[StBernard] Lawyer for the development company

Westley Annis Westley at da-parish.com
Wed Apr 29 23:41:27 EDT 2009


Oh yes SJK! That's why I said I hope every council member will read this.

He was a lawyer, then went into the slum apts. business himself and then
went back to the law firm he was first with.

I think it will be worthwhile for our council to see what this guy is all
about.

JY



-----------------------------------------------------
The article shows, at least to me, that these developers have played
us from
the very start with their Fair Housing Card and that no matter what
our
local codes are, they seek exemption and special treatment. It may
be time
to get a permit to shake the cans at intersections to raise money to
fight
Mr Voelker's anticipated appeals. Appeals which may keep him and
developers
wealthy while doing little to address the needs of the target
population of
the housing projects. ---- SJK.


http://www.prrac.org/pdf/Voelker.pdf
Page 9 of 10


Many of the articles on dealing with NIMBY recommend
educating the homeowners and politicians on the societal benefits of
affordable housing, and countering
their objections, point-by- point: multifamily generates less
children than
single family, so impact on
schools is minimized; apartments have fewer cars per residence than
single
family, so that traffic is not
increased; the City needs a place for its school teachers,
firefighters,
policemen; etc. Certainly, all of
these statements are true and helpful up front. However, no amount
of logic
will persuade homeowners
who are emotional and oftentimes irrational, and the developer will
find an
ever-expanding list of
rationales for keeping affordable housing out of their neighborhood.
Faced
with a rising tide of voter
opposition, politicians will typically seek to pacify the
homeowners/fellow
citizens of the City. When the
Page 10 of 10
momentum starts to run against the development, and one or more of
the
politicians starts to take up the
homeowners' cause, the likelihood of turning the situation around
with
education on the benefits of
affordable housing is slim at best, and once the first official
action is
taken, the developer needs to boldly
discuss Fair Housing rights and obligations with the City attorney
and the
City's insurance company.





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