We were excited to be part of this event since Jill played a significant role in making this project possible. Jill and Herb discussed ways to involve the religious community in the new Habitat project, which makes sense, since this project couldn't have happened without the support of churches.
When the Desiderio Reserve Center was about to close, developers wanted to exploit this prime piece of real estate for profit, but Jill and other housing justice advocates saw "a golden opportunity to create affordable housing." They knew that the "Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act. . . made serving the homeless the first priority for use of all surplus Federal properties, including military installations."
Even though the law was clear, it took a tremendous amount of work and community organizing to convince the city to follow the law and make the land available to Habitat for affordable housing. This story is told in Jill's book "Making Housing Happen," excerpted below.
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| John Kennedy, new Pasadena City Council member |
"It will also be my mission to work with you [community leaders] in addressing yhe affordable housing crisis in Pasadena. Let's take bold, yet fiscally responsible steps to ensure peole who grow up here and who work here can also afford to live here."
As the story below makes clear, it isn't always easy to persuade the City Council to do the right thing when it comes to addressing the needs of poor and low-income people. We hope that John Kennedy and others will fulfill their promise and do what it takes to ensure affordable housing for those in our city who need and deserve it.
Habitat for Humanity: An Organizing Success, with a Compromise
When we learned
that the Desiderio Army Reserve Center in Pasadena was scheduled for closure in
2011, those of us concerned about the homeless were thrilled. In 1987 Congress
enacted the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act which made serving the
homeless the first priority for use of all surplus Federal properties,
including military installations. We saw this base closure as a golden
opportunity to create affordable housing.
In 2006
developers and various nonprofits came together to envision how this highly
desirable 5.1 acre property could be used to benefit the city. After tours of
the site and rousing discussions, proposals were drafted by various groups.
Some developers ignored the law and proposed upscale projects. The Union Rescue
Mission, keenly aware of the need for permanent affordable housing for the
homeless, presented a proposal calling for a large number of low-income rental
units. Habitat for Habitat made a more modest proposal calling for only nine
housing units for those of moderate means.
Those of us
committed to affordable housing were torn between these two proposals. Many of
us preferred the Union Rescue Mission’s plan to address the needs of the
homeless. We were dismayed that Habitat proposed such a small number of units,
and that they benefited only those of moderate income. But we decided Habitat
was astute in offering a compromise that would be palatable to this upscale
neighborhood because it was lower density and homeownership, not rentals.
I asked the
city attorney at one of these meetings how we could justify only nine units for
people who were not necessarily homeless when the Act clearly specified that
the homeless should be prioritized. He replied, “All that matters is that we
keep in our minds the needs of the homeless. We don’t necessarily have to
comply with this Act.” I couldn’t believe my ears and was bewildered by his
response, but at the time I felt I had to trust his political acumen.
When the
concept designs of Habitat and other top contenders emerged, we decided we
would stand behind Habitat despite our concern that the homeless should be a
priority.
It soon became
obvious to me that God was orchestrating plans for Habitat’s approval. At the
annual banquet of our local ecumenical council, I was called to the podium
unexpectedly to give a challenge to the churches to come out and support
Habitat’s cause. At other pastoral and church alliances, such spontaneous
opportunities presented themselves. By the time the city was ready to hear Habitat’s
proposal, over 50 churches were represented at City Council meetings to express
their support.
To dramatize
this support, we painted big cardboard signs spelling out each letter of
“Habitat” in bold red and black letters. Whenever Habitat’s name was mentioned
during the city council meeting, we all silently stood up in unison in the back
two rows, lifting up the letters on cue. This became a powerful message that
deeply impressed the city council members.
It also became
a tool to transformation for David, a youth I had been helping to leave a gang
and return to high school. Rather than tagging buildings, he lifted one of the
Habitat letters to help get approval for affordable homes.
When he and I walked
out to the lobby, there sat fifteen youth from his high school, all part of a
mentoring program. They had come to learn how the system works. They begged
David to join their program and that was the key that motivated David to go
back to school.
Habitat was
approved, but when the plans were sent to HUD and the Department of Defense (DOD),
they were not approved because they
didn’t include plans for the homeless. Our housing director Bill Huang was able
to use another site in the city to satisfy the HUD’s and DOD’s requirement that
space be provided for homeless housing and services. Today the nine Habitat
homes are successfully working their way through the pre-development phrase and
fund raising efforts.
The lesson we learned is that compromise is sometimes necessary to make housing happen. We didn’t create affordable housing for the formerly homeless, as we hoped, but we did help Habitat gain approval to build moderately priced homes in a wealthy community that would not have tolerated rental units for low-income. We also learned that if churches work together, we can make a difference
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