Housing

By Cynthia J. Brock

We need to create a better mix of housing affordability

We can help alleviate this situation. We can support our mobile home rent control ordinance that provides affordable housing to seniors, young families, and many workers. We can preserve existing affordable rentals throughout the city and homes in Old Town with condo conversion regulation and home rehabilitation grants. We can acquire and rehabilitate existing units as long-term affordable units. We can require a high percentage of affordable units in new development, especially on those parcels we have designated as higher density to meet the state's housing mandate, since market rate units, no matter how densely zoned, will not be affordable to most of our workers and residents. We can establish local preference policies and require the longest term of affordability allowed by law. Finally, we can use our growth management ordinance to pace job creation with the availability of local housing.