Agenda - Planning Commission - 09/04/2014

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Last revised July 24, 2014 The threshold for housing affordability and the adjustment factors for determining the Need provide a framework for determining a community's share of the Need. This framework will be the basis for a detailed methodology for determining the Need that the Council will develop in partnership with affordable housing stakeholders as a part of the implementation of this Plan. Council actions: • Use the above -defined framework to define a detailed methodology for determining the Allocation of Affordable Housing Need for 2021-2030 in time to inform the 2018 round of local comprehensive plan updates. Goals for Affordable and Lifecycle Housing (Goals) Under state statute, communities which choose to participate in —and therefore, be eligible to receive grants through —the Livable Communities Act must negotiate Goals for Affordable and Lifecycle Housing. The 1995 Livable Communities Act funds community investment that revitalizes economies, creates viable housing options, and links land use and transportation. The Livable Communities Act's voluntary, incentive -based approach requires a negotiation between the community and the Council to determine long-term affordable and life -cycle housing goals. The Council uses the community's Need as the base for negotiating the Goal, but the community and Council may additionally consider availability of resources to develop affordable housing, market conditions, land costs, and existing concentrations of poverty as factors in the negotiation process. As mentioned previously, the Need and the Goal are frequently confused. Where the Need is a proxy for demand for new affordable housing that should be addressed in local comprehensive plans, the Goal is a mechanism for participants of the Livable Communities Act to show their commitment and effort to produce affordable and life -cycle housing. With their Goal expressing a desire to expand housing choices, the LCA-participating communities are aided and rewarded by access to the LCA funding discussed further in Part III of this plan. The two measures are products of different legislation with different intents and requirements, and one of the desired outcomes of this Housing Policy Plan is to improve the understanding of their roles in the regional housing conversation. Council actions • Enter into Goal negotiations with communities with the intent that communities feel more ownership over their negotiated Goals. • Improve understanding of the difference between the Need and Goal measures. 2040 HOUSING POLICY PLAN I METROPOLITAN COUNCIL DRAFT RELEASED FOR PUBLIC COMMENT Part III: Council Policies and Roles I Page 52