The mayoral race in the City of Gainesville is contested between two candidates as part of the 2021 municipal election cycle, so AccessWDUN asked the two candidates to give their thoughts on four topics, the first of which being housing in the city.
Current Gainesville City Council member Sam Couvillon, who is a candidate in the mayoral race, said the current housing situation in the city is tricky, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think homeowners are very happy to see the increase in value that has been shown here in Gainesville over the last two years,” Couvillon said. “The tricky part of that is the entry point for a first-time homebuyer is getting to where it’s hard to be able to buy a house, to be able to buy your first house.”
Couvillon said while he believes it is hard for the local municipality to solve the issue of increasing home values for first-time home buyers, the availability of affordable housing is a different situation.
The city council has worked with the Gainesville Housing Authority to provide more affordable housing in the city, such as the Walton Summit.
“The city has also applied for CHIP grants, and … we’ve received federal grants and we have built 10 to 12 homes along MLK, Summit Street and Davis Street,” Couvillon said. “These are first-time homebuyers that we qualify, and it’s based off of a level of income, but it helps somebody who otherwise would not be able to buy a house.”
Moving forward, if elected as mayor of Gainesville, Couvillon said he is committed to pursuing proposals and grants like those recently approved by the city council.
“I currently serve on the House Authority board, it is something that I’m very interested in,” Couvillon said. “If we’re going to have the type of workforce that we need, we need housing for people who are going to live here. It’s definitely something that I’m committed to.”
Devin Pandy, who previously ran against Congressman Andrew Clyde for Georgia’s ninth congressional district seat, is also a candidate in the mayoral race.
Pandy said he believes housing affordability is a major issue in Gainesville.
“Almost half of the residents here can only afford $650 a month in rent and utilities before becoming house burdened according to HUD’s definition of being house burdened,” Pandy said.
While there are new apartments and condos which have recently been built in the city, Pandy said he does not consider many of these residences to be affordable.
“Those apartments, those condos, they are, from what I understand, starting at $1,300,” Pandy said. “That’s twice what half the city can afford.”
Pandy said he has several things he would like to see the city do about housing affordability if he is elected as mayor.
“The first thing that I think we need to do is define exactly what affordability is,” Pandy said. “We need a community standard on exactly what is affordable. Another thing we can do is establish a standard operating procedure for reviewing proposed developments … so that we can measure the impact on affordability and on existing communities as well.”
Pandy said he would also pursue a review of city codes, specifically, he would like to see the codes adjusted to allow for accessory dwelling units.
Lastly, Pandy said he believes the city should look at how to help the homeless population.
“One of the things that I will be pushing as mayor is a housing first initiative,” Pandy said. “Let’s get them housing … and then we can work on their physical health, their mental health, their credit score, getting them acclimated back into society.”
