Comments by JHL
Posted on October 22 at 10:38 a.m.
I'd go for high density down town if the residents agreed to own less cars and live the smart growth dream of life within walking distance. Don could have his high density property rights living happily in the hive and I could choose the option I preferred too. Of course I'd rather not have to pay for his lifestyle or ask him to pay for mine.
Posted on October 22 at 7:46 a.m.
Did you miss the article where designers conceded they could not produce high density units while meeting city parking requirements? And there's no room for their cars!
The population of SB is now stable so do we need more units? The population of many states is declining so choice is a big factor. Building cheap units will of course make more people decide to live here. And finally, will someone please give us the true cost of affordable units, not just the initial buy in but the ongoing subsidy to pay for the mortgages and upkeep. It must be substantial.
Posted on October 11 at 4:43 p.m.
If I pay premiums based on a payout of X then when my house burns why do I have to prove the value of what I lost?
Shouldn't I just receive X with no questions asked?
And why does the bank get to hold my insurance money and collect interest on it until I use it. A million bucks for a year produces a LOT of interest!
Posted on October 10 at 7:37 a.m.
I think there is a certain profile of person who owns a pit bull.
Obviously I'm speaking of a percentage of owners, not all the owners. They own this dog for reasons other than it's sweetness or companionability. My guess is that this type of owner has no problem abandoning the dog when they want to.
Chihuahuas filled the other half of the binder with pics of dogs needing homes when I was last at the vet.
What I'm saying is that society is having to clean up the mess of an irresponsible group of people whose profile includes owning these dogs.
Posted on September 29 at 8:14 a.m.
I've tried raising rents and in the last seven years it hasn't flown. Nobody calls. Point being that landlords don't set rents. Demand sets rents. Landlords only have the power to rent below the market and if you have a landlord like that then by all means thank them for the gift they are giving you every month.
In addition, all of a landlords expenses have risen in those seven years, utilities, gardeners, tradesmen, building materials. Landlords, like all other business people are hurt by this economy.
Posted on September 24 at 9:20 a.m.
Opposing growth has nothing to do with opposing new comers to this community! There are just as many homes for sale and for rent now as there were when we all moved here.
And cost for this housing is down! The Nimby argument just doesn't hold water. If Steve is talking about subsidizing newcomers with taxpayer money then call me a Nimby. In the normal free market, how many units would you need to add to the housing stock to actually make prices drop permanently? The only thing that would make housing costs lower would be to increase density so much that SB becomes
A less desirable place to live and pressure drops. Is that what you really want Steve?
Posted on September 23 at 5:11 p.m.
Strolling at Hendrys last week I saw at least fifteen bags in the quarter mile just east of the parking lot. Blew me away!
Posted on September 22 at 9:19 a.m.
No expert but here but Towbes' rental units may not be representative of the rest of the city. They are managed quite rigorously. Very clean, tidy, Stepford if you will. The point being that a larger, poorer group of folks with multiple low wage earners and multiple cars wouldn't last 5 minutes in a Towbes unit. There would be no way to police an owned unit like Towbes does with his rentals.
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Posted on October 23 at 8:39 a.m.
Supply and demand 1A. Putting a thousand new rental units on the market on the same day would make rents go down but only temporarily. Eventually the desirability of the area would produce the same demand we have now and rents would again be higher here than they are in areas of lower desirability. Affordable condos would be snapped up by the few lucky lotto winners and the rest would be where they are now but with more crowded streets, restaurants, hiking trails, bike paths, schools, beaches.....
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