Twilight Zoning in Bellingham: Who Gets to Speak on the Issue?

Monday, September 24, 2007

Who Gets to Speak on the Issue?

The following anonymous comment was left on the Bellingham Herald site yesterday in response to my column, a copy of which I posted below.

"Yeah, you probably just moved here with the hoardes (sic) of outsiders escalating home prices, bought a house, and now expect the rest of the population to try to find an affordable home? News bulletin: college students do not have the purchasing power of retired people who have prior equity. If they are lucky, mom and dad bought a small house or a condo near the schools. Someday, these students will be homeowners. For now, they need to live somewhere.
native Whatcomite"

My response:

My Dear Native Whatcomite,

The purpose of my column was to initiate a constructive dialogue about a severe problem facing all of us in Bellingham regardless of origins. Your ad hominem remarks are not helpful. [An ad hominem argument, also known as argumentum ad hominem (Latin: "argument to the person", "argument against the man") consists of replying to an argument or factual claim by attacking or appealing to an irrelevant characteristic about the person making the argument or claim, rather than by addressing the substance of the argument or producing evidence against the claim.] If you read my blog at www.zonemaven.blogspot.com, you will find that I am fully supportive of the students finding affordable housing. In fact, it is they, who often have to live in cramped, unhealthy, uncontrolled, de facto rooming houses. They deserve much better. As for native Whatcomites, we all came from someplace else: recent retirees like me, your family, the waves of nomads into the Americas 30-40,000 years ago. Perhaps the salmon are the true natives.

No comments:

The Rationale for Rental Licensing

There is the definitive experience of cities that have already adopted rental licensing and inspections in the face of exactly the same opposition as we saw in Bellingham over the last decade. Ultimately, each of these cities was proven correct in its resolve to move ahead to protect the safety and health of the renters. We already know that the city of Pasco, WA found that 15% of the units inspected under their program had serious life/safety issues. 10% had mold problems. A full 85% had problems of varying degrees. The city of Gresham, OR performed over 1600 inspections in 2009 and issued, as a result, over 4,000 citations. Lexington, KY performed inspections of units near the University of Kentucky and found that 50% had life/safety issues. Sacramento, CA began an inspection program during which one third of the units inspected had serious safety and health issues. The question why does anyone believe that the condition of rental housing here in Bellingham does not mirror that which is found in cities that have the statistics to show that time and time again the condition of rentals in our cities is problematic? All we have had to date from those who oppose licensing are broad statements by the landlords and their paladins that are completely and utterly unsubstantiated. The Zonemaven has searched in vain for the horror stories that these opponents of licensing and inspections have predicted. On the other hand, The Zonemaven did find over 100 cities that have licensing AND inspections without the catastrophic effect for the rental markets that the landlords would have you believe. (See this blog's sidebar at bottom left for list)

One Reason Illegal Rooming Houses Do Not Work

The limit for unrelated persons at a single family home rental is three residents. Leases are signed by three people who then invite additional renters to join them to lower per capita rental rates. The perverse effect is that rental rates tend to rise under these circumstances making it difficult for single families to rent single family homes. Some local rental agencies facilitate this practice.

"To say that a family is so equivalent to a ragtag collection of college roommates as to require identical treatment in zoning decisions defies the reality of the place of the family in American society, despite any changes that institution has undergone in recent years. Only the most cynical among us would say that the American family has devolved to the point of no greater importance or consideration in governmental decision making than a group of college roommates." (Stegeman v. City of Ann Arbor)

That being said, accommodation ought to be made for protected classes, especially non-traditional unions and group houses for the disabled. These classes are laid out in federal and Washington State law.