Resident generated news about Lakewood, Colorado
Resident generated news about Lakewood, Colorado
Social Housing Agenda Exposed
Is new zoning about making it easier for teachers and firefighters to pay for housing? Or is it about making teachers and firefighters pay for someone else? Is housing a commodity or a right? “Social housing” is public housing based on the belief that housing is a right. Information available shows that re-zoning is necessary to implement social housing. Social housing increases the tax burden on the missing middle class by imposing more taxes to fund subsidies. The missing middle is who Lakewood is hoping to convince to support the new zoning, although they may be the ones paying in the end.
There is an overabundance of information to show that rezoning is a failed model, makes housing more expensive, destabilizes neighborhoods, increases environmental concerns, increases homelessness and makes infill conflicts. Increasingly, the counter arguments to support new zoning veer towards personal attacks and bandwagon pleas to look all the money the issue committee raised.
Now a Lakewood resident exposes the “social housing” agenda that requires new zoning as a step along the way to making housing a right.
As reported on nextdoor.com: “At the forum held last Sunday for the Yes and No campaigns, Sophia Mayott-Guerrero (former city councilwoman and manager of the pro-upzoning Make Lakewood Livable campaign) repeatedly referred to proposed development under the new zoning as ‘SUBSIDIZED HOUSING.’ She didn’t misspeak. … Across the country these zoning changes are being promoted as a way to transition to ‘social housing’ and implement what advocates describe as equitable zoning, economic justice, diversity, inclusion, environmental justice, etc. …”
Quotes Exposing the Agenda
Continued from Jenny R.: “Here are just a few short takes from the Alliance for Housing Justice. They have a toolkit for state-level advocacy for zoning reforms.”
“Mission: ….shift the narrative from housing as a commodity to a human right” (https://www.allianceforhousingjustice.org/about)
“Equitable Zoning Reform: Tackling Exclusionary Zoning reform has the potential to greatly advance racial and economic justice” (https://www.allianceforhousingjustice.org/equitable-zoning).
“While our goal is for everyone to one day have the option to live in social housing, people with the lowest incomes have the fewest choices and should be prioritized, and public funding should be targeted to support them” (https://www.allianceforhousingjustice.org/us-social-housing-principles)
“A future in which everyone is provided with social housing. What a nightmare. They will eventually run out of other people’s money.
“Here is another gem, endorsed by 9to5 Colorado and Colorado Homes For All https://www.housingjusticeplatform.org/our-platform : – Social housing under community ownership and control, with adequate Federal funding to subsidize – Full eligibility for housing resources, regardless of immigration status – A federal prohibition on single-family and other exclusionary zoning laws”
These quotes may explain why Lakewood Mayor Strom said zoning does not create any new home ownership opportunities. Home ownership, the American Dream, is now cast as an evil commodity that should not be encouraged.
As Jenny shows, the agenda is not hidden, it’s written on public websites. You just have to know where to look.
Council Not Hiding Subsidies Are The Goal
Mayott-Guerrero previously said that the new zoning wasa developer handout in and of itself. She said there were plans to leverage the code to apply for government subsidies.
Those subsidies do not benefit the missing middle like teachers or firefighters, as shown by @DoBetterDNVR below. In fact, when taxes go up these families have a harder time paying bills. Note that Lakewood is currently proposing to raise sales taxes after eliminating TABOR tax refunds.
Many City Council Members argue that the new zoning is needed in order to get government funding. There have been references to next steps, although city officials are not publicly sharing those steps. Similar to how Lakewood worked quietly in the background for years to start the Navigation Center.
Summary
How city zoning can affect affordability has always been a mystery. Zoning does not affect building costs. Density without planning isn’t affordability. It’s just chaos with good intentions.
Exposing the deeper agenda provides a background for why City Council would pass a resolution of support for high-density zoning, even before the new zoning was written. The particulars didn’t really matter. The agenda does.
And the agenda might mean getting people to pay for other people’s housing, rather than getting more affordable housing themselves.