Dear Mayor Liccardo and City Council:
The Diridon Affordable Housing Implementation plan contains several recommendations to assist in meeting the demand for housing. However, there are other recommendations that the Housing Department is pushing forward without any outreach or feedback from housing providers like me – and we will be the ones impacted by it.
I strongly urge you to defer these plans until the Housing Department reaches out to housing providers. Deferral would still allow Google’s campus proposal to advance. And it would demonstrate that no segment of our community is being overlooked as San Jose embarks on this plan. San Jose Property Owner
Dear AOA:
It was very much a pleasure meeting Irma over the phone this morning and thank you for being so helpful and pleasant and I certainly appreciated your patience with me. You are certainly an excellent asset to your company and I commend them for recognizing how good you are and asked you to join this organization.
I wish you a very good remainder of this week and a safe and fun weekend ahead.
Kind regards, Shari
Dear AOA:
We need more housing. Economics 101 teaches supply and demand metrics and we all know that if there were enough housing units to meet demand, then prices would decline. The entanglements of zoning and neighborhood council controls and prohibitive legislation are aimed at preserving the status quo which limits inventory and pushes up housing prices.
This is a larger problem and does not immediately satiate the cries of foul play on part of renters for affordable housing. They cannot, on one hand, refuse more housing, and on the other, demand that what housing is here be provided at reduced rates.
Socialized housing through Section 8 Voucher Programs: Forcing landlords’ hands by dictating revenue growth while not controlling expenses is not the answer. Needs-based assistance allows the government to decide those who are in need and provide assistance via vouchers to obtain housing. The Section 8 program determines the need using a DTI formula. More Section 8 vouchers will assist those most in need while allowing landlords to continue to operate in a free market without making landlords the private solution to a public issue.
Sincerely, Matthew Parrish