wow this got long, but I'm in Denver and we have like 4 ballot measures to vote on that revolve around this issue of race, class, development. Specifically Apartment Prohibition!! If anyone is interested.
--
denver is going to vote on a ballot measure soon to repeal the repeal of apartment prohibition and I feel it is similarly driven by race & class bias, driven by largely white home owners who literally say they want to protect their wealth (below).
Our city council only recently changed zoning to allow an increase from only 2!!! non-related adults living in the same place to 5. It's crazy to me that was ever a limit in the first place.
No 3 bed apartments for non-blood relatives?!
The old zoning that was fixed also made it harder and limited certain types of group homes, rehabs etc too, especially the number of and locations.
One of the filers of this repeal said the following in a press article - clear intent imho.
“This affects their very wealth. Their very wealth,” said George E. Mayl, one of the five voters who officially filed to create a referendum committee. “And not only that, their children’s, their heirs’ wealth. Someone’s home is their single largest investment of their life.”
also the way they use 'neighborhood' to me is not so veiled language in the context of race and class - just like the many policies and laws in the past. It's used as a rhetorical excuse just like 'protecting the kids' is often used.
Similarly like Trump & Reps in 2020 made 'protect the suburbs from' or 'border invasion' a key message.
There are another 2 housing measures on the ballot that are competing.
A big developer spent like $20 million or something to buy rights for a golf course in the city that they want to develop.
They bought it with a green space park easement... But to be profitable they have to repeal the easement so they can built over the park. They gambled on their power to change the law.
So they filed a measure to allow them to build more (to be fair they still plan on having a park, but less green space than currently protected in an easement).
So now there is a competing measure in response to protect the park.
I'm for it we don't have a ton of open green space in Denver and we can't build more. Let's change laws and remove red tape to build UP.
What happens if they both pass? who in the world will be able to decipher the two when voting?
And what does it say that corporations & white homeowners consistently and so plainly manipulate the law directly for their bottom line (oil and gas is a big one here)?
Another one on the ballot around homelessness. HUGE problem, we have tents in residential neighborhoods and lots of theft.
But it's pretending to address the problem while really making more laws and regulations to criminalize homelessness and disallow solutions.
They're so brave to invest in allowing homeless to sleep in parking lots lol...
While simultaneously making it harder to create group living and the rehab that a ton of homeless individuals would greatly benefit from.
Thankfully we do have some push by Rep. DeGette and a few others to buy old motels. That's a good investment and would actually help.
Our city council only recently changed zoning to allow an increase from only 2!!! non-related adults living in the same place to 5. It's crazy to me that was ever a limit in the first place.
No 3 bed apartments for non-blood relatives?!
The old zoning that was fixed also made it harder and limited certain types of group homes, rehabs etc too, especially the number of and locations.
One of the filers of this repeal said the following in a press article - clear intent imho.
“This affects their very wealth. Their very wealth,” said George E. Mayl, one of the five voters who officially filed to create a referendum committee. “And not only that, their children’s, their heirs’ wealth. Someone’s home is their single largest investment of their life.”
also the way they use 'neighborhood' to me is not so veiled language in the context of race and class - just like the many policies and laws in the past. It's used as a rhetorical excuse just like 'protecting the kids' is often used.
Similarly like Trump & Reps in 2020 made 'protect the suburbs from' or 'border invasion' a key message.
There are another 2 housing measures on the ballot that are competing.
A big developer spent like $20 million or something to buy rights for a golf course in the city that they want to develop.
They bought it with a green space park easement... But to be profitable they have to repeal the easement so they can built over the park. They gambled on their power to change the law.
So they filed a measure to allow them to build more (to be fair they still plan on having a park, but less green space than currently protected in an easement).
So now there is a competing measure in response to protect the park.
I'm for it we don't have a ton of open green space in Denver and we can't build more. Let's change laws and remove red tape to build UP.
What happens if they both pass? who in the world will be able to decipher the two when voting?
And what does it say that corporations & white homeowners consistently and so plainly manipulate the law directly for their bottom line (oil and gas is a big one here)?
Another one on the ballot around homelessness. HUGE problem, we have tents in residential neighborhoods and lots of theft.
But it's pretending to address the problem while really making more laws and regulations to criminalize homelessness and disallow solutions.
They're so brave to invest in allowing homeless to sleep in parking lots lol...
While simultaneously making it harder to create group living and the rehab that a ton of homeless individuals would greatly benefit from.
Thankfully we do have some push by Rep. DeGette and a few others to buy old motels. That's a good investment and would actually help.