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I'm a YIMBY. If you want to call Downey home, I want you to be able to call Downey home. I want you, to find your perfect home here. Whether that is in an apartment, condo, tiny house, or single family home, I want you to be able to live here.
I want my friends who grew up here to be able to afford to live here. I don't want to see people forced out of the city because the rent keeps on rising.
This is definitely easier said than done. But I do believe we can make this happen through a variety of ways.
This is definitely easier said than done. But I do believe we can make this happen through a variety of ways.
First things first, in cities like Downey, we have to change the zoning so we can accommodate the kind of housing we will need to have. Currently we're predominantly zoned for single family homes. No multi-family or multi-use development. We also have very strict ADU regulations.
Downey should allow multi-use development in its Downtown core. Eliminate parking minimums & square lot footage requirements so we can build densely in its core. This would eliminate the need for cars between work, grocery stores, the local park and restaurants.
We can change single family zoning requirements in the areas of Downey that already have large lots. Many of these areas are also located near transit, schools and parks. By allowing the "missing middle" housing to be developed in these kind of neighborhoods (Orchard Estates).
A greater diversity of families who are currently being kept out the neighborhood by the 600k+ price tag, will be able to buy a smaller condo for a much cheaper price or be able to rent out an apartment in the neighborhood.
The biggest challenge we have right now in cities like Downey, is that we don't allow for a diversity of housing to exist in the first place. So right now, that's where my advocacy is invested in.
Once we tackle that issue, there's the issue of housing development itself. Primarily development is done by for profit developers.
A lot of folks want to know how do we build public housing or land trusts and that really comes down to money and...
A lot of folks want to know how do we build public housing or land trusts and that really comes down to money and...
The regulations we have that make building affordable housing so expensive! It costs on average $600k to build one unit of affordable housing.
Let's say Downey were to completely eliminate the funding of Downey PD & put that money into public housing.
Let's say Downey were to completely eliminate the funding of Downey PD & put that money into public housing.
You know how many units the city would be able to make in a year? About 66 homes. That's a drop in the bucket compared to what we need right now.
So how do we build more housing, for all people, at all income levels?
I might be a bit of a pessimist here.
So how do we build more housing, for all people, at all income levels?
I might be a bit of a pessimist here.
But I don't believe we can build what we need unless we have serious statewide reform. Cities are incapable of handling this issue on their own.
This thread might be a bit rambly but I hope it sheds some light on issues here in Downey & in the state of CA.
This thread might be a bit rambly but I hope it sheds some light on issues here in Downey & in the state of CA.
(Also one more beautiful thing about Downey. We do have some diversity in our housing but we have been frozen in time for such a long time, we're moving backwards. The apartment complex I live in has been down zoned back to a single family zone.)
