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Home My WebLink AboutIR 7137 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 7137 ,#CS 7 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council July 8, 1986 z Subject: FORT WORTH HOUSING TASK FORCE SECOND INTERIM REPORT: HOUSING AFFORDABILITY The Fort Worth Housing Task Force was formed in August, 1984, to perform an analysis of the housing market in Fort Worth and to make policy recommendations concerning those population segments and neighborhoods that are not effectively served by the market. The overall goal was to "forge policy guidance designed to achieve long-term, cost-effective means by which all residents of Fort Worth may participate in the market for quality housing." . In its first interim report to the City Council (I.R. No. 7058, October 29, 1985), the Task Force concerned itself with the special housing problems faced by the elderly. This Second Interim Report contains the recommendations of the Fort Worth Housing Task Force under the major subject area of Housing Affordability. The Task Force's discussion agenda is nearing completion and a final report containing all of their recommendations will be prepared in the 001*1 near future for presentation to Council . If additional information is desired, it will be furnished upon request. ,4�uglas Harman City Manager DH:kcn Attachment -ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS FORT WORTH HOUSING TASK FORCE Second Interim Report to.the City Council - - HOUSING AFFORDABILITY Planning Dept. 6/14/86 #4011, INTRODUCTION The Task Force considered the subject of Housing Affordability under three broad headings: Purchase, Rental, and Maintenance. In this work, they focused their efforts on inventorying and prioritizing specific ' recommendations for action rather than discussing their subject in the abstract. This Interim Report is organized into the following sections: 1. Executive Summaries are presented for each of the three subject areas, with the top five recommended strategies each highlighted. 2. An Annotated Master List of all the Task Force' s 36 recommendations for housing affordability is presented as Ap2endix A. This descriptive summary list is presented in priority order, Eased upon a composite ranking across all three subject areas. 3. A City Roles Matrix is presented as Appendix B. This matrix shows the Task Force' s suggestions asto the proper City role in achieving each of their recommendations. 4. A Ranking Matrix is presented in Appendix C. This shows how each Task Force recommendation rated against the others for each of the three subject areas under Housing Affordability, and thus shows how the composite ranking of Appendix A was obtained. In using this report, the Task Force recommends that the reader start with the Executive Summaries to get an initial feel for the highest priority solutions they recommend to overcome the barriers to housing affordability. Next, a look at the summary listing of recommendations in the matrix exhibits (Appendices A and B) will give a quick perspective on the rest of the Task Force' s work. Any of these which interest the reader can then be looked up in the Master List (Appendix A) for a concise verbal description of that recommendation. I. RECOMMENDATIONS - HOUSING PURCHASE The housing Task Force discussed at length the various barriers to the purchase of decent quality homes facing low-moderate income residents, both on the supply side and the demand side. In arriving at their recommendations, they tended to favor financial assistance over more indirect approaches as the best way to bring resources directly to bear in solving home purchase problems. Their top priority approaches were as follows: 1. Direct Subsidies: Direct subsidy programs are recommended on three fronts: subsidizing the interest component of debt service; subsequent maintenance of the unit for affordability over the longer term; and possibly a portion of the downpayment. The Task Force strongly endorses the concept of applying this type of assistance in ways which require that lower-income buyers retain an adequate commitment to honoring the purchase contract, for example, through making an adequate size downpayment up front, consistent with their means. The Task Force recommends that the City continue to take an active role in coordinating the conception, design, and implementation of such programs. 2. Tax Relief: Both tax abatements and tax credits received favorable mention during the discussion process as means of increasing the affordability of housing purchase. In either case, the Task Force specified that these would be temporary in nature. The effect would be to decrease the financial burden in the short term, with the longer-term payback managed so that it would be commensurate with the buyer' s increasing financial capability over the longer term. Such temporary tax abatements or deferrals thus tend to be most suitable for first-time homebuyers with some expectation of higher future incomes. 3. Targeted Mortgage Bonds: There have been several single-family bond issues made available to residents of Fort Worth, but these have been on a first-come basis. The Task Force recommends focusing these programs more effectively to serve the areas of Fort Worth and the segments of the population which presently are not able to participate in the normal housing market. There could be issuances entirely directed toward targeted neighborhoods and disadvantaged groups, or percentage set-asides could be defined. 4. Tax-Exempt Downpayment Savings Program: This is another measure directed primarily at the problems of the first-time homebuyer . Lacking an equity position in an existing home, the -2- first-time homebuyer is often hard-pressed to accumulate the capital for a downpayment. The Task Force members were in agreement that this is probably the greatest single obstacle to home purchase for that group. They therefore recommend that the City take a lead role in pursuing legislation to create a tax-exempt downpayment savings program. This would operate like an individual retirement account (IRA) . Contributions to the account would be deductible from taxable income and would enable the moderate-income family to put away funds toward a housing downpayment over a period of years. 5. Deposit of Public Funds in Private Lending Institutions: The Task Force feels that special inducements are necessary to overcome an observable reluctance of private lenders to make the smaller (under #30, 000 ) , higher-risk mortgage loans needed by low-moderate income residents of many inner-city neighborhoods. The concept here is to place City funds on deposit in institutions which demonstrate a willingness to make such loans and/or to give notice that it intends to withdraw its deposits from those which do not. e0l, -3- II . RECOMMENDATIONS - RENTAL HOUSING A major theme which ran through the Task Force' s discussions of rental housing affordability was the importance of cost-effectiveness in approaching such problems. The members felt strongly that means must be identified to employ increasingly scarce City resources in ways which reach and assist large numbers of people, as opposed to projects which heavily subsidize a few. All of their top priority recommendations on rental housing reflect this emphasis . 1. Information System: The Task Force maintains that the most cost-effective method of solving many housing problems is to provide accurate, timely information on the housing alternatives already available. The members also believe that guidance is needed on how to become more effective tenants and rental housing managers. Accordingly, the Task Force recommends two key initiatives in this area: - An Affordable Housing Clearinghouse: This would be a location. or source which lower-income persons could access for up-to-date, impartial information on availability of affordable, quality rental housing. The members felt this sort df information is not readily obtainable at present. - Landlord and Tenant Counselling Program: One Task Force member mentioned a successful program which helps landlords by counselling tenants. This "Landlord Advocate Program" , subsidized by participating landlords, provides life skills, money management, and other coaching for tenants to improve their financial dependability. A complementary program could also be designed whereby the landlords themselves would receive guidance on running their rental property effectively as a business, managing their financial affairs, and maintaining their units, this time with a view toward improving the living situation for the tenants. The Task Force recommends that the City take the lead in coordinating the establishment of both types of programs. They also believe these to be among the most feasible programs to take action on quickly. 2. Syndication Schemes: A supply-side approach the Task Force feels the City could take a role in achieving is the establishment of syndications to create affordable housing. These schemes would vary by the immediacy of City involvement, from purely private undertakings to public/private joint ventures. In either case, the project developer would form a general partnership to build a subdivision or apartment, selling limited partnerships to investors. The project would be designed so that the subsidization cost to bring the resulting rents down was less than the return in tax benefits to the investors. The City could directly affect this feasibility balance by such measures as - 4 - donating land or providing infrastructure to the site. 3. Systematic Code Enforcement: Focused use of the City' s code enforcement powers within targeted areas can be an effective tool to raise the quality of rental housing. However, the Task Force believes that the City' s system for enforcing housing codes is unnecessarily cumbersome and roundabout. They advocate a streamlined enforcement system, combined with a no-nonsense approach to prosecution. This recommendation forms a natural complement to the landlord counseling program in #1 above, i.e. , to provide guidance and knowledge to help the responsible landlords while expediting prosecution of those who are not. 4. Apartment Gleaning: This is the pursuit of donations by private sector apartment owners of units for low-income residents. A similar approach was attempted in Houston, but without much success. The task force felt that the main reason for this was that there was no monetary inducement provided, such as the provision of a rental tax exemption. This might function like a homestead exemption, but would apply to landlords who set aside a proportion of affordable units for low-moderate income tenants. 5. Inclusionary Zoning: This is another supply-side inducement, under which developers would be offered zoning variances (e.g. , higher housing density than that normally allowed) in return for dedicating a portion of the resulting development to affordable rental units. 5 III. RECOMMENDATIONS - HOUSING MAINTENANCE The top-ranked recommendations on housing maintenance tended to fall into two categories: taking a tougher stance toward those homeowners and landlords not adequately maintaining their properties, and providing maintenance training and assistance. The Task Force members depicted this dual emphasis as addressing the "skill and will" problem, i.e. , programs to assist responsible property owners who may lack the necessary skills to perform adequate maintenance are complemented by tougher enforcement and expedited prosecution of those who lack the will. 1. Rental Registration: The Task Force strongly felt the need for a formal inventory of all rental units through a City-administered registration process. When a maintenance-related complaint is received, it is often difficult to find the responsible party. The purpose of rental registration is .to rectify this by providing for an accurate tracking system which, when combined with effective code enforcement, serves to ensure better maintenance of rental housing. some rental registration programs have such features as imposition of registration fees and/or systematic inspections for minimally acceptable condition as a prerequisite for a permit to lease the unit. The Task Force did not consider taking such measures in Fort Worth, deferring that consideration to the Committee on Rental Registration and Ordinance Changes. 2. Concentrated Code Enforcement: This also rated high under the Rental Housing topic. The Task Force feels that the focused and efficient enforcement of codes is essential to promote proper housing maintenance. Systematic enforcement within targeted areas can improve overall neighborhood quality. 3. Information System: In addition to the recommendations made under Rental Housing, the Task Force endorses the design of a housing maintenance training program. This would involve the coaching of low-moderate income residents on cost-effective ways to maintain their homes. A program of this type is currently being designed as an element of a larger home maintenance program for homeowners whose houses have been rehabilitated through City housing programs . If this pilot program proves successful, it can be expanded in the future. 4. Home Maintenance Assistance Program; This type of program can take the form of a subsidized City program, a non-profit organization initiative (perhaps with City facilitation) , or some form of neighborhood cooperative, with members paying dues or buying a share. The purpose is to reduce home maintenance cost - 6 through the pooled hiring of a contractor. The City is designing a somewhat similar program, under which a home repair expert helps homeowners with minor repairs while showing them how to perform them for themselves in the future. 5. Tax Relief: The Task Force advocated the application of a rental tax exemption ( see #4 , "Apartment Gleaning" under Rental Housing above) as a powerful incentive to improve both rental affordability and maintenance. Tax inducements could be applied to free up the landlord' s rental income to apply to maintenance; to take effect only if a certain standard of maintenance was kept; or, as in the "Apartment Gleaning" example above, to enable low-moderate income residents to live in higher quality developments. -7- &ppendix A: PRIORITIZED SOLUTIONS - HOUSING AFFORDABILITY ell- The following exhibit is a master list of all the Housing Task Force recommendations for Housing Affordability, presented in priority order. For the separate rankings each recommendation received under the Purchase, Rental , and Maintenance sub-topics, from which this composite ranking was developed, see Appendix C. 1. Information System: This topic was discussed extensively by the Task Force, who felt that it constitutes a necessary prerequisite to all other approaches on the principle that maximizing existing resources should normally precede developing new ones. The elements making up such a housing information system could include the following: - An Affordable Housing Clearinghouse: During discussion, the need was expressed for places where lower-income renters and/or prospective homebuyers could go for unbiased information and advice concerning how to make sound home-buying decisions, how to arrange financing, what affordable, decent . rental and purchase opportunities are available, etc. , information and guidance not readily accessible by lower-income residents at present. - Landlord/Tenant Counselling: One member mentioned a successful program which helps landlords by counselling tenants. Called the "Landlord Advocate Program" , it involves life skills, money management, and other coaching for tenants to improve their financial dependability. A complementary program is also possible, in which landlords would receive guidance on running a business, managing their financial affairs, and maintaining their property, this time with a view toward improving quality of life for their tenants and reducing vandalism, thereby holding rents down while increasing rental income. - Maintenance Training: This would involve coaching of lower-income homeowners on cost-effective ways to maintain their homes. This is currently being designed as an element of a larger home maintenance program for residents whose homes were rehabilitated under City programs (see Item #10 below) . 2. Systematic Code Enforcement: Focused use of the City' s code enforcement power on both rental and owner-occupied properties within targeted areas can improve neighborhood quality, enhancing property values and hence owners' equity. The Task Force ,felt that the City' s housing code enforcement system was too cumbersome and roundabout, raising the need for streamlined enforcement and prosecution, combined with a "get tough" , no-nonsense approach. This element can complement a landlord/tenant counseling program, providing guidance for the responsible property owners while expediting prosecution of the irresponsible ones. -8- 3. Tax Relief: This would be in the form of either abatement or a tax credit, both intended to be temporary in nature, as another way to increase the lower income resident' s ability to afford the purchase of a standard quality home. The effect would be similar to that of a balloon note or graduated-rate mortgage, with the financial burden lighter in the short term and managed so that it is commensurate with the resident 's increasing financial capability over the longer term. Use of rental tax exemptions would also constitute a powerful incentive. These would be similar to a homestead tax exemption, but would apply to landlords who rent quality, affordable units. The Task Force also considered tax incentives important to improve maintenance, particularly when combined with rental registration (see Item W . For example, tax incentives might be designed to free up the landlord' s rental income to apply to maintenance; to take effect only if a certain standard of maintenance was achieved; or, as in the example above, to provide access by low-moderate income renters to higher-quality developments. 4. Rental Registration: This involves a formal inventory of all rental units through a City-administered registration process. When a complaint is received, it is often difficult to find the responsible party. The purpose of rental registration is to rectify this by providing for an accurate tracking mechanism which, when combined with code enforcement, serves to ensure better maintenance of rental units. Some rental registration programs have such features as imposition of registration fees and systematic inspections for minimally acceptable condition as a prerequisite for a permit to lease the unit. The Task Force did not consider taking such measures in Fort Worth, deferring that consideration to the Committee on Rental Registration and Ordinance Changes. 5. Direct Subsidies: In considering ways to promote homeownership affordability, the Task Force favored direct financial intervention over more indirect approaches. Direct subsidy programs were recommended in three areas: subsidizing the interest component of debt service, housing maintenance, and possibly a portion of the downpayment. The Task Force also noted that direct subsidies can be effective in subsidizing rental housing affordability by reducing rental costs for tenants or debt service and/or maintenance for landlords. 6. Targeted Mortgage Bonds: There have been several single-family bond issues made available to residents of Fort Worth, but these have been on a first-come basis. What is recommended here is a -9. program more effectively targeted toward low-income, minority residents, and/or disadvantaged neighborhoods for maximum effect, either entirely or through percentage set-asides. This is also possible in connection with multi-family bond issues. 7. Syndication Schemes: These would be worked to subsidize purchase or rental costs, and would vary by the extent of City involvement expected. Purely private actions would involve a large developer forming a general partnership to develop a subdivision, apartment, etc. , and selling limited partnerships to investors. The subsidization cost would be set at an amount less than the return in tax benefits to the investors. Alternatively, the City could form a public/private venture, perhaps featuring donation of land or infrastructure. 8. Tax-Exempt Downpayment Savings Program: Since the greatest obstacle to home purchase is often the accumulation of funds for a downpayment (particularly true of first-time buyers) , an approach similar to the Individual Retirement Account (IRA) could be taken. Contributions to the account would be deductable from taxable income and would enable the moderate-income , family to put away funds toward a housing downpayment over a period of years. 9. Apartment "Gleaning" : This is the pursuit of donations by private sector apartment owners of units for low-income residents. A similar approach was tried in Houston, but without much success. Part of the problem was that families were involved, a much less palatable group than elderly, for example, for middle-class apartment owners to accept. Also, the only motivator used was a spirit of community goodwill. Addition of some municipal incentive, such as rental tax exemptions (see Item #3 above) could make acceptance greater for this type of effort. 10. Home Maintenance Assistance Program: This can take the form of a subsidized City program, a non-profit organization initiative (perhaps with City facilitation) , or some form of cooperative, with members paying dues or buying a share. The thrust is to reduce maintenance cost through pooled hiring of a contractor. The City is designing a somewhat similar program, combined with a homeowner training element ( see Item #1 above) . 11. Inclusionary Zoning: Under this concept, developers are offered zoning variances (e.g. , higher housing density than that normally allowed) in return for dedicating a proportion of the units to lower-income renters or buyers. 12. Deposit of Public Funds in Private Banks: The concept here is that financial institutions might be induced to participate in smaller (under $30,0000 ) , higher-risk loans, perhaps in targeted -10- areas, if in return the City were to place a substantial sum on deposit or give notice that it proposed to withdraw -r funds presently on deposit. The Task Force felt that such lenders should be more receptive to making the smaller mortgage loans needed by inner-city residents. 13. Urban Homesteading and other "Sweat Equity" Programs: In its traditional form, urban homesteading has been used in neighborhoods so deteriorated that the housing stock has little value and where there are large numbers of HUD and/or City repossessions. Under this scheme, the house is provided for a nominal sum, but with the stipulation that the buyer will (1 ) bring the unit up to City codes within a stipulated period, and (2) commit to reside in the unit for a certain term (usually 5 years) . Other variations on this concept are possible, such as the buyer receiving a reduced downpayment and/or interest rate in return for similar commitments. A second example of a "sweat equity" approach is shell housing. A manufactured shell is built on the buyer 's site, with the home to be finished off inside, often with advice and guidance by the shell. house seller. A major benefit of these approaches is that the owner becomes both knowledgeable and capable in providing continuing maintenance. one special inducement to greater self-help the Task Force discussed was for the City to refrain from immediately reassessing a property when it receives a permit for expansion work. 14. Shared Housing: There are several possible formats for creation of shared housing arrangements, basically along three lines: - The format - whether a homeowner shares the home or two or more parties share "neutral turf" ; - The participants - who may come from many possible demographic and income groups; and - The s2onsor - whether a City program or a "grass-roots" non-profit, church, or neighborhood-based effort. Shared housing arrangements can be cost-effective alternatives to rental and can also provide more willing hands and funds for maintenance. 15. Refinement of Building Codes and the Development Process: This would involve examination of the codes and development regulations to identify unnecessarily stiff restrictions or processing delays which have the effect of raising housing developers ' costs. It would also involve promoting use of modern, low-maintenance materials in construction. 16. Cooperative Housing: In a cooperative housing development, the residents both own and manage the development (either an apartment or a group of apartments and/or detached houses) . The incoming resident purchases a share in the co-op rather than the actual unit, with their return on equity upon resale often limited by the cooperative's charter. This ensures long-term affordability for the units. The major strength of co-ops is their mutual support, management, and cost-sharing format, which combines the respective advantages of ownership and rental. Co-ops tend to be more conscientiously maintained, particularly in the common areas, than either apartments or condominiums because the residents have a direct financial stake in keeping costs down. 17. Land Banking and Assembly: A major deterrant to private developers working in older, built-up inner-city locations is their fragmentation of ownership. The City or other entities can promote such development by offering assistance with land assembly. Another approach to land assembly with quite a different thrust the "community land trust" (CLT) concept, under which a non-profit organization is formed to assemble land. The CLT' s non-profit status enables wealthy individuals or corporations to obtain tax benefits by donating land, or funds to buy land, to the CLT. This is then held in perpetuity by the CLT, which sells or rents the improvements on the land at affordable rates to lower-income residents. 18. Local Section 8-Type Program: A fund could be established at the local level for vouchers to subsidize low-moderate income residents' cost of rental housing, in an approach similar to the federal Section 8 Existing Housing program. 19. Lease/Purchase Programs: This is the arrangement often made between private buyers and sellers under which the home is rented with the payments applicable to its future purchase. This option is usually made available only for a -stipulated period of time. It has the same effect as the downpayment savings program (Item #8 above) , except that here the funds are applied directly toward the cost of housing up to the time of sale. 20. Innovative Financing Vehicles: Several types of financing are being made available by banks to assist buyers in managing debt service payments. These are mostly of the graduated-payment type of mortgage, in which the interest rate is kept low at first, with the cost savings recouped later as the rate rises to a stipulated maximum. Several varieties are available; some float with -12- prevailing interest rates, others feature assumption of some of the home 's equity by the lender, and so forth. While these can be very beneficial to the younger first-time homebuyer just embarking upon a career, these arrangements must be approached prudently so that the buyer is not led into a situation which becomes unmanageable over time. There is therefore a need for unbiased counselling to inform prospective purchasers of their availability on the one hand, and to caution them as to their wise use on the other. 21. New Construction, Adaptive Reuse, or Rehabilitation: These activities have the virtue of conserving scarce affordable units and creating new ones. However, they also tend to be expensive, at least on a per-capita basis. "Adaptive reuse" is the conversion of a non-residential property, such as an office or school building, into a residential development. 22. Volunteerism Efforts: Cultivation of volunterism conserves scarce and valuable staff and other resources, as well as to involve neighborhoods directly in housing , maintenance. In a recent pilot program in Como, for example, the City paid for supplies for a house painting program. Neighborhood leaders organized volunteers to paint over 80 houses for only a few thousand dollars in City funds. 23. Income Supplementation Schemes: Under this approach, "young-old" persons would receive a wage for helping more dependent elderly persons in their homes with washing, dressing, medication, shopping, and maintenance. They would be performing a much-needed service while supplementing their own incomes, raising their ability to maintain their own homes. 24. Accessory Apartments are conversions of rooms in single-family homes into apartments or even duplexes. This is distinguished from shared housing (see 414 above) in that these are physically distinct living units. This approach also involves payment of rent to the homeowner, providing income as well as help with maintenance while the renter receives affordable rental housing. 25. "No-Frills" Construction: The approach here is to provide quality construction while saving costs by leaving off such items as the garage, extra baths, landscaping, etc. 26. Tightening RE Management of Existing Programs: The City' s existing programs could be more effectively employed by leveraging them with other resources, creating mechanisms for the recapture over time of program funds expended, and focusing them more tightly upon those most in need. This has become an increasingly -13- central theme, particularly in management of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program funds over the past several years. 27. Manufactured and Modular Housing: The City could take action to facilitate the broadened use of these more cost-effective construction types. One problem, at least within the context of infill in older neighborhoods, is aesthetic acceptance by existing residents. This can be mitigated by suitable design, which the City could take a role in achieving. 28. Low/Moderate Income Mandatory Set-Asides: The City could require, as a prerequisite to receiving a building permit, that a number of units in large developments be set aside for low-moderate income households. There would be some lower size limit defined above which the requirement would take effect, e.g. , 100 units. This differs from apartment gleaning (see item #9 above) in being mandatory and in applying only to proposed new developments. 29. Loan Guaranty Programs: A fund could be established to underwrite lower-income buyers ' higher-risk mortgages, increasing their acceptance by conventional lenders. 30. Move Existing Houses to Vacant Lots: In cases where land use chan7g--est etc. , threaten removal of housing stock, these homes could be moved to City-owned or other (perhaps donated) lots to retain affordable housing units. 31. Purchase/Rehab/Resale: The City has run programs like this in the past, such as the Housing Opportunity Program (HOP) . They have resulted in the rescue of declining properties and their sale at affordable prices, although per-unit cost-effectiveness has not proved attractive for the City by comparison, for example, with rehabilitation loan programs. 32. Private Mortgage Insurance: This differs from the loan guaranty approach (#29 above) in that the mortgage underwriting arrangement is with the buyer, not the lender, and would feature the issuance of an actual insurance policy to the homeowner for a modest sum. 33. Housing materials Program: Organized in cooperation with building supply firms, this arrangement would realize savings in materials costs (e.g. , for home construction or rehabilitation) through bulk purchases of materials for a pool of buyers. This could be carried out as part of a group shell housing project (see #13 above) . -14- 34. Reducing Land Cost: The land component of a home could be reduced by use of City or other non-profit-owned land, donations by corporations, etc. , in an approach similar in some respects to #17 above. 35. Apartment Hotels/Single, Room Occupancy (SRO) : SRO' s are common in the East and Upper Midwest, not so much in D/FW. These consist of hotel rooms let out on a long-term basis to singles or couples at low rent, with little or no cooking and dining facilities. They might offer a transitional housing resource for the homeless, particularly single men. 36. Equity Conversion Techniques: These free up the equity in one' s home for other purposes, such as maintenance and rehabilitation. There are many such arrangements, including the following: The life estate, wherein a bank or other investor buys an elderly person' s house, makes monthly payments to the seller, and grants him/her the right to continue living in the house for life. - Sale/Leaseback, under which the house is sold with the agreement that the buyer will lease it back to the resident for a manageable rent, with the equity freed up for other purposes. - Shared equity arrangements, where a buyer pays the elderly homeowner a monthly income supplement, to be recouped at low interest when the owner dies and the home is sold, the balance going to the heirs. Some of these techniques may encounter difficulties under Texas State law (specifically the homestead provisions, which prohibit borrowing against one's home to recover equity) and would therefore need to be analyzed for feasibility. Appendix CITY ROLES MATRIX Staff were requested to provide guidance to the Task Force on the possible roles the City could take in implementing the various recommendations made under Housing Affordability. The members then reviewed and made adjustments to the draft matrix to produce the final version presented in this Appendix. Appropriate City roles in achieving the Task Force recommendations tend to fall into a range according to the extent and nature of activity expected. The following role categories are presented in terms of ascending intensity of involvement: 1. Expressions of Support: The most passive role the City can take is simply to state a public position on an issue or problem, advocating its solution by someone else. This can be an appropriate response particularly in areas where the problem or issue is not legally accessible (e.g. , problems with state or federal legislation) . 0 2. Convening/Enabling: This role goes beyond merely taking a position to the actual selection and convening of interested actors to work on problems through, for example, sponsoring workshops, task forces, study groups, etc. , but with City staff in only an organizing, enabling role, not a substantive one. NCTCOG often takes this role for cities in the region, making meeting space available, scheduling speakers, etc. 3. Information/Referral: The City can go beyond role #1 to provide information to outside actors useful in overcoming a problem, either at the individual level through case management or at the organizational level by making other actors aware of information of strategic value in solving problems (the City/United Way Human Services Needs Assessment Study is a prominant recent example) . This is more active than the convening/enabling role in that actual financial commitments are often involved, and the City becomes more of a direct intervener in problem-solving. 4. Active Coordination/Leverage: Under this role, the City emerges as the lead actor or lead team member in creating action, but with significant staff and financial resources coming from other actors as well. This is the "seed money" approach, whereby the City initiates action by active pursuit of others' involvement through investment of both funds and staff time. 16 5 . Exercise of Governmental Powers: There are forms of action only the City can take, such as zoning, platting and development regulation actions; exercise of taxation and other powers to raise revenue; and performance of in-house administrative adjustments to expedite action. The City can use these powers in two ways: to require remedial action by others to solve problem situations, or to offer special incentives to promote desired outcomes. This role can be more active and directive than mere coordination. 6. Direct Action - "Sole Source" : This is the most intensive possible role, under which the City takes sole responsibility for achieving an outcome, putting up its own funds, hiring staff, and/or securing the services of a subcontractor. There has been a policy shift under way during the past few years to minimize this sort of sole source involvement toward greater leveraging of City funds with other resources . 17 KEY RECCMMENDEID CITY ROLE 'R' w Task Force's Recommended Citv Role < v - Most Feasible Roles > n z 40 x to Take Without Delay 0 -3 < < M M z Roles the City is CA 0 Already Taking C) z M z rij >t-3 z a C) 110 Z wo 0 SOLUTIONS rr A. TOP GROUP m 0 R 9) ;v 1. Information System MF Z r? 0 2. Concentrated Code Enforcement RMF 3. Tax Relief R 0 0 Rental Registration* 0 r- 5. Direct Subsidies R o > 6. Targeted Mortgage Bonds R R R 0 0 W "I n 7. Syndication Schemes R R R CL M cr 8. Tax-Exempt Downpavment Savings R 9. Apartment Gleaning R R 10. Home Maintenance Assistance MFR R 11. Inclusionary Zoning R 12. Deposit of Public Funds in Private Banks R B. MIDDLE GROUP 13. Urban Homesteading and Other R R R "Sweat Equity Approaches .014. Shared Housing R Refinement of Building Codes & the Development Process R Appropriate City role is in process of being defined. - 18 KEY RECCIOTNDED CITY ROLE 'R' = Task Force's Recommended City Role < < IF' - Most Feasible Roles > X M z to Take Without Delay M H 1 0"4 W 0 Roles the City is Already Taking 0 t-4 0 z ftj Cn 0 It Z SOLUTIONS B. MIDDLE GROUP (Cont.) M 16. Housing Cooperatives R 0 MF X -3 17. Land Banking & Assembly R R R 18. Locally-Funded Sec. 8 Type Pro' R. Lease/Purchase Programs R. 00P11 -/0. Innovative Financing Vehicles R Do En 21. New Construction, Adaptive > Reuse, Rehabilitation R R 0 W 22. Volunteerism Efforts MF cr 23. Income Supplementati2n Schemes R 24. Accessory Apartments R R. MF 25. "No-Frills" Construction R R R. 26. Tighten Up Program Management MF 27. Manufactured & Modular Housing— R R. 28. Low/Moderate Income Mandatory Set-Asides R 29. Loan Guaranty Programs R C. OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS Move Existing Houses to Vacant Lots R R 31. Purchase/Rehab/Resale R 32. Private Mortgage Insurance R. 10 KEY RECCMMIENDED CITY ROLE IRI = Task Force's Recommended City Role - Most Feasible Roles > 0 n n z X to Take Without Delay 0 z "o < z to Roles the City is rn M Already Taking C1 0 C) 0 0 0 0 z z M V) z g 0 0 H M vs 0 z SOLUTIONS cl) rt C. OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS (cont.) 0 (D 0 33. Housing Materials Program R 3 0 34. Reduce Land Cost R R 35. Single-Room Occupancy Hotels 0 (SRO) R 0 C: 0011,41 0 z Equity Conversion Techniques R R r_ 0 w 52 rt 0 Appendix C: COMPOSITE MATRIX - RELATIVE PRIORITY OF TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS The attached matrix shows how the various Task Force recommendations rated under the three main sub-topics of Purchase, Rental, and maintenance to arrive at an overall composite prioritization for Housing Affordability. These ratings were reached by an actual voting process, which worked as follows: - First, a list of solutions applicable to each of the three topics was compiled. Some solutions were found to be relevant to more than one topic and so were included in several of the three lists. - Then, the members each cast votes for their top five priority solutions from each list. The votes were then tallied to obtain a consensus prioritization for each of the three topics, resulting in three prioritized lists of solutions. - If a solution was considered relevant to a given topic, but did not receive any votes in the prioritization process, it was given an IXI on the matrix for that topic. If it did receive any votes, its numerical rank from the voting for that topic was indicated on the matrix. - The solutions which received high ratings under several topics were rated highest in the composite rating. This overall rating is shown by the numerical listing of the solutions themselves (left-hand column) . The "Top Group" consists of all solutions which were ranked in the top five on at least one of the three lists. The "Middle Group" contains the other solutions which received at least one vote under at least one of the three topics. The "Other Recommendations" group contains the solutions which received no votes under any of the three topics. 21 KEY If a box has: It Means: A Nurber That's its Priority RANKINGS Ranking by the Task Force. , An 1X1 It was considered a Relevant Solution, PURCHASE RENTAL MAINTENANCE But Low Priority. A Blank It was Not Relevant to That Solution. SOLUTIONS A. TOP GROUP 1. Information System X 1 3 2. Concentrated Code Enforcement X 3 2 D)rt 3. Tax Relief 2 X 5 4. Rental Registration 8 1 (D Z su Su 5. Direct Subsidies 1 14 X 6. Tar 15 geted Mortgage Bonds 3 En #4*k' S)Mdication Schemes X 2 0 0 z rt H 8. Tax-Exempt Downpayment Savings 0 ;tA > 11� Program 4 th 0 0 9. Apartment Gleaning 4 0 rt 10. Home Maintenance Assistance 4 0 z EO 11. Inclusibnary Zoning X 12. Deposit of Public Funds in Private Banks 5 B. MIDDLE GROUP 13. Urban Homesteading and Other "Sweat Equity" Ap2roacbes 12 6 14. Shared Housin& 9 9 15. Refinement of Building Codes the Development Process 9 X X ilk 16. Housing CooReratives 10 X X 40^'1. Land Banking & Assembly 8 X 18. Locally-Funded Sec. 8 Type Proj . 6 KEY If a box has: It Means: ,001 Number That's its Priority RANKINGS Ranking by the Task Force. , An 'X1 It was considered a Relevant Solution, PURCHASE RENTAL MAINTENANCE But Low Priority. A Blank It was Not Relevant to That Solution. SOLUTIONS B. MIDDLE GROUP (Cont.) 19. Lease/Purchase Programs 6 20. Innovative Financing Vehicles 7 21. New Construction, Adaptive 0 W Reuse, Rehabilitation 7 22. Volunteerism Efforts 7 23. Income Sup plementation Schemes 8 M 0 0006.1t. Accessory Apartments 13 10 0 !Z 25. "No-Frills" Construction 11 x 1.4 > En 0 26. Tighten Up Program Management 10 ;l ITI En 0 27. Manufactured & Modular Housing 13 x 0 28. Low/Moderate Income Mandatory 0 n Set-Asides 29. Loan Guaranty Programs 14 C. OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS 31. Purchase/Rehab/Resale x x 32. Private Mortgage Insurance x 33. Housing Materials Program x 34. Reduce Land Cost x 35. Single-Room Occupancy - Hotels (SRO) x 36. Equity Conversion Techniques x 21 -