Dear Editor,
I live in R-1 Carlson Park. I love my neighborhood and my neighbors. Adding denser housing to our neighborhood might take a little getting used to. It might mean a few more cars on my street. It might mean a little more construction. It might mean a few more joggers and bikers, a few less McMansions, a few more volunteers at my kids’ public schools, more Girl Scouts selling cookies, and a few more people planning and attending our Block Party. I think I can get used to these changes.
I thank our City Council for their tireless work on this issue. I urge the Council to focus their energies on affordable housing in every neighborhood. This past November, a single-family home sold on my street for $4,000,000. I’m sure my new neighbors will be lovely, but I also want to make sure people from all economic levels have a chance to be a part of my community.
Sincerely,
Bronwyn Schrecker Jamrok
The YIMBY (Yes, in my back yard) movement is clearly a positive force. Ms. Jamrok is absolutely correct on the most essential points: Culver City, greater Los Angeles … the Nation needs cheaper housing; to get cheaper housing we need more housing; and to get more housing we need broad reform to America’s zoning laws—a thicket of arbitrary rules that serve to protect the advantage of the wealthy. Any person supporting the common good and “promoting the general welfare,” displayed in her letter, should acknowledge the absolute necessity of this societal need. It addresses a real and pressing economic problem, but it also touches a deep need in the human spirit — the need to live close to other human beings in tolerance.