Guest Opinion | Anne Miskey: Measure H Ensures a Vibrant, Growing Community

Stable housing and affordable rents are vital for the future of our community! Measure H, Pasadena’s rent control ballot measure, is an important tool to ensure our neighbors – our children, parents, workers, those living with disabilities, low-income families, and people from diverse backgrounds can call Pasadena home. 

Recent studies show that the average rent in Pasadena for a one-bedroom apartment is over $2,800/month. This means that someone would have to make over $100,000 per year to afford to rent in our city. This leaves out a good portion of the general population and is making it harder and harder for people to move to, or stay, in Pasadena.

As someone who sees, on a daily basis, the devastation that high rents have caused in our community and in the broader LA County, I encourage all people to vote yes on this measure.  While we work furiously to house people, the fact is that the high cost of housing sends too many people out of our community – and some into actual homelessness. Los Angeles County has a homelessness crisis – and contrary to what many like to believe, this is not caused by people’s poor choices, but by the unaffordability of housing. There is a direct correlation between homelessness and the high cost of rent.

Some of the people most affected by ever increasing rents are those on fixed income, such as our seniors or people with disabilities. We see many of our older neighbors – people who have worked their whole lives, raised families, and been contributing members of our community, losing their housing in record numbers as rents keep going up.  There is no greater shame on society than to see our senior citizens, or those with disabilities, living on the streets or in shelters.

Families too are priced out of the market – affecting our schools and ultimately the demographics of our community.  We lose the vibrancy that young people, that families bring to the city. And for those of us who have adult children, we see them moving farther and farther away as they cannot afford to start their lives here.

Rent control is not about making things difficult for landlords. In fact, Measure H has done an excellent job of balancing the needs of landlords with those of tenants. Most importantly, it ensures that Pasadena will remain a vibrant, growing community and that anyone, regardless of income, background or ability can call our amazing City of Pasadena, home.

Anne Miskey
President and CEO 
Union Station Homeless Services