HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011 - Affordable Housing Board - Annual ReportCity of Fort Collins: Affordable Housing
2011 Annual Report
The Affordable Housing Board (AHB) continued with its affordable housing policy and
support role during 2011. Board discussions and actions throughout the year stemmed
from the premise that affordable housing is a critical component of the economic health,
sustainability, and vitality of the city of Fort Collins. The Board’s work was also in
response to affordable housing’s high priority ranking in local citizen surveys and related
research. The Board held nine regular meetings, and three special meetings (two, to
priority-rank housing applications for the City’s spring and fall Competitive Process
funding cycles; another, to facilitate a more focused discussion regarding fees and fee
waivers).
The Affordable Housing Board focused its efforts on providing education and advocacy
for affordable housing to the Fort Collins City Council and other community partners in
the following ways:
1) Advocated for the need for affordable housing in our community, specifically
by attending meetings to stress the important relationship between economic
vitality and affordable housing.
2) In order to gain greater mutual understanding of the City’s affordable housing
mission, facilitated an in-depth discussion with the Board’s Council liaison.
3) Identified how current and future funding levels meet the needs identified by
existing City policy (e.g., Affordable Housing Strategic Plan).
4) Reviewed and provided input on all proposed City policies, regulations, and
other issues (e.g., infill development) on the impact of these issues on
affordable housing.
5) Provided input to staff and the City Council on impact fees.
6) Worked with the CDBG Commission on potential changes to the “Point Chart”
used to preliminarily rank affordable housing applications received by the City
requesting funding through the Competitive Process.
7) Investigated the potential for more permanent funding sources for the City’s
Affordable Housing Fund to provide financial resources to affordable housing
programs and projects.
8) Continued to work with staff to review and evaluate the effectiveness of the
City’s current incentives to developers to produce affordable housing units
and recommend modifications, or new incentives, to the City Council.
9) Continued to work with staff on the HUD CDBG Section 108 Loan Guarantee
Program.
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Additional meeting topic highlights and work during the year centered around the City’s
Green Building Program and the City’s Involvement in the provision of social services--
which was a City Council work session item during the fall.
Finally, Affordable Housing Board members functioned as liaisons to other Boards
(Transportation, Planning and Zoning Board) and groups (Affordable Housing Coalition,
Board of Realtors), thereby helping foster better communication and collaboration in
areas interconnected to affordable housing.