Endless Studies: NIMBY Tactic to Discourage Development

This is how they do it. Affluent towns like New Canaan use endless “studies” to discourage affordable housing development. And they often create “committees” purportedly to produce more affordable housing, but in reality to kill any new proposals.

I’ve even seen cities purposely rezone low-lying and swampy areas for affordable housing, knowing they will never be buildable. That way, they can look good on paper (zoning map) while systematically discriminating against lower income families.

From the piece:

“In a letter to the town, Karp’s attorney Christopher Smith argued the WPCA is trying to prevent more affordable housing from being developed in New Canaan and the delay has nothing to do with global warming.”

A link to the piece is found here

 

NIMBY Wordplay

Classic NIMBY tactic. Instead of referring to this proposal as a 48-unit affordable housing community, it’s being referred to by opponents as a 300-person apartment complex.

Three observations:
1) “48 units” versus “300-person”
2) “affordable housing” versus “apartment”
3) “community” versus “complex”

This sort of wordplay is really dishonest. If you have a problem with a project, attack it on its merits instead of using word manipulation or rhetoric.

From the piece:

“The uncertainty of what a two or 300 person apartment complex would bring to the area is not something we want to roll the dice on….”

https://www.wtoc.com/2021/02/11/some-concerned-by-port-royal-affordable-housing-proposal/