In an area where housing is increasingly unaffordable for many people, affordable housing has been a hot topic among the three people running for mayor in Alexandria.
The Democratic primary for mayor and city council is June 18 (early voting is open now). Current Council Member Alyia Gaskins, Vice Mayor Amy Jackson and real estate developer Steve Peterson are running for the seat being vacated by Mayor Justin Wilson. Alexandria Living Magazine asked all three about affordable housing. Their answers are below.
For context, the average rent in Alexandria is now more than $2,100 according to RentCafe. While Alexandria is making significant strides in building new affordable housing (including a large development in Arlandria) and preserving what affordable housing exists, the reality is that housing here is expensive. Average rent in Virginia is $1,900 and average nationwide rent is $1,700.
In addition to more affordable housing, Alexandria has recently allowed more accessory dwelling units on single-family home property, and the city made changes to zoning laws to allow duplexes on single-family home lots. Often, developers request an increase in density in exchange for making some apartments affordable.
The candidate's answers are presented here unedited:
Have the current efforts to improve affordable housing been sufficient, and how do you measure whether they are working?
Alyia Gaskins: I am passionate about and committed to making Alexandria a better place for all and that means ensuring that all kinds of people can afford to live here, grow here, and age here—which is increasingly difficult given the current housing market and high cost of living. While current efforts have been effective, we still have much work to do.
On Council, I have focused consistently on the 3Ps of housing affordability, including:
Supporting the PRODUCTION of new committed affordable housing units and supporting the eight Zoning for Housing proposals;
Investing in the PRESERVATION of older units to help people stay in their homes and by working to expand our proactive rental inspection program and senior tax relief; and
Advancing legislation to expand eviction PROTECTIONS and anti-displacement strategies.
Looking ahead, we need to make sure our backlog of approved housing projects is funded, simplify our development process (see question 2 for specifics), continue to strengthen our tenant protection and anti-displacement policies, and create a dashboard that measures our progress towards affordability, availability, and accessibility as well as our impact on local infrastructure. Data driven policy is key to advancing a housing ecosystem that works for all.
Amy Jackson: No, I don’t believe they are enough. Our city is still too expensive for many families. I hear from people every day who work in our city and make it run, yet they can’t find housing that is affordable enough to make ends meet.
Steve Peterson: The solution to affordable housing is not necessarily rent subsidies and ADU mandates. The solution is more about housing and regulatory entitlement relief. The city needs to create a housing model that facilitates a range of housing price points that meet the needs of our thriving yet diverse community.
Single Family rezoning’s: There are better ways to deal with affordable housing, but mandating "no future single family housing,” is not the solution.
Elderly Housing: “ Benchmark Alexandria” is an elderly assistance grant program that currently affects 12 elderly sites throughout the city and lowers the average monthly rental rates from over $6,000 per month, to under $2,000 per month. This successful program needs to be expanded to at least 25-30 facilities over the next three years.
