Agenda - Council - 07/25/1995 - Laserfiche WebLink

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I I I I I I I I I I ANOKA COUNTY HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY I~aul McCarron, Chairman Dave McCauley, Vice Chair Dennis D. Berg Margaret Langfeld Da~ Erhart Dick Lang Jim A. Kordiak July 19, 1995 DRAF[ Dear 4~: The Anoka County HRA has been working with elected officials and technical staff from your communities to develop a program.which' will address housing needs identified in the enclosed draft Anoka Courity Housing Study. Over the last nine months, our joint efforts have shown us that there is a need to do more to improve the quality of housing in Anoka County. The Anoka County HRA believes that increased County investment in housing will enable our communities to maintain the value of their property, will slow the progress of urban blight and will make the county a better and safer place to live. Anoka County recognizes that many municipalities andlocal HRAs and EDAs have undertaken efforts to address local housing needs. The Anoka County HRA believes, however, that it is now time for us to work together to leverage our resources in erder to enhance our abilities to make the necessary investment in our future. The Anoka County HRA draft Housing Study identified two priodty housing needs in the county. These priority areas are senior housing development and housing rehabilitation, which includes both single-family: and rental housing. Approximately 14% of the housing units in the county (13,307 out of 97,~.006 units) are substandard. Although the county and the municipalities have used CDBG and Cher funding over the years to ?ehabibate our housing stock, the enormity of this problem greatly outweighs our current ability to address the issue. Further, over the next 10 years, the number of persons 65 years and older living in Anoka County will increase by 55%, and already there are waiting lists for senior housing in the County. It is clear that the rapid rate of growth will outstrip the ability of current projects to provide adequate housing for our elderly population. The benefit that the Anoka County HRA can offer is the ability to levy a special benefit tax that can then be levera~ged to bring up to four times the amount of the revenue received through the levy. Thus, the Anoka County HRA is considering exercising it~ statutory authority for a special benefit levy. It is the policy of the Anoka County HRA, however, that it will not exercise any levy authority in any municipality which has an existing HRA or EDA with HRA authority, unless both the municipality and the HRA/EDA approve. Telephone: (612) 323-5680; Fax: 323-5682; TDD/"I-FY: 323-5289 Government Center, Administration Office, 2100 3rd Avenue, Anoka, MN 55303-2489