Welcome to the October/November 2006 Newsletter from the Center for Innovation in Affordable Housing Design This month’s newsletter includes links to a number of design related articles, articles about homelessness as well as about legislation, funding and other issues related to affordable housing design. Be sure to look at the announcements, studies released, and upcoming events section of the newsletter for information you may find useful. Title Summary ARTICLES Design Related Articles Scraphouse: Building With Salvated Materials A Stylish Cottage For Katrina Country Is A Hit All Over Lafitte Will Get New Lease On Life; Brick Complex To Be Demolished, Redone Tour Features Affordable Side Of City Living Bunge Grain Elevator To Be Redeveloped Into Multi-Income Housing Project Renovated Professional Building Adds 132 Affordable Apartments Downtown Masshousing Provides $3.3 Million Loan For Furniture Building Conversion America's Largest Public Housing Project Passes Into History The Luxury Of Quality Architecture For The Poor High Rise Granny Flats Help Families Afford New Condos  Doctor Builds Asthma-Free Homes For The Poor  Universal Design Principles Call For Accessibility Features To Blend In, Not Stick Out Affordable Luxury: Low-Price Rentals With Elegant Touches Building A Home For The Have-Nots Move-in Specials: New 'Housing Alive' Video Available Vermont Architects Launch Affordable Housing Study Social Improvement With Architecture Katrina's Cottage Industry Building Homes For The Middle Grant to Help Bring Public Housing Up to Safety, Health Standards Vilas Area Cohousing Project To Begin Selling Units Community Built Into Affordable Units, Places A Public Housing Design Outshines Upscale Rivals All Fall Down Infamous Projects Are Rebuilt And Reborn  Encouraging Mixed-Use Without Sacrificing Affordable Housing Plans Filed for Housing, Retail Complex on Jackson Square Affordable Housing Sector Shops Around for Retail Partners Keep The Affordable Housing Outside, Please Building Idealism With 'Green,' Affordable Home Designs Another Look At Prefab Housing Inclusionary Zoning Set Asides, and Related Articles Inclusionary Zoning Approved In Rhode Island Palm Beach County Plan Eases Affordable Housing Requirement for Builders City Offers Incentives to Make More Houses Affordable for Working People Landlords Sue to Overturn Santa Monica 's Affordable Housing Ordinance Daley Offers Plan in Middle Ground on Affordable Set-Asides Bloomberg Recommendations On Tax Break Program Derided `Affordable' Housing? Hardly, Critics Say Housing Density Bonus Expected To Boost Affordable For-Sale Options Using Density Bonuses To Spur Affordable Housing Development http://www.planetizen.com/node/21688 Contra Costa County Requires Projects Law Mandates Affordable Housing Portland City Council Approves Urban Renewal Set-Aside Oakland Mayor Votes Down Low-Cost Housing Law Concerns Raised Over New Set-Aside for Urban Renewal Areas Does Lack Of Zoning Make Houston Housing More Affordable? Justices Uphold Restriction on IZ Ordinance  Proposal for Development Touts Affordable Housing Affordable Housing; New Jersey 's Three Decades of Running in Place Palm Beach County Approves Scaled-down Affordable Home Law Condo Plan Gets Mixed Reaction Articles Related to Homelessness City, County Officials Approve 10-year Plan to Aid Homeless Plan Against Homelessness Aims to Connect Homeless People With Services In An Ohio City , a Will to Provide Homes Anti-Homelessness Campaign Lags in Rural Areas Campaign Highlights Homelessness and fights misperceptions Spokane OKs Funds for Homeless Safety Net for Ex-Foster Kids The City's Cost of a Life Redeemed Voters May be Asked for Two Complexes -- One for Families, One for Singles 10 Non-Profits to Receive Training, Financing to Produce Supportive Housing in Illinois Leaders Promote Impact of Ohio 's Permanent Supportive Housing Program Mix of Shelter, Job Training Spells Success Formerly Homeless People Work to Wire Their New Digs Partnership Aims to Put End to Chronic Homelessness in Atlanta Region San Leandro Adopts Plan to Help Homeless   Affordable Housing Funding and Legislation Related Articles  New York City's Affordable Housing Wizard Builders Back Rule-Changing Amendment Trust Fund Plan Differs With Mayor's More Modest Plans Planners Vote to Allow Low-Income Owners to Share Equity Chicago Housing Authority $1.6 Billion Project Will Take Until 2015 No Quick Fix for Housing NeighborWorks America and Safeco Insurance Start Community Building Initiative More Americans House Poor Ouch! New Jersey Housing Is Priciest in Nation South Florida Businesses Feel Effects of Housing Crunch Program Lends Funds for Insurance Bills Area Hospitals Help Workers Reach American Dream National Association of Realtors Launches Employer Housing Benefit Campaign Police, Firefighters Challenge Residency Rules Plans for New Public Housing in Easton Draw Praise Hope VI Grant Sets the Stage for Replacing Center Court Apartment Owner, Retired Marine Find Way To Help Vets Legislators Approve LRA Rental Program; Affordable-housing Clauses Draw Fire Baltimore Looks To Increase Affordable Housing Study Shows Cost Savings Of Suburbs Are An Illusion Study Says Budgeting for Transportation Savings From Living Farther Away Profits Probed in Housing Program Plan to Stop Loss of Low-Rent Rooms OK'd Huntington Beach Will Go to Court Over Park Owners' Opposition Mobile Home Parks Land Sales Raise Rent Control Concerns Mobile Home Parks Are Being Pushed Aside Sprawl Hurts Lower Income Families Investing In The Inner City A Dark Day For Affordable Housing Rents Rise As Housing Market Cools Rents Are High All Over L.A.'S Urban Poor Face Worsening Housing Picture Austin ’s Affordable Housing's Ballot Debut Santa Fe 's Focus on Affordable Housing to Show on Ballot Houston Mayor and a Councilman Pledge New Affordable Houses for Neighborhood Real Estate Company Buys Landmark New York Housing Complex City to Build Affordable Apartments at Queens Site That Was Part of Olympics Bid Columbia U. Professors Feel Housing Crunch New Units to Replace Demolished Complexes Denver Reps Tour Florida Shelter Housing Bubble: Who's Paying Attention? Prices Keep Rising For Downtown Housing Development Affordable Housing Availability Decreased By Those Need It Affordable And Market-Rate Housing Co-Exist Habitat Finds Home in Suburbs Urban League Plans to Develop Affordable Condos Daley Going After Drug Dealers' Buildings; Plan Would Make Them Affordable Housing Irvine Receives Accolades For Promoting Affordable Housing 'Find A Lender' Wins Award for VHDA  Thinking Collectively To Gain Affordable Housing City's Housing Efforts Receive International Recognition Council Panel Told Tenant Law Is Not Enforced Plum Creek Timber Donates 25 Acres for affordable housing New Corporation Hopes to Remove Construction Hurdles Disneyland Says 'Not In My Backyard’ $37.3 Billion Infrastructure Package Leading Austin Voters Approve $567 Million in Bonds Voters Say Yes to Borrowing Billions for New Projects 110th House Committees: Housing and Financial Services Milwaukee Affordable-Housing Developers: Trust Fund is More Flexible Than Subsidies Baltimore City , Maryland Votes 2006 Program Offers Affordable Housing on Daniel Island Rivera To Divert Home Buyer Assistance Funds To Make Up For Lost Section 8 Funds Negotiations for Union Modular-Home Plant Under Way  Houses Being Built for Low-Income Folks are Near Downtown Jobs Pension Funds to Invest in Affordable Housing for Los Angeles Land Trusts Touted for Affordable Housing Housing Project Eyed New Homes Initiative Backed; Bronzeville to Include Affordable Housing  Habitat To Build Homes for Veterans Bridging The Gap: New Effort Helps Disabled Own Homes HUD's Public Housing Plan For New Orleans Challenged The Low Cost Housing Trade-Off: High Commuting Costs USDA Announces Multifamily Repair and Rehabilitation Funding. Affordable Housing: Apartment Preservation Editorial: Pilot Program For Affordable Housing Is Smart Transfer Tax Faces Vocal Opposition Los Angeles Tries to Stem Switch to Condos Contract Signed for Rental Assistance Program for Ex-Offenders The Housing Partnership Network Launches Gulf Coast Housing Partnership Housing Authority Secures Credit, Grants: Developments Will Be a Mix Suit Says Housing Authorities Were Cheated   STUDIES AND RESOURCES RELEASED Paper Measures Diversity of U.S. Neighborhoods Report Tracks Refugee Resettlement Patterns Report Cites Decline in Corporate Civic Leadership Report Examines Shared-Equity Homeownership Web Feature Details State Abandoned-Property Programs Report Highlights Enterprise 's Gulf Recovery Partnerships 'Housing in the Nation's Capital 2006' Released Report Examines Characteristics of Transitional Housing Study Describes Nation's 'Exurbs' Study Looks at Lost Affordable Rental Housing Online Clearinghouse Covers Healthy Homes From A to Z Report Analyzes Local Plans to End Homelessness Study Explores Housing, School Segregation, and Inequality Web Feature Covers Nonprofit Role in Rebuilding New Orleans Affordable Housing Case Studies Report Links Homelessness to Federal Funding Cuts Study: Older Americans Prefer to Stay in Their Communities  HUD Releases Best Practices for Rehabilitating Affordable Housing. HUD’s Energy Efficiency Strategies.  LISC Case Studies Highlight Work of Housing Authorities   EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS Maxwell Award Winners Named, Oct. 19 Smithfield Liberty Garage Wins 2006 AIA Design Pittsburgh Award Affordable Housing Organizations Honored by Enterprise , MetLife Foundation Enterprise , Natural Resources Defense Council, Grants up to $5,000 NeighborWorks Training Institute in Atlanta ~ February 19-23, 2007 Audio Workshop: Rural Homelessness, Dec. 14 Jan. 15 Deadline for Cushing Niles Dolbeare Media Awards Call For Entries: 2007 EDRA / Places Awards Competition Dec. 18 Deadline for Urban Excellence Award ARTICLES Design Related Articles   SCRAPHOUSE: BUILDING WITH SALVATED MATERIALS The latest wave of interest grew out of the ScrapHouse documentary that aired throughout the month on the National Geographic Channel. In large part due to the film, ScrapHouse continues to attract inquiries from around the globe, most recently from design publications in China , Ireland , and Vietnam . One of the most significant outcomes of ScrapHouse has been our relationship with a nonprofit organization called the Technology Access Foundation (TAF). Public Architecture October 2006 A STYLISH COTTAGE FOR KATRINA COUNTRY IS A HIT ALL OVER Commercialization of the concept is limited - but that is about to change...Lowe's...intends to begin selling the plans and materials for four models in 30 stores in the Gulf Coast region. -- Marianne Cusato- Christian Science Monitor ArchNewsNow Oct 3 LAFITTE; BRICK COMPLEX TO BE DEMOLISHED, REDONE The Housing Authority of New Orleans took "the first formal step in the agency's plan to redevelop its hurricane-damaged apartments," reported the Times-Picayune. The agency agreed to pay Providence Community Housing and Enterprise Community Partners Inc. more than $2.1 million to transform a shuttered public housing complex into a mixed-income community. Under the agreement, the developers will build 1,500 housing units on the Lafitte complex site, which they will lease for $1 a year for 99 years. They plan to obtain low-income housing tax credits to help fund the project, the article said. A multifamily real estate broker told the Times-Picayune that apartment building renovation plans under way in eastern New Orleans suggest that the area will recover at least half of the 7,000 affordable apartments that existed before Katrina. KnowledgePlex October 6 TOUR FEATURES AFFORDABLE SIDE OF CITY LIVING Chicago housing and planning agencies sponsored a homes tour to showcase mixed-income developments built with city-provided land or financing, reported the Chicago Daily Herald and the Chicago Sun Times. The city's first Cavalcade of Homes featured 40 developments in more than 20 neighborhoods across the city, including newly constructed as well as renovated homes in a mix of types. Participants departed on buses from the University of Illinois at Chicago for the three-hour tours of five sections of the city. Lenders and city officials were available to answer questions about mortgage programs and incentives offered to buyers. Since 1989, Chicago has invested more than $3 billion in local, state, and federal funds for creating, enhancing, and maintaining more than 125,000 affordable housing units, city officials say. KnowledgePlex Oct 12 BUNGE GRAIN ELEVATOR TO BE REDEVELOPED INTO MULTI-INCOME HOUSING A development team is planning a mixed-income community "that will showcase the reuse of one of Minneapolis ' iconic architectural forms - its grain elevators," reported Finance & Commerce. The 3.1 acre site will include 90 affordable units: 85 apartments developed by Project for Pride Living and five town homes constructed by Habitat for Humanity. Twenty of the affordable units will be set aside for formerly homeless families, who will receive supportive services from Minneapolis-based Cabrini Partnership. KnowledgePlex Oct 19 RENOVATED PROFESSIONAL BUILDING ADDS 132 AFFORDABLE APARTMENTS Redevelopment projects completed or under way in downtown Kansas City , Mo. , are transforming urban sites into affordable housing, reported The Kansas City Star. While many residential projects in recent years have targeted the more affluent market, "there has been a growing recognition that affordable housing should be part of the mix," the article said. Alexander Co., a firm based in Madison , Wis. , renovated a structure known as the Professional Building into 132 affordable rental units. It may be the largest affordable housing development ever built downtown, the article said. Meanwhile, later this year, an even bigger project is set to open. The Cold Storage Building has been converted into 224 apartments, 200 of which will be affordable. The same company behind the Professional Building has development plans for other commercial sites, including a U.S. courthouse slated to be turned into 144 affordable apartments. KnowledgePlex Oct 19 MASSHOUSING PROVIDES $3.3 MILLION FOR BUILDING CONVERSION A plan to turn a former furniture company building in Worcester , Mass. , into apartments won support from the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency, reported the Telegram & Gazette. Economic Development Finance Corp. of Dedham will rehabilitate the building for roughly $16 million, creating 45 units, 40 of which will be set aside for renters making up to 60 percent of the area median income. The apartment complex is part of a larger proposal that includes parking and nearby condominiums. The apartment project has secured $3.3 million in loan guarantees from MassHousing. Other project funding sources reportedly include the state Affordable Housing Trust Fund, the state Department of Housing and Community Development, the city of Worcester , federal and state historic tax credits, and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, the article said. The project seeks to address a lack of housing "for people in the middle market," the developer said. KnowledgePlex Oct 19 AMERICA'S LARGEST PUBLIC HOUSING PROJECT PASSES INTO HISTORY Robert Taylor Homes, the largest in a wave of urban public housing projects built during the 1960s, has finally fallen victim to the wreaking ball as part of the Chicago Housing Authorities massive redevelopment plans. Oct 16 2006 -- Miami Herald Planetizen Oct 19 THE LUXURY OF QUALITY ARCHITECTURE FOR THE POOR One of the best-designed Vancouver apartment buildings of any kind constructed this decade...The Salvation Army...has, surprisingly, been a regular patron of leading edge architectural design for a century, and has always built to last. By Trevor Boddy -- Le Corbusier (1934); Parkin Partnership (1956); Neale Staniskis Doll Adams- Globe and Mail ( Canada) ArchNewsNow Oct 23 HIGH RISE GRANNY FLATS HELP FAMILIES AFFORD NEW CONDOS Income from rental suites incorporated to a new condominium project in Vancouver offer mortgage help to families and affordable housing for young singles and seniors. Oct 23 2006 -- Canada.com Planetizen Oct 26   DOCTOR BUILDS ASTHMA-FREE HOMES FOR THE POOR Seattle public housing and health officials have partnered with community activists to create a unique housing development for people who have asthma, reported National Public Radio. To date, 35 families have moved into the Breathe Easy Homes, a complex designed to eliminate asthma triggers such as mold, mildew, poor ventilation, and cockroaches. The homes feature a moisture-proof foundation, low-emission paint, and environmentally friendly sidewalks and drainage ditches. Residents are provided with such amenities as mattress covers to keep out dust mites and high-efficiency vacuum cleaners, and are taught to use these tools by community health workers. A physician working for the King County public health department helped design the complex, the article said. KnowledgePlex Oct 27   PRINCIPLES CALL FOR ACCESSIBILITY FEATURES TO BLEND IN Design concepts that make homes accessible to people with disabilities without calling attention to the modifications are catching on among architects, designers, and even public housing developers, reported the Hartford Courant. Known as "universal design," the concept seeks to create homes that are livable for anyone. Universal design features include such elements as flat thresholds that provide easy passage from one room to another, front-loading washers and dryers, cooktops level with countertops to allow sliding pots and pans without lifting, and push door handles instead of knobs. A public housing complex in Middletown , Conn. , for sensory-impaired residents embraces the concept of universal design, the article said. Because many people lose their hearing and sight, features in the complex -- such as flashing doorbells and Uniphones for typing messages -- should become standard, said the head of the state Commission on the Deaf and Hearing Impaired. KnowledgePlex Oct 27 AFFORDABLE LUXURY: LOW-PRICE RENTALS WITH ELEGANT TOUCHES It takes "an enormous amount of discipline," because affordable developers work on tighter budgets... -- Meltzer/Mandl Architects [images]- NY Daily News ArchNewsNow Oct 30 BUILDING A HOME FOR THE HAVE-NOTS Jeffery Stinson was in Cebu to design the best possible homes for the city's most marginalized people...worked with Philippine architecture students on a model home for squatter resettlement. [image]- Globe and Mail ( Canada ) ArchNewsNow Oct 30 MOVE-IN SPECIALS: Factory-built homes could find a huge following in architecturally diverse New Orleans... The issue of fitting into New Orleans neighborhoods has been a challenge for the modular industry. -- Nurhan Gokturk; Michael Bell- The Times-Picayune ( New Orleans) ArchNewsNow Oct 30 NEW 'HOUSING ALIVE' VIDEO AVAILABLE Westchester County, N.Y., has produced a video showing how well affordable housing projects in the county blend into their neighborhoods, according to a press release from the county executive. The video is posted on the Westchester County Department of Planning Web site. The planning department partnered with the Westchester County Office of Communications to produce the video, which features 25 housing developments selected as "favorite sites" by people who attended Housing Alive bus tours a year ago, the release said. Last year, the Housing Alive project won the Annual Housing Award of Excellence from the National Association for County Community and Economic Development. KnowledgePlex Nov 2 VERMONT ARCHITECTS LAUNCH AFFORDABLE HOUSING STUDY To find ways to build affordable, green, and sustainable manufactured housing in the snow belt. -- Congress of Resident Architecture (CORA); John Connell; Ramsay Gourd- Vermont Guardian ArchNewsNow Nov 3 SOCIAL IMPROVEMENT WITH ARCHITECTURE "Stigma smashing" architects design housing for disadvantaged residents of Chicago...projects also showcase what is turning into another tradition in the city, that of sustainable, or green, design. -- Helmut Jahn; Stanley Tigerman; Peter Lindsay Schaudt [images]- New York Times ArchNewsNow Nov 7 KATRINA'S COTTAGE INDUSTRY Storm Spawns a Second, Factory-Built Dwelling: The original Katrina Cottage...has a sibling -- the Katrina Kernel Cottage... By Linda Hales -- Steve Mouzon; Marianne Cusato; Tolar LeBatard Denmark Architects- Washington Post ArchNewsNow Nov 8 BUILDING HOMES FOR THE MIDDLE With cities increasingly only building luxury homes for the rich or affordable housing for the poor, a prefab housing development in East New York provides a model building middle-income homes. Nov 10 2006 -- Metropolis Magazine Planetizen Nov 13 GRANT TO HELP BRING PUBLIC HOUSING UP TO SAFETY, HEALTH STANDARDS The state of Maryland is giving the Annapolis Housing Authority $500,000 to make emergency repairs at two public housing communities, reported The Baltimore Sun. According to the authority's executive director, the state funds will help offset declining federal funding and enable the authority to stabilize the properties while a long-term strategy for the sites is developed. The grant, from the Department of Housing and Community Development, will be used to bring the buildings up to code and make them safe for residents. KnowledgePlex Nov 16 VILAS AREA COHOUSING PROJECT TO BEGIN SELLING UNITS Sales are under way for units in "one of the most ambitious cohousing efforts ever launched in the United States ," reported The Capital Times. The $9.6 million, 40-unit development in Madison , Wis. , will feature a mix of existing, typical single-family homes as well as new homes in two multi-unit buildings that are not yet completed. The project includes six affordable units, thanks to support from a local hospital and Habitat for Humanity. As with other cohousing developments, residents will have the privacy of individual homes but will live in a village-style community with common recreation and dining areas and shared governance and chores. KnowledgePlex Nov 16 COMMUNITY BUILT INTO AFFORDABLE UNITS, PLACES An affluent California community's experiment with affordable cohousing "is a risk worth repeating" in other areas of the state, according to an opinion article in California Planning & Development Report. The Sebastopol City Council has approved two rental cohousing projects totaling 65 units. The $7 million, 20-unit Sequoia Village secured a $1.6 million city loan to be repaid at 3 percent interest over a 59-year amortization. Usually, people form communitarian bonds before joining together in a cohousing community. According to the developer, there is no guarantee that people who don't know each other will form a similar connection in a cohousing community. But Sebastopol is to be commended for offering low-income residents "a choice in where and how to live," the article said. The standard model of low- and moderate-income housing offers little choice, the article said. KnowledgePlex Nov 16 A PUBLIC HOUSING DESIGN OUTSHINES UPSCALE RIVALS Like the best of Philadelphia's new infill housing, the proposal offers a fresh take on the traditional rowhouse...There isn't a red brick in sight. By Inga Saffron -- Interface Studio- Philadelphia Inquirer ArchNewsNow Nov 17 ALL FALL DOWN In New Orleans, a plan to demolish prewar housing for the poor may be misconceived. Modestly scaled, they include some of the best public housing built in the United States. By Nicolai Ouroussoff [audio slide show]- New York Times ArchNewsNow Nov 20 INFAMOUS PROJECTS ARE REBUILT AND REBORN The rebirth of Valencia Gardens -- the public housing development in San Francisco's Mission District once infamous for its decrepit block structure... -- Van Meter Williams Pollack [images]- San Francisco Chronicle ArchNewsNow Nov 20   ENCOURAGING MIXED-USE WITHOUT SACRIFICING AFFORDABLE HOUSING With Downtown Austin exploding with new mixed-use development, the redevelopment of a low-income apartment complex into a new mixed-use project has affordable-housing advocates worried that the city's supply of below-market-rate housing is vanishing. Nov 16 2006 -- Austin American-Statesman Planetizen Nov 20 PLANS FILED FOR HOUSING, RETAIL COMPLEX ON JACKSON SQUARE Developers of a planned mixed-use community on six acres in Boston 's Jackson Square intend to make almost 70 percent of the 430 housing units affordable, reported The Boston Herald. The $225 million project will also include 67,000 square feet of retail space, 13,500 square feet of office space, a community center, parking garage, and perhaps an indoor ice rink. Some are calling the project historic, the article said. The property, adjacent to a public transit station, has been vacant since homes were seized more than 30 years ago for a halted highway project. Mitchell Properties, Urban Edge, Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation, Hyde Square Task Force, and Gravestar Inc. are working together on the development, a partnership strongly encouraged by Mayor Thomas M. Menino and the Boston Redevelopment Authority. KnowledgePlex Nov 22 AFFORDABLE HOUSING SECTOR SHOPS AROUND FOR RETAIL PARTNERS Developers have begun to incorporate retail in their affordable and workforce housing projects, reported Commercial Property News. "The combination alleviates some of the stigma surrounding such housing" while providing additional revenues to offset the decreased returns from lower-cost homes, the article said. Developers have learned how to circumvent regulations that limit government funding and tax credit allocations to housing-only projects by "condominium-izing" the retail space so that it is held by an affiliated entity, the article said. Some public agencies have funded the retail components as an incentive to affordable housing development. According to the president of The Campaign for Affordable Housing, developers seeking additional income from retail have the most success with projects in areas that have mixed-income properties and high population densities. KnowledgePlex Nov 22 KEEP THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING OUTSIDE, PLEASE A gate with stone pillars will separate the haves from the have-nots at a recently approved development for seniors in Monterey County, California. Nov 21 2006 -- Monterey County Weekly Planetizen Nov 23 BUILDING IDEALISM WITH 'GREEN,' AFFORDABLE HOME DESIGNS Cleveland Institute of Art...showing an outstanding exhibition of plans for affordable and environmentally sensitive houses...by architects you've never heard of..."Home House Project"...demolish the idea that affordable housing has to look mean, nasty and punitive. By Steven Litt -- Blostein/Overly Architects; S. Flavio Espinoza; Cerrone and Wagstaff Architects; Team H.E.D.- Cleveland Plain Dealer ArchNewsNow Nov 28 ANOTHER LOOK AT PREFAB HOUSING Households looking for alternatives to building a new home from scratch are discovering the possibilities and cost effectiveness of modular homes. Nov 27 2006 -- The New York Times Planetizen Nov 30   Inclusionary Zoning Set Asides, and Related Articles INCLUSIONARY ZONING APPROVED IN RHODE ISLAND A Rhode Island Planning Board has approved regulations requiring developers to build affordable houses in all projects over 6 units. Sep 30 2006 -- Providence Journal Planetizen October 2 PALM BEACH COUNTY PLAN EASES AFFORDABLE HOUSING REQUIREMENT Palm Beach County, Fla., commissioners are moving forward with a revised workforce housing program that reduces developer set-asides in the wake of the softening housing market, reported the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. The program requires that some of the homes in new developments of 10 or more units be sold at cheaper prices, between $164,000 and $304,000. The commission lowered the required percentage of such homes from about 20 percent to 16.5 percent for at least a year, except in certain western agricultural areas. KnowledgePlex October 6 CITY OFFERS INCENTIVES TO MAKE MORE HOUSES AFFORDABLE Palmetto, Fla. 's "unique" affordable housing plan would impose mandatory requirements on builders only if the market fails to meet certain goals, reported the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. During the "voluntary" period of the program, the city will offer developers extra density, breaks on parking requirements, or other benefits for making at least 15 percent of the units in their projects affordable to moderate-income households. Developers who exceed the 15 percent minimum would receive credits that could be helpful if mandatory requirements kick in, the article said. If city planners determine that less than 15 percent of homes in the city are not moderately priced, the city will require affordable housing set-asides. KnowledgePlex October 6 LANDLORDS SUE TO OVERTURN AFFORDABLE HOUSING ORDINANCE The Pacific Legal Foundation has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Santa Monica , Calif. , apartment building owners challenging the city's inclusionary zoning ordinance, reported City News Service and The Daily News of Los Angeles . Under the law, developers of condominium or apartment projects with four or more residential units must make a certain number of units available to low- and moderate-income families, the articles said. The lawsuit alleges that the ordinance violates state and federal constitutional protections against taking private property without providing compensation. According to the foundation's principal attorney, the law requires residential developers to pay the cost of providing below-market housing. KnowledgePlex October 6 DALEY OFFERS PLAN IN MIDDLE GROUND ON AFFORDABLE SET-ASIDES Chicago Mayor Richard Daley introduced a plan to expand city incentives for affordable housing as an alternative to mandatory set-asides, reported the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times. Since 2003, the city has required residential developers receiving discounted city land to set aside at least 10 percent of the units in their projects as affordable. Builders receiving city subsidies must set aside at least 20 percent of their projects for affordable housing. However, some alderman and community groups want the city to generate more affordable units. Twenty-five aldermen are backing a bill that would require 15 percent of all newly constructed or rehabilitated residential complexes of 10 or more units to be affordable. KnowledgePlex Oct 19 BLOOMBERG RECOMMENDATIONS ON TAX BREAK PROGRAM DERIDED New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants to reform a longstanding tax incentive program for residential developers, reported The New York Sun. In 1971, the city created the 421-a tax incentive program to encourage more residential development "during lean building years," the article said. In a specified "exclusion zone," developers can obtain the tax break only by providing some affordable housing. However, they can avoid building affordable units on-site by purchasing certificates from builders constructing affordable housing outside the zone. Housing advocates say the city spends $400 million annually on unneeded subsidies for market-rate housing. Bloomberg announced his support for a task force's recommendations to extend the exclusion zone to more neighborhoods and eliminate the certificates program. KnowledgePlex Oct 19 `AFFORDABLE' HOUSING? HARDLY, CRITICS SAY Lennar Corp. and William Lyon Homes are constructing 1,540 housing units on a former Marine Corps air station site in Tustin , Calif. , reported the Los Angeles Times. State redevelopment law requires that 15 percent of the new homes be low-cost. Homes in the development's first phase -- priced between $55,100 and $311,400 -- are being offered to buyers through a lottery. The builders advertised the units as available for a 3 percent down payment. Of the 700 people who applied for the lottery, 143 winners were chosen. But some prospective buyers and legal advocates are upset to learn that they would actually have to put down close to 50 percent of the purchase price in order to satisfy redevelopment requirements that occupants not spend more than 35 percent of their incomes on monthly housing costs. Some believe that the advertising was misleading. A Lennar official said the ads weren't incorrect because some buyers could qualify with a 3 percent down payment. However, the company will reexamine the wording in future marketing materials, he said KnowledgePlex Oct 27 HOUSING DENSITY BONUS EXPECTED TO BOOST FOR-SALE OPTIONS Developers are now able to build a larger project than would otherwise be permitted, when they integrate affordable housing into new projects... -- KMA Architecture- Daily Transcript ( San Diego ) ArchNewsNow Oct 27 USING DENSITY BONUSES TO SPUR AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT San Diego is hoping that a new density bonus will encourage developers to build mixed-income housing instead of buying their way out of affordable housing requirements. Oct 28 2006 -- The Daily Transcript ( San Diego) Planetizen Oct 30 CONTRA COSTA COUNTY MANDATES AFFORDABLE HOUSING Contra Costa County , Calif. , passed an ordinance requiring that residential developers working in unincorporated areas set aside 15 percent of their units for affordable homes, reported the Contra Costa Times. The law, which applies to new housing projects with five or more units, allows developers who don't want to build affordable homes to pay a fee of roughly $25,000 per unit or transfer land to an affordable housing developer. The law also limits equity appreciation for families who resell homes acquired through the program. Housing KnowledgePlex Nov 2 PORTLAND CITY COUNCIL APPROVES URBAN RENEWAL SET-ASIDE In Portland , Ore. , the city council voted to require the city's urban renewal agency to set aside funds for affordable housing, reported The Oregonian. Commissioner Erik Sten pushed for guaranteed housing money from the semi-independent Portland Development Commission after concluding that a significant redevelopment project in one of the city's urban renewal districts lacked sufficient housing. Formerly, the Portland Development Commission board determined how much of the revenues from property taxes paid on rising values within district borders went to affordable housing. The new plan requires five existing urban renewal districts and all new such districts to reserve at least 30 percent of their property tax revenues for affordable housing. KnowledgePlex Nov 2 OAKLAND MAYOR VOTES DOWN LOW-COST HOUSING LAW In Oakland , Calif. , a proposed inclusionary zoning ordinance failed by a narrow margin, reported the San Francisco Chronicle. The measure would have required that 15 to 20 percent of the units in new residential developments be affordable to low- and moderate-income families. Supporters of the ordinance said the city needed to take action to preserve housing for residents who are priced out of the $300,000 to $500,000 condominiums built in the city's recent housing boom. Developers opposed the measure, saying it would exacerbate the current downturn in the housing market. Mayor Jerry Brown exercised his right to cast a deciding vote -- the third time during his eight years as mayor -- after the council deadlocked on the measure. KnowledgePlex Nov 8 CONCERNS RAISED OVER NEW SET-ASIDE FOR URBAN RENEWAL AREAS Some observers in Portland , Ore. , fear that the city's new affordable housing mandate could hurt the urban renewal areas that the law aims to help, reported the Daily Journal of Commerce. Two weeks ago, the City Council voted to require that the Portland Development Commission devote 30 percent of tax increment revenues in five urban renewal areas to affordable housing. (Editor's note: The vote was covered in the Nov. 1 issue of Week in Review.) According to a developer working in the Lents and Gateway URAs, both of the districts need to attract new businesses by changing the market's perception of the risks of setting up shop in the area. The immediate focus on affordable homes could give the impression that the districts are mostly low-income and pose high risks for investment, he said. More than housing, the districts need jobs, economic development, and infrastructure, he said. KnowledgePlex Nov 8 DOES LACK OF ZONING MAKE HOUSTON HOUSING MORE AFFORDABLE? With Houston's housing market on the rise as once-hot U.S. markets head south, some economists argue the city's lax development controls allow housing supply to keep up with demand. Nov 09 2006 -- Wall Street Journal Planetizen Nov 13 JUSTICES UPHOLD RESTRICTION ON IZ ORDINANCE The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that the city of Madison 's inclusionary zoning ordinance cannot be used to lower rents in new apartment complexes, reported The Capital Times. The portion of the ordinance dealing with owner-occupied homes still stands. KnowledgePlex Nov 16   PROPOSAL FOR DEVELOPMENT TOUTS AFFORDABLE HOUSING Virginia Beach , Va. 's Planning Commission is likely to consider enacting zoning ordinances that require affordable housing as part of mixed-use development in "strategic growth areas" along a main boulevard, reported the Virginian-Pilot. About 23,000 new homes may be built in the target areas within the next three decades. Under the proposal, at least 15 percent of the units would be designated as affordable, with for-sale homes targeting households earning between $48,000 and $72,000 and rental units targeting households earning between $36,000 and $72,000. The homes could be built above businesses. The voluntary program would offer density bonuses to projects incorporating such "work force housing," the article said. The plan also offers property tax abatements and renovation assistance to help preserve ownership of homes already considered affordable. The Planning Commission is expected to vote on the proposal next month. KnowledgePlex Nov 22 NEW JERSEY 'S THREE DECADES OF RUNNING IN PLACE Court decisions targeting exclusionary zoning in New Jersey haven't produced significant growth in the state's affordable housing stock, according to an article in New Jersey Lawyer. In the 1970s and '80s, the New Jersey Supreme Court issued the Mount Laurel decisions. These rulings outlawed exclusionary zoning and created a state Council on Affordable Housing charged with establishing affordable housing goals for communities throughout the state. Although the Mount Laurel rulings have added 36,000 units to the state's affordable housing stock, that represents about 1 percent of the state's current residences. COAH rules have changed over time and have faced criticism for setting the quotas too low, being too complex, and providing "wiggle room" so towns can avoid meeting the quotas. But all sides engaged in the debate over the efficacy of the current system "agree the potential for a political backlash is considerable if the numbers are pushed too high," the article said. KnowledgePlex Nov 22 PALM BEACH COUNTY APPROVES SCALED-DOWN AFFORDABLE HOME LAW Palm Beach County, Fla., commissioners enacted an ordinance requiring that 16.5 percent of the homes in residential projects with 10 or more units be set aside for households making between $38,640 and $96,600 a year, reported the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Commissioners originally proposed setting aside 20 percent of homes as affordable, but scaled back in response to developer concerns and the cooling real estate market. The new rules set a sliding scale, requiring more affordable homes in larger developments and retaining the 20 percent requirement for western agricultural areas. Builders of affordable homes receive density bonuses and breaks on traffic requirements. They can opt out of building the affordable homes by paying $81,000 per unit to an affordable housing fund. Planetizen Nov 30 CONDO PLAN GETS MIXED REACTION In Oakland , Calif. , a proposed condominium conversion ordinance is generating mixed reviews, reported Inside Bay Area. Current law states that, in certain areas, each apartment converted to a condominium must be replaced by a new rental unit elsewhere. The new ordinance would allow property owners to pay a fee instead. According to supporters, the measure would raise $20 million for programs to help low-income renters become homeowners. The new affordable housing fund created by the fee would increase the city's homeownership rate from 40 to 50 percent within 15 years, they say. But opponents take issue with city projections that enough renter households could afford to buy $350,000 to $400,000 condos Planetizen Nov 30 Articles Related to Homelessness CITY, COUNTY OFFICIALS APPROVE 10-YEAR PLAN TO AID HOMELESS City-county partnerships in both California and Minnesota are backing 10-year plans to end homelessness, reported the Sacramento Bee and Minneapolis Star Tribune. In Sacramento , city and county leaders recently approved a plan that adopts a "housing first" approach, the Bee reported. The plan pledges about 500 new housing units, supplemented by services, for chronically homeless people who suffer from physical or mental disabilities, including addictions. Unlike the current procedure, the new plan won't require chronically homeless people to address their disabilities before gaining access to housing, said a local homeless advocate. KnowledgePlex October 6 PLAN AGAINST HOMELESSNESS AIMS TO CONNECT PEOPLE WITH SERVICES According to an analysis by the Center for Social Policy at the University of Massachusetts at Boston , a housing first initiative for homeless people in Quincy , Mass. , is showing early success, reported The Boston Globe. In spring 2005, a dozen homeless women moved from a shelter into rooms of their own at the Claremont House complex. While living without curfews or constant monitoring, the residents collectively made half as many emergency room visits during their first year in Claremont House as the year before. The total number of days in the hospital fell from 44 to four. The women are cooking, budgeting their money, and using other daily living skills while earning incomes, the report said. Some have reconnected with family members. Researchers are trying to use pilot programs similar to Quincy's to prove "that it makes more sense to give people housing, while also giving them a better life," the article said. KnowledgePlex October 6 IN AN OHIO CITY , A WILL TO PROVIDE HOMES For more than two decades, civic leaders in Columbus , Ohio , have been focusing on providing homes for people with mental illness, reported The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Nonprofits tapping private and public funding sources have developed nearly 1,000 units of independent housing for mentally ill residents. A levy passed last November is expected to funnel more than $65 million annually into mental health care and help create 250 new housing units. According to the article, Columbus ' success at providing housing for mentally ill people stems in part from strong civic and corporate leadership. KnowledgePlex October 6 ANTI-HOMELESSNESS CAMPAIGN LAGS IN RURAL AREAS Housing officials engaged in Utah's 10-year plan to end chronic homelessness are experiencing difficulties in rallying rural communities to the cause, reported The Salt Lake Tribune. Operating with a "housing first" focus, the plan seeks to provide chronically homeless people with permanent housing and supportive services. "But so far, the statewide plan has rested on mostly volunteer efforts of housing providers in Salt Lake City," the article said. Less than half of the 10 regional committees charged with addressing homelessness have created pilot programs. Other high-priority issues are competing for attention, said the director of the state homeless task force. For example, in Washington County , people are primarily concerned about a lack of affordable housing for teachers and police, making homeless efforts a tough sell, he said. KnowledgePlex Oct 19 CAMPAIGN HIGHLIGHTS HOMELESSNESS AND FIGHTS MISPERCEPTIONS A new public awareness campaign aims to dispel stereotypes that Southern Nevadans may hold about the homeless and encourage people to help fight homelessness, reported the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The Southern Nevada Regional Planning Coalition's Committee on Homelessness created the campaign with volunteer assistance from a local public relations and advertising firm. Spots scheduled to run on television and cable stations feature vignettes of real people living on the streets, coupled with such tag lines as "It can happen to anyone." In one spot, a young man says he doesn't do drugs or drink but is homeless because he's illiterate and can't get work. KnowledgePlex Oct 27 SPOKANE OKS FUNDS FOR HOMELESS The Spokane , Wash. , City Council has approved a city-Spokane County task force plan to spend $650,000 in new revenues for homeless programs, reported the Spokesman Review. In 2005, the state legislature authorized a new $10 fee charged to county real estate transactions for funding homelessness prevention, temporary housing, substance abuse treatment, and other programs. The largest grant, $145,700, will go to programs offering rental and utility assistance and preventing homelessness. Other grants will keep a downtown shelter open during warm weather months, fund outreach services in rural areas, enhance employment training referrals, support case management for shelter residents, and underwrite homeless education to the community. KnowledgePlex Nov 2   SAFETY NET FOR EX-FOSTER KIDS The first housing development for former foster children in Santa Clara County , Calif. , has opened its doors, reported the San Jose Mercury News. Unity Care Group tapped $1.6 million in city and county funds and took out a small bank loan to cover the $2 million cost of acquiring and renovating the 24-unit apartment complex. The units are offered to young adults who have "aged out" of foster care, up to 40 percent of whom are homeless statewide. Besides a roof over their heads, residents will receive supportive services. "Community groups like Unity Care are finally starting to get meaningful state support," the article said. This year, state lawmakers increased funding for affordable housing and supportive services for homeless former foster youth from $1.3 million to $4.8 million. KnowledgePlex Nov 2 THE CITY'S COST OF A LIFE REDEEMED The number of homeless on San Francisco 's streets on any given night fell from 8,600 in a 2002 count to 6,200 in a recent street count, the Chronicle reported. One formerly homeless woman cost the public about $100,000 annually in emergency care and support when she lived on the streets. Now she has a home in one of the city's best supportive housing complexes and access to medical treatment, at a cost of about $21,000 a year. But the city's various efforts have not gone without criticism. As one article noted, some homeless people and panhandlers have moved from the center city into outlying parks and neighborhoods. Some observers object to Care Not Cash for reducing aid to homeless people to pay for housing. Others say that focusing on chronically homeless people leaves a gap in efforts for families. According to city officials, about four out of five homeless people are single. Reducing that group will have a dramatic impact on the streets, they say. KnowledgePlex Nov 8 VOTERS MAY BE ASKED FOR SEPARATE COMPLEXES FOR FAMILIES, SINGLES Denver city officials and housing advocates are considering building two 100-unit apartment complexes as part of a 10-year plan to end homelessness in the city, reported The Denver Post. A new mayoral task force charged with selecting infrastructure proposals has been raising the apartment plan during community meetings. If Denver follows models in other cities, families would be housed in one complex while single adults occupy the other, said the director of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. The buildings would be garden-style, rather than high rise. KnowledgePlex Nov 8 NON-PROFITS TO RECEIVE TRAINING, FINANCING FOR SUPPORTIVE HOUSING The Illinois Housing Development Authority awarded a $750,000 grant to help build about 400 supportive housing units in six counties, reported multi-housingnews.com. The grant went to the Corporation for Supportive Housing. According to Sue Augustus, executive director of CSH's Illinois office, the grant enables CSH to expand upon its work developing permanent supportive housing for the homeless by helping service providers build their development expertise. Funds will be used to provide 10 nonprofit partners with zero-interest predevelopment financing, capacity building assistance, training, and technical assistance. For some of the organizations, it will be their first time developing supportive housing or housing of any type. KnowledgePlex Nov 8 LEADERS PROMOTE OHIO 'S PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING PROGRAM A recent study by Ohio 's Interagency Council on Homelessness and Housing found that it costs about the same to provide someone with stable, supportive housing as it does to provide crisis care and emergency housing in a shelter-like setting, according to a press release from the Ohio Department of Development. The ICCH, created by Gov. Bob Taft in 2004, convenes representatives from numerous state agencies and nonprofits to guide homelessness policies for the state. The council collaborated with the Ohio Department of Development and the Ohio Housing Finance Agency to sponsor an event to raise awareness of the benefits of permanent supportive housing for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. The ICCH defines permanent supportive housing as permanent housing combined with services that help residents live more stable, productive lives. Although supportive housing units are under development in Ohio , the state needs an additional 6,500 units to meet the need, ICCH says. MIX OF SHELTER, JOB TRAINING SPELLS SUCCESS In January, Chicago-based Inspiration Corp. will hold a graduation ceremony for members of its 35th culinary skills training class for homeless people, reported the Chicago Tribune. The 13-week program is one of several services aimed at helping the homeless get back on their feet. The organization also offers free meals, temporary emergency housing, resume writing and interview training, job-placement assistance, and free voice mail. Additionally, the company operates three cafes in the city. KnowledgePlex Nov 22 FORMERLY HOMELESS PEOPLE WORK TO WIRE THEIR NEW DIGS Instead of seeking spare change, a formerly homeless man has been passing out quarters on the streets of San Francisco , reported the San Francisco Chronicle. John Stevens heads the McAllister Hotel and Internet Cable Committee. The residents of the single-room-occupancy hotel are raising money to wire their homes for Internet access. To publicize a fundraiser for the cause, Stevens distributed quarters affixed with bits of paper describing the benefit. Reaching the fundraising goal of $2,000 would enable McAllister residents to reconnect with family members and check email and job listings, the article said. Although the hotel was converted to supportive housing as part of the city's homeless welfare reform initiative, the program doesn't require Internet access in the facilities, said the director of the city's homeless policy. The city would explore paying to wire the hotel, he said. KnowledgePlex Nov 22 PARTNERSHIP AIMS TO END CHRONIC HOMELESSNESS IN ATLANTA REGION An initiative launched three years ago to end chronic homelessness in the Atlanta area has "become a true regional effort," reported the Atlanta Journal and Constitution. Seven counties are working with the city on the effort, the article said. Five-hundred and fifty individuals and families have been placed in permanent or supportive housing. Other achievements to date include reuniting 3,400 people with their families, conducting clinical mental health assessments of 830 homeless individuals, placing more than 470 people in addiction treatment programs, and linking 330 people to jobs or training programs. As a result, the homeless population in Atlanta , DeKalb, and Fulton counties has decreased 6.2 percent between 2005 and 2006, the article said. Planetizen Nov 30 SAN LEANDRO ADOPTS PLAN TO HELP HOMELESS San Leandro , Calif. , has become the third city to adopt a 15-year plan to end homelessness throughout Alameda County , reported Inside Bay Area. The EveryOne Home plan focuses on moving homeless people into homes from the streets and shelters. It has five major goals: preventing homelessness through improved crisis intervention; providing 15,000 homes over 15 years; coordinating housing with access to supportive services; collecting data to measure program outcomes; and developing long-term leadership that emphasizes ending, rather than managing, homelessness. San Leandro civic leaders praised the council for taking the first step of adopting the county plan. However, some council members are concerned about who will pay to implement the plan as it gathers steam. The vote shows support for the county's effort, not an intention to assume all of the plan's costs, said the city manager. Planetizen Nov 30   Affordable Housing Funding and Legislation Related Articles   NEW YORK CITY'S AFFORDABLE HOUSING WIZARD Shaun Donovan, commissioner of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, is winning cheers for his innovative thinking as he works to meet the city's ambitious housing goals. Sep 28 2006 -- The New York Times Planetizen October 2 BUILDERS BACK RULE-CHANGING AMENDMENT In Florida , developers are backing a ballot measure that would make it more difficult for residents to amend the state constitution, reported the Tampa Tribune. Amendment 3 would raise the threshold for passing citizen initiatives from a simple majority to a 60 percent plurality vote. Homebuilders and other development groups support the amendment as it would raise the bar for voter approval of the Florida Hometown Democracy amendment, an initiative that could be on the 2008 ballot. That amendment would require voters to approve proposed changes to county comprehensive plans. Currently, county commissions or city councils can pass such changes with a simple majority vote, the article said. According to the Florida Home Builders Association, the Hometown Democracy amendment would leave potentially uninformed voters vulnerable to pressures from special interest groups. The cofounder of the Hometown Democracy movement says the amendment would hand back to the citizenry the land-use authority that's properly theirs. KnowledgePlex October 6 TRUST FUND PLAN DIFFERS WITH MAYOR'S MORE MODEST PLANS The Milwaukee Common Council voted to establish a $5 million housing trust fund that would help provide housing for homeless people and persons with disabilities, rehabilitate apartments, and build lower-cost homes, reported The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The trust would have several sources of funding, including bonds backed by casino revenues, revenues from closed tax incremental financing districts, and payments in lieu of taxes made by churches and other nonprofits. KnowledgePlex October 6 PLANNERS VOTE TO ALLOW LOW-INCOME OWNERS TO SHARE EQUITY Planning commissioners in Monterey County , Calif. , are recommending that county supervisors replace resale price restrictions on "inclusionary homes" with equity-sharing features, reported the Monterey County Herald. County law requires subdivision developers to price at least 20 percent of the homes in their projects for low- and moderate-income households. To help ensure a more constant supply of low-cost housing, the county has been requiring price-controlled homes to carry permanent deed restrictions prohibiting them from being resold at market-rate prices. Many affected homeowners have complained that they can't realize a return from their investment. By a 4-3 vote, the planning commissioners endorsed a proposal that would allow homes to be sold at market rates after 14 years, with the homeowner and county evenly sharing the increased equity. For homes sold after 30 years, the homeowner receives 85 percent of the equity. Sellers would have to repay the original subsidy to the county. KnowledgePlex October 6 CHICAGO HOUSING AUTHORITY $1.6 BILLION PROJECT WILL TAKE UNTIL 2015 The Chicago Housing Authority announced that its $1.6 billion public housing transformation initiative isn't likely to be completed until 2015, reported the Chicago Tribune. Under the original plan, the agency was to replace razed public housing high-rises with new mixed-income communities of 7,500 public housing units as well as market-rate units by 2010. The agency now projects that fewer than half of the public housing units will be constructed by 2010, while market-rate development and public housing rehabilitation will also experience delays. CHA officials attribute the delays to declining federal funds, higher construction costs, and other factors. Housing advocates fear that the longer timetable will leave some 25,000 displaced public housing tenants permanently estranged from their old neighborhoods. KnowledgePlex October 6 NO QUICK FIX FOR HOUSING Although Hurricane Katrina exposed the plight of Americans living in poverty, the problems besetting the working poor extend beyond the Gulf Coast , according to experts speaking to the 2006 Annual Housing Conference, sponsored by the Fannie Mae Foundation. William Apgar of Harvard University 's Joint Center for Housing was one of the speakers, according to an opinion article in The Advocate. For the 14 million American renters getting by on less than $20,000 in annual earnings, "work doesn't pay," he said. The nation is losing about 200,000 units annually, while some of those that remain are poorly maintained, he said. KnowledgePlex October 6 NEIGHBORWORKS, SAFECO INSURANCE START COMMUNITY BUILDING NeighborWorks America and Safeco announced a new community building initiative aimed at improving neighborhoods and living conditions for thousands of families. Financed by a $500,000 grant to NeighborWorks America from Safeco, six local NeighborWorks network members will organize volunteers to complete more than 20 community beautification, rehabilitation, housing and homeowner education projects in their communities. NeighborWorks Alert October MORE AMERICANS HOUSE POOR Newly released 2005 housing data from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey show that "Americans are becoming increasingly house poor," reported the Richmond Times Dispatch. Nationwide, 34.5 percent of homeowners with a mortgage spent more than 30 percent of their incomes on housing costs in 2005, up from 26.7 percent in 1999, the survey showed. KnowledgePlex Oct 12 OUCH! NEW JERSEY HOUSING IS PRICIEST IN NATION For the third consecutive year, New Jersey has topped the list for highest median housing costs in the nation, reported The Record. Including mortgage payments, property taxes, homeowners insurance, condo fees, and utilities, mortgage holders in the state spent $1,938 a month, 50 percent higher than the national median, Census data show. Although New Jerseyans have the highest incomes in the United States, four out of 10 state residents with mortgages spent at least 30 percent of their income on housing in 2005, with 15 percent spending at least half their income on housing. KnowledgePlex Oct 12 SOUTH FLORIDA BUSINESSES FEEL EFFECTS OF HOUSING CRUNCH Among large counties with more than 100,000 rental units, Miami-Dade and Broward counties in Florida have the highest percent of "cost-burdened" renters, Census data show. A decline in the construction of garden-style apartments and the conversion of tens of thousands of rental units to condos in the past five years have produced the tightest-ever rental market in recent times, reported The Miami Herald. According to economists, the affordable housing shortage in the region is hurting businesses and generating calls by leaders and workers for relief, the article said. The CEO of a community bank said his company has been unable to recruit experienced bankers and has lost 10 percent of its staff to states with lower living costs or higher salaries. KnowledgePlex Oct 12 PROGRAM LENDS FUNDS FOR INSURANCE BILLS This month, Pasco County , Fla. , will begin offering loans to low-income residents to pay their homeowners insurance bills, reported the St. Petersburg Times. It appears to be the first program of its kind in the state, said a spokesman for the Florida Housing Finance Corporation. Under the program, homeowners who are 62 and older, or disabled, and who live in homes assessed at $120,000 may obtain no-interest loans of up to $5,000 annually. They must meet certain income and other eligibility criteria, such as occupying homes not more than 50 percent in debt. Mobile homes are not eligible. The loans must be repaid in 10 years or when the property is sold. KnowledgePlex Oct 12 AREA HOSPITALS HELP WORKERS REACH AMERICAN DREAM Two of the largest employers in Pennsylvania 's Lehigh Valley region are operating pilot programs offering assistance to employees who purchase homes near their workplace, reported the Allentown Morning Call. St. Luke's Hospital and Health Network offers $3,000 forgivable loans to employees who remain in their homes and with St. Luke's for at least five years. St. Luke's has allocated $15,000 for the program's first year. Lehigh Valley Hospital will also offer $3,000 forgivable loans to eligible employees who commit to using their home as a primary residence for at least three years. Lender partner Wachovia Bank is offering mortgages as well as additional funds for home rehabilitation. Lehigh Valley Hospital has contributed $30,000 to the program for the first year. KnowledgePlex Oct 12 NAR LAUNCHES EMPLOYER HOUSING BENEFIT CAMPAIGN The National Association of Realtors® has started a campaign to encourage and help employers offer housing benefits to their workers, according to a news release from the NAR. Under the "Home from Work" campaign, Realtors will be trained to work with businesses to create customized employer-assisted housing (EAH) benefit plans. The plans could include any or all of the following offerings: home-buyer workshops, one-on-one housing counseling, and financial incentives. Rising housing costs in many areas have forced some workers to seek homes far from their workplaces, creating longer commutes. By reducing turnover, EAH programs can lower training and hiring costs, the release said. The campaign kicked off in Silver Spring , Md. , with a session teaching Realtors how to market EAH programs to employers. Other such trainings will be held later this year in Colorado , Louisiana , Massachusetts , and Virginia , plus more in 2007. KnowledgePlex Oct 12 POLICE, FIREFIGHTERS CHALLENGE RESIDENCY RULES In parts of the country, residency requirements for municipal employees are under fire, with public safety workers leading the charge, reported USA TODAY . For decades, many jurisdictions seeking to stabilize communities have required that police, firefighters, and others on the public payroll live in the cities in which they work. Critics say the dearth of affordable homes in communities with good schools makes it hard for police departments and other agencies to recruit and retain workers. In response to those concerns, cities such as Middletown , N.Y. , and Washington , D.C. , have eased their restrictions. However, a new Ohio law allowing city employees to live in adjacent counties triggered legal challenges by cities after it took effect last spring. City leaders say the law may lead to instability in urban neighborhoods. Police unions in Cleveland and Akron have joined lawsuits opposing the cities' residency requirements, saying that the rules may place them at risk by forcing them to live near people they investigate. KnowledgePlex Oct 12 PLANS FOR NEW PUBLIC HOUSING IN EASTON DRAW PRAISE After several attempts, the Easton , Pa. , and Niagara Falls , N.Y. housing authorities have won HOPE VI grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, reported the Morning Call and Buffalo News. Last week, HUD announced four winners out of 26 applicants for the grant program, which seeks to replace deteriorating public housing complexes with new mixed-income communities, according to the Morning Call. Beaumont , Texas , and Kingsport , Tenn. , also won grants. The Easton Housing Authority will use its $20 million grant toward the $73.8 million cost of demolishing the 238 Delaware Terrace apartments and building a new community of 128 single-family homes, townhouses, and duplexes. Eighty-nine of the homes will be sold to low- and moderate-income buyers, and the rest of the units will be rentals. KnowledgePlex Oct 12 HOPE VI GRANT SETS THE STAGE FOR REPLACING CENTER COURT The Niagara Falls Housing Authority prevailed on its fourth try for HOPE VI funds, reported the Buffalo News. The $20 million HUD grant will help bring the authority closer to its $80 million financing goal. It aims to replace 134 aging public housing units with 282 rental and owner-occupied units. The agency has already lined up $24 million in bonding authority by the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency, $3 million in casino revenues from the City of Niagara Falls , and $10 million in equity from the developer, who will seek the final pieces of the financing puzzle. A local nonprofit housing official praised the housing authority's plans, saying they reflect a desire to benefit those whom the authority serves. However, representatives of some local property owners say the low-cost, government-subsidized rentals will push some private landlords out of business. KnowledgePlex Oct 12 APARTMENT OWNER, RETIRED MARINE FIND WAY TO HELP VETS A New Jersey real estate developer and a retired Marine have joined forces to create a rental assistance program for veterans at an apartment complex in St. Louis , reported the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The developer, who owns the complex, agreed to offer veterans who sign a one-year lease at the Pavilion Apartments as much as half off their rent for the first six months. After that, the discount drops to 20 percent and, if the vets stay beyond a year, the discount drops to 10 percent. The "Helping Heroes" program is open to veterans who have been honorably discharged. To date, veterans qualifying for the rent breaks occupy 29 of the complex's 800 apartments. KnowledgePlex Oct 12 LRA RENTAL PROGRAM; AFFORDABLE-HOUSING CLAUSES DRAW FIRE Legislation codifying the Louisiana Recovery Authority's rental housing rebuilding plan has passed both Louisiana chambers and is headed to HUD for approval, reported the Times-Picayune. The plan, which focuses on low- and mixed-income rental housing, includes several programs, including one for using Low-Income Housing Tax Credits for development and one for spending $869 million over the next decade to repair an estimated 18,000 rental units in small-scale properties. KnowledgePlex Oct 12 BALTIMORE LOOKS TO INCREASE AFFORDABLE HOUSING The Baltimore City Council is pushing forward on a comprehensive plan for the city to create more affordable housing. Oct 11 2006 -- Baltimore Sun Planetizen Oct 12 STUDY SHOWS COST SAVINGS OF SUBURBS ARE AN ILLUSION A new study suggests that the traditional wisdom that suburbs are more affordable places to live than cities may be wrong. Although housing costs may be lower in suburbs, the difference is often outweighed by drastically increased transportation. Oct 12 2006 -- Washington Post Planetizen Oct 16 BUDGETING FOR TRANSPORTATION SAVINGS FROM LIVING FARTHER AWAY According to a new study, people who relocate farther from work to find cheaper housing aren't saving money because they're spending more on transportation, reported the Contra Costa Times. The study, by the Center for Housing Policy, analyzed combined housing and transportation costs in 28 major metropolitan areas. It found that once one-way commutes reach 12 to 15 miles, people start paying more -- in hard costs and expenditure of commuting time -- than they save on housing. KnowledgePlex Oct 19 PROFITS PROBED IN HOUSING PROGRAM The Massachusetts inspector general's office is investigating a state program that exempts affordable housing developers from local zoning, reported the Boston Globe. The Chapter 40B law allows developers who set aside at least 20 percent of the units in their projects for low- or moderate-income people to bypass local zoning laws. However, they must limit their profits on the developments to 20 percent. Since 2000, the law has generated more than 400 projects, with an additional 450 planned or under construction, the article said. KnowledgePlex Oct 19 PLAN TO STOP LOSS OF LOW-RENT ROOMS OK'D The Sacramento , Calif. , City Council unanimously approved an ordinance prohibiting a net loss in the number of low-rent residential hotel rooms in the city, reported the Sacramento Bee. Under the ordinance, for each hotel that closes, the city must create an equal number of low-cost housing units elsewhere. The new units must also be close to transportation and services. Property owners closing hotels are required to offer tenants relocation assistance. For decades, advocates have been lobbying to stem the closure of such hotels, which provide the only affordable housing option for many residents, the Bee reported. KnowledgePlex Oct 19 HUNTINGTON BEACH WILL GO TO COURT OVER PARK OWNERS' OPPOSITION The mayor of Huntington Beach, Calif., said the city will go to court to defend its ordinance requiring mobile home parks to compensate residents if the parks close, reported The Orange County Register. Under the 2004 ordinance, park owners who want to shut down their sites must relocate residents to comparable communities within 20 miles or pay residents the market value of their homes. In June, park owners and others sued the city, alleging that the law violates a state law that stipulates relocation costs must be reasonable. KnowledgePlex Oct 19 MOBILE HOME PARKS LAND SALES RAISE RENT CONTROL CONCERNS In Carson , Calif. , some residents of a mobile home park slated to "go condo" are wondering whether the change will uproot them, reported the Los Angeles Times. Mobile home parks are undergoing conversion to resident ownership nationwide. In some cases, tenant groups and nonprofits initiate the process. In the case of Carson 's Colony Cove Mobile Estates, the park owner is spearheading the effort. If the state Department of Real Estate approves the proposal, residents of the seniors-only park will have the choice of buying the land under their home or continuing to rent. The conversion plan is controversial, the article said. Once one tenant buys his or her plot, local rent controls are lifted throughout the entire park. Some residents oppose the conversion; they fear that if they choose not to assume new debt at their age, they will still be unable to afford the new rents, the article said. KnowledgePlex Oct 19 MOBILE HOME PARKS ARE BEING PUSHED ASIDE As developers continue converting smaller, older mobile home parks in Idaho and elsewhere in the West to "more profitable uses," states are seeking ways to help displaced tenants, reported the Spokesman Review. In Idaho , the state recently provided emergency funds of up to $90,000 to help five families who were on the verge of homelessness when their park closed. The funds were used to bring the homes up to code so that the families could relocate to other parks or to pay for rental deposits on apartments when the mobile homes weren't worth moving. Issues related to park closures will likely resurface in the state, said an official with the Idaho Department of Commerce. In Washington state, there is a long waiting list for assistance from a state fund that offers tenants $7,500 to $12,000 apiece to help pay moving costs. Public officials in Nevada 's Clark County are considering legislation that would extend relocation assistance to cover moves within a 100-mile radius, up from the 50-mile limit currently mandated by state law. KnowledgePlex Oct 19 SPRAWL HURTS LOWER INCOME FAMILIES Low-income families in big cities spend significantly less on housing and transportation than poorer suburban families, according to a new study by the Center for Housing Policy. Oct 18 2006 -- Streetsblog Planetizen Oct 19 INVESTING IN THE INNER CITY Golden Boy Partners aims to produce affordable housing for working class neighborhoods in L.A. Oct 18 2006 -- The New York Times Planetizen Oct 19 A DARK DAY FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING For decades Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village has provided some of the most affordable housing in Manhattan. However, the completion of a $5.4 billion dollar real estate deal, the largest in American history, has residents worried about the future. Oct 19 2006 -- The New York Times Planetizen Oct 23 RENTS RISE AS HOUSING MARKET COOLS While all eyes are on the potential housing bubble bursting, apartment rents are rising, over ten times more rapidly than home prices are falling in the Bay Area. Oct 21 2006 -- San Francisco Chronicle Planetizen Oct 23 RENTS ARE HIGH ALL OVER With rapid population growth and lopsided housing development favoring large single family homes, lower-income households in one corner of Middle America are facing housing challenges similar to those in New York and Los Angeles. Oct 24 2006 -- The New York Times Planetizen Oct 26 L.A.'S URBAN POOR FACE WORSENING HOUSING PICTURE As the city's core continues to gentrify, many low-income families are being left with few if any options for affordable housing. Oct 25 2006 -- Los Angeles Times Planetizen Oct 26 AUSTIN ’S AFFORDABLE HOUSING'S BALLOT DEBUT On Nov. 7, voters in Austin , Texas , will determine the fate of the city's "first-ever affordable-housing bond measure," reported the Austin American-Statesman. Proposition 5, a $55 million housing bond measure, is part of a $567 million bond package that includes funds for a library, parks and open space, affordable housing, street reconstruction, and other items. If approved, the package would eventually raise the property taxes on a $167,200 home by $50 annually. With the new housing funds, the city could acquire land and build or renovate for-sale and rental homes for singles and families making less than $39,850 and $56,900, respectively, the article said. KnowledgePlex Oct 27 SANTA FE 'S FOCUS ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING TO SHOW ON BALLOT New Mexico voters will decide whether to amend the state Constitution to allow state and local governments to finance land acquisition and construction costs for affordable housing projects, reported The Santa Fe New Mexican. A clause in the Constitution enacted during the period of railroad construction prohibits the donation of public assets to private interests. In the intervening years, changes have been made, such as a 2002 amendment allowing jurisdictions to donate land, buildings, and utility infrastructure to affordable housing developments. The new amendment would go a step further and permit grants for construction and land acquisition, according to a Santa Fe housing official. Authorizing the city to provide grants, instead of loans, would particularly help projects serving very low-income and homeless people, she said. KnowledgePlex Oct 27 HOUSTON MAYOR AND A COUNCILMAN PLEDGE NEW AFFORDABLE HOUSES Houston 's mayor and a city councilman have signed a deal to bring affordable homes to a working-class community close to downtown that is fighting off gentrification, reported the Houston Chronicle. Between 2004 and 2005, property values in the area increased by more than 26 percent, according to The Metropolitan Organization. The organization drafted the approved plan, which calls for spending $2 million to build 60 single-family homes targeting families that earn between $25,000 and $30,000 annually, sources said. A newly created down-payment assistance program would keep monthly mortgage payments between $700 and $850. KnowledgePlex Oct 27 REAL ESTATE COMPANY BUYS LANDMARK NEW YORK HOUSING COMPLEX MetLife's decision to sell a 110-building apartment complex in Manhattan for $5.4 billion has "stoked concerns" about the future of that complex, reported the Daily News. About three-quarters of the 11,200 units in Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village are rent-stabilized, though 1,600 of those units are scheduled to shed rent controls over the next two years. Hoping to ensure that the complex remains accessible to middle-class New Yorkers, a group of tenants attempted to buy the buildings for $4.5 billion. Mayor Michael Bloomberg resisted pressure from labor leaders and others to intervene, and the tenant group was outbid by Tishman Speyer. According to a senior City Hall official, the city can get "more bang for our buck" by building middle-income homes elsewhere than by providing tax incentives to preserve units as part of the tenant bid. KnowledgePlex Oct 27 CITY TO BUILD AFFORDABLE APARTMENTS AT QUEENS SITE New York City officials announced plans to build 5,000 apartments for middle-income families as well as other community amenities in Queens , on property purchased from the Port Authority, reported Newsday. The city will spend $100 million to acquire the 24-acre parcel along Long Island City 's waterfront and an additional $46 million on infrastructure. The land is in a rapidly developing neighborhood that would have been home to an Olympic Village had the city won its bid to host the 2012 Olympics. Queens officials had urged City Hall to obtain the land for affordable homes to prevent average residents from being priced out of the area. The city expects its developer partners to break ground in 2008. Although financing deals are yet to be finalized, the city envisions that the units will rent for approximately $1,200 to $2,500 per month to households making between $60,000 and $150,000 annually. KnowledgePlex Oct 27 COLUMBIA U. PROFESSORS FEEL HOUSING CRUNCH In the years ahead, Columbia University is likely to have fewer housing options to offer prospective faculty members, reported the Columbia Daily Spectator via University Wire. Historically, the university has lured new faculty with benefits packages that include access to spacious and affordable apartments. The university currently owns more than 3,600 apartments in Morningside Heights , including 500 that were added to the portfolio in the last few years, according to the provost's office. However, the apartments are full, and those units occupied by faculty members who retired before 1989 will be preserved for them for their lifetimes and those of their spouses. The university doesn't have the resources to bring any new apartments on line, said a member of the University Senate committee on housing. Due to the housing crunch, university administrators are no longer being offered housing, said the dean of the School of General Studies . KnowledgePlex Oct 27 NEW UNITS TO REPLACE DEMOLISHED COMPLEXES The Housing Authority of New Orleans approved plans to replace three of its largest public housing complexes with new mixed-income communities, reported the Times-Picayune. The new communities will include at least 1,285 market-rate and subsidized homes, though HANO did not specify exactly how many units would be offered to the working poor. The authority will apply for $199 million in federal low-income housing tax credits to help pay for redevelopment. At least one of the complexes had been originally slated to reopen, but the plan was abandoned when the authority discovered a lack of fortification that allowed vandals and thieves to access the site. The authority has already leased the property of a fourth large complex, Lafitte, to nonprofit developers to develop almost 900 subsidized units and an additional 600 unsubsidized units. Before Hurricane Katrina, the four complexes offered housing to 3,039 families, the article said. KnowledgePlex Oct 27 DENVER REPS TOUR FLORIDA SHELTER Seeking ideas for the city's 10-year plan to end homelessness, Denver metro leaders toured a homeless outreach center in Miami , reported The Denver Post. Since the 1990s, Miami 's homeless population fell from 8,000 to 2,000 due to a public-private partnership that created two such centers, the article said. Caseworkers bring the homeless from the streets to the centers and house them there while creating an action plan. The centers offer a variety of support services, such as child care, job training, and dental care. Miami 's homeless outreach efforts are funded in part by a 1 percent food-and-beverage tax, which was enacted in 1993 and now generates $11 million annually. KnowledgePlex Oct 27 HOUSING BUBBLE: WHO'S PAYING ATTENTION? Millions of middle-class homeowners may lose their life savings if the economy slides into a severe recession, so why aren't more politicians, bankers, economists and policy analysts taking the threat of a housing market collapse seriously? Oct 26 2006 -- Truthout Planetizen Oct 30 PRICES KEEP RISING FOR DOWNTOWN HOUSING DEVELOPMENT In cities across the country, the trend of downtown housing development is booming. Prices per square-foot have more than doubled since last year in some cities. Oct 31 2006 -- The Denver Post via Chicago Tribune Planetizen Nov 2 AFFORDABLE HOUSING AVAILABILITY DECREASED BY THOSE need it An Australian housing industry body has made the claim that people who can't afford to buy their own homes are contributing to the lack of affordable housing. Nov 01 2006 -- The Australian Planetizen Nov 2 AFFORDABLE AND MARKET-RATE HOUSING CO-EXIST Columbus, Ohio's New Village Place -- winner of the 2006 James B. Recchie Award for Urban Design -- seamlessly marries market-rate and affordable housing with striking designs that respect the historic character and fabric of the neighborhood. Oct 31 2006 -- The Columbus Dispatch Planetizen Nov 2 HABITAT FINDS HOME IN SUBURBS Minnesota 's Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity is venturing into the suburbs as regional land prices rise and workers leave cities for jobs outside the urban core, reported the Star Tribune. In the next three to five years, 75 percent of the organization's production will take place in fast-growing suburbs, said the group's president, Sue Haigh. Indeed, Habitat recently completed a townhouse in Scott County , the last of seven metro-area counties to be served by the group. The county Housing and Redevelopment Authority sold the lot to Habitat for $1. In earlier years, Habitat got most of its lots from the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul . However, the real estate boom has severely pinched the supply of land, Haigh said. "Usually, homeowners are happy to move wherever Habitat finds a site," said the group's land acquisition manager. KnowledgePlex Nov 2 URBAN LEAGUE PLANS TO DEVELOP AFFORDABLE CONDOS The CEO of the National Urban League's Orlando , Fla. , affiliate wants his organization to join the dozen or so other Urban League affiliates that are developing affordable single-family homes, reported the Orlando Sentinel. Under E. Lance McCarthy's plan, the league would turn a park into a community with 100 affordable condominiums for families and senior citizens, playgrounds, picnic areas, and walking paths. The project would cost $15 million and be built in two phases of 50 units each. Up to $60,000 in down-payment assistance would be offered to help buyers purchase units selling from $150,000 to $190,000. Project profits would be put into other Urban League programs, McCarthy said. KnowledgePlex Nov 2 DALEY PLAN WOULD MAKE THEM DRUG HOUSES AFFORDABLE HOUSING Chicago Mayor Richard Daley announced a new initiative to seize drug dealers' buildings and turn them into affordable housing, reported the Chicago Sun-Times. If gang members are found using a building to sell or store drugs, or if certain other conditions are met, City Hall and the Cook County state's attorney's office will pursue forfeiture of the property. If the court orders the property to be forfeited, the Chicago Department of Housing will partner with the State Police Asset Forfeiture Unit to identify potential buyers. "The goal is to turn blighted buildings that have been magnets for crime into affordable housing," the article said. KnowledgePlex Nov 2 IRVINE RECEIVES ACCOLADES FOR PROMOTING AFFORDABLE HOUSING Irvine , Calif. , Mayor Beth Krom recently received the "Advocate of the Year" award from the Southern California Association of Non-Profit Housing, according to a press release from the city. Irvine , which is the nation's largest master planned community, was recognized for various affordable housing activities, the release said. Under its Housing Strategy and Implementation Plan, the city sets a goal of having approximately 9,700 affordable homes by 2025. The city has also passed an ordinance requiring 15 percent of all new homes to be affordable and established a community land trust to acquire property for permanently affordable housing. By committing to provide a broad range of housing, Irvine serves as an excellent model for other Southern California communities, said an official involved in the award selection. KnowledgePlex Nov 2 'FIND A LENDER' WINS AWARD FOR VHDA The Virginia Housing Development Authority won an affordable housing achievement award for its "Find A Lender" program, reported the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The National Council of State Housing Agencies bestowed the award. Using a network of lenders statewide, the authority makes loans to home buyers. Through the Web-based "Find A Lender" program, buyers and Realtors® can locate lenders in the authority's network. KnowledgePlex Nov 2   THINKING COLLECTIVELY TO GAIN AFFORDABLE HOUSING In Boston, labor unions and community groups are joining forces to win victories for affordable housing. Nov 02 2006 -- Shelterforce Magazine Planetizen Nov 6 KnowledgePlex Nov 8 CITY'S HOUSING EFFORTS RECEIVE INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION Austin , Texas , won an international leadership award for its affordable housing policy, according to a press release issued by the city. Six years ago the city adopted an initiative called S.M.A.R.T. Housing, which stands for Safe, Mixed Income, Accessible, Reasonably Priced and Transit Oriented. The International City/County Management Association recognized the initiative as an International Leading Practice. The program provides expedited permitting, fee waivers, and other incentives to developers who include affordable housing in their developments. Since the program was launched, city incentives and assistance have created more than 7,400 homes and apartments, 73 percent of which are affordable to households making up to 80 percent of the area median income. According to Austin 's city manager, the initiative responded to a community study identifying key obstacles to building affordable homes. KnowledgePlex Nov 8 COUNCIL PANEL TOLD TENANT LAW IS NOT ENFORCED The council's housing panel has directed Los Angeles city departments to draft new protections for evicted tenants, the Daily News reported. "Renters have been evicted from nearly 12,000 rent-controlled apartments to make way for for-sale condominiums," the article said. The proposed rules would require landlords to provide tenants with relocation assistance and $1,000 for moving expenses; institute long-term lease guarantees enabling seniors and disabled tenants to remain in converted buildings at reduced rents; and impose higher fees on landlords who convert to condos, with the funds generated going toward affordable housing development. KnowledgePlex Nov 8 PLUM CREEK TIMBER DONATES 25 ACRES FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING A Seattle-based timber company with land holdings in the Moosehead Lake region of Maine is donating 25 acres to a nonprofit affordable housing developer, reported the Bangor Daily News. Besides donating the land to Coastal Enterprises Inc. of Wiscasset, Plum Creek Timber Co. will lend the organization $800,000 to help build the homes, said CEI's president. Though the proposed project must still undergo a market feasibility analysis, studies indicate a need for such housing, he said. CEI expects the first phase of the project to encompass up to 30 homes for low- to moderate-income families. KnowledgePlex Nov 8 NEW CORPORATION HOPES TO REMOVE CONSTRUCTION HURDLES Business leaders in south Mississippi have formed a new organization to build sorely needed workforce housing in all coastal counties, reported The Sun Herald. The Gulf Coast Renaissance Corporation was created by the Gulf Coast Business Council, whose members have pledged substantial contributions toward raising $500,000 in seed money. The corporation is now seeking support from foundations and corporations. In a recent presentation, the council's executive director urged civic and government leaders in Jackson County, Miss., to support a coast-wide developer instead of smaller, local housing projects. The new housing corporation plans to focus on addressing barriers to workforce housing production, such as insurance, permitting, water, and sewage problems, the article said. KnowledgePlex Nov 8 DISNEYLAND SAYS 'NOT IN MY BACKYARD’ Park officials in Anaheim, California, are voicing their objections to a proposal to build 1,500 new housing units including 200 affordable apartments -- adjacent to the theme park. Nov 06 2006 -- San Jose Mercury News Planetizen Nov 9 $37.3 BILLION INFRASTRUCTURE PACKAGE LEADING California voters approved "a massive $37.3 billion infrastructure plan" that includes borrowing $2.9 billion for low-cost homes, reported the Sacramento Bee. The bond package also includes $19.9 billion for transportation, $10.4 billion for schools and colleges, and $4.1 billion for levee repairs. The bond measures were placed on the ballot by the legislature and the governor working in a bipartisan manner, the article said. In Los Angeles , voters rejected a $1 billion housing bond that would have raised property taxes by about $15 per $100,000 of assessed value, reported the Los Angeles Daily News. According to semi-official returns, the bond won a majority -- 62 percent of voters approved it -- but failed to get the two-thirds vote needed for passage. KnowledgePlex Nov 16 AUSTIN VOTERS APPROVE $567 MILLION IN BONDS Austin , Texas , voters approved all seven bond propositions on the ballot, including a $55 million bond issue for affordable housing, reported the Austin American-Statesman. It was the first-ever affordable housing bond ballot measure for the city, the article said. "We're recognizing that housing is a basic need just like roads or drainage," said an advocate for the homeless. Most of the housing funds will be spent on developing or renovating rental homes, while the rest will support homeownership efforts. The city will craft guidelines for spending the housing money. The $567 million bond package also includes funding for a new central library and other public facilities, cultural arts facilities, acquiring open space and implementing drainage projects, parks, and street repairs. When the increase in property taxes to support the bond package is fully phased in, the owner of a home with an assessed value equal to the city median would pay about $50 more annually in property taxes, the American-Statesman reported. KnowledgePlex Nov 16 VOTERS SAY YES TO BORROWING BILLIONS FOR NEW PROJECTS Nationwide, voters approved more than 88 percent of the $78.6 billion in state and local bond measures on the ballot last week, reported USA TODAY . The funds will be spent on schools, roads, sewers, fire stations, and other projects, the article said. In approving the bond measures, Americans expressed their dissatisfaction with traffic congestion and overcrowded schools, sources told USA TODAY . According to the Federal Reserve Board, state and local governments now owe $1.9 trillion, compared with the federal debt of $4.9 trillion. KnowledgePlex Nov 16 110TH HOUSE COMMITTEES: HOUSING AND FINANCIAL SERVICES With Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) as its new chairman, the House Financial Services Committee in the 110th Congress is expected to tackle housing issues, reported Congressional Quarterly Today. Under Frank, the committee will likely focus on boosting affordable housing programs and move forward on legislation to curb predatory lending, the article said. The panel is also likely to address whether retailers such as Wal-Mart and Home Depot should be able to launch banking operations. If regulators approve Wal-Mart's efforts to enter the banking business, committee members from both parties are expected to seek legislation, the article said. Frank has said he wants to create a committee charged with ensuring that economic growth benefits all U.S. citizens. KnowledgePlex Nov 16 TRUST FUND IS MORE FLEXIBLE THAN SUBSIDIES Milwaukee affordable-housing developers said the proposed trust fund would give them more flexibility than current government subsidies. Last week, the city's budget committee approved borrowing $2.5 million - half of what the Milwaukee Affordable Housing Task Force recommended -- next year to fund the effort. The trust fund would receive annual revenue from payments the city receives from the Potawatomi for the casino in the Menomonee Valley , recently dissolved tax incremental financing districts and payments in lieu of taxes on properties. KnowledgePlex Nov 16 BALTIMORE CITY, MARYLAND VOTES 2006 Baltimore voters passed a city charter amendment creating a fund for building affordable homes, reported The Baltimore Sun. The ballot measure didn't dedicate a source of revenue to the fund but would allow the city to allocate money from a future tax or a portion of an existing tax, an earlier Sun article reported. Washington , D.C. , and New York have similar trust funds, the article said. Washington 's fund, which was created in 1988, gets revenues from a portion of the real estate recordation fee, said City Council President Sheila Dixon. Dixon , who pushed for the affordable housing program, said it would help ensure that Baltimore 's neighborhoods remain diverse and affordable. KnowledgePlex Nov 16 PROGRAM OFFERS AFFORDABLE HOUSING ON DANIEL ISLAND Two developers and a banking group have teamed up on what the partners call "an innovative, privately led initiative" to offer quality housing to working families on South Carolina 's Daniel Island , reported The Post and Courier. The complex will include 84 condominiums and 28 rental units. The condos, to be built in a series of small buildings that resemble houses, will be designed with interior features comparable to pricier units built by Trammel Crow Residential, one of the partners. Trammel Crow, its developer partner The Daniel Island Co. , and Daniel Island Real Estate will reduce their commissions and profits to sell the units at below-market rates, said a Daniel Island Co. official. KnowledgePlex Nov 16 HOME BUYER ASSISTANCE FUNDS TO MAKE UP FOR LOST SECTION 8 FUNDS Passaic , N.J. , Mayor Sammy Rivera has proposed diverting home-buyer assistance funds to help families slated to lose their Section 8 rental vouchers, reported The Record. Earlier this year, state and city sources helped fill a gap in funding for Section 8 vouchers through the end of 2006. However, 385 families lost their Section 8 vouchers for next year as the result of a June lottery by the city's Housing Authority. Though some of the affected families dropped off the list due to attrition, 358 remain and are facing eviction on New Year's Day. Under Rivera's plan, $676,206 in federal HOME funds slated for a first-time home-buyer program and a building project would instead fund vouchers for the families. KnowledgePlex Nov 16 NEGOTIATIONS FOR UNION MODULAR-HOME PLANT UNDER WAY The AFL-CIO Investment Trust Corp. plans to engage a company to build, manage, and oversee a $12 million to $18 million manufactured housing plant in the New Orleans area, reported the Times-Picayune. The Investment Trust, which invests union members' pension funds, plans to put $5 million to $8 million into the plant. Other funding sources may include new markets tax credits, economic development incentives, and Gulf Opportunity Zone bonds. The trust has narrowed the field of prospective partners to three companies and will decide upon one before the end of the year, said the director of the trust's Gulf Coast Revitalization Program. The trust plans to open the plant before the end of 2007. According to the union, the plant would create 50 to 300 jobs, all of which would be filled by union members. The facility would produce 750 to 1,000 homes a year. Most modular housing operations use nonunion labor, said the executive director of the National Modular Housing Council. KnowledgePlex Nov 16   HOUSES BEING BUILT FOR LOW-INCOME FOLKS ARE NEAR DOWNTOWN JOBS Five San Antonio nonprofit developers are building a community of affordable, green homes on land acquired from the San Antonio Housing Authority, reported the San Antonio Express-News. The authority tore down an aging section of a public housing project near downtown and sold the land to the nonprofits for $75,000 -- about 10 times below market value. The new neighborhood will feature 59 homes selling in the low- to mid-$80,000s. They will be offered to families earning less than 80 percent of the area median income. When the neighborhood opens in April, it will become the first entirely green community to be completed in the city, said the lead developer. The developers "are dipping their toe into a kind of energy-efficient building design and site planning that few San Antonio suburban builders have explored," the article said. Besides energy-efficient appliances and other green features, the community will use universal design principles that enable access by people with mobility challenges. KnowledgePlex Nov 16 PENSION FUNDS TO INVEST IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR LOS ANGELES Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced that three public pension funds will invest $65 million in affordable homes for middle-class families, reported the Daily News. The investors include the Los Angeles City Employees Retirement System's $10.2 billion fund, the Los Angeles Police and Fire Pension Fund, and the Los Angeles County Employee Retirement Association. The money will be invested in the Genesis Workforce Housing Fund II, a private equity fund administered by Phoenix Realty Group. When fully invested, the fund will reach $150 million and finance 2,250 housing units, said the mayor's staff. The city is using the investments as part of an effort to make up for the defeat of a $1 billion affordable housing bond measure in the recent election, the article said. Villaraigosa said he hopes that the state employees' and teachers' pension funds will also invest more in affordable housing. KnowledgePlex Nov 22 LAND TRUSTS TOUTED FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING A growing number of Florida jurisdictions are exploring community land trusts as a tool for creating a permanent stock of affordable housing in rapidly appreciating neighborhoods, reported the Palm Beach Post. Community land trusts retain ownership of the land under new affordable housing units, significantly reducing the cost to home buyers. Homeowners who sell these units are limited in the amount of profit they can earn. According to the affordable housing director for 1000 Friends of Florida, there are 30 land trusts that are either formed or under consideration in the state -- a large number when compared with other states. Several community land trusts are up and running in Palm Beach County municipalities, including one that holds land for affordable for-sale and rental housing. Some U.S. jurisdictions seeking to establish land trusts have waited so long that rising land costs have made acquisition difficult, said a national expert. However, no matter what the housing market does, a persistent gap between incomes and housing costs will likely sustain interest in the community land trust model, said the 1000 Friends of Florida official. KnowledgePlex Nov 22 HOUSING PROJECT EYED Centre County, Pa. 's top elected official is asking the state to set aside 100 acres of state prison land in Benner Township for affordable housing, reported the Centre Daily Times. Rockview state prison owns a total of 6,255 acres, 1,800 of which are considered surplus to be divested by the state. Under pending legislation, the land would be transferred to Penn State University , Benner Township , and the state Fish and Boat Commission. Chris Exarchos, chairman of the Centre County Board of Commissioners, is working with a state representative to incorporate the affordable housing proposal into the legislation. Under their plan, Penn State and Benner Township would get fewer acres. The county would get the 100 acres at no cost and work with the township on the project, calling upon builders, lumber suppliers, and lenders to cut their profit margins to support homes for working people. The public housing authority would retain ownership of the land, and home buyers would agree to covenants restricting home resale values. However, county and township officials disagree on whether the proposed site is appropriate for new homes. KnowledgePlex Nov 22 BRONZEVILLE TO INCLUDE AFFORDABLE HOUSING The city of Milwaukee has approved a mixed-income housing development as part of its efforts to create an African-American cultural district, reported the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The district is expected to feature restaurants, shops, and other attractions. The housing piece consists of 23 owner-occupied, single-family homes on scattered vacant lots. Ten homes will be set aside for low- to moderate-income first-time buyers. The Common Council declared the lots surplus land and approved selling them each for $1. The city may support more homes in the district, said Mayor Tom Barrett. KnowledgePlex Nov 22   HABITAT TO BUILD HOMES FOR VETERANS A Habitat for Humanity affiliate in California has launched a pilot program to build homes for military veterans, reported The San Diego Union-Tribune. The Orange County chapter plans to build 14 homes for former Marines and sailors at a site in San Juan Capistrano , just outside a Marine base. Habitat officials expect the homes to be completed in late 2007 or early 2008. The project was the brainchild of Bruce Banigan, a disabled Marine and Desert Storm veteran who serves as a crew leader for the Habitat affiliate. The Orange County Habitat hopes that other Habitat affiliates across the nation will follow its lead and construct homes for wounded veterans, Banigan said. KnowledgePlex Nov 22 BRIDGING THE GAP: NEW EFFORT HELPS DISABLED OWN HOMES In Georgia , the Macon Area Habitat for Humanity is partnering with the Macon Housing Authority and nonprofit advocate Disability Connections to help low-income disabled residents become homeowners, reported The Telegraph. Habitat builds the homes and offers home buyers financing at 0 percent interest. The housing authority provides Section 8 housing vouchers, which cover a portion of the mortgage payments. Disability Connections screens applicants for eligibility as disabled buyers. Though HUD began allowing vouchers to be used for homeownership about four years ago, the Macon Housing Authority is the first in the state with such a partnership, housing officials say. The program serves people with Social Security or disability income of between $6,000 and $8,000 a year, said the executive director of Disability Connections. KnowledgePlex Nov 22 HUD'S PUBLIC HOUSING PLAN FOR NEW ORLEANS CHALLENGED The demolition of New Orleans public housing, which many argue are superior to the New Urbanist style mixed-income communities that are slated to replace them, is being challenged by residents who believe they are being pushed out of the city. Nov 21 2006 -- Planetizen Planetizen Nov 23 THE LOW COST HOUSING TRADE-OFF: HIGH COMMUTING COSTS More and more families across the country are spending more on transportation than housing. Many says its worth the time and money to be able to own a home. Nov 26 2006 -- The Birmingham News Planetizen Nov 27 USDA ANNOUNCES MULTIFAMILY REPAIR AND REHABILITATION FUNDING. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced that 78 multifamily housing developments in 16 states have been selected for inclusion in a demonstration program designed to preserve and rehabilitate apartment complexes financed through USDA Rural Development. A total of almost $47.8 million in loan restructurings plus over $20 million in new financing and tax credits will make it possible to rehabilitate 2,228 apartment units under the Multi- Family Housing Preservation and Revitalization Restructuring Program (MPR). National Housing Trust Preservation Newsletter Nov 2006 AFFORDABLE HOUSING: APARTMENT PRESERVATION After losing more than 11,000 apartment units to condominium conversions, officials in Northeast Florida are facing a new housing threat: the expiration of nearly 9,000 federally subsidized properties. The Jacksonville Local Initiatives Support Corporation and the city’s Housing and Neighborhoods Department are acting to preserve this housing. National Housing Trust Preservation Newsletter Nov 2006 EDITORIAL: PILOT PROGRAM FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS SMART Aberdeen , S.D. , has launched a pilot program to generate more affordable, single-family homes by delaying certain home-building fees, according to an editorial in the Aberdeen American News. Under the program, developers of houses or town homes costing $150,000 or less may postpone paying building permit and waterworks connection fees until the homes are sold. The pilot project will cease after 25 homes are completed or after one year. According to an official with the Aberdeen Development Corporation, the program will encourage the construction of single-family homes. The town should track the results of the project and extend it beyond the pilot phase if it proves successful, the article said. Planetizen Nov 30 TRANSFER TAX FACES VOCAL OPPOSITION Santa Fe is considering becoming the first New Mexico city to enact a real-estate transfer tax to fund affordable housing, reported The Santa Fe New Mexican. Last spring, the city council adopted a resolution supporting the levy, which would require voter approval. A recent council study session reviewed a proposal to impose a 1 percent tax on eligible home sales, using the proceeds to fund affordable housing efforts. The proposal "is likely to become controversial during the next year as the local Chamber of Commerce and Realtors' Association voice their opposition," the article said. Imposing a tax would make it harder for people who want to buy homes in the city, said the president of the local Realtors® group. According to the executive director of the Chamber of Commerce, the council should increase the housing supply and drive down prices by speeding residential development approvals. A transfer tax would not hurt the real estate business, said an advocate for the tax. Planetizen Nov 30 LOS ANGELES TRIES TO STEM SWITCH TO CONDOS The Los Angeles City Council voted to begin enforcing a city law allowing it to deny requests to convert apartments to condos, reported the Los Angeles Times. Under the law, such requests may be denied if the rental vacancy rate is below 5 percent, if relocation plans for tenants are inadequate, and if the proposed conversion would have a cumulative impact on the rental market. Housing advocates have criticized the city for not enforcing the 25-year-old law. In the last five years, about 12,000 rent-controlled apartments have been converted into condos or demolished, the article said. According to advocates, conversions have displaced thousands of renters and increased a shortfall in affordable housing. With or without the law, the city will still have an affordable housing shortage because it offers few incentives to own apartment buildings, said an official with the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles . Planetizen Nov 30 CONTRACT SIGNED FOR RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FOR EX-OFFENDERS As part of Indiana 's 10-year plan to end chronic homelessness, two state agencies launched a pilot program to help ex-offenders find affordable housing, according to a press release from the Indiana Department of Corrections. The Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority has partnered with the IDOC in the program, which aims to prevent inmates from being released into unstable living environments and returning to crime. Corrections staff will identify participants, who will receive tenant-based rental assistance from the state. The Northwest Indiana Reentry Partnership will administer rental aid in three selected counties, while the PACE/Offender Aid and Restoration will work with ex-offenders in two other counties. Besides offering the rental payment and utility assistance, the two organizations will help ex-offenders access other resources to successfully transition back into their communities. Planetizen Nov 30 NETWORK LAUNCHES GULF COAST HOUSING PARTNERSHIP An initiative to develop 10,000 affordable homes in hurricane-affected Louisiana and Mississippi communities has raised $20 million to date, according to a press release from initiative partners. The Housing Partnership Network, a group of the nation's top-producing nonprofit housing developers and lenders, formed the Gulf Coast Housing Partnership to provide urgently needed nonprofit development capacity to the region, the release said. To date, the initiative has more than 800 homes and apartments under contract for rehabilitation and development. Enterprise Community Partners provided $2 million in equity to support the formation of the new nonprofit development group. Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, NeighborWorks® America , Credit Suisse, and the MacArthur Foundation have also made key contributions, the release said. Planetizen Nov 30 HOUSING AUTHORITY DEVELOPMENTS WILL BE A MIX The Biloxi , Miss. , Housing Authority will use private and nonprofit grants to support its plan to create new residential developments with rental and for-sale homes, reported The Sun Herald. According to the authority's executive director, Hurricane Katrina caused $57 million in damage to authority complexes, leaving only 180 units currently occupied. He also said that HUD has been slow to respond, providing only $7.8 million in disaster relief. Fannie Mae has provided a three-year, $18 million line of credit to support the authority's redevelopment plans. Enterprise Community Partners is providing a $500,000 line of credit. Both organizations also contributed a total of $275,000 in grant funds. The authority plans to use the lines of credit and grants to purchase and prepare property for 1,500 housing units. Planetizen Nov 30 SUIT SAYS HOUSING AUTHORITIES WERE CHEATED Three of the largest public housing authorities in Massachusetts filed a lawsuit accusing the state of underfunding its local housing authorities, reported The Boston Globe. The lawsuit, brought by the housing authorities in Boston , Cambridge , and Brookline , names the Department of Housing and Community Development and the Executive Office of Administration and Finance as defendants. According to the lawsuit, a move to freeze subsidies for operating and maintaining state-funded public housing starting in 2003 has led to deteriorating conditions in the housing stock managed by the state's nearly 250 local authorities. Massachusetts law requires the state to cover the difference between what authorities generate in rent and the cost of maintaining the units, the suit said. Planetizen Nov 30 STUDIES and RESOURCES RELEASED PAPER MEASURES DIVERSITY OF U.S. NEIGHBORHOODS A recent paper from the Urban Institute seeks to provide housing and community development practitioners and policy-makers with new tools to understand neighborhood diversity. The paper uses decennial census data to develop a set of neighborhood typologies, grouping tracts by important differences in race, ethnicity, and income. The paper also documents the prevalence of diverse neighborhoods, describes their geographic distribution, and explores how they changed between 1990 and 2000. According to the report, the racial and ethnic diversity of neighborhoods in the nation's top 100 metropolitan areas increased between 1990 and 2000. KnowledgePlex October 6 REPORT TRACKS REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT PATTERNS A new report from The Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program tracks the metropolitan settlement patterns of the approximately 1.6 million refugees resettled by the U.S. government between 1983 and 2004. According to the report, refugees have overwhelmingly been resettled in metropolitan areas with large foreign-born populations. Over the past two decades, the leading refugee destination metro areas have shifted, with proportionally more refugees resettling in newer immigrant gateway cities such as Atlanta, Portland, Ore., and Seattle than in the traditional gateways such as Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York. In some smaller cities, refugees dominate the overall foreign-born population. Local leaders can take specific actions to ensure that refugee newcomers succeed in their new home community, including encouraging local resettlement agencies to partner with universities and other institutions to develop programs pairing refugees with students. KnowledgePlex October 6 REPORT CITES DECLINE IN CORPORATE CIVIC LEADERSHIP A new report from The Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program warns of the diminishing capacity of business-led civic organizations in the United States to fulfill their historic roles of engagement in urban policy-making and renewal. Tracking trends in 19 metropolitan areas, the report finds that corporate mergers, banking deregulation, declining manufacturing employment, and company relocations to the suburbs have all reduced the number of CEOs with the authority and interest in committing to urban solutions. Although economic restructuring has depleted the pool of CEO civic leaders, nonprofits and foundations are becoming increasingly important players in civic affairs. However, the nonprofit sector is often less interested in economic development than the business sector, the report said. As civic organizations broaden their memberships beyond CEOs and merge with local chambers of commerce, they may be less likely to promote "bold and imaginative action," the report said. KnowledgePlex October 12 REPORT EXAMINES SHARED-EQUITY HOMEOWNERSHIP According to the National Housing Institute, municipalities across the United States are increasingly turning to shared-equity homeownership models to create permanently affordable housing and preserve public subsidies. Such models use contractual controls to perpetuate the occupancy, eligibility, and affordability of homes that are owned and occupied by low-income or moderate-income households. They include community land trusts, limited-equity cooperatives, and deed-restricted housing with covenants lasting 30 years or more. The institute has published a report on findings from the first phase of an ongoing investigation of the three shared-equity homeownership models. The report examines the rationale for shared equity homeownership, the history and prevalence of the models, the design of use and resale controls, state and municipal policies that support or impede the expansion of shared-equity models, and the benefits such models offer individual homeowners and the larger community. KnowledgePlex October 12 WEB FEATURE DETAILS STATE ABANDONED-PROPERTY PROGRAMS An online resource from the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices reports that states are helping local governments address the unique challenges posed by abandoned or vacant properties. To prevent such properties from inhibiting redevelopment and devaluing surrounding sites, governors are providing state assistance for foreclosure intervention to thwart abandonment. They are also creating state land banks to gain control of vacant properties and convey them back into productive use as well as offering incentives to promote restoration and continued productivity of at-risk properties, the online backgrounder says. KnowledgePlex Oct 19 Report Highlights Enterprise 's Gulf Recovery Partnerships Enterprise has released a report reviewing its progress in working with other organizations to help Gulf Coast communities recover from Hurricane Katrina. Enterprise has committed to provide $200 million to develop 10,000 affordable homes in the region. Enterprise partnerships have provided transitional housing to evacuees and have developed and distributed instructional material on how to repair mold-damaged homes. The collaborations have also helped New Orleans implement a plan for redeveloping thousands of tax-delinquent homes and launched a demonstration program to help homeowners in Pass Christian, Miss. , decide whether to repair or rebuild. Enterprise and its partners are developing affordable housing for low- and very-low income people, creating sustainable affordable homes, and planning the redevelopment of a dilapidated public housing site, among other activities. KnowledgePlex Oct 19 'HOUSING IN THE NATION'S CAPITAL 2006' RELEASED The Fannie Mae Foundation and the Urban Institute released the 2006 edition of "Housing in the Nation's Capital." The report explores the housing challenges facing the Washington, D.C., region, focusing on the intersections among public schools, housing, and neighborhood revitalization. By analyzing factors such as investments in public school facilities, projected school population growth and modernization needs, and school and neighborhood segregation patterns, the report reviews ways in which housing and school policies can come together to help the District achieve its goals of growing and becoming more attractive to families with children. The report also highlights promising examples in which affordable housing and public school investments are converging to improve the quality of life for city residents and to attract future generations. KnowledgePlex Oct 27 REPORT EXAMINES CHARACTERISTICS OF TRANSITIONAL HOUSING A new report by the Urban Institute documents the characteristics of transitional housing programs for homeless families in five communities, providing preliminary assessments of program effectiveness and highlighting issues related to providing transitional housing. The communities examined were Cleveland, Detroit, Houston, San Diego, Seattle, and their surrounding counties. According to the report, transitional housing providers are not engaging in "creaming" - that is, taking families whose problems are not very complex or severe. Rather, families in the programs had significantly more barriers to retaining housing than the average household served by emergency shelters. Families in transitional housing must often find new homes once they leave the program, which can cause disruption, the report said. Even when providers offer the opportunity to stay in the unit, most families cannot afford to, the report said. The report is the first to come out of a HUD-funded project examining the effects of transitional housing on homeless families. KnowledgePlex Oct 27 STUDY DESCRIBES NATION'S 'EXURBS' A new study from The Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program describes the nation's "exurbs," using demographic and economic data from 1990 to 2005. The study defines exurbs as communities on the fringe of large U.S. metropolitan areas that share certain characteristics, such as low housing density and a 20 percent or more share of the population commuting to jobs in urbanized areas. According to the study, about 6 percent of the population of large metro areas lives in an exurb. That share suggests that "exurbs are probably receiving a slightly outsized share of attention nationally," the study says. Residents of the average exurb are disproportionately white, middle-income, homeowners, and commuters, the study found. KnowledgePlex Oct 27 STUDY LOOKS AT LOST AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOUSING A study recently released by HUD provides insight into saving at-risk affordable rental housing. The study examines the characteristics of properties that have left the federally assisted but privately owned housing stock when their owners prepaid the mortgages or opted out of the program. The characteristics of properties that have left HUD programs were compared with those that have remained in order to shed light on the reasons property owners leave federal housing assistance programs. The study's authors found that the lower a property's rent level is in relation to fair market rents, the higher the likelihood of opting out. The study also examines the affordability of rents charged at properties that have left the assisted stock either through prepayment or opt-out. KnowledgePlex Nov 2 ONLINE CLEARINGHOUSE COVERS HEALTHY HOMES FROM A TO Z The National Center for Healthy Housing has created a comprehensive database of peer-reviewed research and guidance documents related to healthy homes. The National Healthy Housing Clearinghouse provides researchers, policy-makers, and program staff with easy access to more than 600 documents on housing and health issues. The materials are updated monthly and are useful for writing grant proposals and reports, learning best practices in such areas as housing construction and resident education programs, and designing healthy homes policies and research projects. The site enables keyword searches as well as searches by document/article title, author, journal or publication name, publication date, or abstract. KnowledgePlex Nov 2 REPORT ANALYZES LOCAL PLANS TO END HOMELESSNESS A new report from the National Alliance to End Homelessness examines plans to end homelessness crafted by communities across the nation. According to the report, a majority (66 percent) of community plans to end homelessness target all homeless people, while 34 percent focus on chronically homeless people. The plans encompass a wide range of strategies, including creating data systems, preventing homelessness, using rapid re-housing strategies to shorten the time that people spend homeless, creating permanent housing options, and linking homeless people who have become housed with services and programs to help boost incomes and increase their ability to afford housing in the future. The report also scores each local plan on the likelihood that its strategies will be implemented. Most of these "strength" scores are low to medium, suggesting that plans aren't always setting clear numeric indicators, establishing timelines and implementing bodies, and identifying funding sources. KnowledgePlex Nov 8 STUDY EXPLORES HOUSING, SCHOOL SEGREGATION, AND INEQUALITY According to a new study from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, housing and education are at the center of a "self-perpetuating cycle of inequality" in metropolitan Boston that is not unique to the area. As whites age, have smaller families, and move away from the city, nonwhites, many of them immigrants, are increasingly the key to the region's future, the study says. However, housing and school segregation "is often fatal to the educational prospects" of minority children. Using Boston's situation as a lens, the study suggests ways to consider how differences in demography, governmental structure, and policy might alter the cycle. KnowledgePlex Nov 8 WEB FEATURE COVERS NONPROFIT ROLE IN REBUILDING NEW ORLEANS The Urban Institute has created a new Web feature to help nonprofit and community leaders looking for ways to rebuild New Orleans. The feature provides a collection of readings on issues important to rebuilding the city and the region and the role of nonprofits in dealing with those issues. The collection focuses on six issue areas: housing, children and families, arts and culture, disaster preparedness, community health, and poverty reduction and asset development. In many cases, the studies draw on the lessons learned from other disasters or on demonstration projects aimed at revitalizing a city or strengthening the social and economic fabric of communities. KnowledgePlex Nov 16 AFFORDABLE HOUSING CASE STUDIES Building Capacity, Leveraging Change, a new collection of case studies researched and written for the 2006 Affordable Housing Symposium, highlights five projects developed by housing authorities using innovative partnerships and leveraging federal resources. LISC eNewsletter Nov 13 REPORT LINKS HOMELESSNESS TO FEDERAL FUNDING CUTS A new report from a California-based advocacy group says cutbacks in federal affordable housing programs over the last 25 years have caused widespread homelessness, reported the Times-Picayune. According to the study by the Western Regional Advocacy Project, more than 100,000 public housing units have been redeveloped, sold off, or demolished since 1996. During that same period, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development hasn't spent any funds directly on constructing new public housing, the study said. Mixed-income neighborhoods built to replace public housing under HUD's HOPE VI program have produced fewer subsidized homes, the study said. "When you lose your public housing unit, chances are you're going to be homeless," said Paul Boden, executive director of the Western Regional Advocacy Project. KnowledgePlex Nov 22 STUDY: OLDER AMERICANS PREFER TO STAY IN THEIR COMMUNITIES A study from the American Association of Retired Persons rebuts the common myth that a majority of the 60-and-older population moves to warmer climates as they age. According to the report, only about 9 percent, or 4.4 million people older than 60, were residentially mobile, moving beyond their county in the five years prior to the 2000 Census. The results are based on both U.S. Census data and telephone interviews. Reasons cited for staying in the community include closer proximity to family and friends, and satisfaction with existing homes, current jobs or employment opportunities. A large percentage of this population identified transportation and affordable housing as key priorities for local government, the report says. According to an AARP spokesperson, these issues point to the importance of ongoing engagement between older residents and community leaders. KnowledgePlex Nov 22   HUD RELEASES BEST PRACTICES FOR REHABBING AFFORDABLE HOUSING. The report titled Best Practices for Effecting the Rehabilitation of Affordable Housing represents an effort by HUD to encourage successful affordable housing rehabilitation in the face of institutional and regulatory barriers. Volume 1 is a comprehensive resource guide to state, local, and federal tools for overcoming barriers. Volume 2 provides analyses of key rehab sources and barriers, and case studies of state and local efforts to overcome major regulatory impediments. National Housing Trust Preservation Newsletter Nov 2006 HUD’S ENERGY EFFICIENCY STRATEGIES. HUD recently outlined its strategy for reducing energy costs and increasing energy efficiency in public and assisted housing, as required by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The report, Promoting Energy Efficiency at HUD in a Time of Change: Report to Congress, relates the steps HUD is taking - and proposes to take - to address rising energy costs in public and assisted housing. National Housing Trust Preservation Newsletter Nov 2006   LISC CASE STUDIES HIGHLIGHT WORK OF HOUSING AUTHORITIES Local Initiatives Support Corp. is making available a collection of case studies researched and written for the 2006 Affordable Housing Symposium in Atlanta. "Building Capacity, Leveraging Change" highlights five projects developed by housing authorities using innovative partnerships and leveraging federal resources. Low-income housing tax credits, capital fund financing, phased development, and a capital campaign are among the creative financing tools used by the partners to serve low-income individuals and families, the elderly, the homeless, and people with special needs. The techniques and the results presented provide a framework for other practitioners considering how to preserve and/or increase the affordable housing stock in their own communities. KnowledgePlex Nov 30 EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS MAXWELL AWARD WINNERS NAMED, OCT. 19 The Fannie Mae Foundation presented the awards in Round Sixteen of the Maxwell Awards of Excellence to four nonprofit organizations for their work in the field of affordable housing. This year's Maxwell Awards are given in partnership with the National Vacant Properties Campaign and have a special focus on outstanding development of affordable housing while reclaiming vacant properties. Each Maxwell winner receives a $50,000 grant to continue its work in the field of affordable housing and community development. KnowledgePlex Oct 19 SMITHFIELD LIBERTY GARAGE WINS 2006 AIA DESIGN PITTSBURGH AWARD The Smithfield Liberty Parking Garage was recently awarded the AIA Design Pittsburgh Award of Excellence for Architectural Detail/Craftsmanship.  The Pittsburgh Parking Authority (PPA), who owns and operates the garage, engaged the CDCP in 2002 to provide technical assistance in planning for the renovations. Pfaffmann + Associates was hired to create the award winning design, and according to the this year’s Design Awards jury, they were “successful in the way [they] handle[d] marking an entry and doing so in a way that brought elegance and whimsy to a mundane parking garage.” cdcp nov 2006 ORGANIZATIONS HONORED BY ENTERPRISE , METLIFE FOUNDATION Six community-based organizations have won MetLife Foundation Awards for Excellence in Affordable Housing, reported multi-housingnews.com. The awards, which total $100,000, recognize 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners in the categories of property and asset management and supportive housing. Housing Works and its subsidiary Gotham Assets Property Management & Development won first place in the property and asset management category for Cylar House, a supportive housing complex serving homeless New Yorkers who have HIV/AIDS. The organization excels in managing a complex for a "very difficult-to-house population," said an Enterprise official. Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center won first place in the supportive housing category for its Bernal Gateway Apartments in San Francisco . The 55-unit development is notable for serving families with incomes below 30 percent of the area median income and providing a "rich blend of on-site services and programs for youths and adults," the Enterprise official said. The MetLife Foundation and Enterprise Community Partners began cosponsoring the awards in 1996. KnowledgePlex Nov 16 ENTERPRISE , NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL, GRANTS TO $5,000 Enterprise Community Partners will award planning grants of up to $5,000, through Green Communities, to affordable housing developers of environmentally healthy homes for low-income families in the United States . The grant will cover the cost of facilitating a charrette during pre-development and a post-construction sustainability training session. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and proposals are reviewed three times a year. NeighborWorks Alert Nov 20 NEIGHBORWORKS TRAINING INSTITUTE IN ATLANTA ~ FEBRUARY 19-23, 2007 Featuring several the five-day Nonprofit Housing Management Specialist course, which is part of the CHAM Professional Designation Program, and a symposium on February 21 -- Changes in the Wind – Manufactured Housing and the Future of Affordable Housing. NeighborWorks Alert Nov 20 AUDIO WORKSHOP: RURAL HOMELESSNESS, DEC. 14 On Thursday, Dec. 14 at 3 p.m. ET , the Leadership to End Homelessness Audio Conference Series will feature an audio workshop on ending and preventing homelessness in rural communities. Rural planners and providers are establishing new and often non-traditional partnerships with a wide range of local, state, and federal stakeholders. This discussion will focus on critical barriers and innovative solutions to addressing the problem of rural homelessness. KnowledgePlex Nov 22 JAN. 15 DEADLINE FOR CUSHING NILES DOLBEARE MEDIA AWARDS The National Low Income Housing Coalition and Affordable Housing Finance magazine will honor journalists who report on America 's affordable housing crisis. Named for NLIHC founder Cushing Niles Dolbeare, the awards recognize print journalists who make a dedicated effort to inform the public about the inequities in housing. Entrants can submit a single article or a series of articles that have been published between Jan. 1, 2006 , and Dec. 31, 2006 . Three first-prize winners in two categories will each receive $2,500. KnowledgePlex Nov 22 CALL FOR ENTRIES: 2007 EDRA / PLACES AWARDS COMPETITION Planeetizen Nov 23 Dec. 18 Deadline for Urban Excellence Award The Bruner Foundation is accepting applications for the Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence, which honors transformations and developments that contribute to the richness and diversity of the urban experience. It seeks to illuminate the complex process of urban place-making so that it may be strengthened to better reflect the balance between form and use, opportunity and cost, and preservation and change. One Gold Medal of $50,000 and four Silver Medals of $10,000 each will be awarded. KnowledgePlex Nov 30   __________________________________________________________________________ The Center for Innovation in Affordable Housing Design, is a partnership between Penn Design at the University of Pennsylvania and the Peoples Emergency Center Community Development Corporation (PECCDC). The Center for Innovation in Affordable Housing is funded by a Community Outreach Partnership Center (COPC) futures grant from the Office of University Partnerships of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. You can find out more about the OUP here, and more about the current COPC grants here.