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Experts, developers criticize Spotsylvania County's proposed affordable housing plan that is part of the draft comprehensive plan. Residents will have a chance to comment on the comp plan Aug. 12 during a public hearing Date published: 6/27/2008
By DAN TELVOCK Housing experts say an affordable-housing proposal Spotsylvania County supervisors are considering will provide little relief for people who cannot afford homes here. Critics of the plan say: The proposal addresses affordable housing for families only. It does not address affordability for police officers, teachers or similarly paid workers. The proposal discourages local government assistance and incentives to developers, which are common in areas that have had success with affordable housing. "Clearly, what is being proposed here is nothing," said Michelle Krocker, executive director of the Northern Virginia Affordable Housing Alliance. Instead, the plan says: The market will drive the availability of affordable homes. Developers should build more mixed-use projects, with a variety of housing choices even though the county does not have any land zoned for higher densities. Developers seeking a rezoning should designate a minimum of 10 percent of the units in a project as affordable, but provides no incentives. Krocker said government interaction is a key component for affordable housing. For example, Fairfax County recently donated land so a developer could build affordable housing near its government center, she said. "What is being presented here is really not a program or policy at all. It basically boils down to this: As the real estate market becomes more depressed, [their] hope is housing prices will come down low enough so they are 'affordable,'" she said. The proposal is just one element of the county's growth blueprint, called the comprehensive plan, which will be the subject of an Aug. 12 public hearing. The entire plan, which is a guide for growth and not law, can still be changed, and it is updated every five years. County staff defined affordable as a household earning the median income or less paying no more than 30 percent of its income for housing. The proposed plan uses 2006 statistics with a family median income of $75,507. So monthly rent or mortgage could be up to $1,887. But since 2006, the median income level for a household here has jumped to $99,000, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Using those figures, "affordable" is $2,475 per month in mortgage or rent.
Read more stories about Spotsylvania Date published: 6/27/2008
for a down payment and buy your own house. deadbeats.
"communist Chinese" is my favorite cuss word. There were
Chinese before Communism and there will be Chinese after
Communism fades to the dust bin of history. So the term is not
redundant. However or county supervisors act in a communist
fashion and can't or won't plan more than ten minutes ahead.
to bend over backwards to provide "affordable" housing. Tax revenue not optimized with "affordable" housing. "Affordable" housing may change demographics in what MAY be perceived as a negative way. Why provide for those less fortunate when you can shove them into surrounding jurisdictions... Not our problem, let others deal with it...
and they will not even help people with there taxes disabled people cant help you, but will help people get a home spotsy theres a problem here
It almost like we live in a capitalist society.
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