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I am writing to respond to reactionary language here in response to the mayor’s recent State of the City address.
Mayor Learnard brought up Affordable Housing, which unfortunately is becoming another wedge term/issue despite us all needing an attainable place to live.
I usually respond directly to my elected/appointed officials, and avoid the vulnerability that comes with these kinds of letters that can spin into conspiracies. However, I wanted to publicly thank her for her bravery in calling out issues that impact so many of us, our families, and our friends.
Houses are getting more unaffordable for many income brackets and will impact future savings and quality of life for people starting careers, low-income workers, families, and seniors.
There is currently a house for sale down the street from me that is 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and 1,300 square feet (possibly “flipped” by an investor) for $425,000 — pretty much the price my husband and I paid for our larger house when we moved here almost 6 years ago. That is an $80,000 down payment and over $2,000 per month for mortgage before utilities/taxes.
In thinking of all of the households that might need/want that size house to be close to jobs or family here in PTC, that smaller house may be out of reach.
If someone buys the house as a rental, roommates might be able to make it work. (PTC allows up to 3 people unrelated by family to live with each other, so the Golden Girls or 4 college-friends would be illegal even with a bigger house).
However, many families with young children have childcare bills and lots of seniors are on fixed-incomes, putting people in a position of paying a huge part of their budget for the roof over their head and just getting by (instead of being able to save for college/training, retirement, a rainy day).
Many of us have not had these prices to contend with, even a few years ago, and communities need to be proactive as a large segment of the population ages and young people struggle to become self-sufficient.
This problem is everywhere, and I believe it is unfair to get negative about other jurisdictions providing housing options that support PTC or Fayette workers (e.g., teachers that can only afford living in Henry County, or fast-food employees that need a nearby apartment in Fayetteville).
There are ways to focus on our built environment to add more options to live and work in a sustainable way (e.g., a mix of well-designed housing types, efficient use of land, quality rental accommodations).
I support decision-makers here and in our state working to address runaway housing costs for hard-working people.
Stephanie Wagner
Peachtree City, Ga.
[EDITOR’S NOTE: Wagner wrote an earlier letter to the editor during the city council elections campaigns endorsing mixed-use developments for consideration in Peachtree City.]
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