FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — On June 17, just over two months after declaring a city-wide housing crisis and requesting applications for a task force, the City of Fayetteville announced its Housing Crisis Task Force members.
Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan, who first asked residents to apply for the task force in April, announced the nine members alongside plans to hold its first meeting on June 26 at 5:30 p.m. in room 326 of Fayetteville City Hall.
Jordan requested nine members "with expertise or a demonstrated interest in housing services, housing development, and city planning," and said the people who were selected "meet and exceed these criteria."
The Mayor's Housing Crisis Task Force members:
- Josh Carson
- Tommie Flowers Davis
- Bo Diamond
- Henry Ho
- Jessica Lewallyn
- Eleanor Parizek
- Robert Sharp
- Keaton Smith
- Nick Thorn
"We need to be looking at rezoning in a major way," Stafford said. "We need to be looking at our codes that haven't been updated since the 70s, and some go back to the 50s, and they're not working for where we're at now."
In early June, Fayetteville City Council Member Bob Stafford said, "I love our parks, we have great parks, but when I was running last fall not one person said to me, 'Bob, we need bocce ball.' What they said was, ‘Bob, my kids can't afford to live in the city.'"
The City of Fayetteville announced the task force will seek the following goals:
- Review available data regarding housing availability
- Recommend target metrics that would indicate success in maintaining a healthy housing market
- Identify barriers to the production of sufficient, safe, and affordable housing
- Propose specific policy recommendations to the city council within one year
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