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Four Affordable Housing Proposals Presented in Public Meeting
Developers and engineers presented four affordable housing proposals in a public meeting Wednesday night in a bid for $340,000 in funds initially made available by the state of Wyoming and being offered by Sheridan County to help finance affordable housing projects.
County Commissioner Nick Siddle, who moderated the meeting, said this is the third time the county has been able to offer the funds.
Presentations were made by Rex Randall of Randall Engineering for Morning Wood Estates Phase 1, a proposed development in Dayton; Realtor Jane Clark for Trailside Subdivision at Woodland Park; Swayne Redinger of Stone Mill Construction for StoneRidge Meadow Estates, a proposed development in Ranchester; and developer Ron Patterson for Schubert Resub, a proposed development at the end of the pavement on East Burkitt Street.
Siddle said the money continues to turn over as projects are worked through, so commissioners hope to continue funding them. He said the Woodland Park development south of Sheridan is a good example of where this money has been used in the past.
In addition to the county, the city of Sheridan and the municipalities of Dayton, Ranchester and Clearmont are also involved in deciding how the funds will be used.
With four proposals involved, the money could all go to one or could be dispersed among more than one project. Siddle said he doesn’t know at this time when a decision will be made.
Charles Urrea
February 6, 2020 at 3:24 am
The one constant that is most evident is that charity and subsidies don’t work.
What’s the solution?
Regulation on the state level.
Every locality has an established minimum square footage for a living space. Average these out for each state.
If you have ever been to Ikea you’ll know just what can be done with a mere 277 square feet!
160 square feet, the smallest legal-sized apartment for California. That’s 4X less than the average small apartment.
Once the minimum size has been established, implement the following legislation.
Minimum wage X 40 hours – deductions = 1 months rent.
An allowance may be made for units in which 2 people are expected to share a unit in which the formula would be:
40 hours at minimum wage – deductions + 1/2 of 40 hours at minimum wage net earnings = one months rent.
When dealing with those on fixed incomes such as retirement or SSD: No greater than 1/4 of the net income of an individual.
W̴h̴a̴t̴’̴s̴ ̴w̴r̴o̴n̴g̴ ̴w̴i̴t̴h̴ ̴a̴f̴f̴o̴r̴d̴a̴b̴l̴e̴ ̴h̴o̴u̴s̴i̴n̴g̴ ̴n̴o̴w̴?̴
Here’s the thing about so called “affordable housing:”
Developers and apartment management companies are often required by local government to supply a small percentage of the units available as affordable housing.
They are often offered subsidies to “make up” for losses of market value rent.
Typically these units are just like any other unit and the requirement often EXPIRES in 5 years! That means that in 5 years those units are flipped back to market rate!
This eliminates any future options for low/fixed income persons.
By mandating that new apartment complexes have a percentage of “tiny apartments” that meet the minimum requirements, we can be assured that these offerings will always be available in the future.
This size requirement coupled with the rent control law will make it impossible for landlords to take advantage of people.
As for changing the number of people you can house in a single unit? DON”T DO IT! Landlords will make every effort to cram as many people in a box as possible.