More clarifications regarding falsehoods in historical preservation debate

In our continuing series on dubious statements made during the  March 24 Rules Committee debate on the Schiele Ave. historical designation, our web editor team examines councilmember Arenas' inaccurate comments about the relationships between racism, segregation and home design.

"The single family homes were a way of keeping people of color out of the neighborhood."--Sylvia Arenas, March 24, 2021

Incorrect. The 1920s covenants (which were declared unconstitutional in the 1940s) forbade non-Caucasians from living on the designated properties. But these shameful and unjust restrictions had nothing to do with home design. They applied to single family homes, multi-family homes, duplexes and apartment buildings alike. In fact, there were many single family homes in other areas of the city that housed people of color. And in Garden Alameda, there was no restriction on the type of residential dwelling that could be built on the lot, only that a business could not be “erected or maintain” on the property and no “old house or structure” could be moved upon said property.   And some of the dwellings initially built in Alameda Park were duplexes or had ancillary dwelling units in the back.  Today, at least 20% of the Alameda Park subdivision lots have duplexes, triplexes or ADUs on them  

"I would say {that segregation in the neighborhood} continues to happen, with some exceptions of course. We need to be sure we don't lock in racist policies of the past--segregation and redlining."--Sylvia Arenas, March 24, 2021  

False. The current racial mix of the Garden Alameda neighborhood (which includes the proposed historic district), is roughly identical to the City as a whole, except Garden Alameda has a higher percentage of Black and Mixed Race residents. There is no discernible lingering effect of the covenants that were declared unconstitutional and unenforcable over 70 years ago, and long before any current residents bought properties in the neighborhood.  As such, there are no current segregationist impulses to lock in, rather integrationist realities are the order of the day.  

Follow Opportunity Now on Twitter @svopportunity.