We asked the candidates for Manassas City Council about affordable housing

As we get closer to the start of early voting for the Fall 2024 election, Potomac Local News is dedicated to informing the community about candidates vying for one of three open seats on the Manassas City Council and the mayor’s seat.

To help voters make an informed decision, we are launching a new feature series, “One-Question Manassas City Council Candidate Survey.” This series will run throughout the campaign season, offering insights into each candidate’s stand on key issues affecting our city.

Be sure to subscribe to our FREE news email. Each week, we will pose a single question to all candidates running for the Manassas City Council.

The candidates are given 10 days to respond to a Google Form, and their answers will be compiled into a single post on PotomacLocalNews.com. This format lets voters quickly compare the candidates’ views on critical issues, helping them make an informed choice come election day.

In our first installment, we focus on the pressing issue of affordable housing. We asked each candidate to share their perspective and proposed solutions for addressing the housing challenges in Manassas. Their responses and profile pictures are featured below to help you better understand their positions.

Stay tuned as we continue this series with topics such as power outages, parking issues, city management and staff retention, budget and taxes, public school performance, and data centers. We aim to provide a comprehensive look at each candidate’s platform, ensuring voters have all the information they need to make a thoughtful decision.

We hope this series will engage the community and foster a more informed electorate. Check back for new insights and updates from your Manassas City Council candidates. Early voting starts Saturday, September 21, and Election Day is November 5

Today’s Topic: Affordable Housing

Mayoral Candidates

Xiao-Yin “Tang” Byrom (R)

Byrom, the owner of Tang’s Bridal and Alterations in the Canterbury Village shopping center at 8675 Sudley Road, opened her Manassas store as an alteration shop in 1999. She eventually expanded her business to include bridal and formal wear. Her business employs 17 people.

As an immigrant to America, I fell in love with the opportunity to be able to work as much as I wanted to achieve goals like buying a home. I want to bring this dream to all Manassas citizens, whether 1st generation or 10th-generation. We all know housing costs are controlled by old-fashioned supply and demand, but as your Mayor, I will help bring this dream alive. As your next Mayor I will fight, I promise to help you with the following.

1. Make sure zoning allows for the development of small apartments and condos in designated areas. Affordable units can start at 400 square feet, making them affordable for starter homes.

2. Streamline permit processes to not hinder growth with red tape. Right now, a large part of home development costs are not bricks, mortar, wood and nails but overburdensome regulations. We need to make sure the government keeps our residents safe without adding unnecessary expenses to the project which leads to higher cost burden for our citizens.

3. Keep Real estate taxes as low as possible for homeowners. When home values go up, we need to cut tax rates to keep the tax burden to you in line. Home value increase should be a benefit to you, the taxpayer, and not the taxpayer.

Michelle Davis Younger (D) (Incumbent)

Davis-Younger is seeking a second term as mayor, after being elected in 2020. She owns and operates a Human Resources Consulting firm located in Historic Downtown Manassas called The1ForHR, LLC, which focses on career coaching and resume writing. After attending several White House functions, she claims she was instrumental in convincing President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to choose the Hylton Performing Arts Center, on George Mason University Science and Technology Campus, to be the site of the administration’s re-election kickoff in January 2024.

NO RESPONSE

Council Candidates

Lynn Forkell Greene (R)

Lynn Forkell Greene is seeking to regain a seat on the council, where she served for 14 months, from Fall 2021 to December 2022. Forkell Green served the remainder of Davis-Younger’s city council term, a seat vacated when Davis-Younger was elected mayor.

She is an Administrative Director for a nonprofit organization. Forkell Greene and her husband share four adult children and three grandchildren. Before announcing her re-election bid, Forkell Green was a freelance reporter covering city issues for Potomac Local News.

As a candidate for Manassas City Council, my priority is ensuring affordability for our community. I’ll tackle rising property values and market-driven costs by eliminating policies that lead to higher taxes and excessive spending. Additionally, I’ll champion public-private partnerships, inclusionary zoning policies, and the development of accessory dwelling units (ADUs).

Ashley Hutson (D)

Hutson is seeking her first term on the city council. She is the Director of Member Engagement of the Heavy Construction Contractors Association in Manassas. Hutson has served on the Manassas Board of Building Code Appeals, Washington Council of Governments Transportation Planning Board, and Community Advisory Committee. She graduated from Osbourn Park High School and Christopher Newport University.

Because Manassas is only 9.9 square miles and most of it is already developed, Council must make forward thinking land use decisions that will serve the community long into the future. The Comprehensive Plan calls for a variety of options for housing in order to reduce the impact of rising costs, felt by all people, but especially renters, young adults, and the elderly.

I believe Council should make every effort to allot and retain attainable/affordable units with priority for teachers, city staff, and our Veterans. Several housing units, which will hopefully house Veterans, were allotted at the American legion Post 114 on Prince William Street. Our current Council voted to retain affordable housing units at the corner of Stonewall Road & Center Street, which I would have supported as well.

Historic Downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods illuminate the character of the City of Manassas. The re-development of the Mathis Ave shopping center is an opportunity to add mid-rise, multi-family units and commercial space. The proximity of Mathis Ave to Historic Downtown and the VRE will make this a desirable space for businesses and residents. Striving to be a modern, walkable, transit accessible city while complimenting the character of Historic Downtown will be important as development decisions are made.

Mark Wolfe (D) Incumbent

Wolfe is seeking a fourth term on the city council. He has lived in the City of Manassas since 1990. Wolfe has executive leadership experience in the corporate and non-profit sectors and is currently the Chief Operating Officer of MovieComm. Amy, his wife of 36 years, is the Artistic Director and CEO of Manassas Ballet Theatre. They have two children, both of whom graduated from Osbourn High School.

I am gratified to see that the need to address the availability of affordable housing is now receiving bi-partisan recognition.

First, it is important to recognize that there can not be a true solution that does not recognize the need for additional supply of housing; the law of supply and demand has not been repealed. In recent years I have supported five projects which would have increased the supply of housing in Manassas. Four of these have been approved by the Council: the Grant Avenue development, the Jefferson Street homes, the renovation to Legion Post 114 on Prince William Street, and the townhomes on Hastings.

This gets me to my second point: the government should partner with and help the private sector in this effort but should not engage in 1960’s 1960s-style housing projects. The Grant Avenue development is a great example of this. The streetscape improvements on Grant Avenue were a condition of the developer moving forward with their project. This was an easy condition to satisfy as the City had already planned on making these long-needed improvements. By working in concert with the developer, the City was able to leverage public dollars for a larger gain for our community. For the Prince William Street project, the City was instrumental in teaming the Legion Post with a non-profit housing developer and in working with both parties to create a win/win/win solution that helps the Post with their long-term facility, adds housing targeted to our veterans and will help to improve the neighborhood, increasing property values.

Third, these things take time. It was 15 years from when I walked the land that is now the Grant Avenue project with the Van Metre development team to the beginning of construction. None of these projects happen overnight. However, the City staff has been excellent in working with the builders to ensure timely review and feedback of plans and permitting. This has long been a service priority of Manassas.

And fourth, none of these projects exist in a vacuum. This must fit into and become a part of the pre-existing community. Preserving the character of neighborhoods is enshrined in our Comprehensive Plan as one of the guiding principles of re-development in Manassas. Again, using Grant Avenue as an example, one proposal would have placed several 10 to 15-story apartment buildings on the site. That was rejected out of hand. Whatever we do must work for Manassas. While the housing affordability issue is a regional one, Manassas needs to recognize that what is an answer in Arlington is not necessarily right for Manassas.

Stephen Kent (R)

Kent is seeking his first term on the city council. He is an author and public relations professional. He and his wife, Melony “Mel” Kent, share a child. Mel Kent ran for the city school board in 2022.

The primary goal of housing development needs to be getting demand for housing back in line with supply. “Affordable housing” has long been a buzzword that brings out some very tribal elements in every community dealing with the issue of housing affordability. When cities build “market rate” housing, what housing experts and urban planners tend to see is a healthy churn of residents currently living in cheaper housing that doesn’t meet their needs. In Manassas, you have a lot of higher-income residents living in single-family starter homes and townhouses who would actually prefer to expand their square footage and upgrade, but there are not many options for them. When you build market-rate housing, those people move up and out, creating that space for residents with lower budgets. Everyone gets the housing they can afford. There are always valid concerns over preserving the historic character of different communities and keeping Manassas’ signature charm, but nothing harms a community more than homelessness and rising costs of living due to a lack of housing development. Everyone in Manassas is better off when the free market is allowed to work, and when builders are building both homes and apartments that meet the diverse needs of a growing city.

Tom Osina (D) Incumbent

Osina is seeking his second term on the council. He and his husband have lived in the Georgetown South community for more than 20 years. He is the father of 2 grown children.

I am supportive of attainable (affordable housing) initiatives in Manassas as long as they are in appropriate locations. That’s why I voted to purchase the Mathis Avenue Shopping Center which passed unanimously with bipartisan support. Years earlier, under Republican majority City Councils, the area was identified as excellent location for attainable housing.

The hiring of a Housing Coordinator in the new fiscal year along with additional funding to Housing Trust Fund will give us more tools to develop these efforts.

The City of Manassas has utilized effectively community conversations events which help to bring in resident ideas and learn of concerns they have about impact. Holding such meetings is part of the agreement with the Economic Development Commission for which I voted on June 24, 2024.

I am hopeful that as redevelopment moves forward that such attainable housing will include the possibilities for below median income housing, workforce housing and aging in place housing.

Robyn Williams (R)

Williams is seeking her first term on the city council. She has served two terms on the Manassas City School Board. Williams holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from George Mason University. He found her background in finance and economics valuable on the MCPS School Board, in addition to her more than 10 years as a broker/owner of Redstone Realty, specializing in residential real estate.

Williams’ public service in Manassas began with the Beautification Committee, where she served as a member and eventually Chairperson. She also volunteered as a teacher assistant at Haydon Elementary for several years and taught modules in schools through the Prince William Soil and Water Conservation Department.

I attended a Spring Housing Forum on April 11, 2024 hosted by VCU Kornblau Industry Talks. Among the panelist were Alana Gonzalez with the Better Housing Coalition and Monique Johnson with Virginia Housing. Balancing the need for affordable housing while addressing concerns about the community impact and development is a real challenge.

The City of Manassas has focused on housing for over a decade. The city’s initiatives are well laid out in the 2040 Comprehensive Plan passed by the City Council in 2020. The Housing affordability and quality section centers around the City’s Community Development Block Grant program, providing funds to assist low income households, which I agree with. Identifying partners who are willing to acquire tax credit properties about to expire is one meaningful strategy outlined in HOU 4.4.3. Recently, an opportunity to add 12 affordable units was presented to the council utilizing HOU 4.4.3, but it was rejected.

The Housing Balance section of the plan also encourages exploration of innovative solutions such as Accessory Dwelling Units. While ADUs are clearly not a large-scale solution for affordable housing, I recognize the considerable side-benefit of allowing families to stay together while reducing their housing costs and possibly obviating or at least lessening the need for expensive nursing home care for elderly or disabled residents.

I do like the character area design principles used in the plan and feel as though adherence to them will allow Manassas City to grow robustly while providing a good balance of available housing for our residents at all the various stages of their lives.