The rents are increasing. The amount of low-income households is declining says Maxwell Drever. And the initiatives taken to address this problem have seen very little success in most regions of America. So, the question that arises as this – What can be done? According to a study released by the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, some solutions can help civic leaders address the issue at hand and arrive at a solution.
The lawyer’s research team had spoken with the various housing experts, assessed the present efforts, and combed the legal cases to arrive at a few solutions. They are:
It’s wise to start investing in trust funds for housing production
The cash gets used to assist developers in funding new buildings that comprise space for the working-class and low-income residents. Maxwell Drever says that several regions have developed the cash via the real estate deals taxes. And this money gets develop through voluntary contributions from the loan repayments and the developers. There are places with zero trust funds. According to various leaders, one way to develop affordable housing in certain places is to channel increased cash for developing affordable workforce housing.
Surveying the public land for developing scopes
Several regions are making use of this tip. Several regions have started to scour any available land to search for places for housing that can be affordable for those with less than 60% of AMI (area median income). However, the search doesn’t halt at the vacant lots. Reports suggest that more people are re-imagining the fire stations, schools, and library spaces. There are regions, such as Alexandria, where about 64 units got created in the old fire station close to the Potomac Yard.
Bring down the exemption’s percentage from inclusive zoning laws
According to Maxwell Drever, several municipalities possess laws requiring certain units for the new development to remain affordable. Even then there are several exemptions. In certain regions, such an exemption comprises buildings with less than 10 units and specific communities with ancient designations or various other building limitations. All these have resulted in the development of a huge number of projects, that present over 26,000 units and not any is affordable.
Asking the employers to remedy the slack
The private employers report calls to provide housing help to the ones who wish to stay in a certain area. It is one of the advantages that certain people enjoy in specific areas of the United States. According to the report, the government might be able to motivate the businesses. By providing tax incentives to those who promise to assist their staff stays inside the municipal restrictions.
We know by now that the crisis of affordable workforce housing is huge and universal. And it will take some time to address and resolve it. The solutions mentioned above might be some of the ways to remedy this crisis.