LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- As Louisville grows, so does the demand for attainable housing. And the Metropolitan Housing Coalition's (MHC) latest initiative, "Attainable Housing for All," aims to address that issue through reforms to the Land Development Code (LDC).
The initiative was started through a Humana Foundation grant and is meant to be an effort in response to Louisville Metro Council's call for an equity review of the LDC.
"Where you live — your zip code — really matters," MHC Executive Director Tony Curtis said. "There's a 13-year difference in life expectancy from somebody who lives in west Louisville and somebody who lives in east Louisville."
Curtis said the initiative is looking into LDC reforms that will help with decreasing segregation in Louisville by building attainable housing units all over Louisville, increasing production of attainable housing units and promoting diverse types of housing.
Developers working to provide more attainable housing see a great demand. The Jefferson Green Apartments in Okalona started in December 2020 with more than 300 unit, and all were leased in less than a year.
“Way, way ahead of anticipated," said Ramona Vasta, development manager of Jefferson Green and an MHC board member. "So what we did was we started on phase two, ahead of schedule, in order to meet the need and demand of the residents here.
“As a city, we are experiencing a huge shortage of housing. We need to, as a city, be doing things to encourage and spur development and not delay or discourage or stop it. So that's why zoning is so important."
The MHC said about 55,000 units are needed at or below 50% area median income, which equals about $30,000 a year for a two-person household.
Curtis believes making some change to the LDC could be a big help with the housing shortage.
“We can increase opportunity and choice throughout all Louisville," he said. "That is an opportunity that allows people to live longer, get better educational outcomes, better health care access and better economic opportunity."
Curtis said a majority of Jefferson County is zoned for single-family residential use, limiting housing choice in large sections of the city. But MHC believes zoning changes to allow more housing types across the county could have a big impact.
"If we can build housing for all economic levels — and livable — then we can have a more effective and growing economy as well," Curtis said.
“Some people want to live in apartments. Some people want to live in town homes," Vasta added. "And those types of communities better fit their family's needs. And so we need to increase that diversity and just increase the production as a whole.”
It's a suggested step as MHC, the city and other community groups try to find a way forward.
“If we can kind of come together ... we can make some good changes and increase affordable housing production, attainable housing production and create that policy environment where people who need a house can have a house," Curtis said.
If you'd like to learn more about the initiative, click here.
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