After years of the city of Houston coasting along without a
plan to address the housing affordability crisis that was looming in the
background, the tides began to turn in 2016, as the new administration named
tackling housing affordability as one of its top priorities. A year and a
half later, article after article has cast a more significant light on the scope
of the problem, however, it turns out the issue is not unique to
Houston, and is one that a number major American cities that experienced rapid growth
over the last decade are grappling with.
Houston’s affordable housing community lauded the Mayor’s
acknowledgement of affordable housing in his January 2016 inaugural remarks. In
his May 2016 State of the City Address, the Mayor further decried the fact that
Houston was “becoming two cities in one: a city of many contrasts”, which
served as the backdrop for announcement of his Complete Communities initiative.
Then in July 2016, the City named a new housing director, who announced that
amongst his top priority was the creation of a Comprehensive Housing Plan for
the city of Houston.
A year later, the City has suffered a barrage of
unflattering articles detailing the mismanagement of housing funds, lack of
oversight of its programs, refusal to issue voter-approved housing
bonds, and an overall lack of accountability of some of the funds the City has
dedicated to housing, all of which predated the current administration. This
created an outcry from local housing advocates, to the point of prompting
national publications to write stories about the affordability crisis Houston
is faced with, and the seeming lack of action to combat the issue.
You can debate the fairness of the coverage the City has
received, however, the facts are undeniable that Houston faces a looming
housing affordability crises. I will reiterate that the issues of fiscal mismanagement
and lack of accountability preceded the current administration, and the housing
department has suffered from a string of departures over the last several
years, leaving the department lacking the depth of experience it previously
enjoyed.
What is most important at this point, if there is to be a
turning of the tide, is that the City must begin taking decisive steps, to
prevent more families from falling off the last rung of the opportunity ladder,
as they face difficulty in being able to find places where they can afford to
live. There are currently 43,000 families on the waiting list for housing
vouchers from the Houston Housing Authority, and a recent analysis concluded
that Houston had a shortage of over 200,000 units required to meet the housing
needs of families earning below the area median income.
The first step the City must take is to initiate the process
of creating and implementing a Comprehensive Housing Plan, and the
administration should define a housing affordability policy for local housing
dollars. This will help ensure that any subsequent efforts that are made are
part of a longitudinal strategy to provide quality housing for residents that
remain affordable long-term. Next, the City should prescribe and implement a 24
to 36-month plan to disburse the unspent locally generated housing dollars, issue the
totality of housing bonds previously authorized by voters, and create an
outline for how federal funds received for the Memorial and Tax Day floods, in
2015 and 2016 respectively, will be expended in meeting the immediate housing
demand.
In addressing the above stated steps, the City must work
with a broad based coalition of housing advocates, planners, developers,
funders, non-profits, academicians, and community representatives. The City
should prioritize the varying degrees of housing needs by type, geography, and
population served, while maintaining a balance between multifamily and single
family housing options. These steps taken in concert will help provide
short-term relief, while creating a sustainable pathway forward long-term.
Laolu Davies-Yemitan is a real estate
broker and developer who specializes in affordable/workforce multifamily housing
development, and urban-suburban revitalization. He editorializes on issues
related to real estate and public policy. LaoluD.blogspot.com; Twitter: @laoludavies
