In order to maintain and grow Fayetteville's cultural diversity and creative class, we need to implement local solutions to the national affordable housing crisis. We can take many actions to make living in Fayetteville more affordable. I've been poor for a long time, and my experiences have helped me see where policies could be improved.
Affordable living is about more than house prices, and we need a holistic solution that considers other costs: like mobility and utilities. Fayetteville can lobby the state to expand weatherization programs to make our homes more efficient and lower utility bills, which affect the poor the most. We can revisit renters' rights, and help families displaced by development find new places to live.
One of the best tools for affordable living (and ecological development) is impact fees, but they have to be designed carefully. I think that impact fees should be revenue-neutral. Developments that improve and build upon our amenities and alternative transportation network should be given rebates, and developments that don't should be fined. In the end, it should all balance out so that Fayetteville stays good for business. We can use these impact "feebates" to encourage the kind of development we want.
