IowaWatch (https://www.iowawatch.org/tag/iowa-city-council/)
A local housing provider’s accusation that city officials were using discriminatory means of deciding where to locate new assisted housing has halted discussion and progress in Iowa City.
Many of those working to solve Iowa City’s need for more affordable housing agree that a regional policy for Coralville, North Liberty and other communities in addition to Iowa City would be beneficial.
Of 15 recommendations made to the Iowa City Council by a housing task force convened in 2005 the only one adopted by the city was to implement the use of a fair share matrix when determining where new affordable and assisted housing should be located.
For more than a decade, Iowa City has grappled with a chronic social problem – how to provide adequate and affordable housing for people who don’t earn enough to pay for a place to live. The dilemma seems to have stumped and perhaps frustrated everyone involved – city officials, housing providers, the school district administrators, developers and especially the people these programs are supposed to help.