2013/10/16 Council Agenda Packet

Overview of Recommendations Recommended strategies to provide housing choices reflect three overarching objectives. First, local jurisdictions should define and quantify housing needs for each transit community. Understanding housing needs for all income levels and demographic groups identified in VISION 2040 is a necessary starting point for adopting the appropriate mix and scale of public and private sector tools. Second, with the paramount importance of preserving existing and supplying new housing choices in proximity to transit investments, a full range of resources should be made available, and in fact targeted, to transit communities. The toolbox includes regulations, incentives, requirements, subsidies, and other programs. Finally, the overall housing strategy should to the extent possible capitalize on the value created by the private market, enhanced by transit investments, in order to achieve the broadest range of affordability in market rate housing and additional below market rate units. Appropriate strategies and tools for particular transit communities may vary and should be informed by the local housing needs assessment and the transit community typology. For example, transit communities with high current levels of affordability may focus on maintaining housing choices through preservation. In communities with less current affordability, appropriate tools may focus more on new affordable housing production. In all cases, attention should be paid to encourage housing that is not only affordable, but also healthy and safe. For the purposes of these strategies, "affordable housing" includes subsidized and market-rate housing affordable to lower income households at various income levels, including 0%-30% of AMI, 30%-50% of AMI and 50%-80% of AMI, unless defined by a local jurisdiction's housing needs assessment to also include housing affordable to higher incomes. Recommended Strategies 11. Assess current and future housing needs in transit communities 12. Minimize displacement through affordable housing preservation and replacement 13. Direct housing resources to support transit-dependent populations 14. Implement a TOD property acquisition fund 15. Expand value capture financing as a tool for infrastructure and affordable housing 16. Make surplus public lands available for affordable housing 17. Leverage market value through incentives for affordability 18. Implement recommendations of regional fair housing assessment 39 The Growing Transit Communities Strategy I Public Review Draft ( May 2013