DEAR EDITOR: When I was a young reporter at a candidate forum in a small New England town, I asked the question, “What steps will you take to increase affordable housing?”
Mr. Candidate thought a minute and said, “Well, I know these people need a place to live.”
I didn’t have a chance to follow up or I would have said, “I hope you understand that ‘these people’ are police officers, firefighters, teachers and nurses who work in this community but can’t afford to live here.”
Three decades later, here I am in Aurora, and recently I heard a much more perceptive candidate say, “So many people who grew up in Aurora can’t afford to live here.”
Instead of brushing off “these people,” Alison Coombs, who is running for city council in Ward 5, is offering ideas such as better oversight of outside developers; set-asides of affordable housing units; impact fees to reduce the burden on taxpayers for roads, schools and services in our growing community; and revising the budget structure to include ongoing expenditures to support affordable housing.
Meanwhile, Omar Montgomery, who is running for mayor, says those developer incentives are not the only answer: “We have an inventory of existing houses that are sitting empty.” Why are they empty? The owners can’t sell them because people can’t afford them. “Rents are rising faster than incomes,” he notes. Montgomery will seek federal and state grants to ease that burden.
As a homeowner, I’m grateful to have housing security in a vibrant community. But I’m also concerned that neighbors, egged on by realtors, have been selling out for ever-increasing prices. I sense a bubble.
While modest homes now are appraised above $300,000, a review of the market shows that of the 144 one-bedroom apartments available in Aurora, the cheapest costs $845 per month—and that’s an exception to the prevailing $1,000 and up for local rentals.
For those who can’t afford those rates, the Aurora Public Housing Authority reports that the waiting list for federally subsidized Section 8 rentals isn’t long. In fact, it no longer exists; it has been closed since 2005. Oops.
What can be done? The new affordable housing fund is a good start. Support the impact fees now up for debate in city council meetings. Support council members and candidates who will tackle the policy and economic questions, because “these people” are all of us.
— Paula DeJohn, Aurora, via letters@SentinelColorado.com