Title
Vote to amend the Policy Guidelines for the Housing Trust Fund
Abstract
Introduction & Background: The Chatham County Housing Trust Fund was created in 2018 by the Chatham County Board of Commissioners (the Board) with the overall goal of affirmatively furthering fair housing choice for all residents. Funding is allocated to the Housing Trust Fund annually from a handful of sources and is intended to be used for low-interest loans and modest grants to encourage affordable housing development and preservation.
Each year, the Chatham County Affordable Housing Advisory Committee (the Committee) conducts a Request for Proposals process, soliciting applications from community organizations or entities engaged in affordable housing development and preservation. The Committee then reviews these applications and provides recommendations to the Board of Commissioners based on the merits of the applications and the alignment of these applications with goals and priorities established by both the Committee and the Board.
Typically, each application cycle was preceded by approval of updates to the Housing Trust Fund Policy Guidelines, which were largely the same between years save for administrative updates and small changes in wording and presentation. Policies and priorities remained largely consistent and were enacted more specifically in the Housing Trust Fund application.
Discussion & Analysis: These Policy Guidelines, if approved, will advance two goals. The first is the expansion of Housing Trust Fund priorities to include 1. sustainable development and 2. accessible development, both of which will help to make our affordable housing last longer and provide safer and more accommodating options to residents of all walks of life.
The second is to protect policy goals and basic standards while reducing the administrative burden on the Committee, the Board, and staff. The practices and policies in this document are largely similar to previous guidelines in spirit, but deliberately omit references to dates, data, monetary amounts, and other noncontroversial facts that can be updated as administrative changes rather than legislation. Instead, these administrative updates will be made annually by staff within the bounds of these policies, but without the need for annual review of what is essentially the same information.
In short, these guidelines provide a refined version of existing policies, include accessibility and sustainability as Housing Trust Fund priorities, and reduce the need for future annual reapprovals.
How does this relate to the Comprehensive Plan: These guidelines will advance equitable access to high-quality housing and community options for all, and to education through diverse housing location options, which is in line with strategy 9. These guidelines also facilitate the conservation of natural resources by reducing development demands by preserving existing housing assets, and by encouraging sustainability in development and rehabilitation practices (strategy 5).
Budgetary Impact: No budgetary impact is anticipated at this time.
Recommendation/Motion: Motion to amend the Policy Guidelines for the Housing Trust Fund.