IF BIG BROTHER WANTS YOUR HOUSE
By Jerome Cleary
Life has just been made much more interesting when the highest U.S. Court has made a final decision that blight does not have to be an option when cities deem your home and neighborhood financially advantageous for their future.Imagine that if you are a home owner or apartment owner and that your property in West Hollywood may be seen as the next viable Gateway Project, new civic center or new housing towers. You open your mail one day and get a notice that informs you that you have a window of time to re-locate. Yes, fees will be paid to buy you out, but what does this all mean?Years ago it was depressed bad neighborhoods, today it can be anywhere. This means that more plans for big-box stores, office complexes, entertainment centers or anything our West Hollywood government sees fit to be our next big thing. Residents will not have to worry about having neighborhood meetings, gathering petitions, getting web sites or storming city hall, city council meetings, planning commission meetings or historic preservation meetings as the highest court has given carte blanche to our West Hollywood officials and the rest of the country.So that lovely $1.5-million home with two bedrooms you have been calling “home” may be appreciating fast in value in the hottest Southern California and West Hollywood market, but don’t plan on retiring in your personally owned home too fast. Your neighborhood may in the next five to 20 years turn out to be the best location for a Costco or a new media center of offices and condos.We have experienced in our recent past: a recession in the early 1990s, post 9/11 economic woes where people stayed glued to their televisions during the fall of 2001 and winter of 2002 watching anthrax reports and top terrorists lists along with high alerts in colors of bright orange and red. Merchants, businesses and restaurants suffered or went under as large masses of people did not venture out to live their daily lives.So now our own city can move forward with greater confidence and no court can stand in their way. High-paying developers now can wield the kind of leverage that is given the support and green light by the courts. How can the average Joe and Jane compete with this? The answer is, we cannot. Today the landscape of West Hollywood and the entire country has changed with one swift final decision. Now when you see individuals taking a walk in your neighborhood with a clip board in hand, they may not be from the Sierra Club or getting signatures for an upcoming proposition to put on our ballots, they may be considering your section of town for financial gain.In life you can count on two things: death and taxes. Now you may have fears about going to your mailbox each day to collect your mail. Maybe the welcome mat you have displayed over the years has taken on a whole new meaning you were not counting on. “Welcome” to take my home whenever you need it. Jerome Cleary is a 20-year West Hollywood resident/renter, community advocate and TV talk show host. He is an apartment renter and hopes to one day buy a condo or house, although now he is not too sure.
Life has just been made much more interesting when the highest U.S. Court has made a final decision that blight does not have to be an option when cities deem your home and neighborhood financially advantageous for their future.Imagine that if you are a home owner or apartment owner and that your property in West Hollywood may be seen as the next viable Gateway Project, new civic center or new housing towers. You open your mail one day and get a notice that informs you that you have a window of time to re-locate. Yes, fees will be paid to buy you out, but what does this all mean?Years ago it was depressed bad neighborhoods, today it can be anywhere. This means that more plans for big-box stores, office complexes, entertainment centers or anything our West Hollywood government sees fit to be our next big thing. Residents will not have to worry about having neighborhood meetings, gathering petitions, getting web sites or storming city hall, city council meetings, planning commission meetings or historic preservation meetings as the highest court has given carte blanche to our West Hollywood officials and the rest of the country.So that lovely $1.5-million home with two bedrooms you have been calling “home” may be appreciating fast in value in the hottest Southern California and West Hollywood market, but don’t plan on retiring in your personally owned home too fast. Your neighborhood may in the next five to 20 years turn out to be the best location for a Costco or a new media center of offices and condos.We have experienced in our recent past: a recession in the early 1990s, post 9/11 economic woes where people stayed glued to their televisions during the fall of 2001 and winter of 2002 watching anthrax reports and top terrorists lists along with high alerts in colors of bright orange and red. Merchants, businesses and restaurants suffered or went under as large masses of people did not venture out to live their daily lives.So now our own city can move forward with greater confidence and no court can stand in their way. High-paying developers now can wield the kind of leverage that is given the support and green light by the courts. How can the average Joe and Jane compete with this? The answer is, we cannot. Today the landscape of West Hollywood and the entire country has changed with one swift final decision. Now when you see individuals taking a walk in your neighborhood with a clip board in hand, they may not be from the Sierra Club or getting signatures for an upcoming proposition to put on our ballots, they may be considering your section of town for financial gain.In life you can count on two things: death and taxes. Now you may have fears about going to your mailbox each day to collect your mail. Maybe the welcome mat you have displayed over the years has taken on a whole new meaning you were not counting on. “Welcome” to take my home whenever you need it. Jerome Cleary is a 20-year West Hollywood resident/renter, community advocate and TV talk show host. He is an apartment renter and hopes to one day buy a condo or house, although now he is not too sure.
posted by JeromeCleary @ 4:19 PM
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