Dear Editor:
Kudos to Mayor Al Pinheiro for recognizing that the time has
come for inclusionary zoning to help meet Gilroy’s housing needs.
We all know that affordable homes make for successful
neighborhoods. When parents and children can put down roots in the
community with confidence, our whole community benefits.
Dear Editor:
Kudos to Mayor Al Pinheiro for recognizing that the time has come for inclusionary zoning to help meet Gilroy’s housing needs. We all know that affordable homes make for successful neighborhoods. When parents and children can put down roots in the community with confidence, our whole community benefits.
Sadly, the market is not providing real choices of homes for seniors, working families, young adults and people on fixed incomes. There is no community in America where a minimum-wage worker can afford a market-rate apartment. In Santa Clara County, you need to make an hourly wage of $26.26 just to afford a two-bedroom. And according to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the number one cause of homelessness is lack of affordable housing.
Under inclusionary zoning, those who can afford to will continue to pay the going rate – and not a penny more – for their homes; that is the definition of market rate. And those Gilroyans who cannot afford market rate will have a chance to remain a part of the community.
When the market is broken, our leaders must step in with solutions. But federal sources of affordable housing funds, like Community Development Block Grants and the HOME program are on the chopping block. State funding through Proposition 46 is about to expire, unless Gov. Schwarzenegger agrees to put money for new homes into his proposed infrastructure bond. Now is the time for cities to enact new mechanisms, like inclusionary zoning, to meet the housing needs of everyone in the community.
Stephanie Schaaf
