Housing Crisis

As we individually and collectively battle against the economic recession I have become more and more aware of the impacts and hardships placed upon members of our West Valley City community. The housing market continues to a focal point of economic woes and as a City Council we have seen applications for new housing projects almost entirely off of the map. The City has little regulatory control to influence the housing market, but as a City we recognize the importance of having healthy neighborhoods and the impact that that has on numerous other areas of City life and services. I reported some neighborhood trends during one study meeting and the rest of the City Council supported me in asking the executive staff to draft and send a letter to individuals and entities that do have regulatory influence or legislative means to affect the housing foreclosure crisis and subsequent fall out. As every community is experiencing things differently it is also important to provide West Valley City's perspective. The following is the body of that letter that sent:


As you no doubt have been painfully aware over the past many months, stability of the housing markets has continued to be an issue. As part of our efforts to continue the struggle to maintain and strengthen our neighborhoods, we thought a reminder of our ongoing efforts and the importance of the support of our friends at the federal level would be appropriate.

Foreclosures and the negative impact they have on rates of home ownership and strength of communities and neighborhoods continue to be an issue for us. While we have been blessed in the case that our foreclosure numbers are relatively widespread and not concentrated in neighborhoods, they do indeed exist, and properties in foreclosure or close to foreclosure number in the thousands in our city.

There are a number of ways that we have combated the effect of this on our city. We have a very strong police, neighborhood support and legal presence that have done everything we could do to encourage and support quality of life in our neighborhoods. Another component of that effort has been our use and cooperation with federal programs including Community Development Block Grants, HOME Investment Partnership, housing assistance programs, etc.

Your continued support of these and other federal programs such as the Home Affordable Modification Program is appreciated. Although we don’t directly participate in programs such as this, the important and positive effect on our community is important nonetheless.

Thanks again for your great support of us in the past, and we implore you to continue and strengthen that support as it is possible.