housing news volume 21, number 2

2005 LegislativeUpdate

3

The FloridaCommunity Land

Trust Institute8

Green Building11

Creating InclusiveCommunities in

Florida12

How PublicHousing AgenciesAre Coping With

DwindlingSubsidies

13

Housing Authoritiesand Advocates Must

Join Together toFight for HousingAssistance for the

Most Needy15

Success Stories16

Affordable HousingStudy Commission

ExaminesPreservation Issues

20

Preserving MobileHome Parks: Don’t

Forget “WhoBrought You To The

Dance”21

18th AnnualAffordable Housing

Conference23

SHIP Clips28

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

Volume 21, Number 2

SUMMER 2005

In This issue The CLT Model:A Tool for PermanentlyAffordable Housing and

Wealth Generation

The gap between wealth and povertyis growing in the U.S., becausepolicies to stabilize the lives of the

poor and people of color do not focus onlong-term solutions. Our economy isunstable, in an inflationary spiral thatcontinues to raise the cost of basic goods,including food, gasoline, medicine andhealth care. Most depressing is the lack ofaffordable housing for the poor, working andunemployed, and seniors with limited retirementincome. The severity of the shortage of affordablehousing has multiplied in recent years. BarbaraEhrenreich demonstrated the stark reality of thesituation facing low-income wage earners in herbook Nickel and Dimed in America. She found frompersonal experience that in today’s America, twoincomes are required in order to live “indoors,” letalone reside in safe, adequate housing. Insufficientaffordable housing is being developed to fulfill theneed, and most that is developed remains affordableonly during the terms of the initial financing, due torelatively short-term subsidies, after which time itreverts to market rates. As a result, over the longerterm, public affordable housing resources actuallyaid gentrification, eventually displacing the verypeople they were meant to assist.

the CLT model

Thirty-eight years ago, Bob Swann andRalph Borsodi developed the CommunityLand Trust model, arising from theirconcerns related to poverty and landtenure. The model, drawn from theIndian gramdan land reform movement,was conceived as a democratically-controlled institution that would hold

land for the common good of any community, whilemaking it available to individuals within thecommunity through long-term leases. Over theyears, the model has evolved and been appliedprimarily to the development of permanentlyaffordable housing within intentional communitiesand more broadly in urban, suburban and ruralcommunities across the country. Terms within theground lease balance community interests withthose of the individual, providing an opportunity forlower-income people to earn equity, while limitingappreciation to ensure affordability for future lower-income homebuyers.

According to the classic CLT model, the trust isa geographically defined, membership-based,nonprofit organization created to hold land for publicpurposes—usually for

by gus newport

Continued on page 9

BOARD OFdirectors

The Florida Housing Coalition would like to recognize BANK OF AMERICA, CITIBANK, WACHOVIA andWASHINGTON MUTUAL, for their partnership, leadership and support as our PLATINUM SPONSORS.

We are deeply appreciative.

executive committeeMelvin Philpot, CHAIRPERSONProgress Energy Florida,Lake MaryJeff Bagwell, VICE CHAIRKeystone Challenge Fund,LakelandJaimie Ross, PRESIDENT1000 Friends of Florida,TallahasseeGregg Schwartz, TREASURERTampa Bay C.D.C.,ClearwaterMary Sorge, SECRETARYBonita Springs Area Housing Development,Bonita SpringsMark Hendrickson, PAST CHAIRThe Hendrickson Company,TallahasseeAnnetta Jenkins, AT LARGELocal Initiatives Support Corporation,West Palm Beach

directorsBob AnsleyOrlando Neighborhood Improvement, Orlando Ed BusanskyFirst Housing Development Corporation of Florida,TampaGus DominguezGreater Miami Neighborhoods,Miami Holly DuquetteFlorida Power & Light,Juno BeachJames “Jim” DyalWendover Housing Partners, Inc.,TampaDenise FreedmanBank of America,Tampa

Cora FulmoreMortgage & Credit Center,Winter GardenSchonna GreenM.I.S.S. of the Treasure Coast,StuartDan HorvathCommunity Enterprise Investments, Inc.,PensacolaJack HumburgBoley Center for Behavioral Health Care, Inc.,St. PetersburgJeff KissKiss & Company,Winter ParkTei KucharskiFlorida Solar Energy Center,CocoaGrace MirandaCenter for Affordable Homeownership,Tampa Housing Authority,TampaTony RiggioWachovia, JacksonvilleGladys SchneiderHabitat for Humanity of Lee County,North Ft. MyersSophia SorolisHousing and Community Development City of St. Petersburg,St. Petersburg

financial servicescouncilJanice BooneAmSouth Bank,Pensacola Deana LewisSunTrust Bank,Pensacola

advisory councilCharles “Chuck” ElsesserFlorida Legal Services,Miami Helen Hough FeinbergRBC Dain Rauscher,St. Petersburg Ricardo “Rick” Soto-Lopez Housing and Community Development City of Winter Park,Winter Park Robert VonRealvest Appraisal Services,Maitland

STAFF

ADMINISTRATIONMichael DavisExecutive DirectorPam DavisAdministrative Assistant/Meeting PlannerTom FlaggFinancial ManagerRue LuttrellOffice Manager/Conference Coordinator

TECHNICAL ADVISORSMichael ChaneyTechnical AdvisorSteve CumboTechnical AdvisorHana EskraTechnical AdvisorStan FittermanSenior Technical AdvisorWight GregerSenior Technical AdvisorDayatra OrdunaTechnical Advisor

The Florida Housing Coalition is a nonprofit, statewide membership organization whose mission is to act as a catalyst to bring togetherhousing 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 professionals andothers interested in affordable housing issues. Address questions and comments to: Sue Early, Interim Editor, Florida Housing Coalition,Inc., 1367 E. Lafayette Street, Suite C, Tallahassee, FL 32301.

Phone: (850) 878-4219, Fax: (850) 942-6312, Email: [email protected], Web site: www.flhousing.org

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The legislature appropriated a record $443million for housing in FY05-06, with $250million of the spending for hurricane

housing, and another $193 million for ongoingaffordable housing programs. Without thecontinued existence of the Housing Trust Fundsand the dedication of doc stamp revenues to thosefunds, the monies would not have been availablefor these expenditures.

While the $443 million represents the largest annualappropriation in Florida’s history, the funding for existingprograms remained at $193 million. During the debate onHB 1889 (the cap on future distributions of doc stamprevenues to the Housing Trust Funds), several Senate andHouse members noted that there is no cap on housingexpenditures for FY06-07, and that the legislature mayappropriate amounts above $193 million for that or futurefiscal years.

HB 1889 capped future distributions to the Housing TrustFunds—but not until July 1, 2007. While an earlier versionplaced that cap at $193 million per year, beginning July 1,2006, with no annual increase—the final legislation enacted(Senate’s version) set the cap at $243 million beginning July1, 2007, with a very small annual increase related to docstamp collections. The final bill also included technical

language that would classify the $243 million as“recurring revenue”—the amount that is in thebase appropriation level each year.

what this means is that:

• $443 million is appropriated for FY05-06; • There is no cap on distributions to the Housing

Trust Funds nor on housing expenditures forFY06-07; and,

• The cap for distributions to the Housing Trust Fundsbeginning in FY07-08 is $243 million, $50 millionhigher than current appropriations for ongoing programs.

The success of housing funding and in achieving a betterthan proposed future cap was due in large part to theeffective and unprecedented alliance of industry, localgovernment, and advocacy groups—known in 2005 as theWorkforce Housing Coalition. The Florida Association ofRealtors, Florida Bankers Association, Florida Associationof Counties, Florida League of Cities, Florida LegalServices, 1000 Friends of Florida, Florida HousingCoalition, Florida Catholic Conference, Florida Impact,Florida Association of Local Housing Finance Authorities,AARP Florida, and the Coalition of Affordable HousingProviders all worked in concert to achieve our successes,and to mitigate our setbacks.

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2005 LEGISLATIVE UPDATEby mark hendrickson

RECORD $443 MILLION APPROPRIATED FORHOUSING FROM THE HOUSING TRUST FUNDS

HOUSING NEWS NETWORK

While current and future funding levels were at the centerof the housing debate in 2005, other legislation impactinghousing was also passed during the session. A summary offunding and other legislation:

hurricane housing funding—$250 million

The Hurricane Housing Work Group, ably chaired byLieutenant Governor Toni Jennings, provided the analysis ofhousing needs caused by the four hurricanes that hit Floridain 2004. The Work Group recommended $354.4 million inone-time hurricane housing recovery funds, with detailedprogram recommendations that included monies for localgovernments, rental housing, farmworker housing, specialneeds housing, tax credits, and training and technicalassistance. Governor Bush included the full $354.4 millionin his budget request to the legislature; however, thelegislature funded only $250 million of that request. As aresult, only two of the recommended programs were funded:

• $207.48 million to local governments for the HurricaneHousing Recovery Program, a SHIP-like block grant tocounties most impacted by the hurricanes. See Table 1 forprojected allocations for each of the 28 eligible counties.While extremely flexible, the program does have ageneral requirement that 65 percent of the funds go tohomeownership and has an extremely low incomecomponent (15 percent of funds).

• $42.0 million to Florida Housing Finance Corporation(“Florida Housing”) for the Rental Recovery LoanProgram, a gap financing program that would providerental housing with 50-year affordability restrictions incommunities impacted by the hurricanes.

• $520,000 (that was not part of the Work Grouprecommendations) was given to Florida Housing formonitoring.

No funding was appropriated for the Farmworker HousingRecovery Program (recommended at $20 million), theSpecial Housing Assistance and Development Program(recommended at $20.5 million), nor for Training andTechnical Assistance (recommended at $400,000).

housing program funding—$192.9 million

The legislature appropriated the same level of funding forSHIP, Florida Housing Programs (including SAIL, PLP,

HAP, and Catalyst Training and Technical Assistance),Homeless Programs, and other ongoing programs. See Table 2for details. “However, the Governor vetoed $500,000 for theLow Income Emergency Home Repair Program with theDepartment of Community Affairs. This program fundsemergency repairs for very low and low income homeowners,most often the elderly. The Governor vetoed a $2 millionappropriation for that program last year.”

cap on distributions of docstamps to housing trust

funds—$243 million with delayuntil FY07-08

The session began with a proposal by the governor’s office topermanently cap distributions of doc stamp revenues to theHousing Trust Funds at $193 million, with no annualincrease for population growth or cost, effective July 1,2006. The $193 million was described as the “historicalexpectation” for funding, when in fact the historicalexpectation is 20 cents of doc stamp revenues, whateverdollar amount that may be.

In fact, $193 million was the level of doc stamp transfers tothe Housing Trust Funds in FY00-01; since that time thecost of an existing home has increased by over 71 percentwhile incomes have risen less than 10 percent. The need forfunding has increased dramatically, as families that neededno assistance five years ago now need significant help to buythe same home they could have bought then with noassistance from state government, and working families whothen needed only small downpayment assistance, now needsubsidy in the tens of thousands of dollars.

The Workforce Housing Coalition was formed to educatelegislators on the need for housing funding at higher levels,and to advocate for a cap (if one was to be enacted) at a levelthat reflected current housing costs, and which had anannual increase for both population and housing cost. TheCoalition pushed for a cap at a level of $331 million—reflecting the 71 percent increase in the cost of the medianexisting home in Florida between 2000 and 2004.

The House passed HB 1889, with a permanent cap at $193million (no increases for population or cost), effective July 1,2006. Rep. Nancy Detert (R-Venice) offered an amendmentthat would have raised the cap to $331 million, with annualincreases for both population and housing cost; however, heramendment failed 71-43.

Continued on page 6

Bradford

Brevard

Charlotte

DeSoto

Dixie

Escambia

Glades

Hardee

Hendry

Highlands

Indian River

Lake

Lee

Levy

Marion

Martin

Okaloosa

Okeechobee

Orange

Osceola

Palm Beach

Polk

Putnam

Santa Rosa

Seminole

St. Lucie

Sumter

Volusia

TOTAL

Hurricane HousingRecovery Program

Projected Allocationby County

Supplemental Fundsfor Extremely Low

Income HouseholdsProjected Allocation

Supplemental Fundsfor Commuunity

CollaborationProjected Allocation

$378,475

$14,673,648

$14,339,973

$8,147,644

$451,839

$17,862,236

$382,944

$5,924,895

$487,199

$2,326,849

$10,922,421

$773,192

$2,502,896

$383,163

$1,045,924

$6,605,068

$1,004,135

$5,380,098

$4,393,483

$3,986,312

$6,401,838

$13,284,043

$789,079

$10,930,493

$1,649,821

$16,417,481

$434,729

$3,730,122

$155,610,000

$75,695

$2,934,728

$2,867,995

$1,629,529

$90,368

$3,572,447

$76,589

$1,184,979

$97,440

$465,370

$2,184,484

$154,638

$500,579

$76,632

$209,185

$1,321,014

$200,827

$1,076,020

$878,697

$797,262

$1,280,368

$2,656,809

$157,816

$2,186,099

$329,964

$3,283,496

$86,946

$746,024

$31,122,000

$50,463

$1,956,486

$1,911,996

$1,086,353

$60,245

$2,381,632

$51,059

$789,986

$64,960

$310,247

$1,456,323

$103,092

$333,719

$51,088

$139,457

$880,676

$133,885

$717,346

$585,798

$531,508

$853,578

$1,771,206

$105,211

$1,457,399

$219,976

$2,188,997

$57,964

$497,350

$20,748,000

COUNTIES ELIGIBLE FOR HURRICANE FUNDINGCOUNTIES ELIGIBLE FOR HURRICANE FUNDING

table 1

Total Projected Allocation: $207,480,000


FUNDING FROMSADOWSKI

*$130,886,000

*$55,906,623

$207,480,000

$42,000,000

$520,000

$ 251,725

$200,000

-0-

-0-

$900,000

$5,000,000

$442,892,623

CHANGE IN SADOWSKI$ FROM FY04-05

-0-

-0-

+$207,480,000

+$42,000,000

+$520,000

N.A.

-0-

-0-

N.A.

-0-

-0-

+$250,000,000

FY 2005-2006 BUDGET- SADOWSKI ACT FUNDINGPROGRAM

SHIP

SAILHAPPLPHOME Match Guarantee FundCatalyst Training Affordable HousingStudy Commission

Hurricane Housing RecoveryProgram (Grants to Local Governments)

Hurricane Rental Recovery LoanProgram

Hurricane Program Monitoring

Housing Data Clearinghouse

SHIP Monitoring

Program Administration

Low Income Emergency Home Repair

Homeless Emergency Shelter Grants

Homeless Housing AssistanceGrants

TOTAL FUNDING

*$130,886,000

*$55,906,623

[Neither the appropriation act northe budget backup has a breakout

among these programs]

$207,480,000

$42,000,000

$520,000

$251,725[50% from SHIP and 50% fromFlorida Housing’s above listed

appropriations]

$200,000

N.A.

**$500,000

$5,840,050

$5,000,000

$448,332,673($447,832,673 after veto)

ADMINISTERING AGENCY

Florida Housing

Florida Housing

Florida Housing

Florida Housing

Florida Housing

Florida Housing

Florida Housing

Florida Housing

DCA

Department of Children andFamily Services

Department of Children andFamily Services

TOTAL

The Community Contribution Tax Credit Program was increased to $12 million annually, up from $10 million. The program provides tax creditsto businesses that make donations to sponsors of various developments, with an emphasis on homeownership for low-and very low-ncomefamilies. The Front Porch Florida initiative received $3,180,332 of General Revenue appropriations of which $180,322 is for DCA administration.The balance of Front Porch monies is used to fund liaisons in each community, and a group of grants programs. Additionally, Florida Housingreceived directly from the federal government HOME funding of over $23.11 million and American Dream Downpayment funding of over$705,000, neither of which is part of the Appropriation Act.

*Less Clearinghouse funding **Vetoed by Governor

table 2

The Senate took up its own version of the cap bill, SB 1110.In one committee, members voted to strip the cap onhousing entirely. However, a cap on various trust funds waspart of Senate President Lee’s long-term budgetmanagement strategy, and a cap was going to be enacted—the only questions being how high, when, and with whatannual increase. Sen. Ken Pruitt (R-Port St. Lucie) offered

amendments that increased the cap from the House’s $193million to $243 million, delayed the implementation untilJuly 1, 2007, and included a modest annual increase relatedto increased doc stamp collections. Another part of theamendment by Sen. Pruitt is highly technical but veryimportant. The $243 million distributed to the HousingTrust Funds when the cap takes effect are treated as

“recurring” revenues—meaning that the entire amountwould be appropriated in a continuation budget. HB 1889was amended to include Sen. Pruitt’s improvements, passedthe Senate, and was returned to the House where theamended version was passed on the last day of the session.

THE REAL SCOOP ON THE CAP:As advocates, we would love to continue a system with no cap,and with the full 20 cents (over $400 million each year) of docstamps dedicated to the Housing Trust Funds appropriatedeach year. However, in the real world the choice was betweena $193 million cap (proposed by the Governor and passed bythe House), or the Senate/Senator Pruitt’s amendment: a $243million cap, delayed until 2007, with an annual increaseformula (that can be modified in the future), and importanttechnical language that would help translate a $243 millioncap into at least $243 million of appropriations ($50 millionmore than the appropriation for recurring programs over thelast two years and the coming year). A summary of where wehave gone in the past three years:

• In 2003, attempts were made by the Governor and Houseto eliminate the dedication of doc stamp revenues to theHousing Trust Funds, a move that would have guttedfunding forever. The legislation was defeated.

• In 2004, the Housing Trust Funds had to be reauthorizedby law, or they would have gone out of existence. TheHouse and Senate unanimously passed thereauthorization legislation, and the Governor signed thebills into law.

• In 2005, the Governor and House moved to cap futuredistributions of doc stamp revenues to the Housing TrustFunds at $193 million, with no mechanism for annualincreases. The final bill that passed delayed the cap fortwo years, set it at $243 million, and included amechanism for annual increases.

community contribution taxcredit—increased to $12million from $10 million

SB 202 increased the Community Contribution Tax Creditby $2 million, for a total of $12 million annually. The taxcredit is available to businesses and persons who makedonations to certain low-income housing and communitydevelopment projects. In addition to the increase in thecredit, the program was extended until 2015, and revises theprocess by which the credits are allocated (includingpreference for homeownership).

public housing authorities—granted more flexibility

SB 334 amended the statute that governs public housingauthorities to grant more flexibility to PHA’s to createfor-profit and not-for-profit subsidiaries, to enter intopublic-private partnerships, and to engage in mixed incomefinanced developments.

growth management bill—affordable housing given“small scale amendment”

status; housing advocate toserve on impact fee task force

SB 360, the major growth management bill of the 2005Session, impacts housing by granting the favorable “smallscale amendment” status to tax exempt bond and tax creditdevelopments, and by inclusion of an affordable housingadvocate on the newly created Florida Impact Fee ReviewTask Force.

• Local government comprehensive plan amendments aregenerally limited to two times per year, except for “smallscale amendments,” generally those of less than 10 acres.SB 360 clarifies that the limitation on density for smallscale amendments (which are generally limited to adensity of 10 units or less per acre or no more than thedensity allowed in the existing future land use category)does not apply to tax exempt bond and tax creditaffordable housing developments. In other words, anaffordable housing development can qualify for thebeneficial small scale amendment process even thoughthe density requested may exceed that which is generallypermitted for a small scale amendment.

• SB 360 creates the Florida Impact Fee Review Task Force,which will have 15 members to be appointed by August 1,2005, including two appointed by the Governor. One ofthose gubernatorial appointments will be “an affordablehousing advocate who shall have no current or past directrelationship to local government, school boards, or thedevelopment or homebuilding industries.” The Task Forceis charged with making a comprehensive report on thecurrent state of impact fees including “methods used bylocal governments to ameliorate the effect of impact feecosts on affordable housing.” The Task Force report is dueto the Governor, the Senate President, and Speaker of theHouse by February 1, 2006.

While Florida’s land valuescontinue to climb, and as

communities grapple with thecomplex issues of sustainableaffordability, local governmentsand their nonprofit partners areexamining alternative models foraddressing the long term needsof residents least served by theprevailing market. A communityland trust can benefit low-incomefamilies by providing access toaffordable housing in high cost,service-industry dependent areas,while keeping housing affordablefor future residents. Just asimportantly, the CLT model can beused to capture the value ofpublic investment for long-termcommunity benefit.

WHAT IS A COMMUNITY LANDTRUST?

A community land trust refers tothe vehicle of separating land frombuilding (house) for the purpose oftransferring title to the housewithout selling the land. It alsodenotes the nonprofit organizationthat holds title to the land andmanages the ground leases oncommunity land trust properties.

Homeownership becomes moreaffordable because the transfer of

title to the homeowner does notinclude a fee interest in the land;the sales price is based on thevalue of the improvements,without the value of the land. Theland is owned by a 501(c)(3)corporation which provides a99 year ground lease to thehomeowner.

The ground lease has a resaleprovision which ensures theproperty will be affordable inperpetuity. The home must besold to an income eligible buyer atan affordable price. The resaleprovision will typically provide areasonable return to thehomeowner but the appreciationmay be far less than standardmarket appreciation. The resaleprovision will also typicallyprovide a right of first refusal infavor of the CLT.

From the standpoint of the buyer,the CLT home provides home-ownership in a market where thealternative is to rent or moveaway. From the standpoint of thelocal government, society, fundersproviding subsidy, and affordablehousing advocates in general, theCLT provides a way of creatingpermanent housing stock with asingle subsidy.

THE FLORIDA COMMUNITYLAND TRUST INSTITUTE

PROVIDES ASSISTANCE WITH:

� Assessing whether acommunity land trust isappropriate for yourcommunity and, if so, whichmodel makes the most sensefor your community

� Understanding the terms of theground lease and options forresale provisions

� Start up for the nonprofitcommunity land trust

� Capacity building for thenonprofit community land trust

� Homebuyer counseling forcommunity land trustpurchasers

� Internal opperations andmarketing for the communityland trust

� Legal questions such as titleand real property tax issues

� All manner of real propertydevelopment and financingissues

The Florida Community Land Trust Institute

The Florida Community Land Trust Institute is a collaboration between two statewide 501(c) (3) organizations, 1000 Friendsof Florida and the Florida Housing Coalition. The Florida CLT Institute is headed by Jaimie Ross, Attorney at Law, andAffordable Housing Director at 1000 Friends of Florida, a statewide nonprofit growth management organization. The trainingand technical assistance team is comprised of the staff of the Florida Housing Coalition, headed by Senior TechnicalAssistance Providers, Wight Greger and Stan Fitterman. For more information, call the Florida Housing Coalition at 850/878-4219,or email [email protected].


the creation of permanently affordable housing. Like aconservation land trust, a CLT acquires land with the intentionof holding it in perpetuity. A central feature of the model is adual ownership structure whereby the CLT owns the land, butindividuals, public or private organizations own the buildingslocated on the land. Through long-term, renewable groundleases, each party’s ownership interest in the land is protected.The CLT retains the ability to repurchase any improvement onthe land through a resale formula written into the lease, limitingresale value to maintain affordability. The lease also enables theCLT to impose further restrictions which maintain housingquality and neighborhood stability—such as requiring thathomes be owner-occupied, preventing absentee landlordism.The ground lease is equally protective of the individualhomebuyer’s interests, providing long-term security, while at thesame time providing an opportunity to build equity and benefitfrom a portion (typically 25 percent) of the appreciation on thehome, should property values increase.

By removing the cost of the land from the home price andbringing further cost reductions through government-providedaffordable housing subsidies, the CLT brings homeownershipwithin the reach of lower-income families (CLTs generallyseek to serve families earning less than 80 percent of areamedian income). The interests of the individual homebuyerare balanced with the desire to maintain a permanent stock ofaffordable housing for future families in need. Thehomebuyer gains the opportunity to earn equity throughmonthly mortgage payments, rather than building the equityof an absentee landlord through rental payments. However,rather than gaining a one-time windfall should the home valueappreciate substantially, the seller forgoes this full capitalgain in order to retain affordability for the next CLThomebuyer. The CLT’s long-term interest in the land andproperty assures that this balance of interests is maintainedand community wealth is retained. The value of publicsubsidies used to develop the affordable housing arepermanently tied to the housing, thus recycling subsidydollars from owner to owner, assuring long-term affordabilityand community benefit.

The governance structure of the CLT is an important aspect ofthis stewardship. The classic CLT structure has a community-based membership open to all adult residents within itsdefined geographic region—often a neighborhood, city orcounty. The CLT is governed by an elected, tri-partite boardthat shares governance equally among leaseholders residingon CLT-owned land; nearby residents who do not live on CLT-owned land; and public officials, local funders, nonprofitprofessionals and others representing the public interest who

bring to the board essential skills and abilities needed foreffective nonprofit administration.

the dudley street experience

I first became aware of the Community Land Trust modelduring my tenure as the Director of Boston’s Dudley StreetNeighborhood Initiative (DSNI). This initiative grew out ofthe community’s concerns about a new Redevelopment Areaplan which was being brought forth supposedly to raise thequality of life for the residents, through improvements such ashousing, open space, recreation and cultural institutions.When this planning process became public, the communitycame out in large numbers to voice its opinion as to what theplanning process ought to be, and why a method had to beimposed that would assure the community’s input in allpertinent planning decisions and protect current residents’ability to enjoy the improvements into the future.

The majority of residents in the Dudley area were low-income,and many of them remembered previous redevelopmentprocesses in the West End and South End of Boston, whichhad resulted in their displacement due to gentrification. Theplans’ promise of improvements to these neighborhoods wasnot realized by these residents, who were gentrified out due torising housing costs and limited affordable rental housing.The Dudley area residents did not want to see this resultrepeated yet again, insisting on a process whereby they couldparticipate in designing the community plan andimprovements. At the heart of their concerns was the desireto promote homeownership opportunities for the lower-incomeresidents of the neighborhood.

Through a series of policy firsts, DSNI became the firstcommunity nonprofit organization in the country to be awardedeminent domain powers over vacant land in a 1.3 square milearea of the city of Boston. Through a seldom-used statute onthe books in Massachusetts known as “special study status,”the community plan became the zoning plan for the area.Having received eminent domain rights over 30 acres of land,DSNI sought a mechanism to assure permanent affordabilityand discovered the Community Land Trust model. We invitedthe Institute for Community Economics, the nationalintermediary for CLTs, to assist us with the process.

What we learned was that the CLT did much more thanprovide a mechanism to hold the land. It provided a means tostabilize lives and the community through homeownership.As is the case for the majority of the nation’s lower-incomeinner-city residents, the families of the Dudley Streetneighborhood had little or no control over their own housing—

The CLT Model: Continued from page 1


the most fundamental aspect of household security. With noopportunity to own their own homes, they were forced to livein substandard absentee-owned rental housing, subject todisplacement when and if rents increased beyond theirmeans. In addition to the stability of homeownership, Dudleyarea residents sought to take control of the neighborhoodoutside their windows—to deal with abandoned property, tostop illegal dumping, to stop providing havens for drugdealers and other criminal activity.

Dudley Street has become a renowned example of the powerof truly participatory community-building for the long term,which addresses the fundamental policies and practices thathave caused poverty and decline in cities across the country.Through the community-controlled land trust, the residentswere able to create a vibrant multicultural community,developing hundreds of affordable homes and providing anopportunity for residents to personally benefit from thecommunity revitalization they themselves planned. The landtrust, with its ground lease and resale formula, has beenproven to empower people by providing an opportunity forhomeownership and equity generation that is normally out ofreach for lower-income, largely minority residents.

the racial wealth gap

In his highly acclaimed book, The Hidden Cost of BeingAfrican American: How Wealth Perpetuates Inequality,Brandeis University sociologist Thomas Shapiro presents anextensive analysis of the wealth gap from a perspective of raceand discrimination in America. His central argument is thatfamily wealth/inherited assets are the key source of the wealthgap, as the black-white earnings gap due to incomediscrimination has narrowed considerably since the 1960s.As the primary asset for most families, housing is themost salient source of the wealth gap. Lacking the“transformative” asset of family wealth, African Americanfamilies must rely on their income and personal savings toqualify for a home mortgage. In contrast to white families witha similar income level, who often benefit from their parents’wealth through inheritance or other financial assistance whenthe time comes to buy their first homes, African Americanfamilies do not have access to this “leg up.” They pay higherinterest rates and incur additional costs for mortgageinsurance, and as a result build less equity over time. Witheach successive generation this gap increases.

As schools and social services are tied to residence location,the wealth gap is effectively leading to ever greater racialsegregation. The current way we fund and provide access to

services produces, in Shapiro’s words, a “privatized notion ofcitizenship in which communities, families and individualstry to capture or purchase resources and services for theirown benefit rather than invest in an infrastructure that wouldhelp everyone.”

By creating shared stewardship of land and a mechanism forthe wealth generated through housing appreciation to beshared from one lower-income family to another, the CLToffers an antidote for these interrelated problems. The landtrust can, in effect, substitute for inherited wealth, and thushas the potential to address the racial wealth gap in thiscountry. Examples like Dudley Street demonstrate the abilityof the CLT to change the dynamics, to provide opportunity forall residents, to prevent displacement, gentrification and theassociated racial segregation.

Faced with an administration that seems focused, more thanany in recent memory, on increasing the wealth of the top fewat the expense of the many, we have little choice but to findour own solutions and implement them. In my new role asExecutive Director of the Institute for Community Economics,I hope to raise awareness about the potential for communityland trusts to level the playing field, creating opportunities forpeople of color. Dudley Street is the quintessential meltingpot, a laboratory where the CLT model has been tested andproven to provide opportunity across race lines.

I am particularly pleased to deliver the keynote address at theFlorida Housing Coalition’s 2005 statewide annual conferencein light of our partnership with the newly launched FloridaCommunity Land Trust Institute. The efficacy of the modeldeveloped by ICE for CLTs depends upon the capacity ofcommunity based organizations and the support of localgovernments. I believe that when the CLT model is coupledwith the professional training, technical assistance, andrelationship building provided by the Florida HousingCoalition and its partners, the result will be CLTs successfullyproducing and preserving affordable housing throughout thestate of Florida.

Gus Newport, [email protected], is the newly appointed ExecutiveDirector of the Institute for Community Economics in Springfield,Mass. He is a former two-term (1979-86) Mayor of Berkeley, CA andDirector of Boston’s Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative. He hasserved on the faculty of University of California-Santa Cruz,University Mass.-Boston, Yale and Portland St. University.

�

by eric martin and tei kucharski

The latest collaboration in building to promoteconservation has been the coupling of “green”building with energy efficient building.

Housing developments in Florida are promotingsustainable communities with conservation as thelong-term goal–conservation of resources, as well asenergy. The benefits of sustainable building have farreaching implications.

Helping our clients keep money in their pockets isone of the end results when we promote energyefficiency and sustainable building. To do thisbuilders and developers alike need to pre-planhousing with conservation in mind. We know, thestatements are cliché and often mistakenly connectedwith additional costs. However, upon examination ofthe words and coupling with sound businessdecisions, the statements can be put into action.

florida green building coalition

The Florida Green Building Coalition (FGBC) was founded inthe year 2000 by a group of 10, including eight from the stateuniversity system, an architect and a green legal advocate.Since 2000 the Coalition has come a very long way. It has notonly developed a green standard for homes, but has alsodeveloped green standards for commercial buildings, localgovernments and land developments. As a result of the work ofthe Coalition, interest, as well as membership has increased.Membership boasts 103 business members, 77 individuals,

eight nonprofit agencies, seven government agenciesand four students. FGBC‘s mission is to “provide astatewide green building program with environmentaland economic benefits”. To date the Coalition hascertified over 150 homes built by over 30 differentbuilders, and four land developments. Many moreapplications for certification are expected during thesummer of 2005.

Green building has been gaining popularity across thecountry as well as in Florida. There are several housingdevelopments around the State of Florida that are“going green,” such as Lakewood Ranch in Bradenton,Venetian in Venice, Verandah in Fort Myers, AlysBeach and East Bay in the Panhandle. The prices ofthese homes vary from approximately $200,000 to the6 million dollar range. Surprisingly enough, alleconomic incomes are interested in sustainable homesand are willing to pay a slight bit more.

enterprise green communitiesTM

initiative

One of the most interesting collaborations in the affordablehousing sector is the partnering of the Florida Green BuildingCoalition, the Florida Community Loan Fund and the EnterpriseFoundation to implement the Enterprise Green CommunitiesTM

Initiative in Florida. This national initiative, created by theEnterprise Foundation/Enterprise Social InvestmentCorporation in partnership with the Continued on page 30

GREEN BUILDING

� (left) The green home standard of the Florida GreenBuilding Coalition provides a framework that guidesthe construction of Alys Beach homes in terms of suchissues as durability and energy-efficiency. (below)Casa Verde, located in the WCI Community ofVenetian Golf and River Club in Venice Fla., is thehouse with the highest green score in the state.

The Not In My Backyard Syndrome (NIMBYism)presents a particularly pernicious obstacle toproducing affordable housing. Local elected officials

are regularly barraged by the outcry of constituents’ concernsover siting and permitting affordable housing. Consequencesof NIMBYism include lengthy, hostile and unpleasant publicproceedings, frustration of local comprehensive planimplementation, increased costs of development, propertyrights disputes, and inability to meet local housing needs.Local government elected officials are the linchpin in theNIMBY battle; it is essential that you get the information youneed to avoid and overcome the negative impacts ofNIMBYism.

The book also includes a comprehensive compilation of financialresources/subsidies for affordable housing in Florida with contactinformation and a bibliography of property value studies provided bythe National Low Income Housing Coalition.

The Florida Housing Coalition, in conjunction with its primarysubcontractor, 1000 Friends of Florida, has produced thisguidebook pursuant to the Catalyst Program for Training andTechnical Assistance, administered by the Florida HousingFinance Corporation and funded under the William E. SadowskiAffordable Housing Act.

CREATING INCLUSIVECOMMUNITIES INFLORIDA

2005 REVISED AND REPRINTED EDITION

a guidebook for localelected officials andstaff on avoiding andovercoming the Not InMy Backyard Syndrome

CHAPTER ONE What is Affordable Housing?

CHAPTER TWO Who Lives in AffordableHousing?

CHAPTER THREE Why Include AffordableHousing in YourCommunity?

CHAPTER FOUR How is Affordable HousingDeveloped?

CHAPTER FIVE How Should Neighbors beIncluded in the Process?

CHAPTER SIX What Role does DesignPlay?

CHAPTER SEVEN What is the ConnectionBetween Affordable Housingand Fair Housing?

CHAPTER EIGHT How can Local GovernmentAvoid Legal Liability fromNIMBYism?

ABOUT THIS BOOK: A Message to Local Elected Officials and Their Staff

This book is free to local governments. Contact Sheila Freaney at the Florida Housing Finance Corporation(850) 488-4197; or [email protected] to obtain a copy.

This 100-page book is filled with color photos ofaffordable housing in Florida and covers thefollowing topics:

�The story of underfunded housing agenciesis nothing new. There have never beensufficient resources to respond to the needs

of families in this country who lack decent, safe,and sanitary housing. Yet now we find ourselvesslipping further and further into the abyss as theU.S. Department of Housing and UrbanDevelopment and Congress fail to adequately fundsubsidies for families being served.

Housing agencies expect to be asked to do morewith less, but now they are busy trying to do something withnothing. Despite these ongoing challenges, Florida’s housingagencies continue to find innovative ways to serve as manyfamilies as possible, but that comes at a price. The mostnotable effort on this front has been their pursuit of changesto Chapter 421, Florida Statutes, recently passed by theLegislature and signed into law by the Governor. These

changes would allow PHAs to be moreentrepreneurial by forming for-profit and not-for-profit subsidiaries to develop new and self-sustaining affordable housing throughpublic/private partnerships. Housing agenciesgradually have come to realize there is no futurein relying on federal subsidies. We will have topursue mixed-income communities that are ableto support themselves by servicing moderate-,low-, and extremely low-income families.

With regard to administrative expenses, PHAs long agoextracted the last of the fat, have since severed the meat,and are now into the bone. A study by the ShimbergCenter for Affordable Housing conducted in 2004 notedthat housing agency administrative expenses amounted toless than 11 percent of their revenue, better than mostprivate companies. However, we have seen only further

Liberty Square Public HousingProject, Miami.

by Corey G. Mathews, CAE

How Public Housing Agencies Are Coping With

Dwindling Subsidies

�

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esy

of M

iam

i Wor

kers

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strain put on administrative resources since then. Manyagencies were able to live off their reserves for a while,but now are laying off much needed staff, reducingemployee benefits, converting staff to part-time, re-bidding contracts regularly, and divesting equipment thatis needed but costly to maintain.

When all other options for reducing expensesare exhausted, housing agencies have no choiceexcept to turn to the programs they administer.There are essentially two choices: 1) divide theburden of insufficient subsidies across allresidents; or 2) eliminate families from theprogram. The latter option is a last resort but,without serious changes, it is inevitable. In theinterim, virtually every imaginable practice toimplement the first option has already beenpressed into service.

Some PHAs are freezing rents on housingchoice vouchers. This practice preventslandlords from receiving increases at a timewhen the program is uncertain and market rentsare soaring. The inevitable result is they willretreat from the program, as some already have.

Another option is reducing voucher payment standards,which means agencies will only pay a lower percentage of thearea’s fair market rent. On the other side of the equation,agencies sometimes have to establish or increase minimumrents, regardless of income. Many families find this preventsthem from being able to use the voucher or having to settlefor housing that meets only minimum standards.

Recent rule changes have allowed housing agencies to bemore restrictive with portability (the ability to transfervouchers from one community to another). In many cases,PHAs are refusing to accept “incoming ports” because they

do not have the resources to make the housing assistancepayments while they wait on reimbursement from the issuingagency and they cannot afford to absorb the voucher. Theyalso are forced to deny families the ability to “port out” to anyarea with a higher payment standard, unless the receiving

agency is willing to absorb the voucher, becausethey cannot afford to pay the higher rent.

Finally, many PHAs are not reissuing voucherswhen they are vacated because they cannotafford to fund them. Until recently, HUDaggressively encouraged housing agencies touse all available vouchers. Now, realizing thecosts involved in full utilization, the departmenthas changed direction in favor of allocating acertain budget to PHAs that will shoulder theburden of determining how many families getserved. However, utilization rates and otherstandards are still part of the auditing standardsapplied to the agencies, resulting in decreasingscores through no fault of their own.

When I was asked to write this article, I thinkthe hope was I would be able to shed light onnew and innovative techniques employed by our

members to manage the financial pressures from dwindlingsubsidies. Unfortunately, we are well beyond the days whendeft management and a shrewd new idea could make up thedifference. Our state’s and our nation’s housing agencies arenow in dire straits, less and less able to accomplish theirmissions and, unless something drastically changes, theysoon will be forced to serve only those families they cansubsidize through their own means.

Corey G. Mathews, CAE, is the Executive Director of the FloridaAssociation of Housing and Redevelopment Officials, a statewidenonprofit trade association serving Florida’s 120 public housingagencies.

Unfortunately, we

are well beyond

the days when deft

management and

a shrewd new idea

could make up

the difference.

�

PHA Roundtable

Take advantage of a great opportunity to confer and network with your fellow public housingauthority conference attendees on a wide range of challenging issues facing public housing

authorities today. Make the most of this open roundtable discussion to share ideas, build consensusand collectively devise solutions that can benefit your authority and the residents you serve.Discussion topics include an array of pressing issues that the FHC has been reporting on such asproposed funding cuts for vital housing programs and more.

September 14, 2005

�Corey Mathews’ article aptly describes thesevere funding dilemma facing PublicHousing Authorities. At no time in their

history have Public Housing Authorities faced afiscal squeeze like they are now facing. The HousingAuthorities built their public housing projects andoffered their rental vouchers with an implicit promisethat there would be funds available to maintain them.That promise is now being broken.

Mr. Mathews is also on point when he says that there is no goodanswer absent increased federal funding. Housing Authoritieshave exploited every efficiency and are now forced to alter theirSection 8 voucher programs merely to stay afloat. All of theprogram changes mentioned by Mr. Mathews severely impactthe ultimate beneficiaries of the Section 8 program andultimately change the nature of the program itself. Freezingrents and lowering payment standards both dramatically reducethe rental stock available to voucher users. Voucher users findit much more difficult to locate a landlord that will accept thevoucher and an apartment that is within the payment standard.When the voucher users are able to locate an apartment, it willincreasingly be in the poorest and most segregatedneighborhoods. Limiting portability will similarly preventvoucher users from moving to a neighborhood with decentschools and better job opportunities. It is incongruous thatthese federal budget decisions are forcing these changes onsuch a successful, bipartisan program, initiated by PresidentNixon with the specific intent of providing increasing housingchoice to poor tenants and breaking their cycle of poverty.

In order to maintain the integrity of the program and its focuson extremely low income tenants, many Housing Authoritiesfaced with these tough choices are sacrificing vouchers ratherthan further impacting the tenants. Miami-Dade CountyHousing Agency, one of the largest in the state, is anticipatingnot reissuing approximately 450 vouchers this year--almost 5percent of its voucher stock. Jacksonville Housing Authority

is anticipating the retirement of a similar number--almost 10 percent of its stock. In order toaccomplish this, they are not issuing new voucherswhen a voucher turns over. Broward CountyHousing Authorities are doing likewise.

While not discussed by Mr. Mathews, HUD’sattempts to change the substantive requirements ofthe Section 8 program confirm that these budgetpolicies are simply attempts to accomplish by

budgetary means what HUD has been unable, so far, to dolegislatively. S. 771 and H.R. 1999, legislation written byHUD and recently introduced in both Houses of Congress,propose to eliminate the elements of the Section 8 program thatare so central to the Housing Authorities’ mission. S. 771 andH.R. 1999 would eliminate the targeting of the Section 8vouchers to extremely low-income households, would decouplethe calculation of rents from the tenant’s income and wouldotherwise encourage the Housing Authorities’ abandonment oftheir mission of serving the extremely low income. Thisfederal message is not lost on local Housing Authorities. It isa tribute to the Housing Authorities’ dedication to serving themost needy that they continue to struggle despite this messageof continually decreasing resources and support.

Public Housing Authorities stand virtually alone amonghousing agencies in their central mission of serving thehousing needs of the extremely low-income elderly, disabledand poor families. Many are struggling mightily to maintainthat mission despite the lack of support from the federalgovernment. It is important that all housing advocates joinwith these Housing Authorities in publicizing their dilemmaand in fighting for sufficient resources so that they maycontinue to be focused on that mission.

Charles Elsesser is an attorney with Florida Legal Services,specializing in affordable housing litigation and policy advocacy.Chuck serves on the board of the National Low-Income Housing Coalitionand the Advisory Council for the Florida Housing Coalition.

by Charles Elsesser

Housing Authorities and AdvocatesMust Join Together to Fight for Housing

Assistance for the Most Needy

�

On the opening day of the Florida Housing Coalition’s statewide annual conference each year, wehighlight no more than three affordable housing success stories and initiatives from around thestate. The following pages will give you a glimpse into two of the exemplary stories that will bemore fully shared on September 12, 2005. The Art in Architecture initiative was featured in the

Fall 2004 issue of the Housing News Network.

SUCCESS STORIES

�

SUCCESS STORIES

�

SUCCESS STORIES2005 conference

When Roberto Datorre first saw the Villa Mariaapartments in January of 2004 he knew it was thekind of affordable project that would be perfect to

preserve. The 1924 building is a classic three-storyMediterranean structure with 34 one-bedroom and studiounits located at 2800 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach. Thisbeautiful historic property sits one block from the ocean inan urban setting among upscale condominiums. What thepresident of the Miami Beach Community DevelopmentCorporation (MBCDC) did not know was the battle he wasabout to encounter to acquire the site.

During the next 12 months Datorre and his band ofpreservationists used every means possible to keep VillaMaria from being demolished by the initial buyer of theproperty who planned to construct a six-story luxurycondominium complex. Along the way he gained politicalsupport from the Miami Beach City Commission, itsHistoric Preservation Board and Housing AuthorityCommission, as well as the Miami-Dade County UnsafeStructures Board to keep the wrecking ball off thebuilding and set up the MBCDC to eventually purchasethe property.

Preserving Affordable Housing: The Success Story of Villa Maria

�

the sponsor

Founded in 1981 by the Miami DesignPreservation League, MBCDC encouraged theeconomic revitalization of the Art Deco District,the reinvestment of private capital with publicfunding and the resulting transformation ofSouth Beach into a world-class touristdestination. The nonprofit organization worksthroughout Miami Beach to help rehabilitateaffordable housing while working to preservethe extraordinary architecture found in many ofthe now distressed neighborhoods. MBCDC’ssuccess with other apartment projects inbalancing historic preservation with themaintenance of affordable elderly housingprovided the impetus to tackle Villa Maria.

market forces vs. low-incomeelderly housing

As Datorre universally states: “Rising property values make itdifficult to maintain affordable housing” but in South Florida,and particularly Miami Beach, it is painfully acute. Themarket area of Miami Beach, a 10-mile long barrier island,holds a population of 87,933, of which over 28 percent is 55years or older. Households that are 65 and older total inexcess of 6,800 in the Miami Beach market area. Theunprecedented revival of the South Beach submarket in thelate 1980s has affected land values throughout Miami Beach.As real estate prices have dramatically risen for existingproperties in the past decade, many commercial andresidential buildings have either been rehabilitated or razedto make way for more expensive developments, especiallycondominiums. This market trend has swept north into theVilla Maria neighborhood in recent years and continues toreduce the number of low-income elderly units.

Unlike many properties for the elderly, Villa Maria iscurrently under a project-based Section 8 contract with theHousing and Urban Development (HUD) and the MiamiBeach Housing Authority that is not scheduled to expireuntil 2012. Without the rent subsidies provided by theSection 8 program, the elderly tenants who occupy 100percent of the units could not afford the increased housingcosts. As many of these tenants have been living in VillaMaria for over 20 years, their ability to find alternativehousing is nearly impossible. “When you live 23 years inthe same place, you have an affection for it,” said 102-year-old Maria Rodriquez, who has resided at the complexsince 1982.

condemnation battle

About the time that MBCDC became interestedin Villa Maria, the seller was reviewing anengineering report obtained by the initialpurchaser stating that there was substantialdeterioration in the building and that it shouldbe condemned. Although this report citedsome structural weakness that could berepaired by the owner, it was evidently clearthat the expedient solution for both parties wasdemolition. If it was accepted by the city andcounty boards, Villa Maria would bedemolished to make way for a six-story luxurycondominium development. Without the fundsor access to purchase the property, Datorreturned to the Florida Housing Coalition forassistance. Soon he began working with the

Legal Services of Greater Miami, Inc., as well as attorneyChuck Elsesser of Florida Legal Services, to build a case insupport of saving Villa Maria.

The legal services lawyers successfully helped the tenantsto oppose this condemnation plan. As part of theiradvocacy the attorneys participated in a July 2004meeting between HUD and the owner, during which theyconvinced HUD not to approve the owner’s request tocancel the Section 8 contract. The alternative plan laidout to HUD involved MBCDC purchasing Villa Maria sothat it could be substantially rehabilitated and preservedas affordable for the tenants.

While HUD agreed to this preservation option, the owner andinitial buyer pursued a hardball strategy with the City ofMiami Beach’s Building Department and the Miami-DadeCounty Unsafe Structures Board, whose approval wasnecessary before demolition could occur. Armed with anotherengineering report stating that the building met the definitionof an unsafe structure, Villa Maria was posted by a MiamiBeach building inspector on Aug. 30, 2004—officiallycommencing the County’s Unsafe Structures Board process.

the tenant’s role

After the City declared the building unsafe the attorneysappeared before the Unsafe Structures Board on behalf of thetenants to argue for additional time for MBCDC to purchasethe property. Amid a lawsuit by the initial purchaser toenforce his contract and HUD determining that the building’scondition was the owner’s fault, a reprieve was granted by theCounty Board. From the tenants’ perspective the additionaltime gave them hope despite all the threats of losing their

The unprecedented

revival of the

South Beach

submarket in the

late 1980s has

affected land

values throughout

Miami Beach.

�

SUCCESS STORIES


�In 1990 the City Commission of theCity of Winter Park determined thatthe public, health, safety and general

welfare required the implementation of anAffordable Housing Program in the City ofWinter Park. To fund this effort, the Cityimplemented a linkage fee program,assessing a modest one-time fee at the timeof permitting for all proposed commercialand residential developments. Fees collected are depositedinto the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to further affordablehousing and community development activities.

Since 1994, the Affordable Housing Program fee hasgenerated $1,230,075 for the city’s affordable housingdevelopment initiatives, which include developing 40affordable single-family homes and 22 units of affordablerental housing. The city was able to assemble the financingand forge the partnerships necessary to provide thesehomes. Among those partners are the Habitat for Humanity,Orlando Neighborhood Improvement Corporation, theOrange County Housing Finance Authority, FloridaCommunity Partners, Florida Community CapitalCorporation, the Orange County Housing and Community

Development Department and theWinter Park Housing Authority.

In addition to providing the financing forthe construction of the new homes, citystaff and neighborhood residentsdeveloped architectural guidelines forthe project, and worked with the Art inArchitecture team (consisting of local

architectural firms committed to traditional neighborhooddesign) to further refine the housing design. Theseguidelines were ultimately adopted into the city’s landdevelopment code.

The Canton Park Redevelopment Committee was establishedby the Community Redevelopment Agency for the purpose ofdeciding how best to develop a city-owned property and toexplore mechanisms for fostering affordable homeownershipopportunities for current and former residents of this westsideWinter Park neighborhood. With extensive input from arearesidents, and with the support of the city of Winter Park, thecommittee decided to establish the Hannibal SquareCommunity Land Trust and to develop 10 high-quality, forsale homes to be offered to low and moderate income buyers.

home. As if these uncertain legal proceedings were not asufficient test of their resolve, the tenants were moved twiceto temporary shelters and back again due to hurricaneevacuation orders. As Datorre would state many times, “thetenants are the key to preserving Villa Maria.”

By this time MBCDC was able to secure HOME fundingfrom the city of Miami Beach to assist with the purchase ofVilla Maria in the event the initial purchaser was unable toclose. An additional deferral of 30 days was granted by thecounty and by the end of December the initial purchaserhad withdrawn its lawsuit and an amicable resolution for

transferring the property to MBCDC was negotiated with theowner. In fact, MBCDC was able to work out sellerfinancing of Villa Maria for several years until the originalowner is taken out with additional city, county and statefunding. Once the majority of the financing is in place, atemporary relocation plan will be implemented for thetenants to allow the rehabilitation of the building to becompleted over the next 18 months. This time the move willnot be such a surprise and will provide a safer shelter at theright price until they can move back to their rehabilitatedhistoric home.

Revitalizing A Winter ParkNeighborhood: The Success Story of

Hannibal Square Community Land Trust

�

Hannibal Square Community Land Trust Partners include:

� Art in Architecture, (foundation established by the

Orlando Regional Realtors Association)

� Central Florida Chapter of the American

Institute of Architects

� City of Winter Park

� Fannie Mae Community Partnership Office of

Central Florida

� Florida Housing Finance Corporation

� HANDS of Central Florida

� Orange County Division of Housing and

Community Development

� Rollins College MBA Program

� SunTrust Community Development

The Hannibal Square Community Land Trust has played anintegral part of this neighborhood revitalization effort. Inaddition to working closely with all aspects of the design,its Board and Executive Director have conducted extensiveoutreach into the west Winter Park neighborhood in orderto engage residents in the revitalization strategy. The CLThas also developed an application selection process and isworking diligently with potential homeowners to readythem for homeownership. The City of Winter Park hascommitted general revenue to fund operating expensesduring the CLT’s start-up phase.

The Florida Housing Coalition has been providingassistance with financing to the partners involved with thecommunity land trust and organizational capacity buildingassistance to the staff and Board of the Hannibal SquareCLT. When the City and its lending partners found thatsome of the Florida Housing Finance Corporation programswould not accommodate the community land trust model,Coalition staff drafted recommendations for administrativerule revisions which were recently approved by the FHFC,now paving the way for CLT homebuyers in Florida to accessHOME and other Homeownership Loan Program moniesfrom the FHFC.

Hannibal Square’s Executive Director, Bedilia Campbell,believes that the Community Land Trust model is ideal forthis neighborhood. “I believe that people want to be a partof something, and to provide for each other. It’s all aboutrelationship building,” she enthuses.

Q: How did you become interested in the CLT model?

A: I became interested in the concept when I was looking fora home in Winter Park and wanted to live in a place wherepeople were not just neighbors, they looked after eachother. I had heard that there was some interest in startingthis type of organization, and researched it and attendedmeetings of area residents. I liked the idea ofempowerment borne from a community’s willingness toexamine a new way of doing things.

Q: Have there been many challenges to implementing thiscommunity’s vision through the formation of the CLT?

A: There have been some, mostly from people who are fearfulof what they do not understand. The nay-sayers try to pullyou off course, away from your goals. They told us that itcouldn’t be done. But those challenges helped us to growand made our community stronger.

Q: What advice would you give to communities who arelooking at starting a CLT?

A: Whatever a community does for self improvement, itshould be in collaboration with all types of people, where allgroups of interested persons can come together to agreeon a common goal. To be successful, you should organizethe community around the plan, and when you disagree,embrace that disagreement as a way to look at thingsdifferently.

Bedilia Campbell is Executive Director of Hannibal Square CLT.Bedilia has a strong background in community organizing and isa long-time Florida resident. Originally from Costa Rica, Bediliareceived her Bachelor’s degree in Communications from theUniversity of Miami. Bedilia resides with her sons Omari andJabriel in Winter Park.

INTERVIEW WITH BEDILIA CAMPBELL

�Early in 2005 Florida’s Affordable HousingStudy Commission took up acomprehensive review of preservation of

affordable rental housing. In 2001 FloridaHousing Coalition’s Melanie Greene began toeducate Florida’s affordable housing communityabout preservation. As she explained, theaffordable housing stock throughout the nation isaging, and affordability agreements on thousandsof units are ending. When the Commissionexamined the issue of serving extremely low incomehouseholds last year, it found that many of the nation’soldest units with expiring federal subsidies serve thisparticular population.

In addition to older HUD and Rural Development properties,rental units financed through Florida’s own programs are nowaging and, in some cases, have expiring affordability periods.While 70 percent of the stock financed by Florida HousingFinance Corporation is under ten years old, 20,000 units areover 15 years old and probably in need of some level ofrehabilitation. Federally subsidized units are generallyolder. All of these units have varying affordability periods,some tied to their loan terms, and some, as in the case ofmany units funded through HUD programs, with project-based rental subsidies that are congressionally appropriatedyear to year.

Along with expiring affordability periods, the Commissionhas identified additional preservation pressures:

• Demand in hot markets driving prices up,promoting conversion of modestly pricedmarket rate rentals into for-sale condominiumsand creating land scarcities;

• Deferred maintenance, especially in weakmarkets, running properties down;

• Aging property owners who have no easy way tomove out of their transactions;

• Capital, which has disappeared out ofproperties, leaving them without the ability toleverage funding for rehabilitation;

• The American perception that new is better than re-usedor rehabilitation;

• Competition between funding for new construction andrehabilitation; and

• The disappearance of federal funding except for FHAinsurance and, for the moment, year-to-year rentalsubsidies.

States are being left to determine how they will manage thelion’s share of preserving existing units while also continuingto fund construction of new units to meet population growth.Over the next year the Commission will developcomprehensive recommendations on new financing tools andhow to build capacity across the affordable housing deliverysystem to handle preservation transactions.

Nancy Muller is the Policy Director at Florida Housing FinanceCorporation, which staffs the Affordable Housing StudyCommission. Previously at the Florida Department of CommunityAffairs, she served as Staff Director of the Commission.

By Nancy Muller

Affordable Housing Study Commission Examines

Preservation Issues

�

The AHSC is a 21-member body that studies and makes recommendations on public policy changes to the Governor andLegislature to promote the production, preservation and maintenance of decent affordable housing in Florida. This event

gives you an opportunity to learn about the current work of the Commission, and to assist the Commission, its staff, and theadministrators by sharing your priorities and ideas. The Commission’s 2005 work topic is preservation, so you won’t want tomiss this discussion. Breakfast is included and open to all conference attendees.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING STUDY COMMISSION STAKEHOLDERS MEETING

September 14, 2005

�

Preserving Mobile Home Parks:Don’t Forget “Who Brought You

To The Dance”By Justin Joseph

�Years ago when Florida was developing itstourism trade, many people came to visitin those long silver, hot dog-looking

trailers. Some decided to congregate for longerperiods of time, resulting in the birth of “trailerparks”. From those trailer parks, differentmobile home communities developed when thehomes were never transported back once placedon the land. They became winter homes fornorthern residents or vacation homes for people who livedelsewhere. Eventually, that style of living becameincreasingly popular and affordable for more and morepeople. The parks began to spring up in areas that wererural in nature, such as orange groves and desolate areas,where the land was relatively inexpensive, and open to thesecommunities. After a while, businesses were attracted tothose areas, and a support system for the people who livedin them began to develop. Throughout the years theresidents of these communities have spent their tax dollarsin those communities, have sustained businesses, have beeninvolved in promoting the areas in which they live, and have

been influential in the development of areasaround their parks. The parks served as a taxbasis for growing and emerging cities and were, inmany cases, the beginning communities thatdeveloped into the larger urban areas we seetoday throughout Florida.

These very same mobile home parks that servedas a catalyst for their communities are now in

danger of extinction, largely due to the highly desirablelocations that they were so instrumental in shaping.Everywhere you look in Florida, mobile home parks arebeing threatened with land use changes. If a mobile homepark is located in an aesthetically appealing area, the landon which it sits is being targeted for the placement oftownhouses, condominiums, apartments, or residentialneighborhoods. If a mobile home park is on a major arterywith high traffic counts and visibility, the park isparticularly attractive to commercial and retail developersfor use as strip centers, shopping malls, office complexes,and other commercial businesses in need of large tracts of


land. In fact, the land hasbecome so valuable that the“highest and best use” for thesite is generally considered to besomething other than amanufactured home community.

Chapter 723, Florida Statutes,provides the regulations thatgovern mobile home parks andthe relationship between park owners andpark residents. Within that chapter itstates that a land use change of a mobilehome park to some other type of zoning isa sufficient basis to evict all the residentsof the park upon six months notice. Thereare, however, substantial protections forthe residents in the form of a right of firstrefusal to purchase the park, providedthere is a homeowner association, and arequirement that the local government make adetermination that there are adequate alternative facilitiesfor the relocation of the mobile home park residents.Unfortunately, in practice, these protections have thus farprovided little success in preserving mobile home parks.Typically, when a mobile home park owner chooses tochange the land use, the end result is that the ownersresiding in those parks either abandon their units andleave them there or title them over to the park owner asthey are driven from the area receiving only a nominalamount of money from the Florida Mobile HomeRelocation Corporation.

Sadly, many of those displaced from the mobile home parksare seniors and what might be called “super seniors”,having lived in these parks for the last 20, 30, or 40 years.This is their home, the only home they have, and the onlyone they can typically afford. In most cases, they do notencumber or request the local community organizations forassistance, because the communities in which they live

have internal resources andsupport systems, such as self-contained recreational facilitiesand social events. They haveneighbors in their community wholook out for each other, byproviding meals, transportation,security, and all the things that thefrail and elderly need when ontheir own, without having to ask for

support or assistance from the governmentor the larger community.

It appears that many local governmentshave lost their conscience and loyalty tothese citizens who created the communitiesfor which these commissioners are nowresponsible. They forgot how thecommunities were developed; how the areabusinesses have been supported; how taxes

were raised; and the contributions that these people havemade to local industries. They don’t consider that when theyclose these mobile home parks it can take several years forthe new residential community to develop, having adeleterious effect on the businesses that surround thesecommunities. They don’t consider the fact that many of thesenior citizens that live in these mobile home parks are theones that work at the local groceries and other stores,laboring for minimum wage. These senior citizens will bedifficult to replace. The lack of concern for displacing aperson after so many years, particularly in their golden years,shows a profound lack of compassion. In essence, it shows“they forgot who brought them to the dance.”

Justin G. Joseph is Practitioner Owner in the Law Office of Justin G.Joseph, in Tarpon Springs. He serves as Corporate and Legal counsel forFederation of Manufactured Home Owners of Florida, Inc., and authors amonthly Legal Question and Answer column for the FMO News, amongother articles on mobile home issues, mediation, and mobile home parkhomeowners association matters.

At the Florida Housing Coalition’s statewide annual conference on September 13, we will have a two-part workshop onPreserving Mobile Home Parks which will include a discussion of enforcing the legal protections for preserving mobile

home parks for the residents who live there as well as land use and financing strategies for resident control of mobile homeparks. There are approximately 2,600 mobile home parks in Florida, providing affordable housing for an estimated 600,000Floridians. We cannot afford to lose this affordable housing stock. Come join the discussion.

Preserving Mobile Home Parks

Register On-Line at flhousing.org,

after July 4

PRE-CONFERENCESUNDAY,

SEPTEMBER 11EARLY REGISTRATION &EXPO SET-UPBeat the Monday rush, stop by andpick up your name badges, conferencebag and notebook. The Omni OrlandoResort is located a few minutes fromthe Disney gate and minutes fromplenty of fun things to do, so comeearly and enjoy the weekend prior tothe conference.

DAY ONE

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

OPENING PLENARYWELCOME FROM MELVIN PHILPOT

STATE OF THE STATE OF HOUSING

• Thaddeus Cohen, Secretary ofDepartment of Community Affairs

• Orlando Cabrera, ExecutiveDirector of the Florida HousingFinance Corporation

SUCCESS STORIESA conference favorite, this year’sSuccess Stories will highlight the VillaMaria senior housing development inMiami Beach and the collaborationamong the Art in Architectureinitiative, the City of Winter Park, andthe Hannibal Square CommunityLand Trust.

PUBLIC POLICY SYMPOSIUM– PLENARYPUBLIC POLICY PLENARY

For the past two decades the primaryvehicle for affordable home ownershiphas been public investment in private

development. A fairly small amount of trust fund subsidyhas enabled Florida’s lower paid workforce to obtain homeownership through down payment and closing costassistance. For the most part, that subsidy is forgiven overfive to ten years, or recaptured if the first time homebuyer

has sold the homesoon after purchase.But what can localgovernments or non-profits do with thatrecaptured subsidy?They certainly can’tuse it to get anotherfamily into first-timehomeownership whenthe same house now

Thaddius CohenSecretary, DCA

Orlando CabreraExecutive Director,FHFC

Melvin PhilpotChairperson,FHC

costs 200 percent more than it did five years ago. Theenormous escalation in real property prices over the last fiveyears has left nonprofits, local governments, and financingauthorities asking “should we be using public dollars toprovide affordability for just one family?” Long-term orpermanent affordability creates a permanent stock ofaffordable housing—a community asset. But while a homerestricted in its resale is an asset for the community, it is notthe wealth-building asset enjoyed by families without resalerestrictions on their homes. The public policy panel will airthese issues in a lively debate about permanent affordabilitypros and cons for homeownership and rental developmentsin Florida.

CONFERENCE RECEPTION

DAY TWO

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13

CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

BUS TOUR City View is described as‘The fusion of urban life andsimplicity.’ Take this bus tourof City View and learn how themerging of mixed-use andmixed-income has turned into sure success and is theNational Headquarters for a Fortune 500 company. Next wewill venture to Winter Park to see how the City has helpeda Community Land Trust triumph using creative financingand CRA. Included in the tour will be visits to primeexamples of Art in Architecture initiatives in the city ofOrlando and Winter Park.

HOUSING 101An overview of public programs to subsidize housing costis presented by the Deputies and department heads of ourmost important programs, including Federal Home LoanBank of Atlanta, Housing Credits, SAIL, HOMEHomeownership, HOME Rental, HAP, PLP, Multifamilyand Single Family Bonds, and Small Cities CDBG.Lending programs that further improve housingaffordability also will be addressed.

FORECLOSURE PREVENTIONFor homebuyer education providers, homeownershipcounselors and all housing counselors, this workshop isdesigned to prepare you for educating homeowners andpotential homebuyers about homeownership retention,foreclosure prevention, loan servicing and lossmitigation. National presenters share the lessons theyhave learned in an easy-to-understand format that youcan share with your clients. Receive guidance on howto assess client loan documents and provide postpurchase counseling. You will receive expert advicefrom these practitioners on early delinquency servicingrequirements, loss mitigation program requirementsand the foreclosure process. Learn the best methods foravoiding foreclosure by knowing the options availableto your clients—refinancing, reinstatement, Deed inLieu and legal recourse. This workshop will give youinsights and practical advice for assisting yourhomeowners in taking control of the outcome of theirfinancial situation.

PRESERVING HOUSING CREDIT PROJECTS Housing Credit-financed affordable housing communitiesare approaching the ripe old age of 15 years. Since year 10the Limited Partners are not receiving any more credits,they are anxious to leave the scene and go to the next greatinvestment. You are a General Partner, Not-for-ProfitSponsor, or Local Government official interested inpreserving affordability of housing in your community.What do you do? When do you start working on the nextphase of these developments? What are the potentialstrategies for maintaining this valuable stock in yourcommunity? These and other issues will be discussed atthis workshop.

PRESERVING AND PRODUCING ACCESSIBLEHOUSING: FAIR HOUSING AND ADA LAWFederal law prohibits an otherwise qualified individual witha disability from being discriminated against in any programusing federal assistance. State civil rights law furtheraddresses the subject of housing for people with disabilities.The workshop presenters will discuss rehabilitation andnew construction methods that offer a sensible andaffordable means of complying with Fair Housing and ADArequirements. This training will also teach how to spotdiscrimination, respond to complaints, and make accessibledesign a regular part of your housing services.

CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

PRESERVING MOBILE HOME PARKS Noses may turn up at the mention of mobile home parks,but the fact is there are over 2,600 mobile home parks inFlorida providing homes primarily for our elderly and verylow income workforce. As real property values in Floridaskyrocket, mobile home parks are rapidly lost as the parkowners change the land use and sell the property for“higher and better” economic uses. The loss of mobilehome parks is now exacerbated by the hurricanes and whatland owners, developers, and local governments view as afinancial opportunity in turning mobile home parks intoland for upscale residential or commercial development.What can affordable housing advocates do to preservemobile home parks? Learn about legal and financialstrategies for preventing the loss of mobile home parks andpreserving mobile home park land for the benefit of themobile home park residents. This workshop will alsoinclude a conversation with key players about further workneeded, and next steps to preserve mobile home parks inFlorida for those in the legal, government, financing, andadvocacy communities.

2005-2006 FUNDING CYCLESThe session will begin with a discussion on the lessons andoutcomes of the 2005 rental cycle, and potential changes forthe 2006 cycle. Florida Housing Finance Corporation staffwill present their analysis, and the session will then move toa give-and-take discussion on both the 2005 and 2006cycles. Affordable housing developers and advocates willhave the opportunity for a candid exchange of views andideas with key FHFC staff.

PRESERVING AFFORDABLE HOUSING INGENTRIFYING AREAS Florida’s urban communities are rapidly aging, creatingopportunities for reinvestment unprecedented untilrecently. Creating opportunities for affordable housing in anenvironment rich in assets can be a challenge. Thisworkshop will focus on cost considerations, feasibilityanalysis, and financing structures for preserving existinghousing, including using public and private resources. Ourexpert practitioners will provide guidance and practicalknowledge on this important aspect of preservation.

PRESERVING AFFORDABLE HOUSING WITHGREEN BUILDINGPresenters from the Florida Green Building Coalition andthe Enterprise Foundation will discuss their current workto streamline implementation of the Green Communities

Initiative in the State of Florida. The GreenCommunities Initiative is a five-year, $550 millioninitiative to build more than 8,500 environmentallyhealthy homes for low-income families. Created by theEnterprise Foundation in partnership with the NaturalResources Defense Council, Green Communities willtransform the way America thinks about, designs, andbuilds affordable communities. The initiative providesgrants, financing, tax-credit equity, and technicalassistance to developers who meet Green Communitiescriteria for affordable housing that promotes health,conserves energy and natural resources, and provideseasy access to jobs, schools, and services.

DAY TWO

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13

KEYNOTE SPEAKERGus Newport is the ExecutiveDirector of the Institute forCommunity Economics (ICE);he joined the Institute forCommunity Economics (ICE) asits Executive Director in June2004. Innovative leadership incommunity development andmunicipal government, and strategic vision for nonprofitcapacity building are the constant denominators throughouthis professional career, which includes two terms as themayor of Berkeley, California. From 1988 to 1992, Mr.Newport served as the Executive Director of the DudleyStreet Neighborhood Initiative in Boston. Under hisleadership, this major neighborhood redevelopmentproject, now a national success model, distinguished itselffrom other community development projects in three keystrategies: resident control and permanent affordabilitythrough use of the Community Land Trust; intenseengagement of neighborhood residents in project plans andoperation; and use of eminent domain authority. Acquiringeminent domain authority from the city of Boston was a firstand allowed the project to acquire vacant and abandonedproperties for active use in the community.


INNOVATIONS AND IDEAS FOR ASSISTINGSPECIAL NEEDS POPULATIONSThis workshop will consider ideas for providing housing forpeople with disabilities, former prison inmates, andextremely low income (ELI) households in general. TheGovernor’s Affordable Housing Study Commission hasdevoted its recent work to the housing needs of ELIhouseholds. A Commission member will share severalof the recommendations outlined in the Commission’s2003/2004 report, focusing attention on the specific needsof people with disabilities, who often have extremely low-income levels. The training will also outline an innovativeapproach to financing affordable rental housing.Presenters will outline the use of an operating deficitreserve for two Florida multifamily projects currently indevelopment, and will discuss their organization’s workhelping former prison inmates successfully transition backinto the community.

DEVELOPING SINGLE FAMILY HOUSING FORHOMEOWNERSHIPLearn what is involved in developing single-family housingfor homeownership with a step-by-step orientation,including what issues and challenges you should be awareof that could hold up your development process. Should youform a homeowner’s association and what pitfalls you willrun up against in the process. Learn where can you findfunding and grants for your development.

PREDATORY LENDING Nothing is sadder than a proud first-time homeowner orlong-time elderly homeowner losing their home toforeclosure from predatory lending practices. Consumersare bombarded with offers to drain the equity from theirhome. This educational program provides information tohomeowners to assist them in avoiding abusive lendingpractices, understanding their rights and responsibilities,knowing what local resources are available when ahomeowner gets into financial trouble; and making goodchoices in equity borrowing.

RENTAL DEVELOPMENT PROCESS Deal killers, funding cycles, program rules, changingpolitics, and Florida's unique development environmenteach can affect any housing development process. But whatis the fundamental development process? For state andlocal housing officials, funders and developers, thisworkshop is designed to take you through the concept, pre-development, financing, construction, and occupancy

stages of housing development. In this workshop you willlearn, not only the basics of sound development, but alsohow successful developers integrate multiple fundingcriteria, changing program rules, and challengingconstruction requirements into housing that meets localneeds.

COMMUNITY LAND TRUSTThe enormous gap between what land costs and what low andmoderate income Floridians earn is leaving developers andlocal governments asking: How can we continue to meet thegoal of homeownership? In this workshop we will explain thevehicle of a community land trust for providinghomeownership and preserving that homeownership inperpetuity. We will address the details of lending andappraisal for community land trust properties, as well aslegal issues around taxes and title. Participants will beintroduced to the work of the Florida Community Land TrustInstitute and the Florida Legal Manual for Community LandTrusts, presently underway by the Affordable HousingCommittee of the Real Property and Probate Section of theFlorida Bar.

PERSEVERING HOUSING FROM NATURALDISASTERSWhat a difference a year makes! The year 2004 will godown as one of the most costly and active years on record inthis country in terms of natural disasters. And that does notinclude maintenance-related property losses, such as thosefrom water damage. Do not be discouraged; there areorganizations in the State of Florida who envision safe,strong and affordable homes to keep its citizens and theirproperty safe from natural disasters. Affordable housingadvocates will have a chance and an opportunity for acandid exchange of views and ideas with key people fromthese organizations.

ENERGY EFFICIENCYA representative of the Florida Solar Energy Center,working with the U.S. Department of Energy on the BuildingAmerica program, will discuss the need for improvedconstruction techniques for manufactured homes toenhance their sustainability and energy efficiency. Hearideas from this current project and general housingconstruction practices that are specific to Florida’s hot andhumid climate, including proper installation of House Wrapas a vapor barrier, application of flashing to prevent waterintrusion around windows, and proper sizing for airconditioners.


GRANT OPPORTUNITIES FOR NON-PROFITSThis workshop will focus on looking for funding in theright places, including nontraditional and unusualeducational, finance, health care, technology andtelecommunication institutions and industries. You willlearn how to be effective when approaching potentialfunders, as well as some key elements of proposaldevelopment. Donor recognition, reporting, andcontinued support will also be discussed.

MIGRANT FARMWORKER HOUSING In the aftermath of the hurricanes, Florida Legal Servicesbegan working on a two-pronged approach to the perennialproblem of inadequate housing for Florida’s farmworkers.With the help of Design Corps, an affordable manufacturedhousing unit has been developed, specifically designed tomeet the needs of the largely migrant harvest work force,on which Florida agriculture depends. The response tomigrant farmworker housing needs also includes newmodels of funding involving partnerships betweenagricultural employers and non-profit organizations toreach this hard-to-serve population. In this workshophousing advocates, local governments, funders and anyoneinterested in farmworker housing will get a look at thisdemonstration project now underway with the assistance ofthe Florida Housing Finance Corporation.

DAY THREE

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14

THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING STUDYCOMMISSION STAKEHOLDERS BREAKFASTMEETING WITH SHIP AND PHAADMINISTRATORS

This year the Affordable Housing Study Commissionstakeholders meeting will take the form of a breakfastroundtable meeting prior to the SHIP and PHA roundtables.All conference attendees are invited to participate in thebreakfast and the discussion. The AHSC is a 21-memberbody that studies and makes recommendations on publicpolicy changes to the Governor and Legislature to promotethe production, preservation and maintenance of decentaffordable housing in Florida. This event gives you anopportunity to learn about the current work of the

Commission, and to assist the Commission, its staff, and theadministrators by sharing your priorities and ideas. TheCommission’s 2005 work topic is preservation, so youwon’t want to miss this discussion.

SHIP ADMINISTRATORS ROUNDTABLE This year we are pleased to offer the SHIP BreakfastRoundtable in conjunction with Affordable Housing StudyCommission. As always we will provide an update onupcoming legislative issues, as well as hear from FloridaHousing Finance Corporation staff. In addition, this year’sRoundtable will include information on the hurricanefunding authorized by the 2005 Florida Legislature. We willhave discussions and updates on how our communities arerebuilding after the 2004 hurricane season and whatmechanisms have been implemented toward stormmitigation. As always there will be roving microphones forinput and questions.

PHA ADMINISTRATORS ROUNDTABLE This year we are pleased to offer the PHA BreakfastRoundtable in conjunction with Affordable Housing StudyCommission. Take advantage of a great opportunity to conferand network with your fellow public housing authorityconference attendees on a wide range of challenging issuesfacing public housing authorities today. Make the most of thisopen roundtable discussion to share ideas, build consensusand collectively devise solutions that can benefit your housingauthority and the residents you serve. Discussion topicsinclude an array of pressing issues that the FHC has beenreporting on, such as proposed funding cuts for vital housingprograms and more.

Florida Housing Coalition’s 18th Annual Statewide Affordable Housing ConferenceSeptember 12th through 14th, 2005Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate1500 Masters Blvd. - Champions Gate, FL 33896 - (407) 390-6600


I know that many of Florida’scounties will soon receivemoney from the new HurricaneHousing Recovery program. I

have heard that this program is verysimilar to the SHIP program. In whatspecific ways is it the same? How does itdiffer from SHIP?

The Florida Legislaturerecently created the Hurricane

Housing Recovery (HHR) program basedon recommendations from the HurricaneHousing Work Group that was chaired byLt. Governor Toni Jennings. TheLegislature has appropriated $208million of HHR funds for the 28 countiesmost severely affected by the Hurricanesaccording to FEMA data. This newfunding is provided to assist with generalhousing recovery efforts. The programdoes not require households applying forassistance to document that their housingneeds are a direct effect of the hurricanes,although a community receiving HHRfunds may choose to prioritize assistanceto such applicants.

The Hurricane Housing Work Group hasrecommended modeling the HHRprogram on many design aspects of theSHIP program, another state-fundedhousing program with a record ofsuccess. However, housingadministrators are cautioned againstsimply regarding the HHR program as asupplemental SHIP appropriation to bespent on the current housing strategies intheir communities’ SHIP plans. HHR isa distinct program that requires aseparate housing assistance plan andhousing delivery goals chart, as well asseparate tracking and annual reporting.Furthermore, considering that manycommunities will receive a very sizeable

allocation of funds--eight communitieswill each receive over $10 million andanother 14 communities will receivemore than $1 million--the HHR programoffers an opportunity for housingstrategies that may have never beforebeen feasible.

While recognizing that HHR funds willlikely be spent in a manner that isdistinct from a community’s ongoingSHIP program, it is notable how similarHHR rules and requirements are incomparison with SHIP. The programsshare the same encumbrance andexpenditure deadlines. Both programsare implemented in accordance withsimilar locally created housingassistance plans and housing deliverygoals charts. The income eligibility ofHHR applicants is calculated using thesame income qualification proceduresrequired by the SHIP program. The samegeneral documentation must beassembled in the files of both SHIP andHHR applicants.

In several ways, however, HHR programrequirements are different than SHIP. Forexample, each eligible community mayrequest supplemental HHR funds thatcan only be expended to assist “extremelylow income (ELI) households” withincomes below 30 percent of the areamedian income. HHR also includes adistinct provision related to rentalhousing. The local government will notbe required to monitor a rental unit solong as no more than $10,000 per unit (incontrast to $3,000 per project for SHIP)has been provided to assist the unit, andthe housing unit is located in a censusblock group in which more than 51percent of the households have incomesat or below 80 percent of the area medianincome.

The HHR program outlines a differenttype of compliance with the requirementsknown as the “SHIP set-asides”. Aminimum of 65 percent of SHIP fundsmust be expended on homeownershipactivities. The separate HHR fundingallocated for ELI households, for contrast,is entirely exempt from thishomeownership set-aside requirement.Furthermore, a local entity may expendless than 65 percent of its base HHRallocation and supplemental communitycollaboration funds on homeownershipactivities if it provides information thatjustifies and supports the need for greaterfunding for a rental strategy. Each HHRjurisdiction must spend its HHR fundingin compliance with the “income set-aside”, with the exception of thesupplemental ELI funds that may onlyassist extremely low income households.Finally, Section 4 of the HHR Rule states“with the exception of the incomerequirements and home ownershiprequirements, counties and eligiblemunicipalities shall be allowed toapportion their funds across their housingstrategies as dictated by local needs.”This essentially exempts the HHRprogram from compliance with the“construction/rehabilitation set-aside”that reserves 75 percent of funds for newconstruction or rehabilitation activities.While this makes the program extremelyflexible, it is anticipated that given theextensive damage caused by the storms,most communities will spend at least 75percent of their funds on constructionrelated activities.

In a very notable departure from SHIPrequirements, HHR funds may be used topurchase, rehabilitate and relocate post-1994 manufactured homes. Even pre-1994 manufactured homes may berepaired or relocated on a case-by-case

SHIPCLIPS

Frequently Asked SHIP & Hurricane Housing Recovery Questions

by michael chaney

Q:

A:

state housing init iatives partnership program

basis. Another noteworthy distinctioninvolves the HHR “supplementalcommunity collaboration funds”. Thesefunds are designed to offer communities afinancial incentive for bringing togetherbusiness interests, government, socialservice, civic and faith-basedorganizations to assist in recovery efforts.By contrast, SHIP encourages suchpartnerships but does not requirecollaboration nor offer any financialincentive for forming such partnerships.

Each eligible jurisdiction must submit anannual report for its HHR funds that isseparate and distinct from its SHIP report.Although the HHR report form is almostidentical to the SHIP report, it requireseach jurisdiction to provide the namesand addresses of HHR recipients. Theamount of funds available foradministrative expenses is also different.Up to 15 percent of HHR funds may beused for administration, in contrast to the5-10 percent permitted by the SHIPprogram. It is important to remember thateach jurisdiction must independentlytrack the administrative expensesassociated with implementing its SHIPand its HHR programs.

The Hurricane Housing Recoveryprogram is brand new, with animplementation rule that is effective onJuly 1 when funds are made available.Staff members at the Florida HousingFinance Corporation and Florida HousingCoalition are still considering all thespecifics of how the program will operate,considering that some aspects of theprogram are different than SHIP. If youhave questions about how the HHRprogram will operate in your community,call the Florida Housing Coalition at(850) 878-4219.

Follow-up Question:So Hurricane Housing Recoveryfunds may be used on

manufactured homes (also called mobilehomes). What is the significance of the“post-1994” distinction? What’s the bestway to tell if a manufactured home wasconstructed after 1994?

In the aftermath of lastsummer’s hurricane season,research of housing damage

concluded that manufactured homesbuilt after 1994 had an impressiverecord of resisting the storms. Theyweathered the hurricanes withdamage levels comparable to stick-built homes. July 13, 1994, is asignificant date for manufacturedhomes. All manufactured homes builtafter this date are constructed to asignificantly improved standard.Since 1976, all manufactured homeshave been built to construction andsafety standards established by theU.S. Department of Housing andUrban Development. After thedestruction caused by HurricaneAndrew in 1992, however, HUDrecognized the need to improve thisstandard. The most significantimprovement addressed windresistance. The southern portion ofFlorida was upgraded to a “WindZone 3” region, and the HUDstandard dictated that newmanufactured homes must beengineered and constructed to resist amuch more powerful wind load.

With regards to the HHR program,the most important lesson aboutmanufactured homes relates todetermining when a specific homewas constructed. You cannot easily

determine a mobile home’sconstruction date based on a visualinspection. The HUD standard is a“performance code”, unlike Florida’sprescriptive code. There are fewstandard and prescribed constructionmethods that may be inspected toeasily determine if the home wasconstructed before or after July 1994.Instead, the many manufacturers ofthese units in Florida may each createa slightly different constructionapproach that must ultimately performin accordance with the HUD standard.

An easy option for learning a home’sconstruction date may be available,however. Each manufactured homemust contain a “data plate” located in acloset or inside a kitchen cabinet doorwhen it is constructed and sold. Thedata plate is an 8.5 by 11-inch piece ofpaper that includes the constructiondate and other information, including alist of appliances, roof loadingspecifications, the wind zone that thehome was built to, and the unit’s serialnumber. After the home is initiallysold, however, there is no guarantee thatthe occupants will not remove the dataplate. If it is absent, you must consultthe manufactured home’s title to learnthe year of its construction.

Many housing administrators have noprevious experience working withmanufactured homes and may haveadditional questions. More informationon this topic is available by contacting theFlorida Department of Motor Vehicle’sMobile Home Bureau in Tallahassee at(850) 413-7600.

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 (800) 677-4548.

Michael Chaney

Q:

A:

Natural Resources Defense Council, is intended to transform theway America thinks about, designs, and builds affordablecommunities. It stems from growing awareness about the linksamong buildings, health and evolving spatial needs, and calls fora commitment to green and adaptable affordable housing.

The initiative provides grants, financing, tax-credit equity,and technical assistance to developers who meet GreenCommunitiesTM criteria for affordable housing that promoteshealth, conserves energy and natural resources, and provideseasy access to jobs, schools, and services. Since the programis national in scope, the criteria and principles ofqualification were developed to generally apply to new andrehab affordable housing projects located anywhere in theU.S. However, with the assistance of the Florida GreenBuilding Coalition, a streamlined approach is beingdeveloped for projects in Florida.

partnership to create singlegreen standard

The Enterprise Foundation, Florida Community Loan Fund andthe Florida Green Building Coalition are working together tomerge the Green CommunitiesTM criteria with the FGBC GreenHome Standard, which has been available since 2001. Thepartnership seeks to create a single green standard foraffordable communities, which fulfills the intent of bothprograms, and results in greater environmental and

economic benefits. Developinga mechanism that includes theFGBC Green Home Standardwould build upon a programthat is already familiar to manyFlorida builder/developers, aswell as an infrastructure toprovide training, certification,and technical assistance. Italso enables projects to benefit

from existing green incentives tied to the FGBC standard thatare offered in Gainesville, Sarasota, and Miami-Dade. It isexpected that other similar incentives tied to the FGBC GreenHome Standard will continue to emerge throughout the state inthe future.

Partnerships which are created for the greater good promotinghealthy, sustainable and efficient communities are a win-winsituation for the present and future generations to come. Weshould strive to leave a legacy that our grandchildren and theirgrandchildren can enjoy.

Should you wish to learn more about the Florida GreenBuilding Coalition, the Enterprise Foundation or the FloridaCommunity Loan Fund, please access the following links,www.floridagreenbuilding.org, www.fclf.org, or www.enterprisefoundation.org

Eric Martin is a Senior Research Engineer in the Buildings ResearchDivision at the Florida Solar Energy Center. He serves as secretary of theBoard of Directors for the Florida Green Building Coalition, and is amember of the Building America Industrialized Housing Partnership,sponsored by the US Department of Energy.

Tei Kucharski is the Program Director of the Energy Gauge Office ofthe Florida Solar Energy Center in Cocoa. She is a member of the Boardof Directors for the Florida Housing Coalition.


Green: Continued from page 11

(Right) The study, which features reclaimed river logs as the bookcase.(Below) The learning lab at Casa Verde, which demonstrates the various greenfeatures in the house.

Learn more about green building at the Florida Housing Coalition’s annual conference. On September13, representatives of the Florida Green Building Coalition and the Enterprise Foundation will discussthe current initiatives for “Going Green.”

PARTNERS FOR BETTER HOUSING MEMBERSHIPPartners for Better Housing Membership is for those who wish to support the work of the Florida Housing Coalition bymaking a tax deductible donation of $500 or more. Partners for Better Housing members receive subscriptions to HousingNews Network, free job vacancy posting service on the Coalition’s web page and unlimited membership rates for registrationat the conference. Partners at the Patron Level or higher receive one or more complimentary conference registrations (comp,indicated below). Partners also receive recognition at the conference, in all conference-related publications, the Coalition’sWeb page 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 of chargeon the Coalition’s Web page and receive membership rate registrations at the annual conference. An individual member receivesone subscription and one member rate registration. Organizational members receive up to five subscriptions and five memberrate registrations. All memberships are on a unified membership cycle and are due on August 1st, and expire on July 31st of eachyear. (Please indicate additional names, addresses and phone numbers on an attached sheet.) Each membership is entitled tobe 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.

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

PLATINUM SPONSOR

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PARTNERS FOR BETTER HOUSING

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

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

PATRON

CONTRIBUTOR

CO-SPONSOR

Bank UnitedCornerstone Group Dev. Corp.Florida Community Loan FundFlorida Community Partners

Hendrickson CompanyJaimie RossKeyBankKeystone Challenge Fund

Prudential FinancialRaymond JamesRealvest AppraisalRegency Development

Related CapitalSeltzer ManagementU.S. Trust Company of FloridaUrban Studios Architects

Broad and CasselDavis Heritage Ltd.First Nat'l Bank- Treasure Coast

HANDS of Central Florida Homes in PartnershipKiss and Company

Packard ConsultingSquire, Sanders, DempseyTransAtlantic Bank

VestcorWilson Management

Alliant Asset CapitalAmeriNational CommunityServicesCapital City BankCarlisle GroupCED Companies (Sandspur)Coalition for Affordable Housing

ProvidersComericaDeutsche Bank Florida, N.A.Florida Association of RealtorsFlorida Home Builders AssociationFlorida Manufactured HomesAssociation

Gatehouse Group, Inc.Greater Miami NeighborhoodsHousing Trust Group of FloridaLandmark DevelopmentLCA DevelopmentNeighborhood Lending PartnersRBC Dain Rausher

Reznick, Fedder & SilvermanRichman Group of Florida, IncStearns, Weaver, Miller, Weissler,Alhadeff, & Sitterson, P.A.Wendover Housing Partners, Inc.

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housing news volume 21, number 2

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