I’ve already written about the nasty invective that comes from the neighbors on Harvard Avenue on Capitol Hill who opposed a microhousing project, filing a law suit that resulted in forcing the project to change it’s room count and raise rents. Here’s an example:

I am one of the victims of support for a five story building on Harvard Avenue East and I am going to continue to be extremely vocal until my neighbors and I are fully heard.

The “victims” of Harvard raised $55,000 to stop the project and plan on raising another $30,000 to keep fighting the project. Will they reach $100,000? A recent post on Capitol Hill Seattle characterizes the NIMBYs as “activists.” But one of their neighbors begs to differ. Howard Metzenberg who also lives on Harvard had this to say in the comments section:

I am a neighbor of 741 Harvard Avenue East. The construction of micro-housing at this address, currently occupied by a rundown apartment building, seems appropriate. In a few years the North Broadway Extension of the First Hill Trolley as well as the Capitol Hill Light Rail Station will give this neighborhood easy access to mass transit. A micro-housing solution for 741 Harvard Avenue East would provide ideal housing to employees of nearby hospitals, theaters, restaurants, stores, and so forth.

He goes on to say:

Although I am not a real estate investor, except indirectly through REITs in my retirement account, I know from my own background in business that investing in new construction for low income housing is financially not feasible without incentives or subsidies, since other investments present better opportunities. Most housing for the poor comes from the trickle down of housing that was originally constructed for others. Micro-housing is perhaps the single housing solution that the private marketplace has for providing inexpensive housing that is affordable to single moderate income residents of Seattle.

As a wealthy individual who has worked for many years to be able to afford to live in such a nice neighborhood, I welcome the arrival of diversity in the form of new housing. The proposed housing at 741 Harvard Avenue East, like nearby micro-housing units, will be managed and maintained professionally. Most of the problem buildings in my neighborhood are either single family homes or rundown apartment buildings that are privately owned. Let’s welcome the arrival of new neighbors, and let’s not place a stumbling block in the way of developers who are meeting the needs of ordinary people of Seattle.

I know that my neighbors on Harvard Avenue East are generally wealthy professionals and investors to be able to afford such property. I am surprised that some of them resort to silly populist rhetoric about rich developers, when they are frankly rich people who are trying to keep less wealthy people from encroaching on their swanky neighborhood.

You can read the entire comment by clicking on this link. What’s ironic is the a group of developers who face having the new rules applied to the Harvard project applied to their project decided that further legal action against the City would be too expensive. That’s right, the developers–mostly small businesses working to make ends meet on projects–couldn’t outspend the well heeled neighbors on Harvard Avenue fighting affordable housing. Who are the rich and poor in this story? The Harvard neighbors along with the Department of Planning and Development have shown that it’s true, if you spend enough money, you can get your way at City Hall.