KANSAS CITY, Mo. — There's a resolution making its way through City Hall that aims to help tackle the affordable housing crisis in Kansas City.
Martkea Reese would love to live closer to downtown Kansas City to avoid taking three buses to work from her apartment at 39th Street and Indiana Avenue.
"I'd rather be in this type of area, but it's too pricey for me down here," Reese said.
But finding a reasonably priced apartment in some areas isn't easy.
"Each year it goes up. I turn around, you found something nice, and then you turn around and look at it again and it was like just like this price and now it's up almost $100. I can't do it," Reese said.
She isn't alone.
Last month, the City Council housing committee discussed plans to launch an affordable housing trust fund.
"To create more affordable housing in Kansas City, Missouri, we need revenue," said Councilwoman Katheryn Shields, who represents KCMO's 4th District at-large.
This week, Shields is introducing a proposal that would steer money the city receives from Bird and Lime scooters to affordable housing.
"The staff is estimating it will create a pool of about $300,000 every year," Shields told 41 Action News.
If passed, the money would go toward affordable housing options, including building and rehabbing 5,000 affordable housing units by 2023.
"People see it as a very important issue. It impacts not just those who have limited resources, but frankly it impacts all of us in terms of the quality of life around us," Shields said.
The council finance committee will discuss the proposal at its meeting at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.
