By ZELDA BRONSTEIN
If you were looking for an event that epitomizes the neoliberalization of the University of California, you’d be hard pressed to top the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies’ 2022 Lake Arrowhead Symposium.
It’s a public school using public money, but we can’t find out even basic information about the Lake Arrowhead housing conference, where reporters have to sign a gag order.
A weeks-long Housing Is A Human Right investigation has found that Los Angeles Times housing reporter Liam Dillon participated in at least 20 real estate industry events since 2016, committing numerous conflict-of-interest breaches and possibly other ethical violations. The integrity and impartiality of Dillon and the L.A. Times have been seriously compromised – and a full, transparent investigation must be carried out.
Let’s indulge in a fantasy. Imagine the California legislators and bureaucrats working on housing could see eight years into the future, when the next set of housing element plans are due. Maybe they can see 16 years into the future for the deadline after that.
Instead, we must face reality: A political steamroller is coming from Sacramento to deny local input on housing with the theory that any kind of housing is always good. And those driving that steamroller will tell you they know best.
To hear Sasha Zbrozek tell it, the story behind his plans to tear down his four-bedroom house in tony Los Altos Hills and replace it with an apartment complex is a simple tale of a young man’s California dream home being ruined by the region’s notorious red tape — and his decision to “rage against the machine.”
A nonprofit organization that has sued more than a dozen California cities — including two in Marin — over their housing elements is financed and controlled by the California Association of Realtors.
Californians for Homeownership has pending actions against Novato and Belvedere that were filed on Jan. 25. Fairfax is facing a similar suit that was filed Feb. 7 by a separate group, Yes In My Back Yard, a nonprofit housing advocacy organization.
Hoping to build on an effort to get much-needed affordable housing approved across California, Sen. Scott Wiener on Monday announced plans to expand a contentious state law that forces cities to approve certain projects.
Senate Bill 35 — one of Wiener’s signature achievements — shook up the state’s building process when it was passed in 2017, and sparked intense pushback from some city leaders and residents.