Vancouver voters took a step Tuesday toward mitigating the city’s growing housing problem. And while The Columbian’s Editorial Board supported the passage of Proposition 1 on the ballot in the city, we recognize that voting is easy but governing is hard. Now comes the hard part.
Voters approved a measure that will impose a property-tax levy designated for housing assistance to low-income residents. With Vancouver having one of the nation’s lowest rental vacancy rates — which drives up costs — and with homelessness increasing, there is little doubt that something needs to be done. As The Columbian wrote editorially in support of the measure: “A community is defined by how it cares for and supports its neediest neighbors. Allowing the homeless population to grow, allowing more and more families to live in their cars, allowing more and more people to worry that the next rent increase will leave them on the streets … these are not the hallmarks of a fully developed society.”
So, we applaud voters for passing the measure with about 57 percent of the ballots; at the same time, we recognize that the next step is the most important. An advisory panel will be formed to determine how to best invest the $6 million a year expected from the tax — money earmarked for preserving and developing affordable housing and providing services such as rent assistance for low-income residents.
While many factors must be considered, the focus of the fund should be upon increasing the inventory of affordable housing. Rent assistance has benefits, but it amounts to little more than addressing the symptoms without curing the disease. The problem with housing in Vancouver — and in other cities — is that there is too little of it. And when there is too little of a commodity, the laws of supply and demand dictate that prices will rise. Providing rent assistance for low-income residents will only increase the amount of money chasing the few available apartments and homes, leading to additional price jumps.
