Scuttlebutt: Too Many Thoughts
Wait a second... I have to turn down the radio. The jazz station I listen to is playing Charles Lloyd's classic “Forest Flower”, recorded live at the 1967 Monterey Jazz Festival. It is dominating my concentration, but it isn't just the power of that recording that is disrupting my thinking. I have too many things running through my head right now.
Writing a monthly column should seem pretty simple; after all, its only once a month and surely I should be able to come up with something informative that interests me enough to be able to write 1000 words about it.
The thing is, once a month isn't often enough for me to create a rhythm. Some months columns just write themselves and I think how lucky I am to be able to do this. Other months I'm too busy to even think about writing and suddenly Dolly, my publisher, is emailing me to remind my column is due.
This month is different . I have too many thoughts to be able to pick one. The world is going to hell at an accelerating pace. I can think of ten topics that I see in some form of crisis, but how to you pick one to prioritize? Trump has thrown our country into the garbage can and even once we get rid of him, we are a long, long way from even getting back to where we were much less where we need to be.
One of my go-to topics is often recycling, yet the news there is nothing short of depressing. Fewer and fewer items we use everyday are recyclable for a rat's nest of reasons. California just passed what they tout as a big new recycling law about single use plastics. I read the bill (ugh) and came away thinking that all they are doing is tinkering with the notion of recycling more plastic. Meanwhile the plastics industry has plans to double their annual production in 5 years. How about not making the crap to begin with? Yet there are knuckleheads out there saying they can't use a paper straw! Well, they didn't have any plastic straws when I was growing up and, surprise surprise, we were able to finish our milk shakes every time!
How is it that it takes a 16-year-old girl to begin to galvanized the world around climate change? The simple thing to do is to focus on individuals and so she is being exalted for her efforts, yet she replies, “I don't want your praise, I want your panic!”. If there ever was a T-shirt, that is it.
The housing/homeless crisis is beyond ridiculous. We live in a society that cannot even figure out how to house its population. 38 percent of California’s 18 to 34-year-olds still live with their parents, according to U.S. Census data. 130,000 Californians are living on the street. The state estimates that we need to build 180,000 homes annually just to keep up with projected population growth and keep prices from escalating further out of control. Unfortunately, for the past 10 years, the state has averaged less than half of that. In no year during that span did California crack the 100,000 barrier. Standing in the way of solving this problem are zoning restrictions, lengthy project design reviews, the California Environmental Quality Act, parking and other amenity requirements, and multi-hurdled approval processes. Funny thing is, these steps were all created to benefit the public, but instead we have made a situation where you must either live in a ideally designed structure or live in your car or under a bridge. There is no middle ground.
Point Arena is being dragged into this issue by state mandates for a housing element to their general plan that includes creating low and median income housing, virtually none of which exists. In fact the draft housing element says 1.1% of local housing is low income.
I read the 124 page draft housing element. OK, I skimmed much of it, as will most members of the city council.
You can't blame them,though. Much of it is repetitious with enormous amounts of data reconfigured is various ways. It provides plenty of ideas to “promote”, but offers few ways to achieve those goals, much of which relies on government grants and programs. It does provide such illuminating information as this: 34% of Point Arena households have a “burdensome” housing cost (30% of gross income). They go on to reveal that these folks “are more likely to become homeless or experience overcrowding.” Wow!
The plan states “There are approximately 39 extremely low income households in PA accounting for just over 22 percent of households.” They then go on to say, “There are limited opportunities to address the housing needs of extremely low‐income households in Point Arena.” Given the obstacles to people providing shelter for themselves, this should not be a shock to anyone.
The one serious possibility I see includes the notion of exploring the idea of Class K housing types and tiny houses, yet this received exactly one sentence in the 124 page report.. Apparently the current zoning ordinance doesn't even allow mobile homes. Otherwise, suggested changes in zoning includes such revolutionary ideas as “During next 8 years explore idea of reducing required parking to one parking space.” That will get people lining up to build new houses.
Another idea the draft element suggests “exploring” is forcing developers of planned developments to include 20% low and moderate income units. That sounds fine, except that it means the other units have to be more expensive to make up for developer losses, because you shouldn't think for a second that the city will make it cheaper to build these units. The developer must eat the loss or raise the cost of the other units.
Why is building in Point Arena (and the rest of the state) so costly. Start with the fact that a Coastal Development Permit review averages $2290. This is a function that has previously been done by the City Council sitting as the Planning Commission, so it had no cost. Now the city has an outside planner that charges $68/hr to scrutinize plans for some detail that will justify their need.
Though most parcels in the city have a water line running next to them, a water connection fee is $20,000.
Mendocino County Council of Governments (MCOG) prepares and updates the Mendocino County Regional Housing Needs Plan. They state that Point Arena should plan to build 9 low income units in the next 8 years. Here comes the next building boom!
