One Fairfax County supervisor is questioning a proposal that would let families who make more than $110,000 a year qualify for affordable high-rise units.
The board is considering a policy to let developers pack moreunits into high-rises in exchange for holding some of those new dwellings at lower rents, part of a broader effort to maintain viable living space for residents who otherwise couldn’t afford the area’s steep housing prices.
But the income threshold for renting those units — a third of which would be available to families who bring in as much as 120 percent of the area median income, or about $113,000 — has raised some eyebrows. Board of Supervisors Vice Chairman Sharon Bulova calls that limit too high.
“I would not consider that a low income,” she told The Examiner on Tuesday. “Two members of our board make less than that.”
Under the proposed policy, if a developer sets aside one affordable unit, he will be granted an additional regular unit. Those below-market-rate dwellings would be divided equally between families at 80, 100 and 120 percent of the area median income. The rents would be held at prices considered affordable for those income levels.
The building incentives would apply in dense areas of the county — such as Tysons Corner — or areas around rail stops.
Those income limits grew out of a study by George Mason University that found housing costs have risen five times faster than wages over the past five years, said Lee Rau, who chairs the panel that crafted the proposed high-rise policy.
The panel considered lowering the income threshold, he said, but dropped the idea because “the economics don’t work.” Developers would be less likely to take on a program that required them to further subsidize low rents.
Bulova’s remarks come amid other criticisms from nonprofit groups, including the Coalition for Smarter Growth, that the county is misdirecting its effort to preserve affordable housing away from those with the most dire needs.
In a separate but related program, the Board of Supervisors devotes 1 penny of its real estate tax each year to acquirerental units and hold them at below-market rent.
Melissa Bondi, housing director for the District-based Coalition for Smarter Growth, lauded the county’s move toward an affordable high-rise policy but said the most pressing need lies with families making less than $50,000 a year.
