Members of the Clark County Council heard public comments about the issue of affordable housing at a recent meeting, and are considering some suggestions that were made at that time.
Andy Silver, a long-time advocate for the homeless, pointed out that the county could make two simple changes to its policies that could help solve the problem. First, he suggested that the county enact the same type of policy the City of Vancouver put in place recently, allowing affordable housing to be developed in areas that are zoned commercial. Developments built in these areas would have to be located 1,000 feet or closer to a bus stop, but would not be required to have a component reserved for commerce.
Silver noted that the community has a number of corridors that are zoned for commercial use, which might not work for commercial applications, but which could provide housing, as long as the requirement for commercial space is dropped.
His second idea was to give developers what he calls a “density bonus,” allowing them to build projects with more housing units if they agree to make a minimum of 40% of the units available to people for rents of 60% of the median income for the area. He also suggested reducing the requirement for developers to provide extra parking, in exchange for affordable housing. Print shops can help develop materials to explain issues like this.
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