Report: Fewer housing options for poor in Johnson County

IOWA CITY - A new report shows more people are struggling to pay for housing in Iowa City and other communities in Johnson County, making it a harder place for people to live and work.

The Housing Trust Fund of Johnson County assisted the Metropolitan Planning Organization of Johnson County in the report. It is an update to the 2007 Affordable Housing Market Analysis for the Iowa City Urbanized Area,

'Our question was, does the data really support that we continue to have a need for affordable housing?” said Tracey Achenbach, executive director of the Housing Trust Fund. 'The data clearly shows it's only gotten worse, not better.”

The report evaluated Iowa City, Coralville, North Liberty, Tiffin, rural Johnson County and University Heights on a variety of data points including income and employment, population and demographics, housing stock, vacancy rates, building permits and comparisons of housing costs versus income, among others.

The MPO Urbanized Area Policy Board, which governs the MPO, requested the study in response to the forthcoming local-option sales tax vote. Some communities participating in the election plan to allocate a portion of the proceeds to affordable housing projects.

The report's findings include:

- The number of families in poverty in the urbanized area increased by 60 percent from 2000 to 2012. Proportionate to population growth, it is up 33 percent.

- Participants in free and reduced lunch program (a measure of poverty) is up from 22.3 percent to 33.8 percent from 2000 to 2013.

- The wages needed to afford a two-bedroom apartment increased from $13.62 per hour in 2006 to $16.40 per hour in 2013.

- The proportion of severely cost burdened renters - those paying more than 50 percent of income for housing - increased 7.3 percent from 2000 to 2012.

- 20 percent of Johnson County households earned less than $20,000.

'It does not leave enough money for other things they need, such as transportation, food, child care or medicine,” Achenbach said. 'And it puts that burden on everyone else.”

The two largest industry sectors - office/administrative support and food service - are also at the low end of the wage scale, according to the report.

If people can't afford to live in the area they work, it also presents problems for employers, she said.

'I don't think we want to be a county where we are a place where people simply cannot afford to live unless they have higher incomes,” she said.

Achenbach said communities need to take an active approach on how the area can have greater availability of affordable housing.

Iowa City has the highest number and proportion of families in poverty, and that has been increasing.

Because of its population, Iowa City receives federal entitlements to support affordable housing, while the other communities in the area have to compete for federal aid with the rest of Iowa's small communities, Achenbach said.

Another hurdle is the low vacancy rate of rental housing in the area and high land prices, which further disincentizes changing building practices to accommodate the low income, Achenbach said.

Coralville is the only community that has seen a decrease in families in poverty and it was the only community that saw a substantial increase in its median income level.

Membership of the MPO's governing board illustrate the differing views on how to prioritize affordable housing in the area.

Rod Sullivan, a member of the Johnson County Board of Supervisors, said affordable housing should be the top priority. 'People at almost every income level are housing burdened,” Sullivan said. 'They might make $250,000 as a family and they may be burdened ... but that's not where our crisis is. Our crisis is with people who make less than $15 an hour and can't afford anything.”

Sullivan said the area should have requirements that developers include a certain portion of affordable housing in every development, a view not all share.

Tom Gill, a Coralville City Council member and chairman of the MPO board, said Coralville has a different view. He said while affordable housing is important it is not a priority for Coralville.

The report offered strategies to to increase affordable housing opportunities.

- Change public perception of affordable housing, including what it looks like, why it's needed and who uses it.

- Incorporate affordable housing into public policy, such as increasing land zoned for multifamily housing and inclusionary zoning.

- Identify a steady stream of financing for affordable housing projects, such as increasing recorder fees on deeds and mortgages.

- Develop collaborative efforts to increase affordable housing stock, such as the Iowa City's UniverCity program, which is a cooperative effort with local lenders, University of Iowa, the Iowa City Housing Authority and Friends of Historic Preservation to help stabilize neighborhoods by acquiring properties, fixing them and selling them for an affordable price to a qualified buyer.

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