The change would have a city-wide effect and would create more density in existing neighborhoods.

Gainesville officials will meet later this week to decide if they want to keep pushing forward with a controversial plan that could bring more affordable housing units into the city.

While most have agreed that there is a need in the community for more affordable homes to serve the poor, constituents and officials have sparred on how to solve the problem.

The contentious issue centers around a new voluntary, incentive-based program called GNV Rise. It allows developers the option of building multiple residential structures, while promising to rent at least 10 percent of those units at an “affordable” rate.

That plan has received pushback from neighborhoods and homeowners who say the initiative will consequently increase the number of market-priced rental units into their quiet suburban neighborhoods while doing little to address the city’s affordable housing crisis.

If passed, the current concept would allow accessory dwelling units — garage bedrooms or attached rentals — in the city and would also allow multi-family units — duplexes and triplexes — into single-family zoned neighborhoods. The change would have a city-wide effect and would create more density in existing neighborhoods.

City Commissioner Harvey Ward said the program won’t solve the city’s housing woes overnight, nor will it result in mass rental units popping up in everyone’s backyards. He said GNV Rise is just one of the many options the city is looking to pursue to create more affordable housing.

“We have a four-decade problem we’re trying to solve,” Ward said. “There's no one thing to fix that in less than a decade. … This is not something that's going to change the character of the city.”

Currently, the Gainesville Housing Authority has more than 4,000 people on its waiting list, while the city has estimated it is about 5,000 affordable rental units shy of adequately serving its poorer population. Gainesville is also home to about 8,000 city residents who are considered “cost burdened.”

In essence, GNV Rise would allow developers to take a parcel of land and subdivide into sections prior to construction. If the subdivision process is approved by city officials, the city could grant a 20 percent “density bonus” that allows more structures to be built on the land than it normally would, as long as it meets city code.

If a developer takes the bonus, they must provide at least 10 percent of new units at an affordable rental rate. For example, a developer could build 10 housing units — five duplexes or 10 detached homes — and rent nine those at market value, while just one unit would be considered “affordable.”

The program would call for an amendment of the city’s comprehensive plan and would decrease heights of future developments in residential areas from three stories to two. If a developer doesn't take the bonus, they could still build multiple units and rent it market value if they went through the subdivision process.

Wendy Thomas, the city’s director or the Department of Doing, says the city is using its own calculation of what is considered “affordable” rather than what is defined by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

While renters of all incomes could rent units at market value, those who earn 80 percent or less of the area’s median income would qualify for an “affordable unit.”

For one person, that amount is about $40,000 annually. A family of two is around $45,650 and a family of three is about $51,000. A family of four that makes $57,000 a year or less would also qualify. HUD considers anyone who spends more than 30 percent of their income on rent to be "cost burdened."

Qualified renters through the city's program would also be pulled from waiting lists for the housing authority, habitat for humanity and others. Although the housing authority allows Section 8 vouchers, GNV Rise doesn’t require rental assistance to qualify.

Thomas said passing GNV Rise will not diminish neighborhoods, as some fear, and that the homes built will look somewhat similar to others in the neighborhood.

“The data I've seen says this type of program does not have an adverse impact on existing home values,” she said. “The provision in GNV Rise provides design guidelines will have higher degree of neighborhood compatibility.”

But not all agree; some say the program does more harm than good.

Kim Tanzer, a Golf View neighborhood resident and former dean of the University of Virginia School of Architecture, says the program is flawed and shouldn’t be considered.

“It doesn't touch the poorest people in this community,” she said. “It’s really not about affordable housing at all. I don’t think the city has done its homework. ... I think they need to take a step back and do their homework and to educate the public more.”

Aside from not serving those most in need of an affordable home, Tanzer said the program is a “radical” idea, “risky” and compared it the “wild, wild west.”

“If you think GREC was bad, this could be way worse in terms of legal and financial liability for the city,” she said.

Tanzer said some homeowners would likely be stuck living next to a rotating group of renters, which could include young college students. Though most college students aren’t on waiting lists for affordable homes, they could rent the other rental properties being built through the program.

Ward said he agrees that the city has done a poor job communicating the plan to the public, largely due to its complexity. However, he said that the city isn’t going to tell students where they can and can’t live.

“We’re not going to have prohibitions in Gainesville against students renting stuff,” he said.

Thomas and others recently held four public meetings — one in each of the city’s districts — to help alleviate the communication concern. It is unclear how much that effort has helped sway the opposition.

Ward also said that even though GNV Rise tends to favor market-priced rental units compared to affordable ones, the city has a shortage of "thousands" of rentals in general.

Another concern among homeowners is that some feel GNV Rise encourages gentrification and fuels speculative market-rate rentals. Neighborhoods like Pleasant Street and Porters have become susceptible to private developers buying up bulk properties and land for future developments. Some developers over the years have also requested the city to amend its comprehensive plan to allow the very changes GNV Rise calls for.

Tana Silva, a former reporter and Pleasant Street neighborhood resident, says the program is a “gift” to those developers. Despite some saying the idea is built around equity, Silva said private interests have destroyed the quality of her community and driven the conversation.

“What this would do to us is what it’s done to Fifth Avenue,” she said. “It’s getting killed. Porters, especially, is about to get slammed. Grove Street is also exposed to speculative interests.”

The University of Florida, which has a partnership with the city, has also announced its interest in the Porters neighborhood. Charlie Lane, UF’s vice president and chief operating officer, previously said the university was considering building housing in the neighborhood to serve faculty and students. UF also has approved a strategic development plan that calls for building housing eastward of the school to better serve its faculty and students.

“They've called it an experiment, but it's the entire city,” Silva said. “That’s not something to experiment with.”

The City Commission will meet Thursday at 6 p.m. to discuss the issue at City Hall, located at 200 E. University Ave.