Workforce Housing
“45% of renters in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell region are financially vulnerable.”
About the workforce housing group
Shelter is one of the most basic human needs. Home is the cornerstone of personal and family life, affording us the safety and stability to work, to raise a family, and to be thriving and contributing members of society.
Simply put, North Fulton is becoming an increasingly less affordable place to live, driving out long-term residents and discouraging new talent from moving here. In the past several decades, housing prices have increased dramatically, with no equivalent rise in wages. This disparity means that fewer North Fulton residents, regardless of employment status, are able to afford to live in this community. With available housing units too costly for workers to afford, they are forced either to move and commute to jobs (if possible), to live and work in other communities, or to work multiple low-paying, full-time jobs in order to afford a place to live. A large portion of North Fulton residents are considered cost-burdened by housing — defined as spending over 30% of household income on rent or mortgage payments.
Anyone who spends more than 30% of their income on housing is financially vulnerable. Based on this standard, 45% of renters in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell region are financially vulnerable. Renters make up almost half of all households in Fulton County; this amounts to a high percentage of residents who are financially vulnerable solely because of the high price of housing.
A prosperous community allows for a variety of people to live there and is thus able to reap the benefits of its diverse residents. North Fulton already has a sizable affluent population which provides a strong tax base. It is also home to many excellent businesses and amenities that require a solid, reliable workforce to function. Workforce housing, which provides a mix of housing units for different level earners, allows essential economy workers to live and work in the same community.
An investment in workforce housing is an investment in the health and quality of our community.
The Workforce Housing group at NFIN is working to build broad awareness on the need for a mix of housing options in North Fulton. We strive to gather support from private and public sectors in order to preserve and protect available workforce housing and encourage its expansion. By ensuring that housing is affordable for all residents, we can enrich and grow our community.
Check out our research and work: The 2019 Our Invisible Neighbors Report.
MISSING MIDDLE HOUSING
Missing middle housing refers to a range of housing types that fill the gap between single-family homes and large apartment buildings, providing diverse, affordable options for middle-income households. This category includes duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, townhomes, and cottage courts. These housing types were often included as cities developed across the country, and are now highly valued, particularly in historic communities such as Savannah and Midtown Atlanta. But they are now scarce due to zoning laws favoring single-family homes and large developments from the mid-1940s.
The "missing middle" consumers are skilled laborers, hourly workers, entry-level corporate employees, gig workers, and young families whose income, typically $45,000-$80,000 a year, would not qualify them for market-rate housing. Yet, they make too much money to qualify for subsidized housing. In North Fulton, these middle income workers are being squeezed out of our community and must drive longer distances to get to work, adding to congestion on our roads.
The first barrier that communities face when encouraging “missing middle” housing is existing zoning constraints. A wide range of experts agree that restrictions on minimum lot size, parking minimums, and prohibition of auxiliary dwelling units can, and have, helped more middle income workers live closer to their jobs.
Of course, there are other challenges to creating “missing middle’ housing. Rising construction costs, labor shortages, supply chain disruptions, and current interest rates all are factors impacting any housing builds today. Solutions proposed include regulatory reforms to encourage additional housing variety, reducing lot size requirements, easing parking minimums, and using land trusts to make land more affordable. While some cities have taken steps to add apartments or eliminate single-family zoning, North Fulton still has opportunities for small infill options that blend with neighborhood scale
It is far too easy for communities to throw up their collective hands with the reasoning, “It’s the same everywhere”. That, however, is avoiding the problem. Decatur GA just changed their zoning to allow for secondary dwellings on residential lots. Peachtree Corners has the largest office to residential conversion in the nation. And countless cities and towns are finding new ways to address their dire starter home shortages. The communities that solve the problem will have a golden ticket for attracting new workers and business to ensure they thrive now and in the future.
Addressing the missing middle housing gap requires coordinated efforts from government, industry, and communities to create more inclusive pathways to attainable housing options that meet the needs of our community.
Our goals
1. Creating a network of community housing stakeholders from at large community members, non profit representatives and private sector representatives. Building important relationships between those sectors.
2. Awareness of changes in the community regarding current inventory of housing that is affordable.
3. Learning models of effective initiatives in other communities.
4. Resource for current conditions/projections and changes.
5. Resource of information as to consequences to communities with changes such as gentrification and it’s effect on local economy and to working, lower income residents or seniors on fixed income.
6. Advocate for those who comprise lower income workforce residents who often are not “in the room”.
7. Engage the community as to benefits of a heathy diversity of housing options.
8. Assist in efforts to retain and improve current housing for the financially vulnerable.
Co-Chairs
Carol Swan
North Fulton Community Charities
