☆ Opinion: Batra and Doan are right; Math doesn't check out on SJ's homeless housing plan
Laurent de La Hyre: Allegory of Arithmetic, 1650. Image in Public Domain
Local housing provider Roberta Moore concurs with SJ Councilmembers Batra and Doan, who criticized our countywide Plan to End Homelessness as wildly unsustainable at $1.2–1.4 million/unit, adding up to a brutal $15 bn price tag. Rather than perpetuate reckless and ineffective gov't spending, Moore argues SJ's Housing Dept and its regional partners must prioritize "meaningful results." An Opp Now exclusive.
Our Housing Dept needs new leadership that's focused on meaningful results. What they've been doing is mostly lose-lose and clearly not accomplishing the stated objectives.
One example of “lose-lose” can be found through the promise of rent control to keep rents low. Since the City’s changes to rent control (which included reducing the maximum allowable increase, eliminated utility billing pass through, and eliminating banking of rent increases), rents have more than doubled, and the costs to small housing providers have quadrupled. The only beneficiaries are the 23 people hired by the City to monitor these rentals.
Remember, the City’s Housing Department recommended these changes to Council with the promise of keeping rents low. And instead, they had the opposite result. Proposed policies (including COPA, Seismic Retrofit, and Tenant Protection Act) will also have the opposite result if passed.
The Dept's legacy has failed miserably, and it's disappointing to see that these ideas are still being supported by the City of San Jose. As brought up by Councilmembers Doan and Batra in the last Council meeting, we're continuing to chase these costly but ultimately ineffective solutions. Our 2020–2025 Plan to End Homelessness, for instance, is a ridiculous waste of money. Most of it should be put towards interim shelter and wraparound supportive services, assuming people are going to get back on their feet (as emphasized by CM Batra). From there, the people who legitimately can't be self-sufficient should be funded by the County; that's their job, not San Jose's.
Related:
In which up is down: Local housing advocates claim increasing homelessness a sign of success
Local battle against homelessness mustn’t disregard property rights, say experts
Will SCC’s homeless high school senior payouts backfire? Economist expresses worries
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