State lawmakers weigh strategies for making housing more affordable
It’s getting more expensive to live in Nevada. The average home value in Las Vegas is around $89,000 higher than it was 10 years ago, and Reno’s average value has increased by $129,000 in the same period, according to Zillow.
Rent can be even worse. According to Rent Jungle, the average rent in Reno in January 2011 was $692, and it is now $1,222. In the same period, average rents in Las Vegas went from $783 to $1,074.
Multiple bills have been introduced in the Legislature that would tackle the problem of affordable housing, with issues like impact fee subsidies and taxbased funds on the docket.
They include:
A bill that would allow municipalities the ability to subsidize or reduce impact fees in certain developments. A conceptual amendment for this bill would allow for rent control and inclusionary zoning incentives for developers of affordable housing.
A bill that would require local governments that perform housing need assessments as part of their master plans to make sure the information can be incorporated into the statewide low-income housing database.
A bill that would require Clark County to create a fund to provide services and affordable housing for “homeless or indigent persons.”
The fund would be filled from an annual sanitary sewer surcharge of up to $25 and a new tax on property transfers that comes out to 25 cents per $500 in value.
Here’s how the issues break down.
Rent control
Rent control is an issue throughout the country — California, New York and New Jersey have cities with rent control enacted, along with Washington, D.C. The idea is spreading in the West but stalling amid pushes for further action.
A ballot initiative in California that would have let counties and cities enact rent control was defeated by almost 60 percent last year, and Washington state failed to repeal a statewide ban on rent control in early 2018.
Reno has discussed instituting some sort of rent control measure since 2017.
Impact fees
Impact fees are, essentially, a charge on developments for at least some of the cost of bringing public utilities to the development. It’s a way to offset the cost
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