On the heels of voting 5-0 to undo exclusionary zoning, the Arlington County Board moved on to the 2024 budget. Challenges for this year’s budget include less revenue because of high vacancy rates in commercial real estate, the rise in interest rates and the managers’ desire to focus on employee compensation. In the managers’ initial budget proposal, funding for the Affordable Housing Investment Fund (AHIF), which provides loans to build new affordable housing, was substantially reduced. VOICE leaders weighed in on this reduction and several other housing issues.
The County Board listened and reversed most of the proposed cuts to AHIF, bringing total investment in AHIF to $20.5 million. We know that much more is needed to bring true housing affordability to Arlington. We will continue to work on increasing this fund and act on the many other avenues needed to make Arlington a place where all have an affordable home.