The first Big Tent Topic discussion hosted by the Eureka Springs Carnegie Library was July 28, with the topic of affordable housing. Twenty-seven individuals, in addition to the moderator Kelly Evans, assistant librarian, came together under a large tent in the library garden. The series is the result of a Libraries Transforming Communities Grant funded by the American Library Association.
“We want to start the dialogue,” Evans said in her opening. “I want the best for all of us. I want us to be able to live in this town where we work so hard. I want us to be able to find housing. I want families coming here to work. We need workers. I want them to have a place to live, to raise their families. And we just seem to have a lot of activity going on… we need to get some momentum going.”
The issues brought up by group members included concerns of business owners in need of workers, property owners, those who need but have no affordable housing options, and others.
Suzie Bell brought up the fact that Arkansas has no implied standard of habitability for rental housing. Landlords have no obligation to provide any specific living conditions, which many agreed seems unreasonable.
Suggestions were made about “wasted” buildings in the city that have been torn down but might have been repurposed. The proliferation of Airbnbs and similar short-term rentals was discussed as possibly taking away property that might otherwise be used for permanent residents to buy or rent. The possibility of converting existing hotels and motels, wholly or in part, to affordable long-term rentals was brought forward, along with the need for more low-income apartments and more apartment complexes in general. Adding space for more mobile homes was suggested, as was the city possibly annexing land outside city limits. Annexing such property would allow sewer and water to be available so developers might build housing.
There was general agreement that affordable housing has become more pressing at the same time the pandemic has had other effects on the community. Library Director April Griffith, author of the grant proposal, said she hoped to provide a means for, “Getting people talking and then trying to help provide the means for getting some momentum and keeping people organized.”
Griffith said that remote meetings have become vital during the pandemic, but many residents lack internet service and that additional outdoor, in-person meetings will be needed. She said she believes strength in the community will be integral to preparedness to confront other challenges, such as climate change. “There’s a lot to talk about,” she said, adding that both property owners and renters need to be heard.
Interviewed following the event, Dr. Dan Bell of ECHO Village remarked that, “One word that I didn’t hear used was ‘crisis,’ and we truly have a housing crisis in Eureka Springs. It will affect the entire city in several ways, including our economy over time.
“There were several really good solutions discussed. Quite honestly, I think we need to implement virtually all of them. This would include finishing low rent housing projects like ECHO Village, building multi-family apartment complexes, modifying existing motels and hotels into apartment complexes, building nice starter homes for families, and even considering an upscale trailer park done right.”
Bell noted that cities like Breckenridge, Colo., when faced with employee and housing shortages, were able to bring business leaders together to form investment groups to build affordable housing units; the result was a win-win, with more available workers who could afford to live in town as an added benefit of working there.
While the lack of affordable housing has several causes, there is attention to the increasing degree to which property owners are choosing to rent to short-term to tourists rather than engage in long-term leases to locals.
Resident Rain Equine emphasized the perils of “overtourism,” as described in a recent documentary, Crowded Out, which uses Venice, Italy, as an example of the newly coined term. In the short film residents complain that, among other things, their city no longer has enough flats to house locals because of all the short-term housing for tourists.
“I want us to exist for our community, not just for commerce,” Equine said.
Evans plans another such topic meeting at 6 p.m. August 18, under the tent in the library garden. “I can’t just talk about it anymore… we want results,” she said.
This will never be resolved, as much as the good intentions are there. So sad, but true.