Letters to the Editor 4-21-16

Learn the facts
Editor: My letter is in response to W. Bob Marker’s letter entitled “Housing committee should be unbiased.”
That letter closed with the comment, “The GMO has worked for 16 years. As the old adage says, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
On the contrary, the GMO has had some unfortunate, unintended consequences that have greatly exacerbated Healdsburg’s housing issues. All signs point to the fact that because of our GMO, Healdsburg’s housing shortage has developed into one of the more critical conditions in the state.
Maybe the GMO isn’t broken as far as the original authors and proponents are concerned. The intent of the GMO was to put the brakes on housing developments, an emotional response to a significant increase in housing development in the late 1990s.
It was astoundingly successful in that housing construction has fallen far short of demand ever since. Though today’s housing crisis is exceedingly complex, unquestionably the laws of supply and demand have played a significant role in skyrocketing home prices and rental rates.
Mr. Marker also charged that the members of the Housing Committee must be biased because of their connections, direct or indirect, to the construction industry. The Community Housing Committee was formed with the intent to assist the council and staff with the daunting task of developing a plan to address, or at least positively impact the housing imbalance. Did it not make sense to solicit members who had some experience and expertise in the field in which they were offering advice?
The members of the Community Housing Committee have devoted hundreds of hours over the last year and engaged a host of experts to try to collectively address Healdsburg’s housing challenges. If the committee members truly were motivated by any kind of profit motive, they could have put the same hours into a part-time job, and been much farther ahead (financially).
If you knew these committee members; understood how long they have called Healdsburg home and understood how passionate they were about developing a solution to our housing conundrum – then you wouldn’t dare question their motives or cast dispersions on their character.
I believe that the Community Housing Community realized after a full year of study that the only viable solution to Healdsburg’s critical housing shortage and high cost was to take the bold and courageous step of recommending that a cap on housing starts needed to be removed.
Housing Healdsburg is going to continue to be a most difficult undertaking. Rather than engage in personal attacks against those who have been the most generous with their time and energy as well as solution-focused, I encourage Mr. Marker and all members of our town to learn the facts and understand the factors that have contributed to our current state of affairs. With a fully engaged and informed public willing and motivated to resolve our housing challenges rather than attacking and undermining one another, our odds of success are greatly improved.
Eric Ziedrich
Healdsburg
GMO has not served our community
Editor: I want to thank the Community Housing Committee for their service and time on behalf of our community. I have attended all but the first of their recent meetings and reviewed our current Growth Management Ordinance, plus arguments and articles in favor of and against the GMO. I work for a local nonprofit, but the following views are my own.
I had no opinion about the GMO when I first began attending the meetings, nor did I fully grasp its ramifications. I did and do have concerns about being able to afford to live in this community where I have worked and rented for 20 years, so I started trying to educate myself. After months of reading and listening, I reached the same conclusion that the committee did. The GMO has not served our community well in providing the type of housing that middle and lower income people can afford. Even though affordable housing is exempt from the GMO, most of it in reality gets built as part of other development.
The panel of housing and construction loan experts who spoke at the March 31 meeting ultimately convinced me that the GMO is an impediment to our goals. Hearing their dollars and cents realities of getting projects financed and built was so different from housing theory in the abstract. The builders need economy of scale and/or specific incentives to build projects that don’t lose money. Hearing how Healdsburg’s GMO would be an obstacle for these panelists to build in our community was truly eye opening.
Someone in last week’s Tribune declared that the committee members must be biased because they have “incomes that directly come from growth and development businesses.” I disagree with that characterization of the committee volunteers and their credentials.
I was glad that many of them are not totally removed from construction. To me, that gives them more credibility, not less. Why would we want people who have no background in the realities of construction to debate the subject? The electricians, lumber company owners, architects and contractors who are criticized for “development” ties are the same people who could use these skills to build affordable housing. I think it’s an insult to insinuate that they would sell out their own community because of their “development” ties.
I think they have done a very good job with a very hard task and came to the right recommendation, based on the evidence.
Holly Hoods
Healdsburg
Parking crunch
Editor: I am a regular at the Bear Republic. I visit almost every Monday (my day off from work) for lunch. I show up as close to 11:30, opening time, as I can so I can sit where I want at the bar. Many of my friends that I meet at the Bear have commented that parking is difficult. I have a buddy that has looked for parking and gone home because there is none available. I hear the same thing from employees at the Bear; they come to work at 8:45 a.m. and there is no parking in the lot, and most of the parking on Vine Street is filled. Other customers have told me that parking, or I should say lack of same, has caused them to change their plans.
All of the regulars at the Bear, and the employees that I have spoken with, know that the problem is with SoFi, which employs about 100 people in Healdsburg. I don’t have an issue with SoFi; I know that they are generous to their employees, that they have told their people to park on the street, I even heard that they’ve given their people pedometers and have offered incentives to those that travel the furthest distance from their car to the office.
What I have an issue with is the City of Healdsburg, which already knows that a parking crunch exists, allowing a business like SoFi, with 100 employees, to come into Healdsburg and not have a plan for parking for their employees in place. If a retail establishment wanted to come into the city, I’m certain the parking would be considered before a license was issued. Why can’t SoFi have their employees park at a satellite location and shuttle to work? A business like Bear Republic, with all the tax revenue they generate, should not be ignored.
I would hazard a guess that this is not an issue exclusive to Bear Republic. Other downtown businesses have certainly felt this parking crunch.
Rick Doss
Healdsburg
Open hearts
Editor: Tom Cashman’s memorial on Sunday was a reminder of what I love most about Healdsburg. A behind the scenes kind of guy, Tom was one of those invaluable people who weave the fabric upon which our community is held together. With standing room only, every one of his bosses, and many colleagues, family and friends gathered to sing his praises.
Tom tread lightly on this earth and his impact was profound. His passing is teaching me so much about life, especially in seeing that in giving so much, he was ushered out with an abundance of love and caring. To Jenny, Joel, brother John and the Sheltons, thank you for modeling how open hearts create community. Rest in peace, Tom. The space you leave is far greater than you could have ever imagined.
Marie Gewirtz
Healdsburg
Water rate protest
Editor: Just a reminder that our water rates will be going up again unless enough of us send in our letters of protest by May 2. Our rates have gone up 25 percent since 2012 and will go up another 20 percent over the next four years.
Back in 2012, while residential rates were increased, commercial customers actually saw their rates go down, i.e. a large hotel with restaurant was projected to go from $15,042 per month down to $8,268, a savings of $6,773 per month or about $235,000 over the past four years. As residential customers, we do not get to pass our increases on to tourists or anyone else, at least I don’t.
Commercial uses account for 14 percent of the customers but use 33 percent of the water. So please mail or walk a letter of protest in to the City Clerk soon and come to the public hearing on May 2. Thank you  
Maureen Mousley
Healdsburg