Background
In 2015, RISC succeeded in getting the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund funded. Over $9 million was invested between 2015 and 2021, which allowed for 935 units of affordable housing. However, this isn’t nearly enough. When we started our affordable housing campaign again in 2020, our research showed there was a shortage of 25,000 units of affordable housing. In addition, only 16 of those units were for households making under 30% AMI (Area Median Income). In January of 2023, the Partnership for Affordable Housing put out a report that this shortage had grown to 39,000.
The lack of affordable housing has resulted in an eviction crisis – catapulting Richmond to #2 on a national ranking of cities’ eviction rates.
In short, we have an affordable housing crisis in our city.
City council members commit to address affordable housing crisis at our Nehemiah Action 2024.
Our Solution
In August 2020, we decided that what we want is twofold:
- A dedicated stream of funding for the Trust Fund, of at least $10 million annually.
- At least 1/3 of the funds going toward units for those households earning the least amount of money (30% AMI or less)
Where We Are
In January 2021, because we consistently turned out large numbers of organized people, RISC got the city to pass an Ordinance creating a dedicated stream of funding for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF). The Ordinance was designed so that the AHTF would reach an allocation of $10 million by 2027, and continue to grow.
However, in Fall 2022, we learned that the city was not following its own Ordinance (read the news article covering their non-compliance here). To address this pressing issue, we exercised the power we had been building, and gathered RISC members to attend four City Council meetings.
On March 28, 2023, the day of our Nehemiah Action, Mayor Stoney called a press conference, declaring affordable housing a crisis, despite having put $0 in the Trust Fund in his proposed budget that had come out a few weeks prior. That evening, 4 Councilmembers attended our Nehemiah Action (Robertson, Lynch, Addison, and Lambert), along with 1,172 RISC members. Councilmember Robertson committed to submit a budget amendment that would put $10 million yearly in bond revenue into the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. The other 3 Councilmembers present pledged their support. Robertson followed through, and on May 8th, the budget passed with $10 million in it for the Trust Fund. Verbal commitments have been made that $10 million yearly in bond revenue will go into the Trust Fund for the next 4 years.
At our Nehemiah Action in 2024, we asked Councilmembers present (Robertson, Lynch, Addison, and Lambert) to ensure the 6 million dollars owed from the Dedicated Stream from Fiscal Years 2022 and 2023 also be put in the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. All four in attendance committed to doing so. However, in the following weeks, the administration refused.
We are still facing an affordable housing crisis in Richmond. Currently, our goals are to:
- Monitor the expenditure of the Trust Fund dollars, and ensure that ⅓ of the funds are spent on households earning 30% AMI and below.
- Foster the political will of the city officials to follow the Ordinance passed in 2021.
Our Mayoral Candidates Forum will be held on August 29th, and we'll hear where our candidates stand on this issue. We hope to secure their commitment to following the Ordinance, which will ensure funding for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING CAMPAIGN RESOURCES
Click here to view a video from June 2021 capturing the story of this campaign.
Click here to view the Affordable & Healthy Homes portion of our Nehemiah Action 2023.
Click here to view the Affordable & Healthy Homes portion of our Nehemiah Action 2024