I am disappointed to learn that the Clark County Council has declined to rezone the reach property in Maple Tree. The rezoning would have created 40 additional units of affordable housing.
This is certainly a loss for the families that won’t have housing and their absence is a loss for Clark County. Housing is becoming more expensive because supply isn’t keeping up with demand. The housing supply can’t possibly increase like it needs to if policymakers create unnecessary barriers to growth.
Councilmembers framed the issue as one where space for housing competes with space for jobs. This is a false choice. The council can zone land for mixed-use developments, allowing the same acreage to generate both jobs and units of housing. When people move to Vancouver, they bring their demand for goods and services with them, growing the local job pool and customer base. Restrictive zoning stifles economic growth.
Councilor Medvigy stated that he hesitates to change zoning unless there is a compelling reason. Well councilor, the compelling reason is that many working-class families can no longer afford to live in Vancouver. If the council believes this is a crisis, they need to start acting like it.
