Housing commission the next step for affordable housing efforts in Staunton
The City of Staunton Housing Strategy's full report isn't quite complete, but Staunton Housing Planner Rebecca Joyce presented the preliminary findings to Staunton City Council on July 24.
'This is a plan for a start, not a plan for completion,' said Joyce. 'As you will also know with housing, it's a constant challenge, so it's [not] a problem to solve, it's something that we're always dealing with.'
This is not something cities are required to do by law, in contrast to documents like a comprehensive plan. Instead, the housing strategy group emerged after a SAW Housing Summit in July 2024. The summit drew attention to the growing unaffordability and inaccessibility of the housing market in Staunton, Augusta County, and Waynesboro. Staunton's housing group was created to combat the market forces driving the increasing costs.
'We are doing this because we want to have a focused way to deal with some of the housing challenges that we face, to be able to work well with our housing partners in the city, and to be able to provide more housing in the city of Staunton,' said Joyce.
The group identified three main goals: producing housing, preserving housing, and providing housing stability. To further those goals, they identified 11 things they could do as part of the city:
Use CDBG Entitlement Funds for housing and wrap-around services.
Establish a Housing Fund.
Advocate for more Community Land Trust/Deed-restricted home ownership.
Explore options for creating Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs).
Prepare Redevelopment Strategies for underutilized properties.
Landlord Education, Recruitment, and Retention.
Explore the potential for a local or regional Land Bank.
Facilitate services in the City for unhoused persons.
Explore the potential for HUD-certified Housing Counseling services.
Promote Legal Services for Renters to reduce evictions.
Community Housing Advocate training.
The strategy partnered with several other local organizations and city commissions, such as the Staunton Redevelopment Housing Authority, the DEI Commission, SAW Housing, SAW Habitat for Humanity, Renewing Homes of Greater Augusta, and several more. Representatives from these organizations were present on the Staunton board.
Joyce also noted the group would continuously be in touch with other local housing organizations.
'We will continuously connect with SAW Housing for our part in that regional effort,' Joyce said. 'One of our assumptions here, with the plan, is that we will not develop or do any activities or programs that compete with the other organizations. We will support what's done in the region. There's no need to do what's already being done. We want to help and support what's being done and then augment that to fill any needs we have just in the city.'
The Staunton housing group working on the report may become the next city commission. Several of the group's current members have been asked to stay on the commission once it is created by Staunton City Council, which is expected to move forward in the fall.
The practical next steps for the housing group are to create the commission, to perform a 'windshield survey and assessment' of housing conditions in the city, and to compile a resource guide for people calling the city to ask for housing services. Joyce hopes to get a grant from the Virginia Tech Housing Center and their students to 'get a broad overview of some of the infilled properties and properties that might be blighted or aren't being used effectively so we can look to see if housing would be a good option for those.'
The presentation can be found on the city's website. More about the whole strategy can be found on the project's landing page on the city website.
More: High St. housing development moving forward after Augusta supervisor vote
More: Emma Whitesell opens esthetician studio in downtown Staunton
Lyra Bordelon (she/her) is the public transparency and justice reporter at The News Leader. Do you have a story tip or feedback? It's welcome through email to lbordelon@gannett.com. Subscribe to us at newsleader.com.
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Housing commission next step for affordable housing efforts in Staunton
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