Make lower-cost housing a priority
By itself, the long-standing shortage of affordable housing in the suburbs may not grab headlines. What does make the news, however, are proposals that cause a stir.
This spring, for instance, residents in Grayslake protested a plan to build a four-story apartment building for low-income older residents. They were concerned property values in the area would drop. Similar scenarios play out year after year in other towns as low-cost housing availability shrinks due in part to outward migration of poor residents and exacerbated by the recession.
Meanwhile, other news stories emphasize the plight of suburban residents trying to improve their situation who find themselves priced out of a place to live. As reported by Eric Peterson last week, renovations at the Tree House Luxury Apartments in Schaumburg and the accompanying higher rents will force many tenants whose payments are subsidized to move out.
“Your housing is your one main thing, you know,” resident Paula Pedersen, 60, explained about her predicament. She and her son attend Harper College just down the road, but now they’ll have to relocate.
The problem is complicated and politically sticky and will not be solved unless elected leaders decide it’s a priority.
It has larger economic costs, too. Businesses fueled by low-wage labor might have difficulty hiring if there is no nearby affordable housing, especially where public transportation is lacking.
Logic would suggest that as the housing bubble began to burst, affordability rose. But real estate prices have far outpaced wages in recent years, and the gap remains.
No one wants to see people pushed out of their homes or, worse, onto the streets. However, residents near proposals for low-cost housing fear changes to the communities they’ve built their lives around. Social vices often associated with it, such as drugs and violence, also make headlines.
Consequently, affordable housing is a cause with few champions. While nonprofit and religious groups and public-private partners work to fill the gaps, elected officials must look to successes already in place and be ready to combat perceptions based only on negative stereotypes.
Municipalities have tools to whittle away at the shortage, such as inclusionary zoning, scatter-site housing, expedited permitting and community land trusts, as well as funding mechanisms like transfer taxes. These can and have been used while still maintaining the character of neighborhoods suburban residents cherish.
What local leaders need most is political will. In Grayslake, after careful study and four public hearings, the zoning board recommended approval of the senior housing project last month. Officials across the suburbs must consider all sides, understand the issues and make decisions based on facts, not fears.