http://www.azcentral.com/community/c...e1102z6Z6.html
Tempe seeks way to provide increased affordable housing
Katie Nelson
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 3, 2006 12:00 AM
Apartments, condos, brownstones and single-family homes are all in high demand within Tempe's city limits. It has some of the fastest real estate sales rates in the Valley, statistics show, and they're still increasing.
But as home builders and developers are putting urban housing in place, some city leaders question the cost. They welcome the housing boom, but the possibility of high home prices keeping moderate-income buyers out of the new stock is worrisome.
"As housing costs have gone up, basically people who work here can't afford to live here," said Allen Carlson, the executive director of Newtown Community Development Corporation, which runs affordable housing programs.
"It's progressive that we have a city that is looking at ways to mitigate that to make sure there is housing that's affordable to our workforce - the teachers, the policemen, the firemen, the service workers."
In recent months Tempe has been pushing ways to tackle its need for affordable housing, although some methods are in early stages and may not ultimately be implemented.
The first is formation of a committee that is focused on Tempe's affordable-housing issues. Mayor Hugh Hallman reorganized and reassigned council committees once two new members were elected. Councilwoman Shana Ellis will head the Transportation and Affordable Housing Committee.
Tempe's officials also plan to add an "affordable-housing coordinator" to the city staff by re-labeling a Community Development Department job.
Another strategy involves "in lieu fees," being used by other cities to set a standard for how much a developer contributes to the city's coffers.
The money would be used to buy or invest in affordable housing for people in the low- to moderate-income level range. A developer could also contribute by setting aside a certain amount of home units in its new housing.
Lastly, Tempe is looking at creating a "density bonus program" for the areas near the new light-rail stations.
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I'm glad everyone likes the interactive map. I thought it was nicely done; so much so that I just e-mailed the Phoenix Copper Square site with a link. They have a nice interactive map of what is already in place in DT Phoenix but nothing like this that shows projects that are under construction or planned. It would be a great resource to have something similar for DT Phoenix. We will see if they take the carrot.
With 50K ASU students at DT Tempe's doorstep, there will be many entrepreneurs to serve them with affordable offerings as well as those that cator to the well-healed masses that will reside @ Centerpoint and other higher-end condo's yet to come. The only thing that really struck me as a legitimate concern was the traffic conjestion. Tempe will need to be very aware of infrastructure required to move people in and out of the area without becoming terribly boggged down at times. The one plus they have is the experience with 70K people converging on Sun Devil Stadium and the traffic control required to move them. It would be great if many of the condo residents actually worked in the area as well. Got to build those mixed use towers!
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