SLO housing prices are insane. When will local leaders prioritize affordable units? | Opinion

SLO housing crisis

“3 SLO County cities just joined the $1 million home price club — and others aren’t far off” (sanluisobispo.com, April 17, 2024)

San Luis Obispo’s housing crisis has reached a boiling point. As a renter, I experience the harsh reality of this crisis firsthand.

While reports of San Luis Obispo joining the “million-dollar-cities club” may seem abstract, it translates to an increasingly impossible situation for those of us trying to find a place to live. The exorbitant cost of home ownership creates a cut-throat rental market, where prices are astronomical.

I’ve witnessed countless friends and neighbors forced to leave San Luis Obispo altogether, unable to keep up with the ever-increasing rents. Those of us who remain are often left with little disposable income after paying rent, making it difficult to save, plan for the future, or simply enjoy the city we call home.

We need our local leaders to prioritize affordable housing solutions. This includes increased investment in affordable housing projects, streamlining the permitting process to encourage development, ensuring current rentals are safe, and exploring innovative options, like offering incentives for building ADUs.

Stronger tenant protections also are vital to prevent displacement and ensure housing stability for renters like me. I truly feel the well-being of our community hinges on addressing this crisis.

Christopher Johnson

San Luis Obispo

Stop arming Israel

Something suspiciously missing from the front lawns of over 1 million Americans who voted for Biden in the last election cycle are signs in support of the Harris/Walz ticket.

They weren’t stolen, they didn’t blow away, and those citizens certainly are NOT voting for Trump. Rather, their support fizzled out when the DNC elected to muffle the voices of Americans who oppose their taxes being used (illegally, I might add) to support Israel’s cruel decimation of Gaza.

At this year’s DNC convention, it was made clear that the lives of 42,000 Palestinians taken by the IDF over this past year were not equal to the that of the 1,139 people murdered by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. So far, over 17,000 children have been killed in Gaza; 2.6% of all Palestinian children in the territory have been slaughtered by the IDF.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren has launched an appeal to condition arming Israel on its adherence to our laws against using our weapons to kill civilians and violate their human rights. The holocaust in Gaza must stop, and the message to Harris and Walz from a large swath of principled Americans is simple — NO arms embargo, NO vote.

Should Harris and Walz lose this election and our democracy is placed at risk by a Trump presidency, the Democratic Party should realize that its unconditioned support of Israel’s war on civilians was at least partially responsible.

Dr. Rushdi Cader

San Luis Obispo

The right to choose

Clergy for Choice Central Coast is a coalition of over 80 faith leaders from Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, Unitarian Universalist and other religious traditions in San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. We believe that the intimate and personal decisions around reproductive health belong, not in the hands of politicians, but in the hearts of individuals making choices about their own lives.

Too often, people assume religious leaders are united in their opposition to abortion and reproductive rights. But, just like an overwhelming majority of Americans, many of us affirm that these complex decisions are best handled in the privacy of a doctor’s office or, if they so choose, in counsel with their own minister, rabbi, priest,or other religious adviser.

For example, Catholics for Choice remind us that 68% of Catholics did not want Roe overturned. With Californians having received their ballots, we wants to provide resources for voters who see reproductive rights as a top priority. For your local school boards and other local races, we recommend you go to the Planned Parenthood Central Coast Action Fund website for their Voter Guide, www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/planned-parenthood-central-coast-action-fund/elections

Rev. Caroline Hall, Los Osos

Rabbi Micah Hyman, San Luis Obispo

Vote Boswell for SLO Council

San Luis Obispo’s beautiful open spaces are one of the things that make our city so special, and Mike Boswell is the candidate we can trust to protect them. He is committed to completion of the city’s greenbelt protection and preservation plan, ensuring that our parks and wildlands are protected for future generations.

In addition, Mike understands the importance of prioritizing habitat conservation and addressing the impacts of climate change on wildfire management. He has a vision for long-term sustainability, making him the right leader to preserve the natural beauty and safety of our community.

I hike often in SLO and I’m always grateful for what our previous and current city councils have done to protect our greenbelt. That’s why I’m supporting Mike Boswell for SLO City Council. He’ll keep our open spaces abundant and protected.

Patricia Harris

San Luis Obispo

More support for Boswell

Mike Boswell understands the balance we need in San Luis Obispo when it comes to growth. As a city planning expert and former SLO Planning Commission chair, he will ensure that our city supports the development of affordable housing for working families (and others) while maintaining the 1% growth limit that preserves our community’s character.

Mike is dedicated to thoughtful, sustainable development, and has the knowledge, experience and commitment to turn ideas into action. That’s why I’m supporting him for SLO City Council.

Carlyn Christianson

San Luis Obispo

A.G. needs sales tax revenue

There’s an issue on the November ballot that should concern every resident of Arroyo Grande in Measure E-24, a 1% sales tax increase. To clarify, that is one penny more on the dollar. Voting yes on the measure will make our sales tax equivalent to the cities that surround us. Approval would bring in an additional $6 million annually, to be used for badly needed infrastructure projects in AG. The beauty is that visitors share this burden as they use our community and its facilities.

However, if this fails, AG will still need money that it doesn’t have. That would likely mean a bond measure to be paid for by property taxes. By then, the needed revenues will have increased and will be incurred with likely a 30-year interest payment on the bonds. It’s simple. If we don’t share now, we will surely have to bear this burden alone and face an increase in our property taxes, which would be even more expensive. Let’s make the common sense choice and vote Yes on Measure E-24.

Piper Adelman

Arroyo Grande

Protect the right to vote

Every citizen of the United States of America has the right to participate in free elections in which they are allowed to vote according to their own beliefs and opinions. That idea is fundamental to our republic, but that right has been challenged all along. Legislation like the Voting Rights Act of 1965 shows the concept of free elections continues to need our attention and protection.

Because of the actions and rhetoric of Donald Trump, on Jan. 6, 2021, we saw an attack on the U.S. Capitol by those trying to prevent the certification of the last presidential election. Now, by continuing to claim election fraud and faulty vote counts, Mr. Trump has empowered violent people to try to disrupt the November election. This has election workers fearing for their safety and election facilities being fortified for trouble. I fear that if Mr. Trump’s attacks on our system of free elections are allowed to succeed, it would not bode well for our republic.

Lynda Merrill

Morro Bay