The Longmont City Council on Tuesday will take up the issue of affordable housing — or the lack of it.
Kathy Fedler, the city’s housing and community investment manager, will present findings that drive home the urgency of affordable housing in Longmont.
Longmont is growing fast, in population and employment. With 90,227 residents in 2013, the city will reach 116,076 by 2034, according to state forecasts.
While Longmont is growing at a faster rate than surrounding communities, the city’s median household income has increased by 15 percent from 2000 to 2013, the lowest increase among a list of 10 nearby cities and towns.
While the average sales price of a home in Longmont is $250,000, the median household income can only afford $212,900 with a gap of about $37,000.
If a household takes that same $212,900 to Loveland, they will likely face a gap of about $6,100.
From 1995 to 2011, the city had so-called inclusionary zoning, which required residential developments over a certain size to provide 10 percent of their housing stock as affordable or pay the money in lieu of the affordable housing program.
The City Council repealed inclusionary zoning in 2011, when the housing market was depressed.
“It was getting rid of something that was working,” said Councilwoman Sarah Levison. “We’re finding it incredibly difficult to do something that’s equitable and that’s going to be working for the community.”
