Affordable housing: What has the local government done to help?

What has the ACC Commission done to reduce rents and to protect and encourage the growth of affordable housing in Athens? And what have they not done that they should be doing?

Let’s take a look:

Transcript

Meet Barbara Daniel. She was back at city hall last week, advocating for affordable housing.

“This year, by God’s will, we will have affordable homes put back in Athens so we can have a lot of people off the streets. It’s time and it’s time and it’s time and it’s time now to make that change! We have no more time playing around…The Lord said, ‘don’t forget about the poor!’’”

She was displaced from her home by her landlord back in 2022 as were many other people in Athens.

So what has the ACC Commission done to reduce rents and to protect and encourage the growth of affordable housing in recent years? And what have they not done that they should be doing?

Let’s break it down, starting with the accomplishments. They do have accomplishments on housing!

What the local government has done for affordable housing

First, the North Downtown Athens Project, also known as the redevelopment of Bethel Homes. This started in 2019 when the local government, together with the Athens Housing Authority, purchased Bethel Homes from its absentee landlord, because the property was falling apart, literally. Bethel will be completely rebuilt. The first phase of construction is almost done, and they’re leasing now.

The commission has also approved a number of smaller affordable housing projects in recent years. One of these is Micah’s Creek. Designed by Habitat for Humanity, Micah’s Creek will eventually be the home for about 63 affordable single-family homes close to downtown.

For rental apartments, there’s a new apartment complex being constructed out near Space Kroger called Athens Flats that will provide about 192 affordable apartments designed for people making under 60% of the area median income.

In 2023, the commission passed an affordable housing investment strategy to guide their investments into affordable housing going forward. And last year, they put $5 million dollars towards it, fully-funding the plan. That’s enough to triple the creation of affordable housing annually in Athens.

They’ve also put money towards home weatherization and repair and for affordable homes through Historic Athens and other organizations.

Finally, we’ve got the inclusionary zoning ordinance which was passed in 2022. What it does is let developers build more apartments in a certain area than they would normally be able to, if they make some of them affordable.

This ordinance hasn’t been used for a number of reasons, some which can be addressed, but others, the commission can’t do anything about. For example, there was supposed to be an affordable apartment complex out on Cleveland Road last year that made use of this ordinance. But nearby residents hated it, mostly because of the extra traffic it would bring, and they got the affordable apartments removed.

We put a lot of pressure on the commission to do something about affordable housing, and rightly so, but most of the time, it’s not the government stopping housing. It’s us.

What the local government could be doing

That’s not to say the local government can’t do more to lower rents and encourage affordable housing. They can start by standing up to the rest of us, and approving these developments over our objections. People may not want to hear that. But the other things they can do are also controversial. For example, they could get rid of single family zoning and allow more apartment buildings in more places.

We could allow things like duplexes, quadplexes and cottage courts to be built without special approval. And we could allow homeowners to build accessory dwelling units, or “in-law suites” in their backyards.

To sum up, we need Barbara Daniel at city hall advocating. We need more people there pushing our commission to do the right thing. But we shouldn’t put all of the responsibility on them. The federal government also needs to act. The state government needs to give local governments more tools and more money to address the issue.

And finally, so much of the responsibility is on us. Our voices as residents and as taxpayers are powerful. The local government hears us when we speak. So if you don’t feel moved to advocate for affordable housing, that’s fine. But maybe consider also not using your voice to advocate against affordable housing. It might really make a difference.

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