Addressing the need for more affordable housing (Gettysburg Times op-ed)

Much has been written recently about the scarcity of affordable housing and the mushrooming cost of housing generally, two nationwide trends that are indeed self-fulfilling. Just look around Adams County and you will see an incredible amount of housing being built.

Apartment complexes are springing up after years with almost none being built, and single-family houses are growing like weeds. What do they all have in common? They are not affordable to many people who live here. And, we all know only too well that homeless people abound in downtown Gettysburg, at local shelters, on friends and family sofas, and, most sadly, in parked cars overnight throughout the county.

Taking a quick look at apartmentfinder.com, we find that there are currently two apartments for rent in the Gettysburg area for under $1,000 per month. The others listed rent for anywhere between $1,100 and a whopping $2,190 per month.

On the “for sale” side of things, a quick look at Zillow.com turned up five houses in Adams County listed for sale for under $200,000 and 21 more for under $300,000. These were out of 118 total houses listed for sale and many of them were isolated in rural areas.

According to payscale.com, the average salary in Gettysburg is $36,000 per year. That is the average, not the highest or lowest. Can you see the problem here? Many, many people who work here have a hard time finding an affordable place to live.

There simply is not enough affordable housing for people, whether they need a federally-subsidized Section 8 apartment or they are a working person or family trying to find an affordable home to own. In the long run, the local economy will be seriously impacted as businesses and industries won’t want to come here because their employees can’t afford a house or an apartment.

Pennsylvania is suffering because our young people are leaving. Pennsylvania is now making it possible for many folks without a college degree to work for state government. Many are viewing this as a positive step to stop this so-called “brain drain.”

However, if our young people can’t afford an apartment, and large parts of Adams County are within commuting distance of State government, will they stay? For that matter, what about local businesses and industry and out hopes to attract more business and industry? The workers won’t be here if they cannot afford to rent or buy a place to live.

On another important aspect of the issue, we are also not building any affordable housing for our older population. Recent upscale developments that draw people from other states are wonderful but they are very expensive. We desperately need more communities like the Villas at Gettysburg, located near the Giant grocery store. And the Adams County Housing Authority has long waiting lists for the senior apartment complexes that it owns and operates in New Oxford, McSherrystown and Gettysburg.

Adams County is not experiencing this shortage of affordable housing in a vacuum. It is happening across the country, in urban and rural counties. In fact, a study done for the National Low Income Housing Coalition shows that for a couple with two minimum wage jobs, there is no jurisdiction in the United States where they can afford a two-bedroom apartment while paying 30 per cent or less of their income for rent.

What are the options for low and moderate income individuals and families in this housing shortage environment? There our housing subsidies available and they are being utilized, but the sad fact is that, due to funding shortfalls, we only serve one out of four families or individuals that are eligible for Housing Choice Vouchers, traditionally referred to as Section 8 vouchers. In Adams County, there are more than 500 Housing Choice vouchers in use. However, at any one time, we also have as many as fifty voucher holders who cannot find a place in Adams County that will accept the voucher.

One major effort now under way at the Adams County Housing Authority with our sister nonprofit agency Pennsylvania Interfaith Community Programs Inc. (PICPI) is an ongoing effort to recruit new landlords who will accept vouchers. The barriers to participation stem mainly from stereotypes and misconceptions about the tenants and about the government requirements involved.

Too often landlords overlook the fact that the voucher program essentially guarantees them monthly income from their rental unit. If a voucher-holding tenant fails to contribute 30 per cent of his or her monthly income for the rent, the Housing Authority will provide it (and then seek recompense from the tenant.)

Virtually all of tenants assisted this way in Adams County pay their share of the rent and abide by rules set by the landlord and by the Housing Authority. Violators are dealt with accordingly.

There are several local organizations doing tremendous work in this arena, SCCAP, CARES, Habitat for Humanity, but we can and must do better. One important solution is for townships and boroughs to get involved. When they are approached by developers, they should ask the question, “What are you going to do for affordable housing?” These local governments can pass ordinances that require that affordable housing be included in their plans.

But instead of legislated mandates, they might want to add incentives, such as expedited consideration of development plans or funding for repairs and renovations for landlords who pledge to maintain affordable rents or developers who pledge a certain percentage of affordable homeownership units.

A community land trust would offer another approach. Such trusts are nonprofit organizations that purchase land and hold it in trust for the community. They then lease the land to developers at a low cost, allowing them to build affordable housing.

This is a problem we need to work on together. Not every strategy is right for every community and there is sure to be pushback with virtually any approach. And, yet, the simple fact is affordable housing will not get built unless we demand it. The public needs to support affordable housing. Most of us know people who cannot afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing. Developers, advocates, local government officials and others need to talk and cooperate. This problem is solvable if we all work together.

Steve Niebler and Bill Gilmartin are members of Gettysburg DFA. Gilmartin is chairman of the Adams County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners. Niebler is the immediate past chairman. The views expressed here are strictly their own.