"Hyper-Local" Emeryville Blogger Rob Arias Purchased Home in Pleasant Hill in 2019, May Be Forced to Sell His Home Here

 Emeryville Booster/Blog Editor Reportedly Moved Out of Town in 2019

Possible Violations Against City's Affordable Housing Program

Editor Rob Arias Tells His Readers He Still Lives in Emeryville

The self styled 'voice of the community' hasn't
been seen in the community for quite some time.

Emeryville blogger, local booster and political pundit Robert Arias, apparently moved to Pleasant Hill nearly two years ago.  A move would tend to undermine Mr Arias' public positioning as the voice of the Emeryville community, if he's sleeping each night in another county.  The move would also have real consequences.  Mr Arias may have violated stipulations in an Emeryville affordable housing program by apparently retaining possession of one of City Hall's few subsidized units, if the Park Avenue unit in question is no longer his primary residence.

The Tattler learned Mr Arias apparently jumped ship in 2019, closing escrow on an 1,163 square foot, two story home with two bedrooms and two baths, in May, according to public records, in the Contra Costa County community.  At the same time, he has apparently retained his Emeryville unit, purchased (in 2003) through the City's Below-Market-Rate affordable housing program, rather than selling it to a qualifying buyer or obtaining a waiver as the housing program requires. 

Having built a fairly successful, heavily monetized web presence in Emeryville, offering generally positive coverage- the digital equivalent of an old time small town newspaper’s proud, if boosterish coverage, Mr Arias hasn't volunteered anything publicly on his E'Ville Eye about any move 30 miles to the east.

The E'Ville Eye editor purchased this
Pleasant Hill home in May 2019.  

According to Emeryville’s low income housing assistance regulations, BMR owners must live in their units as a ‘primary residence’ for at least 10 months per year.  Living elsewhere represents a breach of contract.  Renting out a BMR unit is also a violation, though it is unclear that this has occurred. The program requires the sale of units to applicants meeting the city's income guidelines, (just as Mr Arias had in 2003) after the owner relocates.  The goal being having a supply, albeit a small one, of affordable housing for purchase in Emeryville. 

BMR unit owners, even though they receive assistance in the initial purchase, are allowed to realize property value gains over the tenure of their occupancy.  By law, Mr Arias would be allowed to keep 20% of the sale price above his initial investment.  Being across the street from the long-planned ten-acre, 500-unit, Sherwin-Williams development and new public park now under construction, Mr Arias’ unit has likely increased in value in recent months, a windfall he will be able to realize the longer he holds the unit.

This story will continue to evolve as new facts are revealed and we will report as our investigation continues.

Mr Arias declined to comment for this story.  

Rob continues to tell his readers he lives in Emeryville.  If the City's housing assistance director finds he has defrauded City Hall's BMR program, Mr Arias will be forced to sell his unit.  Bio pulled from his E'Ville Eye this week.

Blogger Rob Arias Objects to City Housing Bond

Community Blogger Who Objects to City Housing Bond Bought Affordable Unit 
in 2003 

Emeryville’s Most Vocal Opponent of Measure C Took Advantage of City Program to Buy Swanky Condo 
at 40% Off 

1500 Park Avenue
Luxury lofts for the well heeled
...and Rob Arias.

by Lillian Tracy Schroth and Brian Donahue

Emeryville blogger Rob Arias taps out tweets protesting the city's affordable housing bond from his upscale loft in one of the city’s most fashionable buildings.  With it's soaring ceilings, giant windows and large shared roof deck, it’s the kind of place low- and middle-income people only dream about.  Including Rob Arias. 

But unlike many aspiring homeowners in the Bay Area, Rob got lucky.  He was able to realize his dream thanks to the city of Emeryville, which required the developer of 1500 Park Avenue to include affordable units.  That's right.   Rob Arias lives in the kind of moderate-income housing he now thinks is a bad idea ... for everyone else.

Mr Arias, a self-proclaimed community booster and family man, has been working hard for the past few weeks to crush support for the city’s proposed housing bond, designed to help families just like his afford to own a home in Emeryville.  According to Mr Arias, the cost – at least to his family – is too much.

But the cost to many other families who struggle with skyrocketing rents and home prices edging toward $1 million is much higher.  They live in cramped apartments, work multiple jobs, and are eventually forced to move away or become homeless.  According to the City of Emeryville, $83,000 in annual income is needed to rent a one-room apartment in town.

"Measure C will give us tools to prevent the displacement of vulnerable people, including seniors and young families, already living in the community," said former mayor and current City Council Member Dianne Martinez.

In a series of tweets and blog posts, Mr Arias erroneously argues that Measure C, an affordable housing bond on the June 5 ballot, costs too much and does too little.  He says that the measure will cost each resident $4,284.  He bases his estimate on an assessed home value of $300,000 even though the value of most properties in the city is well below that.  Under Prop 13, the assessed value of all property in California is fixed at the time of purchase.  More than half of the residents purchased their homes in Emeryville for less than $300,000.

In addition, the $50 million of bond funding will generate as much as $500 million in matching state and federal grants and funds.  The money will be used to build affordable housing on City owned land as well as provide low-interest loans to first time homebuyers.

Emeryville Mayor John Bauters, an affordable housing expert and champion of the measure, said the funds raised would be used primarily for those already living in the city.  He said residents would provide about 35 percent of the funds and businesses the remainder.  He emphasized that the tax increase paid by homeowners would be based on assessed value of property, not market value.  Mr Bauters declined to be interviewed for this story.

Measure C is unanimously supported by the Emeryville City Council and has been endorsed by the Alameda County Democratic Party, and the East Bay Express , which lauded the City for its ambitious effort to increase affordable housing:

"… No other jurisdiction in the East Bay has gone all out like this to raise money for affordable housing and anti-displacement programs. Measure C bonds will be paid back over 30 years through a 4.9 cents per $100 of assessed value property tax, meaning that the tax is relatively progressive and shouldn't be an undue burden on the average Emeryville resident".

In 2003, Mr Arias applied for and got, a Below Market Rate (BMR) condominium at 1500 Park Avenue, a six-story warehouse conversion by award winning San Francisco architect David Baker.  The price break given to Rob, who lives there with his wife and young child, was substantial, amounting to about $180,000 based on the price of a comparable unit sold in the building that same year.

Mr Arias has consistently taken a stand against reform that helps the less fortunate, railing against an increase in the minimum wage and fair work practices for retail workers, and proposing that a homeless encampment under the 40th Street bridge be replaced with a dog park.