Agenda - Planning Commission - 09/04/2014

Home

Last revised July 24, 2014 is needed in every type of community, increased emphasis on providing a mix of housing affordability near transit may no longer be justified if the associated transit is not built. Some planned LRT and especially BRT routes would still be served by frequent bus service, but others are planned along corridors that would be more difficult to reach without the associated transitway. The market is certainly aware of this, with many developers hesitating to build projects that are not feasible without the planned transit. But public and non-profit entities are more cognizant of the rising costs of land and construction and are trying to make the most of their resources by planning ahead for increased housing options near planned transit lines. This is good planning, but an effort to review housing -related strategic acquisitions, infrastructure preparations, and key land use requirements (densities, parking requirements, etc) that are directly related to planned LRT or BRT lines should have contingency plans if those lines are not realized. Furthermore, the Council should consider any impacts on a community's Housing Element and Implementation Plan, as well as its Need, Goal, or Score that may require an intermediate adjustment prior to the next planned cycle. What if anticipated resources do not materialize? When it comes to affordable housing, there is more need than resources. The funding needed to fill the gap between the cost of building affordable housing and the return on investment that developers seek is already less than what is necessary to meet the Need. Nonetheless, it would be wise to consider the possibility that even today's limited funding could disappear. Because of the awareness of the gap between funding and need, most of these strategies are already on our radar, but a quick look at ways to stretch dollars and perhaps new momentum to utilize such methods is worthwhile. Guarantees address a project's risk rather than its gap. Some housing projects may have everything they need to be built except the confidence of a lender. This has had great significance in the previous five years as the housing market tries to recover from the Great Recession. Lending requirements have made challenging but desirable projects, such as mixed -income and mixed -use developments, even more difficult to build. For a government or philanthropic entity that wants to support such projects, the option of using funding to guarantee the repayment of an investment has the potential to sustain multiple projects, and if done well, can build market confidence in certain types of projects. Another way to stretch housing resources is to consider converting grant programs that protect, preserve, or create new housing options into revolving loan funds. Even at low- or no- interest, these loans are repaid and can then been used over and over again. This opportunity to fund multiple projects with the same source of funding is attractive, but risks alienating the most difficult, but important, housing projects that depend on grants to get built. While the costs and benefits of this strategy should be considered carefully, it remains a way to extend the life of housing resources. Implementation: Measuring Success More and more we are aware of the importance of our success as a region —our true competition is with other metro areas. While we must still be sensitive to the ability of local governments to support their individual goals and growth, we must also work together to ensure success for all. In that spirit, this conclusion to the Housing Policy Plan asks: what does success look like? The importance of data, research, and objective measures has been relayed throughout this document. One of the key assets of the Council is its ability to collect, analyze, and disseminate the information that will help set priorities and evaluate success in housing policy in the region. This section of the plan allows us to measure its success by defining quantitative indicators to be evaluated and publicly disseminated annually. These indicators are not the exhaustive data and research needed to measure 2040 HOUSING POLICY PLAN I METROPOLITAN COUNCIL DRAFT RELEASED FOR PUBLIC COMMENT Part V: Implementation and Next Steps I Page 74