Agenda - Council - 09/13/2022 - Laserfiche WebLink

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significant portions of any developments for renters making 30 percent of AMI or less and persons with physical and sensory disabilities. Other commenters requested a more flexible approach to affordable housing definitions. Treasury Response: Eligible Activities: The final rule clarifies eligibility of affordable housing development for recipients; these uses were eligible under the interim final rule, but Treasury is providing further guidance to enhance clarity and respond to recipient and commenter questions. As with all interventions to address the negative economic impacts of the pandemic, affordable housing projects must be responsive and proportional to the harm identified. This test may be met by affordable housing development projects — which may involve large expenditures and capital investments — if the developments increase the supply of long-term affordable housing for low-income households. While there may be less costly (or non -capital) alternatives to affordable housing development, a comprehensive response to the widespread housing challenges underscored by the pandemic will require the production of additional affordable homes, and targeted affordable housing development is a cost-effective and proportional response to this need. For purposes of this test, Treasury will presume that any projects that would be eligible for funding under either the National Housing Trust Fund (HTF) or the Home Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) are eligible uses of SLFRF funds. Note that these programs use different income limits than the definition of low- and moderate -income adopted by Treasury. Given the severity of the affordable housing shortage, and the ways in which the pandemic has exacerbated the need for affordable, high -quality dwelling units, Treasury has determined that the households served by these federal housing programs have been impacted by the pandemic 106