tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82406874511702647232024-02-06T22:25:14.034-08:00HUD Info ExchangeThis is a blog to share information about how the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) works. The goal is to provide a resource for those working with HUD programs to improve their communities.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776395113876220257noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240687451170264723.post-7038996226804831152018-01-16T18:27:00.000-08:002018-01-16T18:27:09.009-08:00How Small Area Fair Market Rents Can Help Low Income Households Access OpportunityThe HUD Section 8 program is by far the largest rental assistance program in the country. Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers are portable and can be used in any private market apartment, as long as the landlord is willing to participate and the apartment meets federal habitability standards. The vouchers allow low-income tenants to pay one-third of their income toward rent. The rest of rent is paid by HUD. The amount that HUD is willing to pay to the landlord to subsidize rent is set as the "<a href="https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html" target="_blank">Fair Market Rent</a>" (FMR).<br />
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Since market rent varies from community to community, the FMR also varies depending on where the apartment is located. FMRs are set annually according to market factors as calculated by HUD. In the past, FMRs have been set for entire counties or metro areas. However, markets can vary widely even within counties or metro areas. For example, a downtown neighborhood may have much higher rents than inner ring suburbs of the same metro area. This has caused most voucher holders to concentrate in weaker market areas that have market rents that are lower than the FMR. Because landlords in stronger market areas can demand higher rents and can pick and choose from a larger pool of tenants, they are far less likely to accept Section 8 voucher holders.<br />
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The historic lack of market sensitivity of FMRs has significantly impaired voucher holders' access to neighborhoods with economic growth, jobs, quality schools, and other amenities. It has also contributed to segregation, as a higher proportion of voucher holders are people of color than the population in general. In an effort to address this problem, the Obama administration began exploring an initiative called the <a href="https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/public-housing/small-area-fair-market-rents/" target="_blank">Small Area Fair Market Rent Rule (SAFMR)</a>. This rule allows HUD to set FMRs at the zip code level to account for market variations within a county or metro area.<br />
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Under Obama, HUD initiated a pilot in 2012 and decided to adopt it as a policy beginning on January 1, 2018 after a four and a half year rule-making process with extensive public input. In response to President Trump's <a href="http://www.usace.army.mil/Media/Fact-Sheets/Fact-Sheet-Article-View/Article/1320736/enforcing-the-regulatory-reform-agenda-executive-order-13777/" target="_blank">Executive Order 13777</a>, HUD Secretary Ben Carson announced that he would delay implementation of the policy for two years. In response, anti-segregation groups filed a lawsuit in an effort to allow the SAFMR to proceed. In late December, a district court in Washington D.C. issued <a href="http://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/JudgeHowellOpinion.pdf" target="_blank">a preliminary injunction</a> against HUD, stating that <a href="http://nlihc.org/article/preliminary-injunction-orders-hud-proceed-small-area-fair-market-rents?utm_source=NLIHC+All+Subscribers&utm_campaign=2195699a6b-Memo_010818&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e090383b5e-2195699a6b-291700989&ct=t(Memo_010818)" target="_blank">HUD did not have the authority or a compelling rationale to block implementation of the policy</a>. HUD has 20 days to appeal the decision, but in the meantime the policy that was supposed to be implemented as of January 1st is in effect.<br />
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It will be revealing to measure how SAFMR impacts neighborhood segregation. We will also be able to assess its impact on achieving a more healthy jobs-housing balance and reducing traffic congestion. While it is not the only solution to these problems, it has the potential to be an important tool in the toolbox to address poverty, segregation, economic development, and long commutes.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776395113876220257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240687451170264723.post-71024973541545565782017-12-19T19:20:00.001-08:002017-12-20T14:47:07.071-08:00Tax Reform: Affordable Housing Programs Preserved, But Dark Clouds Loom on the HorizonThe Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has been approved by the House and Senate, and it is on the way to President Trump for signature. Fortunately for affordable housing advocates, the worst case scenario that was presented in the House version of the bill has been averted. The House version proposed elimination of tax-exempt bonds and 4% tax credits, which are two of the primary financing mechanisms currently used to produce affordable housing. In addition, the House version proposed elimination of New Markets Tax Credits and Historic Tax Credits- two other tax credit programs that are used to develop affordable housing, revitalize neighborhoods, and achieve economic development goals for low-income communities. All of these programs have been preserved in the current version of the bill approved by the House today, and to be voted on in the Senate tonight.<br />
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For now, federal housing programs have been saved. In the long term, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act diminishes the ability of those federal housing programs to produce affordable housing.<br />
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First, the tax reform bill weakens the value of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit. It does this by reducing corporate tax rates from 35 percent to 21 percent. Reduced tax liabilities weaken corporate incentive for tax credits. As a result, the amount of equity put into housing projects per tax credit dollar will diminish, raising fewer funds for housing and leading to fewer affordable units built. This trend began when the reduction in the corporate tax rate was anticipated, but prior to even drafting the bill. Tax credit investors that had already committed to a price on projects in development began to reduce the price of their offers. The devaluing of the credit will only accelerate after the bill becomes law.<br />
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Second, a potentially more significant and longer term impact of the tax reform bill is the downstream consequence of rising deficits and imbalanced budgets. The tax bill increases the federal deficit by at least $1 trillion over the next decade. The effect of this may be felt by federal housing programs as soon as next year, as The "Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010" may be triggered by significantly reduced government revenues. This Act forces automatic cuts to discretionary spending programs that must be approved in annual federal budgets in order to limit increases to the federal debt. This act forced budget sequesters after it was enacted, cutting HUD programs by 10%-15% annually. These sequesters are likely to return if the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act remains in place.<br />
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Beyond sequesters, the large deficit increases are likely to create larger imbalanced budgets in future years, and House Majority Leader Paul Ryan's stated goal is to balance the budget by cutting entitlements and domestic spending, which would include the HUD budget. Such cuts would further reduce funding for HOME, CDBG, Section 8, homeless housing and services, and other federal housing and community development programs. Cuts to these programs will further diminish the capacity of tax credits to produce housing, as programs such as HOME and Section 8 leverage additional tax credit equity and private debt to produce more units.<br />
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Those that depend most on entitlements and domestic programs are lower income households. In effect, the tax reform represents a transfer of resources from the "have-nots" to the "haves". As a result, affordable housing and community development for low-income communities are likely to receive low priority in future budgets if the political environment does not change significantly.<br />
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This assessment, of course, assumes that the Act will not be amended, revised or repealed in the coming years. However, if recent history is any indication, there are likely to be shifts in congressional priorities over the next decade.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776395113876220257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240687451170264723.post-1625058459112626612017-11-07T21:29:00.001-08:002017-11-09T08:32:02.770-08:00How Would Federal Tax Reform Impact Housing?From a historical economic perspective, the Tax Reform Bill called the <a href="https://waysandmeans.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/WM_TCJA_PolicyOnePagers.pdf" target="_blank">"Tax Cuts and Jobs Act"</a> released by the House of Representatives, has been unveiled at a unique time. As a nation, we are experiencing extreme wealth maldistribution not seen since before the Great Depression. In California, more than one-third of residents live near or below the poverty line. While poor and working class incomes have stagnated since the recession eight years ago, rents have escalated at an alarming and unaffordable pace. <a href="https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/one-in-five-renters-struggle-to-pay-the-rent-110117.html" target="_blank">One in five renters struggles to pay rent</a>, and <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/02/08/forced-out" target="_blank">eviction is becoming a growing problem with many downstream consequences</a>. Income inequality and stagnation, combined with rising rents and shrinking affordable housing resources, have created a massive housing crisis across the country.<br />
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How does the tax reform address these pressing problems? It either ignores or exacerbates them. Below is an overview of the tax reform proposal's impact on housing.<br />
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<li>It would eliminate bond tax exemptions and 4% tax credits that provide critical funding for affordable housing production and preservation. In California, the State Treasurer's Office projects that loss of these funding sources would lead to about 20,600 fewer homes annually statewide that are affordable to low income households. Tax-exempt bonds and 4% tax credits were by far the largest source of funding for affordable housing in California last year, <a href="https://chpc.net/mattchpc-lihtc-federal-advocacy-action-alert/" target="_blank">providing twice as much funding as 9% tax credits</a>.</li>
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<li>It would lower the top corporate tax rate from 35% to 20%. This will significantly reduce investor interest in the 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credit. The amount of equity that investors are willing to put into affordable housing will make many projects infeasible. This program has been the primary funding source for new affordable housing production nationwide.</li>
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<li>It would eliminate the mortgage interest deduction on homes valued over $500,000, and limit deductions for property taxes. This would not impact low income households or renters, but homeowners in high land value areas such as the California coast and metropolitan centers don't like it. For example, almost all new homeowners in the Bay Area would be affected. The National Association of Realtors and National Association of Homebuilders have publicly opposed the bill for this reason. I personally believe this concept is worth considering as a way of directing more resources to households that really need help, as the mortgage interest deduction is currently a highly regressive tax break that overwhelmingly benefits the wealthy.</li>
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<li>It would eliminate the New Markets Tax Credit and Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit. These programs do not exclusively fund affordable housing, but many housing projects rely on these programs, and their implementation have helped to implement community development and community revitalization efforts across the country.</li>
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<li>It is proposed that the tax cuts are paid for <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/01/us/politics/republican-corporate-tax-plan.html" target="_blank">by allowing the deficit to increase by an estimated $5.6 trillion over the next 20 years</a>. So while many may see tax cuts in the near term, households will be saddled with a growing debt that will take an ever increasing share of the federal budget down the road, crowding out funding for affordable housing and other programs that are critical lifelines for millions of Americans.</li>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776395113876220257noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240687451170264723.post-24469808315628840752017-08-22T15:37:00.001-07:002017-08-23T16:37:19.903-07:00California's Housing Crisis: How Did We Get Here and How Do We Get Out?California is in a housing crisis. According to State Housing Officials, we need to build about 180,000 unit each year to keep up with demand, but we are building less than 80,000 annually on average (See <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article168107042.html" target="_blank">Sacramento Bee Article</a> on this). Median home prices and rents are far above what a household earning median income can afford in most parts of the State. Homelessness continues to be a major problem.<br />
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How did we get here? To answer that question, it can be helpful to look at the three major elements of home building: land availability and price; land use regulation; and construction cost. In all three areas, we are fighting an uphill battle. The steepness of that hill has been created by choice, and by market forces outside of our control.<br />
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<b>Land</b><br />
The price of land is driven by availability and demand. California land that is available for residential use has been limited by geographical features, such as sea and mountain, and by environmental and land use restrictions. At the same time, demand continues to be strong, and only grows stronger as supply shrinks. California is an attractive place to live and work, and while it is prohibitively expensive for many, it is in high demand by those that can afford it, and that money drives up land prices.<br />
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<b>Land Use Regulation</b><br />
While land is limited, there are ways to maximize the use of land for greater efficiency by building more densely in locations proximate to transit and other services, while minimizing wasted space used for parking or lawns. While some progress has been made in terms of city planning processes in this area, decisions at the State and local levels have further exacerbated the land shortage. There is little financial or political incentive for localities to encourage or accommodate housing development. Instead, the State's tax system provides a disincentive. Most significantly, Proposition 13 limits revenue from residential properties, and forces localities to rely on commercial development to pay for their services. Further, the State has not implemented any effectual sticks or carrots that would make it attractive for localities to facilitate housing development. Instead, localities feel compelled to address local economic and NIMBY concerns over and above housing construction. Residential project opponents also use the State's California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to stymie housing proposals. Limited residential property tax revenue has also caused localities to increase impact fees on residential development, which presents another regulatory barrier to housing construction. The LA Times did <a href="http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-pol-ca-housing-supply/" target="_blank">a nice in-depth article</a> on this topic.<br />
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<b>Construction Cost</b><br />
California has a high cost of living, which translates to high labor costs. In addition, California has a labor shortage. Many construction workers left the industry during the recession. Furthermore, government prevailing wage and labor requirements, and unions, drive up cost. In response to economic and political pressures, localities have implemented regulations that also add to housing cost, including impact fees, lengthy entitlement review processes, extensive design review requirements, and strict building code standards. The State has further driven up cost with its own strict building code standards, and implementation of CEQA. Given these high costs, extensive public subsidies are required to make housing affordable to lower income households who are critical to the California economy. However, State subsidies have been cut dramatically since the recession.<br />
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So, high demand + limited supply + regulation that further reduces supply and increases cost + high construction cost - public subsidies = housing crisis.<br />
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Because there are a wide range of factors impacting housing availability and cost, there is no silver bullet that will solve the housing shortage. However, we can make progress by addressing its causes. Below is a summary of State legislation that is attempting to do that. Effectively addressing the crisis will require regulatory reform in a wide variety of areas, including tax, land use, building code, environmental, and labor law, as well as increased funding for affordable housing.<br />
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<b>Legislation Addressing Local Regulations</b><br />
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<li>Senate Bills 35 and 540 require streamlined approval processes for affordable housing development.</li>
<li>Senate Bills 166 and 167 would require land be set aside for affordable housing and strengthen State law prohibiting cities from denying low-income housing projects.</li>
<li>Assembly Bills 72 and 1397 would require jurisdictions to property zone for affordable housing.</li>
<li>Assembly Bills 2502 and 1505 would allow local government to require a portion of new market-rate development be set aside as affordable.</li>
<li>Assembly Bill 73 would provide incentives for affordable and higher-density housing in city centers and near transit.</li>
<li>Assembly Bill 352 would require cities to permit development of smaller units.</li>
<li>Assembly Bill 1585 would establish a statewide appeals board for developers whose low-income housing was rejected.</li>
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<b>Legislation Addressing Funding</b><br />
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<li>Senate Bill 2 would create a permanent source of funding for affordable housing through a $75-$225 fee on real estate transactions other than home purchases. This would generate about $250 million per year.</li>
<li>Senate Bill 3 would put a $3 billion housing bond on the November 2018 ballot.</li>
<li>Assembly Bill 71 would end State mortgage interest tax deductions on second homes and direct those funds, estimated at about $300 million per year, to the State's affordable housing tax credit program.</li>
<li>Assembly Constitutional Amendment 4 would lower the voter threshold to raise taxes or pass a bond to fund low-income housing from a two-thirds supermajority to 55%.</li>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776395113876220257noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240687451170264723.post-18521817994464021002017-07-10T17:33:00.000-07:002017-07-10T17:33:10.469-07:00Rays of Hope for Eliminating HomelessnessYou have probably noticed an increase in attention that homelessness has been receiving in the news lately. You may have also noticed an increase in visible homelessness in the community where you live. The problem has escalated to a point that it is difficult to ignore.<br />
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The crisis is forcing individuals and institutions to get desperate. And sometimes desperation is just the motivation needed to try something new. We have realized that the status quo was not working. Therefore, new approaches and partnerships are necessary, and with the status quo de-legitimized, some communities have been willing to take some risks and break new ground. This has led to implementation of some innovative new strategies that show promise for moving the needle. Below I summarize four new strategies that a growing number of communities are adopting.<br />
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<b>1. Meet Homeless Individuals Where They Are</b><br />
Up until about five years ago, the homeless care system in our country was largely built on the premise that homeless individuals must show that they deserve our help by demonstrating sobriety, cleaning up negative housing history, etc. The assumption was that if homeless people were given something they didn't "earn", they would be too dependent on the system and not have the determination to move out of homelessness. This created barriers to entering housing that many homeless individuals were unable to overcome, and exacerbated the problem because studies have shown that the longer someone is homeless, the more difficult it is for him/her to secure housing. As the number of chronically homeless individuals increased, we attempted to address the problem by funding emergency shelters and transitional housing programs instead of permanent housing. While there are many shining examples of these programs moving people out of homelessness, for a large segment of the population, they were temporary band aids or inaccessible, with many individuals cycling in and out of shelters and transitional housing, or avoiding them altogether.<br />
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In the early 2000s, a new approach began to show promise. This is an approach of meeting the homeless where they are, and accepting them into housing with drug and alcohol addictions and/or untreated mental illness. The <a href="http://endhomelessness.org/resource/housing-first/" target="_blank">data on outcomes for these programs</a> has shown that once individuals are safely and permanently housed with support services, they are more likely to reduce drug and alcohol use, demonstrate a variety of health improvements, including mental health, and most are able to maintain their housing. This approach has more recently been extended to outreach, where programs are proactively seeking out homeless individuals on the street and in encampments, not to relocate them, but to build relationships of trust and offer help. Some cities have also opened "come as you are" centers in neighborhoods that are more accessible than the typical government institutions, where anyone can get help regardless of whether they have the proper paperwork. Examples of this approach include the <a href="https://www.community.solutions/blog/study-confirms-major-impact-100000-homes-campaign" target="_blank">100,000 Homes Campaign</a> and San Francisco's Navigation Centers (<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8240687451170264723#editor/target=post;postID=6953938463883087579;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=6;src=postname" target="_blank">see my blog post- A New Strategy to Reduce Homelessness</a>).<br />
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<b>2. Build Housing Authority Partnerships</b><br />
Housing Authorities have traditionally restricted their role to operating public housing and Section 8 vouchers. However, more housing authorities are beginning to harness their resources in meeting the challenge of homelessness. The most significant way this is being addressed is by prioritizing Section 8 vouchers for homeless individuals and families, and project-basing Section 8 in permanent supportive housing projects. This addresses the most significant barrier in developing and operating permanent housing for homeless individuals- limited operating revenue. It also provides developers of permanent supportive housing with another tool to finance projects. In addition, Housing Authorities are becoming more involved in affordable housing development, bringing their resources to projects, which include buildings, land, property management expertise, and rental assistance. Finally, Housing Authorities are increasingly dedicating their operational and administrative resources to assist with running the local Continuum of Care, which is the local coordinating body that procures federal funding for homelessness.<br />
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<b>3. Collaborate with Health Providers</b><br />
Hospitals lose hundreds of millions of dollars providing unreimbursed care to homeless individuals every year. Much of this cost is associated with hospital visits that could be avoided if patients had stable housing and supportive services. To address the issue, major health care providers are beginning to invest money in homeless assistance and housing. They have also begun to partner with local governments and local housing trust funds to leverage their investments. As an example, the <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article155794134.html" target="_blank">City of Sacramento recently created a program</a> to keep homeless people out of emergency rooms. To accomplish this, the City received pledges totaling $5.7 million annually over four years from Sacramento Covered, Sutter Health, Dignity Health, Kaiser Permanente, and UC Davis Medical. The City combined this with $2.3 million annually of its own money, which positioned it to receive about $32 million from a State of California pilot program that uses federal Medicare and Medicaid funds. These funds will help homeless individuals move out of homelessness and into permanent housing. Specifically, the program will provide outreach workers to find frequent emergency room visitors and intervene before they use expensive critical care services. The program will also direct the expertise of mental health professionals toward those in need.<br />
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<b>4. Raise New Local Public and Private Investment</b><br />
There is a growing consensus among government, business and citizens that homelessness negatively impacts the entire community, and that large financial commitments are required to make a difference. Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Sacramento voters have all approved tax increases to fight homelessness. In addition, business leaders are starting to take on a more significant role in many communities; some contributing to local housing trust funds, and others donating to specific projects or donating land. In one example, <a href="https://nextcity.org/features/view/hawaii-duane-kurisu-homelessness-crisis-kahauiki-village?utm_source=Next+City+Newsletter&utm_campaign=de1fb94e4f-Daily_721&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_fcee5bf7a0-de1fb94e4f-43946213" target="_blank">a business leader in Honolulu is funding the development of an 100-home village</a> to house homeless individuals and families.<br />
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I will be tracking the outcomes of these strategies in the coming years. These developments introduce welcome changes to a broken system. The first step is figuring out what works. The second, more important step, is building the political will, and new collaborations, to implement what works. In many communities, that appears to be beginning to happen.<br />
<b><br /></b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776395113876220257noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240687451170264723.post-2718204962795549592017-02-07T23:29:00.000-08:002017-02-07T23:29:09.831-08:00The Fate of Fair HousingIn July of last year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued new regulations to strengthen fair housing requirements for localities that receive their funding. The new regulations, named the <a href="https://www.hudexchange.info/resources/documents/AFFH-Final-Rule.pdf" target="_blank">Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Final Rule</a> (AFFH), were a legacy of the Obama Administration's sustained emphasis on fair housing. <div>
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The goal of AFFH is to overcome historic patterns of segregation and reduce disparities in housing choice and access to opportunity. The overarching mission is expanded economic opportunity and enhanced quality of life. President Obama and HUD leadership believed that fair housing is critical to building complete communities with ladders to opportunity. The idea was that complete communities that provide equitable access to housing opportunities ensure that economic gains are broadly distributed and sustainable for groups traditionally left behind by economic growth.<div>
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Just four months later, America elected a President that is adamantly opposed to the fair housing approach of the previous administration. President Trump and his selection for HUD Secretary, Ben Carson, believe that localities should determine how they will address fair housing issues on their own, without top-down direction from the federal government. Indeed, fair housing seems to be squarely in the cross hairs as the HUD program most likely for significant alternation under the Trump Administration. </div>
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Legislators have already begun to attack AFFH. The Local Zoning Decisions Protection Act of 2017 would nullify the AFFH Final Rule. While this is an immediate threat to AFFH, this act would need 60 votes in the Senate for passage and it would be difficult to secure votes from eight Democratic Senators.</div>
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It is unknown how this will play out over the next four years. Carson will be embarking on a "listening tour" at the start of his tenure, so he is not promising immediate action. Given that it would take some time for a large bureaucracy to change course, it will most likely be at least a year before there are major changes to the program. In the meantime, you should be aware of the following key elements of AFFH.</div>
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<li>Replaces requirements that a Participating Jurisdiction (PJs) complete an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice (AI) with a more rigorous process called the Assessment of Fair Housing (AFH);</li>
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<li>Requires HUD to provide additional data that will help PJs improve fair housing assessment, planning, and decision making;</li>
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<li>Facilitates regional approaches to Fair Housing that encourage collaborations between jurisdictions and housing authorities; and</li>
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<li>Encourages greater public participation in AFH development.</li>
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A common misunderstanding is that AFFH gives HUD the authority to tell localities where they can build multifamily housing. However, this continues to be a local decision under AFFH.<br /><div>
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<i>Who is required to submit an AFH?</i></div>
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Jurisdictions that are required to submit Consolidated Plans for CDBG, HOME, ESG and/or HOPWA programs; and Public Housing Authorities receiving assistance under Sections 8 and 9.</div>
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<i>When will PJs be required to implement AFFH plans?</i></div>
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Generally speaking, the first AFH must be submitted 270 days prior to the start of:</div>
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<li>For Insular Areas, States, and PJs with a FY 2015 CDBG grant of $500,000 or less, the program year on or after January 1, 2018 for which a Consolidated Plan is due; or</li>
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<li>For Public Housing Authorities, the program year on or after January 1, 2018 for which a 5-Year Plan is due; or</li>
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<li>For all other PJs, the program year on or after January 1, 2017 for which a Consolidated Plan is due.</li>
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For most program recipients, the next Consolidated Plan will be due in 2020, with the AFH due 270 days prior in 2019. It will be interesting to see if and how much AFFH is altered prior to 2018, when program recipients will need to begin working on an AFH in order to meet the deadline. Regardless, PJs should become familiar with AFFH, plan for compliance, and pay close attention to any program changes.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776395113876220257noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240687451170264723.post-43028692585415294602016-12-07T00:09:00.002-08:002016-12-07T00:11:40.940-08:00What will HUD look like under Carson?This week Donald Trump announced his appointment of Ben Carson to be the new HUD Secretary. Because Dr. Carson has no housing policy experience whatsoever, there are many unknowns about how he would run the department. However, he has put forth his broader political philosophy about the limited role that government should play in assisting low-income people. For example, he has made some comments about how social safety net programs encourage dependence of low-income people on those programs. This has led to some concern that Carson would support cutting funding to existing HUD programs, or significant programming changes that would negatively impact the economic security of millions of Americans.<br />
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While we don't know exactly what types of interventions Carson would make to most HUD programs, he does seem to have a clear mandate to diminish efforts to promote fair housing. This was reported in recent articles by the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/23/upshot/how-ben-carson-at-housing-could-undo-a-desegregation-effort.html?_r=0" target="_blank">New York Times</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/hud-job-to-pit-carson-ideology-against-long-standing-housing-policy/2016/12/05/6e7e8d76-bb25-11e6-94ac-3d324840106c_story.html?utm_term=.67cd5b8c2784" target="_blank">Washington Post</a>. Carson views HUD's fair housing interventions as ineffective "social engineering" by government. The Washington Post article points out that it was government social engineering that created housing segregation in the first place. Obama's fair housing enforcement activities have been efforts to reverse the pervasive impacts of past government intervention in the housing market.<br />
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Trump emphasized the fact that Carson grew up in inner city Detroit, and therefore has the necessary experience to address problems that vex such cities. However, Carson has not been involved in efforts to address inner city problems at a scale anywhere close to what he will be charged with at HUD. He understands that there are problems, but he doesn't have any experience with successful solutions, nor has he established the relationships across business, government and grassroots organizations that are necessary to implement them.<br />
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Carson is obviously a very bright and talented surgeon. Questions linger about how applicable this knowledge is to what will be required at HUD. A brilliant technician is not necessarily a brilliant administrator. The two require very different skill sets and approaches. I believe Carson's success as HUD Secretary will depend on how willing he is to keep an open mind, re-evaluate some of his philosophical beliefs, and lean on professionals within the department that have a much deeper understanding of housing policy and how it impacts American households.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776395113876220257noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240687451170264723.post-34045280132894438802016-11-05T11:18:00.001-07:002016-11-05T11:18:55.369-07:00How Will the Presidential Election Impact Housing?Have you heard candidates acknowledge the affordable housing crisis on the campaign trail? An <a href="http://www.ipsos-na.com/news-polls/pressrelease.aspx?id=7315" target="_blank">Ipsos poll</a> conducted this summer found that 76% of likely voters would be more likely to support a candidate who made housing affordability a campaign focus. Yet, as we near election day, you probably won't hear much about housing policy. In fact, there has been limited discussion and information about housing throughout the entire campaign season (<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/presidential-candidates-affordable-housing-crisis_us_56eff13ee4b09bf44a9dc943" target="_blank">see the Huffington Post article on this topic</a>). This despite the heavy coverage of housing issues in the news over the past year, most prominently the rapid increase in housing costs and the pervasiveness of homelessness. As has been often reported, housing affordability has fallen to crisis proportions in most major metros across the country.<br />
<br />
In this blog, I try to uncover any evidence of housing policy plans in the Clinton and Trump platforms. Where policy does not exist, I will attempt to conjecture based on the candidates comments, background, and the impact of other related policy statements.<br />
<br />
While there was essentially no discussion on this issue in the presidential debates, the Clinton campaign has articulated a couple public statements about their housing policy. These can be found in a September 21, 2016 <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/21/opinion/hillary-clinton-my-plan-for-helping-americas-poor.html?_r=0" target="_blank">New York Times editorial written by Hillary Clinton titled "My Plan for Helping America's Poor"</a>, and an August 12, 2016 <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/12/opinions/affordable-housing-election-clinton-kaine/" target="_blank">CNN editorial written by Tim Kaine titled "How to Make Housing Fair in America"</a>.<br />
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In Clinton's editorial, she calls for a "national commitment to create more affordable housing", noting that 11.4 million households spend more than half of their income on rent. She outlines a plan to address this that includes expanding Low Income Housing Tax Credits in high cost areas to increase affordable housing supply. As a broader strategy for addressing poverty, Clinton wants to direct 10% of federal investments to communities where 20% of the population has been living below the federal poverty threshold for 30 years. While not specifically stated, this targeting formula might apply to HUD community development programs such as the Community Development Block Grant.<br />
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In Kaine's editorial, he shares his experience fighting racial discrimination in housing as an attorney in Richmond, Virginia. He states that home is foundational to the quality of our lives as a significant determinant in the access to jobs, schools, air quality and other factors. After pointing out that the federal government brought a housing discrimination suit against Trump's company for systematic racial discrimination practices in 39 of his rental properties, Kaine goes on to describe how he will enforce the Fair Housing Act to fight discrimination. In addition to expanding Low Income Housing Tax Credits, Kaine wants to increase rental assistance through Section 8 housing vouchers, provide more support for public housing and link that support to economic development initiatives, and provide downpayment assistance for first-time home buyers.<br />
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Hillary Clinton's voting record in the Senate demonstrates that she is a supporter of existing affordable housing programs. She was also a co-sponsor to the bill that established the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/108th-congress/senate-bill/1411?" target="_blank">National Housing Trust Fund</a>, which allocates a small portion of revenue generated by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to subsidize housing targeted to extremely low income households.<br />
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The <a href="https://www.demconvention.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Democratic-Party-Platform-7.21.16-no-lines.pdf" target="_blank">2016 Democratic Party Platform</a> includes a strategy to preserve and increase the supply of affordable rental housing by expanding incentives that ease local barriers to development, increasing funding to the National Housing Trust Fund, supporting the Neighborhood Stabilization Program that rehabilitates foreclosed homes, and increasing funding for maintenance of public housing and for rental assistance. The platform also commits to enhancing support for programs that address homelessness, especially for the chronically homeless, veterans and families. The Democratic Party plans to bolster programs that assist first-time home buyers, including protecting home buyers from predatory lending by defending the work of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The platform also commits to strengthen and enforce the Fair Housing Act.<br />
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The Trump campaign has provided virtually no information on their plans with regard to housing. Therefore, we are left to conjecture how Trump might approach housing based on the information available. Donald Trump's father, Fred Trump, was a real estate developer that built housing and helped Donald get started in the business. Fred Trump built 27,000 low-income affordable units in the New York area. Donald Trump has not played up this accomplishment, nor has he spoke to the issue of affordable housing.<br />
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In 1973, the U.S. Department of Justice charged that the Trump family business violated the Fair Housing Act while Donald was President of his father's company. The charge found that the Trumps employed racially discriminatory practices in 39 of their apartment buildings in New York City, <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/sep/27/hillary-clinton/true-hillary-clinton-says-federal-government-sued-/" target="_blank">as reported by Politifact</a>.<br />
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The 2016 Republican Party Platform includes a section titled "Responsible Homeownership and Rental Opportunities" that generally addresses housing issues without getting into policy specifics. It advocates for scaling back the federal role in the housing market, particularly Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and proposes a critical review of how federal regulations increase the cost and limit the supply of housing. It also also encourages reforms to mortgage practices that provide clear and prudent underwriting standards. It is unclear how these reforms would come about and who would implement them. Finally, the platform stresses that zoning decisions must remain under local control, and that federal efforts to address economic and racial segregation and discrimination through Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing regulations do not address discrimination as much as seek to usurp self government.<br />
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One could project that given his family's background in low-income housing development, Donald Trump may be favorably disposed to supporting the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program. However, Trump has also talked about simplifying the tax code and eliminating numerous tax credits on the campaign trail.<br />
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While it is difficult to forecast how Trump would treat existing housing programs if he were elected, his tax plan would probably severely reduce the availability of funds for programs that assist low-income households. <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/sep/27/hillary-clinton/hillary-clinton-correctly-cites-outside-analyses-t/" target="_blank">Politifact</a> reports that the conservative <a href="http://taxfoundation.org/article/details-and-analysis-donald-trump-tax-reform-plan-september-2016" target="_blank">Tax Foundation</a> estimated that Trump's proposed tax cuts for the wealthy would reduce federal revenue by $4.4 to $5.9 trillion. After incorporating projected economic growth resulting from the tax cuts, the Tax Foundation estimate of the reduction in federal revenue is reduced to $2.6 to $3.9 trillion. The <a href="http://crfb.org/papers/promises-and-price-tags-preliminary-update" target="_blank">Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget</a> estimated that Trump's tax plan would increase the federal deficit by $5.3 trillion over the next decade. The same study estimated that Clinton's tax plan would increase the federal deficit by $200 billion over the same period. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget study does not project new revenue from economic growth that results from tax cuts.<br />
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For other sources on each presidential candidate's positions on housing policy:<br />
<ul>
<li> <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2016/11/02/how-housing-would-fare-under-clinton-trump.html" target="_blank">CNBC did an overview</a> that focused on how each candidate would approach opening up the market through regulatory reform.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.novoco.com/periodicals/articles/washington-wire-affordable-housing-campaign-trail" target="_blank">Novogradac's Washington Wire</a> tracks the politics of housing on the campaign trail.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://nlihc.org/issues/election" target="_blank">National Low Income Housing Coalition: Housing and the Election</a></li>
</ul>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776395113876220257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240687451170264723.post-15009952154536072122016-10-07T15:19:00.000-07:002016-10-07T15:19:01.211-07:00Utility Benchmarking: Making Housing More Cost-Effective and Energy-EfficientIf you work in the affordable housing industry, you are probably familiar with Utility Allowances. When tenants pay for their own utilities, the maximum rent that can be charged for their assisted unit is reduced by the amount of their typical monthly utility bills. The idea is that affordable rent should include utilities costs that tenants pay out of their own pocket.<br />
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In the past, the Utility Allowances have been uniformly set by unit type (studio, one-bedroom, etc.) and metropolitan area every year, and published by the local housing authority. This standardized formula has not accounted for differences in location within a metro area, and more importantly, variations in building types and systems. Improvements in green building, energy efficient heating and cooling systems, and solar energy generation have dramatically reduced utility costs compared to buildings without these improvements.<br />
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In response to these changes in the construction industry, HUD is now preparing to implement a new system for calculating utility allowances called "Utility Benchmarking". This new system will shift the responsibility for calculating the utility allowances from HUD to affordable housing owners. HUD will require affordable housing owners to track, analyze and report utility consumption and costs for each property according to established standards. New utility allowances appropriate for each property will then be set by using the data collected for that property.<br />
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Utility Benchmarking will provide a number of benefits to affordable housing owners and their tenants. First, it should help owners identify inefficient utility systems, equipment and operations practices. This will provide valuable information for physical needs assessments and planned rehabilitations. Second, Utility Benchmarking will provide greater incentive for affordable housing owners to incorporate green building materials and energy efficient systems into their buildings. In the long run, this should lead to lower operations costs and more financially sustainable projects.<br />
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Affordable housing building owners should begin preparing now for Utility Benchmarking. HUD recently posted information about it on their <a href="http://blog.hud.gov/index.php/2016/10/07/the-future-of-affordable-housing-is-measured-and-managed-lean-and-green/" target="_blank">HUDdle Blog</a>. You can also go to their <a href="https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/utility-benchmarking/" target="_blank">Utility Benchmarking web page</a> for information on how to get started, training opportunities, and new policies and incentives.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776395113876220257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240687451170264723.post-25348412546284631392016-08-03T16:16:00.001-07:002016-08-03T16:16:44.565-07:00How Do Communities Access Federal Funding for Homelessness?This post is intended to provide general information about how communities can access federal funding for homelessness. This money is distributed through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and more specifically through HUD's Continuum of Care (CoC) program. First, I'll provide a brief description of the process in which the funds are allocated and managed. Second, I'll summarize the legislation and implementing regulations of the CoC Program. Third, I'll point out what communities need to do to position themselves to secure CoC funding.<br />
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Every year HUD releases its CoC NOFA for homeless housing and services. In order to receive this funding, HUD requires that communities establish CoCs, which are local coordinating bodies that consist of government and nonprofit agencies focused on ending homelessness in their community. The CoC has a governing body, usually called a "Council" that directs the business of the CoC. Different roles are assigned to participating CoC entities. The two most important roles are the Collaborative Applicant that is responsible for submitting an application to HUD on behalf of the CoC, and the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) Lead that is responsible for managing a homeless information database. One of the CoC's primary roles is the review and ranking of individual project applications within its jurisdictions, which are then presented by the Collaborative Applicant in the CoC's Consolidated Application. This structure, and supporting policies and procedures, must be in place before communities secure CoC funds.<br />
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The HUD CoC program is governed by the <a href="https://www.hudexchange.info/resource/1715/mckinney-vento-homeless-assistance-act-amended-by-hearth-act-of-2009/" target="_blank">HEARTH Act</a>, which became law in 2009. This law amended the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act by consolidating three separate homeless assistance programs into a single grant program. The HEARTH Act also codifies the CoC planning and administration process as described above. The stated goals of the HEARTH Act are to promote community-wide commitment to ending homelessness, provide funding to quickly rehouse homeless individuals and families, promote access to other mainstream assistance programs for homeless persons, and optimize self-sufficiency among homeless persons. The <a href="https://www.hudexchange.info/resource/2035/coc-program-interim-rule-formatted-version/" target="_blank">"Interim Rule" (24 CFR 578)</a> consists of the HEARTH Act implementing regulations.<br />
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HUD has prioritized CoC funding to align with the goals of the federal plan to prevent and end homelessness- <a href="https://www.usich.gov/opening-doors" target="_blank">"Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness"</a>. The most currently relevant goal of this plan is to end Chronic Homelessness in 2017. Chronically Homeless persons are defined by HUD as persons who have a disability that have been continuously homeless for at least 12 months or that have been homeless on at least four separate occasions in the last three years. <a href="https://www.hudexchange.info/resource/4847/hearth-defining-chronically-homeless-final-rule/" target="_blank">See the complete definition here.</a> The plan identifies the following strategies for meeting this goal:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Reallocate existing CoC funding to projects that house Chronically Homeless individuals.</li>
<li>Prioritize existing permanent supportive housing beds for Chronically Homeless individuals with the greatest needs.</li>
<li>Engage Chronically Homeless individuals through street outreach and standardize assessment and placement in a way that makes it easier to access housing.</li>
<li>Implement community-wide <a href="https://www.hudexchange.info/resource/3892/housing-first-in-permanent-supportive-housing-brief/" target="_blank">"Housing First" programs</a> that lower barriers to accessing housing.</li>
<li>Request additional funding from Congress to build more permanent supportive housing units.</li>
</ul>
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This year's CoC NOFA competition rewards communities that are taking concrete steps to implement the first four strategies listed above. CoCs must demonstrate progress through outcomes that are recorded in HMIS. Projects requesting annual renewals for rental assistance and/or supportive services must demonstrate that they are prioritizing available beds for Chronically Homeless individuals. In addition, new projects requesting funds must serve the Chronically Homeless with permanent supportive housing or rapid-rehousing using a Housing First model.</div>
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<br /></div>
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For more general information, check out <a href="https://www.hudexchange.info/resource/2036/introductory-guide-to-the-coc-program/" target="_blank">HUD's Introductory Guide to the CoC program</a>. As you can see, HUD has a very specific, prescriptive way that they want to fund projects that address homelessness. You will want to understand what will be required and whether your community has the capacity to deliver it before you pursue this funding.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776395113876220257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240687451170264723.post-69539384638830875792016-07-11T22:41:00.000-07:002016-07-14T11:12:34.376-07:00A New Strategy to Reduce HomelessnessA number of strategies to address homelessness have been debated and attempted in cities across the nation. These have included everything from criminalizing homelessness to legalizing homeless encampments, and from building tiny house villages to implementing aggressive street outreach and housing first placement.<br />
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San Francisco has been breaking ground on a uniquely new strategy called the "<a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/S-F-takes-new-direction-on-homeless-camps-with-6038197.php" href="http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/S-F-takes-new-direction-on-homeless-camps-with-6038197.php" target="_blank">Navigation Center</a>". This is a one-stop complex where homeless individuals are welcomed for short stays without placing barriers to their entry. The approach is welcoming and accommodating, which creates an atmosphere of trust that helps people change their living situation. The goal is to warm people up to accessing housing and services, which is often an obstacle to helping them off the streets, especially for chronically homeless individuals with substance abuse and/or mental health issues. During stays, homeless individuals are assisted through proactive one-on-one interaction with case managers and counselors who identify appropriate supportive housing and help them move in.<br />
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This model has already demonstrated success in moving people off the streets, and it will be formalized within a <a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/How-SF-will-re-envision-integrate-its-8330631.php" href="http://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/How-SF-will-re-envision-integrate-its-8330631.php" target="_blank">new City Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing</a>, and supported by new City funding targeted to producing new supportive housing units. The first Navigation Center was established in the Mission about a year ago and offers 75 beds. The Mission Navigation Center had served 468 individuals as of early May of this year. About 84% of those individuals served had moved into permanent housing. A second Navigation Center opened in a renovated hotel in Civic Center that will offer 93 beds.<br />
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The Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing has plans to develop three more Navigation Centers. These centers will be the organizing force for a completely redesigned homeless services system. One of the aims is to attract people out of homeless camps that are often dangerous, unhealthy, and have negative impacts on the surrounding neighborhood. The key to making the centers successful is producing an adequate number of affordable housing units that will provide permanent destinations for visitors. San Francisco has made some progress in that regard by using bond financing to generate $810 million for affordable housing last year. Part of the bond financing was approved through a proposition last November with 75% of voters favoring the measure.<br />
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Most cities don't have the political will right now to implement a similar program in type or scale to San Francisco. However, if it becomes a successful model that can show public cost savings to taxpayers, then the Navigation Center approach may become replicable elsewhere. It is now well documented that placing a homeless individual in subsidized supportive housing is generally much less expensive than leaving that individual on the streets in terms of public costs. Further, these studies typically do not consider the broader positive impacts to the local economy. I will be tracking the success of San Francisco's Navigation Centers to see how this strategy might demonstrate a solution to the problem of homelessness on a large scale.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776395113876220257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240687451170264723.post-15712096347202755132016-06-07T23:58:00.003-07:002016-06-08T13:33:28.463-07:00The Great Debate on Solving California's Housing CrisisFor the first time in recent memory, there is a broad consensus in California that we have a housing crisis. Numerous media and research reports show that we are not building anywhere near enough units to house the growing population, and that a significant portion of the population cannot afford to live in the state. There is general agreement that the housing crisis is a drag on the economy, deteriorates our quality of life, and is a problem that must be solved.<br />
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Now that the problem has been identified, a debate is underway about how to solve it. Is it a problem of inadequate housing supply overall, or should resources be targeted to those with the lowest incomes? Can the problem to solved with government resources, or should the private sector take on the responsibility? Is the problem overregulation, or inadequate funding? Should we be increasing the supply of housing, or addressing households' ability to afford it?<br />
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Jerry Brown initiated the debate in earnest when he presented his budget, which included a provocative proposal to deregulate the permitting process for affordable housing development. Developers that commit to make 10%-20% of a project's units affordable to low income households would be entitled to build by right on properties zoned for high density residential, without requiring a permit and associated discretionary local reviews.<br />
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Some have questioned the effectiveness of Governor Brown's proposal. The greatest concern is whether jurisdictions will cooperate. The Governor's proposal does not address the problem of cities that do not have adequate land zoned high density residential in the first place. Communities may also re-zone high density residential land to other uses. While State Housing Element law requires communities to zone adequate land for high density housing, there is no straightforward way to ensure compliance other than extended inter-jurisdictional wrangling and protracted lawsuits.<br />
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Meanwhile, the legislative branch wants to allocate funds to subsidize the development of affordable housing. The Senate passed a bill to put a <a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-sac-essential-politics-senate-passes-3-billion-bond-1464811943-htmlstory.html" href="http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-sac-essential-politics-senate-passes-3-billion-bond-1464811943-htmlstory.html" target="_blank">$3 billion bond</a> for housing on the November ballot. It still requires approval of two-thirds of Assembly members and the Governor. The Assembly is proposing an allocation of $650 million for a range of affordable housing programs. However, the Governor has stated that he does not believe that allocating funds to affordable housing will make an impact that is worth the expenditure. He has voiced support, however, for housing subsidies and services targeted to homeless individuals.<br />
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Yet another approach being debated is to not incentivize private sector development, but require the private sector to set aside affordable housing units through inclusionary zoning. San Jose's inclusionary ordinance was recently upheld by the courts after a long legal battle with home builders. The housing market in San Jose is so expensive that government subsidies are currently far inadequate to address it without assistance from for-profit developers.<br />
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San Francisco, another one of the most expensive housing markets in the country, has arguably the greatest challenge of any California city in addressing housing needs. Proposition C will give voters the opportunity to vote for a revision of the current inclusionary housing ordinance that would raise the required affordable housing unit set-aside for market rate developments from 12.5% to 25% of all units in a project. The big question is whether this will reduce overall production if it becomes more difficult for projects to pencil financially.<br />
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The positive in all of this is that solutions are being debated. For too many years there has not even been a consensus acknowledgement that housing affordability is a widespread problem. We won't ultimately know what strategies will be most effective in addressing the problem until they are implemented and assessed. The crisis has reached a stage where elected leaders are finally willing to propose creative and bold solutions. That is movement in the right direction. If some of these initiatives are implemented, we will know much more about how public policy can improve the housing situation in the coming years.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776395113876220257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240687451170264723.post-37338904499134755402016-05-10T21:33:00.001-07:002016-05-10T21:33:07.830-07:00The National Housing Trust Fund and Latest Federal Housing Policy TrendsI was at the Housing California Conference last month and attended the session titled "Federal Housing Policy in a Presidential Election Year" with panelists Peter Lawrence from Novogradac and Linda Couch from the National Low Income Housing Coalition. Below are some noteworthy trends and developments.<br />
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<b>The National Housing Trust Fund</b><br />
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The National Housing Trust Fund (HTF) has released its first allocation of $174 million. Each state will receive $3 million plus an additional amount based on need. Funds will be distributed to states this summer. At least 80% of each grant must be used to produce rental housing affordable to Extremely Low Income and Very Low Income households.<br />
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The HTF regulations are largely modeled after the HOME program, but with deeper affordability targets. In fact, all of the HTF allocation must assist Extremely Low Income Households earning less than 30% of Area Median Income until the HTF balance reaches $1 billion. After the HTF balance exceeds $1 billion, 75% of the HTF allocation must assist Extremely Low Income Households. Because projects serving this income level will have limited revenue, the program allows HTF to fund operating reserves when project-based Section 8 subsidy is not available. Initial commitments for reserves will be allowed to subsidize operations for up to five years at a time, although they can be renewed with subsequent grants to each State. It is yet to be determined how compatible this arrangement will be with debt underwriting standards. Hopefully norms and agreements can be established similar to underwriting of Section 8 Project-Based subsidies. The amount of funding for operating reserves allowed will be determined by each State. Providing flexibility for operating reserves will be key to making the program work for Extremely Low Income households.<br />
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The National Housing Trust was established under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 and is funded by new business value from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac transactions. Now that those institutions have rebounded from the recession, funds are available for allocation for the first time. More information about the National Housing Trust Fund and the Interim Rule is available on <a href="https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/htf/" target="_blank">HUD's HTF website</a>. A list of the allocation amounts by state are found <a href="http://www.housingfinance.com/finance/hud-allocates-174-million-through-the-housing-trust-fund_o" target="_blank">here</a>. While $174 million is a drop in the bucket to address the nationwide need, creation of the HTF is an exciting development in that it creates a structure for future investments of a much more significant scale.<br />
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<b>Proposed Section 202 Changes</b><br />
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The "PRAC" operating subsidies for Section 202 projects do not currently allow for capitalization with new financing. The President's 2016 budget proposes moving PRACs to a Section 8 structure that can support refinancing of existing 202 projects and take on debt.<br />
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<b>HR 3700</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Also named the "Housing Opportunities Through Modernization Act (HOTMA)", the House passed this bill unanimously. It would increase flexibility for housing authorities to project base a larger portion of their Section 8 vouchers, and allow more project based vouchers per property, while requiring more project based Section 8 to assist homeless households.<br />
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<b>Low Income Housing Tax Credit Expansion</b><br />
<br />
Senator Cantwell supported legislation that successfully set the 9% tax credit factor permanently. She is now co-sponsoring legislation with Senator Schumer that would increase the allocation of 9% tax credits by 50%. The bill would also allow use of income averages to meet affordability targets, set the 4% tax credit factor permanently, and provide a 50% basis boost for Extremely Low Income projects.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776395113876220257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240687451170264723.post-65762175503984293812016-04-12T12:33:00.002-07:002016-04-12T12:36:47.682-07:00An Explanation of HUD's FY2015 Homeless Grant AwardsOn March 8th, HUD announced $1.6 billion in homeless grant awards for the FY 2015 Continuum of Care (CoC) NOFA. Those of you tracking this program may have been perplexed about how HUD came to their funding decision. First, not all of your CoC grant requests, including renewals, were funded. Second, awarded funding was increased over the amount requested for many of the grants.<br />
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To answer the first question, HUD is not awarding all of its FY 2015 CoC funds at once this year. They announced $1.6 billion in Tier 1 awards on March 8th, and will award another $300 million in Tier 2 awards at an unspecified date later this spring. CoCs were required to rank their grant requests, grouping their highest priority grants that equal 85% of their Annual Renewal Amount in Tier 1, and the remaining 15% of their Annual Renewal Amount, plus the amount of their Permanent Housing Bonus, in Tier 2. Tier 1 grant requests were generally awarded funds on March 8th. Those grant requests that were split between Tier 1 and Tier 2 were not awarded funds at that time.<br />
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On the second question, HUD made adjustments to their awards based on the <a href="https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html" target="_blank">FY 2016 Fair Market Rents</a> in effect at the time of application submission. In addition, adjustments were made to permanent housing project operating and leasing costs based on increases in the Fair Market Rent, weighted for population density.<br />
<br />
See <a href="https://www.hudexchange.info/news/fy-2015-continuum-of-care-coc-program-competition-funding-announcement-for-tier-1-coc-planning-and-ufa-costs/" target="_blank">HUD's complete explanation and the list of awardees here</a>.<br />
<br />
As stated in HUD's news release, the CoC NOFA has become increasingly competitive in recent years. The major scoring criteria is the extent to which grant requests meet the program's principal priorities: serving the Chronically Homeless, lowering barriers to access housing, and implementing rapid re-housing and permanent housing. Many CoCs are moving funds from projects that do not address these priorities to projects that do meet them. In addition, CoCs are required to invest more time and money in developing an infrastructure to coordinate CoC programs, including governance structures, coordinated intake and assessment, program evaluation, and HMIS. These investments require a larger commitment of non-HUD funds to CoCs than have been committed in the past, as HUD does not allocate funds for CoC administration other than small, infrequent planning grants. <br />
<br />
I will revisit this emerging trend further in future blogs. Feel free to <a href="mailto:jcoles@housing-tools.com" target="_blank">contact me</a> if you need help with your CoC.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776395113876220257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240687451170264723.post-51108213787745298592016-02-12T09:42:00.001-08:002016-02-12T09:42:33.939-08:00President's Proposed Budget Would Be a Major Step Forward in Addressing HomelessnessThe White House released its proposed HUD budget this past week. I recommend you take a look at the <a href="http://www.nhcopenhouse.org/2016/02/a-first-look-at-presidents-proposed-fy.html" target="_blank">National Housing Conference Blog</a>, which does a nice job of summarizing it. This budget is more aggressive in dealing with homelessness than any of this President's previous budgets. I want to highlight a few elements of his proposal that are significant changes in affordable housing policy:<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Allocates almost $11 billion to house homeless families over the next 10 years. In California, if this is combined with a <a href="http://sd24.senate.ca.gov/news/2016-01-08-what-others-are-saying-about-%E2%80%9Cno-place-home%E2%80%9D-initiative" target="_blank">$2 billion multi-year initiative</a> proposed in this year's legislative session, real progress could be achieved in eliminating homelessness.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>10,000 new housing vouchers for homeless families</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>25,500 new units of permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless individuals</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Statutory changes to the HOME Program that include eliminating the 24-month commitment requirement, and eliminating the required 15% set-aside for Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs). In my view, these changes would allow greater flexibility and more effective use of the HOME Program by Participating Jurisdictions. These requirements often force communities to fund projects that are less feasible or not as ready to start construction as others. As a result, expending HOME funds within the mandated deadlines has been a challenge for many communities, especially those with few soft funding options.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Of course, there is the real possibility that this budget proposal is gutted by the time it gets through Congress. However, there is a glimmer of hope that there is enough bipartisan support for addressing homelessness and using HOME funds more efficiently that those portions of the budget could survive intact.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776395113876220257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240687451170264723.post-57526777593268096552016-02-08T19:25:00.002-08:002016-02-08T19:25:59.876-08:00Accessing Cap and Trade Funds for HousingCalifornia was the first state in the nation to establish a cap and trade program in which polluting industries pay into a state-controlled fund in exchange for the right to exceed greenhouse gas emissions standards. A portion of the money generated from payments into this fund has been aside for smart growth transportation and development, including affordable housing. The program incentivizes development that is integrated into transportation infrastructure that shifts transportation trips from cars to public transit, biking and walking, and can demonstrate a reduction in projected greenhouse gas emissions. The program has been generating more revenue than initially forecast, as the funding allocation has grown from $120 million in 2015 to $320 million in 2016. Find more background <a href="https://www.sgc.ca.gov/docs/AHSC_Background_Information.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
The Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program (AHSC) is jointly managed by the California Strategic Growth Council (SGC), and Housing and Community Development Department (HCD). Below I highlight some key aspects of this program.<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>AHSC encourages joint applications between housing developers and public entities that build transportation infrastructure (transit authorities, counties, cities, etc.). Housing and connections to transit, pedestrian and bike improvements should be planned holistically, with the intent to facilitate use of these alternative forms of transportation by residents.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Projects to be funded with AHSC must have completed their CEQA and NEPA environmental review processes prior to application submission in order to qualify.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Match funding is a key scoring criteria.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Funding committed to housing development is made in the form of a permanent, residual receipts payment loan, with terms and loan limits similar to HCD's Multifamily Housing Program.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Housing projects can also apply for Housing Supported Infrastructure for off-site improvements. This funding is made in the form of a grant.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Housing projects must provide at least one secure off-street bike storage space for every two units. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>In future funding rounds, AHSC will not subsidize off-street parking costs. These costs will need to be funded by other sources.</li>
</ul>
<div>
As you can see, putting together an application for this funding requires advance planning, even though the formal NOFA and guidelines have been released just a couple months before the application due date each of the last two years. There are two application phases, with the first due in March of each year. Therefore, Applicants should start planning to submit an application in September or earlier of the prior year.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
More information about this year's NOFA can be found at the <a href="https://www.sgc.ca.gov/s_ahscprogram.php" target="_blank">AHSC website</a>. Feel free to <a href="mailto:jcoles@housing-tools.com" target="_blank">contact me</a> if you need assistance with this program.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776395113876220257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240687451170264723.post-6695687955040526732015-12-07T16:19:00.001-08:002015-12-17T16:00:03.737-08:00Home- It Takes a Village to Build ItWith this end of year post, I'm going to take the liberty to veer from my usual technical "how to" post to reflect on the current state of housing in America. Throughout the year, I have read article after article about America's housing shortage- there's not enough of it, it is too expensive, and as a result, many people don't have it, and others are stuck in a cycle of poverty as they try to hang onto it.<br />
<br />
This has become an urgent issue for many cities and their leaders. (Meanwhile, Congress is cutting funding for affordable housing.) Cities like New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles have become economically segregated and prohibitively expensive for a large portion of their workforce. The Mayor of San Francisco recently announced <a href="http://sfgov.org/news/2015-09-16/housing-initiative-mayor-introduces-legislation-build-affordable-housing-faster" target="_blank">a major initiative to produce more affordable housing</a>, including <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/real-estate/2015/09/sf-affordable-housing-bonds-redevelopment-units.html" target="_blank">use of bonds to raise $500 million</a>. <a href="http://www.citylab.com/housing/2015/09/what-a-state-of-emergency-declaration-means-for-the-homeless/407014/" target="_blank">The Mayors of Los Angeles and Portland recently declared a State of Emergency</a> due to the homeless problem. But this isn't just a big city problem. The apartment vacancy rate in my town, Chico, California (population approx. 90,000) is under 2%. It's also a statewide problem in California. The <a href="http://www.caeconomy.org/reporting/entry/video-hundreds-attend-as-2015-summit-targets-californias-big-challenges" target="_blank">2015 California Economic Summit</a> cited the production of affordable housing as one of the three top priorities for the State in the coming year.<br />
<br />
I don't think this issue has started to garner so much attention because leaders have suddenly started to be more sensitive to the needs of poor people. It's because the lack of affordable housing has begun to make an even more evident negative impact on the <a href="http://www.governing.com/topics/urban/gov-urban-affordable-housing-families.html" target="_blank">middle</a> and <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/some-families-earn-six-figures-and-still-need-help-with-the-rent-1448996304" target="_blank">even upper-middle class</a> (i.e. they can't afford to live where the jobs are), and it effects other things that everyone cares about: economic well-being and the efficient use of public resources. As people appreciate the interconnectedness of the urban environment and the economy, they realize that a housing shortage cannot be isolated or ignored.<br />
<br />
In order to refocus our priorities, we need to re-frame the way we think about housing. Since the post-WWII housing construction boom, our American society has viewed housing through the lens of individual choice and responsibility. The single-family home has been personalized like the automobile. This line of thought suggests that the responsibility for securing and maintaining a home lies solely with the head of the household, and it is of no concern to anyone else.<br />
<br />
However, the perceived reality of homeowners being fully capable of purchasing and maintaining their home on their own is a myth. An individual's property actually has been everyone else's business for a long time, especially in post-WWII America, where federal stimulus programs (e.g. the GI bill, the mortgage interest tax deduction, government-backed mortgage securities) made it possible for middle America to afford homes. In addition, large-scale government investments in infrastructure, such as the Interstate Highway program, opened access to more land and greater supply, and subsequently more affordable homeownership opportunities. Who paid for those investments? Everyone, especially the wealthy, thanks to a tax structure that was much more progressive than it is now.<br />
<br />
In the American experience, safe and sanitary housing has been more available when the government has taken an active role, and less available when that role has been abdicated to private property owners whose primary concern is personal profit. Even the homesteading of the 19th Century was made possible by government investment, such as the U.S. military relocating Native Americans and protecting settlers, and federal investments in rail and land surveying.<br />
<br />
What has made a village a "village" from the dawn of civilization has been the communal construction of shelter. Cooperative construction of such shelter was usually the first order of business in establishing the village, and participation in that effort has traditionally been part of the societal social compact.<br />
<br />
But even in the age of private property law, a home's monetary value is inexorably linked to developments in the community that surrounds it. If the City decides to put a nice park across the street from your home, you win, whether you did anything to deserve it or not. If the City doesn't help rehabilitate the dilapidated housing across the street from your home, and traffic on your street is awful because most people commute by car instead of living near work, you lose, whether you did anything to deserve it or not.<br />
<br />
<b>It's time to start thinking about the availability of affordable housing as a critical common concern of all citizens, and worthy of bold investment on a national scale.</b> I'm not talking about massive communist housing blocks and one-size-fits-all top-down central planning. We already know how to make federal investments in a way that is responsive to markets and sensitive to local decision-making. The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program (conceived in the Nixon Administration) provides grants for public improvements benefiting low-income populations to local governments. The CDBG program sets broad spending criteria, and then allows local governments to spend CDBG funds in a way that meets local priorities, fosters local partnerships, and addresses local needs. It has proven to be broadly popular and effective. We need a similar program that will allow local governments to leverage other effective programs such as the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) to stimulate the production of affordable housing.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, Congress is not going to do this on their own anytime soon. In the meantime, housing professionals and activists should recommend and support solutions at the state and local levels. There are many proven models that can be pursued, such as local housing trust funds, social impact bonds, inclusionary zoning, and land use regulatory reform (<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/30/opinion/inequality-and-the-city.html?emc=edit_th_20151130&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=68247720&_r=1" target="_blank">see Paul Krugman's recent op-ed</a>). We should also ask politicians how they are going to address the housing shortage, and hold them accountable at the ballot box if they do not. As is often the case, change will have to come from the bottom up, in particular from city leaders and their citizens who experience the impacts of the housing shortage on a daily basis.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776395113876220257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240687451170264723.post-52245564512308458912015-11-03T20:24:00.003-08:002015-11-03T20:40:21.890-08:00The Impact of Federal Homeless Policy on Rural CommunitiesYou may have read <a href="http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/press/press_releases_media_advisories/2013/HUDNo.13-173" target="_blank">HUD press releases</a> about progress in eliminating homelessness in the United States. According to HUD, veteran and chronic homelessness have been significantly reduced over the last five years. The reason? The federal government has begun implementing proven, effective models. The key model to this success is "Housing First"- the approach of housing the "Chronically Homeless" (individuals who have been homeless more than a year or who have had four or more episodes of homelessness over the last three years) immediately without placing barriers in their way (such as sobriety, minimum income or criminal record standards), and then after being housed, wrapping those individuals in services that will help them stabilize and maintain housing. This model was first proven to be successful in New York City and other large urban metros. HUD has now tied Housing First implementation to federal homeless funding for the rest of the country.<br />
<br />
Yet for the rural Northern California communities in which I work, the decline in chronic homelessness is not evident. On the contrary, it has been on the rise. Our Point-In-Time Surveys show that while the total number of homeless individuals in Butte County has decreased over the last four years as the economy has improved, the number of Chronically Homeless individuals has increased. The visibility of homeless individuals has certainly increased in downtowns and public areas, raising concerns from businesses, chambers of commerce, politicians and the public about the impact of homelessness on the economy and public safety. In Chico and Redding, the increase in homelessness has become a major topic of public debate as those communities seem powerless to stem the tide.<br />
<br />
HUD's approach to these problems is to require that all <a href="https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/coc/" target="_blank">Continuums of Care (CoCs)</a> adopt a specific, prescriptive set of policies and procedures that implement Housing First and an organizational infrastructure to support it. This organizational infrastructure is extensive, with key elements being Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) and Community-wide Coordinated Entry into housing and services. This infrastructure involves extensive data collection, monitoring, and evaluation, as well as complex governance structures. (See the <a href="https://www.hudexchange.info/coc/coc-program-law-regulations-and-notices/" target="_blank">HEARTH Act</a>, <a href="http://usich.gov/opening_doors/" target="_blank">Opening Doors Plan</a> and the <a href="https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/coc/toolkit/" target="_blank">CoC Program Toolkit</a> for more on these policy directives.) As a result of these directives, CoCs carry a growing administrative burden. Instead of sharing in the cost of this administrative burden (like the CDBG program), HUD has left it to communities to come up with the funding.<br />
<br />
While many large metro areas have been able to mobilize the necessary resources to implement Housing First and its supporting administrative infrastructure, most smaller cities and rural areas have struggled to do so. Resources available to large metro areas that are less available to rural areas include: larger tax bases; constituencies more supportive of funding homeless interventions; and greater concentrations of philanthropic and CRA-incentivized investment.<br />
<br />
Looking ahead, I see the following trends growing out of HUD's CoC policy:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Rural communities that do not develop a political consensus to adopt HUD's policies (and raise the resources necessary to implement them) will drop out of the CoC Program and cease to receive competitive federal funding.</li>
<li>While chronic homelessness continues to decrease in metro areas, it will continue to increase in rural areas.</li>
<li>As the imbalance between cities and rural areas in dealing with the homeless problem continues to grow, government will attempt to make policy interventions to correct the imbalance.</li>
<li>The responsibility for implementing HUD directives will increasingly fall to multi-jurisdictional conglomerate rural CoCs with private funding support, and State governments, as these will be the only entities with adequate capacity to maintain the CoC infrastructure required by HUD.</li>
</ol>
<div>
HUD policy is strongly influenced by who occupies the White House, so there is always the possibility of change with election cycles. However, I do not see federal homeless policy changing any time soon. The <a href="http://usich.gov/" target="_blank">U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness</a> within the Bush Administration initiated some of the current policies that have continued under the Obama Administration. Further, the CoC Program is one of the few domestic programs that has had bi-partisan support over the past four years, as CoC funding has not been cut nearly as drastically as other HUD programs such as HOME.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If you live or work in a rural area other than Northern California, I would be interested in knowing what trends in homelessness you see there. My perspective is based on what is happening in Northern California, but there may be other factors at work in rural areas that I am not aware of. Thanks for sharing your insight!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776395113876220257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240687451170264723.post-29651492160752362822015-09-08T17:06:00.000-07:002015-09-08T17:06:37.104-07:00The National Disaster Resilience CompetitionThe National Disaster Resilience Competition (NDRC) is a HUD funding program that reflects Congress's response to the natural disasters of 2011-2013, starting with Hurricane Sandy. It is funded out of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, and is called CDBG-DR, or CDBG-Disaster Recovery. Toward the end of this year, HUD will allocate $1 billion in CDBG-DR to successful NDRC applicants. This will have a huge impact on disaster recovery efforts across the country, with an aim of mitigating the impacts of future natural disasters. Here are the basics about NDRC.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>The application consists of two phases. Phase I applications, submitted earlier this year, framed unmet recovery needs and described an overall approach to address them. HUD invited Phase I applicants to submit a Phase II application (due Oct. 27th) that proposes specific projects to receive CDBG-DR funds.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>All states with counties that experienced a Presidentially Declared Major Disaster in 2011, 2012 or 2013 were eligible to submit a Phase I application.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>CDBG-DR eligible projects include housing, infrastructure, community facilities and watershed restoration. At least half of the funds must benefit Low and Moderate Income Households, as defined by HUD.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The program seeks to fund proposals that further "resilience", meaning that the community will resist and rapidly recover from disasters with minimal outside assistance.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The NDRC also prioritizes projects that fully engage and inform community stakeholders, address the specific needs of vulnerable populations, and leverage investments from the philanthropic community.</li>
</ul>
<div>
Housing Tools has experience developing applications for this competition, so please <a href="mailto:jcoles@housing-tools.com" target="_blank">contact me</a> if you have any questions.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776395113876220257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240687451170264723.post-63830121180731796962015-08-04T22:05:00.000-07:002015-08-04T22:05:07.504-07:00Staying on Top of HOME DeadlinesHUD's <a href="https://www.hudexchange.info/home" target="_blank">HOME Investment Partnerships Program</a> enforces strict deadlines for committing funds, expending funds, starting project construction, and closing out a project. A Participating Jurisdiction (PJ) that receives an annual entitlement HOME grant (also called a Formula Allocation) may lose its funds if it does not meet these deadlines. It can be a challenge to keep track of these deadlines because the clock re-starts every year that the PJ receives a new Formula Allocation. A PJ usually has multiple deadlines for different years of Formula Allocation that have not been entirely committed or spent.<br />
<br />
The HOME deadlines became more stringent a few years ago when the legislature sought to improve the timely use of funds, resulting in the 2013 HOME Rule. Below is a summary of HOME Deadlines.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><b>Expenditure—</b> PJ’s must spend HOME funds within five years of
receiving their Formula Allocation.</li>
<li><b>Commitment—</b> PJ’s must commit HOME funds to a specific
project with a binding legal agreement within 24 months of receiving their
Formula Allocation.</li>
<li><b>Project Commencement—</b> HOME-funded projects must begin
construction within 12 months of receiving a HOME commitment, as documented
with building permits.</li>
<li><b>Project Completion—</b> HOME-funded projects must be completed
within four years of commitment, as documented with certificates of occupancy.
Any project that is not completed in this timeframe will be terminated and PJs
will be required to repay HOME funds drawn.</li>
<li><b>Lease-up—</b> HOME-assisted rental units must be occupied by
income-eligible households within 18 months of project completion. If this
requirement is not met, PJs must repay HOME funds for the vacant units. For
units that remain vacant six months following completion, the PJ must develop
an enhanced marketing plan and report this information to HUD.</li>
<li><b>Home purchase—</b> A HOME-assisted homebuyer unit must have a
ratified sales contract within nine months of construction completion.</li>
</ul>
<div>
HUD does provide a 120-day notice when a deadline is approaching that has not yet been met. Deadlines are also tracked on HUD's <a href="https://www.hudexchange.info/manage-a-program/home-deadline-compliance-status-reports/" target="_blank">HOME Deadline Compliance Status Reports</a> online. However, it may often be too late for a PJ to line up or complete a project by the time the 120-day notice has arrived. Real estate projects often require long timelines and a more proactive approach.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
To initiate a planning process to meet deadlines, it is a good idea to set up a timeline for each year's HOME allocation and each HOME-funded project. Housing Tools uses <a href="https://www.smartsheet.com/coordinate-anything-with-smartsheet?s=55&c=21&m=5500&a=75890958907&k=smartsheet&mtp=e&adp=1t1&net=g&dev=c&devm=&plc=&gclid=CNCL1KGVkccCFRAxaQodSuYGIg" target="_blank">Smartsheet</a> cloud-based project management software to make these timelines available to all team members on the Internet, allowing them to access and update timelines at any time. This software also offers tools to make assignments, notify team members when tasks are completed, and send automated reminders via email. This helps PJs stay on top of HOME deadlines. Let me know if you would like to find out more about these systems.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776395113876220257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240687451170264723.post-81379911775522715922015-07-07T23:05:00.000-07:002015-07-07T23:13:56.355-07:00How to Become a Community Housing Development OrganizationA Community Housing Development Organization, or CHDO, is an entity that is prioritized to receive funding from HUD's HOME Program. States, cities and counties across the country receive an annual allocation of HOME funds from the federal government to produce affordable housing. HUD requires that at least 15% of their annual allocations fund CHDO projects. In this post I summarize the most important steps an organization needs to take in order to qualify as a CHDO.<br />
<br />
HOME Participating Jurisdictions (PJs) are responsible for certifying entities as CHDOs in accordance with HUD regulations. In order to be certified as a CHDO, an organization must meet standards in three general areas:<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Mission-</b> the organization's mission must include the provision of affordable housing for low income households. This mission must be documented in the organization's articles of incorporation or bylaws. In addition, CHDOs must have a policy and process for incorporating input from program beneficiaries.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>Board Composition-</b> at least 1/3 of the organization's Board of Directors must represent the community's low-income population, either as a low-income resident, a resident of a predominantly low-income census tract, or a representative of a low-income neighborhood organization. In addition, no more than 1/3 of the Board of Directors can be affiliated with a public entity, as an elected representative, an appointed representative, or as an employee.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>Capacity-</b> the organization must demonstrate capacity to develop housing by documenting financial health, accomplishments and staff qualifications. The organization must also have experience serving in the PJ that is certifying it. A new requirement that came with the 2013 HOME Interim Rule is that CHDOs must have paid, full-time staff involved in housing development.</li>
</ul>
<div>
Feel free to contact me to get more details on becoming a CHDO, or to use my cloud-based checklists for certifying CHDOs.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776395113876220257noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240687451170264723.post-80232864228237120952015-06-01T22:43:00.000-07:002015-06-02T10:02:00.866-07:00Getting a Handle on the Analysis of Impediments to Fair HousingHUD requires each entitlement jurisdiction to update its Analysis of Impediments (AI) to fair housing every five years, concurrent with the update of the Consolidated Plan. Unlike the Consolidated Plan, the AI is not submitted through IDIS to HUD, but is kept on file at the jurisdiction. Five years is a long time, so here's a refresher (or introduction) on how to approach the AI.<br />
<br />
I recommend you review <a href="http://www.hud.gov/offices/fheo/images/fhpg.pdf" target="_blank">HUD's Fair Housing Planning Guide</a> to make sure you are addressing all of the relevant topics. The AI can be organized in five general sections:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Goals and Process- definition of Fair Housing Impediments, AI goals, and process, including description of entities consulted (government agencies, housing authority, lenders, real estate agents, landlords, legal services, services for disabled persons, advocacy groups, etc.);</li>
<li>Background Data- demographics (population, race, ethnicity, household characteristics), household income, employment, transportation, and housing (type, rents, vacancies, condition). </li>
<li>Potential Public Impediments</li>
<li>Potential Private Impediments</li>
<li>Summary of Impediments and Plan to Address Them</li>
</ol>
<div>
While all of the sections are essential, most of the effort should be focused on the potential Impediments (Sections 3 and 4). In researching potential Impediments, here are some of the key questions to consider with respect to the Public Sector:<br />
<br />
Are building and zoning codes in compliance with State and Federal Law with regard to fair housing?<br />
<br />
Do building or zoning codes make it more difficult for protected fair housing classes to access housing than other populations?<br />
<br />
Are low-income or racial minority populations concentrated in particular neighborhoods? Do these neighborhoods have good access to transportation, amenities, public services and employment? Are there public policies that intentionally or unintentionally lead to low-income or racial minority population concentrations?<br />
<br />
Do zoning or building codes present impediments to building affordable housing throughout the jurisdiction or in particular communities (e.g. minimum lot sizes, excessive parking requirements, lengthy review processes)? Are there policies that treat affordable housing different than market rate housing?<br />
<br />
Are financial resources made available for affordable housing?<br />
<br />
Do planning and zoning boards reflect the community's diversity? Is the board member selection process open, transparent and fair?<br />
<br />
Are Section 8 voucher holders concentrated in particular neighborhoods, or are they broadly distributed throughout the jurisdiction? If concentrated, what are the conditions in these neighborhoods? Is the Housing Authority making efforts to open access to new neighborhoods?<br />
<br />
Does the Housing Authority provide implement reasonable accommodation procedures, pursue tenant access to a variety of neighborhoods, empower residents to help shape their communities, and provide opportunities for tenants to move to homeownership?<br />
<br />
Good data sources for the Background Data section include:<br />
<ul>
<li>Housing Element and Consolidated Plan</li>
<li><a href="http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/searchresults.xhtml?refresh=t" target="_blank">U.S. American Community Survey</a></li>
<li>Local rental market surveys</li>
<li><a href="http://www.consumerfinance.gov/hmda/explore" target="_blank">Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) Website</a> (Hint: if you want to look at census tract data, select your County or Metro Area, export to Excel, and then sort by tract number)</li>
</ul>
<div>
I hope this helps you get started. Give me a call if you need further assistance. Good luck with your AI!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776395113876220257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240687451170264723.post-706710944577640842015-04-07T23:30:00.000-07:002015-04-08T11:25:38.376-07:00Consolidated Plans: Bringing It All Together<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-top: 9.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="background-color: white;">In many
ways, HUD has simplified the Consolidated Planning process with the new eCon
Planning Suite. It has a standardized format, and much of the data (albeit a
bit out of date) is already provided in tables within the forms. Rather than
interpreting HUD regulations, the form asks specific questions, taking a great
deal of guesswork out of the process. In addition, all information can be input
into IDIS, where plans, disbursements and reports are now stored in one place.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
<br />
These are all welcome developments. Still, when the Consolidated Plan is
printed out, it is well over 100 pages and not in the most readable format. One
can easily get lost in the numerous forms and tables. To gain some perspective
and strategic direction, I have found it helpful to take a step back and look
at the big picture.<br />
<br />
In summary, the Consolidated Plan consists of the following elements:<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: 0in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Executive Summary<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: 0in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Process - a description of your consultation with other
agencies, and the public outreach process.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: 0in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Needs Assessment - an analysis of housing, community development,
and economic development needs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: 0in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Market Analysis - an assessment of market conditions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: 0in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Strategic Plan - a plan of action for the 5-Year planning period.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Annual Action Plan - a plan of action for the first year of the
5-Year planning period.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
After completing Sections 1-4, I recommend you summarize your findings by
listing the Priority Needs identified through the following processes:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Consultation and Public Outreach<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: 0in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">CAPER review<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing (HUD is putting a strong
emphasis on this)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: 0in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">ConPlan Needs Assessment<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">ConPlan Market Analysis<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">After listing your
priorities, you will find some overlap and duplication between the different
processes. Through this analysis, you will be able to assemble the overall
Priority Needs list required in the Strategic Plan. You can then formulate your
Strategic Plan’s goals and Annual Action Plan Projects, based on the Priority
Needs, available resources (i.e. budget constraints), and past performance (as
documented in the CAPER).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So here's the ConPlan big
picture process, as we formulated it for the City of Chico:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjIF3JiGW6p2fKw8IgCqPKJTLUCF2dfMO45NnuUuy3m6Cd5sZxuJzaO4dSqSRFA0m0X5E5DLvRaWNNVMWMGeLqoGmAo7NzQnmsJ9gb2kO_5M9kLmW7dlt-Kk3Hb9sRFNe-JpJzIHi4ZTw/s1600/Slide1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjIF3JiGW6p2fKw8IgCqPKJTLUCF2dfMO45NnuUuy3m6Cd5sZxuJzaO4dSqSRFA0m0X5E5DLvRaWNNVMWMGeLqoGmAo7NzQnmsJ9gb2kO_5M9kLmW7dlt-Kk3Hb9sRFNe-JpJzIHi4ZTw/s1600/Slide1.jpg" height="247" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Good luck navigating
through the IDIS weeds and keeping your focus! You can do it!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Do you have any helpful
tips or tricks for navigating the Consolidated Process? Post your comments
below!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776395113876220257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240687451170264723.post-46917004629419624352015-01-26T20:17:00.000-08:002015-01-27T10:35:04.479-08:00Tips for Labor Compliance on HUD Projects: Part 3Welcome to my final installment of HUD labor compliance tips. Part 1 provided an overview, and suggestions on complying with federal prevailing wages. Part 2 dealt with integration of requirements into contracts. Part 3 will focus on Equal Employment Opportunity and Section 3 requirements. Relevant regulations include Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development of 1968, 24 CFR Part 135, Executive Orders 11246, 11375, 12086, and 41 CFR Part 60 1.4(b).<br />
<br />
<b>Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) </b><br />
These requirements are often called MBE/WBE (Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprises). The purpose of these requirements is to involve minority and women owned businesses in contracts to the maximum extent possible. Grantees and general contractors must demonstrate that they have implemented policies and procedures to meet this goal. It isn't enough to say you tried. You must document efforts, and this post will help you understand how this can be done.<br />
<br />
<b>Section 3</b><br />
These requirements generally apply to any contract funded by HUD that is $100,000 or greater. The purpose of these requirements is to involve local low-income persons in contracts to the maximum extent possible. Similar to EEO requirements, grantees and general contractors must demonstrate that they have taken steps to meet this goal.<br />
<br />
EEO and Section 3 compliance has three elements: recruitment, documentation and contract management. Below is a summary of each.<br />
<br />
<b>Recruitment</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Prepare a EEO/Section 3 Plan and send it to the General Contractor. It should consist of hiring goals and resources, including contact info for: the local government, developer, and HUD labor representatives; local unions and trade associations; local community organizations and media for affirmative recruitment; and in-house or local apprenticeship and trainee programs for referral.</li>
<li>Send letters to the local labor representative and local unions and trade associations requesting feedback on the EEO/Section 3 Plan.</li>
<li>Post a project sign at the project site, place notices in community papers, and send letters to community organizations and businesses identified by local government with the following information: Section 3 regulations; contact information for employment opportunities; and the list of apprenticeship and training programs from the EEO/Section 3 Plan.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<b>Documentation</b></div>
<ul>
<li>Maintain a file documenting all EEO/Section 3 implementation efforts.</li>
<li>Maintain a list of all lower income residents, women and minority owned businesses that have applied for a job, and referral sources.</li>
<li>Provide an annual report on EEO/Section 3 progress to the HUD Administrator.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<b>Contract Management</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Notify potential subcontractors of EEO/Section 3 goals and requirements.</li>
<li>Incorporate EEO/Section 3 requirements and goals into all subcontracts.</li>
</ul>
<div>
Be aware that some local or State governments will add their own requirements on top of the base federal requirements. Feel free to contact me if you need assistance with putting together plans and templates. </div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So go out there and have a blast with HUD labor compliance.....which really isn't possible. But at least you can move forward with confidence and a plan.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776395113876220257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240687451170264723.post-56864438249296946102015-01-13T21:05:00.002-08:002015-01-13T21:19:55.617-08:00Tips for Labor Compliance on HUD Projects: Part 2Happy New Year! I took a long holiday break from the blog, but now I'm back at it. In my last post, I focused on wage compliance for HUD Projects. In this post, I will address contract conditions.<br />
<br />
When it comes to "CYA" for labor requirements, documentation is your friend, particularly contractual documentation. Far too often, the project team catches up with the labor requirements after the contracts are already signed, or after construction has already begun. You can always add addenda, but contractors will have already initiated their hiring and subcontracts. At that point, it's always challenging to get everyone to understand their obligations and implement them into their work programs. It's much better to start on the right foot and on the same page.<br />
<br />
In this regard, I have assisted a general contractor that does a lot of HUD work. I drafted form letters for their subcontractors that accompanies the contract for execution, and requires incorporation of the HUD-92554M form into the contract. The letter explains key labor conditions of HUD-92554M, as described below. In this way, the general contractor and the subcontractors have the same requirements incorporated into their contracts, and those requirements are brought to their attention.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><i>Davis-Bacon Wages:</i> Inform contractor that they must pay Federal Prevailing Wages to all workers on the project, as determined by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). Refer to and attach the DOL Wage Determination to the contract. <a href="http://hudinfoexchange.blogspot.com/2014/12/tips-for-labor-compliance.html" target="_blank">See my last blog post for more information about wage determinations.</a></li>
<li><i>Apprenticeships:</i> Describe the process for requesting approval to use an apprenticeship program that is not listed on the <a href="http://oa.doleta.gov/bat.cfm" target="_blank">Office of Apprenticeship website</a>.</li>
<li><i>Copeland "Anti-Kickback" Act:</i> It is a federal crime for anyone to require any laborer to kickback (give up or pay back) any part of wages (29 CFR Part 3).</li>
<li><i>Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA):</i> Overtime must be paid at 150% of the basic pay rate for all hours worked over 40 hours in a week. Proper health and safety standards must be maintained on the job site.</li>
<li><i>Equal Employment Opportunity and Section 3:</i> Federal law requires that contractors implement a plan to affirmatively recruit low-income residents, minorities and women to work on the project. </li>
</ul>
<br />
This is a summary of the major elements of the HUD-92554M form "Supplementary Conditions of the Contract for Construction". I recommend that you outline these clearly for your general contractor in a letter so that they understand the obligations they are taking on. In my next blog, I'll have more information about implementing Equal Employment Opportunity and Section 3 requirements.<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15776395113876220257noreply@blogger.com0