COLUMN: Carmel Hopkins

Affordable housing is a problem in Nevada. And it's a problem for the entire state, not merely in the densely populated areas of Southern Nevada and Reno/Carson City/Sparks.

A report published in September 2002 stated that a Nevada family must make more than $15.50 per hour to afford the rent for a two-bedroom apartment.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition, which issued the report, uses federal Housing and Urban Development standards that state housing is affordable when it requires 30 percent or less of a person's gross income.

That ranks Nevada as 41st nationally.

Therefore, a group of concerned citizens is gathering Aug. 18-19 at Harrah's in Reno for Blueprint to Building Stronger Communities, Nevada's Affordable Housing Conference.

The conference involves more than concerned citizens; it includes a gathering of concerned companies, both for-profit and nonprofit.

Day One involves a pre-conference workshop (limited to 40 participants) on the topic Affordable Housing/Financing 101. That will be followed by an affordable housing tour of the Reno area, then a showcase reception sponsored by Bank of America, Citibank Nevada and U.S. Bank. Reno Mayor Bob Cashell will be addressing attendees.

Day Two will be be kicked off with video remarks by U.S. Sen. Harry Reid from Washington, D.C., according to Earlie King, neighborhood programs officer for the city of Las Vegas.

Concurrent sessions will feature panelists involved with land trusts, affordable housing in rural communities, faith-based organizations and housing development, special needs housing, sustainable design for affordable housing, remedies and solutions to predatory lending, energy and conservation, smart growth vs. suburban sprawl, and single-family development.

Sounds as though it'll be a fun time, doesn't it? Perhaps not, but it will be time that should prove to be invaluable to the lower-income citizens of Nevada.

In the interest of disclosure, I should mention that I'm involved in two groups that will be represented at the conference: the Community Housing Resource Board, a group that educates the public about fair housing issues; and the Economic Opportunity Board advisory committee. So, affordable housing is an issue that is near and dear to my heart.

During the lunch Aug. 19, where James Carr of Fannie Mae will speak, a presentation will honor the 10th anniversary of the Affordable Housing Resource Council. AHRC founded the first conference and partnered to put it on with the Nevada Housing Coalition (which it helped found and coordinate).

This is the first statewide Affordable Housing Conference. This year, the committee consisted of representation from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, community organizations, perhaps a dozen financial institutions, and state and local agencies, according to Jonnie Pullman, executive director of AHRC.

There are a ton of agencies involved and it would be cumbersome to list them all, but I do want to mention the other companies who are putting up the funds to make this possible: Charles Schwab Bank, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, BankWest of Nevada and HUD.

Last, but not least, I will mention Harrah's, which has been so generous to our lower income residents and is offering conference attendees a rate on rooms. Harrah's Entertainment Inc. has designated $800,000 for an assisted living facility for more than 100 seniors on fixed incomes in Las Vegas and donates more than $1 million annually to Meals on Wheels to feed homebound seniors.

Anyone interested in attending this important conference can download the registration form at www.frbsf.org/news/events/nvhousing.pdf. Any problems, contact the very helpful Mary Malone at The Fed, (415) 974-2871.

Carmel Hopkins, real estate product manager for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Las Vegas Sun, can be reached at 380-4574. Her e-mail address is Carmel_Hopkins@ lasvegasnewspapers.com. Snail mail is P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125.

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