South Side Housing Strategy Group
April 15, 2015
Attending: Michelle Castrogiovanni, Kelan Craig, Judy Czarnecki, John Edgar, Cindy Flaherty, Bobbie Garber, Steve Gladman, Mary Hada, Michelle Heritage, Maude Hill, Chad Ketler, Debbie Leasure, Margaret Madison, Lisa Mc Cuiston, Lisa Patt McDaniel, Angela Mingo, Aaron, Murphy, Jillian Olinger, Jason Reece, Michael Reed, John Rosenberger, Jo Anne St. Clair, Kim Stands, Laurie, Sutherland, Kevin Wheeler, Gretchen West
Unable to attend: Ryan Edwards, Celia Elkins, Kip Holley, Lisa Jones, Matt Kasanovich, Don Kelly, Nancy Kelley, Hope Kingsborough, Amy Klaben, Erin Maus, Jennifer Noll, rita parise, Aaron Pechota, Tim Robinson, Erin Synk, Joel Teaford, Isabel Toth, John Turner, Susan Weaver, Michael Wilkos, Robert Williams, Jim Williams, Jr.
Rev. John Edgar welcomed the participants and restated the mission for the Housing Strategy - that as the South Side continues to improve, that current residents will be able to remain in the neighborhood and will have access to decent, affordable housing. Rev. Edgar cited the successful public private partnerships, including Healthy Homes Healthy Neighborhoods (HNHF) and South Side Revitalization (SSR) that have made a significant impact in the Southern Orchard area near Nationwide Children’s Hospital and in Southern Gateway.
He summarized the work following the initial meeting of the Housing Strategy Group on February 2. Three work groups were formed to further review the data and to develop recommendations. He explained that at this meeting members will review and confirm or modify those recommendations, then we will move toward implementation. Rev. Edgar stated that he hoped that each organization represented on the Housing Strategy Group would commit to making at least one of the recommendations a reality.
Rev. Edgar noted some key dates for future meetings.
May 20 – Community Meeting at the Barack Recreation Center
May 21 – Community Meeting at Community Development for All People
July 24 – Next meeting of the full Housing Strategy Group.
More information will be sent about the community meetings, and members are encouraged to attend.
Next, Jason Reece presented an update on the demographic and housing profile of the target area. The presentation is available at:
Here are some of the highlights:
· Data from the Community Shelter Board indicates that zip codes 43206 and 43207 are the third and fourth highest sources of people entering the homeless shelter system.
· Housing cost burden in greatest among households headed by people under 35 or over 65.
· The number of vacant properties in the target area that were rated poor decreased from 188 to 154 in 2014.
· In 2008, (more recent data not available) 131 people from zip code 43206 and 182 from zip code 43207 entered incarceration, and 151 people in 43206 and 173 in 43207 were released from incarceration.
Next, Cindy Flaherty explained the process for reviewing the recommendations of the three work groups. The attendees divided into four table groups discussed the recommendations. Below is a summary of those discussions. Comments and edits from the discussion are added in italics.
HOMEOWNERSHIP RECOMMENDATIONS
Homeownership contributes to neighborhood stability and is an important component of reinvestment. The South Side Housing Strategy should support existing homeowners and encourage new homeownership while maintaining the diversity of the neighborhood. The goal is to maintain the rate of homeownership, and to increase it in target areas that are close to a tipping point of stabilization. All homeownership efforts should emphasize community building and resident engagement.
1. Help homeowners maintain and improve their homes. Build on the success of exterior repair in Southern Orchard and Southern Gateway, which has touched 137 homes to date, and expand resources to address code violations.
a. Coordinate and maximize use of existing home repair resources. Current programs include city Emergency Home Repair and Roof Repair, Lead Safe Columbus, philanthropic HNHF and SSR Home Repair, Habitat for Humanity home repair, Rebuilding Together, and Home Weatherization. Greater coordination will increase access for South Side homeowners and leverage public and private resources.
b. Implement innovative financing options including low cost loans, refinancing, deferred loans and grants for homeowners of all incomes to maintain and improve their homes. In the wake of the financial crisis, many homeowners have little or no equity and are unable to obtain a home improvement loan. Current programs (above) are limited to low or moderate income households and focus on exterior or emergency repairs. Identify best practices and provide more options to finance interior repair and gut rehab for homeowners at all income levels.
2. Provide opportunities for new and current residents to own a home. As new housing is developed on the South Side, there should be a balance of rental and owner-occupied housing, with the goal of maintaining the current homeownership rate, and increasing it in target areas.
a. Increase access to traditional and non-traditional mortgage financing for homebuyers. There are no banks with branches on the South Side, so the South Side must be pro-active in getting lenders more involved in financing new buyers and refinancing for homeowners. Engage state and local government and other partners to provide a range of down payment assistance, development subsidies and mortgage financing. Encourage lenders to seek a mortgage exemption that would allow them to sell non-conforming loans to the Federal Home Loan Bank.
b. Ensure that homeowners are prepared for responsibilities of homeownership. Homebuyer education is essential and should focus not only on the home buying process, but also on financial management, life skills and home maintenance.
c. Support mixed-income residential development that includes homeownership. Encourage new residents to choose the South Side for its diversity and community.
d. Continue development of affordable homeownership by trusted partners like Habitat for Humanity. Encourage greater enrollment in the Housing Choice Voucher homeownership program. The focus is to work with low and moderate-income families over the long term to prepare and sustain homeownership, and to provide lower cost home options for very low-income households.
e. Maximize opportunities for area residents to purchase homes that are reaching year 15 of LIHTC single-family projects. Offer financial coaching, homebuyer education, pathways for increasing income, access to financing, and ongoing support.
3. Reduce housing cost burden for low-income homeowners. There are 1700 homeowners who pay more than 30% of their income for housing and utilities, including almost 800 whose housing cost burden is over 50% of income.
a. Develop innovative financing options for homeowners to remain in their homes. Options such as reverse mortgages don’t work for low value homes, so new approaches to preserve ownership are needed. Other approaches, such as community land trusts and/or refinancing, may help these owners keep their homes.
b. Increase awareness and utilization of programs to reduce property tax and home energy cost burden. Increase information and outreach through community groups and service agencies, and work to streamline applications for assistance. Seek a property tax freeze that would protect low-income homeowners from increases as the area improves.
VERY LOW INCOME RECOMMENDATIONS
Of the 2,624 renters with incomes below $20,000, 847 households have housing cost burden - paying more than 30% of their income for rent and utilities. An estimated 500 renters pay more than 50 percent of their income for housing. They are at greatest risk of instability, homelessness or living in substandard housing. The recommendations below focus on those 500 at-risk renter households:
4. Provide income supports or rent subsidy to 250 very low-income households. Tenant based subsidies like Housing Choice Vouchers fill the gap between the housing costs household income, but due to the limited availability of Vouchers, other solutions are needed.
a. Target a pilot program of privately funded[1], shallow tenant-based rent subsidies to the South Side. The amount and duration of subsidy would be less than Housing Choice Vouchers. The pilot should be geographically restricted, so the benefit will remain in the neighborhood. Case management would connect participants with services to further stabilize families.
b. Maximize access to income supports, including utility assistance, SSI, Earned Income Tax Credit, as well as to life skills training, job training and employment. Programs that could provide financial support to people are often inaccessible due complicated application requirements or limited location and hours of service. The Reeb Center (opening later this year) could be a model for coordination of services and streamlined processes.
c. Create pathways for South Side residents who have difficulty renting, including people with multiple evictions, criminal records or disabilities, by providing intensive case management, financial education and incentives to sympathetic housing providers.
d. Facilitate shared housing arrangements. The Community Shelter Board has had some success matching people at risk of homelessness with friends or family that have more stable housing. Support includes some short-term financial assistance and case management. This temporary solution could lead to greater long-term stability as households pool their resources.
5. Create an additional 250 affordable rental units over five years through new construction or redevelopment of existing buildings. These units must be well built, and designed to a scale that fits the neighborhood.
a. Work with a range of sponsors including nonprofits such as Community Housing Network and, Homeport, public agencies like Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority, and private multi-family developers.
b. Use multiple financing models including affordable housing set-asides in mixed income projects, multi-layered affordable housing structures, and new sources of administrative funding not tied to programming.[2]
c. Develop small projects with a consideration for neighborhood impact. While a certain size is needed for a project’s financial feasibility, concentration of exclusively low-income rental housing may discourage other investment. Where possible, each area of the South Side should have a “fair share” of very affordable units in existing or newly developed units.
d. Provide effective management with appropriate support services for residents.
RENTAL HOUSING AND VACANT PROPERTIES RECOMMENDATIONS
6. Sustain revitalization in Southern Orchard and Southern Gateway. Reinvestment is occurring as a result of significant investment in Southern Orchard (HNHF target area) and in Southern Gateway (South Side Renaissance target area). This investment, initiated by contributions from Nationwide Children’s Hospital and South Side Champions, must continue and expand with other partners.
a. Continue to acquire and rehabilitate vacant properties for sale or rental. The City and County Land Banks are key partners in efforts to date including HNHF (40 homes sold), Southern Gateway Homes (40 new single family rental homes by NRP), Habitat for Humanity (6 infill homes) and Southside Renaissance (up to 30 single family rentals).
b. Develop decent, safe and sanitary affordable rental housing in the target areas. Encourage non-profit and for profit developers to develop good quality rental housing with a range of financing, including mixed-income models and/or Low Income Housing Tax Credits and property tax abatement. These affordable units will offer an alternative to the poor quality rental housing in the neighborhood.
7. Work with landlords to improve properties. The majority of housing on the South Side is owned by private landlords, and much of it is owned by landlords with 10 or fewer units. Without intervention, these units will either remain in fair to poor condition as rentals, or if improved, will have significantly higher rents. The strategies below have potential to improve rental units while keeping rents affordable.
a. Engage landlords to join revitalization efforts. Begin a dialogue with owners about the positive changes in the housing market, and their challenges. Increase awareness of Lead Safe Housing resources. Provide tools to improve management - a good example is the LEAN program on the Hilltop. Include small landlords in exterior fix-up blitz efforts with volunteers.
b. Increase Access to Rental Rehab Loans. The City of Columbus program offering low interest loans to improve rental properties while retaining affordability should be expanded. New lending programs must be created through public/private partnerships.
c. Incentivize some owners to sell to non-profit housing providers. Aggressive code enforcement, coupled with landlord engagement, could induce some owners to transfer their properties. [3]This may preserve units for very low-income residents who would benefit from support services.
8. Develop financing strategies for duplexes and doubles. Two-unit properties are particularly challenging to manage and to finance. Conversion to single family homes is cost-prohibitive, so other strategies are needed to improve and retain this housing for current residents. Various options include:
a. Owner-Renter model: with homeowner on one side and tenant with rent subsidy on other side. Homeowners may need help to secure mortgage debt. This is a good option for multi-generational housing.
b. Owner-business model: with homeowner on one side and small business such as home based child-care on the other. Provide access to education and resources for small business.
c. Long Term Rental model: with appropriate financing, duplexes could be rehabilitated and stabilized as affordable rental. For example, CD4AP is renovating doubles as part of a broader portfolio financed with a 10-year loan from COCIC.[4]
[1] The 100,000 Homes Campaign is a model where private real estate interests make donations that are used to close the gap from Section 8.
[2] These funds are currently scarce, but the new federal Housing Trust Fund is one possible future source.
[3] Review the City Code to determine if exterior standards should be strengthened for the South Side.
[4] Explore best practices and expand resources, including rent subsidies.