ann arbor is overrated.

Suarez on Housing Policy Boards

“Will merging housing policy boards reduce citizen input and further erode affordable housing in Ann Arbor?” councilmember Ron Suarez asks on his blog. This is the first we’ve heard of this, but aren’t those pretty much mutually exclusive outcomes?

30 Responses to “Suarez on Housing Policy Boards”

A comment below by Kate Warner is even more interesting, read in the correct light:

“Most importantly, the proposed merger and transformation would deprive Council of two independent, experienced and representative community bodies that provide valuable citizen review, feedback and oversight for Council when it considers affordable housing and social service projects and strategies. … I believe the benefits lost are too great to warrant the change.”

It really would be a shame to lose that NIMBY feedback whenever the subject of affordable housing or social services comes up.
posted by UM Postdoc on January 8th, 2007 at 3:52 pm e
Frankly, I have found that these “community bodies” have consisted of the same people year after year and they give money to the same non-profits without demanding measurable results in return. We need more accountability to those to whome tax money is given. In the end, it is ultimately City Council’s responsibility, as they have the “power of the purse”, and are acountable to the voters. These bodies are accountable to no one, and they play favorites, shutting out many deserving agencies. I also heard a rumor that the Washtenaw Housing Alliance wants to be put in control of the money from HUD - this is outrageous, as they are particularly accountable to no one - they are self appointed and private. We should be careful here.
posted by justme on January 9th, 2007 at 11:27 am e
It is a weird factor af an Ann Arbor education: one is supposed to face “a context” of existing and entrenched “action groups” that determine one’s fate: by dealing with NIMBY “think global” localists, one is thrown out of Ann Arbor forever or enslaved to it. Wherever you end up, you always recall that they pulled you in, took your money, and gave you “credentials” in return. That’s all you get. Unless you want to play for a lifetime hoping to get a stake.
posted by toasty on January 10th, 2007 at 3:46 am e
(In part response to UM Postdoc) As far as I’m concerned, Kate Warner’s credentials are pretty unassailable. “Read in the correct light”, where “correct” means “accurate” rather than “allowing for maximum contrariness”,

In fact, setting aside all else, opposition from both Kate Warner and Bob Gillete are plenty to convince me that I’m opposed to this idea.

Next…
posted by Murph on January 11th, 2007 at 7:38 pm e
Contrariness aside, I would be interested to hear why you feel so strongly about these two. I was basing my opinion on the fact they Warner said she had served on local boards and used codewords like “input”, “perspective”, and “representation”. I might also have been prejudiced by the letter from Karen Sidney (”developer community”)

Is Warner actually pro-affordable housing? Like she supports building some? Even if it means lowering property values?
posted by UM postdoc on January 12th, 2007 at 12:10 am e
Kate is an emeritus professor from UM’s Urban Planning Department, and has spent a great many years advocating for the creation of affordable housing. Her academic work that I’m familiar with involves attempting to destigmatize “manufactured housing”, and arguing for it as an important part of a community’s housing supply, due to its affordability. She serves now on the board of the Washtenaw Affordable Housing Coalition. Google adds that she was honored in 1996 “in recognition of her vision of affordable housing for all lower income people, no matter their age, as evidenced by over ten years of committed service on the City of Ann Arbor Housing Commission and Housing Policy Board; her state-wide advocacy on the Michigan Housing Coalition; and her pioneering research on safe and affordable modular housing.”

Bob Gillett (misspelled earlier; sorry) sits on the Board of Avalon Housing, sat on the Washtenaw County Affordable Housing Task Force, and is the Director of Legal Services of South-Central Michigan, which provides free legal advice to low-income people in the area. He also sat on the DDA Board for a few years, where I personally witnessed him assailing people for their insufficient consideration of affordable housing.

So that’d be a, “yes, they do actually support creating affordable housing.” If they’re representative of the people serving on these boards, then these boards’ “input, perspective, and representation” can be considered probably the most effective counter available to the “input, perspective, and representation” that you’re opposed to. (As am I.)
posted by Murph on January 13th, 2007 at 9:34 am e
I’ll note that I have no idea who Karen Sidney is. A quick google of the City’s minutes, however, shows umpteen hits of the form, “Karen Sidney, 100 Longman Lane, spoke in opposition of foo”, where foo equals,

* The Calthorpe Plan
* William Street Station (the old Y site)
* The First and Washington proposal
* Broadway Village
* the Park Maintenance and Capital Improvements Millage Proposal
* the Farmers’ Market renovations
* etc.

Unfortunately, the City’s minutes generally don’t provide much detail on public comment beyond “so and so spoke in support/opposition.”
posted by Murph on January 13th, 2007 at 9:41 am e
Yes, I have seen Karen Sidney on TV at meetings, she is against anything the city does as you note and as I recall, is often inaccurate in her claims where budgets are concerned. She has the ear of the news reporter, Tom Gantert who appears to take anyone he can find who opposes the city.
posted by Laura B. on January 13th, 2007 at 3:58 pm e
Here is a simple distillation of the issues as some constituents have described it to me:

* people who oppose the merger support affordable housing for folks who are actually poor

* people who support the merger want to subsidize people who make more than $50,000 a year, which I would equate with a subsidy for the developers (if this is in fact true).

I actually had one of my neighbor’s say that a salary of $70,000 a year in Ann Arbor is poor! I’m now trying to hear from as many people as possible to understand the full implications of merging the boards.
posted by Ron Suarez on January 15th, 2007 at 5:17 pm e
“people who support the merger want to subsidize people who make more than $50,000 a year”

That’s kind of a random claim. Did they offer any explanation for it?
posted by Bruce Fields on January 15th, 2007 at 9:39 pm e
Ron:
I’ve read the proposals. I don’t understand how anyone could think merging or not merging will benefit one income level over another. This looks like a logical streamlining and it goes a long way toward solving the disconnect between housing and the supportive services needed by many of the lowest income residents.

Just how do they say it supports one income level over another?
posted by Laura B. on January 21st, 2007 at 2:22 am e
What is happening with the 1 million dollars for additional housing units?
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Suarez on Housing Policy Boards

30 Responses to “Suarez on Housing Policy Boards”

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