Common Council president Darius Pridgen in concerned about rents in the city getting too high. In order to get the message across, Pridgen is producing a series of informational videos that talk about current issues facing residents of the city. In this particular segment, Pridgen discusses the issue of gentrification and rising rents. He starts off by talking about Inclusionary Zoning. Then goes on to talk about a new resolution titled Affordable Rent and Housing (ARH), which was authorized by the Common Council.
ARH will see that a task force is established on the Common Council, which will “work with the best minds in the community that are experiencing rising rents.” Those people will advise the Common Council in ways to control the situation. Pridgen states that while rents are doubling in parts of the city, salaries are not doubling. Therefore, he’s looking for ways to legally incentivize lower rents, and other ways to deal with the issue. Some form of rent control perhaps? Land deals with developers? Inclusionary Zoning (a certain percentage of development dedicated to mid and low income housing) is on the way. Still, Pridgen feels that more needs to be done to combat the rising rents.