Housing crunch solvable

Different approach to development key to relief

Some think the word “crisis” is too strong to describe the national and regional affordable housing crisis. This article will focus on Fayetteville, where the problem is all too obvious.

The most recent count, last December, reported 436 homeless people in Fayetteville, up from 343 a year earlier. Of these, 245 were in homeless shelters and 191 were unsheltered (up from 100). People will not live outdoors in December if they can afford a house. It is surely a crisis that so many in Fayetteville are homeless. Even one is too many.

So yes, we have a housing crisis. It is Fayetteville’s worst problem. It needed fixing months or years ago.

Homelessness, even when “sheltered,” is a tragedy wherever it occurs. When it occurs in a nation as rich as ours, and a town as rich as Fayetteville, it is a moral outrage. Furthermore, there is something wrong with a town in which its key workers — teachers, police, firefighters, city staff — cannot find housing that is nice, affordable and accessible.

Nationally, the number of homeless has risen rapidly in recent years. In January 2023, over 650,000 Americans were homeless, an increase of 6% since January 2022 and the highest number ever reported. This makes me ashamed of my country, which has 756 billionaires (six live in Arkansas) and where 12% of households earn over $200,000 per year. Our nation is rich. Why can’t we take better care of our fellow Americans?

Housing has become less affordable nationally just since 2022. Due to inflation and high interest rates, mortgage rates have doubled while home prices have increased by 160% and family incomes have increased by only 20%. The reason for the sudden leap in prices is that there are not enough houses on the market to satisfy the demand. Homeowners don’t want to sell and give up their lower-rate mortgages, and builders are not building smaller homes. “Starter” homes that sold for $250,000 in 2020 now cost $346,000.

A big part of the problem is that workers’ incomes are too low compared to housing costs. The nation, and especially Arkansas, are at fault. Our national minimum wage of $7.50 per hour speaks volumes about what our elected officials think of people who earn hourly wages. A few states have humane minimum wage laws, but Arkansas, at $11 per hour, is not one of them.

Fayetteville is beginning to swing into gear. The City Council resolved unanimously that the city has a housing crisis. Council members D’Andre Jones and Sarah Moore sponsored a resolution calling for a task force and a new “housing coordinator” position, while others sponsored a resolution to hire new staff to work on this issue and to pay for this with higher developer fees.

A new affordable housing staff position is the key to solving this problem. Here’s why:

I’m a lifelong bicycling enthusiast. Fayetteville was a bicycling desert from 1964, when I moved here, until 2000. City leaders thought bicycles were only toys for children. Then a new mayor, Dan Coody, came to town, followed by another good mayor, Lioneld Jordan — progressives who believed in the power of government to improve people’s lives. Fayetteville began the Greenway trail and other facilities. The key step occurred when the city hired Matt Mihalevich as trails coordinator. Since then, Fayetteville has gone from a bicycle desert to a nationally recognized bicycle mecca.

Likewise, an affordable housing coordinator will be the key to solving our present crisis.

Fayetteville needs more inexpensive and rentable housing. According to a Feb. 7 National Public Radio report, changing zoning rules to allow this is “the hottest trend in US cities.” Overindulgence in automobiles is one source of the problem. Cities devote too much space to large lots in the suburbs that contribute to sprawl and drive up housing prices. Cities from Austin to Anchorage are ditching their off-street parking minimums, building mass transit resources and encouraging small residential lots near the city’s center.

People who live near the center of Fayetteville and rely on walking, mass transit and perhaps bicycling can save the annual $10,728 that the American Automobile Association says it costs to own a car. That can surely help pay the rent.

Mayor Jordan has recently supported a “71B Corridor Plan” that will invest more than $22 million in transforming North College Avenue. The project could include over 600 new residential units. North and South College seem natural places for inexpensive mid-rise apartments and condominiums and could provide some, or a lot, of the needed affordable housing.

The crisis is real, but Fayetteville can solve it.