The first reading of the Barbara Jordan affordable housing ordinance was well attended-- by suits paid $400 an hour to be there. We're not sure why so few citizen advocates and public interest experts attended.
Our guess is that most of them are flat out tired of hauling themselves down to County Hall, made to wait for hours, and then be sneered at by county commissioners from the dais, doing the peoples' business. Their favorite form of disrespect to ordinary people who have taken an entire day to testify is getting up and leaving the dais entirely.
It is a form of blood sport by county commissioners who are institutionally incapable of reform, which is another reason that highly paid lobbyists have the run of the place.
But we could not help noticing that the first version of Commissioner Jordan's "inclusionary zoning ordinance", which went up in flames months ago, required MANDATORY participation by developers.
We recall even the South Florida Builders Association and Latin Builders had agreed to mandatory affordable housing as a condition of zoning changes to build new production home tracts. That was while their applications to move the Urban Development Boundary were on the table.
Apparently, the new and improved version Commissioner Jordan is touting is VOLUNTARY. Get the difference?
We would like to read exactly how this major concession to developers occurred, but that would require the Miami Herald to penetrate the development community.
Instead, we read today's story, "Prominent developer accused of hitting artist". All the news that is fit to print.
2 comments:
YOU ARE NOT SURE WHY SO FEW CITIZENS SHOW UP AT MEETINGS? get real. People don't want to be humiliated and the Commissioners totally ignore the citizens when they speak so what is the point.
If more peple watched this crew of bubbleheads on TV they would not vote them in over and over and over.
This has been an issue that the previous leader, of the labor financed "jobs with justice" campign champoned and the current one is very keen on.
It is an important issue for labor and they spend money on organizing the poor, where has the UEL been on political/economic issues?
Have they talked to JwJ, Acorn, LIFT, COPWATCH, etc...?
Unfortunatly they are where their 19C middle class reformers before them,.... mostly absent. This in one of the (3rd) poorest metro areas in the USA.
IF people were organized, middle class and poor, then you might have more of something along the lines of the Black-Jewish coalition that supported progressive politicians in Los Angeles for decades.
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