A majority of the city of Lawrence’s Affordable Housing Advisory Board should be composed of members of the general public who aren’t affiliated with organizations that seek money for affordable housing projects.

The Affordable Housing Advisory Board makes recommendations to the Lawrence City Commission for spending money out of the city’s affordable housing fund. That fund is expected to receive about $1 million per year from a half-cent sales tax for affordable housing approved by voters last November.

Presently, the board has 12 seats, but only one seat is open to a member of the general public. Most of the seats on the board are held by representatives of organizations that routinely seek money from the city for housing projects, including Habitat for Humanity, Family Promise and Tenants to Homeowners. The board recently expanded from nine to 12 members because so many board members were having to recuse themselves from voting on projects they were affiliated with.

City Commissioner Matthew Herbert said he thinks the board needs to be reformed with a majority of seats reserved for the community at large. In addition, Herbert suggested the board do away with specific seats for certain organizations and instead have two or three seats reserved in general for that purpose.

Mayor Stuart Boley, who has served on the board in the past, said last fall’s election underscores the importance of engaging the public on the issue.

“After having the support of the voters on the sales tax, it seems that the citizens who voted need to be represented as well,” Boley said. “I think it’s important to hear from regular citizens in these situations to the extent that they are willing to participate.”

Board Chair Matt Sturtevant, a pastor at First Baptist Church, said he does not think the makeup of the board is a problem. He said the board is served well by having members who are familiar with housing in general and affordable housing specifically. He feels changing the board at this point would be disruptive.

But the long-term success of the affordable housing effort depends in no small part on residents’ confidence in the process being used to select affordable housing projects. No matter how well-intentioned, having a board composed primarily of members who are affiliated with organizations that seek affordable housing funds from the city is simply bad optics.

Herbert has suggested a practical path forward that provides the general public with a majority of the seats on the board while continuing to involve those connected to affordable housing organizations. The City Commission would be wise to pursue the suggested changes for the Affordable Housing Advisory Board.