Housing mix causes a stir

Adrienne Packer

Tuesday, June 8, 1999 | 11:12 a.m.

A controversial housing plan contested by residents opposed to a variety of housing -- including affordable -- in their neighborhoods has been pushed aside until Clark County planners can develop an acceptable compromise.

And that isn't likely to be soon.

The process of developing a housing report has triggered such emotion that it has become a subject that makes Clark County Planning Director John Schlegel cringe.

It is his job, however, to figure out how to keep homes in the valley affordable without infuriating homeowners who would rather see housing values skyrocket.

"An important community issue is keeping people aware of how housing prices affect people's lives," Schlegel said. "It's a matter of balancing the interest of homeowners with the interest of people who don't yet own a home. That's the trick here."

Earlier this year Schlegel thought his division struck a balance in a 43-page report that outlined the county's future needs, recommended policies on how to keep homes affordable and where to put different types of housing.

The report complied with state statutes and the federal Fair Housing Act -- which requires a mixture of housing types in each community -- but it did not go over well with county residents.

Homeowners told county commissioners they felt uneasy about the report because it didn't describe specifically where apartments, group homes, facilities for mentally disabled people or affordable housing would be located.

Commissioners bounced the report back to planners and asked that residents be more involved in the process so they can understand the purpose of the report and the county's goals.

"We told the board we would come back with a community-based planning process," Schlegel said. "We put it on hold to let some of the emotion die down and get through the legislative session.

"We need to do more of a bottom-up approach. We tried to address the requirements of the state law, and that's a very top-down approach."

Schlegel said the county has approached neighboring cities about creating a regional housing report, rather than writing several separate documents. The report also might tie the housing element report in with a five-year consolidation plan that the Department of Housing and Urban Development requires.

County officials ran into a handful of obstacles when they began discussing housing with residents, but the type of homes that have historically evoked the most controversy is affordable housing.

Clark County Commissioners Yvonne Atkinson Gates and Erin Kenny have tried to explain to residents that affordable housing simply means the household spends no more than 30 percent of its income on housing costs. To a family whose income is significant, affordable housing could mean a mansion.

To others, such as young adults embarking on a career, it means a modest home.

"You want to have medium-priced homes so the first-time homebuyer or newlyweds can afford to purchase homes," Gates said. "Just because you have a certain level of income doesn't mean you have a community that's going to deteriorate."

Gates said planners can build a stronger community by blending different types of housing because it allows people from different backgrounds learn more about each other.

"It just shows that just because you come from a different income doesn't mean you can't mix; it helps individuals become more well rounded," she said.

Schlegel said keeping housing costs reasonable is a difficult task, partly because of the lack of open land owned by private developers.

The planning division's report suggests commissioners be more accepting of higher-density neighborhoods -- the smaller the lot sizes, the lower the cost of the house. It also recommends that local and federal government entities work closely with nonprofit organizations that might want to purchase government land.

"A lot of people turn their noses at higher-density neighborhoods with smaller lots," Schlegel said. "But we have to create opportunities in our land use planning and zoning to build something like that."