STATEWIDE NEWS
State Plans Housing Opportunity Bill Meetings
HUD Assists Families Losing Section 8 – More Families Still at Risk
State Reports First Multifamily Bond Sale in a Year
FEDERAL NEWS
Committee Requests Funding for Choice Neighborhoods, Not Hope IV
HUD Continues to Address Voucher Shortfall
Federal Guidance Implementing the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act
Summary of Mortgage Lending Bills, Tenant Notice Bill
Bills Introduced – Vets, Chronic Homeless, Sustainable Communities, TARP
NACEDA Pushes for Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Enhancements
35th Anniversary of Section 8, Community Development Block Grants
PORTLAND METRO NEWS
REACH 20th Paint and Repair-a-thon Improves a Record 21 Homes
Hacienda CDC Welcomes Working-Class Families to Miraflores Project
ANOTHER COUNTY HEARD FROM – MEMBER NEWS AROUND THE STATE
Lane County St Vincent de Paul Summer Camp Spiced with Learning, Fun
FUNDING AND AWARD OPPORTUNITIES
New Relief Loan Fund for Human Services Responding to Economic Crisis
RGK Foundation Supports Human Services, Community Improvement
EVENTS, TRAININGS AND CONFERENCES
REACH New Program Informs Community, Promotes Properties
Save the Date – NW Community Land Trust Coalition Conference Oct 21-23
REPORTS
Tenants Overcharged for Rent Because Utility Allowances Too Low
Report Says Renting Is Smart Choice
New Concise Congressional Report on Veterans and Homelessness
RESOURCES
ARRA Clearinghouse, SIRR Updated: New HPRP, NSP, Weatherization Materials
STATEWIDE NEWS
State Plans Housing Opportunity Bill Meetings–top
Oregon Housing and Community Services Deputy Director Rick Crager reports he is putting together a series of meetings to gather stakeholder feedback on new legislation affecting the department, especially the Housing Opportunity Bill.
The bill, which derives from House Bill 2436, will provide a projected $15 million in resources for the broad purpose of addressing the state’s housing needs. The revenue will start flowing to OHCS in January 2010.
The outreach meetings will be scheduled for late September and be designed to capture local thinking in key Oregon cities. More information is coming soon.
To read a more detailed bulletin by OHCS about implementing the Housing Opportunity Bill, click here.
HUD Assists Families Losing Section 8 – More Families Still at Risk–top
As reported in the last Oregon ON Newsletter, HUD is taking leadership and providing emergency assistance to struggling public housing agencies (PHAs) across the county that administer Section 8 vouchers. Please see related article in this Newsletter’s Federal section.
In Clatsop, Columbia, and Tillamook Counties, this means that 219 households who would have lost rent assistance in September will be able to stay in their homes. Northwest Oregon Housing Authority (NOHA), who administers the vouchers, will receive nearly $800,000 in HUD funding.
While this is very welcome news for the 219 households, NOHA reports there are 59 more who vacated their apartments upon receiving the notices they were being dropped from the program, which NOHA mailed on May 26. Now those households are not receiving assistance, and may wait for up to a year for their vouchers to be reinstated.
Clatsop Community Action (CCA), who had pledged to assist 44 Clatsop households losing section 8 vouchers (8/6 Oregon ON Newsletter) is now faced with the needs of the households who left the voucher program.
As well, Cassandra Profita and Deeda Schroeder of The Daily Astorian report that NOHA is raising the rent for another 312 families to make up for their budget shortfalls:
Click here to read the full story.
Click here to read an earlier story about the HUD money.
Read below to learn more about the HUD bailout:
The rent will be paid – Housing Authority receives $800,000 in rescue money to help voucher program
By Deeda Schroeder, The Daily Astorian, Friday, August 14, 2009
Good news for all of the 219 households in Clatsop, Columbia and Tillamook counties at risk of losing their rent assistance Sept.1: the Northwest Oregon Housing Authority will soon get nearly $800,000 in rescue money to keep those families in their homes.
The housing authority director, Carol Snell, announced Thursday that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has approved her request for “extraordinary administrative fees.”
“Of course we’re really excited we got the funding,” Snell said this morning. She added that the authority is busy crunching numbers with HUD officials in their Warrenton office this morning, double-checking that they’re following proper procedure as they take households out of the terminated status.
In May, the HUD annual budget came about $600,000 shy of the sum the housing authority was expecting, forcing the agency to cut 285 households from its federally-funded Housing Choice Voucher Program. With direction from its Board of Commissioners, the authority was able to scrape together July and August rent money for program participants that didn’t move.
In September, NOHA lowered rent help to 312 additional families on the program, as an attempt to trim its expenses.
An investigation by the Daily Astorian revealed the funding shortage was primarily caused by mismanagement of the agency. For months in 2009, the housing authority gave out more vouchers than it could afford, despite its accountant’s repeated warnings.
A recent review by the Portland housing authority found multiple management flaws and a HUD review of bookkeeping is also underway.
HUD recently announced it asked “troubled” housing authorities to apply for $41 million in help to prevent cutting families from Section 8 voucher programs. Snell requested $795,000 for NOHA, including $30,000 in technical assistance funds for training and software upgrades.
George Sabol, executive director of Clatsop Community Action, said he’s glad to hear his agency won’t be paying the rent bill for the families at risk in Clatsop County. CCA recently pledged to do so – using operating funds and stimulus money intended for another purpose – through the end of the year if the housing authority couldn’t come up with any other solution. But Sabol is still smarting about the households that were concerned enough to move out.
“The bad news is for the 70 families who did the right thing and moved out when they got their initial notice to vacate in May/June. They will be the next concern since not addressed according to my interpretation of discussions,” Sabol said.
In an e-mail Thursday, Snell said those families won’t be able to get back on the voucher program until January at the earliest.
Snell plans to send out a letter to program participants early next week to notify them of their status.
State Reports First Multifamily Bond Sale in a Year–top
Oregon Housing and Community Services closed an important multifamily bond sale last week. This is the first bond sale of any kind since the housing bond market collapsed a year ago.
OHCS completed paperwork late last week with Wells Fargo for sale of $9.2 million in conduit bonds to finance preservation of the Martha Washington Apartments in Southwest Portland. It will provide 108 units to serve persons who are homeless and earn very low incomes.
This is short-term financing employing tax-exempt, conduit bonds. The process provides Wells Fargo with a vehicle to fund the project through purchase of bonds and construction lending.
OHCS’ last bond sale was held August 26, 2008, to finance $92 million in single-family housing. Just prior to that, on July 18, the department used its bonding authority to finance a $6.9 million multifamily preservation project in Lebanon.
In addition to approving conduit bond financing for the Martha Washington, at the same July 24 meeting, the Housing Council approved a predevelopment loan for Uptown Tower. This is planned as 72 units of very-low-income housing in Portland. The project is slated for consideration in the fall consolidated funding cycle.
FEDERAL NEWS
Committee Requests Funding for Choice Neighborhoods, Not Hope IV–top
The Senate Committee on Appropriations made public its report on its FY10 HUD appropriations bill the week of August 3 (Senate Report 111-69). The Senate Committee bill, which does not yet have a bill number, would fund the President’s request for a Choice Neighborhoods Initiative at $250 million for FY10.
By contrast, the House appropriations bill (H.R. 3288) did not fund Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, instead providing $250 million, up from $120 million in FY09, for the HOPE VI public housing revitalization program. The House report said they did not fund the Initiative because, “the Committee on Appropriations is not the appropriate body to authorize a new initiative of this scale, especially when the Financial Services Committee has worked diligently over the past several years to reauthorize HOPE VI.”
HOPE VI has been blamed for the loss of 50,000 public housing units by Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), who chairs the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity (see 8/6 Oregon ON Newsletter).
HUD has not put forth details of what the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative would look like. As proposed in the President’s FY10 request for HUD, it would “build on the successes of public housing transformation under HOPE VI with a broader approach to concentrated poverty,” according to HUD budget documents. The Choice Neighborhoods Initiative program seeks to address high poverty neighborhoods in a holistic way, beyond redeveloping only public housing, which is the focus of HUD’s HOPE VI program. Public housing agencies (PHAs), owners of federally assisted housing and private owners would all be eligible to participate in the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative. The HOPE VI program is restricted to PHAs.
The Senate report acknowledges the “lack of details” on the Initiative and would direct the HUD Secretary to submit a plan to the House and Senate appropriations committees within 60 days of the spending bill’s enactment. The plan should include details on how HUD will define functioning, sustainable, mixed-income neighborhoods, as well as what specific goals the Secretary and grant recipients would have to meet, according to the report.
To quell PHA concerns that a pool of grant funds dedicated to public housing redevelopment, HOPE VI, would be replaced by a program with a much broader scope of applicants, the Senate Committee’s report stipulates that not less than $165 million of the $250 million be awarded to projects where PHAs are the lead applicant.
The full Senate is expected to consider the FY10 spending bill in September.
Access the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s updated budget chart by clicking here.
HUD Continues to Address Voucher Shortfall–top
HUD took further steps the week of August 3 to help public housing agencies (PHAs) deal with the shortfalls in funds to renew existing vouchers in FY09. As reported last week (see NILHC Memo, 7/31 and Oregon ON Newsletter article), approximately 15% of PHAs are believed to be facing voucher funding shortfalls for a myriad of reasons, including late passage of an FY09 funding bill that did not include adequate funding for the program, rising rents, and declining tenant incomes.
On August 4, HUD issued a notice to PHAs on the protocol HUD will use to allocate the remaining $11 million in FY09 voucher contingency funds. The FY09 HUD appropriations bill provided $100 million in voucher contingency funds; HUD has awarded $89 million as of July 27. PHAs applied to HUD by a June 4 deadline to be eligible for the $100 million in contingency funds. Another deadline, of August 14, is the date by which HUD asked to hear from agencies experiencing voucher funding shortfalls.
HUD is not seeking additional applications for the remaining $11 million. Rather, HUD will review applicants that met the June 4 deadline to determine which of these agencies now might qualify for the $11 million. To the extent that agencies’ voucher costs, as a result of changes in tenant income or changes in rent and utility costs, are accelerating faster than HUD’s estimates anticipated, then HUD may approve funds from the $11 million pool.
Also the week of August 3, HUD staff told housing advocates that it would re-issue Public and Indian Housing Notice 2005-9, which was issued on February 25, 2005, in response to the 2004 voucher funding crisis (see Memo, 3/4/05).
The notice provides guidance on “administrative flexibility” and actions PHAs may take to reduce their voucher program costs. These actions include, according to the notice, decreasing payment standards, even lower than the 90% of Fair Market Rent, if a HUD waiver is received; review of utility allowances for accuracy; restrictions on portability moves and moves within the PHA jurisdiction; increasing minimum rents to $50; and termination of assistance, among other options.
On August 6, NLIHC issued an announcement to NLIHC members and partners, reiterating HUD’s communication with PHAs experiencing funding shortfalls to not terminate voucher holders. Instead, HUD urged PHAs to contact HUD by August 14, as requested, so that HUD can clearly assess the nature and scope of the funding shortfall and seek appropriate remedies for the shortfall.
Media reports began surfacing in June that some housing agencies did not receive sufficient FY09 voucher funding from HUD to operate their voucher programs for the balance of 2009. The shortfall is of great concern to housing advocates. A typical way for PHAs to save resources in the voucher program is by not reissuing vouchers that are handed back in. But, the recession has caused people to hold onto their vouchers for longer periods of time, and PHAs have less ability to save funds through the attrition process. Attrition, of course, leads to fewer vouchers available and is not an ideal solution to funding shortfalls.
Housing agencies are also responding to insufficient voucher budgets by decreasing the value of vouchers. When payment standards are decreased, voucher holders must pay more toward rent or landlords must take rent reductions. Housing authorities have the discretion to set their payment standards from 90 to 110% of HUD’s Fair Market Rent for most households, with higher payment standards for disabled households.
PHAs’ discretion on setting the value of vouchers from 90 to 110% of Fair Market Rents allows for response to local rental market conditions. If PHAs facing shortfalls must decrease their payment standards down to 90% of Fair Market Rent, such decreases might make leasing affordable apartments at that rent impossible, leaving voucher holders to make up the difference from their extremely low incomes.
The Senate Committee on Appropriations makes reference to the voucher funding shortfall in its report on the FY10 HUD appropriations bill, Senate Report 111-69. “Currently, increased unemployment is raising the cost of vouchers for many public housing authorities across the country since PHAs must assume housing costs that tenants can no longer pay as a result of a loss of income,” the Committee’s report says. The Committee’s bill, which does not yet have a number, would provide $150 million set-aside within the voucher account to allow the HUD Secretary to make voucher funding allocation adjustments in FY10. The FY09 bill provided $100 million for such adjustments.
Read HUD’s August 4 notice, PIH Notice 2009-26, by clicking here.
Read NLIHC’s August 6 announcement by clicking here.
Read analysis of the increase in administration fee funding from HUD in the Oregon Housing Blog by clicking here.
Federal Guidance Implementing the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act–top
The Federal Reserve System Board of Governors (FRB) issued a notice on July 30 providing information and examination procedures for the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009 (PTFA).
The Federal Reserve System consists of the FRB and 12 Federal Reserve Banks. The FRB and the Federal Reserve Banks regulate state-chartered member banks, bank holding companies, foreign branches of U.S. national and state member banks, and state-chartered U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks. The notice is directed at the FRB’s consumer affairs officers, who have oversight over bank compliance with legal requirements, including the new tenant protection law.
The PTFA, which was enacted May 20 as title VII, division A of Public Law 111-22, provides that, after foreclosure, bona fide tenants must be given 90 days’ notice before being required to vacate the property. The law also allows tenants with leases that extend beyond 90 days to remain in the property for the remaining terms of their leases.
In the notice, the FRB provided guidance to the Federal Reserve Banks on the provisions of the PTFA and the actions needed to ensure compliance with the act. The notice also states that institutions regulated by the Federal Reserve System will be monitored to determine compliance with the law. “Given the importance of the protections this law provides to tenants, examiners are instructed, as part of consumer compliance examinations, to evaluate an institution’s awareness of the law, its efforts to comply, and its responsiveness to addressing implementation deficiencies,” the notice says.
The FRB notice can be found by clicking here.
Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) made a Senate floor statement on August 6 on the intent behind the Protecting Tenants in Foreclosure Act, which was enacted in May. Senators will periodically make statements to elucidate the legislative intent of a provision in order to smooth a new law’s implementation.
“Under the new law, all bona fide tenants who began renting prior to transfer of title by foreclosure of their rental property must be given at least 90 days’ notice before being required to vacate the property. In addition, these bona fide tenants are allowed to remain in place for the remainder of any leases entered into prior to the transfer of title by foreclosure,” Senator Dodd said. “These leases may be terminated earlier only if the property is transferred to someone who intends to reside in the property and only if the tenants are given at least 90 days’ notice of the fact of such sale. Successors in interest to properties with Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher tenants automatically assume the obligations of the former owner under the housing assistance payments contract. These basic protections are the law for tenants in every state, unless states have laws or practices that provide greater protections.”
Link to the Congressional Record statement by clicking here.
Summary of Mortgage Lending Bills, Tenant Notice Bill–top
Mortgage lending practices – HB 2188
Protects Oregon mortgage borrowers against abusive lending practices by restricting the sale of negative amortization loans and by requiring lenders to provide translated disclosures when loans are marketed and negotiated in languages other than English. HB 2188 is effective January 1, 2010.
Enforcement of new federal mortgage lending standards – HB 2189
Protects mortgage borrowers by allowing the department to enforce new federal laws that require additional disclosures to borrowers and restrict loan servicing abuses and misleading advertising. The bill also increases surety bond requirements and enables Oregon to participate in a national licensing system for loan originators, to ensure they have met education requirements, passed background checks, and followed the laws in other states.
HB 2189 is effective July 30, 2009 and operative on July 31, 2010. Implementation authority for the state to adopt rules was effective immediately on passage.
There are two basic parts to 2189:
• The first allows the state to enforce new standards under federal law. That is in effect now and it doesn’t require rulemaking.
• The second part allows Oregon to become part of the national computer licensing system for mortgage loan originators (it also expands the definition to include some companies that Oregon had not defined as loan originators). This second piece requires rulemaking and startup time for companies to do the new registration. That’s why it becomes operative a year later.
Foreclosure prevention – SB 628
Oregonians facing foreclosure often have difficulty contacting their lender to discuss their options, such as a possible loan modification. SB 628 requires that the lender or loan servicer notify a homeowner facing foreclosure of the right to a meeting (either face-to-face or by phone) and that the lender/loan servicer assess whether the borrower is eligible for a loan modification. SB 628 is effective September 29, 2009.
Tenants in foreclosure – SB 952 and HB 3004
These bills help Oregon renters living in foreclosed homes by requiring advance notice of the foreclosure proceedings and providing protections related to leases and security deposits. The notice will provide information about tenants’ rights and where they can go for assistance. HB 3004/SB 952 are effective August 4, 2009 / August 23, 2009 (respectively).
Deficiency judgments after foreclosure – HB 3004
Prior to the mortgage lending crisis, many homebuyers financed 80 percent of the purchase price with a mortgage and trust deed and the remaining 20 percent with second mortgage financed from the same lender. However, these consumers did not have the same protections under Oregon’s foreclosure laws as borrowers with a single mortgage loan. HB 3004 closes that loophole by precluding lenders that foreclosure on borrower with an 80/20 loan from collecting from the second loan if the home sells for less than what the borrower owes.
Bills Introduced: Vets, Chronic Homeless, Sustainable Communities, TARP–top
The Senate and House are now on August recess until September 8. The fall legislative agenda is full of housing issues, including appropriations, preservation, the Section 8 voucher reform bill, public housing issues and the Section 811 housing for persons with disabilities legislation. Here are five bills that were introduced before the recess (click on a bill to jump down to it):
Comprehensive Veterans Housing and Service Bill
Services for Ending Long-Term Homelessness Act (SELHA)
Sustainable Housing and Communities Bill; Merkley Co-Sponsors
Two Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) Bills
Comprehensive Veterans Housing and Service Bill -top of article
Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), along with five co-sponsors, introduced the “Zero Tolerance for Veterans Homelessness Act of 2009” on July 30 (see Memo, 7/31). The bill, S. 1547, would provide funding for services and authorize an increasing number of vouchers annually for homeless veterans through FY14. The bill targets both veterans experiencing homelessness and those at risk of becoming homeless.
The types of financial support that would be authorized by the bill include short- and medium-term rental assistance, security deposits, utility payments and moving costs. Rental assistance would be administered through a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) supported housing program. In FY10, 30,000 vouchers would be available in FY10 and an additional 10,000 would be available each fiscal year until FY14, when 60,000 vouchers would be are available.
The bill calls for case management services for each veteran receiving rental assistance, including housing services such as housing search, landlord-tenant mediation, landlord outreach, credit repair, benefits access and referral to other federal programs. Additionally, case management would includes referrals for mental health, substance abuse, health education, employment and parenting skills services
A new staff position, a “special assistant” in the Office of the Secretary at the VA, would be responsible for ensuring veterans’ access to housing resources and services and also coordinate all programs serving homeless veterans. The bill would require data collection on both housing and services, for which the bill would necessitate require coordination between the VA and HUD.
Additionally, the Department VA would have to develop a “Plan to End Veteran Homelessness” within one year of the bill’s enactment. This plan would include performing an analysis of VA and other federal programs, evaluating potential partnerships between programs, and recommending the merger, elimination or creation of programs.
The bill would also make newly constructed transitional housing projects eligible for service grants. The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and no action has been scheduled at this time.
Services for Ending Long-Term Homelessness Act (SELHA) -top of article
Senators Richard Burr (R-NC) and Jack Reed (D-RI) introduced on July 28 the “Services for Ending Long-Term Homelessness Act” (SELHA; see Memo, 7/31). The bill would provide services to chronically homeless individuals and families moving into permanent supported housing. The bill would also provide five-year, renewable grants for public or nonprofit agencies to provide services for households moving into permanent supported housing.
Households could begin receiving services while experiencing homelessness and could continue receiving them once housed. Grants would target households that have been homeless longer than others, have high utilization rates of emergency systems of care, or have a history with the criminal justice or law enforcement systems.
A minimum of 80% of grant funds would have to serve households that meet the definition for chronic homelessness. As defined by HUD, an individual is chronically homeless if he or she is currently homeless, has experienced homelessness for one year or four times in the previous three years, and has a disability. Families, who are not included in HUD’s current definition but who would be considered chronically homeless for purposes of the bill, must be currently homeless and meet the history of homeless criteria and have a head of household with a disability.
Eligible service areas include mental health, substance abuse and recovery, life skills and access to benefits. If households move from permanent supported housing, they could continue to receive services for up to 90 days or until existing services are transitioned to other support agencies.
The bill’s grant performance measures include increases in housing stability, increases in employment and education, and reduction of problems related to substance abuse or mental health disorders. Baseline measures for performance outcomes are not included in the bill.
The services would be administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of the Department of Health and Human Services. The bill does not authorize funds for these services.
The bill, S. 1523, was referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. No action on the bill has been scheduled at this time.
Sustainable Housing and Communities Bill; Merkley Co-Sponsors-top of article
Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) introduced legislation on August 6 to create an Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities within HUD.
The bill, The Livable Communities Act of 2009, S. 1619, would also create a competitive, comprehensive regional planning grant program that would provide funding to communities to do regional housing and transportation planning. Communities that receive planning grants would then be eligible to receive challenge grants to implement their plans by investing in public transportation, transit oriented development, redeveloping polluted sites, and affordable housing. Finally, building off a partnership announced last month, the bill would establish an Interagency Council on Sustainable Communities, formally convening HUD, the Department of Transportation, the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies on these matters.
The bill would authorize $100 million a year for four years for the comprehensive planning grants, for which consortia of local governments, metropolitan planning organizations, rural planning organizations, or regional councils would be eligible. Large metropolitan areas with 500,000 or more people could receive grants up to $5 million, communities with between 200,000 and 499,999 people could receive up to $1.5 million, and smaller metropolitan and micropolitan areas would be eligible for up to $750,000.
Recipients of the planning grants would then be eligible for $3.75 billion of authorized funds in increasing amounts over three years to assist implementation of the comprehensive regional plans. Maximum grants range from $100 million for large areas to $35 million for medium-sized areas and $15 million for small areas.
The bill would also require the director of the new Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities to produce two reports within a year of passage, one on incentives for energy- and location- efficient mortgages and the other on the development of a “housing location affordability index,” which would combine housing and transportation costs in determining the affordability of a person’s home.
The bill includes a number of specific references to low income, very low income, and extremely low income families, and providing affordable housing for these populations is an eligible use for both the planning and the challenge grants. However, there appears to be no particular emphasis on such projects in selecting grantees and no explicit requirement that grantees plan or undertake such projects. There is also no reporting requirement on the implications of plans and projects on low income, very low income, or extremely low income households.
The Senate Committee on Appropriations’ FY10 HUD spending bill would provide $150 million for HUD’s Sustainable Communities Initiative. The Committee’s report on its HUD spending bill, made public the week of August 3 (see related article elsewhere in Memo), would provide the funds requested by HUD for FY10. The $150 million includes $100 million for Regional Integrated Planning Grants to be promoted by HUD, EPA and DOT; $40 million local planning grants, with priority for localities within areas served by the regional planning grants; and $10 million for HUD, in partnership with the DOT, to conduct research around this initiative. The House’s FY10 HUD spending bill also provided $150 million for HUD’s Sustainable Communities Initiative.
The bill is cosponsored by Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Daniel Akaka (D-HI), and Charles Schumer (D-NY).
Two Troubled Asset Relief Program Bills-top of article
Two bills related to the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) were introduced in the House on July 31.
Representative Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) introduced H.R. 3452, which would impose an additional tax on bonuses received from certain TARP recipients and deposit this tax revenue into HUD’s Section 4 Capacity Building for Community Development program. HUD’s Section 4 program provides grants to intermediaries so they may help develop the capacity of nonprofit community development corporations to enhance their technical and administrative capabilities. The grant allocations are limited to five national intermediaries: Enterprise Community Partners, the Local Initiative Support Corporation, Habitat for Humanity, Youthbuild USA and Living Cities/National Community Development Initiative.
The bill was referred to the House Committees on Ways and Means, and Financial Services.
On the same day, Representative Bob Inglis (R-SC) introduced H.Res. 714 to express the sense of the House that any interest or dividends repaid from the Troubled Asset Relief Program should be used solely for debt reduction. H.R. 3068, introduced earlier by House Financial Services Chair Barney Frank (D-MA), would use TARP funds to support several programs, including the National Housing Trust Fund (see Memo, 7/10).
H.Res. 714 was referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
NACEDA Pushes for Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Enhancements–top
The National Alliance of Community Economic Development Associations (NACEDA) joined with a diverse coalition of Low-Income Housing Tax Credit stakeholders in the Affordable Rental Housing A.C.T.I.O.N. (A Call To Invest in Our Neighborhoods) Campaign to endorse proposals to stimulate affordable rental housing production while preserving and creating tens of thousands of jobs. This is an initial step in an ongoing advocacy effort; expect ongoing updates and alerts from NACEDA on this high-priority policy item. Highlights of the A.C.T.I.O.N. proposal include:
• Expand exchange provisions to maintain development pipeline to 2010;
• Immediately stimulate, broaden investment base for, and maintain housing credit investment demand investment by increasing the Housing Credit investment carryback period;
• Further broaden the investor base for the LIHTC.
For additional detailed information and to join the coalition’s e-mail list, click here.
35th Anniversary of Section 8, Community Development Block Grants–top
The Oregon Housing Blog reports that Saturday August 22nd marks the 35th anniversary of three major HUD programs:
• Section 8 Housing Vouchers
• Section 8 Project Based Rental Assistance
• Community Development Block Grants
These three landmark HUD programs were a creation of the Nixon administration. However, the actual legislation was signed by President Ford on August 22, 1974 just two weeks after Nixon announced his resignation.
Read the whole story at the Oregon Housing Blog by clicking here.
PORTLAND METRO NEWS
Hacienda CDC Welcomes Working-Class Families to Miraflores Project –top
Hacienda Community Development Corporation opened the doors of its Miraflores affordable housing project to residents in Portland’s Portsmouth neighborhood on August 11. Targeting working class Latino families and other immigrants, Hacienda CDC’s latest rental project is priced to be affordable to people earning 30-50% of area median income. There is already a long waiting list for the project, but the number to inquire is 503-289-4802.
A special public event to celebrate the grand opening of Miraflores took place on August 13 at the project site, located at 8901 N. Newell Avenue in North Portland. In addition to live Latin music and homemade tamales from Hacienda’s Micro Mercantes vendors, the event featured remarks from local dignitaries including Portland Commissioner Nick Fish; Oregon State Representative Tina Kotek; Enrique Cuevas, Consul of Mexico in Portland; Portland Housing Bureau Director Margaret Van Vliet; Victor Merced of Oregon Housing and Community Services; Paul Cummings of Enterprise Community Partners and a Miraflores resident.
“We are thrilled to open Miraflores as the latest step forward in Hacienda’s mission to develop high-quality, environmentally friendly affordable housing that builds a true sense of community,” said Pietro Ferrari, executive director of Hacienda Community Development Corporation. “Projects such as Miraflores not only provide housing for our resident community, but also deliver critical support services and deepen community engagement to help improve our residents’ overall quality of life.”
Providing New Affordable Housing Options, Building Community
The Miraflores development consists of 32 apartments featuring 2-bedroom, 3-bedroom and 4-bedroom apartments, as well as five floating units for victims of domestic violence. Building amenities include a spacious multi-purpose community room with full kitchen, offices and computers, a playground area, on-site child care unit, bicycle parking and a central courtyard for residents to interact. Street improvements at the entrance to Miraflores are designed to offer greater accessibility to buslines and enhance safety in the neighborhood.
Like all of Hacienda’s residential communities, Miraflores residents are offered an array of culturally appropriate services tailored to their needs that promote parental involvement, personal development and academic support. Youth in grades 1-8 can participate in after-school programs at the on-site community center, and adults can participate in parenting classes, healthy cooking workshops and relationship counseling. Hacienda’s adult education centers, Plaza Comunitarias, also provide opportunities for educational advancement and workforce skills development.
Environmentally-friendly Affordable Housing
The Miraflores project is characterized by several sustainable design and construction techniques that not only help protect the environment but also reduce utility costs for residents. Miraflores apartments are Energy Star rated and the project is also certified as an Enterprise Green Community. Sustainable features include:
- Project site located in close proximity to public transit to encourage reduced car use
- Open-loop ground source heating pump system for heating, space cooling and hot water expected to reduce energy costs by up to 70%
- Low-flow water fixtures, dual-flush toilets and Energy Star appliances
- Low/no VOC paints, adhesives and sealant
- Recycled content carpeting, formaldehyde-free cabinetry and countertops
- Flow-through planters to collect stormwater runoff on top of soil and filter pollutants
Hacienda’s Growing Affordable Housing Portfolio
Since 1992, Hacienda has rehabilitated or built nearly 400 units of affordable housing serving about 2,000 residents, primarily in the northeast Portland area. In 2007, Hacienda opened its first rural farmworker development known as Plaza Los Robles in Molalla, which recently received first-place honors in the category of rural development at the National Development Council’s 2009 awards competition.
With support from a grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Hacienda hired a housing development director in 2007 to help the organization manage its housing projects from concept to completion. In doing so, Hacienda has been able to build its in-house expertise to directly manage the development and construction of its housing communities. As a result, the organization is less dependent on third-parties to do this work.
“We are committed to supporting initiatives that build the operating capacity of nonprofits, such as Hacienda. These initiatives help nonprofit organizations serve more people, do their work better, and create lasting, positive change in local communities,” said Susan Coliton, vice president of the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.
Hacienda’s growing housing portfolio now consists of eight developments that incorporate innovative green building and energy-efficient features. Nearly 85% of Hacienda’s residents are Latino, and children represent more than half of all residents. To help meet the needs of an underserved market, Hacienda’s developments target families and individuals earning 30-60% of area median income.
REACH 20th Paint and Repair-a-thon Improves a Record 21 Homes–top
Nearly 300 inspiring volunteers helped make REACH’s 20thyear of the Paint & Repair-a-thon (PARAT) a record-setting success.
On Saturday, August 1st, after a rousing send-off at Lents Park, a dedicated crew of PARAT volunteers hit the streets in Lents with their paintbrushes and tools. A record twenty-one homes and 116 projects from plumbing, carpentry and electrical to painting and yard work were successfully completed by the day’s end.
“What a wonderful program,” said one of the PARAT recipients. “I feel so grateful for the work that was done. It was great.”
PARAT 2009 was also generously supported by the following sponsors, who donated their resources, time, skills, and materials to help make this year’s event a record-breaking success. Check them out by clicking here.
REACH gives special thanks to Grainger International, a new sponsor this year. In addition to sending the largest crew ever to the Paint & Repair-a-thon (30 people!), Grainger made a generous gift of $30,000 to REACH to support their programs.
Click here to see 2009 Paint & Repair-a-thon photos.
ANOTHER COUNTY HEARD FROM – MEMBER NEWS AROUND THE STATE
Lane County St Vincent de Paul Summer Camp Spiced with Learning, Fun–top
Here’s a summer recipe for entertaining 80 kids, ages 6 through 13: Start with a huge helping of the great outdoors, fizz with extreme science, nourish with positive food choices, recycle, compost, spice it up with aspects of different cultures, and blend in lots of pool water. Bake for a few days in record-breaking heat, and you’ve got Summer Joy Camp, a 5-week adventure for kids from Oakwood Manor, Ross Lane, and Santa Clara Place, all affordable-housing complexes developed and managed by the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County.
Now the stuff of lifelong memories, Summer Joy Camp was heavily seasoned with educational and recreational activities thanks to grants from the Autzen Foundation and Juan Young Trust, the participation of community partners, and help from parents and teen volunteers. Resident Services Coordinators Samantha Heath, Mia Masters, and Guinevere Garcia concocted each day’s activities. Two recent college graduates landed summer work, one to ensure that academic skills weren’t forgotten, and the other to emphasize physical fitness and encourage a soccer game at every opportunity.
Each week of Camp followed a theme. Exploring the great outdoors included a trip to the Cascades Raptor Center. X-Treme Science brought scientists to the Oakwood grounds for live demonstrations before an amazed throng. A study of food took kids to a local farm. In a four-day Race Around the World kids sampled Chinese food and smashed a piñata at a community fiesta.
Lending expertise and accommodation to each week’s theme were M.E.C.C.A., OSU Extension Services NEP, Master Composters, the City of Eugene Aquatics Department, the Willamette Valley Company, and Lane Community College. Breakfast and lunch were provided each day of camp by FOOD for Lane County.
Among the tenant volunteers are Don and Carol Caruso who, during Kids in the Kitchen Week, grilled burgers, monitored side dishes, and did a lot of cleanup.
“I love it,” Don said of Summer Camp. “It keeps the kids busy and out of trouble. It gives them something to do during the summer so they’re not stuck at home watching TV all day.”
And it’s not all about kids.
“Camp gives parents a chance to know each other,” Carol added. “When they pick their kids up and drop them off, it’s like a big family. Camp gives us a chance to know who are neighbors are.”
St. Vincent de Paul is Lane County’s largest developer of affordable housing with 960 units serving individuals, families, seniors, and special populations, including chronically homeless veterans.
St. Vinnie’s kids will be at the fore again at the Golf for Kids Tournament on Friday, Sept. 11 at the Springfield Country Club. Proceeds are used to fund enrichment activities and scholarships. More information is available at www.svdp.us or by calling 541-687-5820.
FUNDING AND AWARD OPPORTUNITIES
New Relief Loan Fund for Human Services Responding to Economic Crisis –top
The Kresge Foundation has established a 24- to 36-month, interest-free program-related investment fund offering bridge loans of $250,000 to $500,000 each to high-performance human service organizations so that they may be better able to meet ever-increasing demand for food, shelter, and other emergency services. Homeless and domestic-violence shelters, safety-net providers, affordable housing and supportive services, legal aid services, emergency assistance providers, and multi-service health and human service organizations are encouraged to apply. Click here to access the RFP.
RGK Foundation Supports Human Services, Community Improvement–top
RGK Foundation supports a broad range of human services, community improvement, abuse prevention, and youth development programs. Human service programs of particular interest include children and family services, early childhood development, and parenting education. The Foundation is also interested in programs that enhance non-profit management and promote philanthropy and voluntarism.
The Foundation requires an electronic Letter of Inquiry (LOI). If the LOI is accepted, the organization will be invited to submit a proposal. There is no deadline, LOIs are reviewed on an ongoing basis.
EVENTS, TRAININGS AND CONFERENCES
REACH New Program Informs Community, Promotes Properties–top
REACH is launching an exciting new program, From the Ground Up, designed to give people information about REACH, combined with a tour of one of their properties. These are one-hour information sessions, led by REACH staff and volunteers. They’re fun, informative, and easy to fit into busy schedules.
It’s an excellent opportunity to connect the greater Portland community to the important work REACH does. It’s also a chance to meet REACH leadership and others who care about affordable housing.
Station Place Tower in northwest Portland and Patton Park Apartments in north Portland will be the featured sites of From the Ground Up in 2009. Station Place Tower will have sessions from 7:30 – 8:30 am on September 3 & 17, October 1 & 15, and December 11. Patton Park will have one session in November 5, 4:30 to 5:30 pm.
For details and online registration click here.
Save the Date – NW Community Land Trust Coalition Conference Oct 21-23–top
The Northwest Community Land Trust Coalition will host their Fall Conference in Portland, Oregon, October 21-23, 2009. Please save the date! Details to follow.
REPORTS
Tenants Overcharged for Rent Because Utility Allowances Too Low–top
The National Housing Law Project (NHLP) has published a pamphlet regarding utility allowances in federally subsidized housing. NHLP has found that tenants around the country are being overcharged for rent because their “utility allowance”—the allowance that federally subsidized tenants receive to help pay for reasonable utility bills—is too low.
According to the pamphlet, rent plus utilities should not exceed more than 30% of a tenant’s monthly income. Because rent costs and utility costs combined cannot exceed the 30% of income, when a tenant’s utility costs are too high because utility allowances are too low, the resulting portion of 30% of a tenant’s income that comes from their rent payment is higher than it should be. The pamphlet provides tenant leaders with an overview of how utility allowances work, including how to find out how much utility allowance one receives, how to assess whether this allowance is too low, and how tenants can work together to gather information about rates.
The National Housing Law Project pamphlet, “Having Trouble Paying Your Utilities and Rent?” can be found by clicking here.
Report Says Renting Is Smart Choice–top
Tom Cusak of the Oregon Housing Blog analyzed data from a new paper published by the Center for Economic and Policy Research. Click here to see the Center’s paper.
Tom constructed the table below focusing on the Portland metro area by using data in report:
Measure Before Taxes After Tax, After Tax,
. 15% Bracket 25% Bracket
Median Home Price 06-07 $283,800 $283,800 $283,800
Monthly Ownership Costs $1,542 $1,457 $1,400
Monthly Fair Market Rent $809 $809 $809
Monthly Savings from Rent $733 $648 $591
(Tom’s note: “Results are highly dependent on accuracy of values selected for comparison; I have not attempted to analyze the accuracy of the values selected. I did note that rent base used was for 2 BR Fair Market Rent, which may be less than typical size/quality than a prospective homeowner might be willing and able to pay.”)
Click here to see the blog posting.
New Concise Congressional Report on Veterans and Homelessness–top
The June 2009 Congressional Research Service report offers a very concise, comprehensive review of veteran homeless data and programs. Click here to read the report; the link also includes links to earlier related reports.
[Note: Veteran counts are available from American Community Survey; click here to see 2007 counts; 2008 ACS schedule (click here) says updated data is coming out at end of September for 1 year estimates, end of October for 3 year estimates.
Click here to see story as originally posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.
RESOURCES
ARRA Clearinghouse, SIRR Updated: New HPRP, NSP, Weatherization Materials –top
The National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) continues to maintain a clearinghouse of information about housing-related programs in the February’s stimulus bill, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). A number of materials from advocacy organizations were added recently.
Materials added about HUD’s Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP) include a guide from the Technical Assistance Collaborative (TAC) and three guides from the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH). TAC’s “The New Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program” is a 12-page basic HPRP guide with a focus on extremely low income people with disabilities.
One of NAEH’s new guides, “Homelessness Prevention: Creating Programs that Work,” has 60 pages that can help organizations create a homelessness prevention program or improve an existing program. It includes information about the basics of prevention, start-up decisions and tools, interventions, and program evolution. A second, 16-page companion guide includes information about the nature and costs of homelessness and how to assess community needs and resources. The third guide, “Rapid Re-Housing: Creating Programs that Work,” has 82 pages designed to help organizations develop Rapid Re-Housing programs. Among the many topics covered in the guide are: assessing the community and selecting a program structure, selecting a target population, screening and assessment, financial assistance, housing options, stabilization, and staffing issues.
HUD’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) is the subject of another TAC guide, “Using the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to Help Create Permanent Supportive Housing.”
The Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP), run by the Department of Energy (DOE) recently had a flurry of activity related to Davis-Bacon prevailing wages. Three documents, including Notice 09-09, were added by DOE. In response, CAPLAW (the organization providing legal education and services to Community Action Agencies) issued an article and a Q&A paper.
The Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program launched a new “Implementing ARRA” website which includes a framing paper that highlights the emergence and nature of innovative ARRA implementation in metropolitan areas. While not exclusively housing-oriented, the paper and 11 “design snapshots” include examples of uses of NSP, WAP, and the DOE’s Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant, which NLIHC’s ARRA Clearinghouse covers.
Access NLIHC’s ARRA Clearinghouse by clicking here.
SIRR Continues to Grow
NLIHC also operates The State Internet Research Repository (SIRR), a library of state- and local-level housing research conducted by or for their state partners. SIRR is a resource to help housing advocates stay current on other states’ findings as well as the research questions and methodologies being pursued at the state and local levels across the country.
The collection, which continues to grow, includes a wide variety of research, including reports, case studies, conference papers and presentations, fact sheets, and briefs.
Recent additions to SIRR include:
· A California report evaluating the extent to which two new programs created by a new state funding source in 2006 will reach households with low incomes. The Transit Oriented Development (TOD) program will create 3,600 homes within walking distance of transit stations; 1,770 will be affordable to people with low incomes. The Infill Infrastructure Grant program will encourage urban infill by funding infrastructure that supports new housing. Of the 9,900 new homes anticipated, 4,800 will be affordable to households with low incomes.
· A Pennsylvania report recommends creation of a statewide Housing Trust Fund and notes that, for every dollar invested, the state’s coffers would reap $1.62 to $2.26 for from sales of supplies used in construction. The study notes that the biggest and quickest return on taxpayer investment comes from the rehab of existing properties because each dollar invested yields 20 full-time jobs for a year.
· A Massachusetts survey revealed that 67% of respondents support developing affordable homes in their neighborhood, and 63% disagree that affordable homes would lead to more crime. A full 87.5% support policies to protect renters facing foreclosure, and 72% support increasing state financial support on rental assistance for those at risk of homelessness.
Access SIRR by clicking here.
