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Show Page 2 Housing Symposium any public housing program, he said. These are not to be confused with state housing authorities, he stated. Rather the finance agency would be exclusively the distributor of housing money. The agency could in be many ways to raise impowered revenue, said the counselor. Looking for a way to meet social responsibility and still provide a reasonable profit for .the builder, Bob Wood,' of Richard Prows, Inc., a private developer and present chairman of the Salt Lake vice-preside- Housing Authority, said, realistically low income housing doesn't fit with the plans of the (cor.) Bruhn, director of the Utah Department of Community Development said in a panel discussion closing comment, he felt "the State Legislature has fallen short on the issue of housing." And that to get any action, community support reflected by bankers, builders and other interested parties would be needed before the Legislature would move. Bill At the close of the symposium no consensus of action was reached but the pieces of the housing puzzle had been pushed closer together, and the alternatives were more clear. developer. Various ways to change this and bring profit and responsibility together are to raise incomes, increase the social role in housing, lower the cost of construction or a combination of all three, according to Wood. Many things adding to the cost of construction could be changed, Wood said. Eliminating federal wage provisions, government red tape, and political influence in housing and changing specific programs housing guidelines were mentioned as feasible solutions to housing costs and related problems. Smaller communities were considered by Kenneth G. Hance, executive director of the Virginia Housing Authority. In locating a housing project, Hance urged awareness of the local experience of the people. What they are accustomed to paying for housing should be looked at along with how they have- lived and what they want in housing. Local patterns must be studied first, he says, and solutions designed in terms of what they are interested in. Locally, the availability of low income housing is "very slight admitted Salt Lake Commissioner Jennings Phillips, chairman of the Housing Authority of Salt Lake, a sponsor of the symposium, with the U. of - U. the State, the Salt Lake City and County Commissioners and Home Builders Association of Utah. Part of the reason for the predicament is that Utah was the 49th state to enact local housing authority legislation, said Commissioner Phillips. While some housing units have been built the need is still critical, he .said. He then pointed to a few of the problems: zoning, resident opposition, high costs in certain areas - which makes it difficult to build low income housing. More units are planned and whatever he can do to increase their number, he will try, pledged the Commissioner. Housing Tour "Opens Eyes" "Its more a problem of what you don't see than what you see, said a guide for the housing symposium bus tour. story frame structure with 12 to 1 6 one-roorental units. Belying the tour bus droned down occupied mostly by elderly the back alleys and. up the side streets of Salt Lake's west side, capitol hill area and central city what he meant became sadly apparent. Houses behind houses, alleys within alleys, keep from view the poor housing situation many families find themselves in. On a walk through one dilapidated section, health and people. No area was completely abandoned. For every rough, ramshackle unit there was a As planning officials noted numerous things characteristic of a deteriorating neighborhood. Structural deficiencies such as a wide crack running from the ground to the roof on one house, and an enclosed porch falling off the back end of another house were pointed out as dangerous, undesirable signs. The story of one small house posted "closed to occupancy" was somewhat typical of many of the worse homes in the area, said officials. Many children had been living there in an incredible stench, mice were seen, the back door was nothing but a blanket. When neither the landlord nor the tenant changed matters the house was closed for health's sake. A push on the creaking door of a substantial appearing house down the street released, in a streak, a frightened yellowcat. A look inside showed what the cat was fleeing from - broken stairs, crumbling plaster, sagging ceilings, thriving insect life and plain filth. The house was deserted, up for sale. At another location, again off the street behind other serenely buildings, set among many shady trees, was an old two list to get in has 300 families on it. One woman with several of Utah for the conclusion of the symposium the guide was asked children was delighted to show her home to the tour group. She said she wished everyone could have the chance she has to make a good home. Returning to the University what he recommended to "replace the social loss" the group had witnessed. He suggested strong support for subsidized public housing during the upcoming special session of the State Legislature. m its picturesque scene the place was described as well-kept- a "fire-trap- " attractive home , nearby. Side-by-sid- e the good made the bad look worse. At the same time the question came to mind of how long it would take for the blight to over take the surviving solid structures. Throughout the tour, vacant lots where houses once stood, kept popping into view. The group was told these lots were cleared to lower their taxable value while the owners speculated on rising land prices. The market place for the low income renter is dwindling away, it was explained. Demolitions reduce the number of places available to those with limited, fixed means. Often the places demolished are suitable housing but they make way for the multiple unit apartments which rent for more than the displaced can afford. "Where do they go," the tour guide asked, "what do they do for housing?" From the back of the bus came a grumbling, "whose responsibility is that?" "Everyone's, answered someone quietly. The tour ended on a happier note with a brief visit at the site of 20 new public housing units. Each unit was bright and spacious, with good floor plans and small, separately enclosed yard areas. Rent is 25 of the tenant's income and the waiting Members of the tour saw many condemned, vacant houses. In contrast was a visit to a public housing development. |