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October 21, 2015The Case for More Housing in Burlington Communication Objective:To build a broad, tangible base of support around the need for more housing in the city of Burlington by convincing people that more housing will be good socially and economically for the city.Key Communication Points:Burlington needs more housing development to foster a safer, more affordable and prosperous city…Live, Work, Play.Proof Points:There is little available housing in Burlington: We have less than a 1% vacancy rate – nationally the rate is over 7%.The lack of availability makes housing unaffordable in Burlington:Only 12% of homes are owner occupied compared to a 63% national home ownership rateThe average sale price of a home is nearly 10x the average income.The cost of housing in Burlington is +50% higher than the national average{other benchmarks vs other US cities?}More housing will bring people to the downtown core, which in turn will bring safety and prosperity. More housing will decrease cost of housing for all – leading to more affordable housing.More housing is critical to the city’s growth and development – a lack of affordable housing is an issue which makes recruiting in larger businesses a challenge.Burlington has already completed and ‘approved’ an extensive analysis for how to revitalize the city. It’s called Plan BTV and has recently approved a Housing Action Plan. It’s time to move to action on the various components.Call to Action:Let your city council member know that you support More {affordable} Housing and for A Better Burlington. Show a critical mass of support - phone calls; email; tweets; editorial; petition.Road Map to City Center – Key Milestones:MOU to be signed by city council by end DecemberDesign Advisory Board reviews (x2-3)Develop & Review Board (x2-3)Act 250 Permit – believe this not to be necessary. Richard confirming.Vote for city funding on infrastructure – Nov 2016Construction start – Spring 2017Strategic Approach:Surround key decision makers and influencers at each key milestone (above) to show a critical mass of support for developing more housing in Burlington. Identify key influencers at each stage and who/what moves themDirect the community to “raise” their voice in support for More Housing for a Better Burlington.Prepare a communications campaign that simply articulates the case for more housing in Burlington and which asks people to show their support to city council members and review board members.Enable the community to show their support by providing easy access to council and board member telephone numbers, email addresses as well as an electronic petition site that enables people to automatically send a letter to their city council member expressing support for more housing in Burlington.An individual message will be sent for each petition signer.A cumulative list will be created that can be used to show the strength of support. Target is >4000 signatures or > 10% of the populationIdentify key, ideally unexpected, allies who support more housing in Burlington center. ie. Spectrum Youth Services; COTS; large employers like Seventh Generation, , Burton; etc.Ask them to send a letter themselves to targeted city council membersAsk them to send a letter to their supporters asking them to go to the site and sign petition/send a letter to city council membersAsk them to write op-eds for the Burlington Free Press and Seven Days.Hire consultant to map the position of city council members as well as those in oppositionSet up individual meetings with key City Council members to share position together with key allies. Hear concerns, express supportResources Needed- Communications campaign and website development; PR support Following up with M. Kanarick and C. Heimert for recommendations Consider KSVAppendix - Burlington Housing StatisticsWho are Burlington’s residents?88% of households in Burlington Rent20% of residents are families with children, while 36% of residents are families without children24% of residents are single person householdsWhat types of homes are in Burlington?Only 12% of homes are owner occupied56% of homes are market rate rentals29% of homes are subsidized rental units3% of homes are vacant and/or seasonal unitsRental StatisticsBased on the median income in Burlington a household of two could afford a rental price of $833 a month, but the average rate in Burlington for a one bedroom is $1,250.34% of all rental properties receive project-based assistance61% of all renters are paying at least 30% of their income on housingOn average renters spend 44% of their income on housingBurlington renters need to hold 1.6 full time, average waged jobs to afford a market rent of $1,250.There is only a 1% vacancy rateHomeowner StatisticsThe average sales price of homes in Burlington is $271,000The average income of individual downtown residents is only $30,000 a yearTo afford the average sale price of $271,000, a resident would need to make $81,000 a yearThe median Household income in Burlington is $62,022 a year. With this income buyers could afford a $225,000 house assuming:Their monthly debt is $300They make a down payment of 5%Their mortgage rate is 4%Their housing debt to income is 30%They have a credit score of 680Monthly payments on the house cost $1,581(PITI)As of January 2015, only 7 residential homes and 12 condos were available for $225,000 or less. Who owns the properties downtown?There are 9,600 rental units in Burlington owned by over 1,800 landlords1,321 landlords own 1 property190 landlords own 2 properties109 landlords own 3-5 properties 7 landlords own more than 15 propertiesWhat’s being built?Out of 487 new apartment complexes being built in Chittenden County in 2015, Burlington only received 32.Of the 222 multi-family units constructed downtown over the past decade, only 18 were built at market rate.Rates of new construction units (heat included):Studio: $1,150-$1,2001 Bedroom: $1,200-$1,4502 Bedroom: $1,500-$1,7753 Bedroom: $2,500Students: $725-$825 per bedroom plus gas and electricStudents living downtown3,000 undergrads live off campus and 2,200 of them are from UVMUVM has to house 60% of their students – Freshman & sophomores are required to live on campusUVM has 6,100 student beds currentlyOver the next five years, Mayor Weinberger wants to create 1,500 student-housing beds downtown.300 of those beds will be accounted for with Champlain College’s Eagle project82% of UVM students are interested in this downtown housing projectBurlington compared to other citiesAbout half of all renters nationwide are using more than 30% of their income to cover housing costs. 25% of renters have rent that exceeds 50% of their monthly pared to similarly sized “college towns,” Burlington has a dynamic downtown population.4,750 households reside downtown, representing 5.6% of total metropolitan households. Of the cities analyzed, Madison, WI is the only college town with a larger resident base of 9,700 households, which is 4% of its metropolitan area. Of the comparable cities, only three have a greater percentage of regional households living downtown – Iowa City, Ithaca, and Portsmouth. In Burlington the average renter needs an average of 1.6 full time jobs to afford the fair market rate of $1,029/monthNotable differences between Burlington and “next-tier” cities is the relationship between housing production and economic performance, it terms of job creation and cost of living. Burlington experienced a lower rate of housing production over the past decade, while the next tier cities were growing their housing stock 2-6 times faster. Burlington lost young professionals between 2000-2012, while the resident segment represented one of the top sources of growth in “next tier cities.”There is a significant difference in housing costs among these markets. Burlington residents pay significantly more of their income towards housing costs than residents living in Portland, Nashville, and Austin.(See attached presentations/ PDF’s) Vacancy Rates: ................
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