Affordable housing focus of community forum

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OPEN FORUMS ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Community members are invited to attend the final of a series of Open Forums. It is not necessary to have in depth knowledge of the issues, but merely an interest and willingness to engage in conversations on the issue.

Register for forums by emailing madeline.randolph@email.wsu.edu.

Thursday, April 2, 5-7pm

Clark College

1933 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver, 98663


 

BATTLE GROUND – The first in a series of six Open Forums on Affordable Housing, organized by the Thomas S. Foley Institute’s new Initiative for Public Deliberation at WSU Vancouver together with the Community Foundation, was held March 23, at the Battle Ground Community Center.

Two dozen area residents and business and community members were organized into small groups to discuss policy issues impacting affordable housing. Following a brief introduction, participants were quickly engaged in animated discussions led by WSU student moderators, who have been trained in a new WSU Vancouver course, “Civil Discourse in a Time of Incivility” taught by Associate Professor Carolyn Long.

The forum series follows the 500,000 Voices survey conducted by the Community Foundation in 2014, which found that while 75 percent of respondents desired working together to address important issues, only 47 percent felt it was likely to happen in Southwest Washington. 

Following the survey, community partners “wanted a more robust conversation with members of the public,” said Long. Forums are a way to “address intractable policy issues in a constructive manner.”

The group chose the topic of affordable housing because it resonated with the public as a policy issue, and recent housing shortages and the loss of affordable housing units have been in news stories and public conversations.



Participants brought diverse backgrounds and interests to the forum in Battle Ground. Heather Tischbein, of Salmon Creek, has personal experience seeking affordable housing as a single person living on social security income.

“We need these kinds of conversations,” she said, and added that she registered for three of the current forums. Tischbein emphasized that issues surrounding affordable housing are part of a larger system of economic justice, which includes access to health care, education, healthy food, green spaces, transportation, and other needs.

“What are we trying to accomplish for the well-being of our community where we don’t all believe the same thing?” she asked.

Long created the Initiative to try to answer such questions.

“Students and professors shouldn’t just live in ivory towers,” she said. “We always have to combine theory with practice.”

Eric Johnson, of La Center, attended the forum to add his voice to the housing policy discussion. Johnson is the owner of Key Property Services, Inc., which manages apartments and single family homes along with commercial properties. He explained that he manages many “affordable housing” units, where rents are priced at 30 percent of the tenant’s income, and he works with area social agencies to serve low income housing seekers. Johnson identified the general shortage of rental housing as a key factor in affordable housing.

“To get more affordable housing, we need more rental housing, period,” he said.

Johnson identified the challenges that developers face when seeking to build new housing as one of the barriers to increasing rental housing.

One home builder has experienced those barriers first hand. Jack Harroun, of Vancouver, is a builder who constructs three to five homes per year in urban in-fill areas. He is also the president of the Building Industry Association of Clark County.

“Existing code structure doesn’t allow for innovation to make housing more affordable,” he said, emphasizing that private sector innovation is important to solving public problems.

Long’s students will bring their group facilitation skills to two other forums this spring. On April 24, WSUV will host an Education Summit to discuss college access and affordability. On April 26 “Where Have All the Voters Gone?” a non-partisan, community discussion about why people didn’t vote in 2014 and how we can get all voters to the ballot box in 2015, will be held at the Vancouver Community Library.