Reflections
City Government for Housing Solutions
Posted on April 18, 2018 | Posted by Pastor Daniel
Pastor Dan and Pastor Daniel are part of the Colorado Springs Faith Table, an interfaith group of local faith leaders advocating for those who are less powerful.
Pastor Dan wrote a letter to the editor on behalf of the Faith Table on the city’s role in addressing the affordable housing crisis. It was published in last week’s Gazette.
Several times, I have heard Mayor Suthers say that “the city is not in the housing business.” If by that the Mayor means the city doesn’t build houses, I have no argument. But this statement sounds like the city doesn’t have much, if any, power and responsibility in regards to housing. The city has many ways it is in the housing business like tax incentives as happened in the luxury downtown condos, fees levied when building, oversight of zoning and even funding for the homeless shelters.
Our city is increasingly unaffordable. As much as we are concerned for all of our citizens, we have a growing concern for those working near minimum wage. An increasing number of employed citizens are ending up on the streets. They are needed and productive members of our businesses and society, but can’t afford to be here.
We believe the city’s goal should be that every citizen has a safe, affordable place to live while maintaining our vibrant and diverse nature. How about our city leadership saying that we are “a city committed to housing solutions for all its citizens?” Promoting such a vision would greatly help in shifting away from what we can’t do to what we can through federal pass through funding, tax incentives, building fees and zoning – especially for its less affluent citizens. Let’s work to solve the affordable housing crisis, not distance ourselves from it.
Pastor Dan Holt and the Colorado Springs Faith Table
