A group concerned with affordable housing options in Nashville held a candlelight vigil in Nashville before a planning commission meeting.
Members of Nashville Organized for Action and Hope, or NOAH, stood outside the Howard Office Building as people arrived for a planning commission-sponsored meeting.
"We really feel we as a city have a moral obligation to ensure that there is a place for all in our city, regardless of income," said NOAH member Bill Friskics-Warren.
NOAH contends affordable housing is quickly disappearing in neighborhoods surrounding the core of Nashville. According to the group gentrification is pushing out longtime homeowners and renters.
Many modest, affordable, homes have been purchased by developers, demolished, and replaced with two, or three, much more expensive houses.
The planning commission is working with a consultant to come up with information on Nashville's affordable housing needs. Wednesday night the consultant presented its study to a meeting a stakeholders chosen by city leaders. That group is made up of developers, lenders, and affordable housing advocates.
NOAH held its candlelight vigil to let those stakeholders know the hope the city can come up with sensible solutions to this housing issue.
Affordable housing advocacy group NOAH demonstrating before a meeting on the issue at the Howard Office Bldg. pic.twitter.com/CjEdaGMn0v
— Chris Cannon (@NC5_ChrisCannon) December 9, 2015
"It's very challenging thing to do, we understand that. But creative things have been done in other cities around the country and we need to be looking at those, and implementing the models that fit best for Nashville," Friskics-Warren said.
The stakeholders will contribute to the planning commission's Inclusionary Housing and Feasibility study which will eventually be submitted to Metro Council.
