Affordable Housing Is Key Factor In City Survival
Posted by fabgram on 1 May 2007
by Ersula Knox Odom
Originally posted 4/30/2007
“When a city loses its ability to provide housing for the people who support its infrastructure it stands a chance of losing the city itself”, said Tom deYampert at The Community Housing Blue Ribbon Task Force of the Florida League of Cities affordable housing workshop held on Friday, April 20 at St. Petersburg city hall. The attendees focused on a wide range of critical housing issues facing local leaders statewide.
The workshop connected city officials with the information and resources they need to improve or create affordable housing programs in their communities. Local government officials from across Florida, along with an array of housing experts, covered such topics as affordable housing resources and partnerships, emerging affordable housing challenges, and practical solutions for local governments.
Rene Flowers, president of the Florida League of Cities, who is also a council member for the city of St. Petersburg, has made affordable housing a top priority during her tenure and has formed a powerful coalition that led to the creation of the Institute for Community Housing. Other participating organizations include the National League of Cities, Florida Department of Community Affairs, Florida Housing Coalition, Florida Housing Finance Corporation and Florida State University’s John Scott Dailey Institute of Government.
The Florida League of Cities, Inc., is the official organization of the 412 municipal governments (cities, towns, villages and chartered counties) in Florida, designed and established to meet and serve the needs of Florida’s municipal officials.
Throughout the day leaders from around the state presented implemented and pending solutions from their prospective areas. The Blue Ribbon will report their discoveries by mid August 2007.
Jacqueline Smith, Housing Director of Homes in Partnership self help ownership program in the Orange County area, told the group about the 5000 homes her organization has built since 1975. Their efforts earned them the 1998 East Bay Estate Fannie Mae Maxwell Award of Excellence. They often take approximately two years to train and identify funding for potential recipients. It takes from three to six months to construct a home, about two weeks to get an actual buyer. Two years is a necessary timeframe because “people need to be taught things,” said Smith. Their recipients are generally farmers, teachers, senior citizens, migrant workers, immigrants, single mothers, single fathers, and single people. It not uncommon for the new homeowner to be the first person in their family to own a home.
Karen Jackson-Sims of HUD Hillsborough County informed the committee that a great number of HUD financed housing agreements are approaching the 30 year mark where building owners can “opt out” of these agreements. She said cities should evaluate their potential exposure, which would give them an opportunity to negotiate with the owners or identify replacements. The numbers could be staggering. One city discovered a potential 5000 unit loss within a two to five-year window. Ms. Jackson also said: “Cities need to know where the monies are coming from” in order to plan. To this end, she informed everyone about the upcoming conference: “Accessing Resources and Relationships to Build Better Communities.” This conference will be conducted in Tampa, Florida at the Downtown Convention Center on May 7-8, 2007. Co-sponsors include: HUD, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Petersburg, Florida, the state of Florida, the cities of St. Petersburg and Tampa, and the counties of Hillsborough, Manatee, Pinellas, and Polk, and Freddie Mac.
Debra Johnson, Deputy Executive Director the St Petersburg Housing Authority explained that their Housing Choice Voucher program produced a blended public housing environment. She said that you cannot distinguish public from private housing. Ms. Johnson said they are successfully developing different income streams other than HUD addressing HUD’s push for organizations to develop an entrepreneur mindset. Ms. Jackson said during her presentation, that St Petersburg was taking a public relations beating, but that they have “some of the best numbers” she has seen.
Tom deYampert, manager of Finance and Rehabilitation St. Petersburg Housing & Community Development Department, passionately explained that if cities don’t plan for affordable housing, they might be planning their demise. He also said he did not want a city like Silicone Valley where firemen and police stay in dormitories during the week and drive home on the weekend because they can’t afford to live there. It is in the employer’s best interest to work this out which is why their employer assisted housing program works. Teachers and policemen are assisted with home purchases due to teacher income levels and policemen retention efforts.
Askia Muhammad Aquil fascinated everyone with details about steel container homes. The process reuses steel shipping containers as modular homes. The first home has been purchased and was the subject of a Bob Villa show with a resulting DVD produced. This effort is giving great consideration to its low cost, no termite, and natural disaster resistant potential.
John Hearst of Gulf Coast Legal Services gave the concluding presentation stressing the need to combat predatory lending and even homelessness due to affordable housing loss from owner sales.
For more information on the Institute and the Workshop visit www.flcities.com.
