housing news volume 20, number 1...builders, realtors and others. leading this diverse and exemplary...

FHC Web site4

Reauthorize the Stateand Local Housing

Trust Funds5

Full Funding forSadowski HousingTrust Funds 2004

6Community BasedOrganizations and

the AncillaryBenefits of State andLocal Housing Trust

Funds7

State Housing TrustFund Monies TurnAbandoned Office

Building into StudioApartments for

Formerly Homeless10

Waiving Liens toRevitalize

Neighborhoods andIncrease

Homeownership11

Affordable HousingBuilt in a Factory

14 Proposed

ConstitutionalAmendment is Bad

for AffordableHousing

16Housing for Persons

with MentalIllnesses

18

2004 AnnualConference

20Next Steps forPreservation

21SHIP Clips

24 Coalition News

26

�AFlorida Sunset is a thing of beauty,but not when it’s the Sunset of theSadowski Act.

Floridians have rightfully taken pride in theSadowski Act. It allows us to boast the mostcreative and productive state and local affordablehousing programs in the nation. The SadowskiAct established a system of public sectorinfusion that delivers a seven fold return ofprivate sector investment.

Rick Davis, Senior Vice President and Directorof Equity Investments for Wachovia Securities,based in Charlotte, North Carolina, states:

“To give you some perspective on ourbusiness, Wachovia Securities has investedapproximately $1.5 billion dollars in privatesector money in over 450 communities

producing over 40,000 units of affordablehousing across the country.

Isolating Florida from our portfolio, we haveinvested over $600 million dollars in 86communities producing over 16,000 units ofaffordable housing for those less fortunatethan us in the State of Florida.

Over 50% of our Florida portfolio was builtwith the help of SAIL and SHIP dollars ($300million investment / 43 communities / 8,000units). Without SAIL and SHIP dollars, thoseprojects would not have been built resulting inreduction of about $300 million in private sec-tor investment or about 8,000 fewer units and43 fewer apartment communities (assumingan average complex

HOUSING NEWSN E T W O R KThe Journal of the Florida Housing Coalition, Inc.

Volume 20, Number 1

SPRING 2004

In This issue

We Can’t Let the Sun Seton Sadowski

A Message from Mary Brooks of the Housing Trust Fund Project, Center for Community Change

When the William E. Sadowski Actwas passed in Florida it set Floridaapart from every other state in thecountry. Not only has it created themost productive housing trust fundprogram in the United States andboosted Florida’s economy withincreased jobs and tax revenues, butthe housing trust fund has the sus-tained support from the breadth ofthe housing industry throughout thestate. The foundation of a housingtrust fund is a dedicated revenuesource and this is what makes theseprograms, operating in 34 states throughout thecountry, work. To revert to funding strategies that

existed before housing trust funds isto take a step back in history to a timewhen governments failed to recognizethe importance of addressing thehousing needs of its citizens and failedto recognize that housing is the veryfoundation of what makes a commu-nity strong and vital. What a sad andmisguided mistake it would be forFlorida to set itself apart from otherstates by undoing the model programit created.

Mary E. Brooks Housing Trust Fund Project

Center for Community Change

Mary Brooks

continued on page 3

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Melvin Philpot - CHAIRPERSONProgress Energy FloridaLake MaryJeff Bagwell - VICE CHAIRKeystone Challenge Fund, Inc., LakelandJaimie Ross - PRESIDENT1000 Friends of Florida, TallahasseeGregg Schwartz - TREASURERTampa Bay Community Development Corp.,ClearwaterMary Sorge - SECRETARYBonita Springs Area Housing Development,Bonita SpringsMark Hendrickson - PAST CHAIR-PERSONThe Hendrickson Company, TallahasseeAnnetta Jenkins.-. AT LARGELocal Initiatives Support Corp.,West Palm BeachKristen Packard- AT LARGEPackard Consulting, Jacksonville

DIRECTORS

Bob AnsleyOrlando Neighborhood ImprovementOrlandoEd Busansky First Housing Development Corp.,TampaGus Dominguez Greater Miami Neighborhoods, Miami

Holly Duquette Florida Power and Light, Juno BeachJim Dyal Courtelis Company, TampaDenise FreedmanBank of AmericaTampaCora Fulmore Mortgage & Credit Center, Winter GardenSchonna GreenM.I.S.S. Inc. of the Treasure Coast,Port St. LucieDan Horvath Community Enterprise Investments, Inc.,PensacolaJack HumburgBoley Center for Behavioral Health Care,Inc.St. PetersburgJeffrey KissKiss & Company, Inc., Winter ParkTony RiggioWachovia, JacksonvilleGladys Schneider Habitat for Humanity of Lee County,North Fort MyersTei Simmerman Florida Solar Energy Center, CocoaSophia SorolisHousing and Community DevelopmentCity of St. Petersburg.St. Petersburg

Shari WeitznerGrove House,Jacksonville

ADVISORY COUNCIL

Catherine BrozowskiWashington Mutual,PlantationHelen Hough FeinbergRBC Dain RauscherSt. PetersburgRobert VonRealvest Appraisal Services Inc., Maitland

STAFF

Michael DavisExecutive DirectorMichael ChaneyTechnical AdvisorPam DavisWorkshop Coordinator/Admin Assistant Stan FittermanSenior Technical AdvisorTom FlaggFinance ManagerMelanie GreeneTechnical AdvisorWight GregerSenior Technical AdvisorRue LuttrellOffice ManagerDayatra OrdunaTechnical Advisor

BOARD OFdirectors

The Florida Housing Coalition is a nonprofit, statewide membership organization whose mission is to act as a catalyst to bringtogether housing advocates and resources so that Floridians have a safe and affordable home and suitable living environment.

The Housing News Network is published by the Florida Housing Coalition as a service to its members and for housing professionalsand others interested in affordable housing issues. Address questions and comments to: Jaimie Ross, Editor, Florida HousingCoalition, Inc., 1367 E. Lafayette Street, Suite C, Tallahassee, FL 32301.

The Florida Housing Coalition would like to recognizeWASHINGTON MUTUAL for its partnership leadership and sup-port as our PLATINUM SPONSOR. We are deeply appreciative.

The Florida Housing Coalition expresses its gratitude to ourGold Sponsor, WACHOVIA BANK for its ongoing sponsorshipof our Board conference calls — a substantial savings to ourstatewide nonprofit.

HOUSING NEWS NETWORK

SADOWSKI continued from page 1

size of 200 units). The reliable stream of state revenuededicated for affordable housing in Florida, provides theeconomic environment we need to make this level ofinvestment.”

Our dedicated revenue source creates a reliable incomestream – enticing top notch developers to include affordablehousing in their product line. It facilitates the developmentof mixed use and mixed income large scale redevelopment. Ithas created an economic engine that creates jobs and over abillion dollars per year in economic activity. It turns hardworking families into first time home owners. It providesworkforce housing for our teachers, nurses aides, fire fight-ers, and service workers. It provides transitional housing formothers in crisis, homeless families and individuals. It pro-vides housing for seniors and for persons with disabilities.

And it does all this in the most efficient and effective wayimaginable.

As the 2004 Legislative Session gets underway, we are againfacing a proposal to slash Sadowski Act funding. This yearthe proposal is to divert $167 million from the state and localhousing trust funds. Last year we lost $126 million. Losing$167 million costs Florida over 11,000 homes, 25,000 jobs,and over 1.3 billion in economic activity.

In addition to the prospect of losing $167 million of dedi-cated revenue, we face an even more serious threat: losingour dedicated revenue source entirely. In 2004, theSadowski Act state and local housing trust funds will sunset,unless reauthorized by the Legislature. This is somethingwe cannot and must not allow to happen.

Over the last decade the great Americandream of home ownership has been ful-filled for many Floridians who qualified foraffordable housing. This was made pos-sible by the creation of a public/privatepartnership that included bankers, homebuilders, realtors and others. Leading thisdiverse and exemplary coalition was oneof the proudest accomplishments of mylate husband, Bill Sadowski. It is hard toimagine a more worthy enterprise, nor one that should bemore sacrosanct, not coveted as a source of funds for otheruses. The availability of affordable housing for Floridians isin the hands of Florida’s legislators, who should be lauded fortaking a s stand in protecting this most worthy program.

The landmark afford-able housing trust

fund legislation thatpassed in 1992 wasnamed The William E.Sadowski AffordableHousing Act to honor BillSadowski, an extraordi-narily accomplished anduniversally respected manwho devoted most of his

life to public service. He had been a mem-ber of the Florida House of Representativesand was serving as Secretary of the FloridaDepartment of Community Affairs at the timeof his death in 1992.

A Message from Jean

Jean Sadowski Bill Sadowski

Affordable Housing Goals for the2004 Legislative Session:

1. Reauthorization of the state and local housing trust funds.

2. Full funding for state and and local affordable housing programs.

Everything you ever wanted toknow in regard to the state

and local housing trust funds canbe easily found at www.flhous-ing.org. Our website is updateddaily with links to news articlesfrom around the state, talkingpoints, and the district by districtcolor one-pagers tailored for eachlegislator showing the effect offunding cuts on homes, jobs, andeconomic activity. Here’s anexample of what you will find.

Florida LegalServices, Inc.

Florida Catholic Conference

Florida Association of Counties

SADOWSKI ACT COALITION

PRESERVE THE SADOWSKI AFFORDABLE HOUSING ACT:REAUTHORIZE THE STATE AND LOCAL HOUSING TRUST FUNDS

The State and Local Housing Trust Funds, and the dedication of doc stamp revenues to those TrustFunds, have lead to successful programs using public-private partnerships to provide homeown-ership opportunities, build workforce rental housing, stimulate construction, and create jobs.

Both Trust Funds, created in the 1992 Sadowski Affordable Housing Act, are up for regularfour-year reauthorization. SB 1000 and SB 1002 have been introduced to reauthorize the Localand State Housing Trust Funds. The Trust Funds were reauthorized and signed into law in both1996 and 2000.

Any suggestion that the Trust Funds are not needed, or that housing should be funded from gen-eral revenue, should be rejected. The documentary tax was increased specifically for theHousing Trust Funds, not to pay for other general revenue funded programs such as education,health care, or prisons.

The House Select Committee on Affordable Housing, which spent months studying Florida’shousing funding system and programs, and conducted public hearings throughout the state, con-cluded that the Sadowski Act Housing Trust Funds should be recreated, finding:

“The Sadowski Act Trust Funds should be maintained in order to provide a stableand predictable revenue source that providers of affordable housing can depend on in

order to effectively and efficiently plan future affordable housing strategies.”

State housing funds are leveraged by over $7 of private sector investment for every $1 of statefunding, resulting in massive housing production, job creation, and overall economic stimulus. Forevery $10 million of state funding, over 700 units are built, rehabilitated, and/or sold to first-timehomebuyers, and over 1,500 jobs are created with a total economic impact of over $78 million.

The Sadowski Act continues to be supported by a diverse coalition that includes many conserva-tive business groups, as well as local governments and housing advocates. All of these groupscontinue to support the Sadowski Act, and urge the House and Senate to pass the reauthorizationof the State and Local Housing Trust Funds early in the 2004 Session.

Florida Home Builders AssociationFlorida Association of RealtorsFlorida League of Cities1000 Friends of FloridaFlorida Catholic ConferenceFlorida Habitat for HumanityUnited Way of FloridaCoalition of Affordable HousingProviders

Florida Bankers AssociationFlorida Housing CoalitionFlorida Legal ServicesFlorida Association of CountiesFlorida ImpactVoices for Florida’s ChildrenFlorida Association of Local HousingFinance AuthoritiesFlorida Association of Housing andRedevelopment Authorities

1. The Florida Legislature proclaimed in statute that by 2010 all Floridians would have decent and affordable hous-ing. To that end, the Florida Legislature enacted in statute a dedicated revenue source for affordable housing,known as the Sadowski Act.

2. Sadowski Act monies are statutorily dedicated by formula to the state and local housing trust funds:

� 70% of the revenue is dedicated to local governments through the SHIP program to be used to meet the hous-ing needs of their residents (approximately 80% of that money is used for home ownership); and,

� 30% of the revenue is dedicated to the state to fund successful legislatively created programs such as SAILand the Guarantee Fund.

3. The Florida Legislature has closely scrutinized both the state and local housing trust funds and Florida’s housingprograms. These reviews have shown that Sadowski monies have been an unequivocal success in:

� Building quality single family home ownership;� Building quality multi-family rental with resident amenities and programs for moving the residents to home

ownership;� Leveraging public dollars with private investment at a ratio of over 7:1; and,� Providing an economic boost to Florida far in excess of the amount of funds appropriated for housing (due to

the combination of leveraging and the multiplier effect).

4. Despite the success of the Sadowski Act programs, full funding for affordable housing from Florida’s dedicated rev-enue source is more desperately needed now than ever before. Why?

� Right now, there are over 730,000 low income Florida families paying more than half their hard-earnedincome on housing; and,

� The gap between dedicated revenues and need is growing because affordable housing development andpreservation can not keep pace with Florida’s exponential population growth, the low wages paid to our work-force, and the rapid inflation of land costs in our coastal Sunshine State.

5. Despite this need, the Governor’s proposed FY 2004/05 budget transfers over $167 million from the state and localhousing trust funds to general revenue.

6. The economic impact of taking $167 million from housing would be severe. Because the state funds are leveragedby more than 7-1 by private sector investment (plus the multiplier effect of new construction and rehabilitation),the diversion of $167 million will result in the loss of over 11,000 homes, over $1.3 billion of economic activity,and over 25,000 jobs.

7. Full funding for affordable housing is needed, not only to provide shelter for Florida’s working families and theirchildren, the elderly and the disabled, but also to provide an incredibly efficient boost to Florida’s economy, some-thing all fiscal conservatives should support. FULL FUNDING IS FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY.

FULL FUNDING FOR SADOWSKIHOUSING TRUST FUNDS 2004

�

�The Florida Housing Coalition fields requestsfor housing assistance on a daily basis. Mostquestions come from housing providers and

administrators. We answer their concerns aboutprogram and compliance issues. But we also hearfrom individuals in need of housing, often times ina panic. The caller may be about to lose his or herhome, or have recently become disabled, or per-haps is a destitute young mother- to- be that does-n’t know which way to turn and just wants to bepointed in the right direction. The good news weshare in this article is that throughout Florida thereis a community based infrastructure in place sup-ported by our dedicated revenue source that serves as a safetynet for families faced with emergencies.

Our Vice Chair, Jeff Bagwell, is the Executive Director ofKeystone Challenge Fund, a CHDO in Polk County. Likemany nonprofits in Florida, Keystone uses SHIP monies toassist low income families to become first time homebuyers.

One day Jeff read a story in the localpaper about a teenager who had diedin an automobile accident. Jeff rec-ognized the name of the family. It wasa family that Keystone had assistedin purchasing their first home. Whenhe called to offer his condolences helearned that the tragedy and the costof the funeral had caused the familyto fall behind in their mortgage pay-ments. Foreclosure was imminent.This family had just lost a child and

was now facing the lose of its home. The Keystone ChallengeFund saved this family from further disaster by making a cou-ple of payments on their mortgage.

What follows are a few examples from aroundthe state that highlight the invaluable contribu-tions made by nonprofits. It may be the missioncentered work of the nonprofit that could not orwould not be undertaken by the for- profit orgovernment sectors, or it might be the synergythat a nonprofit brings to a collaborative com-munity project. But in either case, the non-profit could not do its good work if it were notfor the support it receives from Florida’s hous-ing programs.

Mothers and Infants Strivingfor Success (MISS)

Over 67,000 thousand Floridians are homeless on any givenday, and the fastest growing segment of the homeless popu-lation is families with children. Fortunately for the home-less women and children of Stuart Florida they have found arefuge at MISS, Mothers andInfants Striving for Success.

Schonna Green, Florida HousingCoalition Board Member, is theExecutive Director of MISS.Mothers and Infants Striving forSuccess is a non-profit organizationthat uses numerous housing pro-grams, including SHIP, to providetransitional housing for homelesswomen and children. Using moniesit receives from public and private grants, MISS providesmore than just a roof over the mothers and children’s heads.MISS works with their resident mothers on life and employ-

�

Community Based Organizations andthe Ancillary Benefits of State and

Local Housing Trust FundsBy Dayatra Orduna

Florida Housing Coalition

Dayatra Orduna

Jeff Bagwell Schonna Green

ment skills, including food preparation, financial literacy,data entry, office work, and computer competency. MISSreceives donations to supply their pantry with food, blan-kets, and toiletries and regularly opens their pantry doors tothe homeless and to those in need.

At Thanksgiving, forty mothers living in a MISS transi-tional housing development expressed their gratitude bypitching in to host a community wide dinner for the home-less of Martin County. The residents at the transitionalhousing development cooked the turkeys that were donat-ed by local community service organizations. MISS rent-ed the local fairgrounds and provided a meal prepared bythe MISS residents for 200 people in need. MISS useshousing dollars to leverage social service dollars, privatesector funds, and the goodwill of the entire community.The MISS programs have a ripple effect that improves thequality of life for the entire community.

Tampa Bay CommunityDevelopment Corporation

Geneva Fisher is a single moth-er, supporting her children anda grandchild with the money sheearns working seven days aweek at two jobs as a school busdriver and a nursing assistant.Her dream was to own a housebut the combination of $20,000in debts, bad credit, and med-ical bills made it impossible forher to obtain a bank loan. Ms.

Fisher finally reached hergoal, but it took more thanfour and a half years ofassistance from theHomeBuyers Club, a pro-gram of the Tampa BayCommunity DevelopmentCorporation. Typically a

HomeBuyer Club member will become a homeowner within13 months. No other client of the Tampa Bay CDC hastaken so long to purchase a home. Her situation, thoughchallenging and difficult for her whole family, did not breakMs. Fisher’s spirit. With advice and encouragement fromthe Tampa Bay CDC to stick to the financial plan theyestablished, Ms. Fisher persevered and has realized herdream of homeownership.

Greg Schwartz, Board member andTreasurer for the Florida HousingCoalition, is the ExecutiveDirector of the Tampa Bay CDC, anon-profit organization whose mis-sion is to promote homeownershipopportunities to low and moderateincome households. With SHIPfunding, they offer down paymentand closing cost assistance, home-buyer counseling, credit repair,foreclosure prevention, and prop-erty improvement loans. TampaBay CDC tops this off with advice and guidance to theirclients, giving them the facts and the faith to turn theirdreams into reality.

DIAD

Vivian Hill taught kindergarten for over 25 years. Now aretired senior citizen, she is working every day to make hercommunity a better place as a community activist and civicvolunteer. Ms. Hill is well known in her Ft. Myers commu-nity for her work with the Ft. Myers Black History Society,


Greg Schwartz

Far left: Transitional housingresident prepares a meal forthe homeless.Left: MISS workshop at alocal college.

Geneva Fisher

the local chapter of the NAACP, as a reporter forthe Community Voice, and as the President of theLee/Collier Sickle Cell Anemia Society, amongother activities.

When Mark White, Executive Director of DIAD,a nonprofit community-based housing providerlocated in Ft. Myers, heard through a friend,that Ms. White’s home was due to be con-demned because of its unsafe and dilapidatedcondition, he went to visit her. He found thehouse to be in such deplorable condition that itcould not be rehabilitated. Mark knew Mrs.Hill was living on a very low fixed income andwould probably not qualify for a new home. Buthe and his board of directors were determinedto help her. He accompanied Mrs. Hill to meetwith local bankers familiar with DIAD’s goodreputation. Through the collaborative efforts ofthe bank’s community lending program, thelocal SHIP program, and DIAD’s willingness towaive its developer fee, Mrs. Hill will soon own a modestbut new home with monthly payments that she can afford.

It’s About the Quality of Life

Non profit affordable housing developers bring moreto the table than housing production; they improvethe quality of life in their communities. They pro-vide help and they provide hope. They do it throughhousing production, housing counseling, providingblankets and food to keep the homeless warm andtheir stomachs full, or providing a shoulder to leanon during difficult times. They rely on volunteers,grants from social service agencies, and state andfederal funding. It is programs that are funded fromthe Sadowski Act, like SHIP, SAIL, and the PLPprogram, just to name a few, that enable them tooperate. Their motives are pure and unselfish.Community based organizations are providing forthe needs of their communities through collabora-tions with government and the private sector. Evenwhen there is no emergency, this infrastructure ofcommunity based support just makes everyone’s

quality of live that much better. These are some of the ancillarybenefits to our state and local housing trust funds.

Vivian Hill will be leaving her unsafe and dilapidated house to become the owner of a new home, as pictured above.

Now a retired

senior citizen,

she is working

every day to

make her

community a

better place as a

community

activist and civic

volunteer.

�

Liberty Center IVApproved for

SAIL Loan

A $2 million SAIL loan, the first suchloan made pursuant to the SAIL homelessset-aside created by the 2002 legislature,will allow Liberty Center for theHomeless, a non-profit led by ReverendR.F. Langford, to substantially rehabili-tate an abandoned office building into100 apartments serving men and womenwho were formerly homeless.

The development will serve a homelesspopulation that is moving back into theworkforce. Residents of Liberty CenterIV will be men and women who have“graduated” from the more basic SROsettings of Liberty Centers I, II, and III.Past rental histories of formerly home-less people often preclude them fromqualifying for apartments. LibertyCenter IV will provide furnished studioapartments designed for independentliving. As with all FHFC financed devel-opments, it will be energy efficient and contain significantdevelopment and unit amenities. Residents will be offereda variety of programs including literacy training, jobtraining, and financial counseling.

SophisticatedFinancing

A development such as Liberty Center IVis not easily accomplished without sub-stantial subsidy. And because this devel-opment has McKinney Act subsidies ononly 10 of the 100 units, it requires espe-cially sophisticated financing. Becausethe rental income generated from thispopulation (without the McKinney sub-sidy) will be severely limited, no harddebt can be supported. The $6.6 milliondevelopment is financed with a combina-tion of subsidies, including the SAIL loan,$3.1 million in Housing Credit equity, a$750,000 forgiveable 0% loan from theJacksonville Housing Finance Authority,and a $275,000 grant used to purchasethe property from the City of Jacksonville.

$1.2 million of the development “cost” isactually a capitalized operating deficitreserve fund. Because the expenses of thisdevelopment may well increase at a pacemuch faster than income, it is possible that

annual operating deficits will occur in later years. The reservefund will cover those deficits, providing the lender/investorssufficient confidence that the development will be successful,and allowing them to invest in the property.

Mark Hendrickson is the immediate past Chair of the Florida HousingCoalition. He is a financial advisor to for-profit and non-profit housingdevelopers.

State Housing Trust Fund Monies Turn AbandonedOffice Building into Studio Apartments for

Formerly HomelessBy Mark Hendrickson

�

A key component of the

success of this development

was the technical assistance

provided by the Florida

Housing Coalition under

the Predevelopment Loan

Program (PLP). Coalition

staff member Wight Greger

provided critical TA,

including helping the non-

profit make changes to their

budget based upon time

delays and unexpected

environmental issues.

�

�In 1995, there were over 850 chronic vacantand boarded properties in St. Petersburg,mostly concentrated in inner-city neighbor-

hoods. Vacant and boarded properties providedhousing to no one and created an environmentin which drug trafficking and prostitutionbrought down the neighborhood. There was asteady decline in the quality of life for theremaining residents as well as a 30 percentdecline in property values.

St. Petersburg’s city government initiated anumber of programs and capital investments toaddress vacant and boarded properties. Thecity focused on building and cultivating strongneighborhood partnerships, increased financialassistance for those wanting to buy and rehabil-itate homes, and stepped up its code enforce-ment of abandoned problem properties.

Through increased code enforcement, many of these prob-lem properties became candidates for demolition. In somecases, the absentee property owners abandoned homes

where code violations and expensive fines andliens piled up – again, eventually resulting inthese problem properties becoming demolished.The outcome of these actions was an excess ofvacant residential lots in St. Petersburg, whichwere overburdened by special assessments andcode enforcement board liens, under the custo-dianship of the county.

Special assessments are assessed for a variety ofmunicipal services including lot clearing, dem-olition, sanitary sewer, etc. In St. Petersburg,after a special assessment becomes delinquent,the interest rate of the unpaid balance continuesto accrue. Code Enforcement Board liens aregenerally penalties for failure to correct codeviolations. Generally, municipal liens surviveforeclosures and tax deed sales.

City involvement was essential to the elimination of prob-lematic properties. The private market would not bear theredevelopment costs required to return these overburdenedproperties to a usable condition and appeared to be unwill-

Waiving Liens to RevitalizeNeighborhoods and Increase

Homeownership

�

By Sophia Sorolis

SOPHIA SOROLIS is theSHIP Administrator/HousingCoordinator for the City ofSt. Petersburg. She serves onthe Board of Directors of theFlorida Housing Coalitionand is a Commissioner of theTampa Housing Authority.


ing to invest in neighborhoods that havepockets of such properties. To encouragethe redevelopment of vacant properties,eliminate the continuing drain on cityresources to maintain these vacant prop-erties (mowing, illegal dumping clean-up,policing, towing of abandoned vehicles,enforcement of loitering), and encouragenew development to fuel the city’s taxbase, the city’s Special AssessmentRedevelopment Program was enacted.

The city’s objective in instituting theSpecial Assessment RedevelopmentProgram was to reverse neighborhooddecline by taking properties that have ablighting impact on neighborhoods andtransform them into positive symbols ofrevitalization and renewal— further fos-tering neighborhood revitalization byincreasing home ownership.

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS.

Properties that are purchased from TaxDeed Sales or the Lands Available ForTaxes inventory are eligible for this pro-gram. A prospective purchaser locates aproperty that they want to develop as new,owner occupied housing. The purchaserapplies to the city to enter into a Special

Assessments Development Agreement.To structure an agreement, the city mustapprove the plans and specifications, andtime frame for the housing to be con-structed. The owner also provides a com-mitment for title insurance showing allliens on the property and city staff con-firms the search and indicates the liensthat are eligible for release when the proj-ect is completed. An agreement is signedbetween the city and the owner incorpo-rating all this information. The city essen-tially verifies that the specified liens willbe waived upon completion of the home asdetailed in the specifications, and its saleto the owner occupant.

In order to make this program work, thefirst mortgage lender must be confidentthat the developer will be able to developand deliver the completed house, and thedeveloper has to be able to complete andsell the new home.

HERE’S AN EXAMPLE OF THE LONG-TERM

FINANCIAL IMPACT TO THE CITY.

A property was purchased from LandsAvailable for Taxes for the price of$5,400. The property had 42 specialassessment liens totaling $19,000, which

The city’s objective in

instituting the Special

Assessment

Redevelopment Program

was to reverse neighbor-

hood decline by taking

properties that have a

blighting impact on

neighborhoods and trans-

forming them into positive

symbols of revitaliza-

tion and renewal — further

fostering neighborhood

revitalization by increas-

�

A new house under construc-tion on the site of an aban-

doned vacant lot.

was made up of cityexpense and delinquentinterest. The value of thelot was estimated to be$12,000. Prior to redevel-opment, the property taxwas $436. A new homewas constructed on theproperty that will beassessed for tax purposesfor $115,000 (assuming$25,000 homesteadexemption) and the proper-ty tax will be approximate-ly $2,800 per year. Thecity will therefore recoupthe amount of assessmentsit waived in a period of sixyears. Additionally, thisscene repeats all over St.Petersburg, fostering hous-ing and neighborhoodredevelopment that isextremely marketable toprospective homeownersand investors. In 1998, themedian home in St.Petersburg cost $73,000 and today it’s more than $115,000.Neighborhood redevelopment is an ongoing process, but todate, the city’s programs combined with the revitalization ofthe downtown core has led to dramatic increases in proper-

ty values and a decrease in thenumber of vacant and boardedproperties from 850 to 335.

HERE’S AN EXAMPLE OF THE

IMPACT FOR A FIRST TIME

HOMEBUYER.

The developer purchased avacant lot from Lands Availablefor Taxes for $2,300--the lothad $17,500 in special assess-ments and $12,342 in CodeEnforcement Board Liens for atotal of almost $30,000 in liens.The assessed value of the prop-erty at that time was $2,400.

After the property was developedwith a new single family home, itwas sold to a single parent withtwo children for $92,000.Because the family's income was65% of area median income, thecity was able to provide SHIPdown payment and closing costassistance of $10,000, for a total

payment of $740, turning a vacant lot with no prospects forredevelopment due to the liens into a home for a family.Working together, developers, lenders, the city, and homebuyers have made this program a success.

Definitions:SPECIAL ASSESSMENT LIENS: Charges which are publiclyassessed against property in a municipality, which confersa specific benefit upon the land burdened by the assess-ment. Special Assessments are usually structured andinterpreted to be equal in priority to real estate taxes.

CODE ENFORCEMENT LIENS are created by local ordinances,but controlled by state enabling law (Chapter 162, FloridaStatutes). Liens may be certified against all real and per-sonal property of the responsible owner. Section 162.12requires the city to notify property owners of the potentialfor Code Enforcement Board Action.

TAX DEED SALE is a public auction conducted by a munic-ipality Court where property is sold to the highest bidderin order to recover delinquent property taxes. Generally,when any lands are sold for the nonpayment of taxes, thetitle may not be a marketable title.

LANDS AVAILABLE FOR TAXES: Properties that have been list-ed for sale by local government that were not bid on at a taxdeed sale. These properties are under the custodianship ofthe local of the local government, but are available for pur-chase for the amount of property tax owed.

This new home now sits on whatwas the vacant lot, picturedabove.

�

�

Affordable Housing Built in a Factory

The latest published report of theAffordable Housing Study Commission isdedicated to the topic of manufactured

housing. Go to www.floridacommunitydevelop-ment.org/ahsc for copy of the 2003 AffordableHousing Study Commission Report. Its princi-pal charge was to determine what role, if any,manufactured housing should play in Florida’saffordable housing delivery system.

In its findings, the Commission concluded that improve-ments in construction materials, installation technology,uniform HUD standards, and increased energy efficiencyhave made the current generation of manufactured housinga much-improved housing choice, providing safe, adequate,and affordable housing.

Florida, principally through the Department of HighwaySafety and Motor Vehicles, ensures that manufactured hous-ing meets strict installation standards and provides con-sumer protection through state-enforced warranties. Floridahas also adopted provisions for manufactured housing to beclassified as real property when purchased as a land-homedeal. With all its advantages of easy purchasing and lowerprices, manufactured housing is the preferred housingchoice for many low income Floridians.

In recent years manufactured housing has dominated housingstarts in the non-metropolitan and rural areas of the state –and in some counties accounts for over 90% of the local hous-ing starts. The bottom line is that manufactured housing is aviable housing alternative to conventional site-built housing.

Challenges forManufactured Housing

LOSS OF STOCK

A handful of coastal counties and cities have alarge majority of the older and aging manufac-tured housing stock. Many are located in parksor communities. These older mobile homeparks are often located in areas that havebecome thriving real estate markets. As proper-

ty values increase, it becomes more likely that these parkswill close and transition to commercial or other uses,resulting in the displacement of residents and a potential-ly diminished affordable housing stock.

NEED FOR REPAIR

Manufactured housing has been around for awhile – firstas trailors, then as mobile homes, each built to lower stan-dards than modern manufactured housing. Consequently,some older manufactured housing units are in need ofrepair and/or remodeling to improve access for the dis-abled, yet there are few available resources for rehabilita-tion of these units.

INFERIOR INVESTMENT

One of the outstanding problems with manufacturedhousing is that, while there are exceptions, manufacturedhousing does not appreciate in value at the rate, nor tothe extent, of conventional site-built housing. Part ofthis can be traced to the fact that due to industry struc-ture, some manufactured housing is financed throughpersonal finance loans, as one would finance a car. This

By Marcus Hepburn

Gulf County uses SHIP monies to provide home owneship using factory built (modular) housing. All have a Department ofCommunity Affairs insignia/sticker.


can lead to higher interest rates for man-ufactured homebuyers.

However, an increasing number of manu-factured housing buyers have the opportu-nity to finance their purchases throughconventional lending institutions compa-rable to the purchase and financingoptions of those buying a site-built home.

LIMITED FINANCIAL RESOURCES

In Florida, save for regulatory oversightand enforcement, there is little or nodirect state involvement in facilitatingaccess to, and preserving, manufacturedhousing. No state-administered afford-able housing program currently provides resources formanufactured housing unit purchase assistance, rehabili-tation, or other housing unit activities that might other-wise be available to the owner of a standard site-built

dwelling unit. However, several state-administered programs have no statutoryor regulatory barriers for such use. SHIPmonies, although not allowed to be usedon homes that do not meet the FloridaBuilding Code, are permitted to be usedon modular homes, (see definitions) andcan be used for mobile home replace-ment programs.

Marcus Hepburn is the staff director for theAffordable Housing Study Commission. Heworks for the Department of CommunityAffairs and supervises the Small Cities CDBGTraining and Technical Assistance program,www.floridacommunitydevelopment.org/ahsc.

1 These HUD-code requirements for an integral chassis are being debatednationally. However, possible HUD-code revisions such as this were notconsidered as part of the Commission’s charge.

MOBILE HOME

This is the term used for manufacturedhomes produced prior to June 15, 1976,when the first HUD Code went into effect.Many people still use this term to denote adwelling that is built then towed to thebuilding site and set up. The term mobilehome is basically interchangeable withmanufactured housing.

MANUFACTURED HOUSING

Manufactured homes are built entirely ina factory and meet the FederalManufactured Home Construction andSafety Standards, commonly known as theHUD Code. The HUD Code is federalbuilding code adopted and administeredby the U.S. Department of Housing andUrban Development.

Authorized by Congress in 1974, the HUDCode first went into effect on June 15,1976. Since then, it has undergone revi-sions over the years. The principal revi-sions occurred in 1984 and in 1993. (SeeChapter Two for a discussion of the HUDcode and its revisions.) Housing units built

to the HUD Code must have an integralchassis and must be transported on theirown axles and wheels from the factory.

These federal standards regulate manu-factured housing design and construction,strength and durability, transport ability,fire resistance, energy efficiency andquality. The HUD Code also sets perform-ance standards for the heating, plumbing,air-conditioning, thermal and electricalsystems. The HUD Code is a preemptivecode that supersedes any state or localcodes, including the Florida BuildingCode. However, any on-site additions to amanufactured housing unit, such asgarages or decks and porches must bebuilt to local, state or regional buildingcodes. In Florida, those additions must bebuilt to the Florida Building Code.

If a housing unit has a Department ofHighway Safety and Motor Vehicles stick-er, it is a manufactured home.

MODULAR HOUSING

Modular housing, like manufacturedhousing, is built in a factory and istrucked, usually in sections, to the build-ing site. But that is where the similarityends. Modular housing is built to theFlorida Building Code. Modular housingdoes not have an integral chassis andaxles. Nonetheless, since they arrive onsite in sections on the back of trailer, theyare often confused with manufacturedhousing. If a building has a Departmentof Community Affairs sticker on it, it is amodular housing.

TRAILERS

The term trailer is a much older term thanmanufactured housing. It came into use wellbefore World War II and described portabledwellings that were towed behind cars ortrucks. Used by vacationing families or thoseon trips, the units were typically small andcramped, but did have some of the features ofa standard home. The principal feature ofthese early trailers is that they were designedto be moved from place to place.Construction went largely unregulated.

Some Definitions:

The elderly, young

adults, lower-income

persons and families,

and the disabled are

disproportionately

represented among

the residents of

manufactured

housing.

�

�

�Two lawyers, one from Tallahassee and one from NewSmyrna Beach, are circulating a petition to change theFlorida Constitution. It is commonly known as the

Hometown Democracy Amendment. Thechange, if approved by voters in a statewide elec-tion, would remove final land use decisions fromelected city and county officials, and require thepeople to vote on any changes to the local gov-ernment’s comprehensive land use plan. Thisproposed constitutional amendment is irrespon-sible and should be defeated for a number of rea-sons. One of those reasons is that requiring a ref-erendum on land use decision poses a real threatto the future of affordable housing.

Our Current Land Use System

In 1985, the Florida legislature passed a lawrequiring that every local government in Florida adopt a com-prehensive land use plan. These plans are quite lengthy, andmust contain certain “elements” addressing matters such astraffic circulation, affordable housing, conservation lands,sewer, solid waste, drainage, potable water, aquifer recharge,disaster preparedness, capital improvements and intergovern-mental coordination.

By the mid-1990s, each of Florida’s cities and counties hadadopted their comprehensive plans, and the law requires alllocal government decisions be consistent with those plans,unless they are amended pursuant to a specific process. Theexisting process requires review by the state and a vote of thecity or county’s governing body.

The current law also provides for extensive citizen partici-pation in any effort to amend the comprehensive plan.Notice in the newspaper must be given of proposed amend-

ments, and two local public hearings must beheld before any amendment is adopted. If a cit-izen speaks at a hearing, or provides writtencomments, the local government must send thatcitizen additional notice of the state’s proposedposition on the amendment.

The Land Use System ProposedUnder the Hometown DemocracyAmendment

The land use system we would have under the pro-posed constitutional amendment would rely uponvoters to decide whether changes to the local com-

prehensive plan could be made. Nearly every day there is anews story somewhere in Florida about neighborhood opposi-tion to a proposed affordable housing development. It shouldbe a safe bet to predict that anytime a comprehensive planamendment is needed to accommodate an affordable housingdevelopment it will be voted down.

The proposed amendment accelerates an unfortunate trendtoward governing by emotion rather than by deliberation. Theamendment feeds on citizen frustration over the impacts ofFlorida’s population growth, and demands a dramatic changein how we govern ourselves to address those impacts. Theconcerns may be legitimate, but the remedy will not solve theproblems and will create a host of new ones.

Proposed Constitutional Amendmentis Bad for Affordable Housing

By Steve Seibert

The Petition specifically states: “…before a local government may adopt a new comprehensive land use plan, or

amend a comprehensive land use plan, such proposed plan or plan amendment shall

be subject to vote of the electors of the local government by referendum…”

Steve Seibert

Citizens vote for elected officials to address matters of complexpublic policy. On land use matters, will the general public dowhat is asked of elected officials? Will the citizen spend thehours it takes to carefully review government staff and planningcommission recommendations and other expert testimony; willthey listen to all the public testimony and balance the variousprovisions of the plan as well as other constitutionally basedprotections such as due process and private property rights?

The question is not whether citizens are capable of performingthis extensive analysis on dozens, or even hundreds of land useamendments, or whether they are smart enough to do the job;of course they are. The better questions are “will they?” or“should they be expected to?” This proposed amendment willreplace the deliberations of an elected body representing theentire community with the opinion of a small group of voters,the majority of whom have probably not engaged in the analy-sis expected of elected officials.

We are all too familiar with what happens when a land usechange is needed to accommodate the development of afford-able housing - even when the land use change might be con-sidered an “up-zoning” as in the instance of the Pueblo Bonitodevelopment, the now infamous NIMBY battle in Lee Countywhich ensued from a request to change land zoned for mobilehomes to a zoning category for duplex homes. The neighbor-ing property owners launched a fierce campaign to stop theland use change. Their opposition efforts failed when theCounty, faced with a Fair Housing Rights and Bert HarrisProperty Rights lawsuit, conceded to the land use changewhich resulted in the successful development of PuebloBonito; a farm worker community which now happily co-existswith its neighbors.

But what if the Pueblo Bonito development required a changeto the Lee County comprehensive plan and we had a constitu-tional provision that would have required this land use changeto be put to a referendum? I think we all know the answer.The land use change would have been soundly defeated by thiswell financed and extensive neighborhood opposition cam-paign. The voters, unlike the elected officials, would not havebeen concerned with whether they were acting inconsistently

with the housing element of the comprehensive plan, orwhether they were violating the Fair Housing Act or theProperty Rights Act when they cast their vote. And it is the“not in my backyard” or “not anywhere in my town” voters whowould surely rally to the polls. It would be unlikely for theprospective residents of the affordable housing to even havethis land use change on their radar screen.

We Need to Address Legitimate ConcernsAbout Growth in Florida.

As long as we have a mild climate and no state income tax,we will not avoid population growth…but we can guide it,and manage it, and deal with its impacts better than we dotoday. We can continue to improve our growth managementlaws, we can better train our elected officials and give themthe tools to better understand the long term impacts of theirdecisions, and we can encourage citizen involvement andprovide more effective avenues for them to communicatewith the elected official. If there are better ideas for improv-ing citizens’ participation in the process, by all means let’shear them; but let us not destroy the fabric of our represen-tative form of government in the process.

Reliance on a referendum every time a community wishes toamend its comprehensive plan is a simplistic and expensiveresponse to difficult and complex problems. The processcould take years. The time delay alone could kill a proposedaffordable housing development.

Adding the step of a public referendum for each comprehen-sive plan amendment is not good policy, it is not good govern-ment, and it takes us back to a time before growth managementlaws were enacted. This proposed constitutional amendment isirresponsible and should be defeated.

Steve Seibert served as Secretary for the Florida Department ofCommunity Affairs from 1999 through 2003. Prior to that he was aPinellas County Commissioner, and served as Chairperson for the TampaBay Regional Planning Council. He also served for five years in thePinallas County Attorney’s Office. He is currently at the Seibert LawFirm, in Tallahassee, [email protected]

We are all too familiar with what happens when a land use change is needed to accommodate the

development of affordable housing

�

�

The World Health Organization recentlyreported that mental illness ranks firstamong illnesses that cause disability

in the United States.1 In any given year, about5% to 7% of adults experience a serious mentalillness, according to several nationally repre-sentative studies. A similar percentage ofchildren - about 5% to 9% - have a seriousemotional disturbance.2 Based upon censusestimates, these statistics mean that over1,000,000 Floridians could have a seriousmental illness. Given the lower employment rates amongindividuals with disabilities, providers of affordable hous-ing are likely to have a higher overall percentage of tenantswith serious mental illnesses.

The Fair Housing Act as amended (FHAA) provides protectionfrom discrimination for individuals with disabilities, includingmental illnesses. There is an important caveat to its generalrequirement that landlords provide tenants with necessary andreasonable accommodations for their disabilities. The Actexcludes from coverage individuals with disabilities “whosetenancy would constitute a direct threat to the health andsafety of other individuals or whose tenancy would result in

substantial physical damage to the property ofothers.” 42 U.S.C. § 3604(F)(9)3 What constitutesa “direct threat” has been litigated and the courtsconclusions are confusing and contradictory. Thebottom line is that such a determination made by alandlord requires a close "individualized" evalua-tion of the specific circumstances of that case andreasonable accommodations should still be consid-ered to reduce any risk posed by a tenant.

The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law hasan excellent web site www.bazelon.org that providesdetailed discussions of these topics and fact sheets to helpproperty owners and managers, as well as tenants, under-stand their rights and responsibilities under the FHAA.

It seems obvious to state that a person with a mental illnesshas the same rights as any other tenant. Yet, even wellmeaning landlords can run afoul of the Fair Housing Act byviolating an individual's privacy, insisting an individualtake their medications, requiring participation in treatment,or otherwise singling out that individual due to the dis-ability. Requiring a tenant with a disability to sign a “hold-harmless” or other release that is not required of other ten-

Housing for Persons with Mental Illnesses

By jack Humburg

The David MillerApartments in St.Petersburg, whichprovides 14 units ofaffordable housing forindividuals withmental illnesses, wasbuilt with funds fromHUD, the City of St.Petersburg and theFederal Home LoanBank of Atlanta.


ants violates the FHAA.Likewise, individuals withmental illnesses mustabide by the terms of thelease and house rules,unless reasonable accom-modations are requestedand granted.

While an individual'sbehavior may be differentdue to a disability, proper-ty managers and landlordsneed not assume the worst.Frequently support services

are in place for individuals with mental illnesses.“Supportive Housing” services are provided to a growingnumber of tenants throughout the state. These services areprovided to an individual in his or her home, on the job, andin the community to ensure that the tenant is able to choose,get and keep regular, integrated, safe and affordable housing.A property manager approached by a supportive housingprofessional about renting an apartment can feel confidentthat the tenant will have the needed support to successfullylive within their community.

Refusing to rent to an individual because he or she has asupportive housing coach is a violation of the FHAA. Individuals with mental illnesses have a long history of beingshunned and discriminated against in all aspects of theirlives. Being able to live independently, in a community ofone’s own choosing, should not be restricted due to a metalillness. Landlords who take the time to become educatedabout mental illness and are open to the reasonable accom-modation process can become a part of the solution.

JACK HUMBURG is the Director of Housing Development and ADAServices for Boley Centers for Behavioral Health Care. Boley Centersowns and manages over 350 units of affordable housing for individualswith mental illnesses and administers another 300 vouchers for individu-als with disabilities in the Pinellas County area.

1 World Health Organization (2001). The World Health Report 2001 -Mental Health: New Understanding, New Hope, Geneva: World HealthOrganization.2 United States Public Health Service Office of the Surgeon General (2001),Mental Health: Culture, Race, and Ethnicity: A supplement to MentalHealth: A report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, MD: Department ofHealth and Human Services, U.S. Public Health Service.3 Bazelon center for Mental Health Law. Fair Housing Information Sheet#8; Reasonable Accommodations for Tenant Posing a “Direct Threat” toOthers, www.bazelon.org.

18 units of affordable housing forindividuals with mental illnessesunder development in St. Petersburgby Boley Centers for BehavioralHealth Care.

Is proud to present a series of work-shops on: "Affordable Housing for

Individuals with Disabilities" (AHID).

These workshops are part of astatewide initiative to help expandcommunity-based housing choices forpeople with developmental disabili-ties. The workshops will provide theattendees with insights into how:

� Housing programs can be utilized to increase housingfor people with disabilities

� Fair housing laws apply to increasing accessibleaffordable housing

� To identify resources that can assist in producingaffordable housing for people with disabilities.

� Groups and individuals can be effective advocates

� To become a proactive part in thedevelopment of public and privatepartnerships

� To locate housing counseling,funding sources, local accessibilityresources

These one-day workshops are free andopen to the public and are useful toolsfor consumers, family members, sup-

port coordinators, and other housing related professionals.At this writing, we are carrying a waitlist status for theMarch and April AHID workshops; registration for theMay 12th workshop in Jacksonville is open.

For more information please contact:Michael Chaney at the Florida Housing Coalition(888) 677-0575 or Email: [email protected]

The Florida Housing Coalition, in partnership with theFlorida Developmental Disabilities Council . . .

THANK YOUOur annual conference would not be possible without our Partners for Better Housing at all levels.

We especially recognize our Platinum Sponsor: WASHINGTON MUTUAL, and our Gold Sponsors:AMSOUTH BANK, BANK OF AMERICA, CITIBANK, SUNTRUST, AND WACHOVIA BANK.

Courses will include: the basics of housing and the development process, advanced housing issues, theFHFC 2005 cycle, finding money for housing development, manufactured housing,underserved/emerging markets, credit issues for homebuyers, special needs housing, the self-help model

of homeownership, getting grants, wealth building for low income households, how to make tax exempt bondswork in today’s environment, creating measurable outcomes for nonprofits, PHA issues, HFA issues, housingdevelopment for service providers, energy issues, expiring tax credit properties and preservation, new market taxcredits… AND MORE

FLORIDA HOUSING COALITION’S 17TH ANNUAL STATEWIDEAFFORDABLE HOUSING CONFERENCE

September 20 - 22, 2004

Tampa Marriott Waterside Resort

“HOMEOWNERSHIP: IS IT FOR EVERYONE?”FEATURING

State of the State AddressesThaddeus Cohen: Secretary of the Department of Community Affairs

Orlando Cabrera: Executive Director of the Florida Housing Finance CorporationAND

PUBLIC POLICY PLENARY ”HOMEOWNERSHIP: IS IT FOR EVERYONE?”

A lively debate with a panel of national experts including a discussion of the proposed homeownership tax credit.

Keynote Address by Darren Walker,Director of the RockefellerFoundation's Working Communities

Division. Mr. Walker came to the RockefellerFoundation after gaining national recognitionfor his work as Executive Director of theAbyssinian Development Corporation, a CDCin Harlem, New York. Under Walker’s guid-ance, Abyssinian, a part of Harlem's oldestBaptist church, built or renovated more than1,000 apartments, condominiums, and brownstones,incorporating schools, technology centers, and play-grounds. In addition, Walker facilitated the construction

of Harlem’s first new public school in twodecades and a full service supermarket, thefirst major commercial investment inHarlem in 30 years. Walker now has theopportunity to duplicate and expand hiscommunity vision, project by project, allaround the globe. The RockefellerFoundation, with partners in philanthropyand banking, has provided more than $250million over the last decade to support the

work of community development corporations such asAbyssinian in 23 U.S. cities.

And of course, as always, we will have:

Success Stories, Bus Tours, the SHIP Breakfast Roundtable, Legislative Reception

and the fabulous Raffle!

Darren Walker

�While housing advocates bear witness to continuingbudget struggles at the state level, our nation con-tinues to put more and more respon-

sibility for addressing the housing needs of lowincome people back onto the states. Two itemson the Administration’s agenda for 2005 are areduction of Section 8 vouchers and the turnover of voucher administration to the States. Inaddition, HUD recently neglected to issueNOFAs for the Outreach and TechnicalAssistance Grants (OTAG) leaving $10 milliondollars for 2003 and an additional $10 millionfor 2004 unused. The implication is that statesare left to do more with less. The impact onFlorida may hinge on how well prepared we are to preservethe housing we have and how well we understand thechanging nature of our older housing stock. To planproperly, sometimes it’s useful to look at what’s NOThappening as well as what is happening.

1. Florida has no collective way to determine the loss ofaffordable rental housing units. These losses can comeabout from a variety of activities including:

� Conversion of the property from affordable to market rate(an owner sells, opts-out, or fails to renew use of subsidy

programs such as project based Section 8);� HUD’s disallowance of owner participation

in subsidy programs (HUD finds an owneror building to be out of compliance or inpoor physical condition);

� Expiration of affordability restrictions(Housing Credit expirations, Local HFAprogram expirations);

� Demolition of property (HOPE VI whereunits are not replaced one-to-one or tenantsare not eligible for new units);

� Reduction in Section 8 vouchers (HousingAuthority loses tenant based vouchers); and

� Conversion of property to different use (affordable apart-ment building converted to condos)

By not having centralized data with regard to the changingnature of affordable housing, policy makers, advocates, anddevelopers have no specific information that would lead tobetter decision making regarding the loss and future ofaffordable housing across the state or in a particular locality.

Next Steps for PreservationBy melanie green

Florida housing Coalition

�


Market studies may reflect an increase in production ofaffordable housing units but do they also reflect the loss?

2. Florida has no mechanism whereby owners must reportthe status of affordable rental housing receiving subsidy orstate financing except where compliance monitoring is ineffect through programs administered by the FloridaHousing Finance Corporation. Information that may be use-ful in policy making on a state and/or local level include:

� Notice of pending changes in subsidized property’s sta-tus including change of use, transfer or sale of property,expiring subsidy, or demolition;

� Notice given with enough advance to allow state andlocal organizations to act to preserve the housing whenpossible and feasible or advance policy that would pro-mote preservation among current owners.

Notice requirements are an essential foundation for statesand localities who wish to know the true impact of their pro-duction programs.

3. Florida has no stated policy regarding preservation ofexisting affordable rental housing as a growth managementtool and financially effective means of providing housing tothe state’s very low-income citizens

� Often, organizations working on a state-wide basis orlocal governments and advocates cannot attractnationally based funding and support for preservationdeals when the State has not declared preservationactivities a priority. This is not necessarily a job of theFlorida Housing Finance Corporation through its pro-grams, but is often taken up at the legislative level orthrough various commissions.

4. Florida has no regular and on-going state wide informa-tion depository on the use of Tenant Based Vouchers amonglocal and regional Housing Authorities or VoucherAdministrators and how the loss of vouchers would impactaffordable housing in that area. Information that would beuseful includes:

� Availability of vouchers in each jurisdiction (FloridaAssociation of Housing and Redevelopment Officials –FAHRO has access to this information presently)

� Waiting list numbers and expected wait time� Number of tenants unable to find suitable housing when

given a voucher� Voucher utilization rates

Of special note: The Shimberg Center recently conducted asnap-shot analysis of selected issues within the PublicHousing Authority arena. This study looks at voucher uti-lization rates, waiting lists, etc. FAHRO reports thatapproximately 80% of PHAs responded to the Shimberginquiry making this a useful tool for analysis. However,ongoing data, particularly in light of proposed reductions inSection 8 vouchers are not reflected. The Shimberg Centerstudy states, “This work would be facilitated by makingongoing data collection and dissemination efforts a priority.The Florida Housing Data Clearinghouse at the ShimbergCenter for Affordable Housing could provide a venue forsharing data that would make information on public housingauthorities and the programs they administer available tostate and local policy makers, public housing authorityadministrators, housing advocates and the public at largevia the World Wide Web.”

So what do we do next? A number of states have imple-mented rental housing preservation policy that ranges from

Melanie Greene providestraining to leaders of sev-eral resident associations

based in Jacksonville.

simple notice requirements to elaborate stabilization pro-grams that provide incentives or funding; to more straightforward approaches including first right of refusal for pur-chases. Production is “where it’s at” on the rental housingradar screen. We have good programs with solid (thoughrecently precarious) funding through the Sadowski Act anda tremendous track record for building affordable housing.What we lack is the second prong to a good affordable rentalhousing strategy and that’s preservation policy. Perhaps thebest way to start is to find out what is happening with thehousing we have.

Time and money would be well spent to further develop sys-tems to track all publicly subsidized, affordable, rentalhousing. The Shimberg Center offers a data base of subsi-dized housing including properties subsidized through pro-grams at FHFC, HUD, FDIC, and Rural Housing. The datais comprehensive and comes from a variety of sources, how-ever, in the case of HUD subsidized housing, Shimburg’sreliance on the HUD database presents problems. TheHUD database is often out of date or plainly wrong. A quicklook found properties that are no longer in the program, havebeen sold, or have changed their names and affordabilitystatus. While HUD requires notice of a change in status,they do not typically share that information in a timely andaccurate fashion. The Shimberg Center’s Florida HousingData Clearinghouse is a terrific start but, like our state poli-cies, it needs a mandate to go a step further and monitor thelosses as well as the gains. Getting this and other propertystatus information in a centralized fashion would require acentralized notice requirement for any owner of any subsi-dized property who wishes to change the status of the prop-erty as described earlier.

A simple and effective notice requirement would have anowner provide a single notice to four entities: an office of

the state or its designated data collector (ShimbergCenter), appropriate local government offices (not just themayor’s office), a state wide advocacy organization, and thetenants of the affected buildings. Once noticed, theseorganizations can update the housing stock data base andforward the notice on to interested parties such as policymakers, program administrators, and preservation buyers,and assist tenants in understanding what is happening totheir housing. To be effective, the notice would need to be12-18 months in advance of the anticipated changes.HUD already requires a one year notice for some transac-tions but is very limited in scope and not presently passedon to other organizations.

We cannot truly address affordable rental housing needs inFlorida by focusing only on the production of new rentalhousing. To do so is to be blind to the loss which may behappening in the same community and may affect a spec-trum of income earners not eligible for a particular newhousing development. Information is required if we are tobe effective and notice provisions are a critical step in gath-ering and assessing the information needed.

A statewide notice policy would be most effective, but legis-lators are not likely to respond without local requests to doso. Please take time to let your legislator know this is animportant issue to you and suggest that efforts to requirenotices be discussed in the next legislative season. In themeantime, local governments may wish to develop their ownnotice requirements as other cities across the country havedone. Sample statutes and ordinances from across the coun-try are available through the National Housing Law Project’sweb site at www.nhlp.org We encourage you to keep usapprised of your efforts and to call on us if you would likeassistance in pursuing a local preservation policy.

Rag Center in what city?

I have discovered that anapplicant recently gave $1500cash gifts to each of her three

adult children. Do I count the amountof these cash gifts as one of the appli-cant’s assets? Is this considered an“asset disposed of for less than fair mar-ket value”?

Yes, in this case you will countthe cash gifts provided tothese adult children as an

asset of this household. This issue isoutlined in the HUD Handbook4350.3, Chapter 5. Look in the sectionentitled 5-7 “Calculating Income fromAssets” and refer to subsection G. 6,which notes that “any asset that is dis-posed of for less than its full value iscounted, including cash gifts”. Youmust consider this section for any assetthat the applicant has deposed of dur-ing the past two year. There is even anexample that follows this section thatdescribes cash gifts provided to adultchildren. The Handbook indicates thatyou must count these cash gifts if theyamount to more than $1000 in value.

When compiling my annualreports, do I count the cost ofhomeownership counseling

toward fulfilling my homeownershipset-aside requirement?

No, homeownership counsel-ing should not be included asa homeownership activity,

according to a 1995 legal opinionissued by the Florida Housing Finance

Corporation’s legal counsel. The“homeownership set-aside”, as it iscommonly referred to, is a programrequirement outlined in section420.9075 (4)(a) of the SHIP statute. Itnotes “at least 65 percent of the fundsmade available in each county and eli-gible municipality from the local hous-ing distribution must be reserved forhome ownership for eligible persons.”When determining that homeownershipcounseling does not meet this set-asiderequirement, Florida Housing’s legalcounsel referenced 420.9075 (4)(k),which indicates that funds not used tomeet the homeownership set-aside (orthe construction/rehabilitation set-aside) must be used for certain housingproduction or finance activities, includ-ing “providing homeownership trainingto prospective homebuyers and ownersof homes assisted through the localhousing assistance program.” Thiswording seems to indicate that housingcounseling is not a homeownershipactivity within the meaning of subpara-graph (4)(a). Furthermore, the defini-tion of “home ownership” outlined inRule 9I-37.002(18) of the FloridaAdministrative Code lists many uses oflocal housing distribution moneys forthe purpose of providing owner-occu-pied housing. Homeownership coun-seling is not included in this list ofactivities.

The Florida HousingFinance Corporation recentlyannounced that the Florida

Administrative Code now requires each

SHIP jurisdiction to provide a“Regulatory Certification” when sub-mitting SHIP annual reports. The cityor county manager of each SHIP juris-diction must sign this certification formindicating that local policies arereviewed to determine their impact onthe cost of affordable residential hous-ing. This certification form must pro-vide an estimate of increased housingcosts that result from the policies thatwere adopted over the preceding year.Are there any standard processes or rec-ommended practices for properly esti-mating how a policy will increase thecost of housing? What procedureshould my jurisdiction adopt to provideFlorida Housing with the informationit needs?

There is not a standard proce-dure for reviewing policies,but a review of one communi-

ty’s process can illustrate how to imple-ment this requirement successfully.First, the policy review that youdescribe is not a new requirement of theSHIP program. It is established in sec-tion 420.9076 (4)(i) of the SHIP Statute,which states that each local affordablehousing advisory committee must cre-ate an incentive strategy for “(i) theestablishment of a process by which alocal government considers, beforeadoption, policies, procedures, ordi-nances, regulations, or plan provisionsthat increase the cost of housing.”

What is new, however, is the implemen-tation of that requirement through thesubmission of a signed certification

SHIPCLIPS

Frequently asked SHIP questions

Q

A:

By Michael Chaney

Q

A:

A:

Q

form that indicates the total housingcost increase which will result frompolicies that were adopted during thepast 12 months. This certification formmust be submitted for the first timewhen administrators turn in their SHIPannual reports in September, 2004. Tosubmit an accurate form, each commu-nity must have a procedure in place toidentify any local policy that impactshousing costs and realistically estimatehow much it will raise or lower the costof residential affordable housing.

Citrus County has established a proce-dure that illustrates one possibleapproach to this task. First, the direc-tors of the Planning Department, theBuilding Department, and theDepartment of Development Serviceswrite memos to the local affordablehousing advisory committee identifyingany ordinance, amendment, policy orprocedure (referred to hereafter as the“proposed policy”) that their depart-ments are involved with that have apotential impact on housing costs. The

directors provide as much informationon the subject as possible, includingtheir estimate of the actual cost impactof the ordinance, amendment, policy orprocedure. This memo is provided to athree member subcommittee of the localAffordable Housing AdvisoryCommittee, which decides whether theproposed policy has no or minor impactor a substantial impact on the cost ofhousing. This decision is written in amemo provided to all AffordableHousing Advisory Committee members.If the proposed policy is believed tohave a substantial impact on the cost ofhousing, a subcommittee meeting willbe called to afford every advisory com-mittee member the ability to voice his orher opinion on the matter. Those attend-ing this subcommittee meeting will thendecide how to proceed. On the onehand, a committee member may beselected to perform research on the pol-icy, work on proposing an alternativewith county staff assistance, attendPlanning Development Review Boardmeetings, etc. On the other hand, those

attending this subcommittee meetingmay agree on an estimate of the costimpact of the proposed policy and bringthis issue to a meeting of the fullHousing Advisory Committee. If the fullcommittee agrees on a formal positionstatement regarding the proposed policy,this position statement is communicatedto the Board of County Commissionersbefore they decide whether or not toadopt the proposed policy.

There are benefits and drawbacks tothis process. On the one hand, it isvery beneficial to let several individu-als review and voice their opinions onlocal policies. On the other hand, thisprocess takes time and must be imple-mented before the local governmentmay formally adopt a policy. Itbecomes one of many steps on the roadto developing the policy. In any case,your local SHIP jurisdiction mustestablish its own “ongoing review”process in order to provide FloridaHousing with an accurate certificationform next September.

Have you got a question about the SHIP program? Free telephonetechnical assistance is available to help you successfully implement

your SHIP funded work. Call the Florida Housing Coalition'sSHIP telephone line at 1 (800) 677-4548.

�

Michael Chaney

FLORIDA HOUSING COALITION INTRODUCES CORE CURRICULUM

CERTIFICATION

Designed to improve the skills of affordable housing providers in the state, the Florida Housing Coalition has devel-oped a core curriculum for housing professionals in Florida. Funded by the Florida Department of Community Affairs’Affordable Housing Catalyst Program, this curriculum consists of five required workshops and one elective workshop.The five required workshops will be offered twice a year throughout the state. Participants in the core program maychoose one of any of the remaining workshops on the schedule as an elective. Participants will have two years fromthe date of the first core workshop taken to complete the curriculum.

The core curriculum is designed for housing professionals with less than five years of Florida-based affordable hous-ing experience. It is for those who are interested in both increasing their knowledge of designing and implementingaffordable housing programs in the state and in furthering their career in the field of affordable housing.

COALITION NEWS

The Florida Housing Coalition, as well as the state ofFlorida and the nation, is losing an affordable

housing professional of rare talent and commitment.Melanie Green came to Florida in 1998 when theFlorida Housing Coalition brought her onto our techni-cal assistance team. Melanie is best known in Floridaand throughout the nation for her work on housingpreservation and tenant organizing. She stunned all ofus when she recently unveiled her courageous lifechanging plan. Melanie will be leaving the Coalitionstaff on June 1st. We’ve asked her to share her thoughts.

Every advocate for those who have unmet needs realizes thedesire to help is an inherent part of their being. While I can

never fully disengage from this very core of myself, I have decided topursue new opportunities as an entrepreneur. No, not as a housingconsultant! My business partner and I established Alaska SunProducts, LLC , a supplier of wild Alaska salmon and halibut to

seafood wholesalers and retailers across Florida. Thisbusiness allows me to spend time each year in Alaskawhere my family lives and also to maintain Florida as myhome through much of the year. Our company supportssmall fishing cooperatives made up mostly of AlaskaNative fishermen who pull wild salmon from small netsone at a time and land mature halibut from waters neartheir villages. The product is superior in quality and isbecoming more and more sought after as the consumerpublic is educated on its health benefits and flavor. Likeany business developers, we look forward to building this

venture in ways that will meet customer needs and also generatefunds that allow us to support the social interests we care so muchabout. It has been my great honor and privilege to work with theFlorida Housing Coalition staff and board and with those of you wholabor every day to assure affordable housing for those whose incomesand housing options are limited.

Michael ChaneyRue Luttrell

Melanie Greene

The Florida Housing Coaliton's Board Chair, Melvin Philpot,has been selected to receive Progress Energy's top honor,

“The Pinnacle Award.” This award rec-ognizes Progress Energy employees whodemonstrate superior performance, con-tinually strive for excellence, embracediversity in the workplace and produceresults that matter.

The Progress Energy Awards Banquetwill be held March 29 in Cary, N.C.President and Chief executive officerBob McGehee, will be the host of theevent. There are several “teams” that

will receive this honorarium and Melvin is one of twoindividuals who will receive this award of excellence."These employees have exemplified our company's com-mitment to excellence and their contributions set newstandards of achievement for everyone," said McGehee.

The Florida Housing Coalition would like to thankProgress Energy for sharing Melvin with us. We con-gratulate Melvin on being the recipient of such a presti-gious honor and want him to know that we too greatlyappreciate his commitment to excellence in his work forthe Florida Housing Coalition.

Michael Chaney, FHCTechnical Advisor, was promot-ed to Contract Manager for theDevelopmental Disabilitiescontract. For more informationregarding Affordable Housingfor Individuals with Disabilitiesplease contact: MichaelChaney at the Florida HousingCoalition (888) 677-0575 orEmail: [email protected]

MELVIN PHILPOT

RECEIVES

Melvin Philpot

Congratulations to Board Member, GUS DOMINGUEZ,President of Greater Miami Neighborhoods, on GMN’s successin getting a $2.5 million grant from the Knight Foundation to beused as a revolving capital fund for pre-development, acquisi-tion, construction financing, and gap financing for the develop-ment of 250 affordable homes for families in East Little Havana.The grant will also help fund GMN’s homebuyer education andfinancial literacy training in East Little Havana.

The Florida Housing Coalitionwelcomes our first Office Manager,Rue Luttrell. Rue comes to theCoalition with a diverse back-ground in advocacy for children,the environment, project manage-ment, communications, graphics,event production and more. Shestrongly believes in the Coalition’smission and will be a terrific assetto our organization.

PARTNERS FOR BETTER HOUSING MEMBERSHIPPartners for Better Housing Membership is for those who wish to support the work of the Florida Housing Coalition by mak-ing a tax deductible donation of $500 or more. Partners for Better Housing members receive subscriptions to Housing NewsNetwork, free job vacancy posting service on the Coalition’s web page and unlimited membership rates for registration at theconference. Partners at the Patron Level or higher receive one or more complimentary conference registrations (comp, indi-cated below). Partners also receive recognition at the conference, in all conference-related publications, the Coalition’s Webpage and in each quarterly issue of Housing News Network.

� $20,000 Platinum Sponsor (20 comps) � $2,500 Co-Sponsor (3 comps)� $10,000 Gold Sponsor (10 comps) � $1,000 Patron (1 comps)� $5,000 Sponsor (6 comps) � $500 Contributor

BASIC MEMBERSHIPBasic membership is for those who wish to subscribe to Housing News Network, post job vacancy announcements free ofcharge on the Coalition’s Web page and receive membership rate registrations at the annual conference. An individual mem-ber receives one subscription and one member rate registration. Organizational members receive up to five subscriptions andfive member rate registrations. All memberships are on a unified membership cycle and are due on August 1st, and expire onJuly 31st of each year. (Please indicate additional names, addresses and phone numbers on an attached sheet.) Each mem-bership is entitled to be represented by one voting member at the annual meeting as designated below.

Student � $25Individual � $75 (payment by personal check only)Nonprofit Organizations � $150Government Agencies � $200Private Organizations � $250

Authorized Representative (please print or type):_____________________________________________________________________________Title: ____________________________________Signature: ____________________________Organization___________________________________________________________________Mailing Address: _______________________________________________________________City: _____________________State:________Zip: _____________County:_________________Phone: (___)_______________Fax: (___)_______________Email:________________________

Make check payable to:

Florida Housing Coalition 1367 E. Lafayette St., Suite C, Tallahassee, FL 32301 • Phone: (850) 878-4219 Fax: (850) 942-6312The Florida Housing Coalition, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) organization. One hundred percent of your tax deductible contribution goes to theFlorida Housing Coalition, Inc. No portion is retained by a solicitor. Registration number SC09899 Federal ID#59-2235835

A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE1-800-435-7352 WITHIN THE STATE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.

MEMBERSHIP application

FIRST CLASSU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDTALLAHASSEE, FLPERMIT NO. 502

The Florida Housing Coalition thanks the following organizations and individuals fortheir commitment to improving housing conditions in the state of Florida.

PLATINUM SPONSORGOLD SPONSOR

SPONSOR

PARTNERS FOR BETTER HOUSING

Florida Housing Coalition1367 East Lafayette Street, Suite CTallahassee, FL 32301

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

PATRON

CONTRIBUTOR

CO-SPONSOR

AmeriNational Community Services Capital City Bank

The Carlisle Group Comerica

Community Enterprise Investments The Cornerstone Group

Florida Association of Realtors Florida Community Loan Fund

Florida Community PartnersFlorida Manufactured Homes Association

Jaimie Ross Key Bank

Keystone Challenge Fund, Inc. LCA Development, Inc.

Neighborhood Lending Partners Raymond James & Associates

Realvest Appraisal Services, Inc. Regency Development

Related Capital Company, IncRepublic Bank

U.S. Trust Company of Florida Wendover Housing Partners, Inc.

Broad and Cassel Davis Heritage

First National Bank & Trust of the Treasure Coast Homes in Partnership

Housing Trust Group Jenny and Denis NashKiss & Company, Inc.

National Development of America LLCPackard Consulting

Seltzer Management Group, Inc. Squire Sanders

Transatlantic BankVestcor Development Corp.

The Wilson Company

AIG SunAmericaAlliant Capital LLC

coalition for Affordable housing ProvidersDeutsche Bank Florida, N.A.

Enterprise Foundation

First National Bank of Florida Fleet Bank

The Gatehouse Group, Inc.Greater Miami Neighborhoods

The Hendrickson Company

MMA Financial Pinnacle Housing Group

Reznick Fedder & Silverman The Richman Group of Florida, Inc.

SouthTrust Bank

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