The speeches against housing and other developments all start to sound the same. We made a fill-in-the-blank speech to poke fun at Arizona's not-in-my-backyardism problem.
These are the same types of arguments I heard about black people moving into our neighborhood when I was a kid. I grew up in Scottsdale, don't judge me. This will save me so much time at the next city council meeting, thanks.
I live near 7th Ave and Indian School and there are numerous apartment complexes, some of them quite large, recently completed or in development. Most of them advertise to be "luxury" establishments. While they may provide shelter for those who have stable employment with a salary that will cover the rent at the recommended 30% of salary, I don't see how this luxury apartment/condo building boom helps people who are being bulldozed or priced out of truly affordable housing. If I am mistaken I would be happy to be corrected. While shelters provide a needed emergency solution for homeless individuals and families, what I think is needed in my backyard (and others) is a requirement that a reasonable percentage of those units should be priced at an amount that low income folks can afford including accepting section 8 vouchers. I realize that is only one solution and there are many other associated problems that lead to homelessness that also require intervention but it would be a place to start for some people. Thank you for your attention to this very serious problem.
Some how we think that those who would live in affordable housing will be bad for the neighborhood. In my family that would include my grandson who is working a full time job and finishing a college degree. Or my friend who is disabled and living solely on Social Security. Neither of these individuals would be a detriment to a neighborhood. We need to change our thinking.
I laughed out loud at your column this morning !!! SO True! As a former local government manager, I faced the NIMBYs many times along with the BANANAs people. Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Never Again. So much for progress. By the way, I also found that the solution for construction complaints was to ONLY build them at night, with NO dust and NO noise!! I was never able to implement those requirements however.
I live in Mid-town Phoenix and all the new Apartment buildings built within the last 10 years are luxury apartments with more square footage than my house with rents ranging from $1400 - $5500 with a quick glance in Apartmentfinder.com. There are current bills supported by these same developers, being advertised as fighting NIMBY-ism by removing the ability of municipalities to have zoning processes, rules and and allowing developers to build at whatever density they want wherever they want to ignoring city plans that take into consideration providing adequate water, sewer and trash collection for residents.
I think there needs to be a more nuanced take on this issue, because it's incredibly complex. The homelessness issue hasn't been created by municipal zoning and NIMBY citizens voicing their objections to projects. The rents have skyrocketed across the nation and around the world. It will not be solved by giving developers cart blanch.
My rent is at least one and a half times what my homeowner friends pay for their mortgages. I work multiple jobs to barely make that work, as do most of my neighbors. Most of us are not transient by choice -- having your savings gobbled up by yet more deposits, non-refundable application fees, the inevitable moving costs isn't something anyone aspires to -- but because of random, arbitrary rent increases that are hundreds of dollars. So when you say you don't want renters and the "crime" and "transience" it brings to your neighborhood, what you really mean is you don't want people who are forced to work twice as hard for half of what you already have: stability and a foundation on which to build wealth.
Off topic comment... Puck political correspondent Tara Palmeri published on 9 February one of the better bits of analysis I've come across regarding the Sinema wild card for that look-at-me twit's seat in 2024. Two things I cannot imagine: (1) that she will decline to run; and (2) in running she will hand the seat to the GOP nominee (even the worst of the worst) and leave Gallego twisting in the electoral winds. Being a lifelong democrat/progressive has been one of worst experiences of my life. And I've been married and divorced three times.
These are the same types of arguments I heard about black people moving into our neighborhood when I was a kid. I grew up in Scottsdale, don't judge me. This will save me so much time at the next city council meeting, thanks.
I live near 7th Ave and Indian School and there are numerous apartment complexes, some of them quite large, recently completed or in development. Most of them advertise to be "luxury" establishments. While they may provide shelter for those who have stable employment with a salary that will cover the rent at the recommended 30% of salary, I don't see how this luxury apartment/condo building boom helps people who are being bulldozed or priced out of truly affordable housing. If I am mistaken I would be happy to be corrected. While shelters provide a needed emergency solution for homeless individuals and families, what I think is needed in my backyard (and others) is a requirement that a reasonable percentage of those units should be priced at an amount that low income folks can afford including accepting section 8 vouchers. I realize that is only one solution and there are many other associated problems that lead to homelessness that also require intervention but it would be a place to start for some people. Thank you for your attention to this very serious problem.
Same applies to arguments against light rail or any other mass transportation proposal.
Some how we think that those who would live in affordable housing will be bad for the neighborhood. In my family that would include my grandson who is working a full time job and finishing a college degree. Or my friend who is disabled and living solely on Social Security. Neither of these individuals would be a detriment to a neighborhood. We need to change our thinking.
I laughed out loud at your column this morning !!! SO True! As a former local government manager, I faced the NIMBYs many times along with the BANANAs people. Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Never Again. So much for progress. By the way, I also found that the solution for construction complaints was to ONLY build them at night, with NO dust and NO noise!! I was never able to implement those requirements however.
This is great, Rachel. Based on NIMBY rhetoric, one would think the traffic around an apartment complex is like that of the Port of Long Beach.
I live in Mid-town Phoenix and all the new Apartment buildings built within the last 10 years are luxury apartments with more square footage than my house with rents ranging from $1400 - $5500 with a quick glance in Apartmentfinder.com. There are current bills supported by these same developers, being advertised as fighting NIMBY-ism by removing the ability of municipalities to have zoning processes, rules and and allowing developers to build at whatever density they want wherever they want to ignoring city plans that take into consideration providing adequate water, sewer and trash collection for residents.
I think there needs to be a more nuanced take on this issue, because it's incredibly complex. The homelessness issue hasn't been created by municipal zoning and NIMBY citizens voicing their objections to projects. The rents have skyrocketed across the nation and around the world. It will not be solved by giving developers cart blanch.
My rent is at least one and a half times what my homeowner friends pay for their mortgages. I work multiple jobs to barely make that work, as do most of my neighbors. Most of us are not transient by choice -- having your savings gobbled up by yet more deposits, non-refundable application fees, the inevitable moving costs isn't something anyone aspires to -- but because of random, arbitrary rent increases that are hundreds of dollars. So when you say you don't want renters and the "crime" and "transience" it brings to your neighborhood, what you really mean is you don't want people who are forced to work twice as hard for half of what you already have: stability and a foundation on which to build wealth.
Off topic comment... Puck political correspondent Tara Palmeri published on 9 February one of the better bits of analysis I've come across regarding the Sinema wild card for that look-at-me twit's seat in 2024. Two things I cannot imagine: (1) that she will decline to run; and (2) in running she will hand the seat to the GOP nominee (even the worst of the worst) and leave Gallego twisting in the electoral winds. Being a lifelong democrat/progressive has been one of worst experiences of my life. And I've been married and divorced three times.