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Last revised July 24, 2014 <br />To simplify communication about these measures and the Council roles, this plan will use "Need" to <br />refer to the Allocation of Affordable Housing Need, "Goals" to refer to the Livable Communities Act <br />Affordable and Life -cycle Housing Goals, and "Scores" to refer to the Housing Performance Scores. <br />Allocation of Affordable Housing Need (Need) <br />Under the Metropolitan Land Planning Act, local <br />comprehensive plans must include a housing <br />implementation program that plans for the provision of <br />their fair share of the region's forecasted need for <br />housing for low- and moderate -income households: <br />"...a housing implementation program, including <br />official controls to implement the housing element <br />of the land use plan, which will provide sufficient <br />existing and new housing to meet the local unit's <br />share of the metropolitan area need for low and <br />moderate income housing." (Minn. Stat. 473.859, <br />subd. 4) <br />Determined every 10 years as a precursor to the <br />decennial comprehensive plan updates, the Allocation <br />of Affordable Housing Need attempts to provide the most objective, accurate prediction possible of the <br />number of new low- and moderate -income households that will need affordable housing without <br />considering the cost of, resources available, or barriers to building that housing. The Need measures <br />future affordability demand and does not incorporate existing unmet demand for affordable housing. <br />Key takeaway: <br />Need: each community's share of <br />the future regional need for affordable <br />housing <br />Threshold of housing affordability <br />With this Housing Policy Plan, the Council is moving to <br />an upper threshold of income for housing affordability of <br />80% of area median income (AMI) —or an annual <br />income of $63,900 for a family of four in 2014. Compared <br />to the previous upper limit of 60% of AMI, increasing the <br />upper threshold to 80% of AMI increases the overall <br />number of households represented in the Need but <br />better reflects the range of housing types that can <br />successfully provide affordable housing options, <br />including homeownership. <br />Households earning 80% or less of the AMI range from <br />working families and empty nesters to households <br />experiencing long-term homelessness and have a wide <br />variety of needs and preferences for the types and <br />locations of their housing. Recognizing the significant <br />variation in households earning less than 80% of AMI, <br />the Council will move from a single threshold defining affordable housing to a three "band" allocation <br />providing three Need numbers to cities and townships in the region: <br />Goal: a Livable Communities Act <br />participating community's goal for <br />new affordable and life -cycle housing <br />Score: the measure evaluating a <br />local government's progress toward <br />creating affordable housing <br />opportu nities <br />Thresholds of affordability used by the <br />Council <br />1996-2010 <br />50% of area median income <br />for renters <br />80% of area median income <br />for owner -occupied housing <br />2011-2020 60% of area median income <br />2021-2030 <br />30% of area median income <br />30-50% of area median <br />income <br />50-80% of area median <br />income <br />• Need for housing units affordable to households earning 30% or less of area median income <br />2040 HOUSING POLICY PLAN I METROPOLITAN COUNCIL <br />DRAFT RELEASED FOR PUBLIC COMMENT Part III: Council Policies and Roles I Page 50 <br />