, bend your knees, rotate your right shoulder forward and push off with your right calf as you punch upwards with your right arm. Your right heel should rotate and release as you're punching. Now return to your starting position and you're ready for the next uppercut.

We're going to give the wolf what for, first with 30 seconds of right-handed punches, then 30 from the left. Let's go! 15 seconds in. Give that wolf what for! Halfway there, and Granny's joined in with some well-placed jabs. Now switch sides to put your left leg behind and get ready to finish the job with your left fist. Only 15 seconds left. The wolf is ready to let you free, just keep going! And done. Back out the way you came? Disgusting, but better than the alternative. Take a minute to wipe that pretend wolf slime off, or um... or keep practicing your punches in preparation for any future wolves during this next song.

~

[PHIL alternates between different voices for characters and his own voice for narration and exercise instructions]

PHIL CHEESEMAN: Great job! Red Riding Hood has all dried off and the wolf has passed out from what has got to be the world's least pleasant meal. Red Riding Hood and Granny could slip away, but Red has an idea. Which, in case you think means ‘oh, we have sick minds,’ it’s actually part of the original story.

So Red's idea is, "Grandma, let's fill the wolf's stomach with heavy rocks so he can't chase any more people and eat them." "Are you serious? Where'd you come up with these cockamamie ideas? What's next, we build a house of gingerbread and cook small children for fun?" "That's... oddly specific, Grandma, but no. I just know how our story is supposed to go. Trust me, I know a lot about this particular tale. I once played a wolf in a children's troupe. I am an expert." So the two agree to fill the wolf with rocks, and we'll be helping them out with some squats.

Stand upright like before, with your arms out in front and your feet hip-width apart. Now sit backwards as if you were gonna sit into a chair, taking care that your knees stay behind your feet, just like you did when we were lunging. Go down as low as feels comfortable, and then stand back up, and there you have it.

Ready? Begin. 15 seconds in. Picture yourself picking a big rock out of the pile and lifting it up with each squat. Halfway through. Pile those rocks in the wolf's stomach. He'll be feeling that when he wakes up. 15 seconds of rock piling left to go. Take that, wolfie! Done! You've dumped every rock in sight into the wolf. Now all you have to do is wait to see what happens next, either by shaking out your legs or by squatting your way through this next song.

~

PHIL CHEESEMAN: Great work. Now if we were in the original version of Red Riding Hood, the wolf would chase after Red and Granny across a river, where the rocks would weigh him down until he drowned. Well, as Zoe points out, you really can't be that mad at a talking wolf for doing what talking wolves do. So our wolf, after waking up with a belly full of rocks, realizes that eating people is way too dangerous a lifestyle choice and decides to go to culinary school to learn how to cook plant-based food instead, eventually becoming an acclaimed vegan chef who releases several cookbooks about big, bad, bold flavors, the end.

It's nice being able to rewrite a story like this so it works out better for all the characters involved. I think with so much outside our control right now, it's good to remember that our imaginations are still our own and in them, we can make everything work out for the best. We may not know what comes next in our world, but I believe the spirit of optimism and invention can still help us all reach our own happy ever afters.

~

[woodcarvedfrog]

Goblin homes! Part 1!

I've been asked how this post is possible to achieve and this post will be my best attempt of explaining it! I am not a professional! these goblin home posts I have written are from my own knowledge and from online research!

Saving up money is the key to be able to achieve this. (apart from inheritance)

I use a method where I split my money I earn into three parts which is for

Spending on rent and food ect

Spending money on yourself for hobbies and trinkets

And saving money for a car/house or emergency

These three I split up aren't in equal amounts but enough where each pile is getting something

Look at real-estate websites and start from the lowest price or searching for land or Acreage for sale.

If you don't want the land to be hours away from your location may I recommend looking to have your home on a mountain near by cause large developments can't clear away all the trees.

(also mountains have high humidity so more moss! Also snow and rain is more common)

before buying the property make sure you can get permits from your local council (where the house you want is) and make sure you can do this before buying the land!!!

Bogs and swamp land

For bogs and swamps you may be able to buy a property with a large pond or small lake and be able to convert it by using streams or ditches

for more of a swamp look! shallow water is good with connecting streams

The bog is harder to obtain cause you'll need stagnant water and a hella lot of peat/sphagnum moss over time will decay in the water making it more acidic but any carnivores plants will love it

Bangalow palms, swamp Oaks, swamp mahogany, forest red gums and creek sandpaper figs are all good swamp loving/tolerant plants!

may be hard to achieve if living on a slope of a mountain but still possible

(Muskeg is the French word for moss bog)

Cottage and hobbit home

Unfortunately cottages are going out of "style" and will be harder to find that perfect one cause they are constantly being bulldozed and shoving apartment blocks on top but we'll get there!!!

Brick and wooden houses always can give off that cottage vibe but if you really love cottage houses and if you want a two story house look up Tudor houses or converted houses! (I've seen a very beautiful house that was once a church)

also! If you live in england, Ireland or Scotland! You may have even more luck finding a cottage house with a thatched roof!!!

(Thatched roofs do need more maintenance and are prone to setting alight so be careful!)

Movable granny flats are also an option! If you just want a small home they are a cheaper! Along with shipping containers and portable classrooms!

Hobbit homes may seem out of reach but fear not technology and lotr fans are pretty strong willed and hobbit homes are a thing!

Most people will hand make them (which may not last long time) but you can pay people to build and design them but that may leave you with an empty pocket BUT yes there is a but! Green magic homes is a company which makes modern looking hobbit homes!!! absolutely covered in grass and you can sit safely on the grass roof! Which can be built in three days!!!!!! And they have a few models to choose from! They also have certified builders worldwide which you can find on their website to see if they are near you!

(I'd recommend looking them up regardless if you want one cause it's a real eye opener to look at)

Extra goblin homes that you goblins mentioned would be your dream homes will be in part 2-4

[castletemprwine]

day 5: back to nature

Criss cross, apple sauce –

A breath and a bite

of paper,

words on a page.

A breath and a bite

look up,

shape of a leaf.

A breath and a bite

eyes closed,

oak scented air.

Criss cross, apple sauce –

Granny smith,

color matched to leaves.

A breath.

A bite.

(I lean back, the rough bark of the tree catching on the cotton threads of my shirt. My knees are pulled up, soles of my shoes resting flat on the grass. The hardcover edges of the book in my hands dig into my thighs, creating indents, like cracks in a smooth concrete block.

Sunshine and wind, words and colors, sensory overload. I tilt my head back, squinting at the light through the leaves. I close my eyes. Breathe in. It tastes like apples, like fresh baked pies Granny used to make. It reminds me of school, adults teaching in sing-song voices.

"Sit criss cross apple sauce on your spot, please.")

[sawtellaustralia]

A Wonderful Lifestyle Awaits in Bonville Location

[jeremystrele]

A 90m² Inner-Suburban Block Turned Multipurpose Family Home!

A 90m² Inner-Suburban Block Turned Multipurpose Family Home!

Architecture

by Amelia Barnes

This hardworking projects encompasses a family home, office, and granny flat on a mere 90m² block. Painting by Minnie Pwerle. Photo – Dave Kulesza. Styling – Bea Lambos of Bea + Co

Eva and her daughter at home! Painting by Minnie Pwerle. Photo – Dave Kulesza. Styling – Bea Lambos of Bea + Co

MRTN Architects conducted a Tetris-like process testing various combinations, resulting in this incredibly clever, multipurpose three-storey home.  Photo – Dave Kulesza. Styling – Bea Lambos of Bea + Co

The open kitchen, dining and living space contains a seat-height split level concealing built-in storage. Photo – Dave Kulesza. Styling – Bea Lambos of Bea + Co

White painted plasterboard and American oak veneer and floors internally create a sense of spaciousness and help in unifying the living spaces with the circulation spaces. Photo – Dave Kulesza. Styling – Bea Lambos of Bea + Co

The project spans three storeys. Photo – Dave Kulesza. Styling – Bea Lambos of Bea + Co

Sliding doors open the kitchen to a north-facing terrace Photo – Dave Kulesza. Styling – Bea Lambos of Bea + Co

The ground floor office with poured-in-place concrete stairs. Photo – Dave Kulesza. Styling – Bea Lambos of Bea + Co

The bathroom window sits between shower and bathtub, creating a Japanese-esque ‘bath balcony.’ Photo – Dave Kulesza. Styling – Bea Lambos of Bea + Co

The office has its own street entrance. Photo – Dave Kulesza. Styling – Bea Lambos of Bea + Co

‘We also looked at Japanese small houses as precedents and also houses that had a sculptural presence to the street rather than purely residential,’ says Antony of the project. Photo – Dave Kulesza. Styling – Bea Lambos of Bea + Co

The owner of this home, named Eva, had a clear vision when purchasing a 90m² block on a tight Brunswick East street. 

Despite the land previously being an adjoining property’s garden, Eva saw potential to create a family home incorporating a ground floor office space and a self-contained granny flat, that could be rented out for additional income. Also high on Eva’s list; an outdoor terrace, and a Japanese-style bath!

‘She really had a vision of how this house had to work for her and her daughter and was not willing to compromise on requirements just because the land size was small,’ says Antony Martin of MRTN Architects who designed the home.

The first challenge was determining how exactly all these elements would fit on site. Antony says this was initially solved through a ‘Tetris-like’ process exploring various combinations of home, office, garage and granny flat. To make matters more complicated, a power pole right in front of the home further constrained the building envelope.

‘We went down to the site with three colours of spray paint and marked out each floor in a different colour to better understand the scale of the spaces,’ Antony says.

The resulting home spans three storeys, starting with the entry that fulfils three functions: a street-level office for Eva’s business; access to the ground floor granny flat; and the front door of the home. 

Poured-in-place concrete stairs lead to the first floor featuring an open kitchen, dining and living space over a seat-height split level concealing built-in storage. Sliding-doors off the kitchen open to a north facing terrace. 

The bedrooms on the upper floor also have a north-facing outlook and a surprising amount of storage hidden within the sloping roof space. Separating them is the bathroom – the window of which actually sits between shower and tub, creating a Japanese-esque ‘bath balcony.’

The design of this home not only achieves Eva’s brief, but also provides a distinctive presence on the street. ‘We also looked at Japanese small houses as precedents and also houses that had a sculptural presence to the street rather than purely residential,’ says Antony.

In designing a home, office and income source all on 90m², this project serves as a stellar example of what can be achieved on compact, urban sites. MRTN Architects hope to unlock similar opportunities to increase density and provide housing security on pocket sites all over the city. Bring it on!

[ofxwonder-moved]

Body Appearance

Body

Long legs | Short legs | Average legs | Slender thighs | Thick thighs | Muscular thighs | Skinny arms | Soft arms | Muscular arms | Toned stomach | Flat stomach | Flabby Stomach | Soft stomach | Six pack | Beer belly | Lean frame | Slender frame | Muscular frame | Voluptuous frame | Petite frame (5 ft 4 or shorter) | Lanky frame | Short nails | Long nails | Manicured nails | Dirty nails | Flat ass | Toned ass | Bubble butt | Thick ass | Small waist | Thick waist | Narrow hips | Average hips | Wide Hips | Big feet | Average feet | Small feet | Slender feet | Calloused hands  | Soft hands | Big hands | Average hands | Small hands | Long fingers | Short fingers | Average fingers | Broad shoulders | Slender Shoulders | Underweight | Average weight | Overweight |

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Height

Shorter than 140 cm | 141 cm to 150 cm | 151 cm to 160 cm | 161 cm to 170 cm | 171 cm to 180cm | 181 cm to 190 cm |  191 cm to 2m | Taller than 2 m Or Shorter than 4’ | 4’ - 4’6” | 4’7” - 5’ | 5’ - 5’3” | 5’4”- 5’8” | 5’8” - 6’ | 6’ - 6’6” | 6’7” - 7’ | Taller than 7’

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Skin

Pale | Fair | Rosy | Tanned | Caramel | Olive | Coffee | Chocolate | Blotchy | Smooth (facial area) | Facial Hair | Acne | Dry | Greasy | Freckled | Scarred |

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eyes

Small | Average | Large | Light grey | Dark grey | Brown | Hazel | Amber | Black | Light blue | Blue grey | Sky blue | Dark blue | Red | Pink | Light green | Blue green| Forest green | Doe-eyed | Almond | Intense | Soft |  Close-set | Wide-set | Squinty | Wide open | Heavy eyelids | Upturned | Downturned | Hooded | Monolid

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hair

Thin | Thick | Fine | Normal | Greasy | Dry | Soft | Shiny | Curly | Frizzy | Wild | Unruly | Straight | Smooth | Wavy | Floppy | Cropped | Pixie-cut | Short | Jaw length | Mid Length | Shoulder length | Mid Back length | Waist length | Floor length | Buzz cut | Bald | Mohawk | White | Platinum blonde | Golden blonde | Dirty blonde | Ombre | | Light brown | Mouse brown | Chestnut brown | Golden brown | Chocolate brown | Dark brown | Jet black | Ginger | Auburn | Dyed any “unnatural color” | Streaked | Thin eyebrows | Average eyebrows | Thick eyebrows |

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tattoos / Piercings

Full sleeve | Thigh tattoo | Shin tattoo | Upper arm tattoo | Lower arm tattoo | Wrist tattoo | Lower back tattoo | Hand/finger tattoo | Foot tattoo | Neck tattoo | Face tattoo | Chest tattoo | One tattoo | A few here and there | Multiple | No tattoo | Monroe piercing | Nose piercing | Septum | Nipple piercing(s) | Genital piercing(s) | Industrial piercings | Earlobe piercing(s) | Prince Albert piercing | Eyebrow piercing(s) | Tongue piercing(s) | Lip piercing(s) | Tragus piercing | Angel bites | Labret | Stretches out ears | Navel piercing | Inverse navel piercing | Cheek piercing(s) | Smiley | Nape piercing(s) | NO PIERCINGS |

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Scent

Floral | Fruity | Perfumes | Aftershave | Cocoa | Moisturizer | Natural soap | Shampoo | Cigarettes | Leather | Sweat | Food | Incense | Marijuana | Cologne | Whiskey | Wine | Fried food | Blood | Fire | Metal | Rain | Grass | Ocean | Autumn leaves | Baked bread | Freshly baked cookies | Smoke | Campfire | Lavender | Trees | Pumpkin Pie | Musk | Rose | Gingerbread | Peppermint | Oak | Honey | Lemon | Vanilla | Coffee Cake | Mint | Rawhyde | Warlord | Horse |

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Clothing

| Loose clothing | Tight clothing |  Skinny jeans | Baggy jeans | Bootcut jeans | Khaki pants | Tights | Leggings | Yoga pants | Harem pants | Basketball shorts | Sweatpants | Jean shorts | Kilts | Pencil skirt | Tight skirt | Loose skirt | Tight/form fitting dress | Ballerina skirt | Long skirt | Miniskirt | Maxi Dress | Sundress | Suit and tie | Tuxedo | Cape | Top hat | Cocktail dress | High Slit dress/skirt | Cardigans | Blouse | Button up shirt | Plaid shirt | Cotton T-shirt | Band-T-shirt| Sports-T-shirt | Tank top | Camisole | Cut off t-shirt | Sweater | Sweater vest | Hoodie | Designer | Online stores | Thrift | Lingerie | Boxers | Briefs | Boxer Briefs | Tighty whities | Thong | Commando | Hotpants | Hipster panties | Boyshorts | String bikinis | Granny panties | Wire bra | Push up bra | Wireless bra | Sports bra | Braless | Crop top | Corset | Leotard | Kneehigh socks | Polka dot | Stripes | Glitter | Silk | Lace | Leather | Velvet | Chemise | Patterns | Florals | Neon colors | Pastels | Plaid |  Black | Dark colors | Fur | Faux fur |  

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Footwear

Sneakers | Slip-ons | Flats | Slippers | Sandals | Flip flops | High heels | Kitten heels | Knee-high | Platforms | Stripper heels | Wedges | Bare feet | Loafers | Ankle boots | Combat boots | Doc Martens | Timberlands | Cowboy boots | Converse | KISS boots | Heeled boots Tagged by: @snackhcle (Thank you, bb!) Tagging: @captain-outoftime @arachnidbites @carolxferrisx @doctorharleymd @missgwendolyne  @bloodofvader  @forgedasset @visixnaryx @deathreminder @lightningdreamer @spaceworn @spidermama @spiderpappa @asgardianhammer

[loudarchitects]

Which option do you prefer? Swipe right to see our two options! ⠀ ⠀ The first option sees the house basically demolished, whilst the second image keeps a lot of the original house. The house currently has a dark middle corridor with multiple rooms off it. We will share with you the plan once we have this finalised. ⠀ ⠀ The plot in Buckinghamshire faces south and has a pair of beautiful old (oak) trees facing the house. These being key to the design! ⠀ ⠀ Our brief was to make the plan more regular, utilising it for modern life, retaining the Georgian style whilst bringing it up to a contemporary look with replacement crittall windows. ⠀ ⠀ Our plan: The render to the front and back will be replaced, the garden landscaped, a basement and loft conversion as well as a neighbouring granny flat. The fenestration will be completely changed including the use of some arches or floor length windows. ⠀ ⠀ Watch this space! ⠀ ⠀ #vistahouse ⠀ ⠀ #Architect #interiordesign #luxury #luxuryhome #homestyling #architecture #architects #interiordesign #buckinighamshireplanning #bucksdesign #largecountryhousedesign #countryhousedesign #homeandgarden #countryhomestyle #countryhousedecor (at Buckinghamshire) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2553oJBVd6/?igshid=125uns1rjs3h2

[singlestoryhomesincarlsbadca]

PRICE REDUCED! 4177 Manchester Ave Encinitas CA 92024 | Luxury Home for Sale

Live in an elegant suburban home in Encinitas with gorgeous views!

Privacy, relaxation, and stunning views from every window await you in this elegant suburban home for sale in Encinitas. Nestled up on a hill on a flag lot off Manchester Ave in the Olivenhain neighborhood, this home offers a merge of privacy, space, sophistication, and views.

With 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, a bonus room, and 3,894 square feet of living space, this home elevates the concept of relaxing and entertaining. It is a full house solar, so you don't need to pay for gas or electricity, giving you a monthly savings of over $600.

Get your camera ready! This Olivenhain home also offers spectacular sunrise views. In the afternoon, enjoy the stunning view of balloons rising over Santa Fe. Each window of this home boasts of nature views. You also have panoramic easterly views of the San Elijo Nature Preserve. If you're lucky, you can also see deer, ducks, geese, snowy egrets, and great blue heron in the preserve.

Beautifully maintained and recently upgraded to ensure your best convenience. This home has been freshly painted inside and out. New carpet has been installed in all the bedrooms. The kitchen and bathrooms were updated.

Thanks to a family fruit orchard in this property, you can enjoy pomegranate, grapefruit, lemon, tangerine, avocado, loquat, apple, sapote, and peach trees. Over 30 species of birds have been identified in or above the property, including roadrunners, owls, hawks, egrets, and a woodpecker.

Elegance and space merge seamlessly in this Encinitas home interior

There are so many things that will excite you in this home. The gorgeous front lawn with a low-maintenance garden enhances this home’s curb appeal.

Feel right at home when you step inside the dramatic 2-story entryway.

To its right, a large step down formal living room awaits your guests. The large front windows overlook a stunning view of the neighborhood, thanks to this home’s elevated location. The abundance of natural light brightens this space, making it warm and inviting.

This living room opens to an elegant formal dining room which can easily accommodate a six-seater dining table.

Do you love to entertain? The updated kitchen of this Encinitas luxury property is stunning and designed for entertaining.

With gorgeous cabinetry that offers loads of storage spaces, granite countertops, tile backsplash, modern appliances to cater to your cooking needs, big island for additional counter space, and track lighting above the island, this kitchen is ready for you.

A space for a breakfast nook is set by the side of the large windows overlooking the backyard, so you can enjoy the great view while eating.

The family room is warm and inviting, thanks to its high ceiling, brick surround fireplace, floor-to-ceiling windows offering an amazing view of the serene surrounding, and sliding glass doors that open to the patio. This family room is perfect whether you’re having a large birthday party or a cozy event for selected guests. A bathroom is set up for your convenience.

The main level has three more rooms you can easily convert into a Granny flat or an ADU. These three rooms with their own patio can also be converted into Airbnb rentals away from the main part of the house, all with separate entrances.

This home comes with five spacious bedrooms for you and your loved ones.

The master suite on the second level is extra large and boasts of more floor-to-ceiling windows, a walk-in closet, and double closets.

Enjoy fantastic panoramic views of the community while relaxing on the cozy sitting area, or head out to the private deck to also enjoy the great weather.

No expenses were spared in the remodeled master bathroom with its his and hers quartz vanity counters, luxurious bathtub, tile floors, and a separate walk-in shower.

Enjoy entertainment, relaxation, and serenity on the magnificent backyard

Outdoors, there's plenty of space to relax and unwind. The outdoor patio with trellis is a fun outdoor living space where you can also entertain.

A 3-car garage with an insulated, refrigerated wine cellar that can hold over 400 bottles of wine complete the features of this home in Encinitas.

Don’t miss this chance to live in Olivenhain Encinitas!

Olivenhain is an upscale neighborhood located in the eastern-most part of Encinitas. This neighborhood is known for its upscale country living, historic landmarks, excellent schools, and proximity to downtown.

You can be a part of the Colony Olivenhain for only $25/year. The Olivenhain Town Council maintains the park and the historic 1888 schoolhouse which can be rented for parties and events. OCT also hosts movie nights, Oktoberfest, haunted house, a craft fair, and a wine tasting. This neighborhood also has three parks, including Little Oaks Park which is a horse park with picnic tables, parking for horse trailers, and a riding ring.

Proximity to conveniences is another perk of this home. A school, restaurants, and a medical facility are just minutes away. For more shopping and dining options, you can head to Downtown Encinitas, less than five miles away.

This Olivenhain home is also just a short drive away from the beaches.

Living in this home means enjoying the full benefits of living close to downtown while also going home and experiencing the peace and serenity of country living.

This Encinitas luxury home for sale has everything you want!

Call me, Dennis Smith, at 760-212-8225 to set a private showing of this amazing home.

[type-cute-url-here]

I went there again last night, the place I dream about continuously. It has traits of the town I live in now but the air is slightly thicker, it's not the UK I've guessed but a warmer European country with warm nights. The houses are small, thick buildings made of cobblestone, heavy, dark window frames and some have white painted walls.

There's walls that are about 4ft tall and are made from thick rocks and stones and behind it are trees leading off to the town centre.

I always see the town centre as different versions in different dreams it's a long straight road with stalls and cafes going along it but it takes a sharp left at the bottom leading down a winding road. At the bottom of the long straight road there's the town which had a similar layout to Middleton Grange but it had 2 floors and led to a different memorial from WWII. I think it was a fountain of some kind amongst a chic type of. High street coming from the back exit of the shopping complex.

The floor is cobbles and thatched buildings turned into cafes and boutiques and such line this wonky little high street.

But I go back to the same place, a huge building that is somewhat of a mansion. Not to the degree where there are wings but to the point where upon entering this large white and grey mansion type building it contained a bar, restaurant, bistro and casino on the ground floor. Walking in the double doors there was a corridor leading to the bar.

I immediately clocked in and helped a party being held in the function room, this bar was an odd shape upstairs and was to the right hand side of the bar, a step down from the general dancefloor and tables.

There's also this house, I don't know if it's in the same Emmerdale-aesthetic village or not but its base is a thin, steep, mountainesque pile of rocks no higher than 18ft, red brick steps are lodged up it awkwardly with weeds and dandelions growing out of what looks like rubble and it's lined by a rickety white picket fence all the way down but it's missing planks from it.

At the top of this weird, Rahld Dahl looking structure is an extremely narrow flat but it's only the top flat, the bottom half of the building is just a massive basement. It looks like it's on every council estate, you walk up these mossy stone steps and cross the threshold of the door into a small square foyer so to speak.

There's a clothes dryer right behind the front door beneath a rectangular frosted glass window on the right wall and on the left there was an open doorway that led around into a dining room, there were large windows in the wall opposite and had thick, heavy dark curtains pulled open haphazardly and granny nets at the window, aged and darker from lack of cleaning.

There's an oval mahogany dining table and a matching wall unit on the wall as you walk into the room. Immediately next to the foyer archway there's a door leading into a tiny rectangle kitchen, the oven was beneath another frosted glass window and dirty white cabinets lined the walls, the floor was sticky and dirty and an empty dog bowl was on the floor among dirty washing and dishes.

Moving around again from the dining room there's the sitting room, typical beige room, brown settee, brown floor, glass coffee table in front of the two brown settees (a three seater and a two seater ) with empty drink bottles and ashtrays, at the back wall is the stairs which are short and steep leading to a passage with two doors, the one at the top of the stairs was a red and pink painted bedroom with old oak furniture, the curtain is actually a bed sheet on curtain wire and then there's a bathroom next door to it.

I always feel nervous and uneasy when I'm there, like I've lost all my family and I'm alone in this strange place but I belong there, they're speaking to me, I work with them and live there and know them in my dream but I actually haven't a clue what they are saying to me

I feel like it's life or death, like I'm running away from something but also looking for a place called cruddas park, I always go back to cruddas park to see my dad but I wake up

[epacer]

Crawford High School is in District 9

This map shows the location of the San Diego City Council's District 9. It includes Southcrest, Mountain View, Mount Hope, City Heights, El Cerrito, Talmadge, Kensington, College View Estates, Alvarado Estates, Rolando and the College Area.

Seven candidates battling for San Diego’s District 9 council seat

The pool of seven candidates vying to replace Georgette Gómez on the San Diego City Council are as diverse as the district they hope to represent.

Gómez, a Democrat, is currently running for congress.

City council district 9 includes the neighborhoods of City Heights, College Area, Kensington, Talmadge and Mountain View. There Democrats lead with 32,825 voters registered, compared to 20,208 independents and 8,487 Republicans.

The district is 50 percent Latino, 23 percent white, 13 percent Asian, 11 percent black and others. More than 63,000 of its people speak a language other than English, according to the San Diego Association of Governments.

The District 9 candidates are Kelvin Barrios, director for community outreach for Laborers Local 89 and a former Gómez staffer; business owner Sam Bedwell; scientist Johnny Lee Dang; community college trustee Sean Elo; business owner Andrew Gade; teacher Ross Naismith and unmanned maritime systems manager Alex Soto.

The candidates who finish first and second next month will advance to the November runoff.

Through Jan. 18, Barrios has raised $41,460; Elo raised $13,544; Dang raised $10,709; Bedwell had raised $4,071; and Naismith raised $2,000.

Gade and Soto haven’t reported raising any money.

An independent committee established by Local 89 of the Laborer’s International Union of North America to support Barrios has raised nearly $54,000 so far.

Barrios, 29, has focused his campaign on his experience in city hall as a former policy adviser for Gomez and his ability to pick up where Gomez leaves off, he said.

The Democratic candidate grew up in City Heights and said he has faced housing and food insecurity similar to what some constituents face today.

“Out of everyone that’s running, I’m the only one that has that experience of knowing City Hall, also marrying that with being involved in community groups, having grown up up here, understanding the different nexus outside of City Heights because the district is big,” he said.

Barrios said he believes the city needs to do a better job of holding contractors accountable, because poorly done infrastructure work leads to wasteful spending.

Business owner Bedwell says he does not come with “entanglements or baggage.” The Democratic candidate was born in Ethiopia, in what is now Eritrea, to a half-Italian and half-African mother and to a military father. He says his ethnic background would bring representation that has been lacking on the council.

Bedwell, 49, said elected officials have not paid attention to the district or the diverse population that lives there.

“We have the same problems over and over. It’s housing and homelessness, economic development and they persist,” Bedwell said. On housing and homelessness, Bedwell said there is not going to be a market solution, rather there needs to be a public-private partnership.

“There’s a lot of public land that’s not well used,” Bedwell said, adding that he would propose a property realignment commission to address that issue.

Dang, son of Vietnamese immigrants, says the neighborhoods in District 9 need improvements and he plans to work with local planning groups, empowering them to demand more services. Dang is not registered with any of the recognized political parties but describes himself as an independent.

Dang objects to the amount of money the city’s allocates to the San Diego Tourism Authority.

“There is a list of what the city needs to do and nowhere does it include advertising,” Dang, 34, said. “I understand that their perspective is that it will bring more money in the long run, however, look at the community and the conditions that people are living in.”

Elo, a community college trustee and executive director of Youth Will, said his experience working in government, running a nonprofit and working in the community sets him apart.

The Democratic candidate volunteered and worked with several organizations serving the residents of City Heights. Elo ran for the San Diego Community College Board of Trustees in 2016, defeating former Councilman David Alvarez.

“I’ve been in the room when Latina grandmothers and East African moms and southeast Asian moms came together to unite around getting halal food for students,” he said. “The grassroots work that is super important in District 9, I have that.”

Elo, 37, said he would bring an organizing mentality to the council office if elected. He said the current approach of “cracking down on homelessness” worries him, and he plans to take a compassionate approach by focusing on a housing first model and prioritizing veterans and foster youth.

Gade, a business owner, said he would bring bold ideas and a different approach, such as combining city departments to make city operations more effective.

“We are dealing right now with some of the most trying and testing times that local government has ever had to deal with, and so many things are changing,” Gade, 38, said. “We need to adapt. We need the city government to be proactive, not reactive.”

Gade said groups that provide services to homeless individuals need to be empowered — and held accountable.

Gade, who grew up in northern California and graduated from San Diego State University, said a top priority would be focusing on San Diego’s infrastructure. The candidate registered as Republican at the end of 2019 and changed to no party preference in February.

Naismith, a longtime resident of District 9, says his passion for the district and experience working with community members is needed at City Hall. He said there needs to be greater accountability of how the city is spending money on multiple issues, especially homelessness.

Naismith, 33, sits on the Eastern Area Communities Planning Committee board, which makes recommendations to the city on land use issues for the neighborhoods of El Cerrito Heights, Rolando, Rolando Park, Redwood Village, Oak Park and Webster.

“These positions affect a lot of people,” Naismith said. “It’s really, really important who you have in these positions to advocate for really positive change. It seems like we are talking about the same thing, election after election. When is it going to change?”

The Democratic candidate said if he is elected he plans to spend time speaking with residents.

Soto says what sets him apart are his accomplishments. The 36-year-old candidate served in the army, trained dolphins at SeaWorld and was a mixed martial arts fighter.

The Democratic candidate grew up in Chula Vista and and lives in the neighborhood of Rolando.

Soto said he would bring true leadership to District 9, which is often ignored. He questioned why Barrios is running, given that last fall Barrios admitted to illegally using money he controlled as a campaign treasurer in 2016 and 2017 to buy food and clothes.

Barrios has said he made mistakes and was compensating himself for services he had performed.

Soto said that’s one reason he is running.

“When it comes to history and District 9, and what District 9 has been through, I think this is exactly why I’m running against somebody like him,” Soto said.

He said his priority would be addressing the homeless crisis by focusing on housing individuals, adding that he built an accessory dwelling unit in his backyard. He said his experience building a granny flat showed him the process needs to be streamlined to make it easier to increase housing in the city. *Reposted article from the UT by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña of February 17, 2020

[thisdaynews]

How Minneapolis Freed Itself From the Stranglehold of Single-Family Homes

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/how-minneapolis-freed-itself-from-the-stranglehold-of-single-family-homes/

How Minneapolis Freed Itself From the Stranglehold of Single-Family Homes

MINNEAPOLIS—On recent early summer day, Janne Flisrand and John Edwards took a victory lap through their neighborhood.

As they strolled along sidewalks shaded by maples and oaks, they pointed out the variety of single-family homes that give the Lowry Hill East neighborhood its signature look: three-story houses from the early 20th century, with big, white-columned porches. Then they came to a century-old brown brick building, also three stories tall, with rows of windows on both sides of a recessed entryway. The six-unit condominium building from 1910 was flanked by 2½-story blue houses—one a single-family home, the other a triplex. It was mini-tableau of housing diversity that Flisrand and Edwards say has become all too hard to build in their part of town. “We’ve had a really long history of apartments and renters in this neighborhood,” Edwards says. “But 20 percent of the neighborhood wanted to prevent that housing for the last 50 years.”

Story Continued Below

Well, they won’t prevent it any longer.

Thanks in part to activists like Flisrand and Edwards, Minneapolis just did away with the rules that gave single-family homes a stranglehold on nearly three-quarters of the city. In December, Neighbors for More Neighbors, the group co-founded by Flisrand and Edwards about two years ago to address Minneapolis’ affordable housing crisis, won a victory unseen in any other major American city. The city council approved the Minneapolis 2040 comprehensive plan, which declares the city’s intent to abolish single-family-home zoning and allow duplexes and triplexes to be built anywhere in the city.

“Lots of people want to live here,” said Flisrand. “It’s a great city to live in. And we have used our city policies to keep people out.”

Cities across the country are booming, but their growth is exacerbating an already critical lack of affordable housing for the middle class and poor alike. The solutions being proposed in many cities run the gamut from rent control to federal subsidies, but Minneapolis has landed on something even bolder that strikes at the heart of how cities have grown and defined themselves over the past century. Single-family-only neighborhoods, a staple of city and suburban planning, are woven into the DNA of the American dream: the leafy, peaceful street lined with stand-alone houses, green lawns and plenty of elbow room. Minneapolis’ new vision of itself would essentially rewrite that code—reshaping the urban streetscape around walking and mass transit and rebooting the American dream to be more racially and economically inclusive.

Minneapolis’ new comprehensive plan has drawn praise from divergent political quarters—both Housing Secretary Ben Carson, who visited Minneapolis recently, and theNew York Timeseditorial page. And cities and states with their own growth-driven housing crises are looking to Minneapolis for clues on how to navigate the political shoals inherent in any debate over development and growth. In June, Oregon’s Legislature followed Minneapolis’ lead, approving a bill to end single-family zoning in large cities.

Story Continued Below

How did Minneapolis do it? In other cities, NIMBYs—conservative “Not In My Back Yard” defenders of suburban-style living—often make alliances with left-wing critics of gentrification to choke off new supply. But in Minneapolis, a progressive city council persuaded a broad coalition of racial-justice activists and nonprofit affordable-housing advocates to align with zoning-reform supporters behind a package of housing efforts meant to help both the middle class and the poor. Along with Minneapolis 2040’s vision of a denser city, the city council also approved $40 million in affordable-housing funds and requirements that some developers include lower-cost units in their projects. New protections for tenants are coming next.

“We’ve avoided a political coalition between folks who want to stop development and [those who] support progressive change,” said Lisa Bender, Minneapolis’ city council president. “In Minneapolis, for now, we have a political coalition that is supportive of adding more housing and demanding a race-equity approach to housing access. Now it’s incumbent on the city to actually do that in a meaningful way. And I’m not sure any city has done that.”

***

Minneapolis officials have knownfor the better part of a decade that the city’s economic health was creating a problem.

Since 2010, the city grew 11 percent to 425,000 people. People are migrating to Minneapolis to enjoy the vibrant urban scenes on its main avenues near downtown, its vast green neighborhoods of pre-World War II homes, and its plentiful parks along its many lakes and creeks. The Minneapolis-St. Paul region’s economy is thriving, led by prospering Fortune 500 companies such as UnitedHealth Group, Target and Best Buy. But the metro area is adding population faster than it’s adding housing—83,000 new households, but only 63,000 new houses, since 2010. So home-sale prices and rents are going up. In May, the median home-sale price in the Twin Cities area reached $285,000, up 5.2 percent from last year. Hopeful homebuyers face bidding wars. With vacancy rates low, tenants face climbing rents: The average monthly rent of a two-bedroom apartment in the city reached $1,847 this winter, while the vacancy rate is 3.7 percent. (Economists often consider a 5 percent vacancy rate “healthy”; below that, housing costs rise faster than inflation.). Spiking costs now threaten a cornerstone of Minneapolis’ prosperity, as young people find it ever harder to afford living there.

“Right now in Minneapolis, we have a whole lot of people that want to live here, and we’re proud of that,” said Mayor Jacob Frey. “But we don’t have the supply to accommodate it. And when you’ve got demand that is sky-high but not the supply to accommodate it, it’s just common sense: The prices, the rents, go through the roof.”

Minneapolis’ embrace of urban density began in 2013, when voters elected several young, progressive new city council candidates, including Bender. A Minnesota native, she’d worked as a San Francisco city planner before coming home. “When I moved back to Minneapolis, I saw that housing costs were much lower, but I saw the progression of folks moving in,” she said. “I didn’t see the city having the right kind of aggressive policy in place to keep our city affordable.”

Bender, 41, who became city council president in 2018, nerds out with glee while talking urbanist policy, from housing near transit stops to protected bike lanes. (She founded the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition, now renamed Our Streets Minneapolis.) “My very first ordinance was to legalize accessory dwelling units!” she enthuses. To build support among reluctant council colleagues, she recruited allies such as AARP, which advocates for so-called granny apartments and garage flats.

“We opened up the dialogue around who gets to live where in our city,” Bender said.

Next, Bender and her City Hall allies set their eye on Minneapolis’ comprehensive plan, which all Minnesota cities have to update every decade. Usually, these plans are dry policy documents that attract little public attention. Before 2013, Bender said, the city’s feedback was mostly limited to neighborhood associations, so it usually heard from older, white homeowners. This time around, the city council approved an ambitious plan to gather citizen ideas at community meetings, street festivals and farmer’s markets.

This wider approach tapped into the 52 percent of Minneapolis residents who are renters, many of them young and keenly interested in lower housing costs but also climate change, transportation and racial justice. “When we set up enough room for the community to actually weigh in, and not just the folks who are opposed to things, there is a lot of public support for increasing housing options,” Bender said.

By 2017, housing had become a major issue in the city elections. Frey, a young councilman, was elected mayor on a platform of increasing housing density, tripling spending on affordable housing, and reducing residential segregation. “I unabashedly took stances saying that I believe in affordable housing in every neighborhood throughout the city,” said Frey, 37, a Virginia-native lawyer who moved to Minneapolis after running a marathon there.

Frey wanted to increase housing supply to meet demand, but there’s another reason he wanted to end single-family zoning: racial justice. He and others say single-family zoning evolved as a way for Minneapolis and other cities to practice racial discrimination by another name.

Since 2016, Minneapolis residents have exposed their city’s history of housing discrimination in a way that’s unusual for an American metropolis. Inspired by a project that digitized the federal government’s 1930s redlining maps, which declared black neighborhoods “hazardous” for investment, volunteers for Minneapolis’ Mapping Prejudice project have scanned and mapped 17,000 local real-estate deeds with racial restrictions from the 1910s through 1940s.

“When those explicitly racist policies became illegal through the Civil Rights Act, we and other cities throughout the country started doing things implicitly through our zoning code,” said Frey. “And we’ve set it up so that unless you can own a really big home on a really big parcel, you can’t live in huge swaths of the city.”

In 2018, city staff debuted an early draft of the Minneapolis 2040 plan. A broad planning document with 100 policies on everything from carbon-free energy to tree canopies, it attracted the most attention for its “Policy 1,” which called for increased housing density citywide and an end to single-family zoning. The early draft would’ve allowed four-unit buildings everywhere in the city. Larger apartment and condominium buildings could be built closer to downtown and along public transit routes. The new rules applied to renovation and new construction: subdividing houses, building additions, new construction on vacant lots, and new construction after existing housing was torn down.

The initial proposal divided Minneapolis, as opponents rose up to defend single-family zoning. Red lawn signs warned of developers bulldozing neighborhoods to build apartments.

“I’m not sure we bought the argument that more density increased affordable housing,” said Lisa McDonald, a former city council member and a member of the anti-2040 group Minneapolis For Everyone. “We felt we’d get very little affordable housing, but we would be giving developers carte blanche.”

That left Frey, who ran for mayor as a progressive, in the awkward position of defending the for-profit housing industry, which quietly supported the 2040 plan but didn’t publicly advocate for it. “People who need homes can’t be collateral damage in an antideveloper, antibusiness agenda,” he said. “We have people that need the supply.”

***

That’s when the deal-making started.

To overcome the opposition, Frey, Bender and their staffs reduced the promised new zoning in single-family neighborhoods from four-unit buildings to triplexes. They negotiated with council members over changes to future zoning on transit corridors in their wards.

To build a coalition behind the plan, the council voted on two other housing policies the same week as Minneapolis 2040. First, it approved Frey’s budget, which funded $40 million in affordable housing programs, up from about $15 million. Then, the same day council approved Minneapolis 2040 by a 12-1 vote, it passed an interim “inclusionary zoning” ordinance. Common in other big cities, inclusionary zoning requires apartment-building developers to set aside some of a complex’s units for people with below-average incomes. “This city council won’t support making it easier to build housing without a requirement that some of that housing be affordable,” Bender said.

The package deal helped gather support for the 2040 plan from nonprofit affordable-housing advocates, who were lukewarm about zoning for more density.

“It’s great that a city has said we’re going to open up the zoning books and get creative about how we can boost density,” said Russ Adams, executive director of The Alliance, a nonprofit advocate on racial and economic justice issues. “But without regulation, the market is going to behave exactly the way it always behaves.”

Meanwhile, representatives of the for-profit housing industry support Minneapolis 2040’s embrace of higher density but say it won’t likely solve the housing shortage on its own.

“If it produces 50 units in a year, in my mind, it’ll be a big success,” John Rask, a homebuilder and the president of the builders’ group BATCHousing First Minnesota, said. “I don’t think anyone sees 500 units a year coming out of triplexes. But every little bit helps.” Other parts of Minneapolis 2040, like increased density along transit corridors, should help, he said. But he argues that the city needs relief in parking requirements, lower city fees, and expedited permit and zoning approvals, rather than an inclusionary zoning policy.

Local housing advocates are also skeptical that eliminating single=family zoning will advance racial justice. Minneapolis’s racial disparities are among the worst in the nation. The gaps between white and nonwhite homeownership and poverty in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region are the largest among the nation’s 25 largest metro areas. Three out of four whites in the region own their own homes; only one in four African Americans do. Density in more neighborhoods may give people of color more choices about where to live, but it doesn’t address the wealth gaps that past discrimination helped create.

“The city has to put its money where its mouth is, and redistribute resources to make high density equal affordability,” Dr. Brittany Lewis, an urban affairs researcher at the University of Minnesota, said. “A lot of small developers of color are trying to get in the development game because they want to invest in the communities in which they live. And it’s extremely challenging.”

Tabitha Montgomery, executive director of the Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association, feels conflicted about the Minneapolis 2040 plan. “In theory, adding housing units to the city will be helpful to persons of color,” she said. Minneapolis’ low rental vacancy rate especially hurts immigrants and black women, she said. “Our wealth level doesn’t allow us to be competitive sometimes with other persons who are pursuing housing.” But Montgomery isn’t convinced that Minneapolis 2040 will end up benefiting the most vulnerable. She wants the city to focus more on nonprofit affordable housing.

The mayor says he especially wants to help black and indigenous residents become homeowners. Homeownership is a major goal in the city’s $40 million affordable-housing budget. The Minneapolis Homes program, with $5 million funding this year, offers downpayment assistance loans for homebuyers and city-owned vacant land and vacant houses for sale. Frey notes that North Minneapolis could especially benefit from the program, since the city owns 300 vacant homes or lots in North Minneapolis alone.

Now the Minneapolis 2040 plan is before the Metropolitan Council, the Twin Cities’ powerful regional planning board, which is widely expected to approve it later this year. After that, the city council intends to enact the planning zoning changes into law. The 2040 plan may become an issue in the 2021 city elections, if its opponents get their way. “We’ll be looking at bringing in some council members who are listening to the citizens more,” said McDonald.

But the mayor predicts the 2040 plan’s results will eventually vindicate his approach. “While people might hate my guts for a couple of years,” he said. “I’m confident that a little down the road, it’ll be apparent that we took the right route.”

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Accessible home 3700 sq ft in beautiful Port Stanley.$399,000.0 | Houses for Sale | Oakville / Halton Region

You will feel right at home the moment you step into this spacious bungalow in the desirable village of Port Stanley. Accessible home with oversize access and a spacious, open concept kitchen dinning and greeting area with gas fireplace. Hardwood and ceramics throughout first floor. Main floor boast 2 bedroom, kitchen / open concept dining 1-1/2 bath Main floor laundry. Granny flat or basement rental ready with separate access, 3 bedrooms, full bath, large living area, media games room or spare bedroom, storage room,closets galore. Must be seen to appreciate. Private, pet friendly fenced rear yard with shed. Huge deck with natural gas bbq hookup. 2 + 3 to 4 bedrooms 2.5 bathrooms Finished lower family room with laminate throughout. Approx 3700 sq ft living area Oak kitchen cupboards , quartz counter tops, breakfast island, and much, much more.

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