Our goal at Community Not Commodity has been to shine a light on city government, particularly as it affects households and neighborhoods across the city. We’ve worked hard to keep you informed about the reality of city policies, not just the city’s narrative.
We see a city council that made a conscious decision to significantly deregulate zoning and land development. In doing so, they abdicated their responsibility to protect the community from market-driven excesses. They have repealed or relaxed protections against incompatible development, localized flooding, loss of tree canopy, and displacement of vulnerable communities. To accomplish this deregulation, they violated the law and their own rules of procedure, ignored the community, diminished public participation, and abandoned community planning.
A recent example is the HOME ordinance – a mass rezoning of single-family lots that increased the market’s control over neighborhoods. The community broadly opposed this action as an ill-conceived proposal being rushed to passage without public involvement or considering its consequences. As a result, the ordinance’s footing is precarious because it is inconsistent with the City’s comprehensive plan – a state law and city charter requirement – and is subject, like its predecessor ordinance, to revision, repeal, or replacement by this or a future council. Given the ordinance’s adverse consequences for households and neighborhoods and its inability to produce affordable housing, it will not stand as passed.
We can build a brighter future only if we understand where we are and how we got here. We must reach for community-based solutions grounded in truth and forged through dialogue, with good community planning and a regulated marketplace. We must not only encourage but also value and rely on community participation. In this way, we will create policy solutions worthy of the community and equitable for all.