Affordable Housing An Issue with Tysons Expansion Plans

As the community continues to pore through the Tysons Corner 40 year plan, released in January, another issue has cropped up, affordable housing. The Washington Post wrote a piece on this a few Sunday's back. The article outlined the problem that exists now with many of the Tysons Corner workers having to travel from as far away as Fredericksburg and Oxen Hill because they cannot afford to live near their jobs.

Contained within the Tysons plan are guidelines that say "that new developments should set aside 20 percent of units for buyers or renters with household incomes of $51,350 to $123,240, or 50 to 120 percent of Fairfax's median household income of $102,700. In exchange, developers would be allowed to build 20 percent more units." Developers, however, are concerned that the affordable housing set-asides would be too costly and "hinder residential growth."

Washington Post Columnist Roger Lewis has written a follow-up recently where he calls for public sector involvement to make affordable housing a reality. "...to achieve affordable housing objectives, Fairfax County and other jurisdictions -- along with federal and state governments -- eventually must change their policies, raising and committing funds publicly. Density bonuses and the private sector alone can never get the job done."

Certainly something to keep an eye on.