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Residents and council members press ANISDA on displacement, affordable housing and transparency
Summary
After ANISDA’s presentation, council members and residents asked whether poverty declines reflected displacement and urged the city to secure NIZ revenue for affordable housing; a founding board member recommended a 10% affordable‑unit requirement and term limits for ANISDA leadership.
Questions from council members and public commenters shifted the meeting from finance to housing and community impacts.
Several council members asked whether the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission assessment — which reported a drop in poverty and other positive indicators — masked displacement of lower‑income residents by higher‑income newcomers. Steve Bamford said the NIZ boundaries were primarily commercial when established and that staff reviews suggested a "very, very small number" of people were affected; he offered to review older rental records for a specific count.
A meeting participant who said he had tracked property acquisitions (S9) reported that a set of properties included about 127 rental units and that many of those units were barely habitable before redevelopment. Bamford acknowledged he did not have a current displacement tally on hand and said ANISDA could review earlier records.
Public commenter Alan Jennings, identified himself as a founding ANISDA board member and longtime redevelopment official, praised the NIZ’s contribution to downtown investment but urged the city to direct a portion of new tax revenues toward affordable housing and neighborhood improvements. Jennings recommended that the city adopt an ordinance capturing some increased tax base for affordable housing and suggested a 10% set‑aside of units for low‑ and moderate‑income households in future projects.
City staff and ANISDA members discussed barriers to measuring turnover and ownership by demographic group: many small businesses operate under LLCs, which can obscure owner identity in public records, and tax confidentiality limits what the city can share. Staff proposed voluntary surveys and focus groups and said the Downtown Allentown Alliance is considering data collection on turnover, ownership and job creation; they also highlighted existing city programs — a revolving loan fund, an incubator and mentorship programs — to support small businesses.
Why it matters: Residents’ concerns about displacement, housing affordability and distribution of NIZ gains are central to whether the authority’s work translates into broadly shared community benefits. Several speakers said zoning changes and developer incentives could influence the production of affordable units, but prevailing‑wage rules and property owners’ high asking prices complicate conversions.
Quotes: A participant who reviewed property records said, “there were a 127 units there... not all of those units were habitable.” Public commenter Alan Jennings said, “you ought to claim a part of it, specifically for affordable housing downtown… I also would recommend that you set the 10% requirement of the units go for low to moderate income.”
Ending: No formal policy change or motion was taken at the meeting; council members requested additional information and staff said they would pass survey and job‑creation requests to the Downtown Allentown Alliance and monitor developer proposals that use NIZ incentives.
