Posted on 01/28/2007 1:45:48 AM PST by Lorianne
A group of residents in the pricey Marin County community of Strawberry are mobilizing against an affordable housing plan by the renowned charity Habitat for Humanity, saying it would blight their neighborhood.
The group is convinced that the plan to build four three-bedroom units of low-income housing in their neighborhood would result in increased traffic and parking congestion and lower property values.
About three dozen residents who live near the proposed construction site -- 16.5 acres just west of the Tiburon city limits -- are attempting to raise $100,000 for legal fees to challenge the project, which still must be approved by the county Planning Commission.
"Habitat for Humanity goes into blighted neighborhoods and fixes them up. Here they are going into an enhanced neighborhood and blighting it," said Bill Duane, a 58-year-old resident of Bay Vista Drive, near the proposed site. "I'm not against low-cost housing, but this is social engineering. The county does not have the right to choose my neighbors."
Such a ruckus is not unusual in Marin, where homeowners have been notoriously hostile to development, especially the kind that threatens to lower the value of their property. But the charity made famous by former President Jimmy Carter would seem an unconventional target.
About 100 Strawberry residents packed a recent Strawberry Design Review Board meeting. They said they support, and in some cases have participated in, the charity's work, but do not believe the development will fit into their neighborhood, where most homes are worth between $1 million and $2 million.
"The homes are of a certain type and would not fit in. The placement of these homes would really stand out," "There are other places in the county where low-cost housing would be more appropriate."
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
"Truth be told, Habitat For Humanity shouldn't try to build in million dollar neighborhoods."
Why not? /s
All the HFH resident has to do is move in, stay a while then sell for a tidy profit, since the area is so desirable. It has the appearance of charity housing program but turns into a charity investment program.
Reading the posts here, it seems that most are unfamiliar with HFH-- I am shocked by the assumptions some posters make. It IS NOT government subsidized, and the residents are obligated to pay the mortgage in full just like anyone else. They get great deals, because labor is provided by volunteers and materials are obtained at great discounts by generous people. HFH does a throrough screening of applicants, and selects those who hold a job responsibly and are willing to undergo training for understanding how to manage their finances. HFH has an unbelivably low default rate (two defaults in the hundreds of thousands of mortgages they have put up around the globe over a twenty-year+ history). Most of the groups funding comes from Christian churches, and the folks who move into the houses are wonderful, greateful people-- typically young families.
"If suburbanites don't want these things, they need to be supportive of a reasonable amount of decent affordable housing in their areas as well."
Written like someone from S.E. DC....oh wait, make that Northwest D.C...
Actually, Marin county, outside of the housing costs, is slightly cheaper than a lot of the Bay Area. So it's probably a good place to put indigent people that want to stay around SF.
Let's create some jobs and housing for illegals up there so the residents can experience the benefits of diversity.
LOL...feel the love.
We don't - they do. It is an individual's responsibility to care for ones' self and ones' family. The primary reason that we have large toxic concentrations of "very poor" is that we, as a society, have chosen the socialist route of paying non-productive people rather than expecting them to earn their way through life. Precious few of those "very poor" are genuinely incapable of providing for themselves.
There are a couple of known "sales" of H4H houses that went to crack dealers.
Perhaps they could specify to hold the crack, just provide cocaine, pot, oxycontin, Special K, Prince Valium, etc., and none of them other "street" drugs?
And maybe if any Kennedys are in the area, Ambien.
LOL. Very funny
More like a machete.
You are correct in that. They already must be employed, have a good credit history (paying bills and utilities on time) and must be able to demonstrate their ability to pay the mortgage off. In addition, they have to agree to put in so many hours - typically 300-500 - of sweat equity in their own home.
Maybe it’s just in this area but I’ve seen some of the HFH homes around here and I’d rather have some of them as neighbors than the white-trash renters that lived next door to me for several years!
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