Norris sees opportunity to establish housing fund

The third time could be the charm for Mayor Dave Norris’ desire to establish a dedicated affordable housing fund in Charlottesville’s budget, ensuring that such programs would always be financed.

“Now that we have a new council, it’s going to come forward in some form or fashion,” Norris said.

The mayor’s push for such a fund has not been a secret. Norris campaigned on creating a dedicated affordable housing fund that would be financed with local revenues when he first ran for the council in 2006, and he tried to convince his fellow councilors to support the idea in 2008, shortly after he was chosen as mayor for the first time.

That year, Norris wanted to set aside 2 cents of the real estate property tax and 25 percent of the city’s lodging tax revenues for affordable housing programs, which would have amounted to more than $1.7 million.

But the idea never gained traction because a majority of councilors did not back it. That is more likely to change this year, as Councilors Kristin Szakos and Holly Edwards have both said in interviews they would support having a dedicated funding stream for affordable housing in the city budget.

“If you look at best practices in municipalities nationwide, that’s one that’s generally accepted as very helpful when you’re trying to address some of these issues,” Szakos said, adding, “Housing isn’t something you can have one year and not have another year.”

The Charlottesville Housing Fund has contained unprecedented amounts of funding over the last three fiscal years — used to create more housing units but also to keep existing units affordable — but it has declined from $2.1 million in fiscal 2008 to $1 million this fiscal year. The way money is set aside currently, Norris said, is “an arbitrary amount determined each year based on the whims of council.”

The logistics of what would be proposed — such as the percentages of particular taxes for the fund — have not been finalized. But some councilors are skeptical of setting aside a specific amount of tax revenue that would be solidified through a new ordinance.

Councilor Satyendra Huja said he supports funding for affordable housing programs but, “I think it is making a commitment for a future where we don’t know what resources we might have. We don’t do that for anything else.”

Funding in the budget should be based on each council’s priorities and he would not support a monetary stream solely devoted to affordable housing, Huja said. Creating one might also set a precedent for other areas of the budget.

“That seems to be a little bit irresponsible,” he said.

Councilor David Brown also said he would not support a set revenue stream for affordable housing projects in the fiscal 2011 budget.

“If you follow that logic, should we also have a dedicated funding stream for our police department? For fire?” he said.

Budgetary realities also make it difficult to say how much the fund might contain next fiscal year. Still, Norris said he thought it was likely that the fiscal 2011 budget, which the council will begin reviewing in March, would have more affordable housing funding than this fiscal year.

“I think whatever the budget is, in lean years and fat years, I’m really committed to making the budget reflect our priorities,” Szakos added. “If affordable housing is one of our priorities, I think it should reflect that.”

Besides having a council that is friendlier to the idea, a January 2009 report crafted by the city, Albemarle County and the University of Virginia recommended that the city and county each establish a dedicated revenue stream for affordable housing. The city’s Housing Advisory Committee is also in the process of finalizing a report that will list funding recommendations and specific goals in terms of housing units the city should build and preserve.

Jim Tolbert, the director of Charlottesville’s Neighborhood Development Services, said the report is scheduled to be presented to the City Council on Feb. 1. It is still under review so he could not discuss specifics, he said.

But that report could also guide councilors in deciding how much money should be put aside. Of the set funding, Norris said, “There’s clear support for it. There’s clear need for it still.”