Category Archives: Economy

CA, deregulated housing bills, Economy, Housing, Planning, Politics

BUILT ON PROMISES, MANAGED BY CONTRADICTIONS – PRICE OF BEING POOR – PART 9

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By Malik Washington : davisvanguard – excerpt

A federally subsidized “showpiece” of San Francisco redevelopment is telling its residents that mold, roaches, ventilation failures and a reported cluster of deaths are their problem – and that their overdue rent is the city’s. Before pouring billions more into Candlestick Point, the City and County of San Francisco owes the public an independent investigation into what has actually happened at Alice Griffith Apartments.

Editor’s note. This article distinguishes among documented facts, publicly reported allegations, and reasonable inferences drawn from the record. It does not accuse the John Stewart Company, McCormack Baron Salazar, the Tabernacle Community Development Corporation, FivePoint, RBC Capital Markets, the San Francisco Housing Authority, the Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure, the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development, or any city official of fraud. It argues that the public record, as it currently stands, justifies an independent fact-finding investigation – and it identifies the specific questions such an investigation should answer.

Editor’s note. This article distinguishes among documented facts, publicly reported allegations, and reasonable inferences drawn from the record. It does not accuse the John Stewart Company, McCormack Baron Salazar, the Tabernacle Community Development Corporation, FivePoint, RBC Capital Markets, the San Francisco Housing Authority, the Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure, the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development, or any city official of fraud. It argues that the public record, as it currently stands, justifies an independent fact-finding investigation – and it identifies the specific questions such an investigation should answer.

One of those tenants, alarmed by the notice they had found waiting for them at the threshold of their own home, contacted this reporter directly. That contact is how this investigation obtained the two notices analyzed in the pages that follow, and how the pattern documented here – a landlord that moves at scale when it is collecting from tenants, and moves slowly, if at all, when tenants are asking it to protect them – came into public view. This reporter has been covering conditions at Alice Griffith Apartments at length in previous installments of “The Price of Being Poor,” published in partnership with The Davis Vanguard. The July 14 door-notice campaign is the newest, and one of the most publicly visible, chapters of that continuing record.

For months before those envelopes went out, residents of the same buildings had been publicly reporting a very different set of grievances: mold, water intrusion, ventilation failures, roach and rodent infestations, broken elevators, malfunctioning fire systems, recent roof concerns, and – most gravely – a reported cluster of approximately ten deaths since January 2026, including community activist Dewayne Gaines. Those grievances have not, to date, produced a comparable operational response from the landlord, from the property manager, or from the City and County of San Francisco… (more)

 

CA, Economy, Housing, Planning, Politics

The Chron discovers, sort of, that Wiener’s housing bills are a con

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By Zelda Bronstein : 48hills – excerpt

Con man Wiener failed to sell SB50 because the men with the money did not believe his claims. Now they just don’t care whether he makes sense or not. He is working for them. Photo by sfbluecomics.

Finally, a story that mentions the real issue: Cities can’t force developers to build

In countless editorials and news stories, the San Francisco Chronicle has championed state Sen. Scott Wiener’s claims that city Nimbyism is the major culprit in California’s housing crisis, and that his legislation has finally brought growth-resistant local governments to heel.

California cities, for their part, have argued that Wiener’s legislation penalizes them for something they can’t control: developers’ willingness to build.

Given the Chronicle’s anti-city line, it was surprising to find the cities’ complaint reinforced by an article the paper ran on July 5. To be sure, that corroboration appears at the very end of the story and doesn’t mention Wiener. Moreover, the headline—“These Bay Area suburbs are the furthest behind on their housing goals”—suggests that, as ever, cities are to blame.

The piece is a bit confusing, because it considers two related but different sorts of local housing goals set by the state. Reporter Olivia Borgula briefly discusses the requirement that cities’ general plans include a housing element that’s certified by the California Department of Housing and Community Development. Lack of certification triggers the “Builders Remedy,” which allows developers to do pretty much anything they want.

But Borgula’s main focus, and mine here as well, is on the state’s requirement that each city issue a certain of number housing permits or be forced to “streamline” (a euphemism for approval without a public hearing) certain housing projects. The required number of permits corresponds to each city’s “Regional Housing Need Allocation” or RHNA (sounds like ree-nuh)…

Behind the enormous RHNAs: Wiener’s bills…

The Chronicle’s unexpected exposé

Borgula concludes by citing David Garcia, deputy director of policy at the state Legislature’s go-to consultancy, UC Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation:

Garcia said the number of homes permitted in a city largely depends on the area’s economics, including construction costs and the availability of subsidies for low-income housing.

“A city can have a perfectly good housing element, perfectly good zoning, all geared toward getting housing built, but if the market is not really working for developers, then that stuff just doesn’t get built,” he said…(more)

 

 

Economy, Politics

A California city is torn apart by a recalled city council that refuses to leave

By Anabel Sosa : sfgate – excerpt

Avenal on the map

A small farm community an hour from Fresno is tangled up in an ongoing legal battle that has erupted into disarray after its mayor and city council, except for one member, were recalled in a special election that they claim was illegal. The councilmembers and mayor are now refusing to leave office.

A special election was held in April after a citizen-led campaign pushed to oust four of the five members of the Avenal City Council after disagreements over a new fire protocol policy boiled over, according to local reporting from the Fresno Bee.

During the April 28 special election, residents voted in favor of the recall. Kings County officially certified the results in May after more than 75% of voters agreed to recall Mayor Alvaro Preciado and councilmembers Leticia Gamez, David Reynosa and Pablo Hernandez.

The effort first came into swing last year after the council voted to create its own fire department and hire a fire chief, which would more than double the annual fire fees.

But those members refuse to leave office. They maintain that only the city, not the county, has the jurisdiction to call a special election. The last remaining councilmember called the election legitimate and asked for his colleagues to step down, according to local Fox news affiliate KMPH-TV.

After the members rejected the recall, they still met last Thursday for their normal meeting, resulting in an uproar. Residents were reportedly furious during that June 11 meeting. Some shouted at the councilmembers, according to KMPH-TV, which reported one person saying they were corrupt and “worse than Trump.”…

The only way for those members to permanently be removed is through a legal process called quo warranto, which is already underway, according to an update from the city on Monday, and approval from the attorney general. SFGATE reached Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office to ask if it was looking into the matter but did not hear back in time for publication… (more)

RELATED:

‘Netflix’ worthy dispute; What’s going on in Avenal?

What may this mean for other recall efforts in California if this case is not settled in favor of the citizens? And where will California Attorney General Bonta stand on this issue?

Economy, Energy, Politics, water

Monterey Park blares a warning to the AI industry

by Shum Preston : thevoiceofsanfrancisco – excerpt

Some cities are just saying no to computer overload and a lot of others are considering limiting the tech overlords.

The tiny Los Angeles suburb of Monterey Park found the AI industry’s pain point in this month’s elections. Voters there took a dramatic step by enacting a permanent moratorium on data centers.

AI executives should look south from their San Francisco offices and pay close attention to this warning. They are about to launch some of the biggest IPOs in history, with record valuations. But these IPOs are coming just as public opposition is growing to the data centers they rely upon.

This could be one of the most important results from this primary election season, even if the Monterey Park moratorium itself won’t have a direct impact. Only one facility was proposed in the town, and it was already canceled by public opposition. But the vote showed that the political weakness of the AI and data center industries can translate into real-world losses.

Even worse, this is likely to be just the first vote of many across the country. AI executives need to toss out their broken political playbook around data centers and improve their pitch to the American public. They need to deal with the perception that they are spiking electricity bills for regular people by outcompeting households for energy…(more)