Private Student Housing Complex - Part 3

Some students, at least those writing editorials in the Bruin, seem to be having second thoughts about the virtues of a planned housing project. It puts them at odds with the new neighborhood council formed in part to promote more housing in the Westwood area:

Affordable housing is yet again a dashed hope in Westwood.

The Agora, a proposed private 16-story apartment complex, came to town in November, claiming to offer affordable student housing in Westwood. The two physicians behind the project had filed plans with the Los Angeles Department of City of Planning, promising amenities such as a farmed vegetable garden, a teaching kitchen and a meditation garden. While several community organizations, such as the Holmby Westwood Property Owners Association and the Westwood Neighborhood Council, spoke out against the project on the basis of zoning technicalities, the endeavor seemed a noble attempt to bring – for once – a good deal for students.

We should have known it was too good to be true... 

Community leaders appear to have missed this nuance. Both the [new] North Westwood Neighborhood Council and the Graduate Students Association have shown support for The Agora, neglecting to examine the finer intricacies of the project. But when students at UCLA are forced into homelessness for exorbitant rent prices, we ought to hold developers to higher standards before deeming their property affordable – especially when they only manage a price tag that is a couple hundred bucks off university housing costs...

Full editorial at http://dailybruin.com/2019/02/03/editorial-the-agora-is-an-overwhelming-mirage-with-an-underwhelming-delivery/

(Some) Regents Are Coming

Just a week from today: Yours truly will - as usual - preserve the recording:

HEALTH SERVICES COMMITTEE
Date: February 11, 2019
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Locations: Centennial Ballroom, Luskin Conference Center, Los Angeles Campus
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Public Comment Period (20 minutes)
Action: Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting of December 11, 2018
H1 Discussion: Remarks of the Executive Vice President – UC Health
H2 Action: Consent Agenda: UC Health Capital Financial Plan
H3 Discussion: Strategic Plan and Fiscal Year 2019-20 Budget For UC Health Division, Office of the President
H4 Discussion: Update on Student Mental Health Services
H5 Discussion: The University of California Collaborative on Physician WellBeing
H6 Discussion: Overview of Parnassus Heights Planning, San Francisco Campus
H7 Discussion: Canopy Health Progress Report and Strategic Plan Update, UCSF Health, San Francisco Campus

Source: https://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/regmeet/feb19/hs.pdf

Grandma: What a big house you have!

From CALmatters: Finding housing was one of the first challenges Alyssa Mathiowetz faced as a new graduate student at the University of California at Berkeley. She landed a room in a shared house near campus, but it came with a steep price tag: $1,500 a month.

“It’s definitely on the expensive side,” said the PhD student in metabolic biology.

Mathiowetz’s rent could soon decrease, however, thanks to a new homesharing program that matches graduate students looking for housing with retirees who have extra space in their homes. Its organizers hope the program will prove successful enough to export to other UC campuses.

College students have been hit hard by California’s housing crisis, struggling to find affordable digs near campuses that in many cases are located in the state’s priciest markets.

The median apartment rent in Berkeley tops $3,500 per month, according to real estate website Zillow. On-campus housing is scarce, and ten percent of students in a recent survey reported being homeless at some point in their college careers.

Meanwhile, along the city’s idyllic, tree-lined streets, aging homeowners who bought in decades ago have stayed put as property values rose around them.

Staff at Berkeley’s Retirement Center started strategizing last year about how to bring the two groups together. They won a grant from the chancellor’s office for a pilot program that will match six students with senior hosts for the spring semester.

“People want to continue living in their homes, and people are living longer and retiring later,” said Andy Gaines, the executive director of Ashby Village, a non-profit serving senior citizens that’s partnering with UC Berkeley on the project. “And oftentimes as people retire from the workforce and their friends and family die or move away, they are left more isolated.”

Sharing their homes with students can provide seniors with a sense of community, Gaines said.

Students will pay below-market rent—less than $1,000 per month—for bedrooms inside the homes of retired university faculty and staff...

Full story at https://calmatters.org/articles/a-new-solution-to-the-student-housing-crisis-retiree-roommates/

Private Student Housing Complex - Part 2

We posted on the controversy below back in December.* Now there is more (from the Bruin):

Westwood community members oppose a proposed housing project because they think it will replace existing affordable housing and cause traffic congestion.

Two physicians filed a plan with Los Angeles to build a 16-story housing development, called The Agora, on Hilgard Avenue in November. Several community organizations, including the Westwood Neighborhood Council and the Holmby Westwood Property Owners Association, oppose the project.

The developers stated in their original proposal there were zero residential units and that the building was vacant. In fact, two businesses currently occupy the Hilgard property, including 27 residential units.

Aaron Green, an Agora spokesperson, said Agora developers bought the property in 2016 and subsequently rented out the current building’s three stories. NuORDER, an e-commerce brand company, occupies the first story. Ashley Miniard, manager of PodShare, said the co-living affordable housing company operates residential units on the second and third story.

Green said the vacancy classification was due to a clerical mistake and the developers will revise the application.

Green added the project is estimated to take two years to gain approval from the city. If the city council approves the project, NuORDER and PodShare’s five-year lease will end a year and a half early due to a clause in their lease which states the developers have the right to develop the building after three years, Green said.

Construction will begin after approval from the city and continue for three years.

PodShare offers 90 beds at $840 a month for one bed, Miniard said. Residents can also stay for one night or a week at varying costs.

The proposed Agora project would house 462 beds at $1,000 to $1,200 a month per bed, said Ted Khalili, co-principal developer of The Agora. At least 52 beds will be Measure JJJ-compliant, which means they will be priced less than the proposed standard rent range. However, Agora representatives did not specify how much this would equate to.

The initial application said the housing project would only house 231 beds. Green said the developers decided to double the beds after listening to community feedback. Each room will now have two beds, rather than the single-person bedrooms as originally planned. However, rental rates remain unchanged despite the decreased room space.

Greg Billo, a PodShare resident, said he thinks the proposed project is misguided because The Agora would replace what already exists on the property. Billo said more than half of PodShare’s beds are empty each night, and he thinks filling the proposed high rise would be difficult.

Earl Goldstein, a board member of Holmby Hills Homeowners Association, said stakeholders shared similar concerns with Billo at their January meeting, adding that the association opposed the project at their monthly meeting due to concerns of traffic congestion along Le Conte Avenue and the feasibility of the project.

Several homeowners created Save Hilgard Avenue after estimating the project would cost $100 million, which they believe is too costly for the property’s proposed rent prices. However, Green said the cost of the project is about 50 percent less than the homeowners’ estimates.

Marcello Robinson, a member of the WWNC, said Agora developers asked the city attorney’s office to prevent the neighborhood council from speaking on the matter even though it was placed on the agenda for their January meeting. The council voted in opposition of the project at the meeting.

Green said the developers also offered to purchase three homes surrounding the Agora building out of courtesy so that residents would not need to live by a construction site. The developers have already purchased one of the neighboring houses in November, according to a city grant deed. Green said the developers have no plans to use the adjacent property.

Soon Chung, a pastor at University Presbyterian Church, said the University Presbyterian Church owns the house directly behind the Agora and fears the project would devalue his property and neighboring properties. Chung added he was contacted by brokers from the Agora developers but did not respond.

Green said over the next two years, the developers will conduct a large-scale environmental impact report and will work with nearby residents to amend the project to address their concerns.

Several homeowners also expressed concerns regarding the unauthorized usage of the photos in the project’s ad campaign and the campaign’s suggestion that the Agora project would help combat homelessness in Westwood.

To promote the housing development, The Agora project used a social media campaign featuring a UC Berkeley student holding a sign saying “Hug me I’ve been a homeless student,” as well as statistics on UC student homelessness and a petition to LA City Councilmember Paul Koretz to approve the project.

Taylor Harvey, the subject of the photo and a fourth-year art practice and social welfare student at UC Berkeley, said she was offended when she saw her photo on the ad from the Agora developers.

“I never gave them permission to use my photo,” Harvey said. “It’s exploitative and an invasion of privacy.”

The photo was initially used for other campaigns by UC Berkeley’s Homeless Student Union, a school organization she founded four years ago to combat homelessness, Harvey added.

Green said they found the picture from a German student publication. The developers removed the social media advertisements Monday, after the Daily Bruin inquired about the photo. The German publication was not immediately available to comment on where they found the photo.

Several students said they think the Agora project could provide much needed housing in Westwood, but they do not think it will be very affordable...

Full story at http://dailybruin.com/2019/01/30/westwood-groups-oppose-student-high-rise-project-cite-planning-discrepancies/

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*http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2018/12/private-student-housing-complex.html

UC-Berkeley bans new research funding from Huawei

From Nature: The University of California, Berkeley, will not enter into new research collaborations with the Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei, after the US Department of Justice brought criminal charges against the company on 28 January.

The University of Texas at Austin has also confirmed to Nature that it is reviewing its relationship with the company — which is a major investor in research worldwide.

The move comes two weeks after the University of Oxford, UK, said it would stop seeking new funding from the firm, citing “public concerns raised in recent months surrounding UK partnerships.”

Since late 2018, Huawei — a major electronics manufacturer headquartered in Shenzhen — has been under mounting scrutiny from international governments. Several countries have raised security concerns over its devices and the company’s involvement in developing their telecommunications networks...

Full story at https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00451-z

Stormy Weather

From the Bruin: The Sunset Canyon Recreation Center was evacuated due to structural damage caused by a lightning strike Thursday morning.

Lightning struck a structural wooden beam outside the recreation center’s building, causing the building to be evacuated and restricted to emergency personnel until the structure is deemed safe, said Nurit Katz, executive officer of facilities management.

Katz said the lightning strike was reported to her office at around 9:47 a.m., but she does not know when exactly the strike occurred.

Administrative Vice Chancellor Michael Beck said in an email statement the lightning strike also caused a gas leak, which has since been controlled.

He added there were no injuries as a result of the lightning strike...

Full story at http://dailybruin.com/2019/01/31/lightning-strike-causes-structural-damage-evacuation-at-sunset-canyon-rec-center/

Open vs. Closed - Part 3

UC and Elsevier faced a UC-imposed deadline concerning open access of Jan. 31. That deadline has apparently been suspended and talks continue:

UC and Elsevier Negotiations Continue; UC Retains Access to Articles for Now

As of Jan. 31: The University of California and Elsevier have agreed to continue good-faith discussions for the time being. For now, access is expected to continue. Should we learn of any changes to access at UC, we will notify our community.

The University of California is re-negotiating its systemwide licenses with some of the world’s largest scholarly journal publishers, including Elsevier, to provide additional open access options for UC authors. 

In these negotiations, UC is seeking a single, integrated contract with each publisher that covers both the university’s subscriptions and open access publishing of UC research in their journals — what are often known as “publish and read” agreements.

Source: https://osc.universityofcalifornia.edu/open-access-at-uc/publisher-negotiations/uc-and-elsevier/

Previous blog posts on this issue are at:
http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2018/12/open-vs-closed.html
and
http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2018/12/open-vs-closed-part-2_20.html

See also:
http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2018/10/university-librarian-asks-for-help-from.html
and
http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-elsevier-dispute-is-not-just-with-uc.html