 Albemarle County Board of Supervisors Chairman David Slutzky (Rio) was a member of the task force |
A task force created to recommend ways to create more affordable living choices in Charlottesville and Albemarle County has
reported its results
. The Joint Task Force on Affordable Housing formed in December 2007 and consisted of representatives of the two localities, the University of Virginia, and the advocacy group IMPACT. The group was charged with reviewing current public and private initiatives to address the cost of housing, to address the gap between low-income families and their ability to afford a home, and to suggest better ways in which local governments and UVA can collaborate.
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Albemarle County Board of Supervisors Chairman
David Slutzky
(Rio) said the task force took on a difficult challenge, especially as hard economic conditions create even more pressure for those with lower incomes. “Affordable housing is going to become an even more critical issue for the constituents that we’re trying to take care of here,” Slutzky said.
Slutzky said while some of the recommendations could be “costly”, the community should try to implement them as soon as possible. Specific recommendations depend on the jurisdiction, and more direct suggestions were aimed at Charlottesville and Albemarle County.
“We recognized fairly late in the game that there are limits on what the University is legally allowed to do,” Slutzky said. “They have as their first priority under the law to provide education functions and not specifically to provide housing functions.”
Selected recommendations for both the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County
Selected recommendations for the City of Charlottesville:
Selected recommendations for Albemarle County:
Recommendations for the University of Virginia:
Slutzky said that the task force decided not to recommend a specific dollar amount for the City and County governments to allocate towards affordable housing. “That wasn’t really in the purview of the task force,” Slutzky said.
UVA Architect David Neuman represented the University on the task force, but neither he nor an alternate was present at the press conference. Slutzky said it was his thought that UVA sees the issue as being a City and County responsibility now that the task force has done its work.
Sean Tubbs
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