*As the Biden administration starts implementing its plan to build low-income housing in the suburbs, middle-class and wealthy are somewhat rattled by the idea of sharing a neighborhood with low-income people targeted by the housing plan.
Among those uncomfortable with having low-income housing in their backyard are NBA star Steph Curry, 34, and his wife, Ayesha, 33. The couple is among the wealthy Atherton, California, residents who are against the idea. The couple penned a letter to the Atherton City Council, outlining reasons they are against the construction of 16 low-income townhouses at 23 Oakwood Boulevard, on the same street as their $31 million mansion.
The Golden State Warriors star and his wife Ayesha, a TV chef, are worried that the housing project will threaten the “safety and privacy” of their children: daughters Riley, 10, and Ryan, 7, and four-year-old son, Canon.
They live on a 1.52-acre property at 23 Oakwood Boulevard. It belongs to David Arata, who inherited the land from his mother. According to Arata, the housing project will resemble a “little village” instead of a big apartment building.
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The Currys clarified in the letter that they are not against the low-income housing program; they support it, but they don’t want it near their home.
The letter read, “As Atherton residents… we have been following along with the housing element updates with special interest in the 23 Oakwood property… We hesitate to add to the ‘not in our backyard’ (literally) rhetoric, but we wanted to send a note before today’s meeting. Safety and privacy for us and our kids continues to be our top priority and one of the biggest reasons we chose Atherton as home.”
If the plan must proceed, the couple requested that plans for the new townhomes include taller fences and extensive landscaping, which would block views into their property.
“We kindly ask that the town adopts the new housing element without the inclusion of 23 Oakwood,” the letter further says. “Should that not be sufficient for the state, we ask that the town commits to investing in considerably taller fencing and landscaping to block sight lines onto our family’s property.”
The council is complying with the Biden administration’s request to lift boundaries that prohibit low-income housing in suburbia. Biden requires state and local governments to submit “equity plans” to the federal government to relax zoning restrictions that makes it hard to have public housing in the suburbs.
The couple settled into the mansion in 2019.
Earlier this month, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) submitted a proposed rule to force local governments to comply with lifting the boundaries.
“This proposed rule is a major step towards fulfilling the law and advancing our legal, ethical, and moral charge to provide equitable access to opportunity for all,” said HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge.
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