The cost of housing is a supply and demand issue. There are some levers local governments can pull to provide more affordable housing, but they should mostly stay out of the way. For example, once a project is approved, obtaining a building permit should not take weeks or months. We need to improve and streamline this process because time is money and adds to the cost of the project.The City Master Plan should be updated to reflect best practices for supporting and building strong communities and maintaining quality of life. The Master Plan is the blueprint of where, what, and how we should move our city forward; we need to reevaluate it often to reflect a vision of how to best support our residents.
I strongly support personal property rights and have always voted against increasing the government’s ability to claim eminent domain.
Miles says:
Hopefully we can get more súrtanle housing for families. Currently work full time, as dues my wife in the schools around here and we’re can’t afford to buy a home and barely afford rent. We’d love to live in the community we work. I know many teachers in the west side commute 30-40 minutes because of how expensive housing is
Marsha Judkins says:
I completely agree. There are some things that Provo could do to increase affordable housing stock. Here are a few ideas–let me know what you think.
1. Allow developers to create more high density apartments within five blocks of BYU. Students want to live close and as they move out of housing that is farther away, it will hopefully free up some of that for families.
2. Better code enforcement of ADUs. I love ADUs–owner occupied homes that have a separate rental unit somewhere on the property. They have a bad name because many homeowners/corporations are not following code on these and they are not owner occupied. If we enforce the current code and make sure they are owner occupied, corporations and people who own these homes but don’t live there will be encouraged to sell, freeing up housing stock. As we enforce this code, residents who are resisting allowing ADUs in their neighborhoods will hopefully see that allowing ADUs will enable families to buy a home–because they will have help with the payment by the rent.
3. Creating public/private partnerships with city/county owned land. The city/county would retain ownership of the land but lease it to developers, who would build starter homes. These homes would be sold for market value minus the cost of the land, which will take out about a third of the price. There would be deed restrictions that the owners could sell for only 3% or so increase in value each year. So if a family lived there four years, they could sell for 12% above the buying price, keeping the cost more affordable for subsequent buyers.
4. Make permitting for construction quicker and easier. It currently takes months and is an arduous, inefficient process. Other cities get permitting done in a day. The longer it takes to get a permit, the more expensive a project is. It also discourage new construction, ADUs, and additions.
I would like to hear your ideas!
Marsha