Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/691398
ByJonathanJ.Cooper and Janie Har TheAssociatedPress SACRAMENTO California legislative leaders seeking a big influx of money for low- income housing got Gov. Jerry Brown on board, but there's a catch: Lawmak- ers will have to approve Brown's contested proposal to speed approval for de- velopments that include af- fordable units. The plan is aimed at quickly increasing the sup- ply of housing. But some neighborhood activists are furious at the prospect of losing a voice in approving construction that they fear will change the character of their communities. The budget compromise was reached Thursday be- tween Brown, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon. Ren- don and de Leon are both Los Angeles Democrats. As part of the roughly $122 billion budget deal, they agreed to spend $400 million to build housing for people with low incomes, as long as lawmakers can ap- prove Brown's plan to ease development restrictions. "Four hundred million bucks is nothing. They're giving away the store for nothing," San Francisco Su- pervisor Aaron Peskin said. Peskin says the gover- nor's proposal may be good for cities that have lagged in building affordable units, but San Francisco is not one of them. Voters there approved a measure this week that allows the Board of Supervisors to double the amount of affordable hous- ing built by market-rate de- velopers to 25 percent for certain projects. San Francisco, notorious for its limited housing stock and high home prices, is also known for lengthy de- velopment timelines that allow for multiple reviews and opportunities for ob- jection. Brown's proposal would allow developers to side- step those local review pro- cesses if their projects al- ready meet neighborhood zoning requirements such as height and density stan- dards, and if a portion of units include income re- strictions. Opponents of the pro- posal include dozens of worker, immigrant, en- vironmental and tenant groups throughout Califor- nia. They say forcing devel- opment "by right" is deeply undemocratic, giving real estate interests too much power over vulnerable res- idents who could see their homes razed for retail cen- ters that lack sufficient af- fordable housing units. The agreement to marry housing money with speeding develop- ment places lawmakers in a tough spot. Limiting the influence of organized neighborhood groups may not be popular with a vo- cal bloc of voters. Likewise, Brown's will- ingness to spend heavily on housing marks a nota- ble concession for a gover- nor who's been both skepti- cal of the value of housing subsidies and eager to save for a recession he warns is coming. In releasing his own budget proposal last month, Brown said hous- ing subsidies benefit a small number of people at a high price. Highlighting Brown's caution on new spending commitments, state Con- troller Betty Yee said Friday that May tax revenue fell short of expectations for the second consecutive month, due largely to a spike in cor- porate tax refunds. Still, the state's $102.57 billion in rev- enue for the fiscal year to date exceeded expectations by 1.7 percent. Sen. Mark Leno, a San Francisco Democrat who's taken a skeptical view of Brown's proposal on de- velopment, said whittling it into an acceptable plan will take months, but he be- lieves it's possible. "A one-size fits all (pol- icy) for such a significant change in land use could prove to be problematic, so we need to get it really right," Leno said Thursday evening as a budget confer- ence committee approved the deal. SACRAMENTO Lawmakers in tough spot with Brown's housing deal IL—ERICRISBERG Two men walk past a new apartment building on Mission Street in San Francisco. Rental rates, especially in the trendier parts of the city run well over $3,000a month for a one- bedroom flat and nearly $5,000for two bedrooms. By Kristin J. Bender and Lisa Leff The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO A fledg- ling campaign to recall the judge who sentenced a former Stanford Univer- sity swimmer to six months in jail for sexually assault- ing an unconscious woman gained momentum Friday as three prominent politi- cal consultants joined the effort. The Recall Judge Aaron Persky campaign said me- dia consultant Joe Trippi, campaign strategist John Shallman and pollster Paul Maslin would help secure the signa- tures and votes re- quired to remove the Santa Clara County ju- rist from the bench next year. T r i p p i has worked for a number of Democratic presidential candidates, while Maslin's clients include Gov. Jerry Brown and members of Congress. Shallman has worked for the president of the California Senate, who spearheaded passage of a law requiring colleges and universities to apply a "yes means yes" standard in sex- ual misconduct cases. Persky was re-elected in an unopposed election Tuesday, five days after sentencing Brock Turner, 20, to six months in jail and three years' proba- tion. The punishment for the Dayton, Ohio, native ignited intense outcry as too lenient. Prosecutors had argued for Turner to spend six years in prison for three fel- ony convictions that could have sent him away for 14 years. The judge said in court last week that he followed a recommendation from the county's probation de- partment and cited Turn- er's clean criminal record and the effect the convic- tion will have on his life. "I have daughters in col- lege myself, and I find it deeply disturbing that a judge like Persky could let a campus predator like Turner off with barely a slap on the wrist," Shallman said. "Justice is supposed to be blind —not stupid." Meanwhile, a group of California lawmakers joined women's rights ad- vocates in urging the Cal- ifornia agency that investi- gates complaints of judicial misconduct to take action against Persky. Eleven Democratic state lawmakers asked the Com- mission on Judicial Perfor- mance to investigate and discipline the judge, alleg- ing he may have engaged in misconduct in sentenc- ing Turner. The judge's decision "confirms what women al- ready knew: That rape cul- ture blames us for being vulnerable when crimes are committed against us, but treats the same factors — drinking, in particular — as reasons to be exceed- ingly lenient with rapists," Assemblywoman Susan Ta- lamantes Eggman of Stock- ton said. The lawmakers also want District Attorney Jeff Rosen to ask an appeals court to overturn the sentence. But prosecutors have said they don't think Persky's deci- sion can be appealed be- cause it was "authorized by law and was made by apply- ing the correct standards." Women's group UltraVi- olet submitted more than 800,000 signatures to the commission's San Francisco offices Friday in a symbolic effort for Persky's removal. The group also has filed a formal misconduct com- plaint. RECALL EFFORT Campaign to remove judge in Stanford sexual assault case gains steam Turner P.O.Box220 Red Bluff, CA 96080 Support our classrooms, keep kids reading. DONATE YOUR VACATION newspaper dollars to the Newspaper In Education Program HELP OUR CHILDREN Formoredetailscall Circulation Department (530) 737-5047 Please help sponsor a classroom subscription Call Kathy at (530) 737-5047 to find out how. ThroughtheNewspapersinEducation program, area classrooms receive the Red Bluff Daily News every day thanks to the generosity of these local businesses & individuals. 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