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Fix not necessary DeKalb already an affordable place to live |
| Jan 20, 2006 |
For the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
BY: Elaine Boyer
SECTION: Editorial
PAGE: A13
In an effort to model a zoning plan similar to the most liberal communities in America, the DeKalb County Commission is set to vote this month on a policy that would force the construction of low-income housing in all new residential projects.
The idea is being peddled throughout the country as "work force housing" or "inclusionary zoning." The claim is that housing prices are too steep for workers such as teachers or police officers. That may be the case in San Francisco or Los Angeles, but certainly not Atlanta.
Some DeKalb commissioners want to require developers to set aside 15 percent of their projects at prices the county deems affordable -- a gross violation of property rights and a reduction in the value of a developer's project.
Unfortunately, there has been no independent economic analysis of the housing market to justify such an ordinance. Instead, the commission is proceeding on assumptions with no data to support it.
Those of us who believe in the free market recognize there is no such housing challenge. Not once in my 14 years on the commission have I heard complaints that it is impossible to rent or buy a home in DeKalb.
There are affordable homes, condos, townhouses and apartments in Chamblee, Clarkston, Doraville, Stone Mountain, Lithonia, Tucker and unincorporated DeKalb. What planners have to accept is that not everyone can have a Buckhead, Druid Hills or Dunwoody address.
The work force housing plan is a remedy for a problem that doesn't exist. It is an attempt at social engineering -- to force people of all income levels to live together.
Instead elected officials should boast about the region's affordability rate compared to other areas of the country. In 2004, the U.S. Census Bureau reported a 68 percent home ownership rate in the Atlanta region, higher than the national average.
Other data show that 56 percent of African-Americans who live in DeKalb own their own homes, compared with 49 percent in the region and 46 percent nationally. We should be proud that such large numbers of minorities can afford their own home.
Rents are not out of whack in DeKalb, either. According to the Atlanta Apartment Association, rent in several apartment complexes in the Stonecrest area averages about $775 a month. In Brookhaven, several apartment complexes have rents averaging from $640 to $1,000 a month. In the Emory area, some apartments average $700 to $900 a month. These rents are not out of reach for workers such as Georgia teachers, who earn an average of $46,526 a year.
This month, the second annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey will be released. It will show that Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston are the most affordable metropolitan areas with populations of 5 million or more. The survey included the 100 largest markets in the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand.
The poor and working classes usually want what the rest of us do: the most housing for the money. A tiny condo made available through "work force housing" in a luxury townhouse complex would rarely be as appealing as a nice home in the suburbs.
The National Association of Realtors recently reported that housing affordability has hit a 14-year low nationwide, particularly in areas such as California, Phoenix and Spokane. Fortunately, the Atlanta region isn't yet one of them.
With that in mind, we must put the brakes on ideas that hamper the free market, which has responded nicely to the demand for housing at all price points. In 2002, the National Housing Conference reviewed more than 100 work force zoning ordinances in Massachusetts and found it had deterred building. Such policies in metro Atlanta will also encourage builders to move elsewhere, creating more sprawl.
- Elaine Boyer, a Republican, is a DeKalb County commissioner. |
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