Voters of Berkeley, beware! There is a deceptive, cynical petition being circulated right now claiming to be an "affordable housing" initiative that is actually a landlord/property owner funded proposal that would substantially reduce those housing fees and revenues. The Berkeley Property Owners' Association is circulating a petition which purports to raise additional funds for the Housing Trust Fund. The problem with that assertion is that the property owners' proposal would only raise about 20% of the funds raised by a stronger ballot measure - that is agreed upon by housing advocates and the City Council and endorsed by the BTU - and would not specifically go toward housing, but merely the general fund. Two ballot measures in competition likely results in neither receiving a majority of votes, which is what BPOA is hoping to accomplish.
Housing activists/advocates and our City Council have agreed upon a ballot initiative that would generate significantly more revenue for Berkeley's Housing Trust Fund.
There are NO authentic pro-housing petitions being circulated in Berkeley right now. Ask petitioners who is sponsoring the one they are carrying, and if they answer BPOA or say they do not know, do not sign it.
If you have already signed a petition, and feel you were misinformed or deceived in doing so, you can have your name removed! Please fill out THIS form.The petition must be printed out and physically signed. It can then either be:
(1) dropped off to the City Clerk in person on the First Floor of 2180 Milvia St, M-Fr 8:00 am - 5:00pm (except on certain Fridays that are Voluntary Time Off (VTO) days);
(2) scanned and emailed (with the original signature) to clerk@cityofberkeley.info; or
(3) faxed (with the original signature) to (510) 981-6901. at the Berkeley City Clerk's office.
You must do this before the petitions are delivered to the City Clerk, which is likely to be within a few days.
The link for more info on on removing your name from a petition is here.
Housing is at a critical and emergency state in Berkeley, and regionally as well. We need to protect, maintain, and add to our low- and moderate-income housing stock, in a variety of ways. Adding essentially needed funds to Berkeley's Housing Trust Fund is one mechanism to do so. The more funds available in the Housing Trust Fund the more other funds can be leveraged, and the more truly affordable housing can be built and maintained. Please, please do not sign ANY so-called "affordable housing" petition in Berkeley.