Agenda - Planning Commission - 09/04/2014

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Last revised July 24, 2014 o Fair Housing & Equal Opportunity efforts. o Efforts to recruit landlords to accept Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers. o Foreclosure prevention, counseling, mitigation, and remediation. o Energy, water, and other resource conservation. • Use the mechanisms of the Affordable Housing Production Survey and Housing Performance Score process to refer jurisdictions to best practice resources, technical toolkits, and funding opportunities. • Evaluate the potential utility of using the Housing Elements and Implementation Plan components of local comprehensive plans as an assessment component under the Scores (task for 2015 and 2016). • Plan for the transition from the existing scoring system to the new Housing Performance Scores developed under this plan. • Institutionalize local government review and comment on their preliminary Housing Performance Scores and create a formal structure for local governments to provide the Council additional information. The Council expects these refinements to the Scores will lead to not only a better ability to evaluate local performance on expanding affordable housing but also greater opportunity to help cities connect tools, ideas, and resources with development opportunities, potential partners, and a larger pool of funding and technical options. The Council currently uses the Housing Performance Scores in its Livable Communities Act programs as a means of rewarding communities with a clear and demonstrable commitment to providing affordable housing options. The Council is exploring opportunities to expand the use of Housing Performance Scores in other funding programs (see p. 56). Council actions • Use the above -defined approach to update the Council's calculation of Housing Performance Scores beginning in 2015. • Identify additional opportunities to use the Housing Performance Scores as an element of evaluating funding applications submitted to the Council. Council as a funder of housing In an environment of inadequate financial resources to meet the need for affordable housing development, the Council seeks to invest its finite financial resources for maximum impact. For the Council, just like other public entities, ensuring that resources not only align with desirable planning outcomes but deliver bigger "bang for the buck" is essential, as demand for resources in housing vastly outpaces supply. Key takeaway: The Council will use its resources — including Livable Communities Act grants, investments in infrastructure, and other funding streams —to expand housing choices across the region and create and preserve mixed -income neighborhoods and communities. 2040 HOUSING POLICY PLAN I METROPOLITAN COUNCIL DRAFT RELEASED FOR PUBLIC COMMENT Part III: Council Policies and Roles I Page 54