A Penny For Your Thoughts

It’s no secret that housing costs are expensive in Fairfax County. The median sales price for a single family home is $499,000, an increase of more than 17 percent from 2003. The average rent for an apartment unit is $1157. Job growth has increased three times as fast as the supply of homes, but there were nearly 2000 homeless persons in Fairfax Co. in January 2004, and 36 percent of them were children. That number does not include families who may have “doubled up” with friends or other family members because they simply can’t find housing they can afford.

Last year, the Board of Supervisors committed to preserving at least 1,000 homes by 2007, keeping them affordable to those who live and work in Fairfax Co. The county is losing affordable housing at an extraordinary rate, as smaller, older homes are redeveloped into mini-mansions, and older apartment complexes are renovated and converted to more expensive condominium units. The Board created an Affordable Housing Preservation Action Committee to make recommendations about steps that would help preserve affordable housing now and in the future. The committee presented its recommendations at Monday’s Board of Supervisors meeting.

The recommendations are divided into two categories: those needing immediate action within the next six months, and those that can be achieved within the next year. That’s a very ambitious agenda for an important countywide issue, but it is important to begin the dialogue. The first immediate recommendation would dedicate one cent of the real estate tax rate to the preservation of affordable housing in the FY 2006 budget, which would generate about $17.5 million. Rather than increasing taxes, the committee suggested that the planned reduction in the tax rate be less. That is a major policy decision that will have to be thoroughly vetted by the Board during budget deliberations in March and April.

The committee also recommended changes to Fairfax County’s Comprehensive Plan to provide development flexibility and incentives for projects that include afford-able/ workforce housing. Creation of overlay districts and funding of an “ombudsman” position to assist developers, owners, and potential purchasers of affordable housing through the county’s land use process in an expedited fashion also were on the immediate action list. Recommendations for action at the state level included support for Delegate Jim Scott’s resolution to direct the Virginia Housing Commission to study the authority of localities to provide incentives to developers to preserve affordable housing.

Interestingly, there also is legislation in the General Assembly that, if enacted, would prevent localities from seeking or accepting contributions to preserve or build affordable housing. Local housing needs don’t seem to register with some members of the General Assembly! A committee recommendation to allow homeowners to create basement or garage apartments and rent these units to families waiting for housing met with resistance from Board members concerned about validating illegal multiple occupancy conditions. All of the committee recommendations were forwarded to the County Executive and staff for review. Any proposed budget issues, Comprehensive Plan amendments, and ordinance changes will be subject to the county’s public hearing process. I’ll keep you posted in future columns. Supervisor Penny Gross may be emailed at mason@fairfaxcounty.gov

Supervisor Penny Gross may be emailed at mason@fairfaxcounty.gov