Encinitas Reserves Affordable Housing for Rich Investors

Scrooge McDuck and Milburn Pennybags were among the rich investors who bought affordable housing units in Encinitas with the city’s approval.

The city must give equal opportunity when considering approval of affordable housing sales. It is bound by law to consider rich investors as well as qualified low-income applicants.

The city’s Equity Committee, which is run with unimpeachable integrity by Mayor Catherine Blakespear and Councilwoman Kellie Hinze, approved affordable housing sales to McDuck and Pennybags, among others.

“After all,” said Blakespear, “rich outsiders like McDuck and Pennybags invest in equities, which is what our Equity Committee is all about.”

Striving to meet the state’s affordable housing mandate, the city encourages developers to build 15 to 20% of its projects as affordable units that match Housing and Urban Development (HUD) income figures.

To complete the circle, the affordable units must be rented by or sold to low or very low income earners. Despite having many applicants who qualified to buy units by virtue of their income, the city instead approved sales to rich investors. State law requires those investors to rent the units to qualified renters at HUD’s affordable rates for at least 55 years.

Monitoring for compliance has been weak, enabling investors like McDuck and Pennybags to make off with sacks of cash.