Will Voters Back Housing on Nov. 2?

By Randy Shaw. Originally published on BeyondChron on October 26, 2021.

"Voters Can Increase Affordability

Next Tuesday is Election Day. Voters in Boulder, Cambridge and Seattle—three cities I write about in Generation Priced Out: Who Gets to Live in the New Urban America —will decide whether to pursue more inclusionary housing policies....

...I have been blown away by the powerful campaign waged by Boulder’s Bedrooms Are For People campaign (Vote Yes on 300!). Its social media campaign combines humor, clever framing and powerful messaging. Encouraging Yes on 300 letters to the local papers is also a savvy move. The initiative simply allows Boulder residents to do what people in most cities take for granted: live in a household with more than three unrelated people so long as each has their own bedroom.

Boulder’s council currently bans four unrelated people from living together in a five bedroom house. This particularly makes no sense in a city that is home to a major university. I learned in writing my book that Boulder’s progressive, new age reputation conceals the city’s larger anti-tenant, anti-density agenda. Boulder risked heading down the exclusionary path of Palo Alto until activists won major council victories in 2019. Boulder housing activists never gave up fighting for their city’s future.

Next week’s election offers Boulder a chance to continue its momentum toward change. Boulder’s council campaigns are linked to two slates divided by views on development. Matt Benjamin, Lauren Folkerts, Nicole Speer and Dan Williams are the strong pro-housing, pro-inclusion candidates. I believe that the wonderful campaign run by Yes on 300 will carry it to victory and hope the pro-housing feeling carries over to the council races."

Read the full article on BeyondChron.