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Councilors keen on affordable housing post By Myles Murphy Ashland Daily Tidings The Ashland City Council is leaning toward approval of a permanent position to coordinate the struggle to create and keep affordable housing. "At some point we have to stop defending the need (for the position) and get on with the work," Councilor Cate Hartzell said at a Wednesday study session. The council and the Ashland Housing Commission met in a joint study session Wednesday to discuss the city's need for affordable housing and a proposed Affordable Housing Action Plan. One of the key elements of the action plan is the creation of a new position to coordinate and implement elements of the plan. "That kind of person is going to be a catalyst," Housing Commission Chair Andy Dungan said. While the meeting was for discussion only - with no votes or other actions taken - councilors Hartzell, Chris Hearn, Don Laws, and Kate Jackson came out strongly in favor of the new position. "I'm really convinced we need a housing coordinator because of the complexity of all the issues," Jackson said. Laws said he would support adding the position to the city's budget, "regardless of what we have to take out (of the budget) to do it." Mayor Alan DeBoer was opposed to the position, arguing it was the sort of work done more effectively by nonprofit groups than by city government. DeBoer suggested the Housing Commission be combined with the Ashland Community Land Trust (ACLT) and the money be used to fund a land trust director. "It would make the dollars go a lot farther," DeBoer said. DeBoer's idea generated no discussion. The ACLT is one of a few non-profit groups operating in Southern Oregon working on affordable housing issues. The action plan recommends the city coordinate with groups such as the ACLT, the Rogue Valley Community Development Corporation, and ACCESS to find funding sources to finance inexpensive housing developments. The proposed city position is envisioned as coordinating those efforts, as well as coordinating developments, investigating outside funding sources and helping to build general support for affordable housing. The city initially approved $40,000 to contract with a coordinator for half of a year, but backed off to look at a full-time position. The action plan - created by Portland firms Sextant Consultants, Inc. and Cogan Owens Cogan -outlines a number of ways the city can foster affordable housing, primarily by giving developers fee breaks for building less costly residences and tweaking zoning and annexation regulations to favor affordable housing creation. Also, the creation of an affordable housing trust fund would put in place a permanent source of additional funding for such projects. Such a fund would require a permanent source of revenue, and city leaders have been advised to look at real estate transfer tax, extension of the food and beverage tax, taking money form the hotel-motel tax, or instituting a city document stamp tax, among other possibilities. Also, the cost of land in Ashland is a major factor in high housing costs. "You've got to have land and you've got to have funding before you can get things going," Dungan said. Affordable housing proponents are preparing for controversy when some of the ideas in the plan come forward. The threat of lost city revenues from waived fees, relaxed zoning and annexation regulations for affordable housing, the possible taxing of certain sectors of the city could make for a hard sell. Already, city growth watchdogs such as Eric Navickas are questioning the use of affordable housing as elements in zone change approvals or annexation - which contribute to the outward sprawl of the city. "We need affordable housing in the downtown, where people can live, work and walk," Navickas said. "Smaller units with more density should be the backbone of this discussion." Consultants and city leaders recognized from the beginning that it will take a concerted effort on the part of the city to garner continued support. "Political will is such an important part of this and you guys are the ones controlling the political will of this city," Dungan told the council Wednesday. A lack of affordable housing has been linked in recent studies to an exodus of families and children from the city, an unacceptable number of emergency and healthcare workers living outside the community, and dwindling economic and cultural diversity. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -