I have mixed feelings about this. Anyone care to comment on this one?




Local
Fairfax surpasses private owners as largest landlord, county data show

William C. Flook, The Examiner
2008-03-26 07:00:00.0
Current rank: # 22 of 8,077
WASHINGTON -

Fairfax County’s push to maintain its affordable housing stock has propelled it past the private sector as the largest landlord in the county, a revelation that has led critics to call for the multimillion-dollar programs to be reined in.

The local government owns and operates nearly 3,800 dwellings, according to county figures, part of which were acquired as concessions from developers or through other housing initiatives. The figure also includes units for seniors and 234 “beds” in transitional housing or assisted-living facilities.

The steady expansion of the county’s affordable housing inventory has invited new scrutiny of the program, which opponents on the Board of Supervisors call flawed in how it selects occupants and measures success.

Springfield Supervisor Pat Herrity, a newly elected Republican, told The Examiner he wants to reroute the $23 million “1-penny fund” for affordable housing into other budget needs, a proposal sure to ignite a feud with the board’s Democratic chairman, Gerry Connolly.

“At what point is enough enough?” Herrity said.

Connolly called Herrity’s idea “ill-conceived” and said it doesn’t have the support of the board. The fund, he said, “has been doing what we wanted it to do, which is to preserve affordable housing.”

The fund, created in 2005, helps pay for the county to buy units outright or partner with nonprofits to keep their rents down.

Housing officials prominently tout the 2,200 units preserved since April 2004 as a measure of success, though there is no indication that the waiting lists for affordable dwellings have diminished substantially as a result. This is because the county tends to target already occupied apartments.

“Our goal ought to be getting citizens into affordable housing, not building our inventory of rental units,” Herrity said.

The county has drawn fire for, in some cases, allowing families with high incomes to qualify for the units. As of last spring, about 11 percent of the units under the “1-penny fund” went to households making 120 percent the area median income — more than $100,000 for a family of four. Updated statistics were not immediately available.

The original justification for establishing the fund — that it would prevent developers from converting reasonably priced living space into unaffordable, high-end projects during the recent building boom — has disintegrated with the cooling market, argues Michael Frey, a Republican who represents the Sully District.

“We don’t need to do that today,” he said.
Examiner

I understand the purpose of affordable housing programs, but I don't see the benefit of it here in this county. There is really no shortage of low cost labor- everything is already expensive anway. And it certainly hasn't decreased the amount of traffic on our roads. Programs like this might work in high-density urban areas, but I don't see the value of having them here. At the very least, the size of the program should not exceed that of private owners.

+1


"the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish."

So what? Fairfax County is the largest landlord - I don't see the big deal.

Did you know in the State of Florida , the largest insurer is the State of Florida?

Radiophile Wrote:
>>> So what? Fairfax County is the largest landlord - I don't see the big deal.


It's just a waste of time and money. They should be busy running a county govt., not managing an apartment complex.

The government as landlord, the government handling your health care, the government setting the price of oil. No big deal just the U S moving towards socialism. When Hillary or Obama gets in the pace will speed up even more.

Grumpy old man Wrote:
>> When Hillary or Obama gets in the pace will speed up even more.

Yeah, I'm sure they'll jump right in and force Fairfax County to purchase and manage even more property. That makes alot of sense.

They dont need to they have Connelly doing their bidding at this time.

BTW I said U S not just Fairfax, please read entire post, it wasnt that long.

Grumpy old man Wrote:
> BTW I said U S not just Fairfax, please read entire post, it wasnt that long.

BTW the title and subject of the thread is FFX county, please read the entire title, it isn't that long.

Sorry your majesty, I wasnt aware Cary had left you in charge. It would have been enough to admit you didnt read the entire post before responding.

Grumpy old man Wrote:
>>It would have been enough to admit you didnt read the entire post before responding.

FYI, I did read the whole thing. Now stop turning the subject into a straw-man argument.

Wow meep, you sure have attracted a newer, older, more codgerly breed of troll to the site....did you change your cologne or something?

Squabbles aside, thank you all for your comments. After all considered, I think
its time to end this program and let private enterprise take over. ConMan cant
"manage" to find his behind with both hands anyway. Thanks again folks.

RESton Peace Wrote:
>> Wow meep, you sure have attracted a newer, older, more codgerly breed of troll to the site....did you change your cologne or something?

lol

RESton Peace Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Wow meep, you sure have attracted a newer, older,
> more codgerly breed of troll to the site....did
> you change your cologne or something?

the only want him for his redistricting skillz.


"the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish."