Letter to the Editor
By Andy Griffiths
Sometimes it takes a disaster to be a catalyst for change. So we should not waste this historic opportunity to bring about change. Let something good come from this tragedy. And the crisis we had before the storm was housing. Let’s face it, we had a recruitment and retention issue for most all essential employees across this county before the hurricane. But what gets in the way of action?
Reason number one: NIMBY. Not in my back yard you don’t! I don’t want more congestion in my neighborhood. I don’t want those “renters” next to me! They don’t take care of their property.
Reason number two: Density. That is out of character with my neighborhood. We live in a rural area. Dense subdivisions are not compatible.
Reason number three: Government shouldn’t be in the housing business. Let the free market work. I don’t want my tax dollars used to build affordable housing. It’s not the government’s mission to be in the housing business.
Reason number four: Politicians with no backbone. Actually not all politicians. I know you can actually have a board majority direct staff to recommend some meaningful action but that recommendation may not cause a positive step forward. But let’s face it when neighborhood association leadership (meaning votes) tell the politicians NO the politicians listen and don’t take action.
Okay I know there are others but these are what I consider the main reasons. Let’s take reason number one: NIMBY. Why do those folks object? You know why, all the obvious reasons that I will go into in reasons 2-3 and how we can mitigate those.
Reason number two: Density. Density is necessary because developers need density to make money on affordable housing. Government doesn’t need to make a profit so density can be cut in half. This makes a project compatible with the surrounding neighborhood and much less objectionable.
Reason number three: Government shouldn’t be in the housing business. Yes, it’s out of the box. Government doesn’t do some things very well. That is why private individuals can do it better because they have no bureaucracy to deal with, BUT those individuals aren’t always philanthropists. So let those business heads advise government on how to do this! It’s not rocket science. You borrow money to build some houses. You already own the land. Without the land expense your only debt service is the cost of the house. Now if you finance it for 20-30 years the rent will more than pay the mortgage. And you build them fast using pre-cast concrete that is storm proof. So insurance is reasonable or you self insure so the cost is ZERO. You buy them in bulk and the per unit cost drops. You approach the utility agencies and ask them to bring in the infrastructure for free for these new customers. I’m sure our utility companies will do their part! That would save a million dollars spread over 20 houses. That saves $50,000 per house! We would have enough money to out source the management and avoid getting into the housing rental and maintenance business. And consider this: The School Board is the largest employer in the county. For every housing opportunity we give our staff that opens up another house somewhere else for the private sector.
Reason number four: Politicians may grow a backbone or at least not need one because at this time if we address the objectionable density, if we convince the neighborhood that our employees make good neighbors, If we can address the concerns of those who would oppose us, if we can start SOMEWHERE in solving this problem, our elected representatives can push their staffs to make this happen.
The School Board is it’s own permitting agency. We have housing development rights. We have land that will never be used due to its’ location. We are the largest employer and we have a housing crisis. If not NOW then when? If not us, WHO? Say never and we suffer the long term consequences. Our mission is to educate kids in a safe place. Essential to that mission is to have teachers in contact with those kids. Then we need to employ people who support our teachers. If we don’t have those people there is NO mission
By Andy Griffiths
Key West
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