Reply to What to do about Affordable Housing in Arlington?

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[quote=Anonymous]Yes, this is one of the big problems with how affordable / subsidized housing is framed in Arlington.

This is who is NOT helped by subsidized housing:
- County public servants
- County firefighters
- County teachers
- County police officers
- Long time County residents.

Arlington's AH program cannot legally target these people.  So instead we build heavily subsidized housing (and incur ongoing, permanent expenses), and have people who are NOT currently residents move in.

In other words - we are spending County resources on people who are not County residents, and then continuously subsidizing their residency for as long as they choose to live here.

At the same time that is happening we have a growing crises from school crowding, a large hole in the County budget as we are still trying to recover from BRAC and the decrease in our commercial tax base, and the County fighting residents in order to not provide core services.

For example - see the Clarendon example with the County trying to force residents to pay for their own sewage line.  However, at the same time this is going on, the County has no problem committing to subsidizing efforts to make 20% of the housing stock be subsidized.

There is a time and a place for subsidizing housing, and there is a way to do it right.  However the issue is that many people think the priorities have skewed too far toward subsidized housing and away from current residents and core services.

That has to stop.  We've already got a glimpse of what the alternative is.  Look at the Arlington Forest neighborhood and Lubber Run Park, a vital green space for a neighborhood sandwiched between Route 50 and George Mason Drive, two hugely busy roads.  The subsidized housing crew, and the County, seriously considered converting that park into an affordable housing complex.

Likewise look at what is happening with the Virginia Hospital Center complex that the County is gaining in a land swap.  11+ acres of contiguous land, probably the last time the County will ever be able to acquire such a large tract.  The affordable housing crew is ALREADY planning on converting it into an AH complex.

Again, Arlington residents are not de facto opposed to subsidizing housing.  However many people think that AF should not be among the top 2-3 priorities within the County.[/quote]

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