Letters for November 1, 2018

Re: “You better f@%#ing vote!” by SN&R staff (Opinion, October 18):

Sacramento is facing a critical shortage in affordable housing. As our region continues to grow, absorbing thousands of people who are seeking a more affordable alternative to the Bay Area, we have seen rents and home prices increase dramatically, placing pressures on families and others struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living.

Now, we face a new threat on the November ballot, Proposition 10, that would make it harder to build new affordable units and make our statewide housing crisis worse. Prop. 10 would create a series of new rules and regulations that would make it difficult to include affordable units in new developments. Builders rely on rents from market-rate units to help subsidize price-controlled units in the same development project.

As the state cuts billions for affordable housing, mixed-use projects like the Hardin Building, which includes 60 percent affordable units, and the WAL project in downtown Sacramento were creative alternatives, conceived in partnership with affordable housing builders, city leaders and community activists to ensure new development was not only catering to those at the top of the economic ladder.

But the price caps permitted in Prop. 10 could make those mixed-use projects untenable for local housing builders, and further restrict our already severely limited supply of affordable housing. Adding another layer of regulation and bureaucracy will only drive up the cost of building new housing, and make it harder to offer new units at prices that low- and middle-income Californians can afford.

We all agree that California is in the midst of a critical housing shortage and affordability crisis, and that we may need to make some changes to protect current renters. But Prop. 10 is a flawed measure that would make worse many of the problems the measure claims to try to solve.

Steven Maviglio

via email

Trans in the light

Re: “Support trans rights,” by Rachel Leibrock (Editor’s Note, October 25):

People aren’t hiding it—that’s what’s changed.

Tom Wendel

Sacramento

via Facebook

Alt news, alt uses

Re: “SN&R monopoly” (Letters, October 18):

The SN&R is an alternative newspaper—that is, it presents an alternative position from the long established conservative [Sacramento] Bee. That it has a monopoly in this position is no fault of its own. Its employees present their own point of view … Just like the delete button on your computer, you can refrain from picking up this free newspaper if it bothers you so much. And of course it’s an equal opportunity employer. But most of all I wish to say that I personally know quite a few older, more conservative friends who never dreamed of picking up such an alternative version of the news until their physicians advised them to try cannabis for the pain of cancer. The maps and information in the N&R were an invaluable help for these people.

Noni Chinery

Sacramento

via sactoletters@newsreview.com

Correction

The 2018 general election guide (“You better f@%#ing vote!”, October 18) incorrectly endorsed Measure L, a ballot measure that was voted on and passed in 2016. SN&R regrets the error.