News Next Week in the Legislature
posted by on February 9 at 16:16 PM
I was just grousing to myself there isn’t a lot of interesting action on next week’s state House legislative calendar (unless you count regulating cell phones and text messaging while driving; regulating body piercing; and regulating card games). And then wham, I get an announcement from the Seattle Displacement Coalition that their bill to cap condo conversion, mandate tenant compensation, and regulate timing of construction is getting a hearing on Monday.
Sour grapes: This is an issue where I do wish Stranger-endorsed Stephanie Pure (until recently a lifelong renter who was booted from her apartment last year when it got converted to a condo) was in the state house instead of K&L Gates attorney Rep. Jamie Pedersen (D-43, Capitol Hill, U-District, Wallingford), who owns a fancy house on Capitol Hill.
Pedersen e-mailed supporters of the bill the following statement: “As a resident of Capitol Hill, I have heard about these problems from friends and constituents and am very interested in providing reasonable protections for tenants who find themselves in this position. I do not, however, support allowing local jurisdictions to impose moratoria on condo conversions. I suspect that local politics might cause that power to be exercised with unpredictable — and perhaps unpleasant — consequences on the housing market.”
I’m sure Rep. Pedersen has heard about this tenant issue from friends and constituents. Indeed, there were 2300 condo conversions in Seattle in 2006, a 450% increase over 2004. Three thousand nine hundred affordable rentals were lost in that time. And the average price of the new condos is $250,000.
Sigh.
Meanwhile, there actually is some interesting business in the House next week: Hearings on the death penalty; hearings on eminent domain; and hearings on expanding health care.
I haven’t looked at the Senate calendar yet, but I just heard that it’s NARAL lobbying day in Oly on Monday, which means all those socialist, abortion-loving, witchcraft nyphomaniac, lesbian man-haters will be knocking on legislators’ doors to back the sex ed bill, which is going to pass the house (as usual) and is also getting a hearing in the Senate for once (next week on Valentines Day). And it looks like it’ll pass there too.
Former GOP state Rep. and now Democratic state Sen. Rodney Tom (D-48, Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond), who’s moving the bill in the Senate, will address the NARAL crowd.
It's about affordable home ownership. I posit the lack of comments on Josh's post over the last couple days indicates that there aren't teeming masses of renters who feel threatened by condo conversions. Perhaps they are aware that condo conversions keep costs for owning a home lower by increasing the supply of units available on the market. Perhaps they are happy with the idea that they, too, may some day be able to own a piece of real estate in Seattle. Perhaps Jamie Pedersen is helping his constituents--the residents of the 43rd--by making the prospects of homeownership in Seattle brighter.
I rent; should this building convert, I'll move or buy. I and every other renter know this the day we move in.
This article ignores how these costs would be reflected in rent. Landlords paying move-out fees, stuck with poorly-occupied properties they can't convert, or dealing with arbitrary conversion schedules still need to make a profit.
And you know what? I don't need to pay higher monthly rent so that I can be coddled at move-out time. We're smart enough to realize that our apartments will last until we or the landlord finds a better deal, whether from a conversion or another renter. No surprises here.
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