Editor:
The Santa Monica Daily Press recently featured an article that most below-market, rent-controlled units will be flushed out in 15years. In order to supplement the reduction of low-rent units, more development is required through allowing builders to benchmark a percentage toward low-income units in exchange for development. Herein lies the problem for our city:
1) Rent control will no longer needed to control private units since most will be market rate and balance supply and demand.
2) The city officials must craft ways to increase funding to cross subsidize low income housing through more taxes and user fees.
3) The city officials will be pressured to allow out of scale projects to get affordable housing.
The city of Santa Monica is expensive to live in. Allowing overdevelopment to accomplish housing shortages will only diminish our quality of life. Allowing city government to push higher fees on the residents will only make it more expensive. Our Mayor Kevin McKeown on the issue: "When we say we need to create affordable housing, the need is probably near infinite." Therein lies the problem for our city, where everyone wants to live in Santa Monica at a bargain price.
Bob Gomez
Santa Monica
