Tempe residents spoke at a recent city council meeting to raise concerns about the way Tempe has handled the ongoing housing crisis that is impacting the city, citing issues with lack of affordable housing and the way homeless people are treated.
City staff gave a presentation at city council’s Dec. 12 work study session on a housing inventory and affordability analysis that assessed how conditions changed from the destabilizing effects from the COVID-19 pandemic.
A city staff report explained that because of how housing affordability and stability impacts physical and mental health outcomes along with consumer spending, the results of the analysis have implications for Tempe residents’ quality of life and the economic vitality of the city.
The analysis examined the housing and rental gaps in the market by median family income level, showing the discrepancies in affordable, workforce, market rate and luxury housing.
MFI refers to the median income of households of varying sizes as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. It provides the base for income limits in subsidized affordable housing.
Conclusions from this study showed that:
Renters face more challenges than homeowners;
Non-students have similar housing experiences to those in other communities;
A reduction in the under 30% MFI level households has lowered the very low income rental deficit;
The affordable owner housing shortage extends to the 80% MFI level, even with affordable rental housing shortage being confined to the less than 30% MFI range; and
Increased housing production has leveled the housing supply and demand more.
Homeowners, while less challenged than renters, still have gaps in the market of available affordable housing — gaps were even recorded in the luxury level of the analysis.
Affordable housing in the less than 30% MFI range, showed the smallest gap of 687 units needed for the number of recorded households. In comparison, the 30% to 50% range recorded a 2,416 unit gap and the 50% to 80% range had a 2,317 unit gap.
As for renters, the largest gap in rental housing was recorded in the less than 30% MFI level, with 8,334 units needed to align with the number of households in the city. There were also gaps in market rate and luxury categories for rentals.
Irma Hollamby-Cain, one of the staff presenters and deputy community health and human services director, said that because non-students outnumber students in Tempe, most of those challenged by housing costs and are at risk of displacement are non-students.
“In terms of affordability, Tempe’s non-student population is not uniquely challenged or disadvantaged, and Tempe closely resembles other non-college towns in terms of affordability challenges,” Hollamby-Cain said.
Tempe’s long term population is not uniquely challenged by housing costs, she explained, saying that non-students fare about as well, if not better, than non-students elsewhere.
In their discussion, council noted how informative the presentation was and commended city staff for its work to ease the negative impacts of rising housing costs and the lack of housing across the board.
However, two residents spoke during the meeting, criticizing the city’s treatment of unhoused people and how Tempe has been dealing with the housing shortage.
David Sokolowski said that the analysis discussed removing 1,000 units from the shortage without explanation and it excludes people who have and are being displaced by the rising cost of living and lack of housing units.
He said that Tempe isn’t looking at its housing plan with retired, homeless, student or workforce residents in mind.
“You have to think about the total demand to live in Tempe. The competition for Tempe’s homes will remain hot and people will pay more to avoid a long commute,” Sokolowski said.
Although the city has made progress in helping its unhoused population, he continued that there is still a lack of housing for those people and the other people who plan to and live in Tempe.
Similarly, the other speaker, Arizona State University student Chloe Kansas, said that the city’s announcement to enforce the city code that fines or jails people for urban camping is a costly mistake that could impact the city financially.
She said that it costs a lot for the city to jail unhoused people, given the population in Tempe, and it criminalizes the experience of being homeless. Kansas noted it would not only be a bad budget move, but a bad move for the community.
“I would move to either repeal or amend Tempe City Code 2390 to decriminalize homelessness and find a different way to deal with this problem,” Kansas said.
Reporter Caroline Yu can be reached at cyu@iniusa.org. To voice your opinion on this story, connect with us at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.
Meet Caroline Caroline Yu joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2020 as a summer intern covering Scottsdale. As an intern, she continued her coverage of Scottsdale, Paradise Valley and Tempe. After graduating in 2022, Caroline became a full-time reporter for Scottsdale and Paradise Valley. She is currently reporting for the Tempe market.
Community: She is a supporter of the environment and tries to get involved with related community events.
Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications, with a minor in French.
Random Fact: She used to be a ballet dancer for 10 years.
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