Comments

1

I live in District 4. Alex Pedersen is fucking invisible. Find another avenue, youngsters.

2

"When they started school, grad students Matthew Mitnick and Pierce Bock and undergrad Mario Falit-Baiamonte wrestled with the prospect of finding an affordable place to live in one of the country’s most cutthroat housing markets."

I grappled with the same issue. I elected to attend a school with a lower cost of living, that also offered me a substantial scholarship. Problem solved.

At least Pedersen met with these students. That's more than I would expect from Sawant or Herbold.

3

Digs at Pederson aside, I’m not sure why finding affordable housing for students to purchase is getting legs here given the affordable housing crisis landscape. Students in school absolutely need housing. Students with degrees will be in a much better position to earn a higher income and buy homes. These affordable units will be owned by occupants with some level of upward mobility and not available to the low income. How does this make sense? Why not stop at affordable housing for students?

4

It says right in the article that the SCC has no standing to do actually do anything here. It sounds like Frank Chopp blew some smoke up their butt and the UW blew them off entirely so why is Pederson the bad guy in this article. They haven't even tried to talk to Sound Transit apparently. I find the urbanist obsession with destroying golf courses weird as well.

5

@4:

Maybe because golf courses, both private an municipal are HUGE wastes of land and resources to the point of being detrimental to the overall environment, not to mention frequently get enormous tax breaks not available to anyone else?

6

@6 there are plenty of things that fit into that category so why single out golf? It’s a recreational space and a public amenity like many other things. I assume your tax quip is about private courses. There are well documented reasons they are not taxed at the same rate as the land around them and again if you are looking for tax equity there is a lot of shit to start tearing down. Me thinks this has more to do with the perception of who plays golf than anything else. Maybe If the urbanists actually visited a course they’d be surprised at who is there.

8

It's currently fashionable to go after golf courses, totally ignoring the fact that the public courses are popular, and provide an exercise opportunity for people of all ages, income levels, and races. It's a bias based on too many viewings of "Caddyshack". Since it's not soccer or cycling, it's elitist or something.

For what it's worth, the UW doesn't have a golf course. It hasn't had a golf course since they opened the UW Hospital in 1949 or thereabouts. It has a driving range, adjacent to the huge parking lot that no one seems to be fussing over.

12

@3: Why UTHIA pursues a rent-to-own model in areas close to the UW simply wasn't explained. Under this plan, no matter how many units are built, every unit will eventually become occupied by no-longer-students, with net zero benefit to then-students who will (presumably) still want housing near the UW.

If UTHIA actually has the attention of Rep. Frank Chopp, then why not simply have the legislature pay for more dormitories on the UW campus? Oh, wait, that's right: Chopp didn't actually do anything at all for UTHIA:

"Rep. Frank Chopp (D-Seattle) said he enjoyed meeting with the students, described their plan as totally feasible, and rattled off dozens of examples of developers using Sound Transit land for affordable housing.

[...]

"Chopp said he supports the rent-to-own model, but he added that the students would need to partner with an existing nonprofit to avoid running afoul of state laws that limit the use of public funds for private entities."

@4: The article is very clear that neither the SCC nor the state legislature has any agency to help UTHIA. Pedersen gets the Stranger's shiv because he defeated their candidate, Shaun Scott. (https://www.thestranger.com/news/2019/10/09/41625578/the-strangers-endorsements-for-the-november-5-2019-general-election)

13

Have you ever been to Jefferson Park, Azzam dear? It's not far from the light rail line, so you can feel morally pure visiting it.

Half of it is an open park, with loads of green space (not many trees, but that's because a lot of it is lidded reservoir), a community center, a playground, a driving range, and a lawn bowling club (also probably elitist, because the hipsters haven't discovered it yet). The other half is a golf course.

You should go there on a lovely spring morning, get yourself a nice beverage at the restaurant, and actually look at the people who are going there to golf. I can assure you that they are not "elites". For that, you need to go to Broadmoor, or Sand Point, or any number of places on the eastside. That's where your beef should be.


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