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ABAG o’ troubles in Novato How should suburbs welcome lower-income residents—or will they at all? by Pe t e r S e i d m a n
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volcanic debate in Novato has erupted over how the city should meet its affordable housing obligations. As an example of the volatility of the situation, an email to the Pacific Sun (reproduced here anonymously), reads, “It was standing room only at the Planning Commission meeting tonight—most protesting the plan for a...‘roaches nest’ at Wilson and Novato Boulevard, present site of ‘the Square’ shopping center. It was great to feel that much indignation in one room—add a few pitchforks and torches and it could have been angry villagers storming Dr. Frankenstein’s castle.” The term “roaches nest” points to a fear that the city’s affordable housing policies could attract an unwanted element. The email author also wrote, “Novato commissioners are seeking a short-term gain and will pay for it with the long-term destruction of the town. High density subsidized housing means a huge increase in crime and gang activity.” When a few hundred people show up at meetings to talk about a town’s housing element, city officials take note. So do affordablehousing activists. It’s not unusual for Marin residents to react to affordable-housing goals with these familiar debate points: Affordablehousing units are inappropriate for the character of a neighborhood; they will generate an unacceptable level of traffic and problems.
But in Novato, an undercurrent of bigotry, or as some describe it, classism, has entered the discussion. Certainly not all Novato residents who object to plans for more affordable housing have dark motives to prevent an influx of “the others.” But some do. At the city Planning Commission meeting the above email refers to, a Novato resident rose during open time and explained why he believes the city should back a proposal to put affordable housing in the Hanna Ranch commercial project planned for property south of Vintage Oaks, on the east side of Highway 101. “For most people, their home is the greatest investment they make. If you start to put high-density housing near their homes, people are afraid their housing values are going to plummet. If you go out to Hanna Ranch...you would do a lot better.” But the city determined that the Hanna Ranch development is an inappropriate site for affordable housing. In an update on the issue, city Manager Michael Frank writes that the property is isolated on the east side of the freeway, separated from other residential development, schools and parks. “Because of the nearby freeways, Vintage Oaks and wetlands areas, any housing developed there will be forever isolated from other residential areas.” But that’s just what some residents 10 >
›› NEWSGRAMS Death warrant put on ice In a controversial move that many human-rights advocates see as a temporary victory in the fight to abolish the state’s death penalty, Marin County Superior Court Judge Verna Adams this week upheld the 2007 statewide moratorium on executions. The order was made after San Quentin death row inmate Albert Greenwood Brown was handed his death warrant for Sept. 29. Brown was given the death penalty in 1982 for the rape and murder of Riverside teen Susan Jordan. The temporary ban also indefinitely postpones the lethal injection date for Michael Morales, which was set for Oct. 1. Judge Adams asserts that executions will not resume “unless or until” prison officials are told otherwise. Long considered by death-penalty opponents as an inhumane form of execution, lethal injections were banned in California after a death row inmate’s attorney criticized the injection procedures because they were written without public input. Gov. Schwarzenegger has ordered state Attorney General Jerry Brown to appeal the decision. California is one of 36 states that continue to use capital punishment for extreme crimes.—Dani Burlison Water district barely treading water It’s been a perfect storm of troubles at the Marin Municipal Water District, as cool weather, successful conservation efforts and a bad economy have left the MMWD $2.56 million in the red. In a memo sent this week to staff, district General Manager Paul Helliker mapped out MMWD’s financial situation and warned of the draconian steps regarding salaries and benefits the district may have to take to avoid “going into default.” “Options we have include layoffs, furloughs, salary reductions [they were just raised by 3 percent in July], reductions in MMWD contributions for employee retirement costs,” wrote Helliker in the memo. Helliker explained that the successful conservation efforts, along with an unusually cool spring and summer, contributed to the reduction in revenues. Other factors may include foreclosed offices and homes that are no longer using the county’s water supply. Regardless, MMWD is facing some tough decisions to fill its gap. In order to shave off the $2.56 million, continued Helliker, MMWD would “need to lay off approximately 44 people” or to roll back the July 1 salary increase and then grant two furlough days a month for employees throughout the rest of the year.” Helliker said he’s been in frequent contact with worksite organizers and union stewards about the district’s woes.“We all agreed that we are all in this situation together,” he wrote,“and we need to solve this problem collaboratively.”—DB Landfill hearing postponed A courtroom hearing over the Redwood Landfill’s contested environmental impact report has been postponed to the end of September. Judge James R. Ritchie had originally planned to hear oral arguments about the EIR to expand the landfill on Sept. 1, but the date has been pushed back in order to “allow the judge more time to review the suit given the size of the administrative record, the issues involved and the briefs provided,” according to Bruce Baum, co-chair of No Wetlands Landfill Expansion.—staff report EXTRA! EXTRA! Post your Marin news at ›› pacificsun.com
8 PACIFIC SUN SEPTEMBER 3 - SEPTEMBER 9, 2010