Yesterday, we received news that the Supreme Court refused to hear our case on our Inclusionary Zoning appeal.
So, the question remains, how are we going to provide affordable housing in our community for those most in need? Homeowners at 70 – 80% Area Median Income (AMI) are still provided additional affordable housing, but what about those with the greatest needs for affordable housing? How are we in this community going to make sure that there is housing available for people who make 50% of the AMI or less:
| Household Size |
2006 Area Median Income (100% Median) |
90% Median | “Low and Moderate Income” (or “LMI“) Individuals or households whose annual income does not exceed 80% of the area median income. |
|||||
| 80% Median* | 70% Median | 60% Median* | 50% Median* | 40% Median | 30% Median* | |||
| 1 person | $51,200 | $46,080 | $41,000 | $35,840 | $30,720 | $25,600 | $20,480 | $15,350 |
| 2 persons | $58,600 | $52,740 | $46,850 | $41,020 | $35,160 | $29,300 | $23,440 | $17,550 |
| 3 persons | $65,900 | $59,310 | $52,700 | $46,130 | $39,540 | $32,950 | $26,360 | $19,750 |
| 4 persons | $73,200 | $65,880 | $58,550 | $51,240 | $43,920 | $36,600 | $29,280 | $21,950 |
| 5 persons | $79,100 | $71,190 | $63,250 | $55,370 | $47,460 | $39,550 | $31,640 | $23,700 |
| 6 persons | $84,900 | $76,410 | $67,900 | $59,430 | $50,940 | $42,450 | $33,960 | $25,450 |
| 7 persons | $90,800 | $81,720 | $72,600 | $63,560 | $54,480 | $45,400 | $36,320 | $27,250 |
| 8 persons | $96,600 | $86,940 | $77,300 | $67,620 | $57,960 | $48,300 | $38,640 | $29,000 |
(sorry, haven’t figured out how to fix that chart!)
The federal government is cutting back funding, there are less Section 8 vouchers available in our community, we can’t pass an inclusionary zoning law that applies to rental . . . our choices are increasingly limited while working people are spending more and more on their rent and childcare costs and are going to fall further and further behind.
Unless we come up with something new, it seems as we will need to rely on chasing the almighty dollar and working with those few for profit and few over-worked non-profits who are willing to and smart enough to work with multiple layers of multi-stringed funding. Or, finding the political will and pouring local taxpayer dollars into the solution. Or, even worse, just letting lower income families continue to struggle.
Meantime, we have a new problem. We need to find a way to plug the new loopholes driven through the Inclusionary Zoning ordinance. When developers build buildings they can say they will be rental, and then convert them to condos after they are built and we currently have no way to make sure that those conversions are affordable housing.
So . . . the struggle for economic and social justice continues. We need to find a way to make this community one where everyone is welcome and can afford to live. We need to find a way to make sure our lower-income workers can live in this community close to where they work and where their kids go to school. Back to the drawing board . . . we may have had a set back, but we can’t give up!
