Affordable Housing Archives - Read. Think. Act.

Fair Housing with Margaret Squires

(Dec. 19, 2018) Catherine Read interviews Margaret Squires, Fair Housing Coordinator, Fairfax County Office of Human Rights and Equity Programs. Their discussion focuses on fair housing, and how her office handles claims of fair housing discrimination in the county.

The Office of Human Rights and Equity Programs handles discrimination complaints in fives different areas: housing, employment, public accommodations, credit and private education. If a person thinks that they have been discriminated against, they can file a complaint with the county office. A case will be opened, and an investigation will ensue. Squires notes that protected classes of individuals are race, color, national origin, sex, religion, familial status, disability, marital status and age discrimination.

If someone thinks that they have been discriminated against, Squires encourages them to contact her office to learn if they have a viable complaint. People can call the office (there is a TTY phone number available for the hard of hearing), they can visit the office in person and speak with a representative, or they can reach out to the office online to share information about their experience. In all of these situations, a case manager will be assigned to the complaint, and will identify if there is enough evidence to proceed. People have 365 days from the date of the event to file their complaint.

After the case managers determine that there is a basis for the claim, they move forward in contacting the housing provider to try and resolve the issue. The case mangers always try and bring the parties together to come to a resolution. If an investigation has determined that a housing provider is in violation of fair housing law, and they refuse to come to an agreement, then Squire’s office will refer the case to the County Attorney’s office for further review. Many times, after the disputes are resolved, the person in violation of the law will be required to attend a Fair Housing training in order to better understand the law and how to conduct business in the future.

In the second segment, Catherine discusses some trends that Squires has been noticing in the field. Specifically, she mentions concerns regarding an increasing reluctance to file a complaint by members of the Hispanic community, and the immigrant community at large. In today’s current political climate, many immigrants are afraid to speak up even if they are legitimately covered under the law. It is a disturbing trend, and Squires emphasizes that her case mangers do not need documentation from people when filing a complaint. She worries that many people are getting taken advantage of, because they are unwilling to speak out.

Squires also points out that it is illegal for a housing provider to retaliate against someone who files a complaint. If a housing provider evicts a tenant after they have filed a complaint, the provider could be subject to fines as they are not viewed favorably if they retaliate.

Additionally, Squire’s office is available as a resource to the community, as they provide education and outreach services. Services include training for housing providers, real estate professionals, property managers, lenders and other housing professionals. They are also available to provide information and training to the public at no cost.

by Rachel Simon

VA Senator Scott Surovell on Inside Scoop

(Oct. 15, 2018) Catherine Read interviews State Senator Scott Surovell (D-36), in a discussion ranging from transportation to predatory lending to environmental reforms regarding coal ash. Sen. Surovell represents the 36^th district, including parts of southeastern Fairfax, eastern Prince William and northern Stafford counties. Surovell is a native Virginian and graduate of West Potomac High School, James Madison University, and University of Virginia Law School. He is proud to represent the area in which he grew up.

Throughout his tenure in the Virginia General Assembly, Surovell has worked hard to expand opportunities and help solve problems for his constituents. He was first elected to office as a Delegate in 2009, followed by a successful bid for the state Senate in 2015. He recognizes the great disparity and income inequality in his district, which very much mirrors what is happening throughout Northern Virginia.

Transportation

One of the areas that Sen. Surovell has paid particular attention to is the Rt. 1 Corridor, stretching through the Alexandria portion of Fairfax County. Year ago, this corridor used to be a vibrant commercial district, but has been left behind as much of the rest of the area experienced economic growth. The result is that these neighborhoods are now some of the poorest and are home to some of the most vulnerable residents of Fairfax County.

Starting in 2009, Surovell brought his big ideas to VDOT regarding redevelopment along the corridor. He successfully lobbied VDOT to fund a study of the area south of the Huntington Metro. This led to a set of recommendations that were given in 2015 to ultimately widen Rt. 1 to 6 lanes and to institute a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system to facilitate traffic flow. Accordingly, the land needs to be rezoned along the corridor to allow for increased density. In order for the region to qualify for grants through the Federal Transportation Administration, the number of residents needs to increase from 40,000 to 100,000 in order to support the investment in transportation upgrades.

One of the biggest concerns that surround a redevelopment project of this scope is to ensure that residents are not displaced during the construction of the project. There is already a shortage of affordable housing in the area, and when planning the redevelopment it will be crucial to ensure that affordable housing remains available. In order to qualify for the federal funding, there is a provision that there is no net loss of affordable housing after the project is complete. Additionally, public officials need to be very careful that communities are not displaced and torn apart.

As part of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) Act that passed in 2013, which raised the gas tax and grantors tax in order to fund local transportation initiatives, the Rt. 1 corridor is finally seeing some money flowing down to fund projects. The NVTA is making a $370 million down payment to begin the work on this development. The process of getting this work done is long and complex; Surovell said we can expect to see a shovel in the ground in 2026.

Additional projects in his district include widening of Rt. 1 in Dumfries and the bottleneck of traffic on I-95 South when crossing the Occoquan. The hangup with that particular project includes having to renegotiate the contract with Transurban, who maintains the HOT lanes on I-95, as they will suffer in lost toll revenue if the road is being worked on.

Coal Ash

Sen. Surovell has worked hard over many years to bring reform to the power industry in regards to how they dispose of coal ash. Coal ash is the residue that is produced after burning coal for power. For years, standard operating procedure allowed Dominion Energy, the state’s main power provider, to bury this coal ash in the ground. Holes were dug, filled with water and the ash was dumped in them. Several years ago those coal ash “ponds” burst, and that coal ash flowed into the adjacent rivers, polluting the Potomac, Occoquan and James Rivers. The EPA then ordered the state to shut down the practice and clean up the sites, which all show evidence of arsenic, cadmium, lead and hexavelant chronium, mercury and selenium. Up to this point, Virginia was the only state that did not require power companies to recycle coal ash.

The good news about this is that the coal ash that is being dumped is a key ingredient in the production of concrete. So much so, that the concrete companies are actually importing coal ash from Italy in order to meet their supply needs. Dominion will eventually be able to sell this as a product to the local concrete companies. The ash that needs to be cleaned up could also be marketable, however the challenge is that the coal ash that the ash will need to be dried out and the problem chemicals will need to be extracted from the ash before it can be sold.

The question faced today by lawmakers is how much will this process cost, and how much can Dominion will be allowed to hike rates to cover their costs. There are currently a small group of delegates and senators who are working on coming to a consensus on how to best handle this multi-billion dollar issue.

Predatory Lending

Another very prevalent issue in Sen. Surovell’s district is the practice of predatory lending. There is a high concentration of predatory lenders located in the Route 1 Corridor, including a variety of Pay Day and Car Title loan companies. Over the past several years there have been numerous restrictions on these practices, and it seems like each time there are rules put in place to curb the practice, new companies pop up in a different iteration with another way to scam borrowers.

In 2009 the state put a 36% rate cap on payday loans. Then, in 2010 the car title companies showed up to offer an alternative to those in need. In 2011, the laws put in place were not well constructed, which opened up the door for these companies to lend to car title holders in MD and DC (where this practice is greatly restricted) for up to 267% APR. The people who are seeking these loans are desperate and often do not understand the implications of what they are doing. They often borrow to pay off other loans, and the situation can tend to snowball for them. If you have feedback for Sen. Surovell he is open to hearing from constituents, and would like to work with his colleagues to curb these practices.

by Rachel Simon

Gerald Poje – Affordable Housing Advisory Committee

(July 4, 2018) Catherine Read interviews Gerald Poje, member of the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee in Fairfax County. As housing prices continue to climb, the ability for a low or middle-income family to afford housing in Fairfax county decreases. This advisory committee is dedicated to finding ways to increase the amount of affordable housing, while also taking into account the ability for people to live in the county throughout their entire life cycle.

Today in Fairfax County, there is a shortage of 31,000 affordable dwelling units. According to today’s statistics, a family of four pays on average $1700 per month for their housing, which requires an average family income of $70,000. There are many people in our county who do not make close to that income, and therefore cannot afford to live and work here in Fairfax. Or, alternatively, they are in a situation where they need to share a residence with other families or individuals in order to afford the rent. Poje is working with the advisory board to think outside the box, and challenge the status quo to bring forth much needed change.

Currently there are two agencies who manage work being done on affordable housing in Fairfax County. Both the Department of Housing and Community Development and the Fairfax County Redevelopment Housing Authority manage federal and state dollars that flow to the county for affordable housing, and focus on long term housing solutions for people coming out of homelessness. The advisory committee is helping to develop a strategic plan to guide their work as they plan for the future.

The strategic plan encompasses two critical phases. Over the past two years, phase one included soliciting input from community members and devising a comprehensive list of 25 low cost recommendations for the county to implement. Their goal is to integrate the community needs into a comprehensive plan that will allow the Department of Housing and Community Development and the Redevelopment Housing Authority to become more efficient, effective and strategic. They are also working with the Land Use and Zoning Boards to reimagine how some of the vacant commercial property around the county can be repurposed for the use of affordable dwelling units.

As the County works together with the business community to redesign existing spaces, Poje and the advisory board are urging them to think globally about the needs of the community, and to consider creative ideas of how to incorporate affordable housing into these newly designed spaces. Poje argues that the more people who are living and working in the community, the stronger the community will become. He strongly believes that people behave differently when they work and live in their own communities. They take more pride and are more committed to the community’s overall success.

Another key component of the committee’s work includes the consideration of those who want to stay in Fairfax County as they age. Today, there is a shortage of affordable options for those looking to retire and stay in their communities. The committee is looking to ensure that there are plenty of options for age appropriate, cost appropriate and size appropriate housing for people in all stages of their lives. This requires the ability to think ahead and imagine that the future may look different from what exists today, and to build for the changes that will be ahead.