[Vision2020] Affordable Housing

[J Ford]

Shelly, how you must just HATE the taste of the truth!

The "development" that you are involved with Mike Hoffman and Doug Wilson (sorry, Matt - you're out) is a sham and you know it.  The "LOTS" are going for anywhere between $56k and $59k...that's right - the LOTS are that high.  AND, supposedly, 8 of them are sold already.  Again, this is just the cost of the LOT!!!!!  Affordable to whom, Shelly!?  Doug?  How about you, Mike?  And just who is it that "bought" these lots?  Bet the State Realty Commission would LOVE to see the paper-work on that one.

When this "development" was first brought to the City, it was going to be a retirement community for people over 55 - Mike had nice pictures, depicting the houses, the landscape, the GATE that would keep others NOT in the "retirement" community out....but that has quickly gone by the - well, heck...with the mud slide that is now the "La Moscow Mud Pits of N Polk"; 5 months into the "project" and the only thing accomplished is the ridiculous selling price of what amounts to unusable and unsafe dirt piles.  Ok, ok....its been fun seeing Doug scrambling, slipping and sliding to his door from his car that HE HAS TO PARK UP THE HILL FROM HIS HOUSE BECAUSE HE HAS NO DRIVEWAY LEFT!  

As for "this City Council and Mayor" - it was your good pal Comstock and his bunch in office when your other "affordable housing" projects were APPROVED despite the many objections of the citizenry of Moscow and the neighbors you were going to build next to (anyone remember the Mt. View mess? - Well its moved to N Polk and grown considerably messier and unsafe!)  THIS Council and Mayor have only been in office a very short time (Well, ok - the Mayor was on the Council before she became Mayor.  But let's see - three of the Council weren't in office at the time you came before them with your money schemes.)

Affordable housing is not a pipe-dream that is unattainable...except if you are Shelly Bennett, Doug Wilson or Mike Hoffman who are the "developers" of said housing.  Other communities, towns, cities in the immediate area have housing that starts BELOW the $350k mark and all without lieing to their respective councils or citizens about what the project really is and who its really for.

I'd LOVE to see Hoffman, Bennett or even Wilson justify the cost of this development and the reason behind the change of the project's aim - that of giving "senior citizens" more "affordable housing" in Moscow that just happens to be in a "safe and secure community" behind a gate.

I know it won't happen - But! I'd love to see them try.

J  :]



> Date: Wed, 31 Oct 2007 15:19:40 -0700
> From: joekc at adelphia.net
> To: vision2020 at moscow.com
> Subject: [Vision2020] Affordable Housing
> 
> In her recent letter to the editor, Shelley Bennett writes this about development:
> 
> "... in order to get companies to locate in Moscow, we also need affordable 
> housing options and support services that make living here affordable. The 
> actions of the current mayor and many members of the City Council have 
> done everything they can over the course of the last few years to make sure 
> we do not have affordable housing options."
> 
> I don't know much about affordable housing. What I do know, I learned from 
> Aaron Ament, who is a City Council member, and Bob Stout, who served 
> longer on City Council than Tom Lamar. Bob was in favor of affordable housing, 
> it was a key issue in his campaign two years ago. Aaron, too, is in favor of 
> affordable housing. I have little reason to believe that Lamar, or Linda Paul, 
> or Evan Holmes would not be in favor of affordable housing.
> 
> I have two questions.
> 
> Is what Bennett says true? Has the council made affordable housing options worse?
> 
> Doesn't affordable housing begin at the point of development? 
> 
> I think so. I think that the developer has a lot more control over costs 
> than any city council, especially if we're restricting government in the way 
> that Jeff thinks we should. The difference in the cost of a single house with 
> city fees vs. without them is negligible, I imagine.
> 
> But maybe there is something I'm missing.
> 
> Best, Joe
> 
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