Affordability, to coin a phrase, is in the pocketbook of the beholder.
Ensuring the development of housing that can serve both low-income and high-income residents is an essential function of local government. But, as the Vancouver City Council well knows, the definition of “affordable” for low-income households is a matter of debate.
That debate comes into play with the city’s Multifamily Tax Exemption Program and its Affordable Housing Fund. And it was evident in the recent approval of a tax exemption for a proposed project near downtown.
The Residences at Arnada — a two-building, 83-unit apartment complex — received a 10-year waiver on its property taxes. That will amount to tax breaks worth an estimated $841,000 over the decade. In exchange, the developer agrees to set affordable rent on one-fifth of its units, setting prices so families making 80 percent of the area’s median income can afford to live there.
City councilor Ty Stober lauded the prospect of a “mixed-income environment”: “We lack so much workforce housing in our city. Very few people are trying to build to that number. So I’m very excited that not only are they doing affordable, but they’re also doing workforce.”
Indeed, the city should work to promote housing for a variety of income levels. A cross-section of residents, workers and businesses enhances a city’s vitality.
In addition, tax breaks are a calculated risk on the part of the city. There is little doubt that Vancouver has a housing crunch, and if incentives are necessary to attract developers and spur construction, tax breaks are simply good business on the part of city officials. Housing is a necessity for a livable community, not an extraneous amenity.
But all of that leads to questions about what constitutes affordable housing. The city’s formula for the tax exemption program relies on data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Those calculations lump Vancouver with other parts of the metropolitan area, including Portland and Hillsboro, Ore.
According to HUD, the region has a median income of $87,900 for a family of four. But as of 2017, the median household income in Vancouver was $55,593.
That skews the numbers for what truly is affordable for people balancing housing costs with child care and transportation and health care and simply trying to put food on the table. As Vox.com writes in examining affordable housing: “One problem is that many families try to reduce their housing costs by moving further away from job centers. But this simply increases their transportation costs — so a simple ‘affordable housing’ metric might not capture the whole story.” And that is just one aspect of the complexities involved with a family’s budget.
The result, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, is that many Vancouver dwellings that qualify as affordable often remain out of reach. The coalition claims that a tenant in Clark County needs to earn an annual salary of $47,680 to afford a studio apartment, or $59,800 for a two-bedroom apartment; but the average renter earns $33,580.
The situation requires a close look from city officials and assurances that the Multifamily Tax Exemption Program is working for the people it is designed to help — not just developers. Over the past four years, 31 projects have been approved for the program, helping to attract 3,496 new housing units. About 550 of those are income-restricted.
The program has helped make Vancouver more livable. But it likely could be improved.
