Making the Case for Mixed Income and Mixed Use Communities Making The Case FOR MIXED INCOME AND MIXED USE COMMUNITIES: AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ATLANTA NEIGHBORHOOD.

Making the Casefor Mixed Income

and Mixed Use Communities

Making The CaseFOR MIXED INCOME AND MIXED USE COMMUNITIES:

AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

ATLANTA NEIGHBORHOODDEVELOPMENTPARTNERSHIP, INC.

ANDP, Inc. © Copyright - all rights reserved 2004

Making the Casefor Mixed Income

and Mixed Use Communities

• To be affordable, housing should cost no more than 30 percent of a household’s income, according to federal standards.

• The rapid growth of metropolitan Atlanta has been fueled by:

Our position at the nexus of rail, highway, and aviation networks

The abundance of low-cost land allowed newcomers to buy homes cheaply

• The choices in affordable homes are narrowing, especially near job centers.

• one-third of our families earn a total of $40,000 or less per year:

Almost no one is building new housing for them

Expanding ChoicesExpanding ChoicesSolutions to the Emerging Affordability CrisisSolutions to the Emerging Affordability Crisis

Introduction

Place Matters

Paying the Price for Distance

Other Factors DrivingAffordability Crunch

A Look Ahead

Choice

Defining Success

Where Do We Go From Here?

The Emerging Affordability Crisis

Making the Casefor Mixed Income

and Mixed Use Communities

Quality of Life, Competitive Quality of Life, Competitive Advantage at RiskAdvantage at RiskWhy Address this Issue?Why Address this Issue?

By insuring housing choice, our By insuring housing choice, our region can:region can:

Reduce cross-jurisdictional Reduce cross-jurisdictional commutes to workcommutes to work

Reduce transportation costsReduce transportation costs

Planned infrastructure Planned infrastructure (transportation, water, air)(transportation, water, air)

Preserve landPreserve land

Preserve and improve our Preserve and improve our regional competitiveness by regional competitiveness by aiding in employee aiding in employee recruitment, retention and recruitment, retention and productivityproductivity

Introduction

Place Matters

Paying the Price for Distance

Other Factors DrivingAffordability Crunch

A Look Ahead

Choice

Defining Success

Where Do We Go From Here?

The Emerging Affordability Crisis

Making the Casefor Mixed Income

and Mixed Use Communities

• Many are having a nearly impossible time finding housing in the jurisdictions that employ them

• Demand is driving up housing prices

• affordable housing will no longer “just happen”

Quality of Life, Competitive Quality of Life, Competitive Advantage at RiskAdvantage at Risk

Place Matters

Paying the Price for Distance

Other Factors DrivingAffordability Crunch

A Look Ahead

Choice

Defining Success

Where Do We Go From Here?

The Emerging Affordability Crisis

• Solutions:

High-quality, town-style neighborhoods

Governments will need to encourage and assist the private sector

Introduction

Green Street Properties, LLC

Making the Casefor Mixed Income

and Mixed Use Communities

The Emerging Affordability The Emerging Affordability CrisisCrisisHow We Know It Exists – and Is It Likely to How We Know It Exists – and Is It Likely to Get Worse?Get Worse?Scope of the Current ProblemScope of the Current Problem

Place Matters

Paying the Price for Distance

Other Factors DrivingAffordability Crunch

A Look Ahead

Choice

Defining Success

Where Do We Go From Here?

The Emerging Affordability Crisis

63% of the jobs in metro Atlanta pay under $40,000 a year. 1/3 of households earn a total of $40,000 or less. There is over a 185,000 unit shortage of housing units for those at and below this income level

Introduction

Making the Casefor Mixed Income

and Mixed Use Communities

Who are these Families?Who are these Families?

Place Matters

Paying the Price for Distance

Other Factors DrivingAffordability Crunch

A Look Ahead

Choice

Defining Success

Where Do We Go From Here?

The Emerging Affordability Crisis

• Recent graduates living on entry-level wages

• Young families saving for a house

• Senior citizens living on Social Security

• Carpenters

• Electricians

• Office support

• Retail staff

• Janitors, cooks, waiters and waitresses

• Maintenance workers

• Healthcare providers

• Store clerks

• Child care providers

Introduction

Making the Casefor Mixed Income

and Mixed Use Communities

Who are these Families?Who are these Families?(Continued)(Continued)

Place Matters

Paying the Price for Distance

Other Factors DrivingAffordability Crunch

A Look Ahead

Choice

Defining Success

Where Do We Go From Here?

The Emerging Affordability Crisis

• Housing prices here are well above those of neighboring states and are very close to the national average:

Average house price City of Atlanta : $243,000

Metro average: $180,000

• One in three renting households were over-paying

• Over half of those working families spent more than 35 percent on housing.

Shortage of more than 185,000 houses and apartments that were within reach of these families (available for $800 or less a month)

• Some families are making their housing “affordable” by:

Doubling up with others

Settling for substandard units

Relocating into an undesirable neighborhood.

• Total shortage in affordable housing at more than 305,000 units.

Introduction

Making the Casefor Mixed Income

and Mixed Use Communities

Place MattersPlace MattersThe Lack of Housing Near JobsThe Lack of Housing Near Jobs

Place Matters

Paying the Price for Distance

Other Factors DrivingAffordability Crunch

A Look Ahead

Choice

Defining Success

Where Do We Go From Here?

The Emerging Affordability Crisis

• For lower-income workers, jobs can be nearly impossible to get near housing

• In several districts most of the new condominiums and apartments are well beyond the means of people who work there

Introduction • The balanced areas in terms of density of jobs vs. density of housing are low.

• The farther you are from work

• the more time and money you must spend commuting

• the less time you have for family and community commitments

Making the Casefor Mixed Income

and Mixed Use Communities

Place MattersPlace MattersThe Lack of Housing Near JobsThe Lack of Housing Near Jobs

Place Matters

Paying the Price for Distance

Other Factors DrivingAffordability Crunch

A Look Ahead

Choice

Defining Success

Where Do We Go From Here?

The Emerging Affordability Crisis

• While more than 1 in 10 metro households have income that is 30 percent or less of the median – under $19,000 for a family of four – only 6 percent of the region’s housing units are affordable to them

• The Atlanta region would have to build more housing for households with annual earnings less than $35,000 than for any other category.

Introduction

Making the Casefor Mixed Income

and Mixed Use Communities

Paying the Price for Distance:Paying the Price for Distance:The Transportation Cost of HousingThe Transportation Cost of Housing

• Annual traffic delays has more than tripled since 1992

• The average number of vehicles per household jumped from 1.75 cars to 2.27 (1990-2001)

• The average number of vehicles per household increases suburbanizing areas

Place Matters

Paying the Price for Distance

Other Factors DrivingAffordability Crunch

A Look Ahead

Choice

Defining Success

Where Do We Go From Here?

The Emerging Affordability Crisis

Introduction

• For a working family, the average costs of transportation in an in-town location is $5,446

• 45 percent higher in suburbanizing areas

• nearly two-thirds of a family's income is spent on on Housing and transportation costs combined

Making the Casefor Mixed Income

and Mixed Use Communities

Paying the Price for Distance:Paying the Price for Distance:How It Affects the Business CommunityHow It Affects the Business Community

• The disconnect between jobs and housing, The disconnect between jobs and housing, and the high cost of transportation has and the high cost of transportation has serious implications serious implications

• Over the long term metro Atlanta’s economic competitiveness could suffer.

Place Matters

Paying the Price for Distance

Other Factors DrivingAffordability Crunch

A Look Ahead

Choice

Defining Success

Where Do We Go From Here?

The Emerging Affordability Crisis

Introduction

Making the Casefor Mixed Income

and Mixed Use Communities

Other Factors Driving the Other Factors Driving the Affordability CrunchAffordability Crunch

Rapid GrowthRapid Growth

Place Matters

Paying the Price for Distance

Other Factors DrivingAffordability Crunch

A Look Ahead

Choice

Defining Success

Where Do We Go From Here?

The Emerging Affordability Crisis • In the 1990s metro

Atlanta added 1.2 million people

• 626,000 jobs were added between 1992 and 2002

• Rapidly declining supply of buildable land near job centers

Introduction

•Atlanta is the least dense of the nation’s major metro areas, with only 2.8 people per acre

Making the Casefor Mixed Income

and Mixed Use Communities

Regulatory PracticesRegulatory Practices

Place Matters

Paying the Price for Distance

Other Factors DrivingAffordability Crunch

A Look Ahead

Choice

Defining Success

Where Do We Go From Here?

The Emerging Affordability Crisis

Many local governments also impose zoning regulations that lead to income segregation, allowing only houses of a certain price to be built within each development

• Mandating large minimum lot sizes, driving up the land costs per house

• Requiring large minimum house sizes

• Placing moratoria and long-term bans on multifamily construction

• Requiring fewer homes per acre

• Mandating exterior finishes

Introduction

Making the Casefor Mixed Income

and Mixed Use Communities

A Look AheadA Look AheadAchieving a VisionAchieving a Vision

The Outlook for AtlantaThe Outlook for Atlanta

Place Matters

Paying the Price for Distance

Other Factors DrivingAffordability Crunch

A Look Ahead

Choice

Defining Success

Where Do We Go From Here?

The Emerging Affordability Crisis

• By the year 2030, metro Atlanta is projected to be home to 2.3 million more people

• Atlantans over age 65 will likely triple

• Households with children will continue to drop

• one in three current residents of conventional suburbs would actually prefer to be living in a mixed-use neighborhood

Introduction

Making the Casefor Mixed Income

and Mixed Use Communities

A Vision for the FutureA Vision for the Future

Place Matters

Paying the Price for Distance

Other Factors DrivingAffordability Crunch

A Look Ahead

Choice

Defining Success

Where Do We Go From Here?

The Emerging Affordability Crisis

More families need the option of living in a location where transportation costs won’t swallow the family budget

A complete community:

• Mixes housing types and prices

• office and other jobs, places to shop, and walk-to neighborhood schools.

• It has a place for everyone, at every stage of life – from the high chair to the rocking chair

Introduction

Making the Casefor Mixed Income

and Mixed Use Communities

ChoiceChoiceCreating Housing Opportunities for Creating Housing Opportunities for all Incomes in Communities for all Incomes in Communities for EveryoneEveryoneReasons for OptimismReasons for Optimism

Place Matters

Paying the Price for Distance

Other Factors DrivingAffordability Crunch

A Look Ahead

Choice

Defining Success

Where Do We Go From Here?

The Emerging Affordability Crisis

• We can retool regulations and policies so the private sector can serve an enormous, unmet demand

• We now have a regional transportation agency

• We start with the advantage of MARTA,

• Limiting the proportion of our watersheds that are covered with development and hard surfaces

Introduction

Making the Casefor Mixed Income

and Mixed Use Communities

LocationLocation

Defining SuccessDefining SuccessKey Principals to ConsiderKey Principals to Consider

Place Matters

Paying the Price for Distance

Other Factors DrivingAffordability Crunch

A Look Ahead

Choice

Defining Success

Where Do We Go From Here?

The Emerging Affordability Crisis

Housing not only must be affordable to buy or rent, it also must be accessible to jobs, services, and daily needs

MixMix• Mixing uses in walkable neighborhoods can:

Allow some people to use a car less often

Support high-frequency public transportation service

• Mixing incomes within jurisdictions can:

Make development of more affordable homes economically viable

DesignDesignAffordable housing doesn’t have to look cheap

Introduction

Making the Casefor Mixed Income

and Mixed Use Communities

FairnessFairness

Place Matters

Paying the Price for Distance

Other Factors DrivingAffordability Crunch

A Look Ahead

Choice

Defining Success

Where Do We Go From Here?

The Emerging Affordability Crisis

Whatever solutions we pursue must not perpetuate those inequities, or create new ones

• Fairness to individuals:

Working families of any race and income deserve a chance to live near their jobs in safe, well planned and cared-for neighborhoods

• Fairness among jurisdictions:

Having localities compete for resources based on how well they plan

Introduction

Making the Casefor Mixed Income

and Mixed Use Communities

Where Do We Go From Where Do We Go From Here?Here?Recommendations - SolutionsRecommendations - Solutions

Regional Housing Resource Regional Housing Resource CenterCenter

Place Matters

Paying the Price for Distance

Other Factors DrivingAffordability Crunch

A Look Ahead

Choice

Defining Success

Where Do We Go From Here?

The Emerging Affordability Crisis Compile and analyze existing data and issue periodic

reports on progress, or lack thereof

Regional Housing CoalitionRegional Housing CoalitionThe coalition’s goals:

Make clear the urgency of the situation

Establish a common understanding of the scope of potential solutions

Gain a mutual acceptance of responsibility for a share in addressing the issue

Create the political will to support the solutions

Introduction

Making the Casefor Mixed Income

and Mixed Use Communities

Regional Fair-Share PlanRegional Fair-Share Plan

Place Matters

Paying the Price for Distance

Other Factors DrivingAffordability Crunch

A Look Ahead

Choice

Defining Success

Where Do We Go From Here?

The Emerging Affordability Crisis

• Combat zoning conditions that lead to economic stratification of housing, limited housing options, jobs-housing imbalances, and traffic congestion.

Inclusionary ZoningInclusionary Zoning• “In return for making 10 –15 percent of the total units

affordable, the developer usually gets in return:

the right to build more units

faster approvals and permits

tax or impact fee abatement, or other considerations

Connect Housing with Local Connect Housing with Local Land Use PlansLand Use Plans

• Rezoning decisions often do not reflect the comprehensive plans

• Have local governments change zoning maps and development policies to be consistent with their own plans

Introduction

Making the Casefor Mixed Income

and Mixed Use Communities

Account for the Account for the Transportation Cost of Transportation Cost of HousingHousing

Place Matters

Paying the Price for Distance

Other Factors DrivingAffordability Crunch

A Look Ahead

Choice

Defining Success

Where Do We Go From Here?

The Emerging Affordability Crisis

• The region must consider the cost effects of transportation

Housing Trust Funds for Housing Trust Funds for Metropolitan AtlantaMetropolitan Atlanta• At present, there are more than 170 housing trust funds in

the United States.

• Trust funds usually are replenished with a dedicated source of funds, such as a real estate transfer tax

Introduction

Making the Casefor Mixed Income

and Mixed Use Communities

Place Matters

Paying the Price for Distance

Other Factors DrivingAffordability Crunch

A Look Ahead

Choice

Defining Success

Where Do We Go From Here?

The Emerging Affordability Crisis

Introduction

Building a Partnership Building a Partnership ModelModel

Georgia Department of Community Affairs

• Workforce Housing in urban and rural Georgia

Atlanta Regional Commission

• Regional Development Plan Policy on Housing Choice for Diverse Incomes

• Quarterly Housing Forums – focus on affordable Housing

City of Atlanta

• Mayor’s Housing Task Force

Urban Land Institute

• Analysis of Barriers to Affordable Housing

Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce

• Quality Growth Task Force

Providing Choice at various price points has been identified as an emerging issue at multiple levels

Making the Casefor Mixed Income

and Mixed Use Communities

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