Editorial: Seek housing solutions on a local level

In 1992, lawmakers raised the state tax on real-estate transactions and directed that the additional money generated be put into two housing trust funds. Between 1992 and 2001, all of the money in the trust funds was used for the intended purpose of funding affordable housing across the state.

Since that time, however, the Legislature has taken $2.2 billion out of these funds for other purposes — including $182 million in the 2018-19 state budget, as a recent GateHouse Media report found. This year, Florida will spend less on affordable housing than in 1996 — despite the state’s population and housing costs skyrocketing since that time.

Gainesville’s housing market might be less expensive than some parts of Florida, but it has been heating up and pricing out lower-income residents. Our community also faces problems with high electricity costs in aging homes with poor energy efficiency and other problems.

More than 40 percent of Gainesville-area households have at least one problem with the quality and condition of their housing, according to the Racial Inequity in Alachua County study released earlier this year. These problems are experienced at the highest rate by black and Hispanic households.

The Sun-sponsored Gainesville For All initiative to address local disparities proposed several housing recommendations, including a Community Land Trust to help with affordable home purchases. GNV4ALL also called on the state to fully use the housing trust funds for their intended purpose.

Rather than waiting for the Legislative to finally behave responsibility, the Gainesville City Commission is rightly looking at ways to address housing issues locally. Commissioner Adrian Hayes-Santos has floated possible changes such as minimum energy efficiency standards for rental units.

Through the conservation on such changes is just beginning, some landlords are already crying foul over proposals that they say will increase housing costs. These concerns should be kept in mind, as should the need to lower Gainesville Regional Utilities rates that create a particular burden for low-income residents.

One idea worth exploring is a program to provide low-interest loans for landlords to improve the energy efficiency of their properties. Gainesville lacks enough landlords that take federal housing vouchers, so landlords that get the loans might be required to accept these tenants as a condition of the program.

The Alachua County Labor Coalition is holding a public event Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Emmanuel Mennonite Church to discuss proposals involving rental housing. The focus should be on improving the living conditions of residents while keeping costs down.

Gainesville should also consider ideas for new development such as inclusionary zoning, which requires a portion of new housing units to be affordable, and Grace Marketplace’s programs for the homeless in any housing plan. While the Legislature should start spending housing funds on their intended purpose, affordable housing is likely another problem we need to solve on a local level.

Article last accessed on May 31, 2018 here. A print-ready PDF is available here.