Reno To Discuss Critical Need For Affordable Housing

Las Vegas NV

22 February, 2022

5:06 PM

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By Tabitha Mueller, The Nevada Independent February 22nd, 2022 Amid growing unease about skyrocketing rental and home prices, Reno's city council is holding a special meeting Tuesday to discuss solutions that may alleviate pressure on the market and increase affordable housing. Over the last five years, one-bedroom apartment prices in Reno jumped almost 91 percent from a median of $668 a month in 2017 to $1,275 in 2022. Home prices have also surged, hitting a record-high median price of $570,000 for the Reno-Sparks area last month. The seemingly unrelenting price hikes have made it difficult for most families to afford rent or mortgages, Mayor Hillary Schieve told The Nevada Independent during an interview Sunday. At the meeting Tuesday, she said staff and council members would review the city's growth trajectory and discuss ongoing efforts to curb housing costs and other steps the city may take. "There's no one-size-fits-all solution," Schieve said. "We've got to do whatever we possibly can." The city's options are limited by the scope and authority of local government, though, meaning the city doesn't have explicit permission to implement policies such as a rent control law, she said But Schieve said the council could increase housing options and work with state and county leaders to address housing insecurity by combining resources with other jurisdictions and offering supportive services such as helping residents access housing subsidies and providing mental health services. One way to drive down housing costs is to increase the amount of housing stock, as part of a supply-and-demand equation, Schieve said. Through programs such as the city's "1,000 Homes in 120 Days," which offer developers local permit fee deferrals that act as no-interest "loans" to attract more construction, the city could boost inventory, eventually lowering demand and prices. As of March 2020, 2,107 units had been approved to be built through the program and 1,521 were set for future review. City offices were closed Monday for Presidents Day and were unable to respond to a request for an update on the number of units built through the program. Additionally, the mayor said she and her staff are looking at increasing the amount of mixed-family zoned developments and allowing for homeowners to build separate living units on a property, such as a mother-in-law apartment. Her remarks arrive in the wake of ProPublica reporting highlighting the lack of replacement for city-approved demolitions of weekly motels, which are one of the few affordable housing options in the area for residents on fixed incomes. Schieve expects state officials and other community leaders to be on hand for the special meeting. Because the city has limited resources and Washoe County has primary responsibility for Northern Nevada's homeless services, Schieve said this is a team effort and she is looking to other jurisdictions for assistance. "We will build it, but then [the county has] got to bring the supportive services," she said. "That is what they do, but we all have to be doing it together." The city plans to host meetings focused on affordable housing every three weeks, Schieve said. She hopes the meetings encourage more community input and participation as the city confronts the housing challenges. The affordability factor But Schieve said it's not as easy as simply building new homes or apartments. Affordable housing units built under the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program receive federal tax subsidies that partially offset construction costs. Federal law sets a limit on the income level of tenants and the amount of rent that landlords can charge them. Property owners are required to maintain affordability (as defined by the terms of a tax credit agreement) for a timeframe of 15 to 30 years. At that point, owners can either renew the affordability status or drop it and rent or sell their property at the market rate. During the 2021 legislative session, lawmakers passed SB12, a law requiring property owners with affordability restrictions that are subsidized and under the oversight of the Nevada Housing Division to notify local governments and tenants a full year before they intend to let restrictions expire. State lawmakers said this would give local governments time to react to affordable-designated units coming off the market. Still, with market rates as high as they are, Schieve said there's a minimal incentive for owners to keep the housing affordable. Additional funding on the horizon Along with a discussion on land use and zoning, the council is set to weigh in on how to best spend the city's share of federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for affordable housing projects. Council members voted in January to set aside more than 50 percent of the nearly $25 million the city received in ARPA funds for affordable housing. During the pandemic, the city received funding from the federal CARES Act that allowed it to set aside resources to help people pay rental deposit fees and create crisis relocation vouchers. The influx of funding also allowed Reno to help construct the Nevada Cares Campus, a 46,000-square-foot shelter. Schieve said the ARPA funding would enable the city to develop workforce, transitional and other affordable housing beyond what was allowed under the CARES Act. "We never had the financial ability to do anything and now with this federal funding, we are finally now going, 'Wow, we can take this money and we can really build housing,'" she said. "We've always had to rely on private development. So you always have to do a private and public partnership." The Reno Gazette Journal reported that the Reno Housing Authority is considering purchasing the former Sundowner Casino Hotel and Bonanza Inn as part of a 1,000-unit project focused on workforce housing (housing that is affordable to workers and near their jobs) backed by Schieve and developer Jacobs Entertainment. Though the housing authority has submitted an offer to buy the inn and a letter of intent to make an offer on the Sundowner, the bids are not public. Schieve said nothing has been finalized yet. "I would love to see that be workforce housing right downtown," she said. "A lot of service workers downtown [make] very little wages and these are people that would never be able to qualify for a mortgage, but then they don't qualify for financial assistance because they make too much." Even so, Schieve warned that it takes time to bring housing projects to life. Construction timelines could be hampered by pandemic-related supply shortages, a problem that can't be solved even with the additional federal funding. "We've got to explore every option because people need it. And they need us now more than ever," she said. "We've never seen this financial ability to do it … and we have to keep trying." The Nevada Independent is a nonprofit, reader-supported news site. Since 2017, we have provided nonpartisan reporting on Nevada public policy, politics and people. Sign up here for our free morning newsletter.