Posted by Native to the BAY
a resident of Mayfield
on Nov 29, 2023 at 11:04 am
Native to the BAY is a registered user.

Until the City establishes a real bonafide supportive housing and development department, resident renters/workers will lose out and so will our City Hall. When in 2014 Mountain View established an actual city renter housing wait list and administered by city staff, MV immediately embraced the housing crisis. In the meantime, it up to volunteers and other 501c3's locally here in PA that cushion blow after blow to trying to work and survive as a renter. Low wage workers who rent here are the lowest rung on our city's priority list. Palo Alto home owners and property moguls push down those who rent.

It will remain an imbalance of power until more of our council members are representative of the 47% of those who rent here. Renters and the children of renters, are viewed as temporary residents, non taxed quasi stake holders -- as well renters a many are working overtime to make the highest rents and live in fear of evictions for small infractions and a massive private property sell off. Sadly the city does not view renters as investors in volunteerism, employed & attend in our schools & Stanford, work at our libraries, as economic investors in local commerce and sales. Sadly our economy is falling apart as 80% of resident residents renters or owners are spending our hard earned dollars in MV, RWC, LA, MP where goods are more plentiful and cheaper! Doubly unless one has an owned property in this zip that brings in taxed property revenue -- everyone and anything else is considered 2nd class. I hear this in various forms from the Dais whether it is CC or PTC or Parks, history or architectual resource.... where 99% of those serving from these positions are single family homeowners, invested in the course of the future for themselves, alone. Unless the renter is fairly represented too on these boards, commissions and councils change will remain slow as taffy.

Posted by JB
a resident of Evergreen Park
on Nov 29, 2023 at 9:07 pm
JB is a registered user.

I’m sorry to see the Palo Alto Renter’s Association dissolve. Lauren Bigelow did a really nice job of gathering data about the renters in Palo Alto. I don’t support Palo Alto Forward, which has mostly supported big housing projects in our city, even though most of them provide mostly market rate housing. As a long-term renter, I don’t see how I or other low-income people could afford to live in these places. Thanks a lot, Lauren, for your attempt to help low-income Palo Alto renters.