(Unveiled January 26, 2006)

I believe that the shortage of affordable housing is the most pressing issue facing our community today.  

It’s safe to say that we have a housing crisis on our hands:  thousands of local families are on waiting lists for Section 8 rental assistance or public housing, young families can’t afford to buy homes here thanks to skyrocketing housing costs, long-established neighborhoods are facing the threat of gentrification, homeowners are bearing the burden of annual double-digit increases in property assessments and property taxes, and area businesses are forgoing local expansion plans because it’s hard to attract and retain good workers when the cost of living is so high.  

As a result of these housing pressures, we have many working families who are doubling up in overcrowded homes, spending more than 50% of their income on housing (& thus sacrificing other basic needs), going homeless, or moving 20, 30, or 40 miles away to find housing they can afford (& thus encouraging greater suburban sprawl).  In other words, we are quickly becoming one of those boutique communities where the people who do the hard work of making this city function can’t afford to live anywhere near here.  

Both the City and County have taken some positive steps recently to address this problem, but I believe we can do better by our people.  

While it’s true that government’s abilities and resources are limited and that housing costs are primarily a product of supply and demand within the marketplace, I strongly believe that if we make affordable housing a top public priority – in other words, if we rank it as high on the political agenda as it is on our constituents’ agendas – then there’s a lot more that we can accomplish in this regard.  

To that end, I offer up the following proposals for addressing the shortage of affordable housing in our community: 

1.   Follow the lead of 350 other communities across the country and create a Charlottesville Affordable Housing Investment Fund, with a dedicated annual source of local revenue, to leverage additional dollars from state, federal & private sources and provide flexible financing for creation of new housing opportunities targeted to low-income and working-class residents.  Each year, City Council typically does set aside some funds for housing development, but these funds are appropriated in an ad hoc and inconsistent manner and hardly scratch the surface of the need.  With City revenues growing at a significant pace, we can afford to do more in this regard (without, I should add, raising taxes) – IF we decide to make affordable housing a priority.  I am willing to make it a priority.

2.   Adopt a more deliberate and proactive strategy of Inclusionary Zoning – the process by which City government can encourage and incentivize (though not mandate) the inclusion of affordable housing in new developments.

3.   Explore ways in which to Ease the Property Tax Burden on low- and moderate-income homeowners.  I support the property tax rebate program currently under consideration by City Council and would vote to enact it if elected. We also need to examine the way that City homes are assessed and ensure that lower- and moderate-income homeowners are not being assessed at a higher rate-to-value than higher-income homeowners.  Tax fairness is essential.

4.   Engage with the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority in a constructive approach to Revitalizing Our Public Housing Neighborhoods, working in collaborative partnership with residents and for-profit & non-profit developers alike.  This process has the potential to both improve the quality of life for public housing residents AND significantly expand affordable rental and homeownership opportunities for hard-working citizens.

5.   Take proactive steps to Facilitate the Creation of Accessory Apartments and thus increase our affordable housing stock & enhance incomes of homeowners at the same time.

6.   Strongly encourage the University of Virginia to Expand On-Grounds Housing for students and employees, and thus relieve some of the pressure that UVa’s expansion has put on neighborhoods surrounding the University (and on our housing market as a whole).

7.   Promote greater Regional Cooperation in Housing.  Our housing market knows no jurisdictional lines, nor should our willingness to address this region-wide problem.

8.   Last, but not least, work to enhance our residents’ ability to rent or buy housing by strengthening our commitment to Increasing the Wages of Local Workers through improved job training programs, Living Wage advocacy, etc.