I live in one of the most beautiful settings in the world. Santa Barbara sits between the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Ynez mountains. The view is spectacular from just about anywhere. There are always birds singing and flowers blooming.
The other day we went for a walk in one of our favorite places - Ellwood Mesa - which has a wintering spot for monarch butterflies and a cliff that overlooks the ocean. We walked to the "magic circle" where the butterflies winter and there were thousands of them - hanging in clumps from the eucalyptus trees, filling the air... Then we walked to the edge of the cliff and watched as a pod of dolphins swam by.
But there was a disturbing piece too... a large section of the mesa is being turned into huge homes for the monstrously wealthy. I haven't seen the numbers but my expectation is that the homes will go between $2.5 & 3 million or more. We desperately need housing on the south coast. The rule of thumb is that you need to build 1 new housing unit for every 1.5 jobs created. Since 1990, that puts us at a deficit of some 8000 housing units. But, the houses that are needed are not multi-million dollar homes in a place where the median family income is about $65K. This use of space is atrocious when large numbers of middle class folk commute an hour or more each way to work here because they cannot afford housing. It is a recipe for disaster for the community as the middle class disappears.
And there is more. Folk here often complain that we need to preserve the green space around us... and oppose using vacant land that is surrounded by barbed wire for affordable housing yet this project is being built on land that was widely used for recreation and does nothing to serve the real needs of the community.
As a person of faith I must see both stewardship of the beauty that surrounds me and the need for housing for ordinary folk as spiritual issues. They'll be central on my plate for the next period of time.
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2 comments:
Greetings Roy,
I have enjoyed your writings as I have kept up with the ABCPSW wranglings. I took up your invitation and added your blog to my site. If you do not wish to be there, please let me know.
I heartily agree with you that this is one of the big issues facing people in our communities here in the SB area. In the faith community I lead, we have many people with an average or slightly below average income who really struggle. I agree that we need to steward our beautiful natural habitat and surroundings but it appears that the hard line no growth beauracracies in our area are only broken into by those with a great deal of resources backing them. Therefore, more massive homes for the wealthy, no new units that can be purchased or rented reasonably by the median or below income folks. Look forward Roy, to reading your ongoing thoughts concerning this issue in our community. Thanks!
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