Dick Spotswood’s columns remain a must-read. His latest is spot on:
“State and local governments should shift their aim to housing for those employed in service and retails industries, plus teachers and public safety workers,” he writes. “To make that happen, the state government needs to be the lead financial partner. Sacramento has a habit of acquiescing to private and public sector interest groups and then dumping the costs of new housing compliance on town and county taxpayers.”
“Legislators – including state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco (aka “Mr. Housing”) and our termed-out state Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Geyserville – need to put up or shut up. They can do so by promoting funding to purchase real estate for their mandated housing. Then it’s the duty of cities and counties in unincorporated neighborhoods to take the political heat by authorizing appropriate housing sites.”
“Yes, more people will add to traffic, consume scarce water and require more public services, including larger schools. That’s an inevitable byproduct of change. There are benefits to a workforce that isn’t compelled to commute daily from East Bay counties with lower housing prices. Having grocery store cashiers, teachers, police officers and firefighters who live and work in the towns they serve outweighs any conceived downsides. Traffic is a plague common to all prosperous suburbs. We’re in fantasyland if we believe that congestion on Highway 101 and Marin’s east-west boulevards will ever evaporate.”
“County supervisors, Transportation Authority of Marin directors and Caltrans need to mitigate the daily slog. As Marin motorists know, much of 101’s congestion is due to the dysfunctional interchange of Redwood Highway to eastbound Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and Interstate 580, which both lead to the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. Any county supervisor who relieves that mess is guaranteed future electoral success.”