{"id":213,"date":"2011-04-12T09:30:24","date_gmt":"2011-04-12T16:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/?p=213"},"modified":"2011-04-12T18:26:44","modified_gmt":"2011-04-13T01:26:44","slug":"on-the-job-affordable-housing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/?p=213","title":{"rendered":"On the Job: Affordable Housing"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Katie<\/a><\/p>\n

Few issues incite people more than the debate over affordable housing<\/strong>. As a term, \u201caffordable housing\u201d not only sounds benign but seems undeniably just. Who, after all, would be in favor of \u201cunaffordable housing\u201d?<\/p>\n

But, when such an abstract social concept morphs into physical reality, perhaps in your neighborhood, that\u2019s when cultures clash and fears of crime, color and crashing home values cause many of Marin\u2019s famously liberal communities to put progressive ideals on hold and start arguing the nuances of zoning laws.<\/p>\n

In Marin, one of the country\u2019s most affluent<\/a> counties and one of its most expensive places to live, housing ain\u2019t cheap. Even after the big burst of the real estate bubble, young couples still drop more than a million for a so-so rancher<\/strong> in a good Southern Marin school district and the median price for typical tract home in a Northern Marin community like Novato starts at $500,000.<\/p>\n

Most of the teachers, cops, and restaurant workers in Marin don\u2019t have the scratch for that kind of mortgage, so they rent \u2013 or they commute. (Marin\u2019s drive time is one of the longest<\/a> in the region because the everyday working folks can\u2019t afford to live here.)<\/p>\n

Marin is also very white \u2013 very, very white \u2013<\/strong> which is also a matter of economics since most of the members of California\u2019s emerging minority-majority haven\u2019t yet accumulated the wealth to buy into Marin.<\/p>\n

This is where the affordable housing debate comes in.<\/p>\n

Housing advocates, who want to comply with state laws by building clusters of subsidized housing in cities around the county, say Marin needs to provide a place to live for those who school our kids, serve our meals <\/strong>and staff our boutiques. Plus, they say, more diversity would be a good thing.<\/p>\n

Those on the other side argue that the market should prevail and they welcome anyone who can afford the price of entry into Marin. Providing subsidies, they argue, increases density, attracts people who commit crimes and, thus, lowers the value of nearby homes \u2013 theirs. It\u2019s not a matter of race, they say, but one of values.<\/p>\n

I photographed people on both sides of the issue for a story <\/a>writer Nate Seltenrich did for Marin Magazine<\/a> on Novato, Marin\u2019s northernmost city and the center of the current debate. Novato is not the place most people think of when Marin comes to mind. There\u2019s no Golden Gate Bridge, no Muir Woods and none of the hipster quotient that defines smaller southern towns <\/strong>like Mill Valley and Sausalito. Novato is pure suburb, a collection of developments and shopping centers linked by Highway 101 and extending out from an aging downtown that seems to be undergoing perennial revival.<\/p>\n

I made several trips to the Novato for the story, a couple to photograph the people and locations where housing might be built, and another to shoot a community meeting about the issue. I came away from the story<\/strong> with mixed feelings about the matter.<\/p>\n

On the one side, there are plenty of examples, not only in Novato but also elsewhere in Marin, of affordable housing that works, meaning it not only provides shelter for people who don\u2019t own a Range Rover, but also fits into the community architecturally and socially.<\/p>\n

On the other side, I\u2019m pretty sure I wouldn\u2019t like it if the city council in my leafy town decided to put 100 apartments on my block, but I also hope I\u2019d find away around that concern<\/strong> and get my head in spot where I did the right thing \u2013 and I think we all know what that is.<\/p>\n

\"photocrati<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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