Editor’s Note

DISCOVER OJAI MONTHLY

Bret Bradigan

RISE OF THE YIMBYS

"Do we believe housing is a right and that affordable housing is part of what it should mean to be an American? I say 'yes.'"

— Matthew Desmond

For every good idea for city planning that gets presented — affordable housing projects, street improvements or new parks — there is a vocal minority standing firm in opposition. They almost always get their way. While it may seem that the majority of the public supports such common-sense projects, it is in some abstract way. For the opponents, though, it is very concrete to have a park built in their backyard and have to deal with the noise of kids playing basketball or soccer, or traffic issues that cost them parking spaces. Intensity beats extensity every time.

We call them NIMBYS, for Not In My Backyard. But there’s another movement afoot, called the Yes in My Backyard people. YIMBYs are requesting that community projects be built in their backyard, despite the disruptions, the inconvenience and the risks. Because they believe that those risks are vastly outweighed by the need and a sense of unity.

In California, this YIMBY movement claims 80,000 members and 20 volunteer teams, and they often seek rezoning for more dense housing projects and to repurpose other buildings, such as abandoned shopping malls, into affordable housing. Some YIMBY groups also support alternative energy and public housing projects. These groups are not without controversy; opponents claim they have a simplistic view of complex issues related to housing, or are even the cat’s paws for big developers.

But what’s the alternative? Spiraling inequality? Where does that lead us? I don’t know, but I doubt it’s any place good. The thing about affordable housing — especially in Ojai — is that it solves five or six problems all at once. When the people who provide the social infrastructure for a community, specifically the cops, teachers and service workers, can’t afford to live in the cities they serve, then the social fabric unravels. Fewer people have the ‘‘skin in the game’’ that brings people together to work on solutions. The long lines of traffic coming into Ojai in the morning and leaving in the evening continue to get worse. The air quality, never that great in our closed basin, will also worsen. It is imperative that we get a handle on this problem.

There are a few plans in motion. Easing the permit process for second units such as ‘‘granny flats’’ are helpful. But urban in-fill projects like apartment buildings face strenuous opposition. Density is frowned upon in Ojai, because open spaces are one of the prime attractions. That’s too bad, because density remains one of the most affordable methods, as it creates scales of efficiency impossible any other way.

If we start with Yes, it gets us moving toward common goals. If we start with No, then it leaves us with no place to go. Not in anyone’s backyard.

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