Flagstaff Declares Affordable Housing Emergency

Tackling a long-standing challenge, members of the Flagstaff City Council are officially describing a lack of affordable housing as a city-wide emergency. 

That description is the heart and soul of a resolution approved by the council requiring city staff between now and next fall to come up with a plan to increase the affordable housing stock in Flagstaff.

That plan, as envisioned by the council, is expected to more fully explain Flagstaff’s incentives efforts to spur affordable housing construction, while also tackling the sensitive issue of resident resistance to such projects.

More specifically, the resolution states that city will launch a public outreach effort to “educate the community about the critical role affordable housing plays in a thriving community and combating ‘Not in My Backyard’ opposition to housing and affordable housing.”

The resolution passed by the council is particularly designed to put all previous Flagstaff affordable housing city policies into one reader-friendly document.

According to city documents, some 49% of all households in Flagstaff are currently classified as low income, with nearly 22,400 residents living in households that are regarded as “cost-burdened,” meaning that more than 30% of their income goes to housing costs.
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A recent survey conducted by the city indicates that due to the lack of affordable housing options a large 43% of respondents indicated they had had plans to move out of the city in the next several years.

​By Garry Boulard

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