Goldstein: Commissioner Eastman made false statements during discussion on minimum lot sizes

Letter to the editor

City Commissioner Bryan Eastman, elected from a single Gainesville district, presented false data, documents, and misinformation in an effort to influence the vote of the city commission for a highly consequential and controversial action affecting every resident and citizen in the city. It effectively puts the city on sale for rent-by-the-room development in every residential district.

Eastman’s motion supporting rent-by-the-room development everywhere passed by one vote on July 18 , 2024. Mayor Harvey Ward stated that Eastman influenced his support to open all residential areas. He said that Eastman began asking for his support and presenting information over the preceding two years. It is true that rent-by-the-room markets are sought after by investors, but Gainesville, Florida now goes further than any U.S. city by offering the entire city for sale to investors by right.

The information advanced by Eastman assures no affordable housing whatsoever. The extreme proposal is, at best, theoretical, but he represented it as evidence worthy of the vote of the city commission. The numerous unproven and unsupported assertions provided to the city commission provided the rationale to vote for the one-of-a-kind proposal. To provide a sense of urgency for the vote, Eastman stated falsely that the average cost of a home in Gainesville was (more than or above) $400,000. This dramatic assertion was and is false.

https://www.redfin.com/city/6487/FL/Gainesville/housing-market (lowest average 260,000)

https://www.rockethomes.com/real-estate-trends/fl/gainesville (highest average 307,050)

Eastman also presented and referred to supporting documents that contain meaningfully false and unsupportable conclusions. Private rental investors supported Eastman’s assertions and will be able to benefit financially from the 4-3 decision.

If the action is allowed to stand, Gainesville will become the first U.S. city to openly market itself for sale to the lucrative worldwide rent-by-the-room marketplace, and the results will be visible everywhere upon final passage.

https://marinpost.org/blog/2021/9/13/the-housing-crisis-propaganda-machine

https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/millionaire-landlord-secrets-hacks–tips-on-how-to-manage-100-rental-properties-working-4-hours-a-week/27640461/#edition=58639963&idiq=59540579

Mark Kane Goldstein, Gainesville

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