End talk and act on affordable housing

End talk and act on affordable housing

I have been very active in the Naperville not-for-profit community. One increasingly prevalent problem I see is young civic-minded couples having to move to surrounding communities because they cannot afford to buy a home in Naperville (often the community they grew up in, often the community their parents and grandparents helped build into the popular destination it is today).

Over the past couple years, has there been one single family home built in Naperville that is being marketed for under $800,000? Even aged homes will give you sticker shock. Home prices have reached a point that younger couples, public servants, and many middle income families no longer have the option of living here. Isn't it a concern that the majority of our public servants cannot afford to live in the community they are serving and protecting? Unfortunately, many of our officials deny the existence of this problem.

"Statistically" the percentage of affordable housing is allegedly acceptable for a community of Naperville's size. However these statistics often include apartments and condos. Attempting to raise a family in an apartment or condo is hardly the American dream. Including these items in any statistic that attempts to measure affordable housing is misleading.

Could there possibly be another community of Naperville's size anywhere within the United States that has less single family homes in its market priced below $400,000? Even modest commercial development proposals are dissected ad nausea at the planning commission and city council level. Isn't it time someone questioned whether it is truly in the best interest of our community as a whole to have seemingly every new house swallow the entire lot it is built upon. Other communities consider zoning measures, provide builder incentives and invest in public trusts to insure the existence of a diverse housing stock. What has Naperville done?

Naperville trumpets the existence of fair and affordable housing as a priority. It's time to stop talking about fair and affordable housing and time to start effectuating a plan that will assure that it actually exists.

Kevin Coyne

Naperville