Hi All,
Thank you to Sonja
Trauss, founder of SF
Bay Area Renter’s Federation, for visiting today's LPSF meeting and giving us a perspective of her group's objectives. Since price responds to the demand of any product in relation to the supply of the product, whether we are talking about asparagus or housing, then increase the supply and the price will go down. Sonja says, show up at land-use planning meetings if you want "affordable housing" and agitate for a significant increase in supply. Next meeting is January 21, 2015, 6:00 to 8:00 pm, 755 Ocean Avenue, San Francisco. The Planning Department, Public Utilities Commission and Office of Economic Workforce Development will discuss the Balboa Reservoir (no water there, just a vast parking lot).
Here is an article Sonja wrote posted on the San Francisco Moderates website, which I will also post on the LPSF website,
"I don’t want subsidized, supervised affordable housing.
With a salary of $30,000 per year, I am low-income. Shouldn’t I be calling for more Below Market Rate (BMR) units to be built so that I can live in San Francisco? Don’t I appreciate the efforts of affordable housing advocates? They are working tirelessly to hold up and delay the creation of market rate units while negotiating for a higher percentage of units to be set aside as BMR rentals or condos. Why aren’t I thankful? Don’t I want a Below Market Rate unit? No, I want a Market Rate unit. I want the market to provide a unit I can afford....." Click the link to read the who article! http://www.sfmoderates.org/2015/01/whats-your-housing-utopia/ By the way, Sonja has agreed to be one of the panelists at the LPSF Annual Tax Day Symposium (more on that later).
Marcy