HomeMy WebLinkAboutA017 - Email from Joel Hochstein dated May 21, 2018 Re: Rental Housing Cap Concerns
Joel Hochstein to: Tim Gartin 05/21/2018 01:13 PM
Cc: amescitycouncil
History: This message has been forwarded.
Thanks for your response, Tim. I agree that having more rental units come online in recent years
should hopefully bring rents down. I am concerned that while this proposal may not have an
immediate impact on housing costs for folks in rental housing (based on the information you
provided in your response) we know the market will not always be this way. My hope is that
Council will acknowledge the potential populations that are more impacted by proposals such as
the rental cap and incorporate those considerations into the conversation as it continues.
Personally, if a cap is something that is going to move forward(as opposed to neighborhood
initiated associations or a focus on incentives for upkeep/renovation or community development
work), I hope that a very limited and deliberate approach would be considered and would include
data gathering on intended and unintended impacts to the limited area to which it was enacted. If
the cap advances, I would hope that folks on council would advocate for or inquire about ways to
offset the potential or unintended impacts to underrepresented communities.
I appreciate all of the work and thought that folks have put in to this conversation. I wish that I
would have been a voice for this perspective much sooner, however, my own thoughts have
evolved on this topic and I have been back and forth on the issue as I have been listening to the
conversation.
Best,
-Joel
On Mon, May 21, 2018 at 12:55 PM, Tim Gartin<gartinforames(?gmail.com> wrote:
Good Afternoon Joel,
I appreciate your e-mail. It has been curious to me that advocates for affordable housing have been
largely on the sidelines during a time of yearly increases in rents. It is very appropriate to question
whether the proposals would inadvertently adversely impact the most vulnerable.
The good news is that thousands of rental units have come online in the last several years and more are
yet to be completed. For the first time in several years, there are for rent signs at both apartment
buildings and single family homes. Realtors are telling us that they are expecting a 10-15% vacancy rate
this coming year. This will bring downward pressure on rents. We are anxious to see the data as it
comes in. This is a great benefit to tenants.
Thanks,
Tim
Timothy Gartin
City Council Member, Ward 2