In ‘warfare against renters,’ homeowners fight affordable housing push

Local officials pushing to increase the housing supply in response to surging rents and home prices met with opposition.

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.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/economics/housing-prices-surge-rents-homeowners-fight-rcna93789

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