3 questions about INCOME-CAPPED housing in Ward 8
Editor's Note: The blast email that went out today (Thursday) with this editorial appeared to have the questions missing. The questions aren't missing, they are in white font (the one time Squarespace has failed me lol ). I've changed the font type but I don't want to send out another blast email today so see this post below for the questions which is where you would need to make comments anyway. Thanks!
I've gone and done it now.
Over the past two weeks I've posted not one, but two editorials about how the over-concentration of income-capped housing (aka "Affordable Housing") in Ward 8 is stifling economic development, limiting job creation and keeping basic resources such as another full-service grocery store outside of our reach and community. And this is not a secret! After my two previous editorials on this subject, I got calls, emails, Facebook messages from Ward 8 residents and people who work in government and economic development nonprofits and organizations. The messages were either, "We know, you didn't say anything but the truth" and "Is DC really going to let us [Ward 8] have anything?" Geez. This is one of those rare moments where I wish I was wrong in my assessment of the situation (but I'm not).
To be clear, I'm NOT saying that income-capped housing is bad for communities, what I am saying is that location and balance matters. In fact, that's the entire point, to make communities accessible to all income levels and all types of people. West of the river shouldn't just be for rich or middle income residents and east of the river shouldn't just be for low income residents.
In Ward 8, our income and rent rates are already the lowest in the city, the overwhelming majority of Ward 8's mid and large-scale apartment complexes have income-caps, usually between 30% - 50% AMI. That reality in combination with a host of other economic challenges keep us at the back of the prosperity bus so to speak.
Need proof? Here's what the 2018 income restrictions look like for DC's affordable housing projects. Just imagine what they looked like over the past decade or two. FYI - I found this graphic on the HUD website.
Per HUD
So let's break that down shall we? These are the figures for 2018 (imagine what they were a decade ago)
In a 30% AMI income-capped unit, a single person CANNOT earn more than $24,650/year
In a 30% AMI income-capped unit, a two-person household CANNOT earn more than $28,150/year
In a 50% AMI income-capped unit, a single person CANNOT earn more than $41,050/year
In a 50% AMI income-capped unit, a two-person household CANNOT earn more than $46,900/year
In a 80% AMI income-capped unit, a single person CANNOT earn more than $54,250/year
In a 80% AMI income-capped unit, a two-person household CANNOT earn more than $62,000/year
I wanted to find some data on the income statistics for Ward 8 households. A quick Google search led me to the DC Economic Strategy website. I had never heard of this group before (no idea if this is privately or publicly funded or a combination of both) but man did they have some interesting statistics!
First, the MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOMES for DC broken out by Ward. You can find the graphic here and I am including a snapshot below.
Because I can't screen shot the image and hover at the same time let me tell you what this chart says about the income levels for Ward 8:
- From 2005 - 2009 the MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME for Ward 8 was only $31,188
- From 2010 - 2014 the MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME for Ward 8 was only $31,642
Let me break that down even further, that means that according to this graph, from 2005 - 2014, the median household income in Ward 8 has only increased by $454 a year!
Let that sink in for a minute, or two, or three. Absorb that fact into your pores and let it saturate your brain. If you get upset that's good. You should be upset. This level of economic segregation didn't happen overnight or by accident.
Now I haven't done an official survey of the mid to large size apartment complexes in Ward 8 and I'm not aware of anyone that has (but someone should). But that said, if I had to make a rough and conservative estimate, I would say that at least 90% of the mid to large scale rental properties in Ward 8 had income-capped units.
And with DHCD's recent announcement that Mayor Bowser had directed the agency to take all of the property it owns in Ward 8 and turn it into more income-capped housing; how exactly is Ward 8 is supposed to raise the income levels to the level needed to become competitive to grocery stores, retailers and businesses looking for a place to base their next location? I'm not saying Ward 8 needs to be the land of the $2 million dollar condos and $4,000 a month rents but damn, can we have a 2nd grocery store?! Can Commissioner Cuthbert be able to buy some panty hose in her neighborhood?! Do we have to leave the ward for almost everything we need to live? Like a job?!
I'm not sure how the private real estate market can qualify for the private financing needed to build just a few non-income restricted mid and large scale apartment buildings when everything currently available and in the pipeline is funded by some kind of government low-income tax credits or program. I can't even fault the developers, they are only using the financial toolkit and Solicitations Of Offers they have been provided.
Ward 8 has very few units of quality non-income capped rental units and almost no (and I'm saying "almost" because I haven't done an audit) mid to large-scale apartment complexes where all the units are 100% free of income restrictions. And because of that, Ward 8 has been excluded from an opportunity to accommodate new Ward 8 renters OR KEEP EXISTING WARD 8 RESIDENTS who have middle and upper incomes who want to stay in Ward 8 but CAN'T QUALIFY for an apartment here because their income is higher than the income-cap restriction. If I didn't buy a condo in 2007, I would not be living in Ward 8 today because my income level at the time was higher than the income-caps allowed by Ward 8 apartment complexes.
The very income levels that would allow Ward 8 to be considered for more full-service grocery stores, retail and businesses (that could generate full-time and living wage jobs) are the very income levels that are excluded in our current rental housing market. If in DC we paid people a living wage and provided them with full-time and secure employment they would have more options and opportunities for success. Right now it feels like DC is just exporting lower income DC residents from west of the river to the outskirts of the city while keeping the low and lower-income residents in Ward 8 trapped here because this is where most of the income-restricted housing is located with more projects in the pipeline.
How is that inclusive prosperity? We are restricting DC residents with the least to the areas of the city that have the fewest resources and highest levels of unemployed and underemployed residents. How is that equity? How is that addressing the "affordable housing" crisis responsibly? The reality is that current policies and press releases are just concentrating poverty (once again) to areas of the city that are already under-resourced. And by the way, the answer isn't just funding more nonprofits to provide services to Ward 8. The goal should be to provide people with enough opportunities, living-wage jobs and quality schools that make the nonprofits unnecessary or at least less cruicial for survival. Ward 8 residents want to work, I know this because almost every single day someone in Ward 8 asks me about a job. The problem is I have very few places to point them for employment in Ward 8. And the reality is, it's probably about to get even harder.
Don't believe me? Let's check out another graph from the DC Economic Strategy website. This one breaks down unemployment levels by ward. It should come as no surprise that Ward 8 represents the top most line.
Go HERE for the interactive graph.
To be fair, unemployment rates in Ward 8 have declined. Per this graph, unemployment rates have gone from a high in October 2009 (during the financial collapse of several markets) of 25.9% down to 15% in July 2017. Still, Ward 8 always has the highest unemployment rates in the city. Today we are a little better off than where were were in 2002. According to this graph, Ward 8 has never gotten unemployment rates at or below the 10% mark since 2002.
Now that I've provided you with a boatload of information mixed in with some of my commentary (and typos) I need something from you.
I HAVE THREE QUESTIONS WHICH I HOPE YOU WILL ANSWER IN THE COMMENTS SECTION BELOW. IF YOU LIVE OR OWN PROPERTY IN WARD 8 PLEASE INDICATE THAT IN YOUR COMMENT.
Prior to reading this post or my previous editorials, Did you know what the income cap levels were for 30%, 50% and 80% income-restricted (Affordable Housing) projects?
Do you think the amount or concentration of income-restricted rental housing (aka Affordable Housing) has had an impact on Ward 8? If so, how?
Would you be open to having some (or more) non-income capped rental housing in Ward 8? If so, why? How much is enough? How much is too much?
That's all for now. I await your comments which I hope will be thoughtful, respectful and civil. We are all entitled to an opinion, let's not villify one another to get our point across.