Action Alert 5/23/08
Dear Loaves & Fishes Supporter,
First, the good news: The City of Sacramento has an inclusionary housing law which requires that 15% of newly built new homes and apartments are sold or rented at prices that lower income people can afford.
Now the bad news: The current law has two major flaws.
1. It only applies to a fraction of the city. It includes the Railyards, but not downtown or the Richards Boulevard areas right next door. It applies to Natomas but not to South Sacramento. This patchwork approach is unjust and squanders opportunities for lower income families to live in all neighborhoods of Sacramento.
2. It does not require that some of the new homes and apartments be reserved for the poorest of the poor. And so the number of families forced into homelessness by the lack of housing increases and we see more and more people sleeping in doorways and homeless camps.
Now the really good news: We know that the best homelessness prevention program is enough housing to go around. You have an opportunity to stand up for our guests and support two important changes to the ordinance: amend it to apply city-wide and to include homes for the poorest individuals and families. The Sacramento Housing Alliance is championing the following change to Sacramento’s Housing Element which will fix both problems: “The City shall adopt a Mixed Income Housing Ordinance that applies to all areas of the city within one year. The Mixed Income Housing Ordinance shall include housing for families and individuals with Extremely Low Incomes (30% of Area Median Income).â€
Some city councilmembers support this change. Others are undecided. We need to show we support this change by our presence at the City Council Hearing next Tuesday. We need to fill the room so that the councilmembers can see the widespread community support for this change.
What: City of Sacramento Council Meeting
When: Tuesday, May 27th
1:30 PM Press Conference
2:00 PM Council Meeting
Where: Sacramento City Hall
915 “I†Street
Sacramento 95814
Please call me with any questions or suggestions you have. I hope you enjoy your Memorial Day weekend and are able to attend the City Council meeting on Tuesday, the first work day after that.
Joan Burke
Director of Advocacy
Loaves & Fishes
