FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan is encouraging Fayetteville residents to submit a statement of interest to serve on the Mayor's Housing Crisis Task Force.
The Fayetteville City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday, April 2, to pass a resolution that declared a housing crisis in the city.
Included in that resolution is "the creation of a collaborative ad hoc committee to recommend strategies for increasing the supply of housing and exploring innovative approaches to address housing insecurity," according to a press release from the city.
"We're asking our citizens to volunteer, and to go to work to roll up their sleeves, and to help one another to help our citizens alleviate this crisis," said D'Andre Jones, Ward 1 position 2, who brought the idea of a housing crisis to the city. "Hearing these stories, individuals in my community that I represent every day, facing the challenge of buying a loaf of bread, buying medicine, to paying rent; that shouldn't be."
The task force will be seven to 11 members who serve for one calendar year. The city is encouraging residents to apply who are "interested in recommending approaches to supporting a healthy housing market and identifying regulatory and market barriers to housing production," according to the press release.
Both city councilmembers and the community have emphasized the importance of bringing lots of different perspectives and backgrounds to the task force.
"Individuals who have a shared interest in housing, and some expertise, we need individuals from various backgrounds, because we know that this crisis impacts individuals from all across the board," Jones said.
"A task force that needs to be both lived and learned," said Dr. Kevin Fitzpatrick, a sociology professor at the University of Arkansas. "The folks that sit on that have to be not just experts, because they have a title behind their name or a degree."
"I'm really hoping that we see some renters on that task force," said Ana Hurley, Big View Director for Circles NWA." I'm also hoping to see people who have been in the development space for many, many years, because they do bring in expertise that is really needed."
Hurley encouraged the importance of renters because she said they make up half the population in Fayetteville.
"So affordable housing is one side of the issue. The other side of the issue is lack of renters' protections in Arkansas as a whole," Hurley said. "I think no matter how affordable rent is, if you're not being given safe and healthy housing, then the affordability is kind of 1/3 of the issue."
"It's important to have somebody there who's a low-income renter as much as it is to have a policy expert or a real estate developer," Fitzpatrick said.
Jones said this was another step in the right direction and taking into account the concerns the community he represents faces.
"We were elected to create opportunities, not barriers, so humanity can thrive," Jones added.
The deadline to submit a statement of interest is 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 30. The city is hoping to have the mayor-appointed task force together by the end of June. The form to submit can be found here.
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