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Home Resource Center In the News Home Greenbelt Alliance in the News |
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Greenbelt Alliance In the News
March 4, 2007 Letter to the editor We should encourage affordable housing Reporter Editor: Not only is an affordable home out of reach for many Californians ("State has most unaffordable homes," The Reporter, Feb. 23), it's out of reach for many people here in Solano County too. Although a lot of new homes are being built here, they are not homes that local residents and workers can afford. The housing market in Solano County has become unbalanced. We're producing too many expensive homes on the outskirts of our cities and not enough of the kinds of homes that are needed: starter homes, apartments, town homes and condominiums inside cities. When people can't afford homes near where they work, they have to move farther and farther out to find a place they can afford. That creates pressure to develop our remaining natural areas and working farms. It also creates pressure on our roads, adding to the terrible traffic on Interstate 80. And when people like schoolteachers and emergency dispatchers can't afford to live in our cities, that's a problem that affects the whole community. Fortunately, there are ways to start providing the homes people need. One way cities in Solano County can encourage a more balanced housing market is by adopting inclusionary housing ordinances. Inclusionary ordinances require that all new residential developments include some affordable homes. Vallejo is reviewing an inclusionary housing ordinance now. I challenge Fairfield, Vacaville, Rio Vista and Dixon to follow Vallejo's lead and put a better quality of life within reach. Nicole Byrd, Fairfield Solano-Napa field representative, Greenbelt Alliance ### |
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