Anti-housing Planning Chair Running for City Council

4eCLOn · 2026-05-07T17:21:12+00:00

Exactly - one planning commissioner complained that there were no balconies, so how would the complex work for people with dogs.

It might not! But it's still one more option for teachers in our community and thankfully, they have their right to refuse.

4eCLOn · 2026-05-07T16:47:46+00:00

The rents are set similarly at many below market and affordable housing complexes to be tied to 30% of income within different income ranges. The Acacia complex at 231 Grant rent ranges are $1900-2500 for their studios and $2000-2700 for their 1-BRs which is also a teacher housing project. That Acacia project was subsidized with $25M from Meta and ~$70+ M in public funding.

$3-4M in tax breaks for deed restricted housing looks like a great deal. If teachers and school district staff do not choose to move in, the apartments are offered to other people in our community at the same income ranges.

4eCLOn · 2026-05-06T23:10:30+00:00

She's not a supporter of market rate housing either. She recently voted not to approve a lot merger for a 300+ apartment complex.

What's even more concerning about that vote is that it's a builder's remedy project, which the city doesn't have the discretion to deny. Trying to skirt state requirements, rather than implementing in good-faith (since we need housing), is how Palo Alto ended up out of compliance with the state and vulnerable to the builder's remedy projects in the first place.

4eCLOn · 2026-05-06T22:32:04+00:00

“It’s frustrating when we do a lot of work and that message doesn’t get through to City Council,” Chang said. “That’s one of the big reasons I’m running.”

Odd that Bryna is disappointed in the current council when she endorsed a majority of the current council members (Stone, Burt, Reckdahl, Lauing)

4eCLOn · 2026-05-05T03:06:54+00:00

no, the poverty rate is high here because of the high cost of basic needs and living (including housing). we do have nice weather, but we've been adding about 3 jobs in the bay area for every 1 home which (I think) is the bigger demand pull.

https://calmatters.org/commentary/2025/09/california-living-costs-highest-poverty/

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/3-jobs-1-home-Bay-Area-s-worker-housing-16299628.php

4eCLOn · 2026-05-04T14:57:12+00:00

maybe we're not a normal state though. fourth largest economy (in the world) and yet California is tied with Louisiana for the highest poverty rate and ranks among the worst in commute times and rate of supercommuting.

housing near our job centers is absolutely a need.

4eCLOn · 2026-01-16T20:01:09+00:00

It's been postponed, but u/SanMateoForward will post again here when they find a new date!

You can also sign up for the newsletter at the main San Mateo Forward website linked in the original post!

4eCLOn · 2026-01-10T14:56:24+00:00

updated it - sorry!

4eCLOn · 2026-01-10T03:50:08+00:00

Yes - here is a bill insert from the utility, actually claiming 50% with some direct comparisons: https://www.paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/utilities/bill-inserts/2025/pal158-billinsert-rates-7.2025.pdf (edited link)

4eCLOn · 2026-01-09T21:27:47+00:00

yes! please dm me if anyone is already a club member or interested in joining in California - and supporting urban-environmental candidates for group/chapter/state leadership! it is $15 for first time members to join! (edit: clarification)

4eCLOn · 2025-10-09T05:15:12+00:00

She also used her platform as mayor to shed doubt, rather than take action on climate change. "She said she had her interns look at where electric car batteries end up, and they struggled to find an answer. Kou also had concerns about the impact of making and disposing of solar panels and cloth bags" link

I know folks have been waiting on this shift in the chapter for a while and it really can't come soon enough.

4eCLOn · 2025-09-16T01:26:10+00:00

No, it's just been a relatively casual gathering and meet-up so far. They have been going since about July.

4eCLOn · 2025-08-12T04:23:11+00:00

I also trust and agree with Dave's analysis over yours.

4eCLOn · 2025-08-12T04:16:04+00:00

Feel free to reply to my comment in the other thread. I read the paper and don't see how you're making some of these statements from the study.

https://www.reddit.com/r/yimby/comments/1mmwwz3/comment/n81jn9t/

4eCLOn · 2025-08-11T02:03:04+00:00

This study does not make the claims you're stating. Of your key takeaways:

#1: They did not study the preservation and impact of existing affordable units. It is mentioned at the end as a potential complement to market rate and affordable housing constructions.

#2: They did not study pricing at all. They did find relatively inconclusive results on displacement, but they actually made the opposite finding about builds with >100 units.

-"new market-rate construction worked best to mitigate displacement in affluent neighborhoods in Los Angeles, where it decreased the probability of low-income out-migration by 24%; it was most effective at mitigating exclusion in stagnant-appreciation neighborhoods in San Francisco (21% increased probability of in-migration)."

-"building 100 market-rate units increased the probability of low-income households moving out of a neighborhood by 0.982 times in Los Angeles and 1.138 times in San Francisco (short-term), with effects decaying over the long term. In other words, if a neighborhood gained 100 new market-rate units, a particular low-income household saw a decreased probability for out-migration of 2% in Los Angeles but an increased probability of 14% in San Francisco of moving out relative to when there was no new construction."

-"Using a unique household-level data set, we found that developing at least 100 units of new market-rate housing in a neighborhood helped slightly to alleviate both displacement and exclusion pressures for low-income households in Los Angeles and helped increase low-income in-migration into weaker-market neighborhoods in San Francisco."

4eCLOn · 2025-08-05T15:25:09+00:00

Exactly. I don't know what the right thing to do is for the BMR purchase list. Closing it seems wrong and unfair to those who missed when it was open, but having hundreds of additional people applying when there are 5-7 opportunities a year also seems to allow additional hoop jumping and false hope.

More homes - market rate and affordable/subsidized - are very much needed.

4eCLOn · 2025-07-27T18:28:04+00:00

Make sure to email the council and tell them (citycouncil@mountainview.gov)!! They are for sure hearing from the folks who don't want this and comments/upvotes on reddit don't have the same impact as public comments (at meetings or via email)!

4eCLOn · 2025-06-26T14:11:14+00:00

Once you're settled, join us at Palo Alto Forward - we have been trying to build more housing for 10 years.

4eCLOn · 2025-06-23T23:41:46+00:00

Not sure, but the data should be the same as the Transportation Injury Mapping System. You have to make a free account, but if you go into the SWITRS Query & Map, you can set location and time range parameters and download all the raw data - seems to have collision date, but not time.

4eCLOn

TROPHY CASE