Efforts to provide more funding for Arlington’s Affordable Housing Investment Fund (AHIF) will require buy-in from elected officials, the development industry, the General Assembly, activists and the broader community to be viable, an advisory panel believes.
“We should take the time and get it right,” said Joe Ventrone, a member of the Housing Commission’s working group on revisions to the government’s affordable-housing ordinance.
Ventrone and other working-group members met Aug. 19 in what could be their final formal gathering before delivering recommendations to the Housing Commission.
The group has been meeting for several months.
On Aug. 19, Ventrone was among a number of panel members who said that attempts by county leaders to impose new AHIF requirements by fiat would not go down well in the community.
“One of the criticisms of Missing Middle was it got rammed through during COVID,” he said. “Let’s have a legitimate conversation. “There is a need to explain [it] to our citizens.”
Former County Board member Mary Hynes, who is serving on the panel, also used the phrase “legitimate conversations” in charting a path forward.
“When you’re asking people to change, you have to tell them the ‘why,'” Hynes said. Without context, “people will not understand,” she said.
The potential need for legislative approval by the General Assembly makes getting consensus even more important, she said.
“The development community needs to see the thinking [behind proposals],” Hynes said. “We will not be successful in Richmond without them. It has to make sense to them.”
Currently, developers seeking extra density from the county government are asked to either provide committed-affordable housing on-site, or pay into AHIF. In recent years, most have opted for making a cash contribution, after negotiations with county officials.
Proposals that were vetted by the working group suggested a fixed contribution rate, with a range of $12.65 to $18.70 per square foot of development after projects exceed a specified density level.
For most new development, any rate selected within that range would result in higher AHIF contributions than today. Average increases would range from about 30% at the low end of the range to 92% at the high end.
Several task-force members expressed concern about trying to squeeze more out of the development community. If Arlington becomes unaffordable to develop in, those developers will go elsewhere, they said.
“There’s only so much money,” member Jason Schwartz said. “Who absorbs that cost? It could limit options as to what’s feasible. A lot of times, the project might not even get built.”
“Construction costs, financing costs are up. These projects are basically giant math problems,” said Matthew Weinstein, a land-use attorney who serves on the panel.
Bryan Coleman, a Housing Commission member who is chairing the panel, agreed that requirement payments deemed excessive by the development community could “be seen as a bit extortionate.” As a result, the body also is working on ways to lessen the burden on developers in other areas.
The working group plans to forward its proposals to the full Housing Commission in early September, with consideration by that body on Sept. 18. Eventually, a recommendation could end up in the laps of County Board members.
Hynes, who spent eight years on that body, said addressing affordable housing was a priority of the current Board. Whether that means any changes would be expedited is hard to say, she acknowledged.
“They may also decide that, politically, they don’t want to do it this year,” Hynes said. “There’s so much else on the table.”
Coleman said that despite the complexities involved, he believed the final proposal would provide food for thought — and eventual action.
“I’m happy about where we’re going,” he said.
