Call for Dialogue

A Call for Dialogue

By Dennis Rotch

Gentrification is the process of repairing and rebuilding deteriorating homes in order to accommodate an influx of affluent people that results in the displacement of citizens with fixed or low incomes. Housing that was once affordable is being turned into vaulted, marble homes in order to attract affluent buyers into Pine Lake’s real estate casino culture.

The principal instruments of gentrification in Pine Lake are the City Government, real estate brokers/renovators and the so-called ‘Involved Neighbors’, that work together seamlessly to create a fiscally toxic environment for low and fixed income homeowners and buyers.

Let’s examine how the entities contribute to the gentrification process. The mayor and council engaged and continue to engage in policies of exclusion. The most notable policy was the Park Card, an odious instrument of discrimination that enjoyed a 25 year run that was vigorously endorsed by the governing council, the ‘Involved Neighbors’ and real estate brokers/renovators.

We can take solace in the fact that the park card is no longer in place, but the impetus for discrimination is very much with us as there has been no apology or expression of regret for such an appalling and illegal device; in fact, the very opposite has occurred with some demanding that the park card be restored.

A usual, so-called benefit of gentrification; such as a revitalized business district has not occurred because demographically Pine Lake is too small to support even one restaurant. About the only thing, the city residents are capable of supporting is a monthly breakfast held by the ‘Involved Neighbors’. While most citizens enjoy few, if any, of the benefits of gentrification, the detrimental effects are amplified when it forces residents to leave the community through high property taxes and valuations.

Gentrification usually leads to negative impacts such as forced displacement, a fostering of discriminatory behavior, abuse by people in power and a focus on housing that excludes low-income individuals and people of color.

One of the City’s principal instruments of gentrification is the costly part-time Police Department which creates an illusion of enhanced security. Twenty years ago the City was facing a crisis brought on by an intense citation regime on Rockbridge Road that allowed the City to keep taxes low by turning 1500 feet of Rockbridge Rd into a ‘cash cow’; 75% of the City’s budget was covered by the citation frenzy. As a result, protesters demanded an end to the predatory practice. I should note that the City is well within its right to patrol Rockbridge Road; however, the ‘lay and wait’ policy faces a serious obstacle as parking on Rockbridge is illegal.

Gentrification occurs because of a lack of policies that value community. Without policies that attempt to remedy the trends that cause forced displacement, gentrification will continue to displace low and fixed income residents. To develop remedial policies, we must recognize the disproportionate and destructive effects of gentrification. Remedial policies will require a political realignment combined with the reigning in of the ‘Involved Neighbors’ from its outsized influence over governing policies. The ‘Involved Neighbors’ is a political device, known as a ‘wedge’, that divides the constituency and promotes gentrification that degrades community.

Formation of a non-profit whose mission is to preserve and promote affordable housing, would be a good place to start.

“Be transparent. Let's build a community that allows hard questions and honest conversations so we can stir up transformation in one another.” Kent