Advocates urge Cincinnati to require affordable units, tenant protections in Connected Communities developments

Pastor Gilbert Driver, a pastor in College Hill and member of Communities United for Action (CUFA), and other residents pressed the Cincinnati Board & Committees during a public comment period to prioritize low‑income households and restore funding to the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

The request set the stage for a presentation by Josh Spring, of the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition, and Kelly Hibbett, co‑chair of the Affordable Housing Making Connected Communities Better working group, who recommended specific amendments to the Connected Communities ordinance to require on‑site affordable housing, cap rents for deeply affordable units, extend affordability terms and strengthen tenant protections.

The working group said the city should require that developments enabled by Connected Communities include at least 20% of new units affordable at 50% of area median income (AMI) or lower. “At least 20% of housing units … affordable at 50% of the median income or lower,” Spring told the committee. The proposal also calls for a deeper affordability tier for rental housing: of that 20% set aside, at least 30% should be affordable at 30% AMI or lower, which the presenters said reflects the city’s greatest need.

Why it matters: Presenters and public commenters framed the suggested changes as tools to limit…