Common Council votes to reauthorize anti-displacement housing policy

Yesterday (Tuesday, October 31) the Common Council voted to approve a three-year reauthorization of the Anti-Displacement Neighborhood Preference Policy to be applied to eligible affordable and mixed-income housing developments receiving financial assistance from the City of Milwaukee.

The resolution – Council file #230878 – sponsored by Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs, ensures that the policy will continue to be applied in neighborhoods identified as being at risk of displacement, with the goals of preserving choice for existing neighborhood residents and prioritizing equity for historically disadvantaged groups. The move ensures the policy will be applied through December 31, 2026.

At the request of the Council (and driven by Alderwoman Coggs and Aldermen Russell W. Stamper, II and José G. Pérez), the Department of City Development (DCD) developed an Anti-Displacement Plan for Neighborhoods Surrounding Downtown Milwaukee and presented that Plan to the Common Council during March 2018.

The Plan recommended developing a companion Anti-Displacement Neighborhood Preference Policy that would provide a limited preference for existing low-income neighborhood residents to assist them in accessing newly created affordable housing units in City of Milwaukee developments receiving city assistance in their neighborhoods.\

Council file #190401, adopted on July 30, 2019, created the Preference Policy and authorized its utilization in conjunction with affordable and mixed-income housing developments receiving financial assistance from the City. The Preference Policy was reauthorized through December 31, 2023 via Council file #211079 and designates 20 percent of the affordable housing units receiving city assistance within a development to be prioritized for existing residents of the zip code where the development is located within the eligible zip codes of 53204, 53208, 53212, and 53233.

The Preference Policy has been applied to a number of recent developments that have received City financial assistance and are currently in the construction or lease-up stages and notes that DCD anticipates that a number of additional eligible projects in Preference Policy zip codes will advance in the near future.

“The Preference Policy has proven to be a greatly beneficial tool as we work to help long-time residents avoid displacement and remain and thrive in their neighborhoods. We want to thank our colleagues for their support as we continue to work collaboratively to fight for residents so they can remain in the neighborhoods they helped to shape,” Council members Coggs, Stamper and Pérez said.

Co-sponsors of file #230878 are Council members Russell W. Stamper, II, José G. Pérez, Michael J. Murphy, Jonathan Brostoff, Robert J. Bauman, JoCasta Zamarripa, Mark Chambers, Jr., and Larresa Taylor.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.