Novato Advance Wednesday, July 26, 1989
Viewpoint
Novato Ecumenical Housing’s
role explained
By Dwayne Hunn
Recently an opponent of the Berg
Revoir Hamilton project called for the shakedown of four Novato agencies
because, in her mind, they supported the Hamilton project
One of those agencies Jo Behm wants closed is Novato Ecumenical
Housing. Perhaps she waits to use the Hamilton vote to emasculate any
organization that doesn’t fit her definition of community good. Perhaps it is
because she doesn’t understand what NEH
does.
NEH does not function just “to maximize density for developers,”
as Ms. Behm claims. Sometimes NEH negotiates to have the city’s Affordable
Housing Trust Fund receive fees instead of units. These fees can then be used
to purchase existing units in Novato for low and moderate income families who
cannot afford the average Novato home price of $290,000.
NEH is not seeking “maximum growth and density” for its own
sake. On its state record-setting Skylark Meadows ownership project, NEH
reduced the allowable density from 40 to 37.
NEH does not “lobby” at public hearings for “maximum densities”
because we have a sweetheart arrangement” with developers. NEH tries to educate
those who listen at public hearings to the benefits that can result from
providing affordable housing near local jobs, such reducing traffic and
generating tax revenues to the city.
Sometimes NEH explains what larger bodies of government are
doing to increase affordable housing opportunities. For example, the state has enacted legislation requiring local
government to allow density bonuses (within local General Plan limits) to those
who make 25 percent of their new project’s rental units affordable to low and
moderate income households.
On a recent project NEH helped make the Novato City Council aware
of this legislation. Had the city not agreed to approve this project, which was
making 25 percent of its units affordable, an expensive law suit could have
ensued.
Pending state legislation could soon deny certain state funds to
cities who fail to provide their fair share of affordable housing. Because
Novato is not currently providing its fair share of affordable housing, the
city could soon be deprived of critical revenues. As due lowest tax revenue
generator in the nine Bay Area counties, Novato cannot afford to lose such
critical revenues.
Ms. Behm says the city should not be “financially supporting”
NEH because NEH’s support of the Hamilton project showed it was not aligned
with the consensus of the community.” NEH supported Hamilton because it would
have provided:
· 1,600to 1,800 units of
housing affordable to low and moderate income households;
·
an
opportunity to balance jobs/affordable housing in a community where 77 percent
of its employed residents
commute out
of town to work;
·
a
myriad of innovative traffic mitigations programs that several smaller projects
cannot match;
·
a
ridership and consequent economic base that would help make the train
economically viable.
NEH hopes that the Novato community
will support us as we work to fulfill
our mission of helping those of modest means obtain housing. Since the defeat
of the Hamilton project deprived the city of $105 million of redevelopment
agency affordable housing set-aside money, we hope the community will rally to
find other means to help us replace those lost affordable housing funds.
In the last three weeks alone,
127 Novato residents have returned completed applications to NEH as they
compete to purchase 31 assisted units at Partridge Knolls. To most, this should
indicate the overwhelming need for strong community support for an
organization that works diligently to provide more affordable housing.
Verbal proponents of
affordable housing often are the same individuals who in real actions
drastically down zone every project by
playing on the fear that Novato will become another San Jose. Such fear-driven
down zoning usually destroys developers’ attempts to provide affordable
housing. There is no mason to believe that Novato will become a dense ghetto of
poor people.
Look at the housing prices.
Look at the city’s density. According to Novato’s 1981 General Plan, gross residential
density was about four units per developed acre. Today it is about two units
per developed acre.
Most of Novato’s teachers must
commute from Sonoma to their jobs. Doesn’t this suggest why we have traffic
problem? Only one out of 52 Novato police officers can afford to own in
Novato. Aren’t we likely to some day regret this programmed exclusivity?
Incidentally, the one police officer who resides in Novato with his family of
five owns thanks to NEH assistance. Ms. Behm closes by pointing out that Marin
has five affordable housing organizations and Novato’s affordable housing
“funds should be used exclusively to repair or restore affordable housing.” NEH
hopes the community will generate the funds to do that. Purchasing a small
condo or an apartment building to restore takes substantial capital. It is
now difficult to purchase a fixer-upper single family detached house for less
than $200,000 or find a Spartan condo for under $100,000.
What NEH does is difficult and
complicated. NEH has been establishing a model affordable home ownership
program, while simultaneously developing important auxiliary programs that
deal with child care, traffic mitigation, families in transition, rental
referral, joint venture rental projects, land banking, etc. NEH has developed a
variety of approaches because in providing affordable housing NEH must aims a
myriad of emotional, financial and political hurdles.
Nonetheless, in the last three
years, NEH has provided purchase assistance to almost 30 families whose income averaged $20,000 and whose family size
averaged almost three. Many of those families purchased existing homes, so no
new homes were aided to Novato’s existing two units per acre density. Assisting
30 low income families was accomplished with few capital resources, modest
administrative grant assistance and plenty of political resistance.
It is easy to forget the
plight of a single mother if one is fortunate enough to have a secure two-income
family to make the mortgage payment on a nice home obtained years ago. At NEH,
we talk every day with desperate single parents in whose shoes most of NEHs
opponents have never had to walk. Your support of NEH can make the path those
shoes trod just a little mare gentle.