VANCOUVER — Affordable Housing for Clark County announced the launch of its campaign to pass Clark County Charter Amendment 24, which will appear before voters this November.
Amendment 24 would require Clark County to prepare and publish a Housing Impact Analysis before adopting certain land-use and construction code changes that could affect residential housing. The analysis would examine potential impacts on housing supply, land availability, permitting and housing production costs, giving policymakers and the public additional information before decisions are made.
“A lot of things impact housing prices, including the cost of labor, materials and increased demand, and many of those factors are outside of our control. Regulation also contributes to the price of housing. My goal is to make sure our County Council has all the tools they need to assess the viability of future regulations,” said John Jay, a Clark County Charter Review Commissioner and sponsor of Amendment 24.
Clark County is already facing an estimated housing deficit of approximately 15,700 units, and current housing production isn't enough to close the gap. Long-range projections call for nearly 104,000 additional housing units by 2045, requiring production of approximately 4,767 homes per year. Over the previous decade, Clark County averaged only about 3,895 units annually. With housing supply already struggling to keep pace with demand, decisions that could affect the cost and production of new homes deserve careful analysis.
Under Amendment 24, a Housing Impact Analysis would use reasonably available data and accepted planning, economic and housing-market methodologies to examine the potential effects of qualifying county proposals. The analysis would identify potential impacts and make its assumptions and sources transparent.
The findings would be completed and made publicly available before the public hearing on the proposed regulation, giving residents and policymakers an opportunity to consider potential housing impacts as part of the public process.
Amendment 24 does not limit the County Council’s authority to adopt new regulations. Instead, it requires additional information about potential housing impacts to be available before qualifying decisions are made.
Affordable Housing for Clark County will spend the coming weeks educating voters about the measure and encouraging Clark County voters to vote APPROVED on Charter Amendment 24 this November.
Better information. Better housing decisions.
About Affordable Housing for Clark County
Affordable Housing for Clark County is a political committee supporting the passage of Clark County Charter Amendment 24, concerning a requirement for a Housing Impact Analysis.
