Local Control vs Profiteering

Local Control vs Profiteering  

On Thursday, November 14th, I attended the conference sponsored by Institutional Property Advisors Marcus & Millichap entitled "How Will Plan Bay Area Affect Your Development Plans?"

ABAG president Mark Luce, the keynote speaker, told an audience of more than 400 investors, brokers, developers, and property managers, "Plan Bay Area—the Planned Development Areas and Transit Oriented Development—are what local jurisdictions have asked for. These projects were chosen by local agencies, so I think they'll want to hear from you," he urged.

In the same breath, he added, “we’ve made it easier to construct high density housing by reducing entitlement barriers.” He went on to enthusiastically describe the rush of benefits that flow to developers with the passage of SB743. That’s the bill Governor Brown signed in late September which eliminates the right of communities to stop development on the basis of impacts on parking, traffic, schools, adequate water supply, or aesthetics.

As I listened, I wondered who, at the local level, dreams of having less parking in their neighborhood, slower traffic to get to work, the public expense of an energy-guzzling desalination plant, or the view of a high-rise building that blocks the world-famous scenic beauty of the Bay Area? That just didn’t make sense.

Forum attendees paid $399 to rub shoulders and make deals with 40+ of the biggest names in high- density housing and finance in the Peninsula, San Francisco, East Bay and North Bay. "Steinberg's SB375 is a very good bill," Luce glowed, describing the lucrative intersections of the PDA (Planned Development Area) development, Housing Production and Affordability, Preserving Open Space and Farmland, and Economic Development.

In a small break-out group, a previous speaker described the inevitable displacement of the poorest residents and gentrification that is sure to occur with regional plans to expand BART, develop the Grand Boulevard (El Camino Real in San Mateo), and soften up cities to accommodate high density, mixed use development plans. Even San Francisco's historic Chinatown is marked as a PDA.

Commenting on the astonishingly high projections for job and housing growth, one panelist said, "These numbers don't make sense." But the majority of the audience seemed eager to lap up the encouragement to produce thousands of units of "product"—not homes, not even houses, but “product,” commodities for buying and selling and making a profit.

There was no mention of quality of life or environmental preservation or small town character. There was next to no mention of affordable housing. Apparently the affordable housing mantra is just reserved for the nonprofit crowds that gather for ABAG-sponsored conferences under names that ring phony like “Bay Area Regional Prosperity Plan.”

The Prosperity Plan is the name given to a grants program funded by HUD, ABAG, and MTC. In Orwellian fashion, it carries a sub-title about “equity initiative” and promises $5 million in grants for the 9-county Bay Area for things like economic opportunity strategies for low-income workers,

housing the workforce, addressing displacement, and an equity collaborative to give low-income people “a real voice in the development and implementation of the Prosperity Plan.“ But where the rubber meets the road here at the Marcus & Millichap conference, $5 million is chump change and political rhetoric.

In contrast, the language of this conference centered on Cap Rates (a capitalization ratio used to evaluate the value of income-producing properties), ROI (return on investment), accessing foreign investment, TIC conversions (Tenant in Common), REITs (Real Estate Investment Trust), opportunities for rent increases, and the latest nuances of dealing with EIRs and CEQA.

Here's a take-away: White, male, capitalist imperialism is flourishing. Whereas in the past, profiteers might have set their sights on foreign shores where they could bully their way to claim ownership of land and resources, the predator mentality is now focused on us, their not-yet-awake neighbors living beyond the glitzy, gated communities of the 1%. Unregulated and immense profit for a few is prioritized over quality of life for the many who will be warehoused in their “product.”

Mark Luce repeated the mantra that high-density building will be welcomed throughout the Bay Area, as if repeating it often enough might make it true. “The communities have had local control over selecting these building sites.”

I found myself thinking of Pinocchio. Luce’s words rung so hollow. And I couldn’t help thinking how ironic his performance was, considering that he fought against having a PDA (Priority Development Area) in his own hometown of Napa, just as residents have done in San Francisco, Palo Alto, Orinda, Marin, and other areas.

Luce referred to 250 public meetings to consider Plan Bay Area, but failed to mention the meetings were manipulated to control outcome toward pre-determined decisions. Public input was tolerated, but summarily ignored. In reality, ABAG, as a Joint Power Authority, is able to operate without public scrutiny or interference.

Many communities are demanding more local control. In Marin, one man representing his neighbors who live in an unincorporated area, has made seven consecutive appearances at the Board of Supervisors meeting, persistently requesting that the PDA in his community be put on the agenda for discussion. No one at the local level ever notified him or his neighbors of the development plans officials were putting into motion. Like the ABAG/MTC Board, the supervisors give him a nod of dismissal when his three minutes is up.

Residents of Corte Madera are equally upset as a new 180-unit complex dominates the skyline. The once-majestic view of Mt. Tam from highway 101 has disappeared and instead we see an homage to profit and lack of transparency in government. The developer, MacFarlane Properties, was represented at the Investor Forum by its president Greg Vilkin. When asked about CEQA he said, “It’s a disaster. In California, even a tree has standing.” The audience laughed.

Consider this: Victor MacFarlane, the company’s founder, lost more than a billion dollars of CalPERS money on previous housing projects without getting so much as a hand slap. Yet while residents sit at a dead stop in endless traffic jams and wonder how this project got approved, MacFarlane Partners, like other investors, bankers, and developers at this conference, will be profiting from local misery and looking for additional “product” for their portfolio.

Will people throughout the Bay start waking up to the consequences of crony politics and big money? Now would be a good time to get involved with a commitment to preserve our neighborhoods and communities and find truly sustainable solutions to our housing needs.

A few people can make a big difference. Find out what high-density projects are proposed for your community. Dismiss marketing messages like the one Mark Luce uses as a cheap sales pitch to promote profiteering. Talk to your elected officials and demand information and real local control.

Resources: A Partial List
Conference Post: www.mmsanfranforum.com

Appeal for local control to Marin BOS: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPrAsx3-65M
Victor MacFarlane: www.nytimes.com/2011/07/10/us/10bcstevens.html?_r=0 www.forbes.com/sites/steveforbes/2013/08/14/soviet-style-governance-in-s... area/

Publications:

www.millvalley.patch.com/groups/bob-silvestris-blog/p/the-enronization-o... www.millvalley.patch.com/groups/bob-silvestris-blog/p/the-enronization-o... www.newgeography.com/content/003899-plan-bay-area-telling-people-what-do www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_24374712/marin-voice-marin-cities-are-givin... local?IADID=Search-www.marinij.com-www.marinij.com

Local Groups (Partial list):

www.citizenmarin.org

www.savemarinwood.org www.tamalmonte.org www.alliancemarin.org www.bayarealiberty.org www.orindawatch.org