Some fed-up San Francisco residents recently set two dozen boulders on their street to deter people from camping there. The boulders would get rolled onto the street and then put back on the sidewalk, rolled onto the street and put back, before they were finally removed by the city—but not before an “anti-rock” person with a sense of humor listed the boulders in the free section on Craigslist.
Around the same time, President Donald Trump blasted California cities for its homeless problem.
All of this is a maddening distraction from real solutions to the housing crisis—affordable homes. This reminds me of another rock story: Years ago, I knew a high school principal. One day, she had the “senior rock” moved, which sparked a huge outcry because that’s where the seniors had always gathered on campus. While everyone was focused on the boulder, the school quietly adopted a potentially controversial dress code without protest. Whether by design or accident, she created a brilliant diversion.
It’s not just a funny story but a reminder that there’s usually more going on than what you see. Are we seeing isolated events in California, or are they signs of something bigger? Will there be more fights between the administration and local leaders over homelessness? What’s ahead and what’s happening behind the scenes?
Now, some good news: The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act (H.R. 3077 and S. 1703) had 117 co-sponsors in the House and 17 in the Senate in early October. Among other things, the bill seeks to increase the annual low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) authority by 50% over five years. Advocates are working hard. “At this time I am confident that whenever tax-related legislation is agreed upon, which will likely be by the end of the year, LIHTC provisions will be included in there,” says David Gasson, executive director of the Housing Advisory Group and vice president at Boston Capital. Now that’s a real solution.
