Santa Fe Mayor Makes Affordable Housing Proposal

SANTA FE, N.M. —The cost of living is higher in Santa Fe than almost any other New Mexico city.
“Rents are going up year after year and people are being displaced,” Santa Fe Mayor Javier Gonzales said.
Gonzales is trying to change that.
Right now, developers have to include a certain percentage of affordable housing in any new rental property they build.
So projects have to be bigger if they want to profit.
But big buildings don’t fit into Santa Fe’s identity, forcing many developers to bypass the city.
Instead, the mayor wants to allow those developers to simply pay a fee to an affordable housing fund to pay for new apartments, and subsidize rent in existing ones for those who need it.
City officials have several locations in mind to build regular and affordable housing, and one of them is right in the center of town near the Railyard.
“We plan to work with neighborhoods, business owners and developers to identify areas where high density development can happen,” Gonzales said.
He said nearly 6,000 people spend half their income just on rent.
Gonzales hopes that having more apartments in town will drive prices down.
“Allow for more people who live outside of Santa Fe to move back to the city,” Gonzales said. “That’s good for our economy.”
By: Lida Alikhani (KOAT 7)
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