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In ‘warfare against renters,’ homeowners fight affordable housing push – NBC News
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At a packed City Hall meeting, one resident after another stood before the City Council of the suburban Phoenix city of Surprise pleading with officials to block the construction of an apartment complex for seniors and lower-income renters — shouting, heckling and arguing about crime and traffic congestion.
In the crowd was Nate Pomeroy, a leader in the effort to block the apartment complex. He moved to Surprise in 2018 from Scottsdale after years in California to retire and expected it would be the last home he’d live in.
Now, he’s not sure he’ll stay. He worries the apartment complex will increase traffic and change the character of the area, which is made up of sprawling subdivisions of Spanish-style homes selling for $500,000 to $700,000.
The heated debate in Surprise, population 150,000, is being echoed in large and small communities across the country as local officials have pushed to increase the housing supply with small backyard bungalows to subsidized apartment complexes in response to surging rents and home prices since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s just going to turn this into a very high-density area. It’s going to really change the look and feel of where we are, and people aren’t happy about it,” Pomeroy said. “The City Council and city management have not listened effectively. They’re going to build and build and build, and it’s no longer going to be the last place I live.”
Vocal groups of homeowners say they are fearful of what the changes could mean for their communities. Increasingly, they are fighting back with lawsuits, referendums, appeals to state representatives and recall elections in a battle to stave off multifamily housing in their largely suburban neighborhoods.
“It’s the same buzzwords no matter where you are. Some are more veiled than others as far as whether they will flat-out say that renters are second-class citizens,” said Owen Metz, a senior vice president at Dominium, an affordable housing developer that is working on the proposed apartment complex in Surprise. “It’s not everywhere, but there seems to be this growing warfare against renters.”
Homeowners have long put up fights against new developments — the acronym NIMBY, or “not in my backyard,” has been in use for decades — but the battles have grown louder in recent years amid a wave of apartment construction stretching outside of city centers. The debates have also taken on new urgency as surging home prices drive out middle-class workers and lead to an uptick in homelessness, affordable housing advocates said.
For the past 15 years, the rate at which new homes and apartments are being built has failed to keep up with the demand, in part because of the lingering effects of the 2008 housing market crash, said Jeff Tucker, a senior economist at Zillow, which estimates the U.S. has a shortage of more than 4 million homes.
Awais Azhar, a housing advocate in Austin, Texas, who is a member of the city’s Planning Commission, said: “That cost pressure that was being felt by coastal cities has now traveled to our suburbs. It’s traveled to our rural areas. Affordability is truly a United States crisis. There is a lot of pressure and angst from local advocates and leaders, because while unaffordability has been an issue for a while, we’ve just never seen this level of crisis in the way we’re seeing it now.”
The housing shortage was aggravated during the pandemic when remote work and the desire for more space led to a population shift toward less densely packed suburban areas and relatively lower-cost states, like Texas, Arizona and Colorado. In turn, home prices have risen more than 30% and rents are up more than 25% nationwide since 2020.
The Phoenix area has experienced some of the biggest housing cost increases in the country, with rents up 41% since the start of 2020 and home prices up more than 50%, according to Zillow. At the same time, homelessness in the region has increased 36%.
In Surprise, an outer-lying suburb of Phoenix backed up against the desert, residents have been fighting the city and the developer for more than a year, first with an attempt to get the project on the election ballot and then in court.
At the center of the fight are 388 apartments for people with incomes up to $39,300 for individuals and $56,100 for families of four with rents that would range from $1,052 for one bedroom to $1,458 for three bedrooms. The proposed development, on what was once a ranch, would also include 211 units of housing for seniors.
City officials supporting the development said it could help provide housing to workers essential to the community, like teachers making an average salary of $42,000.
The project would be financed by a federal low-income housing tax credit that would offset some of the costs and enable the developer to offer below-market rents. Unlike government-owned and -operated public housing projects built for lower-income residents decades ago, the vast majority of affordable housing built today is owned and managed by private developers using the tax credit.
Pomeroy said he understands the need for more affordable housing in Surprise and knows more development is inevitable in his neighborhood. But he doesn’t believe the project fits with the “look and feel” of the area and questions whether there is the road and water infrastructure to handle that many new residents.
“We’re not necessarily against affordable housing. We get this is politically very unpopular, because as soon as you talk about that the liberal locals, the media, etc., will label us as NIMBYs,” he said. “So now all of a sudden we’re back on our heels going ‘Wait a minute, we’re not bad people,’ and then they just shout you down and all that garbage.”
Homeowners are mounting opposition not just to housing that would provide below-market rents but to any attempt by city officials and developers to increase housing supply by building multifamily projects, whether they are large apartment complexes or smaller duplexes, in areas now dominated by single-family homes.
In Austin, residents sued to block the city from updating its land code to allow for more apartment buildings and multifamily projects — significantly slowing down a much-needed increase to the city’s housing supply, Azhar said. Average rents in the Austin area have increased 28% and the sale price of a home has increased nearly 50% since the start of 2020, according to data from Zillow.
In Colorado, an effort by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis to spur creation of more multifamily housing units statewide failed this year, and residents have continued to push back at the local level.
In the Denver suburb of Englewood, residents are seeking to recall the mayor and several City Council members over their support for more multifamily housing, including changes that would allow people to build smaller homes on their properties called accessory dwelling units, said Kurt Suppes, who is organizing the recall.
“All these people that bought these homes all these years ago are now suddenly facing huge changes in their neighborhoods and the potential loss of a whole lot of the equity that they have in their homes,” said Suppes, who has lived in his home in Englewood for 40 years. “Nobody is going to want to buy your house except the developers.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul recently backed off a statewide strategy to build 800,000 homes over the next decade that would have included increasing development in New York City’s suburbs after swift bipartisan opposition from members of the state Legislature.
The debate has also been playing out in Washington. President Joe Biden has urged the construction of more affordable housing, having released a plan last year to provide incentives for states and cities to build hundreds of thousands of affordable housing units over the next three years. That’s in contrast with former President Donald Trump, who repeatedly warned while he was in office that Democrats would destroy the suburbs with low-income housing that would bring crime and reduce home values.
The resistance from homeowners and elected officials has caused developers to abandon projects and slowed construction, in some cases adding a year or more to projects’ timelines, said Dan Klocke, a project development manager with the affordable housing builder Gorman & Co. It has also caused developers to avoid undertaking projects in some cities that have mounted past opposition, he said.
“The risks are high. All of that added time for not just one project but for hundreds of projects slows down the amount of housing that you build over time in your state,” Klocke said. “When you continue to do that in project after project, you build far fewer housing units, and it’s basic supply and demand. The less supply, the higher the demand, the higher the price. Then, there goes your affordability.”
While residents have so far been unable to stop the development in Surprise, opposition from residents and a lack of support from city officials in nearby Buckeye contributed to the same developer’s decision to cancel plans to build 300 subsidized apartment units in the city, Metz said.
Local officials said they saw an unprecedented level of opposition from residents, who raised fears about crime to water shortages.
“I don’t think I have gotten more complaints about a specific project than that project. Our inboxes were just full,” Mayor Eric Orsborn said.
Like Surprise, Buckeye sits at the edge of the desert in the outer ring of metropolitan Phoenix, and its population has ballooned, too. In 2000, it had just 6,500 residents, half of them inmates at the local prison, and it now has a population of more than 100,000, Orsborn said.
But more large-scale housing projects are inevitable for the community given the pace of growth, and they are something residents are going to have to learn to accept, Buckeye City Council member Clay Goodman said.
“You can’t shut the door after you get here,” Goodman said. “There’s a whole bunch of growth that’s coming, and as a council, we’re trying to do it the right way.”
Shannon Pettypiece is senior policy reporter for NBC News digital.
© 2023 NBC UNIVERSAL
By Brad Snyder-The Undercard
Photos by Bob Ryder
Detroit Promoter Carlos Llinas worked his magic, again. Llinas continues to throw boxing and mma shows with the Soundboard at Motor City Casino as a partner. On Friday, another show in the series had undefeated Derick Miller (12-0, 7 KOs) in his toughest challenge yet. Facing off versus a quicker and, possibly, a more powerful Crusierweight in Isaiah Thompson (7-3-2, 6 KOs). Round 1 looked like Thompson could produce the first loss for Miller. Thompson looked for combos and had a stronger jab in Round 1. Thompson looked quick. In the 2nd Round, Miller landed his first good right versus the southpaw, Thompson. The round finished with a good exchange with Miller landing the more accurate shots. In Round 3, Miller showcased his uppercuts, easily winning the round. In the 4th, Miller controlled the round the entire time, except in the last 30 seconds. Thompson, finally, picked up his pace trying to steal the round. For the 5th, Thompson, sensing urgency, just started throwing haymakers that could not land. The last round Miller controlled the center and just boxed. Miller beat an impressive opponent by UD (59-55, 59-55, 58-56).
The co-main event featured two Heavyweights battling over six rounds. Prospect Vernon Webber (8-0, 5 KOs) was able to survive stumbling from a left jab thrown by Twon Smith (3-7, 2 KOs) in the first. When the pace slowed later in the fight, Webber looked strong. Easily the toughest test to date for Webber. With strong management and good promotion, Webber may have a big future in the sport. The 1st Round was wild, as both boxers were throwing everything they had. In the end, Webber came out victorious (60-54, 60-54, 59-55) with a UD.
Super Middleweight Justin Johnson (1-0, 1 KO) won his debut over debut Shermin Williams (0-1) by TKO at teh 2:19 mark of the 1st Round.
Sam Rizzo (5-1, 5 KOs) beat Lightweight Carlos Ovando (0-4) by TKO at the 1:51 mark of the 3rd Round. Rizzo scored two knockdowns in the fight.
Minimumweight Alonzo Littlejohn (0-3) was shot three times in his lifetime. Two of the shots hit near the bottom back of his head and neck. Then, six months later, the man was hit by a truck. Littlejohn showed his toughness in the ring, as well, being able to go the distance with opponent David Rojas (2-0, 1 KO). Rojas, who scored often, could not put away the tough kid. Rojas won the 4-Round contest (40-36, 40-36, 40-36).
Junior Middleweight Matt Niziolek (4-1, 3 KOs) scored a 1:10 TKO win over Donquay White (0-1).
Joseph Hicks (6-0, 5 KOs) looked sharp with his TKO victory at the 3:00 minute mark of the 2nd Round. Hicks beat Noah Kidd (6-8-2, 5 KOs) by Kidd not being able to answer the 3rd Round bell. The Super Middleweight contest keeps Hicks moving along on the early days of his career.
Welterweight Luis Quintero (4-0, 4 KOs) won by TKO at the 1:38 mark of the 1st Round. Quintero easily defeated Joshua Bourdreaux (0-6), who acted uncomfortable in the ring.
The Fight of the Night award goes to the Super Lightweight Joshua Pagan (6-0, 2 KOs) and Wesley Rivers (1-1). This was not an easy fight to score, as in the 1st Round, you could have made a case for either fighter. Both the 2nd and 3rd Rounds belonged to Pagan. But Rivers appeared to win the 4th Round. Pagan ended up winning the Majority Decision contest with scores (38-38, 40-36, 39-38).
Junior Middleweight Joseph Bonas started the night off with a 2:26 2nd Round TKO victory over Anthony Smith (1-5, 1 KO). The win Improved Bonas to (8-1, 7 KOs).
The fights were promoted with longtime promoter Carlos Llinas. The fights were matched by Lina Kurylyuk, Steve Clemente, and Carlos Llinas. The bouts were refereed by first time Referee Eric Hall and long time ref Steve Daher.
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Nice job of matchmaking by Steve
Clemente and Lina Kurylyuk….
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Sean Strickland upsets Israel Adesanya to take UFC middleweight title – Al Jazeera English
The 32-year-old Strickland, who made a stir with controversial comments before the fight, wins unanimous five-round decision.
American Sean Strickland has stunned Nigerian-born New Zealander Israel Adesanya to take the middleweight title by unanimous decision in the main event of UFC 293, the first Ultimate Fighting Championship event in Australia’s largest city in six years.
The 32-year-old Strickland (28-5), who caused a stir in the lead-up to the fight with sexist and misogynistic comments at a news conference promoting the bout, won a five-round decision with all three judges scoring it 49-46.
“Am I dreaming? Am I going to wake up? Someone hit me … I don’t cry much but I’m trying to keep it together right now,” an emotional Strickland said immediately after the bout. “I give up so many brain cells to the MMA gods … I thought I’d be walking away a little bloody, a little broken up. I’m a little shocked that didn’t happen.”
Backed by strong vocal support at Qudos Bank Arena, Adesanya (24-3) was a clear favourite to subdue his controversial American opponent and retain the title he won from Alex Pereira at UFC 281 in April.
But the 32-year-old Strickland’s counterattacking style was brutally effective with the American landing the more telling shots throughout the fight with Adesanya struggling to find a way to hurt Strickland.
After a patient start by both fighters which saw Adesanya probing Strickland’s unusual style, it was the American who found the first telling strike with a clean straight shot that felled Adesanya. Strickland quickly moved in on the 34-year-old New Zealander’s back with a flurry of strikes to close out the first round in the American’s favour.
Adesanya was more assertive in the second and third rounds, finding his range with his kicks and right-hand shots but continued to leave himself open for Strickland to strike at his body and head.
The final rounds saw Adesanya move more into his shell as the New Zealander struggled to make an imprint on the American’s defence. Strickland sensed the opportunity to go after the champion and a flurry of punches and kicks in the final minute helped ensure the decision and the middleweight title.
“You don’t fight that guy with that many highlight-reel knockouts,” Strickland said about Adesanya. “The majority of my friends, he’s beat pretty easily. I was even kind of doubting myself at times.”
“But I’ve got to say, the fans in Australia, you guys motivated me. When I’m walking in here and I heard you guys yelling. In that fourth round, I heard you guys yelling. It fuelled me.”
The UFC fight made news in the New South Wales state legislature, where the leading government politician was forced to defend his state’s payment of about $10m to help ensure the UFC event came to Sydney, for the first time since 2017, after Strickland made sexist and misogynistic comments about putting women back in the kitchen.
Strickland had agreed to fight on late notice after Adesanya’s South African rival Dricus du Plessis was unavailable due to injury. The fifth-ranked American earned his title shot after wins over Abus Magomedov and Nassourdine Imavov.
In the co-main event, Alexander Volkov (37-10) won his heavyweight bout by submission in the second round against 30-year-old Sydney-born Tai Tuivasa.
The 34-year-old Russian dominated the fight despite an injury to his front leg which Tuivasa had targeted earlier in the round, with a lopsided strike count as he landed hit after hit on the Australian before trapping him in a choke hold which forced Tuivasa to tap out.
“[He took] so many punches and he was still on his legs. This guy is very tough,” said 34-year-old Volkov, who won by submission for the first time since 2016.
Australian Tyson Pedro opened the main card knocking out Sweden’s Anton Turkalj in the first round before New Zealander Justin Tafa did the same to American Austen Lane in a heavyweight bout and Manel Kape beat Felipe dos Santos by a five-round unanimous decision in an entertaining flyweight match.
Follow Al Jazeera English:
In a clash between former heavyweight title challengers, Derek Chisora (34-12, 23 KOs) scored a ten round unanimous decision over Gerald Washington (20-6-1, 13 KOs). 39-year-old Chisora, coming off a WBC title shot against Tyson Fury in December, pressed the action against 41-year-old Washington in a slow-paced fight. Scores were 98-93, 97-94, 96-94.
Unbeaten heavyweight Johnny “The Romford Bull” Fisher (10-0, 9 KOs) stopped Harry Armstrong (5-2-1, 0 KOs) in round seven to claim the vacant English Southern Area title. Fisher dropped Armstrong in the first ten seconds, then seemingly punched himself out a bit trying unsuccessfully to get the finish. Fisher finally broke through again in round seven, dropping Armstrong, and getting the stoppage with his follow up barrage as Armstrong’s corner threw in the towel. Time was 1:19.
Super lightweight Campbell Hatton (13-0, 5 KOs), son of ring legend Ricky Hatton, outpointed Tom Ansell (10-5, 2 KOs) over eight rounds by a score of 78-74.
Other Results:
George Liddard W6 Bas Oosterweghel (middleweight)
Brandon Scott W6 Louis Norman (featherweight)
Maiseyrose Courtney W6 Gemma Ruegg (female super flyweight)
Liddard – Oosterweghel was an awesome fight! Tons of action and big heart from both guys, Ooster in particular.
Hatton vs. Ansell was a one-dimensional and one speed fight. Anemic at best…
sounds like a terrible fight, as chisora gets a predictable win. i guess, good for him
Chisora got a cherry-picked paycheck last December fighting Fury as a personal favor to line his pocket. Oddly, this matchup was a dud. Chisora, I doubt has any tools left to regain a legit belt unless he gets lucky by the skin of his teeth. Washington fought more defensive than offensive making this fight even more boring.
Understand your opinion Scooby…but Chisora is actually a skilled fighter just old..,in shape Chisora can be deadly…good body puncher for a heavyweight…see a lot of decent skills in Chisora…again he is just old…he is a good draw…that is why he continues to get fights…even if the competition is C level….can be fun to watch…
Yes, I agree, he is a durable and experienced fighter. However, now, I am simply stating my current assessment of his status. What is scary is… Advanced aging means higher risk for injuries in the ring. He has young daughters and needs to take that into consideration in my opinion.
Chisora and Washington need to retired it no shame both had great careers fought for world heavyweight titles unfortunately father time catch up.
I smell dell boy vs AJ on the horizon
Chisora is a tough fighter.
Still dangerous if he really wants it. But, I think he just love to fight anyone and really doesnt care enough of his career. A warrior. You got to respect that.
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