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Hi,
We received the pamphlet about the Housing Element Update and read it through. We won’t be able to participate this coming Saturday at the community meeting, so I wanted to share some comments with you and ask a few questions.
There is definitely a need for affordable housing. I also think it is good to be looking at multiple solutions.
ADU’s are a good example of adding housing in existing neighborhoods without dramatically changing the feel and atmosphere of an area. This is an especially good option for families that want to live with multi-generations.
I see that there is considerable consideration for low to very low income families. I hope the need for affordable housing for middle income working people such as teachers is also included. I also didn’t see any specific mention of affordable housing for seniors.
Perhaps these are details that you just didn’t include in the flier.
I think mixed use projects are a good idea.
I was very concerned when I noticed that the downtown parking lots where included as housing opportunity sites! One of the best things about our downtown is that we have convenient parking, as well as enough of it to help make dining and shopping there a pleasurable
experience. Taking parking away without replacing it with something like a parking structure would be a huge mistake! I would think the downtown business owners would be very unhappy with such a great loss in accessibility to them. We need to be supporting
our local businesses, not making it harder for them to be successful.
In looking at parking in general, with the amount of new units projected, what is the plan? Will we continue to have the restriction on overnight street parking? Will we need to institute a permit parking system similar that that in Palo Alto? Will new projects
be required to make sure there is enough parking for the residents? Im not sure we want streets lined with cars, but that is a possible reality with this kind of proposed growth that needs to be considered with workable solutions.
I’m wondering if rent control might help with the issue of affordability. Perhaps if current rents could be more in line with what working people can afford, we wouldn’t need the amount of building proposed.
I think this is probably a Bay Area/state wide issue, but with up to 4,000 new units being built in our community alone, what is planned for the infrastructure to support that growth? Not just around traffic and public transportation, but how our local schools
will be supported with what would be likely a large increase in student population, etc. I’m particularly concerned about where the water will come from. High density growth without considering the environment realities we are facing in California doesn’t
seem wise. The climate has changed. Water is going to be more and more of an issue for us. I do think we can add needed housing and consider how to minimize the effects of that addition at the same time, but it will take a lot of work and creativity.
Thank you!
David Eckert
20 Willow Rd #19
