Nguyen Illegal Vote on Housing
Puts Elk Grove Residents on the Hook for State Fines
Sacramento, CA — The City of Elk Grove is being sued over the rejection of 67 affordable housing units known as the Oak Rose project. The lawsuit claims that the City is blatantly ignoring state laws designed to make sure cities don’t continue to block affordable housing projects. The CA Department of Housing and Community Development sent a notice of violation letter to the City stating it violated the Housing Accountability Act (HAA), it violated Discrimination in Land Use Law, and it violated State Housing Element Law.
Elk Grove Councilmember Stephanie Nguyen then voted to approve a similar for profit market rate project while voting down the Oak Rose affordable housing project.
With the homelessness crisis out of control, renters and homeowners are feeling the squeeze of the rising costs and people are living paycheck to paycheck — Stephanie Nguyen turned her back on helping the most vulnerable.
California needs real leaders who are going to stand up and advocate for affordable housing.
Eric Guerra released below statement:
“In the midst of a housing crisis in Sacramento County, Stephanie Nguyen voted to deny an essential affordable housing project, leading to a notice from the Department of Housing and Community Development that the City of Elk Grove broke state law in doing so. We must look for opportunities to build more affordable housing — not hide behind excuses as to why it cannot be done.
Not only does her vote jeopardize Elk Grove’s access to millions of dollars of state funding for essential infrastructure and public safety projects, but the non-profit developers of the project have also sued the city, putting Elk Grove residents on the hook for thousands of dollars in legal fees.
As a Councilmember, I have always welcomed any opportunity to find ways to build more affordable housing. I have been successful in these efforts because I didn’t hide behind the dais as Stephanie Nguyen has done. Instead, I rolled up my sleeves and went to work alongside the community to find ways to get consensus to build more housing.
To be successful in combatting rising rents and the rising cost of living, we need to build more housing at all income levels – market rate, affordable for middle class families and deeply affordable for those battling homelessness.”
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