The need for accessible and affordable housing is national news. Locally, about 49% of all renters are housing cost burdened. The unaffordability of housing is a direct cause of homelessness, hurts our local economy, and has detrimental impacts on the health and well-being of our community. 

On Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission will be discussing the proposed Affordable Housing Incentive Policy, which includes incentives to increase accessibility. 

Although many believe that only a small portion of the U.S. population has accessibility needs, more than 1 in 4 American adults experiences some type of disability. Nationwide, about 4 in 10 households that include one or more disabled people live in housing that lacks basic accessibility features, according to HUD’s 2019 Housing Survey. 

While organizations such as Lawrence Habitat for Humanity, Tenants to Homeowners, the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority, and Independence Inc. work diligently to increase accessible, affordable housing, the need greatly outweighs the housing available. Although current programs make significant accessibility improvements, they cannot modify enough existing housing to meet the growing need. 

Local data, including data from the City of Lawrence 2018 Housing Market Analysis, makes clear that Lawrence needs more housing that is both affordable and accessible. Accordingly, a key goal of Lawrence’s Affordable Housing Advisory Board is to “increase affordable and accessible housing for persons with disabilities.” A similar goal is reflected in A Place for Everyone, a plan adopted by the city and county to end chronic homelessness. 

The Accessibility in Affordable Housing Workgroup was created after the adoption of that plan. Our group identified three policy points to increase affordable housing that is accessible:

1. Accessibility must be recognized as a cornerstone of affordable development.

2. The limited amount of the city’s affordable housing trust funds must be utilized to provide funding for projects that meet community needs. Taxpayer dollars should go toward affordable housing projects that serve in the best interests of the community, not private developers.

3. Housing must be affordable in perpetuity to ensure community investments increase housing affordability for generations. Projects limited to the current 30-year affordability standard risk displacing vulnerable community members once that period ends, as developers are then free to raise rents to market levels to maximize profit.

The city’s strategic plan includes a goal for Lawrence to have “strong, welcoming neighborhoods” in which all people have “opportunities to lead healthy lifestyles with access to safe and affordable housing and essential services that help them thrive.” An essential activity to achieve this vision is to assure basic accessible, affordable housing for those who require it. 

Addressing the three points above — accessibility, wise use of affordable housing trust funds, and a guarantee of long-term affordability — is a critical step in this direction, and the draft Affordable Housing Incentive Policy furthers these goals. We urge the City Commission to approve the policy with the period of affordability and accessibility/universal design requirements in place.

— Accessibility in Affordable Housing Workgroup:
Daniel Brown (he/him), Lawrence, Independence, Inc.
Mariel Ferreiro (she/ella), Lawrence, Kansas Association for Social Housing (KASH), Sanctuary Alliance
Mo Horowitz (they/she), Lawrence
Bob Mikesic (he/him), Lawrence
Dot Nary (she/her), Lawrence

More Community Voices:

MORE …