People Post is a space for opinion pieces, letters to the editor and guest submissions from members of the Long Beach community. The following is an op-ed submitted by Josh Butler executive director of Housing Long Beach, and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Long Beach Post.

Long Beach has been in the midst of a housing crisis that has now stretched multiple years and has no end in sight. The problem has been severe in Long Beach, where rents have continued to climb and vacancy rates continue to shrink.

More than one in five Long Beach residents are currently living in poverty, and more residents are rent-burdened — paying more than 30 percent of their income for rent — than ever before.

City Hall will often claim that the problem is not isolated to Long Beach. It would be correct. However, we still remain the largest population of renters on the West Coast without renter protections. Large populations of renters, from San Diego to Seattle, have basic tenant protections like just-cause eviction and rent control.

While the problem is not isolated to Long Beach, other municipalities have taken action to protect their renter populations. Recently, Inglewood, Glendale and the unincorporated portions of Los Angeles County have either enacted or are the process of enacting similar policies to what Long Beach will be considering. And, by “in the process,” I mean they have either developed actual policy or enacted rent freeze while the situation is settled. The problem is a serious one that requires serious solutions.

Long Beach City has developed a serious solution. While any policy can go further, this policy is a giant first step for a city that for too long has lagged behind in this area as well as affordable housing development. Affordable housing is an area where, despite recent gains, Long Beach remains woefully behind. And, despite the recent development boom, Long Beach has seen a slight downtick in our overall population and a continual rise in rents.

That’s because the prevailing supply and demand — “just build” — mantra put forward by city leaders and business interests is not working, has never worked, and never will work. The glut of luxury homes in Long Beach has not created a more affordable market. In fact, the opposite has occurred, and long-time Long Beach residents — including seniors, people with disabilities and communities of color — have been forced out. I know it is a tough pill to swallow, but the hard truth is that the market has not responded to the demand of California families for affordable homes.

Long Beach residents have been told a big lie, that the solution to our housing crisis is to get government out of the way and leave it to the free market to let affordable housing magically “trickle down” to lower-income households. This strategy has been a miserable failure.

In recent years, city-owned property has been snapped up by real estate speculators and corporate developers — killing the American dream for thousands by driving up rents to the point that home ownership is merely a fleeting thought for many.

Two years I ago I wrote that Long Beach needed to “start having our own grownup conversations” about how we were going to deal with this and begin to stabilize our neighborhoods. This conversation extends far past the usual suspects and now includes the Long Beach City Council and Mayor Robert Garcia who are stepping up to join in and address the pain that long-time residents are experiencing.

Unfortunately, during the interim period, too many families were displaced, too many communities and far too much pain was spread across our landscape. With the passage of a strong policy, we can still hold on to some of the racial, cultural and economic fabric that makes Long Beach beautiful. Landlords and their allies have profited off of that misery and it needs to stop.

Long Beach needs to confront rent-gouging and unjust evictions by establishing a strong policy that provides protection and assistance. Only strong renter protections combined with affordable housing development will allow Long Beach to maintain its diversity, protect its seniors and people with disabilities, as well as allow residents to live in safe and healthy homes without fear of retaliation. We can get there tonight, Tuesday April 2, at Long Beach City Hall. Bold leadership and a commitment out long-time residents, a vision that begins to include all Long Beach residents will be needed.