up 365 ethics presentation
TRANSCRIPT
Where Have All The Affordable Rental Houses Gone?Kangjun Choi
Who am I?
•A planning director in Farmers Twig, Texas
Famers Twig, Texas?
• 200,000 population
• Located in the center of Texas
• An old neighborhood near the new city hall• Used car dealerships• Aged houses, but they are well kept and affordable• Cracked streets along the tree-lined avenues, but they are
serviceably patched
So?• The planning commissions asked the housing & community
development department to
• Improve traffic circles and neighborhood entry-ways• Rebuild the streets and provide new names• Raze old houses and replace them with expensive houses• Transform the old neighborhood into an affluence enclave• Increase property taxes • Spend $1.8 million on the project over the next three years
Problem?• The housing & community development department needs
to buy old houses in the old neighborhood and some residents are not willing to sell their houses.
• The city will arrange for low-cost renovation loans for residents who want to stay.
• The mayor wants to enforce the cleanliness codes.
Ethical Issues• Should I endorse the project that may reduce the affordable
housing?
• Which one do I need to choose? Economic revitalization with high tax base or affordable housing preservation with decaying inexpensive houses?
• Should I urge equal enforcement of other codes to expand choices and opportunities for the disadvantaged citizens?
What can I do for the project?• I can write a sensitive staff report about the necessity of
improving the tax base and not recommend in favor of the project.
• I can advocate the project and discuss Famers Twig’s housing affordability, the project’s future impacts on housing choices, and alternatives for negative consequences in a staff report.
• I can recommend against the project until there is a companion local program in place to replace any lost affordable housing.
As American Institute of Certified Planner, I need to
• Pay attention to the inter-relatedness of decisions.• Provide full & clear planning information to citizens and
governmental decision-makers.• Give and expand choices and opportunities to affect the
development plans for all residents of Farmers Twig while urging the alteration of the policies.
• Pursue good environmental design while conserving the heritage of the built environment.
• Have special concern for the long-range consequences of the project.
What if I write a sensitive report?
• It will be unethical because I will be silent on the critical test of balancing competing interests.
• My decision will have little or no impact because the planning commission already decided to push the project.
What if I go against the project?
• It will be ethical because it will not exclude low-income residents from Famers Twig.
• The low-income residents who want to stay don’t have to take the low-cost renovation loans.
What if I advocate the project?• Even though it’s not a perfect solution, it will ethical overall.
• The project will be initiated and can trigger the private investments in individual homes.
• The investment can help to conserve the heritage of the built environment.
• The expensive houses will diminish the availability of affordable houses.
My final decision
• I will write a staff report which advocates the project and encourages the creation of a companion local program that replaces any lost affordable housing for low-income residents.
• I will encourage the housing & community development department to include some studio apartments in the project to offset the lost affordable housing.