South Bay YIMBY, an acronym for Yes in My Backyard, called out Los Altos and Los Altos Hills for being an outsize burden on housing development on the eve of the cities submitting their draft housing elements to the state.
Research by the advocacy group found that families wishing to move into Los Altos and Los Altos Hills must be in the top 1% of the Bay Area’s earners to afford a home.
Salim Damerdji, who co-signed letters to 32 Bay Area suburbs on behalf of South Bay YIMBY, told the Town Crier that growing up in Los Altos gave him a firsthand view of how difficult it can be to afford living in the city – and inspired his work.
“I’ve always cared about this type of concern with making sure that our towns don’t have gates around them, effectively,” he said.
The goal of the research project, per Damerdji, was to illustrate the link between the housing market – that is, the high cost of housing – and government policy that created barriers to housing.
The analysis calculated how much income a person needs to afford the average home, reviewed demographic trends over time and examined the percentage of single-family zoned land in areas with the potential for housing growth.
South Bay YIMBY found that the average home in Los Altos cost just under $4.5 million as of April 30, “which is only affordable to someone earning a salary of $659,000,” according to the letter to Los Altos.
In Los Altos Hills, the numbers are even higher, with the average homes costing $5.7 million and the necessary annual salary to purchase it a hefty $826,000.
“To put a finer point on the level of affluence in your city,” the letter to Los Altos Hills read, “the average home in your city costs more than French castles and private islands in the Caribbean.”
The letters also point out the implicit racial segregation that results from the high cost of housing in affluent Bay Area suburbs.
“It’s kind of taken for granted that Los Altos Hills, for instance, is going to be a town with a bunch of mansions,” Damerdji said. “A lot of people just think it’s kind of natural.”
Unsurprising findings
Damerdji added that when growing up, his teachers were able to live in Los Altos, which doesn’t seem to be the case now.
People “instinctively know that it is not right that the people we depend on (like teachers and caretakers) aren’t able to be a part of our community,” he said.
Nick Zornes, development services director for the city of Los Altos, told the Town Crier that he wasn’t surprised by the findings.
“(There is) nothing to be surprised about by a Yes in My Back Yard-type organization,” he said. “I think there are some good suggestions in (the letter) that we can look to incorporate when the housing element is reviewed by the council.”
South Bay YIMBY’s letters suggest expanding the areas of the city zoned for multifamily housing and going beyond the state requirements for the number of low-income homes included in the housing element.
Los Altos Hills released its first draft late, on Aug. 9, while Los Altos finished its public comment period the next day. Zornes said he expects the housing element to appear before the Los Altos council in November at the earliest after it undergoes review by the state.
Residents can comment on Los Altos Hills’ draft until Sept. 8.
To review and comment on Los Altos Hills’ housing draft, visit losaltoshills.ca.gov/564/Public-Review-Draft.
To read South Bay YIMBY’s full letters, visit github.com/sdamerdji/affh_letters/tree/main/letters.
