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Affordable housing a growing concern at Tahoe

October 5, 2007

Affordable housing at Lake Tahoe is increasingly scarce. With the recent rise in property values at the lake, communities are trying to find ways to create housing for local workers.

“How do you even define affordable housing when the average house is worth $500,000?” asked Emilio Vaca, a local organizer working on the housing problem.

The Workforce Housing Association of Truckee Tahoe is one of many organizations wrestling with that dilemma.

“According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development standard affordable housing is 30 percent or less of a household’s gross income,” said Tom Ballou, housing services director for the Truckee based nonprofit organization.

“This is not just an issue for people at the lowest income levels. Housing prices are beyond local income levels for even mid-range professionals such as nurses, cops and teachers,” Ballou said.

Ballou said that in Truckee the lowest priced house is selling for $375,000.

“But at an income level of $100,000 per year and current interest rates, the biggest 30 year loan you can get is $300,000,” Ballou said. “It used to be that $100,000 a year was pretty good.”

The housing association is working on five projects in Truckee that would house an additional 350 low- to moderate-income families, Ballou said. But these efforts are aided in Truckee by the community general plan, which requires that at least 15 percent of new developments be affordable housing.

“The situation is more difficult at Tahoe,” Ballou said, explaining “At Tahoe there are issues of coverage and height,” meaning that there are limitations on the density and height that new developments can be built to.

However, Ballou did mention two proposed developments on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe.

“There’s a proposal for a 70 unit rental development at Tahoe Vista and a scattered development in Kings Beach, which would have less of an environmental impact than a large, single unit,” Ballou said.

“This is a community problem, Ballou said. “They don’t have affordable housing, consequently, we exist to help the communities develop affordable housing units.”

The housing association is working with Project Mana, the North Tahoe Family Resource Center and Tahoe Women’s Services, three other nonprofit organizations on the North Shore.

“We just finished a random, need-assessment survey of the Kings Beach community,” said Vaca, employee at Tahoe Women’s Services and committee member at the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association.

“The demographic survey covers the community across the board and includes all income levels,” Vaca said. “We’ll be releasing the survey results in a community meeting on Oct. 19.

“Some folks are in denial of the need (for affordable housing) here. So we are providing science to back up the developments we are working on.”

A varied approach is necessary for dealing with the challenges of creating affordable housing, Ballou said.

“The need is such (here at Tahoe) that everything is on the table. There are bare tracks of land at Tahoe that the TRPA has set aside as rental properties and we’re considering redevelopments as well,” Ballou said.

“We work with families, agencies, community outreach programs and developers to help families at or below 60 percent of the median family income.”

The community as a whole is working to address these problems.

“There is strong support in the community for affordable housing,” Vaca said. “Especially amongst developers.”

Part of the challenge of getting affordable housing developments started in Tahoe, is what people think affordable housing is. Many residents object to affordable housing on the basis of environmental impacts, the adverse effects on property values and zoning issues. You can listen to some of these objections in an article Frank Mullen did for Our Tahoe called, “Basin lacks workforce housing.”

“We’re making efforts to be environmentally friendly,” Vaca said. “The TRPA is willing to lift codes to help with the community enhancement projects. Density is the sticking point though. The reality is that there is no room to build outward, we have to build up.”

“The perception (of affordable housing) is the inner-city, rat infested, high rise,” Ballou said. “But that’s not what we’re trying to create.”

Vaca and all of the nonprofit groups are working to educate the community to give them the tools they need to take action themselves.

“We’re not here to give people fish, as in ‘here’s public housing,’” Vaca said. “We are trying to teach people how to fish, that they need to go to the TRPA themselves and tell them that Pathways 2007, (the new 20-year regional plan) needs to include affordable housing.”

The TRPA could not be reached this week for comment.

Despite the challenges, Ballou and Vaca remain confident about affordable housing at Tahoe.

“Low-income and affordable housing is achievable in Tahoe. Within the next five years I expect to see a completed project on the ground,” Ballou said.

Have any suggestions for how, or if, affordable housing could work at Tahoe, add a comment

Additional Resources:

Domus Devolopment -developer working on affordable housing

Dave Ferrari -long time Tahoe resident and business owner working on affordable housing

St. Joseph’s Community Land Trust -South Lake Tahoe affordable housing nonprofit organization

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Written by Allan Warren · Filed Under Community 

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