Dude, Where's my Housing Market?
Your article echoes the many objections that have been voiced, but without thinking about the real opportunity the changes give us. Consider the following:
1. Increasing land prices (including market forces, impact fees and common requirements) generally cause developers to build denser housing. This could significantly revitalize our central city AND improve the economics for transit (and biking and walking). As it was, the City has been subsidizing developers to build further out...where we have to build new schools, roads, and services. It's double jeopardy for the new homeowner who in the name of "affordability" gets to drive long distances and pay high taxes.
2. Building affordable housing 10-20-30 miles from work actually decreases the affordability of housing substantially. It's equal to $30 to 50,000 of home price (or mortgage).
3. Parks and common open space, neighborhood services, etc. all contribute to neighbors getting to know each other. This is the single most significant indicator for a low crime rate (at any price level).
4. Connectivity (aka the ability to walk places) could significantly improve our general health. One subdivision approved this past year had a school adjacent to it, but it required almost 2 miles of roadway to get to it from the adjacent lots.
You are generally an insightful reporter. There have been many unintended consequences from the existing city and county regulations. Let's encourage smarter and more sustainable growth. It will be more affordable and our taxes won't be subsidizing sprawl and auto dependent growth. I also know that our development community is smart and sharp enough to figure out how to make the new regs work. They just want to know the rules...and have an even playing field with the competition. They will make it work...and maybe improve upon it.
-- katie
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Low income El Pasoans will not enjoy the benefit of the overpriced homes here in our city, the Builders make sure of that. Every time a house is built the builder will persure the city apraiser to increase the price of the new house therefor creating consequences not just for the everage buyer but the homeowner that happens for live nearby in an existing nieghborhood. The square footage on the new home compared to the nearby resident wil increase the Tax rate fort them and we all know were that leads to. I have seen the way new homes are built nowadays and they would not withstand a minor tremor.The exorbitant prices which are made a priority by the builders only lends to the imperative and immediate change needed to combat the outrages tax rates imposed on us.The builders claim that the materials have gone up in price, granted but
build them right the first time and you'll avoid all those law suits which of course lends you suseptible to convey your costs to the
entire community. If only the Central Apraisal would resist the absurd requests from the builders and consider the credibility of the source our taxes would maybe decline to the point where maybe more low income families would be able to afford this outrages prices. -- joe
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"We've been able to have a high home ownership percentage because our previous ordinance allowed for developers and builders to produce lots of affordable houses. I think homeownership is a good thing even if your subdivision lacks 'connectivity.'"
Our previous mode of development also shortchanged the city on parks, libraries, open space and other amenities that make for a pleasant living environment, e.g., arroyos. At some point, policy makers have to ask themselves, "What kind of city to we want to leave for our kids and grandkids? What kind of people do we want to attract and retain here - low income or upwardly mobile?"
The developer/builder answer to that question is a city that is profitable for them or has been, as they can't go on forever laying out grids to the horizon. It is the role of elected officials to lead and also to take the concensus of the people. I think this is a good step in the right direction for El Paso.
Just take the Southwest flight from San Diego back to El Paso on a Monday morning. You'll see where the developers actually prefer to live (e.g., La Jolla) because the plane is full of them. They're not trekking to work from Lee Trevino and, if they vote with their money, they prefer to live in places that place a high value on "connectivity."
-- Jerry Kurtyka
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Some people in this city seem to be under the delusion that every human being is by natural right entitled to home ownership. A lot of economic research has questioned the cost/benefit of owning vs. renting, especially in recent years.
I think El Paso has been on a several-year long sprawl to the East, which has resulted in miles and miles of future ghettos, especially in the Joe Battle area. Those houses are only a few years old and they are already taking on the familiar symptoms, including undeveloped landscaping and cars parked in yards. Home ownership is not a NECESSITY, and hopefully these stricter building codes will result in aesthetically pleasing neighborhoods, better infrastructure, and a refocus on infill development in the existing neighborhoods of the city.
Affordable housing is a good thing, and an economic attractor, but it shouldn't come at the expense of adequate streets and poorly planned developments. -- Will
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Doug Wright
May 14, 2008
Katie gets it.
Peter Bu;llock
May 16, 2008
Lets' Deconstruct the Culture Cruise!
The May 15 th Cultural Cruise is history, let's look it over and see wgt we cab do to make the next one0 better. Having experienced similar cultural offerin0 in other cities I have a few suggestions that may save El Paso the angusih of reinventing the wheel. Remember, T& C New Mexico, Silver City, Las Cruces, Alpine Texas, and even Lubbock have made a success of these things, so we can too.
1) Mioe the culture cruise thing to a Friday, Thursday is a work day meaning even the people who participate are still focused on their last week day of work.
2) Make it a more regular event, once a month or even once every two months to start. People have to be able to plan for it and see it as a regular event.
3) Include all the venues in town, not just the downtown area. If the last culture cruise had included Spag Gallery they may be in business today. Plus excluding fringe is stupid, the twon's not that big.
4) Scape the bus. The culture cruise bus is a red herring, everyone focuses on the bus. The bus is a waste of time and money. Focus on the galleries and their coordinated openings. Few poepkle take the bus, people get pissed off waiting for the next bus (which rarely comes), and the whole bus thing smacks of a shill to help the downtown parking gargage
5) have some patience. One culture cruise does not an art buying public make. It takes time to educate the people and teach them to live with, buy, and appreciate art. This also goes for the artists too. I did well during this last Culture cruise, but I know of at least two other artists in the Art Junction (Where I have my studio) who would have had major art sales if they hadn't got tied of sittting aaround and went home.
This isn't brain surgery folks. Other towns with much less to offer are able to do this with success, obviously El Paso can too. Just don't make us go through the whole learning curve with you if we don't have too.