Agenda - Planning Commission - 09/04/2014

Home

Last revised July 24, 2014 • Provide resources for housing rehabilitation either directly or through funding programs such as Community Development Block Grants. • Collaborate with partners, especially counties, to rehabilitate and preserve existing housing, especially affordable housing, when it is strategic and cost effective, including in rural areas. • Provide property owners who have received citations for code violations with referrals to resources that support rehabilitation while preserving affordability. • Support the continued participation of project -based subsidy programs by engaging property owners and emphasizing the community benefits of participation. • Include preservation opportunities, goals, and incentives in the housing element of comprehensive plans and in the housing action plans for Livable Communities participants. Address how "naturally occurring" or unsubsidized affordable housing meets the region's housing needs In recent years, conversation in the housing industry has increasingly included what is known as "naturally occurring" affordable housing or more simply, "unsubsidized affordable housing". The rents that the housing can demand in the private market given the properties' quality, age, size, or amenities remain low enough to be affordable to low- and moderate -income households, who might otherwise qualify to live in publicly subsidized housing. Unsubsidized rentals comprise nearly six in 10 units affordable to households at or below 50% of area median income, or approximately 120,000 housing units in the region.12 Many of these properties also offer appealing locations, proximate to natural resources such as rivers, lakes, and parks, features that would be difficult to replicate in today's economic environment and that merit consideration as pertains their preservation in support of environmental justice and equity. Much of this stock was built in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, when construction quality varied considerably. Many of these properties are now facing not just routine maintenance and repair but the need for replacement of major systems such as roofing and electrical, mechanical, and plumbing systems. While owners need infusions of capital to maintain these properties, many are either uninterested in or unable to secure funding from the sources that create publicly -subsidized affordable housing. As a result, a large share of our region's supply of existing unsubsidized affordable housing is at risk of loss. Encouraging owners of naturally occurring affordable housing to keep their properties in good condition and to maintain their "natural" affordability is an important part of the region's overall strategy to maintain a range of housing choices. Strategies will likely involve a mix of light to deep public interventions. For example, the state's Low -Income Rental Classification (tax class 4d), an existing but underused tool that can provide favorable tax benefits for owners making property improvements, could possibly be tied to a guarantee on the ongoing use of properties as housing for low- and moderate - income households. As many of these properties are in strong locations, it will also be particularly critical to develop strategies for preserving unsubsidized affordable housing located in or near current or future transit 12 Minnesota Preservation Plus Initiative. 2013. The Space Between: Realities and Possibilities in Preserving Unsubsidized Affordable Rental Housing. 2040 HOUSING POLICY PLAN I METROPOLITAN COUNCIL DRAFT RELEASED FOR PUBLIC COMMENT Part II: Outcomes (Stewardship) I Page 19