Institute explores building homes closer to job centers

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Finding solutions to the growing nationwide shortage of work force housing hinges on raising awareness of the severity of the problem, convincing politicians of the need for more involvement at all levels of government, and on a fundamental shift in the public mindset that has been programmed to equate the American Dream with large houses on large lots, according to participants in a recent workforce housing forum hosted by the Urban Land Institute (ULI).|ret||ret||tab|

The forum, which drew a variety of public- and private-sector experts in affordable housing, focused on finding ways to shore up the shrinking supply of housing that is affordable to moderate-income households whose income is too high to qualify for most forms of government assistance, yet too low to afford adequate housing close to employment centers. The increasing distance between where people work and where they can afford to live is a major factor hampering the quality of life in most urban areas, creating unavoidable traffic snarls and leaving people with too few choices in "how to get there from here," said John McIlwain, ULI's senior resident fellow for housing. |ret||ret||tab|

ULI considers solutions to the problem as a vital part of better growth patterns for the nation's urban areas, McIlwain said. "It's not how much we produce, it's where it's produced. In market after market, affordable housing is being built, but it's in the fringes. Workers are being forced to move way out, and this compounds the cycle of sprawl. This is an urban design issuethe challenge is building (affordable) housing where it's needed," McIlwain said. |ret||ret||tab|

The problem of inadequate workforce housing has been documented by different groups, including several reports from the National Housing Conference, and recent reports from the Millennial Housing Commission, Fannie Mae and Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies. McIlwain noted the economic prosperity of the past decade masks a large disparity in income growth, with minimal growth occurring for those with lower to moderate incomes, compared to large gains exceeding 50 percent in some cases for the highest-wage earners. As a result, the gap between incomes and housing costs has widened for most moderate-wage workers, resulting in more households devoting more of their income for housing, he noted. |ret||ret||tab|

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of households paying more than 35 percent of their income for housing rose 19 percent over the past decade, from 16 million in 1990 to 19 million in 2000. Housing prices, meanwhile, appreciated dramatically and consistently for most types of housing, with some of the highest increases occurring in the most conveniently located neighborhoods.|ret||ret||tab|

Forum Chairman David Mayhood, president of the Mayhood Company in McLean, Va., noted that the urban revival occurring in many areas during the 1990s drove up property values and resulted in downtown housing development oriented to the affluent. |ret||ret||tab|

High land costs continue to be one of the main obstacles prohibiting affordable housing development either for-sale or rental units in close-in neighborhoods, he said. "The more successful the economy is, the more dramatic the problem becomesThe success of urban revitalization has shown that the places most ripe for mixed-income development are the places where it is the least affordable to do it," Mayhood said.|ret||ret||tab|

Although there is no clear definition for the group in need of "work force housing," the forum participants generally applied the term to households earning more than 60 percent but less than 120 percent of an area's median income. "We are talking about teachers, police officers, service workersthe people who serve our communities and keep the local economies going, but who are shut out of close-in areas by high housing costs," McIlwain said. |ret||ret||tab|

Forum participants identified several public- and private-sector solutions to help overcome barriers to developing more workforce housing.|ret||ret||tab|

Establishing of a "one-stop" shop within municipal governments with information on workforce housing incentives such as fast-track permitting, special tax credits, funding and site availability. |ret||ret||tab|

Revising zoning to provide more flexibility and choices in development types, more inclusionary zoning, and offering more predictability in the regulatory process. |ret||ret||tab|

Easing restrictions on various assistance programs now targeted only to the very-low income.|ret||ret||tab|

Conducting comprehensive local market studies on workforce housing demand as a preliminary step to raising awareness of the need and garnering support for public programs to encourage development.|ret||ret||tab|

More linking of workforce housing to other land uses and offering more mixed-use opportunities and density bonuses in exchange for workforce housing development.|ret||ret||tab|

Expanding employer-assisted housing programs and homeownership tax credits.|ret||ret||tab|

Converting more non-residential sites (such as former industrial sites) to affordable residential use.|ret||ret||tab|

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