Housing is often prioritized by Springfield City Council members, but how to add it to the official list of City Council priorities is up for discussion.
Conversation began in earnest at the City Council’s Jan. 30 lunch meeting, and is set to continue at a half-day retreat at a later date. Tuesday’s meeting drew a crowd of members from Springfield Tenants Unite and leaders from other housing-oriented organizations.
Several of Springfield’s current priorities — quality of place, economic vitality and public safety — contain objectives pertaining to housing and neighborhoods.
Councilmember Monica Horton, an outspoken advocate of initiatives to improve housing and increase home ownership in Springfield, orchestrated an interactive exploration of what a standalone city government housing priority might look like.
Horton’s proposed description reads: “A dedication to improve all existing housing stock by closing the gaps in code enforcement and expanding property reinvestment incentives offered by the City of Springfield, while also increasing housing options and access.”
Council members consider scope and objectives
Despite the in-depth discussion needed to adopt a potential housing priority, Mayor Ken McClure encouraged council members to keep the focus broad, noting that the detail of a nuisance property ordinance they approved unanimously in August 2023 was a “mistake.”
“Priorities by their very nature are broad, they are not detailed,” McClure said.
While there was some discourse over Horton’s objectives accompanying the proposed priority, council members were generally in agreement over the drafted description.
“I think that this is as 30,000 foot level as it can possibly be,” Horton said.
While some of Horton’s proposed objectives — like expanding property reinvestment initiatives and updating zoning codes — are already underway, others — such as adopting a rental inspection program and advocating for the elimination of source of income discrimination — require further discussion.
“I think the objectives themselves need some opportunity for input,” McClure said.
Raising rate of home ownership in Springfield
Several council members suggested home ownership be included in a housing priority, or at least as an objective of one. Councilmember Heather Hardinger emphasized that home ownership opportunities should be provided to current renters as well as new residents.
Horton is hopeful that home ownership — which is currently about 41% in Springfield — will reach 50% by 2030. She noted that the City Council had no control over wages and that the priority should also focus on improving the quality of rental housing.
“They’re not going anywhere and they provide important housing options,” Councilmember Brandon Jenson agreed. “I do believe that we need to be incentivizing home ownership to the greatest degree possible.”
Councilmember Craig Hosmer pitched a method to incentivize development of homes on empty lots, which he says could address public safety issues and potentially boost home ownership. Councilmember Matthew Simpson agreed, and suggested that incentive could come in the form of pre-approved plans to build on those lots.
Much of the input provided by council members and in Horton’s proposal were derived from housing-related recommendations in Springfield’s comprehensive plan Forward SGF, a recently-completed citywide housing study and work that has already been done to address nuisance properties.
Exercise to guide further discussion of objectives
While discussion of a housing priority yielded vocal input from council members, a non-vocal exercise set the stage for a later retreat. Horton asked her fellow council members to respond to three prompts — which were organized onto poster boards — and indicate which of their colleagues’ responses they agreed with the most.
The three questions read:
- A City Council housing priority must have (blank) in the description.
- A City Council housing priority must have (blank) as an objective.
- A City Council housing priority should not have (blank) as an objective.
While responses overlapped on home ownership and affordability, input varied on regulation, code enforcement and other public policies, which set up a framework for future discussion.
