What we’re about
The Right to Affordable Housing Voters Ballot Initiative
The reason we have a lack of affordable housing in California is that the zoning statutes and building codes discriminate against low income citizens from living and working in low cost housing.
The result of state sanctioned apartheid against low income peoples is to artificially inflate the value of real estate which benefits upper income citizens at the expense of the lower income citizens.
I propose we draft a new state wide voters ballot initiative that makes it a right of all private property owners in the state to allow people to camp; live and work in recreational vehicles; live and work in tiny home structures; or grow agricultural crops.
A minimal low cost city or county permit would be required to assure that people camping or living and working in RVs, or Tiny Homes or growing crops outdoors or in greenhouses are structurally stable, are not causing pollution, are not causing noise pollution or leaving debris unattended to.
The intent of this initiative is to increase the availability of affordable housing, lower the cost of low impact working spaces and increase the availability of healthy foods by allowing alternative housing that is both safe and sustainable, but at a lower initial investment.
This will lead to a huge boom in economic activity among lower income individuals and groups by reducing payments for rents, mortgages and business loans. Citizens will have the choice of living and working in alternative structures that allows them to start out small and gradually add improvements over time.
Initially all other building codes, use permits and zoning codes would stay in place. The difference would be that individuals would have the legal right to live, work and grow food in any zoning area and with little infrastructure. Tenants and owners would be allowed to install infrastructure improvements one step at a time instead of all at once. Periodic inspections would be required to make sure that improvements have not been added without inspection and occupants are not causing any health and safety issues.
Join me for a zoom discussion about this proposal and how we might begin to organize drafting an initiative to be placed on the voters ballot.