Chinatown Stabilization Zone: Our Right to a Community (2 of 3)

Organizing to keep people in their homes

            -A pledge to support tenant organizing.  We as tenants, landlords, community activists, or business owners can pledge to support tenants faced with unreasonable rent increases by calling for negotiated contracts between landlords and tenants.  We pledge to support tenants facing a rent increase of more than 5 percent in a year.

            -Cost-based rent increases for government-subsidized units. These landlords receive government subsidies to keep their units affordable for tenants of modest means. Their rent increases are only justified to cover increased operating costs, not to make a higher profit.

            -Multi-year rental agreements to protect tenants against drastic increases and to provide landlords stability by reducing tenant turnover.

            -No more zoning relief for luxury development.  Developers have had a green light to build 300-foot luxury towers regardless of the zoning code.  With 1100 new luxury units and hundreds more in the pipeline, zoning codes must be more strongly enforced for Chinatown to survive.

            -Community vision must guide development of the Chinatown Gateway.  In the Chinatown Community Plan of 1990, this area was the target for expansion of Chinatown housing and economic development opportunities.  This publicly-owned land should be used to benefit neighboring communities.

            -Reinforce the priorities of the Chinatown Community Plan.  The foremost priority of this plan, published by the city in 1990, was to strengthen the working class family community.  This guides recommendations to increase affordable housing, direct institutional expansion outside of the residential core, strengthen the community’s cultural character and economic base, and link Chinatown compatibly with neighboring districts.  These goals should continue to guide development in the Chinatown area.

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