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Fayetteville City Council talks plans for a resolution addressing housing issues

The council decided to table two resolutions on the agenda last week dealing with housing issues as they wanted to get the language right.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Fayetteville City Council is still working to hash out a plan to address housing issues in the city. At last week's meeting, two resolutions were brought forward that dealt with the issue. Tonight, city leaders worked toward a resolution.

The first resolution would declare an official housing crisis in Fayetteville and create a special task force that would bring solutions to the city council when it comes to housing. 

The other resolution on the agenda was a resolution "summarizing the actions taken and anticipated to support housing production in the City of Fayetteville." This means it would state the things done so far to address housing concerns and establish a need for action moving forward.

"A housing crisis simply means that we have an emergency situation as it relates to on attainable housing" said Councilmember D'Andre Jones.  

The council voted 7-1 and 8-0 to table both resolutions for two weeks to allow the city attorney to draft a new resolution that would combine them. Tuesday, the council held a special work session to hear the new revised resolution and work out some language issues. 

The new resolution is titled a resolution to declare a housing crisis in the City of Fayetteville and to summarize the actions taken and participated to support housing production in the city. 

“I'm looking forward to the city council voting in the best interest of Fayetteville, not in the best interest of me, not in the best interest of politics, but in the best interest of the Fayetteville residents" Jones said. 

Most of the discussion during a work meeting on March 26 revolved around the formation of the task force. Councilors brought up concerns of how many people would be on the committee, how they would be chosen, and their backgrounds. 

I do believe that with this task force, we will be able to explore what other cities have done. Putting different individuals together like subject matter experts and individuals with the lived experiences together" said Jones. 

"My concern (would be) either a vague number or an ever-expanding number. There is the phrase there are too many cooks in the kitchen,” said Councilmember Sarah Moore. 

"It does not need to be all like-minded people. It needs to be a diverse version of people looking at the situation. And I think that is critical for success," said Councilmember Scott Berna. 

The council is expected to vote on the revised resolution at the next city council meeting on Tuesday, April 2. 

"They understand their challenges, the things that we can fix and the things that we can't. But one thing about it one thing, and it's resounding that I've heard from everybody, 'y'all are doing something, and that's what matters the most,'" Jones said.

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