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Guest Opinion | Simon Gibbons | No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: When Housing Help Meets Hostility

Published on Monday, January 20, 2025 | 6:47 am
 

In the wake of the devastating Eaton Fire that has left tens of thousands of Pasadena area residents displaced and over 7,000 structures damaged or destroyed, one might expect all segments of our community to work together toward solutions. Instead, those of us attempting to provide immediate housing relief find ourselves cast as villains in a manufactured narrative of exploitation.

Pasadena Housing Providers’ recent proposal to streamline temporary housing solutions for fire victims has been willfully misconstrued as an attempt to “circumvent tenant protections.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Our proposal seeks to temporarily cut through red tape to rapidly house displaced families while maintaining core safety and fairness standards. Yet somehow, this straightforward disaster response has been twisted into a supposed attack on minority communities.

The reality is far from these lazy and cynical characterizations. When we proposed expedited processes for temporary housing, we were thinking of the mother and three children staying in their car because they can’t navigate the bureaucratic maze to secure temporary housing. We were thinking of the elderly couple sleeping on their daughter’s couch because rental applications are stuck in processing. We were thinking of the local owners of ADUs, condos and granny flats who want to help with this emergency, but who aren’t in a position to become long-term landlords. These are the real faces of the crisis that demand immediate, practical solutions.

What our critics conveniently ignore is that property owners themselves are taking significant risks by offering short-term housing in these uncertain circumstances. Many of us are willing to defer standard screening processes and accept reduced deposits to get families into homes quickly. We’re offering below-market rents to help those in desperate situations. Yet rather than acknowledge these good-faith efforts, certain advocacy groups prefer to paint us as predatory opportunists to further their own agenda.

The cruel irony is that this ideologically-driven opposition ultimately hurts the very people these advocates so ardently claim to protect.

Every day spent debating the political implications of emergency housing measures is another day displaced residents spend in shelters or vehicles instead of proper homes. Every property owner who becomes hesitant to offer units for temporary housing due to their fear of political backlash, means fewer options for families in crisis.

What’s particularly frustrating is how this artificial controversy distracts from the real work at hand. While some spend their energy on tired old claims of “predatory attacks of capital interests,” we’re trying to solve practical problems: How do we modify lease terms to accommodate uncertainty about rebuild timelines? How do we balance the need for quick occupancy with ensuring that every unit is safe and comfortable? These are the real challenges that demand our attention.

Our members have been working tirelessly with city council members who understand the urgency of the situation. We’ve developed a simple and practical proposal for emergency housing that protects both tenants and property owners, and builds on existing regulations for temporary tenancies. But instead of engaging with these solutions, certain advocacy groups prefer to rehash old political battles, using this tragedy as ammunition for their desire for power over others.

The accusations of our efforts being an attempt to overthrow Measure H by stealth are ludicrous. We have publicly stated in this newspaper that we intend to fix Pasadena’s broken rental governance model at the ballot box in 2026, after the voters of Pasadena decisively rejected Proposition 33’s vision of even more extreme rent control by 56 percent to 44 percent in November.

The path forward requires setting aside ideological grudges and focusing on immediate needs. We invite our critics to join us in this effort.

I call on the leaders of the Pasadena Tenants Union and the chair of the Pasadena Rental Housing Board to talk with us instead of indulging in petty theatrics. Rather than assuming the worst about each other’s intentions, let’s work together to house our neighbors. The families sleeping in evacuation centers tonight don’t care about political posturing – they need homes. Let’s focus on giving them exactly that.

Simon Gibbons is a member of Pasadena Housing Providers and has been actively involved in emergency housing response efforts following the Eaton Fire.

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