Page 6 - Your Home and Mine April/May

GLAA President: martha dryden, CAPS, AU Management
Dear GLAA Members:
I trust you are all staying healthy during this very tumultuous time! Hopefully this will all be over soon so that we can be together again and continue our amazing calendar of events for 2020.
It feels like an eternity ago, but I had the incredible opportunity to represent the Greater Lexington Apartment Association at the NAA Advocate Conference in Washington, DC March 10-12. It was a bizarre time to be at the Capi- tol the day prior to its closure to the public due to COVID-19. Believe it or not, this was prior
to the implementation of social distancing, our new social norm of keeping our distance of six feet apart. However, there was no shaking of hands and nearly every conversation was overshadowed by the topic.
Even with the complicated environment, I was able to join the delegation from the Louisville Apartment Association to speak with our legislators regarding many important topics. Some of the topics included housing affordability, barriers to development, Section 8 Revitaliza- tion, and Evictions. NAA provided us with key talking points and specific requests for our Senators and Representatives which included the following:
• Yes in My Backyard (YIMBY) Act: Bipartisan legislation in the House and Senate that encour- ages the elimination of discriminatory land-use policies and removal of barriers that prevent needed housing from being built.
• Section 8 Reform: Streamline the program to enable more owners and operators to provide more homes to individuals who qualify for vouchers.
• Evictions: Work to provide meaningful assis- tance to residents who need it while avoiding burdensome new requirements.
In my mind, while COVID-19 is currently absorb- ing all of the headlines, these critical issues to our industry are even more important and the hardship state of our economy will underscore these priorities. You can learn more at the following link: https://www.naahq.org/sites/ default/files/naa-documents/advocate_2020_ leave_behind_folders_for_virtual.pdf
In a time when everything seems uncertain and information is coming in all different di- rections, I continue to see the NAA advocating on our behalf and providing key information to our members to help support and protect our industry. I hope you will take advantage of the educational webinars that are available to all members.
Be well and I look forward to seeing you soon!
Sincerely,
Martha Dryden
AU Management
2020 GLAA President
NAA Advocate Conference a success!