County Planners ponder affordable housing problem

Local governments are struggling to find solutions to the affordable housing problem. So, to get a better sense of just what the problem is and what can be done about it, the Albemarle County Planning Commission heard presentations on August 29 from City and County housing officials, along with leaders from local housing nonprofits Habitat for Humanity, Albemarle Housing Improvement Program (AHIP) and the Piedmont Housing Alliance.
    Ron White, chief of housing for the County, began by stating the case for more affordable units. Between 2001 and 2005, the median cost of a house increased 36 percent to $285,000, from $210,000. The situation is particularly dire with newly built homes—last year, only nine of 316 units sold for less than $192,000.
    Though the County instituted an affordable housing policy a few years ago that has generated 600 promised “affordable” units and roughly $1 million in cash from developers, most of those houses are still years away. In the meantime, many local employees are driving long distances to work in the Charlottesville area.
    For housing subsidized by the government or nonprofits, “the [waiting] lists are long, the need is great,” said Theresa Tapscott, executive director of AHIP.
    The answers seem to depend on which population you’re trying to house. Much of the current housing policy looks to expand housing for those earning 80 percent of median area income (defined as $66,500). But Noah Schwartz, executive director for the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority, wants to make sure rental assistance is also under discussion, considering Charlottesville’s 26 percent poverty rate.
    “There’s a tremendous population, particularly in the city, [who] aren’t going to be homeowners,” said Schwartz.
    The nonprofits, as well as the City housing authority, are all investing in mixed-income development, which includes both market rate and subsidized housing units. Albemarle Planning Commissioner Eric Strucko struggled with the concept. “It seems a little awkward that affordable housing organizations are building market rate homes and that [affordable] supply is an issue.”
    After the meeting, White said, “There was no clear consensus other than to recognize that it’s not just one small part of the population that has problems buying houses in Albemarle County.”