(The Center Square) – The pushback to a housing cooperative plan at the Wisconsin Capitol is not just because of what’s in the bill.
Sen. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, asked “what the hell is going on” after four Republicans joined Wisconsin Socialist Caucus member Ryan Clancy in voting for the plan.
“In what world would a majority Republican committee agree to spend up to $10 million for the renovations of, legal costs and startup costs for COMMUNES?,” Nass said.
The legislation says the idea is to have the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority start a “condominium conversion grant program for the purpose of awarding grants to owners of multifamily housing for the costs associated with converting multifamily housing to condominiums,” the bill states.
There’s no specific mention of what Nass calls communes.
Clancy, D-Milwaukee, said the idea is to find ways to provide more affordable housing across the state.
“Housing co-ops are an important alternative for households in our communities that lack the means to individually purchase and maintain stable housing. They provide the assurance of predictable costs, create the potential for innovative forms of cost sharing and cost reduction, and help strengthen the communities that embrace this well-proven model,” Clancy said in a statement. “There is nothing inherently conservative, liberal, or socialist about housing co-ops as an alternative to traditional, for-profit single-family housing and renting. It’s simply a means to housing security, affordability and equity for people who face spiraling rent costs and profound barriers to home ownership, profound problems in my district and statewide.”
