February 9, 2004

The following is a letter from Douglas M. Bibby, President of the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC), in support of the U.S. Conference of Mayors five-point 2004 presidential election year agenda, Keeping America Strong. The agenda was released at the 72nd Winter Meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors by U.S. Conference of Mayors President Hempstead Mayor James A. Garner. NMHC is a member of the Mayors Business Council and the Council for Investment in the New American City.

The National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) applauds the U.S. Conference of Mayors for your comprehensive five-point plan to revitalize and strengthen our metro areas. We appreciate the opportunity to comment on these proposals, and hope to broaden your perspective a little as you contemplate what you, as the leaders of our metro areas across the country, can do to accomplish your goals.

First, we agree whole-heartedly that our nation needs to invest in modernizing the infrastructure of our metro areas. But in doing so, we need to think about what puts the most pressure on our roads, sewers, and utilities. Every subdivision of single-family homes you approve invariably pushes out the boundaries of your metro area, in the process consuming precious green space; requires new roads, sewers, utilities, police and fire protection; creates more sprawl, congestion, and pollution; and dramatically increases energy consumption. So let's make sure we invest wisely in infrastructure that provides for a healthier total community rather than pockets of that metro area. Density can be your friend in this regard.

Second, we need to create jobs in our economy, and you as mayors want to attract professionals, particularly educated, skilled workers to your metro areas. But you won't be successful in attracting these desirable workers if you can't house them in the variety of housing choices they seek — - and that means apartments must be in the mix. Diverse workers are drawn to metro areas that have a range of cultural, retail, recreational, and housing opportunities downtown or at least close to their jobs.

Third, public/private partnerships are indeed vital to revitalizing our metro areas, and they are crucial in the effort to create housing that is affordable to the full range of workers in your metro economy. That means that policymakers, citizens groups, developers, and environmentalists need to come together as a team to forge solutions. Your job as mayors is to ensure that your local land-use and zoning policies are incentivizing the full range of development you need, and, where necessary, the density that must be encouraged in order to ensure that green space is preserved while at the same time maximizing housing choices. You are absolutely on target to single out brownfields for potential development, and I would add aging infill areas to the mix. Both need incentives from you to be economically feasible for the developers, but the payback to the metro area is huge — and hugely rewarding to the eye.

And finally, in the area of health care, we can't forget the health care workers and where they live. Too often these critical workers are forced to live far from their jobs because there are no viable choices for them in or near downtown areas. Here again we need you mayors to provide some incentives for developers to produce workforce housing where it's needed and here also, density can be your friend.

We at the National Multi Housing Council look forward to working with the U.S. Conference of Mayors to revitalize and strengthen your metro areas through balanced housing policies that create choices and opportunities for the full range of your citizens.

Douglas M. Bibby
President, National Multi Housing Council