Anti-Displacement PolicyAims to keep rent affordable in Louisville neighborhoods
- koohmar3
- Sep 2, 2023
- 2 min read
LOUISVILLE, Ky. —
Jessica Bellamy with the Louisville Tenants Union says change is needed.
“With rent going up there is no place to go, so it would mean homelessness, jail or death,” said Bellamy.
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She and several other supporters are advocating for what would be the city’s first anti-displacement policy. The ordinance would put measures in place to prevent using Metro resources to build new residential developments that could eventually lead to people being pushed out.
“This is meant to be a wall to protect folks to be able to stay in their community for the long-term and to make sure the resources that are coming into our community, instead of subsidizing the developers that want to increase their profits it should be going into the housing and businesses that are already there," said Bellamy.
Metro Council Member Jecorey Arthur is one of the sponsors of the ordinance. He says Sheppard Square in the Smoketown neighborhood and Beecher Terrace in the Russell neighborhood are examples of properties that were demolished, rebuilt and led to unaffordable prices.
“We need to protect the most vulnerable amongst us,” said Arthur.
Kumar Rashad, who is also a sponsor, says that starts with forming a Louisville Metro anti-displacement commission, which he says would be a part of keeping affordable housing affordable in the metro.
“HUD says no one should be paying more than 30 percent of their income on housing, and when people are paying more than that, then they're risking not having food or not having their electric bill paid,” said Rashad.
Arthur said while historically black neighborhoods have been particularly impacted by developments that lead to displacement, this legislation would benefit the entire city.
“I'm hoping people can live longer because they can stay in their homes longer, and they can afford their homes for much longer,” said Arthur.
The ordinance is expected to be discussed again at the next Planning and Zoning Committee meeting.
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