To the editor: The hollowing out of Alhambra’s center class serves as one other unhappy testimony to the injury that the lethal trifecta of unaffordable housing, predatory scholar mortgage debt and actual property hypothesis continues to inflict on Los Angeles County. The typical house value sitting at round $900,000 is pricing out native residents, such because the household talked about on this article.
When an increasing number of middle-class households are pressured to desert their roots in quest of reasonably priced housing, everyone pays the worth. Faculties are pressured to shut, households unravel — putting unbelievable burdens on those that present elder care — and communities lose their cohesion.
What number of extra communities like Alhambra, the place modifications are leaving room for under the very rich and those that obtain authorities housing help, will erode earlier than our Metropolis Council lastly acts on the rezoning that we so desperately want? How lengthy will Los Angeles proceed to cater to the loudest and whitest voices calling to protect the exclusionary zoning that in the end results in the displacement of the center class even in areas that have been as soon as thought-about reasonably priced?
A vibrant center class is important for a society to perform — these are our lecturers, nurses and regulation enforcement officers. In the event that they proceed to be pushed out of the communities that they serve, we can have a metropolis in decay.
Lisa Ansell, Beverly Hills
..
To the editor: Via the years, many households particularly with school-age youngsters have moved away from Alhambra. Lease is simply too excessive, or individuals just like the middle-class household you’ve gotten written about can’t qualify to purchase a house. I’m an Alhambra residence proprietor, neighborhood activist and reasonably priced housing advocate. I’ve no youngsters and my husband handed away in 2021. I stay in my residence constructing and need to proceed dwelling right here for a while. Nevertheless, I’ve given loads of thought to, who will change into the subsequent proprietor?
After researching choices, I’ve determined I need to promote my constructing to a nonprofit that may make sure that solely low-income to middle-class individuals change into homeowners of their unit. The promoting value must match excessive affordable provides. The precedence can be lecturers, longtime Alhambra residents and small households. Discovering the best nonprofit and financing could also be a problem. I would wish the cooperation of Alhambra’s Metropolis Corridor, Metropolis Council and, probably, planning commissioners. I need to be an instance to homeowners who’re promoting to think about this feature.
Shirley Tatsuno, Alhambra
..
To the editor: I’m a former highschool trainer and college counselor who lived for 15 years in Alhambra and South Pasadena, pinned between prosperous faculty districts and Los Angeles Unified College District, my then-employer.
Concerns that always got here to thoughts on my 15-minute commute to work: Are non-public colleges and/or prosperous neighborhoods higher in any method for college students? And what that means does it have when one sees autos in a scholar parking zone which can be newer, costlier fashions than these within the school lot?
Wendell H. Jones, Ojai
