Redefining "Affordable Housing"

By Alicia Crank

It's important that we understand what "BMR" and "Affordable Housing" really means, and how it benefits our community.

A woman in her early-30s works for a local university as an executive assistant. She's been a Mountain View resident for more than a decade and has lived in various neighborhoods in Mountain View.

Another woman, a resident in her mid-30s holding a Bachelors degree and two Masters degrees, is an educator and assistant principal for an charter high school.

Lastly, a resident in their late-40s works in finance and accounting for a major school bus company.

What do these people have in common? They all desire to own a home in the city they call home.

They also all qualify for below market rate (BMR) housing, also known as affordable housing.

There is limited BMR housing opportunities in Mountain View. This is due, in part, to a very lenient BMR ordinance where developers were willing to pay the relatively small in-lieu fees to avoid building affordable homeowner units. Recently, the City has taken a step in the right direction in reinvesting those fees in creating affordable rental units in downtown Mountain View.

What is most unfortunate is the stigma behind the BMR name. I recently read a letter to the editor where someone referred to affordable housing as "the slums". I recall similar references being made when the council was deciding which piece of city owned land the downtown rental units should be built upon.

It is important that we understand that affordable housing doesn't mean "the projects". It also does not mean the people that are looking for this type of housing (both owner and rental) aren't loud, horrible neighbors who threaten our safety. I point you back to the top of this entry and the people I described. Are these the people you associate with the slums or the projects? Are these people you fear will loiter on the streets or seek out to cause you and your family harm?

Our fair city already has a handful of long-standing affordable complexes intertwined in our neighborhoods (in fact, there are 10 of them). From the Shorebreeze Apartments on Shoreline Blvd and the complex on San Vernon Park to San Antonio Place, we've been able to provide this type of housing with a positive result. Again, we're just talking entire complexes. As a city, we need to advocate for affordable ownership housing as well, spread throughout our neighborhoods.

I don't discount the concern of making sure Mountain View maintains the sense of community that has been created thus far, but we need to make sure we all understand what affordable housing really means to our city.

Oh, and in the interest of full disclosure, I am one of the people I described above.