Keeping close eye on housing crisis, renters

Is housing a privilege or a right? The topics of rent control, tenant rights, “not in my backyard and “yes, in my backyard” come up and are discussed often, yet no one is really offering practical solutions.

What we need in Marin County is more workforce housing. I worry every day about our firefighters, police, schoolteachers and county workers who cannot afford to live here in Marin. Should a big wildfire hit our area, we cannot ask firefighters who commute from Sonoma County to fight it here in Marin if they need to stay near their own homes to protect them from burning down.

San Rafael's Canal neighborhood once seemed to be exclusively built for service workers. Now, this area is very popular for equity firms from San Francisco. They seem to be buying it up at every opportunity. I worry they will raise rents and “gentrify” the neighborhood. The Realtors are loving it too. It's a great time to buy and a great time to sell. It is also a great time to earn a commission.

We should create municipal housing bonds. We should approach housing providers and builders who are doing it right and work with them to do more of it.

When older landlords die, the beneficiaries will sell. I don't blame anyone for hiring a favorite Realtor to sell the property at the highest and best price (likely to an equity firm) and taking the money.

The new ordinances enacting rent control in Fairfax are an example of overreach. The Fairfax Town Council should immediately pause, admit its mistakes and take it to the voters. Town voters must be the ones deciding if housing is a right or a privilege.