Voters, city taking steps to address affordable housing crisis in Omaha

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Last Tuesday, metro voters overwhelmingly approved a change to Omaha’s city charter, that would require the city to address the affordable housing development crisis in the metro.

The charter amendment passed with over 99,000 voters supporting it, and just over 34,000 voting against it.

The good news is the city won’t have to start from scratch; city planners have been working on an Affordable Housing Action Plan for months. That plan is set to be voted on by City Council members in December.

“It’s just really encouraging to know we are in alignment and we know we’re going to get more done if we’re in it together,” says Meridith Dillon with Front Porch Investments.

FPI was created last year in an attempt to connect organizations and public and private stakeholders who want to solve the city’s housing crisis.

Dillon says the city’s plan is a good first step.

In September and October, the city introduced the plan to community members and got feedback.

“What’s important is the community’s voice is reflected in that report and I think a lot of great strategies came out, we’re really looking forward to the implementation committee that we’ve heard will be created in order to ensure the strategies in the report are executed and that we move forward on those,” Dillon adds.

Following a directive from Omaha voters last week, the city is adding an action plan to address housing affordability in the city.

The plan looks at ways that local policies and rules can be changed to better support low and middle-income renters and homeowners, as well as developers that are creating new affordable housing.

Another step the city is taking to address the housing crisis is through American Rescue Plan Act funds. In August, the city announced that $20 million will go towards maintaining current affordable housing structures and developing more.

Front Porch Investments was about to match that $20 million through philanthropic donations from private stakeholders.

But Dillon points out that these funds won’t last long, and it’s imperative we use the Affordable Housing Action Plan to streamline funding in the future.

“We’d love to also see in the future, a dedicated stream of funding for affordable housing,” she said. “We know the cost of the problem is much greater, so we have to really be focused on continued investment if we’re going to create sustainable solutions.”

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