Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, June 27, 1994 TAG: 9406270086
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
City Council last week unanimously concurred with a plan to spend up to $250,000 over the next year aimed at encouraging developers to build homes in the city costing $80,000 and up. The city would lure buyers with marketing and, in some cases, cash.
If implemented, the program could save developers and buyers of new, higher-priced homes thousands of dollars.
"We've done an excellent job on providing low-income housing. . . . We need to concentrate on providing upper- and middle-income housing to preserve our tax base," said outgoing Councilman James Harvey. He and Councilman Howard Musser first broached the problem to the city.
Two years in the making, the Market Rate Housing Strategy envisions a long list of actions the city could take in the near future to foster pricier housing and entice wealthier homeowners. If nothing is done, officials fear a gradual erosion of the residential property tax base.
The 1990 census showed drops in both population and income levels in the city during the 1980s, trends that make city officials anxious.
Wealthier residents pay more taxes and demand fewer services than the poor. If numbers of low-income residents rise faster than high earners, costs for services go up while tax revenues fall. That strains resources and puts pressure on the city to increase property tax rates. Both make the city less attractive as a place to live.
Richmond and Norfolk have successfully implemented programs with similar goals.
"We know if we keep heading in the direction that we're now heading, that Roanoke can't survive as a city of people with special needs," said economic development specialist E. Douglas Chittum. "We've been doing yeoman's work on [affordable housing]. Now we want some of the good stuff."
Most of that `good stuff' is now being built in Roanoke County. The city and county each issued slightly more than 11,000 residential building permits between 1981 and 1991. But the value of the permits in the county was $311 million, more than double the $146 million worth granted by the city, according to the report.
Among other things, the strategy recommends:
Extending first-time home buyers' assistance to middle- and upper-income home buyers. Currently it is available only to low- to moderate-income residents.
In the first year, the city would spend up to $25,000 by providing 10 assistance grants worth $2,500 each. However, that money wouldn't come out of the funds available to lower-income home buyers, city officials stressed.
Reducing financial risks and increasing profit potentials for developers who build higher-priced The 1990 census showed drops in both population and income levels in Roanoke during the 1980s, trends that make city officials anxious. homes in the city.
One way the city could do that is by paying more of the cost of sewer and water line extensions in new developments. The city now pays one-half the cost of the first 300 feet of an extension and developers pay the rest. The city would assume up to the full cost of the first 1,000 feet of an extension, saving developers thousands of dollars.
Marketing the advantages of Roanoke as a place to live compared to Roanoke County, Salem or outlying communities.
Streamlining development plan review and the building permit process.
Developing a single, easily accessed data base of empty residential lots and tracts.
Rewarding developers who build the most new middle and upper-income homes and the real estate agents who sell them.
The strategy also calls for a new city office to coordinate the program. Including staff, its cost is estimated at about $107,000 in the first year, said William Clark, public works director.
Developers seem to like the ideas.
"If they're willing to work with us, then we're willing to work with them. I think the cooperation the city is exhibiting in this situation will promote more [and] better housing in Roanoke city," said Lewis Jamison, president of Heritage Builders Ltd. Jamison is also immediate past president of the Homebuilders Association of Virginia.
"It sounds like the city is making a serious commitment to try and attract middle and upper-income homes," said Steven Strauss, president of Strauss Construction Corp., a residential builder.
The program also received generally high marks from Ted Edlich, president of Total Action Against Poverty, a family and community development agency that serves predominantly poorer residents.
Edlich did say the city should also stem deteriorating rental housing by regularly inspecting units and requiring landlords to bring them up to code. Both Salem and Lynchburg have instituted programs to do that.
That prevents slums, which discourage higher-income home buyers from purchasing in the city, he said.
"The greatest deterrent for upscale people is the slow deterioration of neighborhoods. . . . This is the number one problem that needs to be addressed," Edlich said.
by CNB