(Source: https://www.romi.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_07222024-3418, p. 304)
However, a Royal Oak homeowner at a recent Royal Oak city meeting stated during public comment that she would like her daycare worker to have affordable housing in Royal Oak.
Consider that if that homeowner’s daycare worker makes $15-20/hour or about $42,000 a year, they wouldn’t be able to afford to live in the above-described affordable housing because those unit prices will be calculated on an income of $80,640 a year – more than double that of the daycare worker.
Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that Royal Oak city commissioners and the mayor granting variances and PUDs (Planned Unit Developments) in the name of so-called affordable housing is not truly creating affordable housing.
Addressing Affordable Housing
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Are the Royal Oak mayor and city commissioners granting variances and PUDs (Planned Unit Developments) in the name of so-called affordable housing but are instead just lining their own pockets with campaign contributions from opportunistic developers?
The Royal Oak mayor and city commissioners have recently justified their approvals of overly dense projects by stipulating that the development have a minimal amount of so-called affordable housing units. For example, they justified stuffing 42 units onto a lot zoned for 16 units at 4704 S. Rochester Road by requiring that three units (merely 7%) would provide “affordable housing” for ten years.
On page 304 of the July 22, 2024, Royal Oak City Commission meeting packet, Royal Oak Director of Planning Joseph M. Murphy defined “affordable” units as follows per ARPA regulations:
The expenditure of ARPA funds must result in the creation of “affordable” units. The units must be occupied by households with a maximum annual income no greater than 120% of the annual Area Median Income (AMI). The income calculation is based on the number of persons per household / unit. The units must remain “affordable” based on this calculation for no less than twenty (20) years.