Poll: Petaluma should expedite housing projects

A majority of respondents to an online Argus-Courier poll said that Petaluma should adopt policies to expedite affordable housing projects in the wake of recent wildfires that destroyed thousands of homes countywide.

Here are some comments:

“Affordable housing is subsidized rental housing. We need housing for all. The problem starts at city hall. The process to create housing in Petaluma is so costly and takes longer than almost anywhere in the country.”

“Expediting policies like this will only come back to bite us later. The only ones making out with this are the money hungry property owners, not some poor fire victim from Santa Rosa. Unfortunately political correctness will win out like it normally does.”

“It’s about time the city realized that people can’t afford to build anything here any more. And while they’re at it, how about fixing the roads the west side council ignores on the east side.”

“Petaluma has built thousands of ‘affordable’ units in the last 20 years. Ecumenical housing has many sites around the city. They are all snapped up immediately. The demand for housing can never be satisfied.”

“The need for more affordable housing was evident even before the wildfires. Now it is desperately urgent and should be a top priority.”

“We are paying the price for the anti-growth agenda. For years we didn’t invest in fire or police because of the lack of tax money and now we have a shortage of affordable apartments or condos.”

“We don’t need to overreact to the fires and build bad projects.”

“All housing projects should be expedited, but at what expense?”