The Clark County Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved the creation of a $160-million Community Housing Fund, which will help address the rising cost of purchasing or renting a home by supporting affordable housing programs and developments in Southern Nevada.
Since the onset of the pandemic two years ago, the County has made significant investments in short- and long-term housing solutions to prevent evictions and homelessness, and to boost the availability of affordable housing in our community. Last month, the County Commission approved plans to help fund seven affordable housing developments that would create more than 600 apartments for low-income seniors or families; and County leaders are in ongoing negotiations with a developer to build more than 100 for-sale affordable homes in the southwest valley.
The Community Housing Fund will be available to leverage partnerships and target investment opportunities to accelerate the development of permanent affordable housing for low- to moderate-income households. Programs that could be developed and supported through the fund include a gap-financing program for affordable housing development projects and a community land trust to support developments with affordable for-sale homes. The County is also planning to create an inventory of county-controlled land that could be used for community housing development.
County officials believe there is currently a shortage of more than 85,000 homes for residents considered extremely low-income and very low-income, which means they earn less than 50 percent of area median income. (For example, a very low-income family of four would earn less than $37,500 a year.) The lack of affordable housing in Southern Nevada greatly affects those working to escape homelessness and those at risk of becoming homeless. To address these issues, the commissioners have already provided significant additional funding to homeless outreach, shelter services and affordable housing opportunities in Southern Nevada.
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Clark County is a dynamic and innovative organization dedicated to providing top-quality service with integrity, respect and accountability. With jurisdiction over the world-famous Las Vegas Strip and covering an area the size of New Jersey, Clark is the nation’s 11th-largest county and provides extensive regional services to 2.3 million citizens and 45.6 million visitors a year (2019). Included are the nation’s 7th-busiest airport, air quality compliance, social services and the state’s largest public hospital, University Medical Center. The County also provides municipal services that are traditionally provided by cities to 1 million residents in the unincorporated area. Those include fire protection, roads and other public works, parks and recreation, and planning and development.