Yes In My Backyard – YIMBY Oakland Group Organizes to Support Housing Opportunities
(Elizabeth Schanz, Oct. 17, 2023)
Oakland County, MI – YIMBY Oakland County, an acronym for “Yes in my Back Yard,” is a 501 (c) (4) nonprofit organization that aims to educate communities at local levels about housing, zoning and developments where they live.
YIMBY Oakland County is a chapter of the national organization YIMBY Action. Both at the national and local levels, YIMBY counters the typical phrase NIMBY, “not in my backyard,” by attempting to help conversations around topics that people may not have a thorough understanding of, like affordable housing projects. They aim for more informed discussions to lessen the resistance to housing.
Sarah Pounds is the chair of YIMBY Oakland County. Pounds worked as a paralegal and used that background as she transitioned more into community activism. She now serves on the Board of the Oakland County Housing Trust Fund and the Oakland County Community Development Citizens Advisory Council. She started as an “everything activist,” eager to tackle every issue. But now she has a focus that can help change people’s lives.
“I want to tackle every challenge facing my community, but I learned pretty early on that it all comes down to housing,” Pounds said. “So if you want to make a difference in you know, mental health or child abuse, and neglect, and hunger, and the challenges facing the aging population, the veteran population, everything comes down to housing.”
Pounds’ involvement led her to start to think about bringing YIMBY to the area around February 2023, and the chapter became official in the summer of 2023. Pounds said that by forming the chapter the organization, she hopes to create a better understanding of what affordable housing means in Oakland County and across various communities.
“Oakland County is huge, and it’s so diverse, and you know, zoning and housing are so personal and local. So you have to start locally,” Pounds said.
Pounds said one of the major efforts that YIMBY Oakland County is within its first year is launching a “listening tour” or a series of events where YIMBY Oakland County organizers will travel to various communities to have forums and discussions about housing and other related issues.
The “first stop” of YIMBY’s listening tour will be in Farmington Hills, Mich. on Oct. 19 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Hawk Community Center.
“The reason Farmington Hills is so current is because there are three new developments that are pretty contentious in Farmington Hills right now. They are affordable housing developments and the community is kind of pushing back on it,” Pounds said. “We wanted to, first of all, just get an understanding of where people stand, like their views on it, answer any questions they might have, and figure out how we can lift them up, and get people motivated.”
YIMBY Oakland County is also planning on continuing its listening tour in Royal Oak, as well as other areas across the county.
To execute the efforts of YIMBY Oakland County the YIMBY team includes Thomas Yazbeck, of Transit Riders United, who consults on a variety of policy and zoning matters, and YIMBY Oakland County’s Director of Marketing, Phoebe Talaga.
Charlie Cavell, an Oakland County Commissioner and Chair of the Community Development Citizens Advisory Council chairs the political action committee for YIMBY Oakland County.
Cavell holds issues related to housing close to his heart after facing housing insecurity as a teen. As a chair of YIMBY, and as Commissioner in the 19th District in Oakland County, Cavell advocates and educates people on the opportunities that affordable housing and new zoning policies can provide for people: resources, better public education and more diverse communities.
Additionally, Cavell sees the retention of the youth population in Oakland County through affordable housing opportunities and new zoning opportunities that can shape the “vibe” of the community and can help Oakland County be a place where younger generations are able to and want to stay.
Cavell said the best way to make changes and build an understanding of the impact housing and zoning policies can have is by building community and comprehension when it comes to political policy that relates to these topics. He feels that having YIMBY bring all community members together, to break down the isolation that the suburbs may have, through events or other efforts allows individuals to see the wider, personal impact that policies have.
“So this is a way to connect with people in your neighborhood, through the kind of like social lubricant of local zoning policy,” Cavell said. “The groups will be listening to what people care about. What I can help do is interpret that into policy. I can help communicate with people about what they’re saying as it relates to ‘government speak,’ so they can be heard.”
Cavell said he hopes YIMBY can shape understanding into action that reflects what the community wants.
YIMBY outlines five ways to make an impact.
The first is LEGALIZE HOUSING to allow more housing in every neighborhood, especially historically affluent and exclusionary neighborhoods, removing barriers to both subsidized affordable and market rate housing.
Second is to FIX INCENTIVES, by reforming structures that incentivize communities to say no to new homes, including tax systems and car centric transportation systems.
The third is to STREAMLINE PERMITTING, making housing permits fast and fair, removing arbitrary barriers to both subsidized affordable and market rate housing.
Fourth is to INCREASE HOUSING STABILITY by enacting policies that support current residents having stable housing choices amid growth.
And lastly to FUND AFFORDABLE HOUSING, through a wide variety of mechanisms, including direct subsidies
Similarly, Pounds ultimately hopes that YIMBY Oakland County will be able to help change the perception of affordable housing and policy and remove the negative connotation some people may have of it.
Pounds said people can become members or receive information about YIMBY through their website https://yimbyoaklandcounty.org/.
