Flagstaff hopes to ease housing crisis with $20 million from ballot measure
As the availability of affordable housing in Flagstaff continues to decline, the city is hoping a $20 million bond measure will help create rental and home ownership opportunities for current and future residents.
“We’re challenged with a limited supply of housing and certainly a lot of demand from folks who live here, who want to live here, who go to school here and who want to have a vacation home here,” said Devonna McLaughlin, CEO of Housing Solutions of Northern Arizona. “And when you have those realities, there’s going to be a crunch.”
“It’s a complicated issue and it doesn’t have one solution,” McLaughlin added.
Under this measure, Flagstaff’s secondary property tax rate is not expected to increase as long as property values remain stable, according to the city.
If passed, the funds from Proposition 442 will be invested into redeveloping city-owned housing and other existing buildings into affordable rental units as well as incentivizing the private sector to include affordable rental housing into new developments.
The city would also expand the homebuyer assistance program which provides financial aid to new homebuyers, especially for down payments and closing costs.
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"The bond really looks at rental and homeownership strategies, recognizing that we need to increase the number of units that are available, that are affordable for renters in our community, and that our workforce really demands and wants home ownership opportunities as well," McLaughlin said.
"This is a great opportunity and it’s been done successfully elsewhere," she said.
Contact northern Arizona reporter Lacey Latch at llatch@gannett.com or on social media @laceylatch. Coverage of northern Arizona on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is funded by the nonprofit Report for America and a grant from the Vitalyst Health Foundation in association with The Arizona Republic.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Prop. 442: Flagstaff tries to ease housing crisis with bond measure
