When an uptick in panhandling caught Durango’s attention last summer, coupled with a rise in the visibility and challenges of individuals and families experiencing homelessness locally, the community rallied to understand the situation. Some of the initial responses were, though not unexpected, not particularly helpful to solving the larger problem.
Concern over how businesses and tourists would be affected erupted quickly and those interests looked for ways to mitigate that impact. What has flowed from the conversation since, however, is a necessary dive into the problem’s complexity – as well as the relative simplicity of solving it. The answer, as so many across the state and country have already identified, is: more housing. A Durango City Council study session on Tuesday indicates that the city – and the coalition of individuals and organizations committed to addressing homelessness – suggests there is momentum to make gains in that department.
At the session, the Durango Homeless Coalition – which convened late last summer to assess the local landscape and identify potential solution – recommended to the City Council that it encourage long-term housing for homeless individuals in the city. There are proven mechanisms by which to do so, and permanent supportive housing is among the favorites. In such settings, residents receive shelter, and supportive services including counseling – financial, career, addiction and otherwise – community and care to assist them in finding a path out of homelessness. The challenge, of course, is funding the operation, but tax credits for construction diminish the hurdle significantly. The city can be a vehicle for connecting developers to those credits – in addition to providing the land for construction on Avenida del Sol, where there exists an established network of services for homeless individuals and families. The City Council should pursue the project and, in doing so, make a meaningful investment in addressing residents.
But a comprehensive solution to the housing challenges facing Durango and many other communities goes beyond one such project. At Tuesday’s session, the city’s Planning Department presented an array of policy changes that could significantly diversify the housing stock here, if implemented and enforced to their intended result. First among these is the city’s “fair share” policy – one that requires developers to commit to ensuring that 16 percent of any development’s units would be affordable as a condition of their project approval – or pay a fee in lieu of that construction. The policy went into effect in 2008, and thus far, developers have chosen to pay the fee $9,200 per unit – paid to the Regional Housing Alliance, which then uses it to help its clients. The fee is certainly less than the cost of construction. The result to date is no increase in the affordable inventory as a result.
The Planning and Community Development Department, with RHA’s input, has recommended a sharp increase in those fees-in-lieu, with the intent of encouraging construction to address the need – not just paying to work around it. That is a big move for the city and developers will surely balk, but if addressing the city’s affordability gap is truly the goal, the policy change will help. The City Council should strongly consider it and other means by which to concretely put roofs over residents heads.
The issue is clearly rising in priority for the community and the city is right to take it seriously. Tuesday’s study session was a strong indication that progress might, at last, be forthcoming.
