Officials, Advocates Respond To Report On Fairfax County's 'Luxury Subsidized Housing'

A report that details how much the county spends annually on rent and condo fees through its affordable housing programs has sent housing advocates and Fairfax County elected officials into a heated debate.

The two groups clashed when a preliminary report — requested by Supervisor Pat Herrity (Springfield) — was presented at the quarterly meeting of the Fairfax County's Financial and Program Audit Committee on Tuesday. 

It stated the county spent $1.47 million on condo and homeowners association fees for subsidized housing in condominiums in fiscal year 2010, and by May of this year, had already spent $1.485 million in fees in fiscal year 2011.

The report states

• Condo fees range in cost from $41 a month ($490 a year) to $567 a month ($6,800 a year). These fees cover maintenance costs, utility cost sharing and the provision and use of common areas such as pools, exercise rooms and playgrounds.
• The average payment per unit is $208 a month, or $2,500 a year. 
• These condo fees are paid for by the county through a variety of funds, with 80 percent coming from the general fund, the report said

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova defended the spending as part of a “critical strategy” meant to integrate subsidized homes into the community and disperse them across the county.

“Doing so prevents the creation of pockets of poverty," Bulova said in a statement released Tuesday.

Herrity referred to the spending as "luxury subsidized housing."

“The investment in these units could be so much better used to serve so many more people,” Herrity said at a press conference Tuesday. "We’re providing housing better than the majority of our tax-paying citizens have.”

The county manages approximately 3,624 housing units with more than 7,281 beds, including efficiency apartments, multi-bedroom apartments, townhouses, single-family homes and mobile home pad sites, within 75 properties.

Residents in these programs must fall within a certain income level for the size of their household and also must live or work in Fairfax County. Residents pay a minimum rent or 30 percent of their household income, whichever is greater, for subsidized housing.

It's not clear what that income limit is.

Millions in Condo Fees

The report said the practice of “encouraging a balanced distribution of affordable housing throughout the county” has been largely pursued in the last 30 years by purchasing condo units.

In her statement, Bulova said monthly fees paid for subsidized units go toward basic services and shared amenities, such as swimming pool. She said, 15 of the 41 condominium developments in which the county owns affordable units have swimming pools for their tenants.

“Fairfax County cannot and will not ask private companies to treat tenants differently based on income,” the statement continued. “If a child in an affordable unit wants to use the swimming pool with his neighbors, he should be allowed to. We also will not ask private companies to waive such fees and interfere with their ability to be successful. Fairfax County will also not tell these private companies which amenities they can provide in an open competitive market.”

A mix of affordable housing advocates at the Fairfax County Government Center on Tuesday expressed irritation at the closed nature of the press conference Herrity held, which was between Herrity, Thompson, members of Herrity’s staff and three reporters and was in a closed room. They said it was difficult to respond to Herrity’s allegations when they did not know what they were but spoke generally on the subject.

Al Smuzynski, who has been working in affordable housing issues for 35 years, also disagreed with Herrity’s assertion there was no incentive for residents of subsidized housing in condos to move out.

“On most affordable housing programs, when you earn more money, you pay more rent,” Smuzynski said. “As [residents] pay more and more, they’re likely to leave.” 

He also pointed out that when residents make more than a certain income, they are required to leave subsidized housing.

A Closer Look

Herrity citd a study released by the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy on Monday, which looked at three of the buildings termed “subsidized luxury housing” by the county.

President Michael Thompson said he looked at three specific property areas managed by the Department of Housing and Community Development through Fairfax County Public Housing and Fairfax County Rental Program: Stockwell Manor in Falls Church, Bryson at Woodland Park in Herndon, and Halstead at the Metro (near the Dunn-Loring Metro station), all of which have subsidized units within it. He stated in his study that some of the subsidized housing in Fairfax County is sold for about 16 percent of the cost of the “normal units” in the development they exist in.

For example, Stockwell Manor is a community of townhouses where homes are valued from $850,000 to more than $1 million. The affordable housing units are priced at $145,000.

“Although a little smaller than the ‘big homes’ and with less expensive interiors, these ‘affordable homes’ in high-priced neighborhoods are not an incentive for the subsidized homeowner to ever move out,” Thompson states in his study at one point.

“I don’t think your average person at a PTA meeting would want their money to pay for amenities they don’t have themselves,” Thompson said, particularly emphasizing buildings with subsidized housing that include swimming pools and gyms.

Possible Solutions

Herrity emphasized that fixes to the current Housing Authority program needed to be put into place soon, before the large amount of development planned for Tysons Corner gets under way.

Thompson offered two suggestions in his study for future revision of a policy, suggesting the government instead give money to Habitat for Humanity to build homes or making foreclosed homes into subsidized housing, which would keep property values in the neighborhood from going down while providing the family a place to live. 

“There are things you can do creatively to give deserving people a place to stay while benefiting the community,” Thompson said.

Thompson could not give any examples of jurisdictions that currently have such a “foster home” policy, as he termed it.

“We all like mixed-income communities,” Smuzynski said. “In Fairfax County, we build good quality housing that is attractive and energy efficient.”