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Affordable Housing at the Community Level By GEORGE DINGES One of the biggest challenges facing community residents is the availability of affordable housing. This is a particular problem for lower-income residents — for both rental housing and homeownership. An increasing number of Illinois communities are addressing the need for affordable housing. Local governments, the private sector, not-for-profit groups, and others are involved. Local governments are important players in helping to provide affordable housing. Through the enactment and administration of zoning ordinances and subdivision controls, local governments can help to reduce housing costs. Through homesteading programs, local governments can make available reasonably priced property (e.g., tax delinquent property) for affordable housing. Local governments can effectively work with not-for-profit organizations and other groups to help provide affordable housing. Local governments also can seek outside sources of assistance. One such source is the federally funded Community Development Assistance Program. This program is administered by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs. The Department of Commerce and Community Affairs (DCCA) has allocated $4,000,000 to provide grants to local governments to help rehabilitate housing in communities. The purpose of the program is to provide decent, safe, and sanitary housing for low to moderate-income persons. Only local governments can apply for the housing rehabilitation funding through the Community Development Assistance Program. Per the program's requirements, the community must be less than 50,000 in population and not located, regardless of size, in one of the six larger "urban counties" in Illinois. The counties are: Cook, DuPage, Lake, Madison, St. Clair, and Will. These larger communities and counties receive the federal funds directly from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Local governments in Illinois have used Community Development Assistance Program funds to help provide affordable housing. For example, Danville Township secured a $350,000 grant to, among other activities: . . . rehabilitate owner-occupied substandard houses. All funds will be used to benefit low to moderate-income persons. The total project cost will be $430,000. CDAP funds will be used for such activities as rehabilitation, housing inspection, and administration. Leverage or contributing funds will consist of $80,000 for rehabilitation, plumbing, inspection, and administration. As a result of the project, 32 substandard owner-occupied houses will be rehabilitated. In providing housing rehabilitation funding to local governments, the Department of Commerce and Community Affairs has a number of requirements. For example, the funds should clearly benefit low to moderate-income persons; there should be a clearly defined housing need in the community; there should be a clear plan of action to address the housing need; additional financial resources should be pledged to the project (e.g., program funding through the Farmers Home Administration, Illinois Housing Development Authority, and other sources); and, upon receipt of program funding, the project should be ready to proceed. A local government can apply to the Department of Commerce and Community Affairs for up to $400,000 in housing rehabilitation funds. The applications must be submitted to the Department by December 4, 1990. The following address should be used for all application submissions: Office of Economic Development Programs In addition to the Community Development Assistance Program, local governments should be aware of additional sources of assistance to help provide affordable housing in Illinois communities. The Illinois Housing Development Authority September 1990 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 17 (IHDA) administers a new Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Capitalized by a portion of the State's real estate transfer tax, the Trust Fund helps to support local efforts to provide affordable housing for lower-income individuals. The funds can be used for such purposes as the acquisition and/or rehabilitation of existing housing, new construction, adaptive re-use of non-residential buildings (e.g., turning a hotel into single room occupancy apartments), and addressing needs for special populations (e.g., handicapped individuals). Using Trust Fund Dollars, the McHenry County Housing Authority; . . . intends to build sixteen one-bedroom apartments for the elderly on a one acre site in Huntley, Illinois. The Housing Authority has obtained a mortgage commitment for the apartments in the amount of $599,760 from the Farmers Home Administration. This will be an FmHA 515 loan with a term of 50 years and an interest rate of 1 percent. The Affordable Housing Trust Fund will provide a construction loan of $500,000 at 1 percent. Local governments, not-for-profit organizations, housing authorities, and for-profit developers are eligible applicants for Trust Fund dollars. IHDA uses a formal application process. In addition to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, the Illinois Housing Development Authority operates other housing assistance programs. Many local governments are familiar with the programs and have participated in them. Through bond financing, IHDA has financed multi-family housing throughout Illinois. It has helped to make homeownership possible for first-time home buyers. IHDA administers federal low-income housing tax credits — another tool to help provide affordable housing. IHDA helps to finance partnerships among local governments, not-for-profit organizations, and others to provide affordable housing. There are additional programs to help communities address their affordable housing needs. In addition to the Community Development Assistance Program, the Department of Commerce and Community Affairs administers a Rental Rehabilitation Program, a Weatherization Assistance Program, and programs to assist homeless individuals. The Farmers Home Administration — a part of the Page 18 / Illinois Municipal Review / September 1990 United States Department of Agriculture — administers a number of programs to help communities provide affordable housing. For example, through the Section 515 Rural Rental Housing loan program, loans are made to build, purchase (in certain situations), or repair apartment-style housing, usually consisting of duplexes, garden-type, or similar multi-unit dwellings. The housing must be modest in size, design, and cost, but adequate to meet the tenants' needs. Funds also may be used to: — buy and improve the land on which the buildings are to be located; To help local governments make use of available State and Federal housing assistance programs, the Illinois Housing Development Authority is supporting a number of technical assistance initiatives. The Authority has engaged the services of the Housing Assistance Council and Development Services Group to provide no-cost technical assistance to local governments — particularly in "downstate" Illinois communities. This assistance ranges from helping to develop housing strategies to preparing applications for specific State and Federal program funding. The Housing Assistance Council and Development Services Group are available to work directly with individual local governments. In addition, they will be offering a number of upcoming housing conferences and workshops for local governments. If your local government is interested in receiving technical assistance, please call or write: • Housing Assistance Council, Inc. September 1990 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 19 |
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