"For those with the means, the Charlottesville real estate market has been a cash cow, with median housing prices climbing 23 percent in the first nine months of this year alone. For those without a fiscal lasso long enough to wrangle, however, the herd’s gotten away. Seeking to bring more people to the rodeo, the City Council is set to adopt a strategy that increases the amount of affordable housing.

The strategy will guide future council decisions on land use, zoning and building permit approval, with an eye toward beefing up the stock of houses and rental units affordable to middle and lower-middle class citizens.

The council adopted eight of the strategy’s tactics at its last meeting and is likely to adopt the full strategy once some adjustments have been made, neighborhood development services director Jim Tolbert said.

A key tactic will be encouraging developers to devote 15 percent of new developments of 10 units or more to affordable housing, Councilor Blake Caravati said.

Housing in Central Virginia is considered affordable if it does not cost more than 30 percent of the gross household income of a homeowner making up to 80 percent of the area’s median household income, which is $63,700 for a family of four, according to the Virginia Housing Development Authority. A house must cost less than $218,300 to be affordable, and rent and utilities cannot exceed $796, according to the VHDA.

By setting an official goal for new developments, the council gives developers an idea of what they want before presenting their rezoning requests and planned unit development proposals, Caravati said.

“For every project that comes before the Planning Commission … they’ll work it against that goal,” he said.

The council also plans to ask the General Assembly to pass enabling legislation allowing it to set a mandatory affordable housing requirement for new developments. While 15 percent is the figure eyed by many, it’s not set in stone.

“What we’re asking for is legislation to require affordability in certain cases,” Tolbert said. “It’s not specific to numbers.”

The plan also calls for the creation of a standing housing committee, much like the housing policy task force that drew up the strategy. The task force is composed of 16 local officials, public servants and business leaders.

The committee will monitor the plan’s implementation and make suggestions to improve those efforts." (John Yellig, Daily Progress, November 22, 2004)

Contact John Yellig at (434) 964-5473 or eyellig@dailyprogress.com.