☆ Opinion: Conservative playbook long supported SJ ditching Permanent Supportive Housing (2/4)

Image by USICH

SVGOP chair David G. Johnson breaks down, point by point, the exorbitant failure that's been San Jose's Housing First method against homelessness. And why he's glad Council is pivoting to more affordable (and effective) interim options. An Opp Now exclusive.

David G. Johnson, Silicon Valley GOP chair:

1. The City of San Jose states on its website that for every 6,000 jobs created per year (or over the past few years), they are only able to build 1,000 residential units, keeping the demand (and therefore pricing) of the each new unit high and adding to the plight of the homelessness;

2. Due to the crushing slow process of obtaining a building permit in the City of San Jose (specifically), many builders are simply choosing to build somewhere else. Why? The Building Department is overstaffed by "newbies" who are afraid to make a mistake and approve even the simplest permit. If the project is larger or more complex, the permitting process takes years! Meanwhile, costs continue to rise for labor and materials, etc.;

Go Deeper:

• Chron op-ed: Housing First's no-barrier orthodoxy
• Perspective: Why SJ/SF gov'ts are so bad at fighting homelessness—it's hard to label and count
• More and more states dump Housing First's failed model

3. The City is underfunded and indeed has a $60,000,000 deficit, so they are literally robbing from Peter to pay Paul;

4. The City spends about $1,000,000 per housing unit for the homeless, with money they don't have;

5. Much, much less costly alternatives have been proposed and recently adopted by the City Council, which would bring the unit cost down to as low as $18,000 per unit. This is for temporary housing, but it is a good solution for the short term, while those 2- or 3-year-long Building Permits are being considered;

6. The ideas being adopted are from the Conservative playbook, which apply to all people, regardless of their party affiliation.

In short, there are many issues the City needs to address, and homelessness is only one. Some housekeeping at City Hall is definitely in order on many fronts.

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