LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg has unveiled a new housing initiative that will increase and preserve the number of affordable housing options across the Metro over the next few years.
The My Louisville Home plan is expected to create and preserve 15,000 affordable housing units across the city by 2027. It also outlines policy actions by Metro Government to spur housing development in Louisville.
“More housing is needed all across Louisville,” Greenberg said, citing the need for at least 31,000 units for the lowest income households in the city. “My Louisville plan focuses on creating denser, clean, green corridors of opportunity across our city.”
Key pieces of the new initiative include:
- Revising the Land Development Code to remove regulatory barriers that hinder housing development and speed up the construction of new housing units.
- Increasing annual funding of the Louisville Affordable Housing Trust Fund (LAHTF) by $20 million. The LAHTF provides financial support for affordable housing projects across Louisville.
- Bringing more modular home construction to Louisville and creating long-term affordable housing homeownership opportunities.
- Promoting sustainable building.
- Incentivizing the renovation of vacant and abandoned properties for affordable housing.
Rising home prices
According to the mayor, the median home price in Louisville has risen 48% since 2016 while the median income has only risen by 29%.
“No one should have to pay more than 30% of their income for housing expenses,” he said. “That gap is one of the reasons why some people are facing, what we call, housing insecurity or why many people are even becoming homeless--including people who might have a place to work, but not a place to live. That is completely unacceptable in our city.”
Greenberg said this affordable housing plan has been called one of Louisville’s “biggest and boldest.”
“Adding more housing, and in particular housing that serves the needs of our lowest income residents, will help us address our homelessness and eviction crises that we’re dealing with in our city,” he said. “Housing is critical to our overall economy. Housing is economic development.”
The mayor added that although the 15,000 affordable housing units is an urgent priority right now, once that goal is met, city officials will continue to push for more affordable housing options in Louisville.
Although the final plan, and a dashboard to monitor the city’s progress, is expected to be released on Dec. 1, the mayor said officials will begin implementing some initiatives through Metro Government.
Greenberg said city officials will be taking public comments on the new initiative until Nov. 3.
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