Fishers' rental cap is another way to keep out people with low incomes
Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness in 2023 touted the $16 million Geist Waterfront Park as the city's last opportunity to create public access to Geist Reservoir, the man-made lake best known for luxury waterfront homes.
In an odd way to promote public access, the city charged non-Fishers residents $50 to park their car there. Fadness claimed the parking fee was necessary to limit summer crowds, ensure safety and prioritize the limited parking for Fishers taxpayers. But this was not the truth.
Attendance at the new park was a fraction of what the city estimated that first summer season. There was never a capacity issue in the parking lot. Clearly, the real purpose of the inflated parking fee was to discourage the people who can't afford it.
Today, Fishers is trying to discourage the people who can't afford it from living in Fishers. Fadness is proposing a rental cap that would limit the number of rental properties in Fishers. This policy would be the first of its kind in the country. By limiting rental supply, this policy could inflate the cost of tenants' rent.
Why would a growing Indiana suburb with a high demand for housing want to restrict rental supply? In an odd way to address a housing shortage, the rental restriction would apply to townhome and condo neighborhoods in addition to single-family homes.
Why would a community lock a highly desired type of housing out of the most conducive neighborhoods?
Fadness' rental cap proposal has been quietly presented to citizens as a benign 'rental registration program' – his solution to encourage homeownership, protect the character of residential neighborhoods, eliminate blight and address institutional investors who purchase single-family homes. But this is not the truth.
Briggs: Fishers' attack on investor-owned homes will lock out families
The last time a Fishers single-family home was purchased by an out-of-state institutional investor was over two years ago. Home ownership in Fishers is already 'exceptionally high' and exceeds national and state averages, according to the city's own housing study. Of course, exterior maintenance issues are not exclusive to rental homes. There are city code enforcement procedures and a fine system in place to ensure that all Fishers homes are maintained, owner-occupied and rentals alike.
Fishers is branded as a 'smart, vibrant and entrepreneurial' community and is a desirable place to live. When I was a Fishers City Council member in 2023, I stated my opposition to the $50 parking fee. I said, "My strong concern is that it sends a message to people outside of Fishers that they are unwelcome here.'
Today, I state the same opposition to a new proposed Fishers rental cap policy, which would have a much greater negative impact if approved. Fishers residents can choose to oppose this rental cap or not. They can attend the Monday council meeting and let the decision-makers hear their opinions. But they deserve to know the truth.
Fishers is trying to discourage the people who can't afford it from living in Fishers.
Jocelyn Vare is a renter and a Fishers resident for over 25 years. She is a former at-large member of the Fishers City Council and former member of the City of Fishers Housing Task Force.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Fadness' rental cap idea follows Geist Waterfront Park fees | Opinion
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