Homeowners were the focus last night at Kingston City Hall for the first of six scheduled hearings on housing.

Kingston's Common Council is hearing from a number of groups as they develop policy to address housing issues in the city.

Ward 3 Alderman Reynolds Scott-Childress says they're trying to get a better understanding of the problems.

The alderman noted one major concern that was brought up before.

"Gentrification, gentrification, gentrification,” Scott-Childress says. “And you know, this is a big issue and it's a big problem, and this is a continual strain that we're going to have. Housing is rooted in the capitalist marketplace. It's not the most efficient or the most humane way to parcel out housing, but that's what we've got."

The next hearing on March 11 will focus on the city's tenants, with a landlord meeting scheduled for April 8.

Other meetings are set for later in the spring to talk about the city's homeless and housing insecure population, as well as developers.