With nearly every local city’s housing element failing to pass muster with state authorities, I feel for the dedicated rank-and-file city staff who put in hours of work, only to see it come up short. The issue is that they have long been instructed by their leadership, elected officials, and the loudest voices in their communities to solve for the wrong variable. The urgent assignment is to maximize feasible opportunities to provide desperately needed housing, but the unspoken tradition has been to minimize deviations from the status quo.
As we reckon with how the last century of land use policy has led us to a place of scarcity, inequality and environmental degradation, it is clear the old curriculum must go. With a strong and growing movement supporting bold actions in the face of crisis, and a healthy dose of accountability from the state, the moment to start solving for the right variable is now.
Ms Tuzman - perhaps the various jurisdictions need to retrench and examine their mission statements. The 'the old curriculum' needs to be revitalized as most cities around here have lost their compass. What exactly are they they trying to accomplish? It seems most residents are against the unlimited growth, yet everywhere one looks, massive structures are rising out of the ground like mushrooms. Our leadership is simply not in congruence with their constituents.
Thanks for your LTE. It will be challenging to "maximize feasible opportunities to provide desperately needed housing" with so many city councils, up and down the peninsula, focusing on commercial development.
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Ms Tuzman - perhaps the various jurisdictions need to retrench and examine their mission statements. The 'the old curriculum' needs to be revitalized as most cities around here have lost their compass. What exactly are they they trying to accomplish? It seems most residents are against the unlimited growth, yet everywhere one looks, massive structures are rising out of the ground like mushrooms. Our leadership is simply not in congruence with their constituents.
Precisely!
Hi, Karen
Thanks for your LTE. It will be challenging to "maximize feasible opportunities to provide desperately needed housing" with so many city councils, up and down the peninsula, focusing on commercial development.
Welcome to the discussion.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.