City’s Affordable Housing Plan?

Hmmm . . . its been 1 year and 6 months that the current mayor and alders have been in office and what has happened with affordable housing so far . . . here’s an even worse plan.

From that same goofy HUD report to be voted on tonight by the Board of Estimates (further comments here).

p. 30

Annual Affordable Housing Goals (91.220(g))
*If not using the CPMP Tool: Complete and submit Table 3B Annual Housing Completion Goals.
*If using the CPMP Tool: Complete and submit the Table 3B Annual Housing Completion Goals.

25. Describe the one-year goals for the number of homeless, non-homeless, and special-needs households to be provided affordable housing using funds made available to the jurisdiction and one-year goals for the number of households to be provided affordable housing through activities that provide rental assistance, production of new units, rehabilitation of existing units, or acquisition of existing units using funds made available to the jurisdiction. The term affordable housing shall be defined in 24 CFR 92.252 for rental housing and 24 CFR 92.254 for homeownership.

2013 Action Plan Specific Objectives response:
In 2013, the Community Development Division will focus on the following objectives in the housing area:
• Improve the quality of the existing owner-occupied housing stock to possibly include an energy conservation and sustainability component as well as support community stability and neighborhood revitalization efforts.
• Increase the opportunities for homeownership for low and moderate income through the provision of downpayment assistance.
• Expand the number of affordable rental units and improve the quality and diversity of units available to lower income individuals throughout the community.
HOME and CDBG funds will be utilized to fund the housing objectives stated above.
In addition, please see the activity sheets starting on page 14.

(If you look at page 14 – all I can see is 9 rental unites being helped, but I think there is more, you just can’t see them. At the end of the report on page 57 is says we will create/aquire 23 affordable housing units. Any which way, that isn’t nearly enough. I’m not sure where the number of having rental assistance for 530 renters comes from, can’t find it anywhere in the report.)

Here’s the things that they are going to do to remove barriers to affordable housing:

Barriers to Affordable Housing
30. Describe the actions that will take place during the next year to remove barriers to affordable housing.
31. Describe the actions that will take place during the next year to foster and maintain affordable housing.

2013 Action Plan Barriers to Affordable Housing response:

The Community Development Division will continue to assist the City in developing strategies to remove barriers to affordable housing. The CDBG Office will continue to review its experience in the funding of affordable housing projects and where possible, seek Council action to remove non-financial obstacles to the construction of affordable housing within the City. Specific efforts are detailed below.

The Community Development Division entered into an agreement with MSA (consultants) for an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing. We anticipate this study to be complete in late 2012 to early 2013. This study will assist in developing future strategies for eliminating barriers to affordable housing.

In 2012, the Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing Center (MMFHC) completed the development of an Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) toolkit. The toolkit is designed to explain the shared AFFH obligation to HUD Entitlement Communities’ CDBG/HOME/ESG, housing, planning staff and their committee members and to share effective strategies that other communities and agencies have employed to fulfill that obligation. The Community Development Division, in collaboration the City’s Economic Development Division, Community Development Authority, and Housing Operations, anticipates working with the Director of MMFHC’s Inclusive Communities Program to review the toolkit and develop Madison specific implementation strategies to reduce barriers to affordable housing accordingly.

The City will continue discussions regarding priority uses for the City’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund. These priorities will be included in a Request for Proposals scheduled for release in 2013. These funds will make it possible for developers to create, repair or preserve affordable units.

The City has nearly completed its rewrite of the zoning code and anticipates completion in early 2013. The Development Services Center and ELAM (Enterprise Land Asset Management) system, launched in 2009, continues to helps to streamline the land use approval process. In 2013, the Community Development Division will continue to participate in the operational aspects of this system and seek its improvement through evaluation.

The Community Development Division will meet periodically with Third Sector Housing, a group of nonprofit housing development agencies, to identify ways to improve the capacity of non-profit agencies for housing development, and to streamline various aspects of the funding proposal, contracting and procurement process. Some of these recommendations will be reflected in the Program Funding Framework and guidelines for future years. Some will be incorporated into the procurement procedures and policies for the development process.

Also, pretty dismal.

FAIL!

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