Magical thinking: It's an Oregon thing
The disgraceful normalization of street squatting in Oregon's cities has created a crisis that now serves as a convenient cover for all sorts of bad moves on the part of state and local government.
Resting on the dubious premise that the problem is a lack of cheap apartments, the state has now outlawed single-family zoning and is about to force cities to build cr-apartments, or else. And one of the first commands out of the governor's mouth as she took office was to divert nine figures to the apartment developers and construction goons.
But funny thing: Today we learn that most Oregonians don't want any of the resulting schlock built anywere near them.
Only a quarter of Oregonians want to increase home construction in the community where they live, according to an online survey of 500 Oregon residents conducted by Portland polling firm DHM Research from Feb 24 to March 1. In comparison, 40% want to slow home construction in their community, while 28% believe the rate of construction where they live should remain the same.
Oregonians expressed similar opinions when asked about the state as a whole. Only 29% said that the rate of home construction should increase across Oregon, while 35% said they wanted to see home construction slow and just over a quarter said they wanted the production rate to remain the same.
Well, good luck with that, neighbors. The "Housing First" weasels are in charge, and you are getting poor people in housing projects near you, whether you like it or not. Only the über-über-rich will be able to hide in places like Dunthorpe and Council Crest.
You can't have it both ways. If you elect the Vegas and the Rubios and the Koteks and the Dembrows and the Fredericks and the Liebers, you are going to have your neighborhood "infilled." And you did elect them, now, didn't you, so enjoy.
More apartments will do little to solve the tragedy on our streets. The fact that nobody wants these projects nearby makes them an even worse idea. But they are coming. Too bad.
PS: And you are paying for them!
ReplyDelete“We” did elect them. But, only because competent candidates didn’t want to get near the cesspool that’s developed in Oregon politics.
ReplyDeleteIs that “fully” 40% or just 40%?
ReplyDeleteDon't worry. If the Oregon legislature passes its current plans for creating more housing and the Governor signs them into law, it's likely few Oregonians will see changes to their neighborhoods or communities.
ReplyDeleteThat's because, forgetting the failures of the utopian experiments in the Soviet Union, Salem appears poised to set up a command economy for housing. The State of Oregon will set the production target, and it will be up to the state's municipalities to jigger and streamline their bureaucracies to make them more inviting to developers. Should say, Portland, fail to meet its target, the State will penalize the city.
Hands up if you can identify the missing piece. Yes, that's right: the legislature's plan leaves out the developers, lenders, contractors, suppliers, construction workers and, last but certainly not least, the would-be home buyers - in short, the entire supply and demand side of the housing market.
In some places that's called magical thinking.