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Q&A
Council member deference and balancing local versus citywide interests
0:13:05
·
154 sec
Commissioner Kathryn Wylde asks Majority Leader Amanda Farias how to handle conflicts between citywide needs, like affordable housing, and local protectionist interests, specifically addressing council member deference.
Farias responds that while deference relates to member relationships, the focus should be on fair distribution of housing development across all districts.
She stresses the importance of community education and dialogue about land use, neighborhood capacity, and the shared responsibility to address the housing crisis.
Kathryn Wylde
0:13:05
Hi, council member.
0:13:10
When citywide interests conflict with local interests, and and this we're not really talking about a situation in your district or but we're talking about a situation where protectionist interests in a district conflict with something that the city desperately needs, like affordable housing.
0:13:29
How would you suggest that we try and deal with the councilmember deference issue?
Amanda Farias
0:13:36
I think councilmember deference is always an interesting concept that comes up.
0:13:40
It is something that, really, we are unable to mandate in any way, as it is amongst relationships among members.
0:13:47
I do think what we've been driving in the city right now is the fair chance for housing, right, making sure that every district is doing their own allotment of building, of development, of affordable housing, of cooperative housing, just of housing opportunity throughout the city.
0:14:05
I think if we continue to move in that direction, where we're looking at who's building and at what rate and at what amounts, where we can be able to redistribute and have those more important conversations in different districts with who needs to be able to take on some of the development.
0:14:24
I do think that a part of the dialogue always needs to have always needs to happen around what neighborhoods can take what capacity and what type of development.
0:14:35
I think that's a real conversation that we consistently have every single time a ULURP application comes in front of us.
0:14:42
We're always consistently trying to look at what does the fabric of that community look like.
0:14:46
Can a six story building go there, or can we push for a 10?
0:14:50
Or is it better to be a four story?
0:14:52
I mean, we're consistently having that dialogue.
0:14:54
And I think that is a huge driver in even amongst the body itself and supporting the member deference concept in that way because the dialogue amongst members is what's really driving how folks can push further or even help communicate outward to communities.
0:15:13
But without the education piece going into community boards, CECs, the precinct councils, people understanding land use themselves and what it means to build and what our, equal responsibility we have across the city to pro to add to the housing stock and to answer for the housing crisis, we really that's really the starting point that we need to push within communities and within the council.