Community Commentary -- Rick Rodgers
First, the City Council talks about larger size lots and increased
regulations when adding onto a home.
Next, some council members talk about increased affordable housing and
encouraging or basically forcing new developers to build and sell cheaper
homes.
Now compare: How can you have larger size lots and homes with cheaper
more affordable prices? Answer, you can’t. I dare you to find a single
developer who is going to build larger homes for affordable prices. And
who decides what is affordable? Is Mayor Libby Cowan the one who is going
to decide what defines an affordable house?
Everyone says they want to improve the Westside of Costa Mesa. If you
really think building affordable housing is going to improve the
neighborhoods and schools, think again. Affordable housing will do just
the opposite.
I have known quite a few people who purchased new affordable homes in
the cities of Moreno Valley, Palmdale and Riverside. But do you know who
else saw advertisements for affordable housing in those cities? I will
tell you. Gang members from Los Angeles have seen those advertisements as
well. And guess what? The gang members and their families decided to move
into those nice affordable homes. All of my friends have since taken a
loss on the purchase of their homes and moved.
What’s next? Before I sell my house, am I going to be required to come
before the council and ask you if I am selling my house for an
appropriate price? I don’t think so. The last time I looked, we still
lived in the United States. The land of the free.
You can tell developers that lot and home sizes have to be a certain
size, but you have absolutely no right to demand that a particular home
be sold for a particular price.
What do we live in? Communist China? I don’t think so.
Every day, this council is becoming more and more liberal and more and
more out of touch with the majority Costa Mesa citizen opinion.
RICK RODGERS
Costa Mesa
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