Say No To Phony Affordable Housing

[The Straight Story]

Say No To Phony Affordable Housing

On Thursday, April 28, at 6 p.m., the Zoning Adjustments Board will consider a proposal by Hudson McDonald LLC to demolish the one-story strip mall (Kragen, Pet Food Express) on the west side of Martin Luther King Jr. Way between Berkeley Way and University Avenue and replace it with a massive, boxy two-building complex containing 186 apartments and a few tiny retail spaces. (This project was originally proposed by Patrick Kennedy’s Panoramic Interests. Kennedy’s former affiliates Christopher J. Hudson and Evan McDonald took the project with them when they left to start their own firm: see “Reports Cite Chill Between Developer, UC Prof Backer,” August 6, 2004.)

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The primary rationale for setting aside these regulations and policies? The project includes 30 units of--by the state’s definition--affordable housing. By state law, that entitles HMcD to a 25% density bonus. Through creative interpretation of that law, foot-dragging on updating the zoning code with numerical density standards, and the tacit support of a majority of the City Council, Berkeley planning staff have repeatedly managed to turn that into an effective 65 to 100% height and mass bonus.

Perhaps that’s a fair tradeoff. These affordable units would get homeless people off the street, provide better housing for poor families, and give elderly people on fixed incomes a secure place to live--right?

Wrong. First, the rents aren’t below market rate, they’re just at the low end of the market range. According to the state’s perverse calculation of “below market rate” rents, HMcD could charge up to $863 for studios, $925 for one-bedrooms, and $1110 for two-bedrooms. In Craig’s List’s Berkeley rental listings today, I found 65 studios, 35 one-bedrooms, and 12 two-bedrooms offered for less.



http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/article.cfm?issue=04-26-05&storyID=21260