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Tacoma aiming to protect families from displacement
The city of Tacoma wants to crack down on the issue of BIPOC and low-income families being forced from their homes due to gentrification.
TACOMA, Wash. - The city of Tacoma wants to crack down on the issue of BIPOC and low-income families being forced from their homes due to gentrification.
On Tuesday, the city council addressed the problem, calling it a crisis.
The council announced plans on how to keep long-time community members inside their homes.
The plans target the most vulnerable in the community, like BIPOC, low income, and people who are elderly or disabled.
The 21 new and updated actions look to create more homes, keep them affordable and well-maintained, keep communities together, and reduce barriers.
One of the hardest-hit areas in Tacoma for displacement is the Hilltop neighborhood.
According to numbers FOX 13 News obtained, the neighborhood has seen a massive drop in its Black population. Data from 1970 shows south Hilltop's population was 60.6% Black. In 2020, the percentage dropped to 21.5%.
"Now I go down the block, there’s only four families that I actually know are real Hilltop families. I’m one of them, but we don’t live here anymore and that’s because the prices of property are so high right now," said Jonathan Clark, who owns Bob's BBQ.
Clark's grandfather opened the business in Tacoma in 1948, Clark said. For 34 years, the business has been located in the Hilltop neighborhood.
Clark said a lot has changed in that time, including the identity of the neighborhood. He says increasing prices are a challenge for everyone, including himself.
Clark tells FOX 13 News that he hopes he can remain in the Hilltop neighborhood to see the changes that the council is promising to bring.
"Somebody has to do the best they can to still represent the true Hilltop, what we really are. And that’s what I aim to do," said Clark.