HOUSINGNEWS Volume 23, Number 2Governor Crist and Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, and we continuously add allies to our ranks. Together we will mount a campaign with

Legislative Wrap -Up: 2007

1

Economic Benefitsof Sadowski ActState and Local

Housing Trust FundMonies (State

Funding)7

Is There Linkage inFlorida’s Future?

8

Going Green in theSunshine State

12

Employer AssistedHousing

16

THE ECONOMICSOF HOUSING

Florida HousingCoalition’s 2007

Statewide AnnualConference

18

ConferenceSuccess Stories

20

Homeless andExtremely Low

Income HousingLeadership Forum

24

Surplus Lands forAffordable Housing

27

Affordable HousingAdvisory

Committees Return 30

SHIP Clips32

Coalition News34

Spotlight on Ship34

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

Volume 23, Number 2

SPRING 2007

In This issue

HThe number one priority for hous-ing advocates during the 2007legislative session was to preventthe cap on state and local housing trustfunds from going into effect.Unfortunately, we never came close.

Speaker of the House, Marco Rubio,could not be engaged to discuss repeal,repeatedly deferring to the analysis ofhis staff budget director to explain thatFlorida could not afford to repeal thecap. The primary argument profferedwas this: Florida needs the housingtrust fund revenues for general revenueexpenses. But the appropriation ofhousing dollars in 2007 was not$243million, but $393.4 million. Andthe $315.6 million balance of state and localhousing trust fund monies was not used forgeneral revenue expenses.

WHY WASN’T THEAPPROPRIATION EQUAL TO

THE CAP? AND WHYWASN’T THE TRUST FUND

BALANCE SWEPT INTOGENERAL REVENUE?

Because at $243 million certain pro-grams embraced by Florida legislators,such as CWHIP, could not be funded.If those popular programs could not befunded this year, it may have generatedgreater legislative concern over the cap.In other words, the cap could go intoeffect without having to feel its trueimpact: the dismantling of Florida’ssystem that generates housing trust fund

monies in direct proportion to the increase inhousing prices. Until all the unappropriatedhousing monies are expended and no housing

Legislative Wrap - Up: 2007By Jaimie Ross and Mark Hendrickson

Housing Day Rally at the Capitol April, 11, 2007. DCA Secretary, Tom Pelham, emceed the Sadowski Coalition's call forrepeal of the cap on the state and local housing trust funds. Speakers included the League of Cities, the Florida Chamber ofCommerce, and the AARP, speaking on behalf of its three million members in Florida. Special thanks to the FloridaAssociation of Realtors, and to the city of Orlando for bringing a busload of housing advocates to Tallahassee.

T H E F L O R I D A H O U S I N G C O A L I T I O N

BOARD OFdirectorsexecutive committeeMelvin Philpot, CHAIRPERSONProgress Energy Florida,Winter GardenJeff Bagwell, VICE CHAIRKeystone Challenge Fund,LakelandJaimie Ross, PRESIDENT1000 Friends of Florida,TallahasseeGregg Schwartz, TREASURERTampa Bay C.D.C.,ClearwaterMark Hendrickson, PASTCHAIRThe Hendrickson Company,TallahasseeAnnetta Jenkins, SECRETARYLocal Initiatives Support Corporation,West Palm Beach/South Florida Robert Von, AT LARGERealvest Appraisal Services,Maitland

directorsBob AnsleyOrlando Neighborhood Improvement, Orlando Ed BusanskyFirst Housing DevelopmentCorporation of Florida,Tampa

Gus DominguezGreater Miami Neighborhoods,Miami Holly DuquetteFlorida Power & Light,Juno BeachJames “Jim” DyalAmerican Realty Development, LLC.,TampaCharles “Chuck” ElsesserFlorida Legal Services,Miami Denise FreedmanBank of America,TampaCora FulmoreMortgage & Credit Center,Winter GardenWight GregerCity of Jacksonville,JacksonvilleDan HorvathCommunity Enterprise Investments, Inc.,PensacolaJack HumburgBoley Centers, Inc.St. PetersburgJeff KissKiss & Company,Winter ParkTei KucharskiFlorida Solar Energy Center,CocoaGrace MirandaJ&M Consulting, Inc.Tampa

William "Bill" O'DellShimberg Center for AffordableHousing, GainesvilleTony RiggioWachovia, Charlotte, NCGeorge RomagnoliPasco County CommunityDevelopment,New Port RicheySophia SorolisEconomic Development DepartmentCity of St. Petersburg,St. Petersburg

financial services committeeMichelle BraunWachovia, JacksonvilleDana ChestnutWashington MutualAtlanta, GADavid ChristianRegionsTampaPeter McDougalCitibankMiami

advisorycouncilHelen Hough FeinbergRBC Dain Rauscher,St. Petersburg

staffADMINISTRATION

Michael DavisExecutive DirectorPam DavisWorkshop CoordinatorTom FlaggFinancial ManagerVicki McDonaldOffice Manager

TECHNICAL ADVISORSAida AndujarTechnical AdvisorLydia BeltránTechnical AdvisorMichael ChaneyTechnical AdvisorHana EskraTechnical AdvisorStan FittermanSenior Technical AdvisorGladys SchneiderTechnical 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.

Jaimie Ross, Editor, Vicki McDonald, Associate Editor.

Email: [email protected], Web site: www.flhousing.orgFlorida Housing Coalition, Inc., Phone: (850) 878-4219, Fax: (850) 942-6312, 1367 E. Lafayette Street, Suite C, Tallahassee, FL 32301.

The Florida Housing Coalition would like to recognize BANK OF AMERICA, CITIBANK, WACHOVIA and WASHINGTON MUTUAL, for their partnership,

leadership and support as our PLATINUM SPONSORS. We are deeply appreciative.

programs can be funded above $243 million, lawmakers maynot appreciate the true impact of the cap. The 2007Legislature stayed its now four- year- course of leaving asubstantial amount of housing trust monies in the trust funds,neither appropriated to housing nor swept to general revenue.

FLAWS IN THE ARGUMENTTO KEEP THE CAP

The basic premise used by the legislative staff to justify thecap is that the money would be needed to balance the budget,and that repeal of the cap would somehow prevent the budgetfrom being balanced. This was a false dilemma. The cap is ondistributions INTO the housing trust funds—once in the trustfunds, the legislature can appropriate them as needed. If theyare indeed needed to balance the budget, they can be usedaccordingly. There is no need to cap distributions into thetrust funds in order to respond to potential budget problemswhen and if they ever happen.

The monies which are statutorily dedicated to the state andlocal housing trust funds are derived from the documentarystamp tax which was increased for the sole purpose of fundingthe state and local housing trust funds. In the 14 years that

the Sadowski Act has been enacted, there has been only oneyear that the monies from the state and local housing trustfunds were needed to balance the budget—FY03-04—and inthat year, a portion of the funds were diverted to general rev-enue. This proves conclusively that if the legislature needsthe state or local housing trust funds for other purposes it isable to appropriate accordingly.

There is no reason to believe that Florida will now andforever after have a budget deficit. If that is indeed theprojection, the Legislature needs to look at what the cause orcauses of that deficit are and take corrective action. Designinga system for the unusual years when the trust funds will beneeded to balance the budget is illogical—the system shouldbe designed for the overwhelming majority of years when themoney can be spent on housing.

Another component of the argument against repealing thecap was the new constitutional amendment which limits theamount of non-recurring revenue that can be spent onrecurring general revenue expenditures. The premise was,that after all recurring “priorities” had been funding, therewasn’t enough money left unless the amount above the capwas not diverted directly to general revenue—thus becoming“recurring” general revenue.

Page 3T H E F L O R I D A H O U S I N G C O A L I T I O N

HOUSING NEWS NETWORK

PROGRAM FUNDING LEVEL (from State and LocalHousing Trust Funds)

Total Available for Appropriation $709,000,000

Florida Housing Basic Programs (SAIL, HAP, PLP, Catalyst Training & Technical Assistance, & Guaranty Fund) $70,500,000

SHIP $166,200,000

SHIP Monitoring $400,000

Homeless $5,900,000

Florida Housing Additional SAIL $60,000,000

Florida Housing Downpayment $10,000,000

CWHIP $62,400,000

Extremely Low Income (ELI) $15,000,000

DCA Planning $400.000

Teacher Downpayment $1,000,000

Specific Project “Senior Demo” $1,600,000

TOTAL APPROPRIATED $393,400,000

TRUST FUND MONIES NOT APPROPRIATED $315,600,000

APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2007- 08

Continued on page 4

“Speaker Marco Rubio would be wise to support liftingthe cap in order to stimulate Florida’s economic compet-itiveness, hire and keep an essential workforce and, atthe same time in this way, help ease the housing crisis.”

Tallahassee Democrat EditorialMarch 18, 2007

“Legislators should ‘make a run at tryingto get the funding back to fully fund thetrust, to lift the arbitrary cap and have theopportunity for the Sadowski fund to dowhat it was intended to do,’ he said.”(Gov. Charlie Crist)

Florida Times Union EditorialMarch 20, 2007

“Has the Legislature lost its mind? The House is beingespecially obstinate, so leadership from Gov. CharlieCrist, who has expressed support, may be needed toforce the issue.”

South Florida Sun-Sentinel EditorialMarch 26, 2007


This argument is flawed in that theanalysis assumed that any and everyrecurring general revenue expenditurein last year’s budget, plus another$1.225 billion of new named priorities,plus another $854 million for unnamed“other recurring priorities” all had tobe funded before any considerationcould be given to cap repeal. If housingis indeed a priority, then the cap couldhave been and can be repealed—itsimply has to be a greater priority thanany of the $854 million of unnamedpriorities.

CHAMPIONS FOR REPEAL OFTHE CAP

Florida’s affordable housing programsare an economic engine, supported bylow income advocates as well as everymajor industry group and employer inFlorida. Florida has developed aninfrastructure of public private housingdelivery that is the envy of the nation.By slashing the appropriation of housingfunds to $243 million per year (a levellower than the monies generated in2002), Florida will dismantle thatinfrastructure and find itself whollyincapable of meeting anything close tothe demand for affordable workforcehousing. We will be unable to housethe elderly, the infirm, or our essentialservices personnel.

Bills to repeal the cap were filed early inthe session in both the House andSenate by Representatives Saunders,Fitzgerald, and Bucher, and SenatorsKing, Geller, and Wilson. A specialthanks is owed to Representative RonSaunders who was loathe to take no for

an answer andinsisted on havinga workshop in theHouse Councilon Policy andBudget, invitingthe SadowskiW o r k f o r c eHousing Coalitionto present thecase in favor ofscrapping thecap. The Sadowski Coalition made acompelling presentation on April 13th,but unfortunately it was to a virtuallyempty room, as Council members quicklyfiled out of this workshop scheduledduring the lunch hour, returning onlywhen the next bill to be voted on was tobe heard.

The diverse bipartisan coalition thatspearheads this effort grew in 2007 toinclude the Florida Coalition for theHomeless, Associated Industries ofFlorida, the Florida Retail Federation,and the Florida Hospital Association.They added their memberships andlobbyists to the ranks of the unprece-dented Coalition, known as the SadowskiWorkforce Housing Coalition.

The good news is that housing advocates“never give up.” We have the support ofGovernor Crist and Florida’s ChiefFinancial Officer Alex Sink, and wecontinuously add allies to our ranks.Together we will mount a campaign withour champions in the legislature forreauthorization of the state and localhousing trust funds without a cap in the2008 legislative session.

The diverse bipartisan coalition that spearheads this effort grew in 2007 to include the Florida Coalition for

the Homeless, Associated Industries of Florida, the Florida Retail Federation, and the Florida Hospital

Association. They added their memberships and lobbyists to the ranks of the most diverse alliance of

bi-partisan interests, known as the Sadowski Workforce Housing Coalition.

H

Repeal of the cap is universally supported inFlorida as reflected by every major newspa-per and constituent group, including the lowincome advocates and industry groups thatparticipate in the Sadowski WorkforceHousing Coalition as follows:

• 1000 Friends of Florida• AARP of Florida• Associated Industries of Florida• Coalition of Affordable Housing

Providers• Florida Association of Counties• Florida Association of Homes and

Services for the Aging• Florida Association of Housing

and RedevelopmentOrganizations

• Florida Association of LocalHousing Finance Authorities

• Florida Association of Realtors• Florida Bankers Association• Florida Catholic Conference• Florida Chamber of Commerce• Florida Chapter American

Planning Association• Florida Coalition for the

Homeless• Florida Department of Community

Affairs• Florida Home Builders

Association• Florida Housing Coalition• Florida Housing Finance Corp.• Florida Impact • Florida League of Cities• Florida Legal Services• Florida Retail Federation• Florida Supportive Housing

Coalition• Florida United Way

Representative Saunders

HOUSING LEGISLATION THAT PASSED IN 2007

Representative Mike Davis, once again sponsored the omnibushousing bill, HB 1375. But unlike last year, housing legislationthat passed this session was relatively of little moment, and con-tains a number of items that are more related to Developments ofRegional Impact than to affordable housing. Many of these pro-visions were not in Representative Davis’ originalbill, but were sent over to the House from SenatorGarcia’s SB 780. The provisions unrelated to afford-able housing in HB 1375 or which only apply to cer-tain projects or areas of the state are not included inthe summary below.

• Tax DeferralLocal governments are authorized to adopt anordinance to permit ad valorem and non advalorem taxes on affordable rental properties to bedeferred. Similar to the deferment that exists forlow income elderly, the deferred taxes accrueinterest not to exceed 9.5%. At first blush thislegislation may seem pro-affordable housing, butit seems likely to be of value only to those whointend to sell the affordable rental developmentfor market rate uses in the future. Alternatively,this deferral could amount to an exemption if theproperty remains in the affordable stock. This provision wasput in Representative Davis’ bill by the Senate. See 197.307-197.3079, Florida Statutes. This is the bulk of the fifty pageHousing Bill.

• CWHIPThe CWHIP program now requires less private sector invest-ment and less leveraging of funds (down from 15% to 10% oftotal development cost or $2 million, whichever is less).Revisions were made to the process for applications (no moreRequest For Proposals) and choosing winning CWHIP appli-cations, including allowing three people to serve on theapplication review committee who are not employed by theFlorida Housing Finance Corporation, and allowing appli-cants to cure errors in their applications. Also, all commit-ments can be evidenced by as little as a memorandum ofunderstanding or “other written instrument” and local gov-ernment regulatory incentives and public–private contribu-tions no longer must be adopted, so long as the jurisdictionor public-private partnership is “committed to adopting”such incentive or contribution. SHIP funds can now be usedfor higher income residents (140% in high income and highgrowth counties, and 150% of area media income in MonroeCounty) provided it is for a CWHIP application.

Comprehensive plan amendments to accommodate CWHIPprojects are now exempt from the twice a year limitation oncomp plan amendments. See 420.5095, F.S.

• Workforce Housing Plans By July 1, 2008, each county in which the gap between thebuying power of a family of four and the median county

home sales price exceeds $170,000 (this is basi-cally the high cost counties for the CWHIP pro-gram) shall adopt a plan for ensuring affordableworkforce housing. At a minimum, the plan shallidentify adequate sites for housing up to 140% ofarea median income. If the plan is not adoptedthe local government will be ineligible to receiveany state housing assistance grants, until theplan is adopted. See 163.3177 (6)(h) and(i), F.S.

• Transportation ConcurrencyThere is an exemption from transportation concur-rency requirements for affordable housing (up to140% of area median income) in Developments ofRegional Impact that provide employee housingwithin 5 miles of an employment center. See163.3180 (17), F.S.

• Expedited Comp Plan AmendmentsAn expedited comprehensive plan amendment process isavailable at the local and state level for comp plan amend-ments to accommodate affordable housing developmentsthat are consistent with local housing incentive strategies inthe SHIP plan, and which are identified in the comprehensiveplan for that purpose. See 163.3184 (19), F.S.

Comprehensive plan amendments that are consistent withthe SHIP incentive strategies can be made outside of the twoyear limitation on comprehensive plan amendments. See163.3187 (1) (p), F.S.

• SAILSAIL loans may be forgiven for that portion of the loanattributable to the units in a project reserved for extremelylow income elderly non profit organizations, where the projecthas provided affordable housing for the elderly for 15 years ormore. See 4205087(3) (d). F.S.

• Predevelopment Loan ProgramPredevelopment Loan Program funds can now go up to$750,000 per applicant, rather than the maximum of$500,000. See 420.526(7) (b), F.S.



On the last day of the ses-sion, HB 7203 was amend-ed to provide that theCWHIP program berenamed “The Mike DavisCommunity WorkforceHousing Innovation PilotProgram.”

(Continued on page 6)



• PHA InsuranceCertain public housing authorities areauthorized to create a self-insurance fund.See 624.46226, F.S.

• SHIP Advisory CommitteesThe nine member affordable housingincentive advisory committees are noweleven member committees, with theinclusion of one citizen who representsemployers and another who representsessential services personnel, as that termis defined in the local housing assistanceplan. This provision does not apply inthose small counties which receive theminimum ($350,000) SHIP allocation. See420.9076, F.S.

The local advisory committees will nowmake a report every three years (minimumallocation counties are exempt from thetriennial requirement) to recommendactions or initiatives to encourage orfacilitate affordable housing, includingrecommendations to amend the localgovernment comprehensive plan andcorresponding regulations, ordinances,and other policies. At a minimum, eachadvisory committee shall submit a trien-nial report to the local governing body thatincludes recommendations on and evalu-ates the implementation of all the afford-able housing incentives listed in420.9076 (4) (a) (k). This statutory pro-vision also expands the list of regulatoryincentives to include “The support ofdevelopment near transportation hubs andmajor employment centers and mixed-usedevelopments. It also expands the dutiesof the advisory committees to includementoring services and the creation of bestpractices for the development of affordablehousing in the community. The advisorycommittee shall be cooperatively staffedby the local government department ordivision having authority to administerlocal planning or housing programs toensure an integrated approach to the workof the advisory committee” See 420.9076

(8) and (9), F.S. Because these statutoryrevisions are fairly substantial, they arecovered more comprehensively on page30-31 of the Journal.

• Teacher Down Payment MoneyA Teacher Down Payment AssistancePilot Program ($1,000,000), is created byin Section 45 of the AppropriationsImplementing Bill (SB 2802). SHIPcommunities that want to apply for thesefunds will have to waive all impact feeson the teacher homes and provide astrategy for this program in their LHAP.The local school board will have tocommit to provide verification of eligi-bility and compliance with the conditionsfor this program. The Teacher DAPprovides for $4,000 down paymentassistance in the form of forgivable loansto: full time K-12 classroom teacherswho are certified exceptional studenteducation, mathematics, or science, whodeclare homesteaded residency anddemonstrate a minimum 5-year commit-ment to teach in public school in thecounty where currently employed. Lienson the down payment assistance loanswill be released upon fulfillment of allabove criteria for five years.

JAIMIE ROSS is the Affordable HousingDirector at 1000 Friends of Florida and thePresident of the Florida Housing Coalition.She initiated and facilitates the SadowskiCoalition. Jaimie is the Chair of the AffordableHousing Committee of the Real PropertyProbate & Trust Law Section of the FloridaBar.

MARK HENDRICKSON the president ofThe Hendrickson Company, is the immediatepast Chair and serves as an ExecutiveCommittee member for the Florida HousingCoalition. He served as Executive Director ofthe Florida Housing Finance Agency from itsinception in 1981 to 1994 . As its first ChiefExecutive Officer, he led the way in creation ofthe Sadowski Act.

Officer Anitra Highland, a law enforcementofficer shared her personal story at theHousing Rally in Tallahassee on April 11th.The following are excerpts from heremotion-filled address:

“In 1997 I lost my mother in a traffic crash. When mymother died she left behind 7 children; I was the oldest,but only 19 at the time. The foundation and everythingour mother had laid for us was gone. We didn’t have aplace to live or call home. I promised my mother, mysiblings and myself, I would find a way to take care ofmy brothers and sisters.

By 2001 I obtained custody of my 5 siblings. As Ilooked at my financial situation, I felt there was nohope in us owning a home. At the time I was 23, adispatcher for the Tallahassee police Department,student and raising 5 children alone. My siblings andI had been living in an apartment for years. Manytimes the thought crossed my mind, what if somethinghappened to me? Where would my siblings go, wherewould they call home?

Home ownership went from being a dream to being areality for me because of a combination of fundingassistance from the State and Local Housing Trust Funds.

A combination of low interest mortgage money anddown payment assistance from the State HousingFinance Corporation , and SHIP down payment assis-tance program leveraged my first mortgage with a locallender. And my mortgage payments became even moreaffordable because the City of Tallahassee waives waterand sewer fees for affordable housing.

Since moving into my home, I have gone from being atelephone dispatcher with the Tallahassee PoliceDepartment to becoming a law enforcement officer.I am currently in school while working full-time andalso parenting all the time.

Being able to purchase my own home is one of thegreatest things that could have ever happened to me. Iknow being able to purchase a home, stabilized my lifeand the life of my siblings so we could accomplish themany things in our lives we have this far.

It is my honor and pleasure to give back to the City ofTallahassee through my work as a law enforcementofficer and a parent. And I want others like me to havethis same opportunity, so I truly hope the FloridaLegislature will make sure these funds are availablenow and in the future.”


Economic Benefits of Sadowski Act State and Local Housing Trust Fund

Monies (State Funding)

H

The following is an executive summary of a Sadowski Act Coalition white paper

prepared for the Florida Legislature by Mark Hendrickson. The full report is

available on the Florida Housing Coalition’s website www.flhousing.org

Leveraging of State Funding with Private SectorInvestment and Federal Funds: For every $1 million ofstate funding for housing, over $6.05 million of housing isbuilt and/or sold.

Lost Federal Resources: Florida has lost $520.9 million offederal tax exempt bonds and tax credit equity in just the lasttwo years from the de facto cap on SAIL and/or SHIP. Repealof the cap will prevent this massive loss from continuing.

Total Economic Impact—Multiplier Effect: TotalEconomic Activity Far Exceeds value of housing built:

Because of the multiplier effect and leveraging, for every$1 million of state funding, $10.36 million of economicactivity is generated. As part of that economic activity, each$1 million of state funding generates over $4.05 million ofearnings/income.

Job Creation: For every $1 million of state funding, 106jobs are created.

Tax Revenues: Every $1 million of state fundinggenerates almost $100,000 of sales tax revenue to the state,directly attributable to purchase of construction materials.

The table shows total economic activity and the increase in each category from the cap of $243 million to both $413.9 million(the FY07-08 uncapped level) and $580 million (the average annual uncapped level over the next 10 years. All numbers basedupon the March 2007 Revenue Estimate, and the detailed analysis that follows in this paper.

ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF CAP REPEAL: INCREASED HOUSING PRODUCTION, ECONOMIC IMPACT, INCOME, JOBS AND TAX REVENUE

$413.9 million:Total Impact

$413.9 million vs. Cap

$580.0 million:Total Impact

$580.0 million vs. Cap

27,087

+11,184

37,966

+22,063

$4.29 billion

+$1.77 billion

$6.01 billion

+$3.49 billion

$1.68 billion

+$693 million

$2.35 billion

+$1.37 billion

43,869

+18,114

61,474

+35,719

$40,856,400

+$16,865,550

$57,265,650

+$33,274,800

Housing Units Economic Activity Income JobsState Housing Funding State Sales Tax Revenue

Summary of Findings:

HSomething happened! Housingprices in Florida went from annualincreases of 5 to 6% per year to 10to 20% per year, and it can’t be blamedon inflation. The same thing happenednationally, but the rates of increase werenot as great. After 2000 prices simplytook off. During 2006 and after priceshave backed-off somewhat, but they arestill substantially above historical levels. The objective hereis not to try to explain what happened but to discuss some ofthe consequences of what happened.

A great deal of attention has been focused on the prices ofhomes and how those prices have gone up and then down.Little attention has been focused on the income of Floridahouseholds and the resulting affordability consequences ofthe precipitous increase in housing prices. The prices ofhouses, like any good, are set in the marketplace andrespond to supply and demand. Clearly the sharp increases

in prices are not the result of higher incomes ofFloridians. While the average rate of growth for housingprices has been 8.6%, the average rate of increase inhousehold income has been 3.4%, less than half. Whileexternal factors have been increasing the prices ofhouses, Floridians and their local governments1 have beenleft to deal with the consequences.

FLORIDA US

1993 $87,100

1994 $86,200

1995 $87,900 $110,500

1996 $92,300 $115,800

1997 $95,800 $121,800

1998 $101,500 $128,400

1999 $106,900 $133,300

2000 $115,900 $139,000

2001 $126,600 $147,800

2002 $137,800 $156,200

2003 $158,400 $178,800

2004 $182,400 $195,400

2005 $235,200 $219,600

2006 $248,300 $225,000SOURCES: Florida Board of Realtors and NationalAssociation of Realtors, Websites.

TABLE 1MEDIAN RESALE PRICES

Page 8 T H E F L O R I D A H O U S I N G C O A L I T I O N

H

Is There Linkage inFlorida’s Future?

By James C. Nicholas

$300,000

$250,000

$200,000

$150,000

$100,000

$50,000

$01994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006

MEDIAN RESALE PRICE

Florida

US

Dr, Nicholas will be presenting the workshop on linkage/mitigation ordinaces at the Florida HousingCoalition's statewide annual conference on Sept 6th, and will also be a panelist during the plenary session on

the Economics of Housing on September 5th.

Incomes have not kept up with housing prices with the resultbeing increasing numbers of households unable to findadequate housing. This situation will eventually result inlabor shortages in addition to the social consequencescommonly associated with inadequate housing. There aresound economic reasons to be concerned about this situationthat are in addition to the social concerns. But, why not letthe market solve the housing problem? The market is nowsolving the problem. Many households have left Florida.Many businesses find that they cannot hire needed laborand, without a supply a labor, Florida’s economy will witheraway regardless of how many inducements are given forbusiness to relocate to or expand in Florida. Additionally,higher wages will also make Florida less attractive as abusiness location. Unaddressed, the market will solve theproblem;whether we will like that solution is another matter.

Truly a picture is worth a thousand words. There wasbalance between housing prices and household incomes, butthat exists no more. The leveling seen in 2006 and into2007 has stopped, at least temporarily, any further increasein the affordability gap, but it had grown so big that toappears to be insurmountable.

What to do? Option number one is, Don’t Worry, Be Happy,or let the market solve it. Another option being consideredis housing linkage. Linkage programs look to the sources orcauses of a problem, in this case a housing affordabilityproblem, to mitigate that problem. Housing linkage is

commonly associated with California but it has beenseen much earlier than the recent California enactments

and also in many otherplaces. Employers assistingtheir employees with housinghave existed throughout thehistory of this country. Today it isbecoming increasingly commonfor employers to provide a varietyof housing assistances to theiremployees as fringe benefits.Linkage programs require thosenew businesses that aggravatehousing affordability problemsto provide some mitigation ofthose problems. This mitigationcan be in the form of employerassisted housing, such as down-


FLORIDA US

1993 $87,100 $28,550

1994 $86,200 $29,294

1995 $87,900 $29,745

1996 $92,300 $30,641

1997 $95,800 $32,455

1998 $101,500 $34,909

1999 $106,900 $35,831

2000 $115,900 $38,856

2001 $126,600 $36,421

2002 $137,800 $38,024

2003 $158,400 $38,972

2004 $182,400 $40,535

2005 $235,200 $42,990

2006* $248,300 $43,665*http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/income/histinc/* Projected

TABLE 2MEDIAN RESALE PRICES AND

MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME, STATE OF

FLORIDA

$300,000

$250,000

$200,000

$150,000

$100,000

$50,000

$01994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006

MEDIAN RESALE PRICE AND MEDIANHOUSEHOLD INCOME

STATE OF FLORIDA

$70,00

$60,00

$50,000

$40,000

$30,000

$20,000

$10,000

$0

INCO

ME

PR

ICE

Housing Prices

Household Income


payment grants, low interest loans or assumption of partor all of the closing costs. To the extent that employerscannot or will not provide employee housing assistance,linkage programs will require them to do something aboutthe problem.

Linkage programs begin with a nexus study. This is a studythat establishes the nexus, or the linkage, between newdevelopments and the need for housing for the additionalemployees of those establishments. This linkage is estab-lished by studying employment and wage statistics togetherwith development data. The employment data are taken

from the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation, whichare available on-line. These data report how many peopleare employed, what industry they are employed in and whatthose employees earn. These data allow the determinationof employee ability to afford housing by industry ofemployment. Development or land use data come frombuilding and property appraiser records. Putting thesedata together will make a statistical link between newdevelopment, by type of development, the number ofadditional jobs that the new developments will create andthe expected earnings of those employees. For Florida thenumbers look like this:


Total, All Industries $38,526 $57,074 $190,247 ($58,053)

Goods-Producing $40,183 $58,731 $195,772 ($52,528)

Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting $22,425 $40,973 $136,575 ($111,725)

Construction $39,985 $58,533 $195,111 ($53,189)

Manufacturing $44,377 $62,925 $209,750 ($38,550)

Service-Providing $38,233 $56,781 $189,271 ($59,029)

Trade, Transportation, & Utilities $35,802 $54,350 $181,166 ($67,134)

Wholesale Trade $55,221 $73,769 $245,896 ($2,404)

Retail Trade $26,853 $45,401 $151,337 ($96,963)

Transportation & Warehousing $41,182 $59,730 $199,100 ($49,200)

Information $54,724 $73,272 $244,239 ($4,061)

Financial Activities $55,890 $74,438 $248,125 ($175)

Finance and Insurance $62,608 $81,156 $270,520 $22,220

Real Estate & Rental & Leasing $42,497 $61,046 $203,485 ($44,815)

Professional & Business Services $42,335 $60,883 $202,943 ($45,357)

Education and Health Services $39,560 $58,108 $193,695 ($54,605)

Educational Services $37,322 $55,870 $186,234 ($62,066)

Health Care & Social Assistance $40,934 $59,482 $198,275 ($50,025)

Leisure and Hospitality $20,411 $38,959 $129,863 ($118,437)

Accommodation & Food Services $17,960 $36,508 $121,692 ($126,608)

Other Services $27,007 $45,556 $151,852 ($96,448)

Public Administration $46,077 $64,626 $215,418 ($32,882)

Table 3EMPLOYMENT AND HOUSEHOLD EARNINGS BY INDUSTRY

FLORIDA 2007

INDUSTRY TITLE

SOURCE: Florida Labor Market Statistics, March 2007.

INDIVIDUALEARNINGS

HOUSEHOLDINCOME

AFFORDABILITYLIMIT

AFFORDABILITYGAP

Here are projected 2007 earnings byindividual employee and by the house-holds of those employees by industry.The affordability limit is calculatedusing the 30% rule. Only householdsemployed in financial activities above theaffordability limit, using the 2006 medianresale price of $248,300. Note may betaken of the size of the gap for thoseassociated with tourism.

Let’s take someone employed in retailtrade. The average 2007 individualearnings is $26,853 ($12.91 per hour),converting to a household income of$45,401. This household can afford topay $151,337 for housing, substantiallybelow the median of $249,300. These arethe input data for a linkage study. Thenext step in the process is to determinehow many retail sales employees will there be for each newretail establishment. If we use 1.5 employees per 1,000feet of floor area, there is a shortage of $145,445 per 1,000square feet of retail floor area. But perhaps $248,300 isnot the appropriate housing target. Let’s try $200,000 asthe target. The household shortage is now $48,663 and theshortage per 1,000 feet is $72,995.

These calculations are only illustrative and use statewidedata. All calculations would have to be done for individualcommunities and the results may be higher or lower thanthose shown here.

A completed linkage or nexus study will show the numberof workforce housing units needed per unit of newdevelopment, thus validating an inclusionary housingpercentage and the amount of assistance that would berequired to make some defined level of housing affordable.A linkage ordinance could then require workforce housing tobe provided at those ratios or that a fee in lieu be paid ifactual housing is not provided. The preferred alternativewould be for affordable housing actually to be provided,perhaps through employer assisted housing2.

But do linkage programs actually deliver affordablehousing? An actual example may answer this question.The City of Sacramento in 1990 adopted a schedule oflinkage “fees” that are to be paid if the developer does nototherwise satisfy the City’s requirement for adequate

housing. Those electing not to provideemployer assisted housing pay a fee inlieu when construction is permitted. Theproceeds are transferred to the SacramentoHousing and Redevelopment Agency andused to fund affordable housing. Asof 2005, the City of Sacramento hadproduced 2,000 affordable housing unitsby this program3. This program has beenin place since 1990, thus averaging 133units per year. The linkage program iscombined with other city efforts to havecreated over 14,000 affordable housingunits in Sacramento. Let there be no doubtthat there are still unmet housing needs inSacramento, but those needs are 2,000 lessbecause of their linkage program.

Florida has several inclusionary housingprograms – Tallahassee, Key West and

Palm Beach County – but no linkage programs, other thanthe city of Winter Park, which has had a linkage feeordinance for more than fifteen years. Several linkagestudies are underway – Collier, Lee and Palm Beachcounties and the cities of Boca Raton, Destin, Islamoradaand Marathon. Whether these efforts will ever becomeenacted is not known. But, given the lack of success ofother efforts, linkage is a possibility and it is one that isnow evolving in Florida.

JAMES C. NICHOLAS is emeritus professor of urban & regionalplanning and emeritus professor of law at the University of Florida.He was associate director of the Environmental and Land Use LawProgram in the Levin College of Law at the University of Floridafrom 1997 to 2006. He received his undergraduate education inbusiness administration at the University of Miami, Florida,graduating in 1965. He earned a doctorate in economics from theUniversity of Illinois in 1970. From 1969 to 1985 he was atFlorida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida, as professor ofeconomics and acting and co-director of the Joint Center forEnviron mental and Urban Problems. He has published widely onthe subject of fiscal aspects of growth management. He has alsoworked with a large number of nation, state and local governmentson issues of growth management.

1.The State of Florida was purposefully excluded here because the state,the Legislature, has reallocated funds away from affordable housing forgeneral revenue.2.This discussion focuses on ownership, but the affordability of rentalhousing can also be addressed.3.City of Sacramento, “State of the City, 2005,” page 7.


A completed linkage or

nexus study will show

the number of work-

force housing units

needed per unit of new

development, thus vali-

dating an inclusionary

housing percentage and

the amount of assis-

tance that would be

required to make some

defined level of hous-

ing affordable.

H


H

Going Green in the Sunshine State

Mention environmental sustainability at your nextcocktail party and watch the eyes glaze overwith notions of complex systems and carboncaps. But raise the topic with Larry Warner, the architectand green building expert who designed an exciting newhousing developmentin Bonita Springs, andsparks are likely to fly.Warner is passionateabout sustainability.And for him, it issimply “a sense ofcommunity.”

A simple yet elegantchange in conventionaldesign promises tomake community anorganic component ofRenaissance atRosemary Park. Withgarages and shareddriveways in the rearof the homes, children will be able to run and play safelyacross yards, while adults will exit their front door onto acommon sidewalk and perhaps even meet a neighbor ortwo instead of making the usual dash for the driver’s seat.

“The average family lives in a house 7.1 years becausethere’s no community,” observes Warner. “If you createspaces where people can interact with neighbors, it’s harderto leave because people are invested.”

Green building means thinking differently about how peoplelive and interact to cultivate pride and connectedness,while promoting a more ecologically healthy lifestyle. Ofcourse, it also encompasses design and constructionelements like solar hot water heaters, enhanced insulation

and energy-efficientlighting, native tropicalplants, healthier venti-lation, greater densityand other environmen-tally friendly detailslarge and small.

Renaissance atRosemary Park (seesidebar, page 15) is oneof several affordablegreen developmentssprouting up aroundFlorida and the nationas part of the GreenCommunities initiativelaunched by Enterprise

in 2004. The initiative is a $555 million commitment tobring affordable housing into the green fold by creating morethan 8,500 homes that deliver significant health, economicand environmental benefits for low-income families andcommunities.

Enterprise has partnered with the Natural ResourcesDefense Council, the American Institute of Architects,American Planning Association and a host of other organi-

For more than a decade, the Florida Housing Coalition has been promoting energy efficiency and sustainable development to make hous-

ing more affordable for the homeowner or renter. Because building green is directly related to the economics of housing, we will once

again highlight the Green Communities Initiative at this year's conference. The training workshop we facilitated entitled “Where’s the

Green for your Next Affordable Housing Project?” served as a pre-conference event for the annual Green Trends conference in

Gainesville, and highlighted the work of the Green Communities Initiative in Florida. In 2005, the Florida Green Building Coalition and

the Enterprise Foundation, announced the beginning of their Florida initiative, and in 2006 they reported on a year of productive efforts

by featuring nonprofit developers who had decided to build green in their single-family development work during a workshop at the

Coalition’s conference. We are pleased to partner with the Enterprise Foundation and the Florida Community Loan Fund in promoting

the Green Communities Initiative throughout Florida.

Going Green in the Sunshine State

Members of the Housing Partnership of Northeast Florida worked with Enterprise toincorporate green standards into its "Paint the Town" home rehabilitation programin Northwest Jacksonville.

H


zations in this effort to provide financing, equity and grantsto developers building or preserving for-sale and rentalhomes that not only promote health and conserve energy andnatural resources, but also enhance access to jobs, schoolsand services. Key partners also include funders like Bankof America, Fannie Mae, the Home Depot Foundation,Kresge Foundation and the Citigroup Foundation.

A New Way of Doing Business

The urgency of making green buildings the norm – specifi-cally for low-income residents who have the most to gainfrom healthier living conditions – has never been greater.Climate change is a serious and worsening problem; currentglobal CO2 levels are the highest in 650,000 years. Theenvironmental impact of buildings, by far the biggestconsumers of energy, is seriously undermining theaffordable housing movement’s efforts to develop vibrant,thriving communities. Low-income people sacrifice medicaland dental care, miss rent payments, and even go withoutfood just to keep up with rising utility costs. Poorly sitedand designed housing makes low-income children andadults vulnerable to chronic asthma, obesity and otherhealth consequences, while isolating residents from jobopportunities and needed supports and services.

In part, Green Communities aims to bridge the environ-mental, public health and community development sectors.At a national conference in 2004 sponsored by Enterpriseand the National Center for Healthy Housing, participantsfrom all three sectors laid the groundwork for a consolidatedstandard for healthy, sustainable housing that wouldbe environmentally responsible but also within reachaffordable housing developers.

Two individuals proved invaluable to the creation of GreenCommunities: Jonathan F.P. Rose, a trustee of both NRDCand Enterprise, and an award-winning developer of mixed-used green projects; and Gregory H. Kats, a preeminentauthority on the costs and benefits of green development.Enterprise also worked with its diverse partner organizationsto develop a national standard for cost-effective, environ-mentally sustainable affordable homes called the GreenCommunities Criteria – a comprehensive and holistic set ofsiting, planning, design, construction and maintenanceguidelines.

“We wanted an affordable-housing developer to be able topick up these standards and put them into practice atminimal cost, knowing they would actually save money in

the long run,” says Dana Bourland, senior director of thenational Green Communities initiative.

The overwhelming response to Green Communities suggeststhat the criteria are, indeed, user-friendly and cost-effective.Green Communities is well within reach of its targets, withmore than 7,000 sustainable homes underway in 159developments in 23 states. Of the $555 million committed,$350 million has already been invested. More than 2,700affordable housing professionals have been trained in greencommunity standards and practices.

To date, the initiative has spurred more than four timesas much production as initially forecast, with aggregateinvestment 61 percent higher than anticipated. Theastounding progress demonstrates how “developers havebeen thinking about green building, talking about it,and trying to get it funded,” says Bourland. “When thisinitiative came along, developers were clearly ready totake action.”

The success of Green Communities hinges not just on thenumber of projects it supports, but on how the affordablehousing community pursues and practices its work andcontinues learning and demonstrating the human andeconomic benefits of green development. “We want to helpevery new green developer become an advocate, a trainerand a leader in the industry,” she says.

Case in point: Renaissance at Rosemary Park is the firstgreen project for the Bonita Springs Area HousingDevelopment Corporation – and it has set a vital new coursefor the organization. Says Executive Director DianeLedford: “The hardest part is making a commitment to gogreen, and we’ve done that.”

Florida Green Communities

Ledford’s organization received a $42,000 grant throughFlorida Green Communities, a collaborative effort ofEnterprise, the Florida Green Building Coalition and theFlorida Community Loan Fund, which provides low-costcapital and free technical assistance to support affordablehousing, economic development, nonprofit communityfacilities and essential social services. The initiative hasinvested more than $27 million worth of incentives to helpbuild or renovate at least 300 homes in Florida that promotehealth, conserve energy and natural resources, and provideeasy access to jobs, schools and services.



Florida Green Communities helps developers committed tobuilding green affordable housing by providing grants,technical assistance and flexible low-cost funding.Planning and construction grants are available up to$50,000 per project. Additional grant funds and below-market rate loans are available to nonprofit developersworking with the Florida Community Loan Fund.

Incentives through Florida Green Communities include: More than $2.5 million in total discounted green loans todevelopers of affordable residential or supportive housingGrants totaling $230,000 to help cover costs associated withgreen building Technical assistance at no cost through theFlorida Solar Energy Center to help developers apply themost cost-effective green strategies and identify local designprofessionals with green-building expertise. Competitivelypriced equity through the Low-Income Housing Tax CreditDevelopers seeking grants and financing must meet theGreen Communities Criteria as adapted for Florida. Inaddition, homeownership developments must make at least15 units affordable to people earning 80 percent of areamedian income; multifamily or supportive housing develop-ments must make at least 25 units affordable to peopleearning 60 percent of area media income.

Progress on the Policy Front

Few people probably know that Florida became the first statein the nation to operate a certified green convenience storewhen the Pantry Inc.’s Kangaroo Store opened its doors nearthe University of Gainesville. But Florida’s distinction in thegreen building movement is nevertheless garnering attention.

Notably, the Florida Green Affordable Housing Standardstreamlines participation in both Green Communities andthe Florida Green Building Coalition. The nonprofitmember organization has established an array of detailedstandards to promote the economic and environmental benefitsof green building among all kinds of developers. Developerswho meet the standard have access to technical assistance,grants, low-interest loans and tax-credit equity.

Florida’s foresight on creating a statewide green buildingprogram reflects a growing trend nationwide. Sustainingmomentum in the green movement requires much morethan one initiative or group of funders can accomplish.It requires significant changes in laws, policies, andregulations at the federal, state and local levels to makegreen communities the standard for doing business.

Beyond Florida, significant efforts are occurring inMassachusetts, Michigan and Ohio. At the municipal level,San Francisco and Washington, D.C., are leading the charge. In August 2005, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsomeannounced that the city would apply “environmentallysustainable development principles to all new affordablehousing developments.” That unprecedented commitmenthas helped spawn projects that are creating some 600healthy, sustainable apartments for low-income and formerlyhomeless individuals and families. And last December,D.C.’s City Council passed a landmark bill requiring allmajor construction and rehabilitation projects to meetsustainability standards by 2012. Giving special attentionto affordable housing, the law directs all projects with 15percent or more public financing to meet Enterprise’s GreenCommunities Criteria by fall 2008.

Among states, two standouts include Minnesota – which iscommitted to making all affordable housing projects greenby embedding green criteria into the standards used toselect projects for funding – and Washington, where,beginning July 1, 2008, all developments receiving supportfrom the state’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund must meetEnterprise’ Green Communities Criteria.

Closer to home, the Housing Finance Authority of Miami-Dade County introduced a sustainable housing initiativeearlier this year that calls for:

• Phasing in Florida Green Homes Standards for allsponsored new construction and rehabilitation projects

• Rehabilitating six homes to Florida Green HomesStandard in 2007-2008

• Commissioning a study to examine codifying sustainablestandards vs. offering developer incentives

• Promoting an increase in a state-sponsored subsidy andincentives for sustainable projects

• Inviting the national nonprofit Global Green to conductstrategic planning and presentations

• Identifying a celebrity partner to help champion andpublicize sustainability

‘No Turning Back’

The robust response to Green Communities clearly showsthat the field is eager to create and strengthen systemsfor building green affordable housing. Enterprise and itspartner organizations in Florida and nationwide arecommitted to making sustainable development themainstream approach among affordable housing developers– and spreading knowledge of how to do that far and wide.

“We are devoted to sharing our lessonsand using them to refine and expandour support to green projects,” saysGreen Communities’ Dana Bourland.“Our experience shows community-based developers can build healthy,environmentally responsible projectson a cost-effective basis, and there’s noturning back.”

The Florida Housing Coalition thanks thestaff of Enterprise Community Partners forsubmitting this article and for its continuingpartnership with the Florida HousingCoalition. The Coalition will highlightEnterprise's Green Communities Initiativewithin the conference workshop “TheEconomics of Green Housing” scheduledfrom 10:45 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Sept, 6,2007.


BONITA SPRINGS AREA HOUSINGDEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

When Enterprise invited us to participate in building anaffordable green community in Southwest Florida, “Ourfirst question was, ‘What is a green community?’ ”recalls Mary Sorge, then-executive director of the BonitaSprings Area Housing Development Corporation. Theresult of that inquiry – reported in this publication infall 2005 – and the months of hard work that followedis a robust transformation occurring in the heart ofurban Bonita Springs, where an attractive new develop-ment is bringing green affordable housing to thisvibrant coastal community.

Renaissance at Rosemary Park will feature 39 single-family homes. As the city has seen the economyimprove, jobs have become increasingly plentiful here,but affordable housing is scarce. Renaissance atRosemary Park reflects a trend to ensure quality afford-able homes for the city’s service sector and others earn-ing low and moderate incomes.

With 8.5 homes per acre, the compact development willhelp to reduce erosion and lower the cost of improvingroads, sewer systems and other public infrastructure.The project also promotes healthy, “walkable” neigh-borhoods close to services and amenities, including abus line, school, library, recreation center and shopping.

The houses will have metal roofs that offer tremendouslong-term savings in cooling costs. The homes’ naturalcooling systems feature doors at each end of the houseand no windows opening to direct sunlight. The newdevelopment also uses “xeriscaping,” bypassing tradi-tional landscaping for native tropical plants thatrequire minimal care and yield huge savings in water.

THE HOUSING PARTNERSHIP OF NORTHEASTFLORIDA

The Housing Partnership worked with Enterprise toincorporate green standards into its Paint the Townhome rehabilitation program in Northwest Jacksonville.The program’s customers typically are seniors with lowto moderate incomes. Rehabilitation is providedthrough a combination of the program’s own profes-sional construction staff, subcontractors and volunteerlabor. Over the past 11 years, the Housing Partnershiphas rehabilitated nearly 2,300 homes.

Through a partnership with the Jacksonville ElectricAuthority, every home participating in this year’s Paintthe Town event will receive a pre-energy audit. Theaudits will provide a baseline to measure homeimprovements. The authority will also provide a home-owners workshop on energy conservation.

The average amount spent on rehabilitation per Paintthe Town house is $40,000. Much of the repair work isdone in the months leading up to the annual springevent. During the actual “Rehab Week,” hundreds ofvolunteers donate thousands of hours of painting andlandscaping the selected homes. Thanks to the program’snew standards, residents will soonsee the benefits of green intheir own homes.

HOMES IN PARTNERSHIP

Homes in Partnership (HIP) will take its green buildingefforts to new heights with its first Green Communitiesproject near Orlando in Orange County.

HIP’s Self-Help Program purchases and develops land,and brings families together to participate in the con-struction of their homes. The program spurs economicand neighborhood development, while building pride ofownership. HIP also works to ensure that its growth anddevelopment meet the goals of the community as awhole as well as the county’s comprehensive plan. Withsupport from a Green Communities grant, HIP willdevelop 15 infill lots within four miles of each other inthe Tangerine and Mount Dora communities to createsingle-family homes for low-income residents.

Since 1975, HIP has provided housing opportunities formore than 3,500 very low and low-income families.Energy efficiency and improved ventilation are especial-ly critical to its constituents, who stand to benefit mostfrom lower utility bills, improved air quality, and fewermaintenance-related costs and worries.

From Key West to Miami Beach and Arcadia, Florida’s affordable housingdevelopers large and small have some 300 units of sustainable housing underway

that will deliver healthier, energy-efficient homes to lower-income residents.

To learn more about Green Communities, visitwww.greencommunitiesonline.org andwww.greencommunitiesonline.org/florida.

Working creatively to increasethe supply of affordablehousing is critical. EAHprograms offer an innovative mecha-nism for leveraging public and privatefunds to make housing affordable forworking families. EAH programshave been shown to help attract andretain workers, and, ultimately,enhance the economic stability ofcommunities across the entire nation.

But the abundance of job opportuni-ties is offset by the lack of housingopportunities in many areas. Housingproduction has failed to keep pacewith job growth, sending housingprices sky-high. Frustrated employerscan't find workers, and workers can'tfind affordable housing without theeconomic and time burdens of com-muting.

Municipal, state, and federal gov-ernment entities are also using EAHprograms to provide housing solutionsfor teachers, firefighters, and police.A nationwide shortage of teachers hasprompted municipalities and schoolboards to provide both homeowner-ship and rental assistance.

Local governments seem to be par-ticularly inclined to support EAHprograms given that these programspromote regional economic develop-ment and often leverage private dol-

lars to support housing. Fannie Mae,the nation’s largest purchaser of homemortgages, sees EAH programs asgood for business and has developed aspecialized EAH mortgage product.The U.S. Department of Housingand Urban Development (HUD) hassuccessfully tied in employer assistedhousing with HOME block grants andother federal housing programs.

WHAT EXACTLY ISEAH?

Employer-assisted housing can bedescribed as any employer sponsoredhousing benefit, which could includedown payment assistance or rentalassistance, home buyer education andcounseling, low-interest mortgages toname a few. Specifically, EAH programscan close the homeownership andrental affordability gap and allowworkers to live in the communitiesthey serve.

WHAT BENEFITS ARETHERE FOR STAKE-HOLDERS OF ANEAH PROGRAM?

H The employer enjoys the benefitsof a more stable workforce whenemployees live near work.Improved morale, less turnover andreduced recruitment result in bot-tom line savings.


EAHIn order to ensure the economic vitality of Florida’s communities there

must be affordable housing options in place for our workforce

EMPLOYER ASSISTED HOUSING

H

PUBLISHER OF FLORIDA’S PRICEDOUT REPORT FOR FLORIDA

EMPLOYERS www.PricedOutReport.org

Presents wage information for more than 60occupations for 18 Florida Metropolitan Areas.The purpose of Florida’s Priced Out Report is to:

• Allow analysis of annual incomes for work-force employees within 18 MetropolitanAreas

• Calculate the maximum mortgage amountthat workforce employees can afford basedon market supported variables

• Compare how much down payment andclosing cost assistance each workforceemployee needs to afford a home in theircommunity based on your inputted homeprice


H Can serve as incentives for employee recruitment and retentiondepending on how the assistance is structured.

H The employee, beyond receiving financial support from an employerto buy a home closer to work, also gains extra time – formerlyspent in traffic – for family or community life.

H And the surrounding community gratefully trades in a portion ofits traffic congestion for the new investment and property taxes,as former commuters buy homes near the jobsite.

H The more partners work together to develop affordable housing pro-grams/opportunities for local employees, the more these partnersare recognized as essential to the economic health of the region.

HOW WOULD AN EMPLOYER STARTAN EAH PROGRAM?

Although developing and implementing a basic program is relativelysimple, many employers choose to contract with a local communityorganization to provide homeownership counseling and administerother aspects of the programs. This model works well when there aremultiple participating employers in a concentrated geographic area.

H Set up a partnership of the County, municipalities, employers-especially public agencies, lenders, development interests andlocal housing providers.

H Meet on an on-going basis to discuss employee needs. Participatingemployers are usually the health care industry, education, localgovernment and utilities. However, it is not limited to these groupsand others may find it more beneficial to participate in a pool ofassistance rather than create their individual programs.

H A partnership or one entity can immediately launch a program towork with local employers to (1) notify all employees with atten-tion to those who may not have immediate access to information(2) conduct informal sessions and post information through fly-ers, and websites. This can lead to a greater participation ofemployers if they see interest among their employees.

H Decide on the type/amounts of assistance i.e. matching localgovernment assistance with employer dollars on a per unit basis,based on income level of applicant. For example, a $75,000subsidy could use a $5,000 or $10,000 employer subsidy.

H Decide on what type of resale formula or retention method to useto keep the property in the affordable housing inventory.

H Decide on the income level for eligibility.

EMPLOYER ASSISTED HOUSING EXAMPLES

• Martin County - Growth Management Department Evaluated employerassisted housing possibilities and developed a strategic plan toguide the county in supporting its local employers who wish to providehousing assistance. The Coalition sponsored a workshop for employersto provide information about finance and meeting targeted housingneeds.

• Sanibel Community Housing Resources: The Coalition has assistedthis nonprofit housing provider to develop a strategy for buildingaffordable housing in partnership with a large health care providerwho is facing employee losses due to the escalating cost of land andhousing in the vicinity.

• Lee County: The Bonita Bay Group & Lee County School Board - Downpayment Assistance Program Subsidy of up to $5,000 for the purchaseof a home held by a deferred second mortgage that amortizes overtime The Bonita Bay Group and Lee County School Board (Florida): Apartnership established to purchase sixty condominiums for SchoolDistrict employees. The Lee County Housing Development Corporationprovides the technical and counseling support.

• Hendry County Citrus Growers: A citrus grower developed rentalhousing for employees on a private basis to provide decent andaffordable housing in this rural area with proximity to the workplace.

OTHER ASPECTS TOCONSIDER:

H Administrative aspects such as qualifyingand counseling individuals may be consid-ered the work for a third party in order toreduce an employee’s hesitation in provid-ing financial information to his/her employer.

H Tracking for numbers served and timelineswill be important to assess programprogress/ effectiveness.

H Oversight in adhering to any regulatoryrequirements

The Florida Housing Coalition will assist employerswith establishing successful Employer AssistedHousing programs by coordinating partnership meet-ings, performing on-site trainings and providing clinicson topics including way employers may use landdonation, low-interest construction financing anddown payment assistance to attract and retain reliableemployees in their area. To learn more, contact theCoalition office today at (850) 878-4219.


Florida Chief Financial Officer AlexSink is a dynamic financial and civicleader whose professional experience andcommunity service have molded her into achampion for fiscal responsibility andaccountability.

In 2006 Alex Sink was elected Florida’sChief Financial Officer and is responsiblefor monitoring the state’s fiscal healthand managing more than $74 billion intax revenue coming in and out of stategovernment annually. As a Cabinetofficer, the CFO is one of four members of theFinancial Services Commission who oversee theappointed commissioners of insurance regulation andfinancial regulation. As head of the Department ofFinancial Services, her mission is to help consumerswith financial service issues, including banking,

securities and insurance. CFO Sink alsoserves as State Fire Marshal.

For nearly 30 years, CFO Alex Sink hasbeen a trailblazer in the financialprofession, with her distinguished careerculminating in the presidency of Florida’slargest bank, Bank of America. For sevenyears as president she managed more than$40 billion in customer deposits whilesupervising more than 9,000 employeesin 800 branches and earning a reputationfor credibility, integrity and fair dealing.

Prior to her banking career, Sink was a mathematicsschool teacher in West Africa for three years.

CFO Sink’s accomplishments in the financial worldhave been complemented by her strong commitment topublic service through civic and community leadership.

H Inclusionary Housing Policies

H Accessory Dwelling Units

H Green Housing

H Linkage Fee/MitigationPolicies

H Housing the Homelessand the Extremely LowIncome

H Local Government Supportfor Affordable Housing

H Factory and Systems BuiltHousing

H Employer Assisted Housing

H Mixed Income Development

H Smart Growth andRegulatory Reform

H Mobile Home ParkClosures

H Housing Preservation

H Foreclosure Prevention

H Community Land Trusts

H Housing & Hurricanes

H Rental Housing

In addition to our traditional sessions covering the nuts and bolts of how to finance and buildaffordable home ownership and rental housing in Florida, you will be engaged in workshops thatspecifically address the ECONOMIC IMPACT of a variety of cutting edge tools:

The Florida Housing Coalition’s 2007 Statewide Annual Conference is “THE ECONOMICS OF HOUSING”

KEYNOTE SPEAKERKEYNOTE SPEAKERThe Honorable Alex Sink, Florida’s Chief Financial Officer


T h e F l o r i d a H o u s i n g C o a l i t i o n ’ s 2 0 T H A N N U A L S T A T E W I D E A F F O R D A B L E

H O U S I N G C O N F E R E N C E

O m n i O r l a n d o R e s o r t a t C h a m p i o n s G a t e

S E P T E M B E R 5 – 7, 2 0 0 7

FEATURING State of the State Address Tom Pelham, Secretary,Florida DCA

andSteve Auger,

Executive Director, FHFC

The Florida Housing Coalition’s 20th annualStatewide Affordable Housing Conference is thepremier training and networking opportunity foraffordable housing professionals in Florida,with more than 650 housing professionals inattendance.

Our annual conference would not be possible without our Partners for Better Housing at all levels. We especially recognize our

THANK YOU

PLATINUM SPONSORS

BANK OF AMERICA • CITIBANK • WACHOVIA • WASHINGTON MUTUAL

GOLD SPONSORSAmSouth • Credit Union Housing Partners, LLC. • Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta

First American Title Insurance Company • Fifth Third Bank • Progress Energy of Florida • Sun Trust

September 6th The Florida CommunityLand Trust Institute NetworkingReception for Community LandTrusts from 5:30- 7:30 pm

In addition to our traditional expo showcasing a variety of financialresources for affordable housing, we will have a factory built andalternative systems and materials expo. Contact the Florida HousingCoalition at 850/878/4219 if you are interested in reserving anexhibit space.

WE WILL ALSO FEATURE: Expo, Success Stories, Affordable Housing Study Commission, SHIP Breakfast Roundtable, and the Fabulous Raff le!

Th e F lo r i da Hous i ng Coa l i t i on ~ 850 .878 .4219 – Web : www. f l h o u s i n g . o r g Ema i l : - i n f o @f lhou s i ng .o rg

HIncorporated in 1982, TampaBay Community DevelopmentCorporation (CDC) is a 501 (c)(3)nonprofit organization and a HUD-approved Housing CounselingAgency which successfully promoteshomeownership opportunities to lowand moderate income families inPinellas, Pasco and HillsboroughCounties.

Funded and sponsored by Pinellas,Pasco and Hillsborough Counties, thecities of Clearwater, Largo, and St.Petersburg and the U.S. Departmentof HUD, Tampa Bay CDC effectivelyadministers the HomeownershipOpportunity Program through downpayment and closing cost assistanceand small scale new subdivisiondevelopment.

The work of Tampa Bay CDC’sdedicated staff, along with that ofthe Largo Area Housing DevelopmentCorporation (LAHDC), a Community Housing DevelopmentOrganization (CHDO) and the City of Clearwater, recentlyresulted in 11 three bedroom, two bath homes for low andmoderate income families located at Woodlawn Street andTioga Avenue in Clearwater.

“We couldn’t have completed this project without the helpwe received from the city and Tampa Bay CDC,” said DukeTieman, president of LAHDC. “Without them, this projectmay never have become a reality.”

Tieman said Tampa Bay CDC provided guidance onfinancing, acquisition, zoning and loan processingassistance on the new homes. They helped to identify theavailable land for development and purchase from fivedifferent owners who held control of the parcels that wouldeventually become Woodlawn Oaks.

Tampa Bay CDC and the HousingFinance Authority of Pinellas Countyprovided construction financing forthe homes now occupied by localfamilies. Each homebuyer wasapproved for permanent financingand the City of Clearwater committed$60,000 as secondary financingtoward each purchase. With thiscommitment, the city then requiredhomebuyers to enroll in TampaBay CDC’s HomeBuyers Club,said Gregg Schwartz, president ofTampa Bay CDC, which emphasizedfinancial literacy, budgeting andpost-purchase counseling to buyers.

In addition, said Schwartz, eachbuyer will receive information fortwo years following their purchasewith “buyer bewares” tips. Buyersare welcome to remain in theHomeBuyers Club as long as coun-seling is needed.

Howie Carroll, who worked as the housing director of theCity of Clearwater during the time when the subdivisionfirst began developing, said Tampa Bay CDC truly provedtheir community commitment during this project.

“We jumped through a lot of hurdles in building thesehomes. It was a long process of rezoning and getting thefunding lined up for acquisitions, and then replatting thesubdivision,” said Carroll. “And through it all I canhonestly say working with Tampa Bay CDC staff was arewarding experience. They truly showed they caredabout this project.”

Be sure to join the Florida Housing Coalition conferenceattendees September 5th at the statewide affordable housingconference in Orlando as we hear first hand accounts fromthose who worked to make Woodlawn Oaks subdivision atrue success story.


HS U C C E S S S T O R I E S

Tampa Bay CDC

Tampa Bay CDC helped establish these three bed-room, two bath homes for low and moderate incomefamilies in Clearwater's Woodlawn Oaks subdivision.

Consuelo Ruiz, pictured above, was the first home-buyer to purchase a home in the Woodlawn Oakssubdivision.


HNeighborhood HousingServices (NHS) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organizationthat turns housing dreams intoreality by providing affordablehousing and neighborhood revital-ization services throughout Miami-Dade County. Distinctive in itslending services, NHS offers acomprehensive set of training andlending options for first-time home-owners.

Today, as a certified full-cyclelender, NHS provides a compre-hensive homebuyer procurementand education system designed toincrease access to homeownership,especially for first-time and low- tomoderate-income buyers. Theseeducational services are availablethroughout Miami-Dade County toprospective homebuyers, as well asprivate and public sector partners,including other community devel-opment corporations (CDC).

But the current success of theorganization was preceded byseveral years of funding woes andan unfocused organizational mission,according to NHS President ArdenShark, hired in 2001.

“I remember telling the three beleaguered staff during the firstfew weeks I was there that NHS would be known as the besthomeownership training, counseling, and lending organizationin the county before long,” said Shank. “They laughed.”

Through the years the organization, spearheaded in 1978,worked to complete homes in the local Infill HousingDevelopment program and became a certified CommunityHousing Development Corporation (CHDO), but earned a

poor reputation with lenders, localgovernment and other CDC’s, saidShank.

To begin repairing their reputation,Shank guided the organization’sfocus away from misconstruedefforts on a variety of unrelatedcommunity topics toward anorganization specifically focusedon building the best homebuyertraining, counseling, and lendingproduction possible. “All other goalswe’re put on hold,” said Shank.

To make this redefined focus areality, Shank tapped intoresources provided by the CarverPolicy Governance system,NeighborWorks America, KennedySchool at Harvard and SuccessMeasures Pilot. Each of thesesources provided invaluablesupport, assisting with objectiveslike identifying outcomes andfine-tuning operating plans forNHS. NHS also became a certifiedNeighborWorks HomeownershipCenter and a chartered member ofthe NeighborWorks network, whichgrouped NHS with 245 othertrained and certified CDC’s

working in more than 4,400 communities nationwide.

To ensure NHS continues success into the future, theorganization has set goals for itself including increasingthe number of new homeowners it assists, expanding theirnetwork of developers, real estate, religious, and communitydevelopment corporation partners, and continuing to buildnew homes. To hear about these goals and the success ofNHS, join us for the Success Stories segment of the FloridaHousing Coalition’s 20th Annual Statewide AffordableHousing Conference September 5th in Orlando.


Neighborhood Housing Services

NHS began as a community revitalizationorganization in 1978. It was spearheaded by agroup of residents, lenders and county govern-ment representatives in the West Little Riverneighborhood of Miami-Dade County, and aspart of a national network founded by theNeighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, apublic corporation chartered by the UnitedStates Congress.

Participants in NHS’ Homebuyer Education classesreceive training from real estate agents, insuranceagents, and NHS homeownership counselors.

NHS staff is committed to promoting neighborhoodrevitalization and affordable housing for low-to-moderateincome residents in Miami Dade.

The 128 PlaceApartments

Tucked along First Avenue North,in the Grand Central BusinessDistrict of St. Petersburg, sits an18-unit apartment complex thatlooks more like the high-end townhomes down the block than“affordable” housing. The 128Place Apartments are rented toindividuals with mental illnesseswho have incomes at or below 50% of the area medianincome. These apartments are part of a growing inventory ofaffordable housing owned and managed by Boley Centers,Inc. Funding for these one bedroom units came througha combination of U.S. Department of Housing and UrbanDevelopment (HUD) Section 811 Capital Advancefinancing, the City of St. Petersburg HOME dollars andthe Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta, with some extrasfunded by the Bessie Boley Foundation.

Boley Centers, Inc. is a private non-profit organization foundedin 1970 by Bessie Boley and a small group of womenconcerned about their children with mental illnesses. Thatinitial group home has grown into an organization that todayemploys over 250 people and provides services, in addition tohousing, to over 1,200 individuals annually. Boley Centersand its sister organization, Pinellas Affordable Living, Inc.,own and manage 380 units in 36 different locations through-out Pinellas County. In addition, Boley Centers acts as apublic housing authority by managing over 375 vouchers forindividuals with disabilities, persons living with HIV andAIDS, and those who are homeless. Available servicesinclude vocational evaluation and assistance with job place-ment including job coaching. In addition, tenants can takeadvantage of mental health counseling, supportive housingservices, psychiatric treatment and other services aimed athelping individuals stay stable and out of the hospital or jail.

Through close partnerships with the City of St. Petersburg,Pinellas County and HUD, Boley Centers has slowly becomeone of the major providers of housing for individuals andfamilies with extremely low incomes in the area. “Most of our

tenants are well-below 30% ofarea median income,” sayshousing manager Angelia Waller.The organization was founded toprovide services for persons whoare mentally ill, but has expandedto serve other persons in need,including a growing homelessprogram. Boley Centers wasrecently awarded a HomelessPrevention contract by the Pinellas

County Board of County Commissioners to provide homelessintervention services including help for those in danger ofbecoming homeless. This adds to Boley Centers’ otherhomeless programs that include transitional housing,permanent homeless housing (integrated into the otherpermanent housing developments under the Boley banner)and a newly opened Safe Haven (see page 26).

Boley Centers currently has four projects under developmentincluding another Safe Haven in mid-Pinellas County.Additionally, they have an eighteen unit apartment complexunder construction, forty three unit apartment complex inthe design phase in St. Petersburg and another forty threeunit mobile home park conversion under development inunincorporated Pinellas County.

The Pinellas County Safe Haven

In April of 2007 a new 25-bed “Safe Haven” opened in thePalmetto Park neighborhood of St. Petersburg. “Safe Haven”is a HUD term used to describe a residential treatmentprogram for individuals who are “chronically homeless” andwho have not succeeded in other programs. The Safe Havenis considered permanent housing because tenants can stayas long as they like and have their own space with a leaseand a guarantee that their bed will still be there when theyreturn from work or school. (Continued on page 26).

Be sure to join the Florida Housing Coalition conferenceattendees September 5 at the statewide affordable housingconference in Orlando as we hear first hand accounts fromthose who worked to make The 128 Place Apartments andSafe Haven a true success story.



Boley Centers, Inc.

The 128 Place Apartments.The 128 Place Apartments.


While Florida’s land valuescontinue to climb, andas communities grapplewith the complex issues ofsustainable affordability, localgovernments and their nonprofitpartners are examining alternativemodels for addressing the longterm needs of residents leastserved by the prevailing market.A community land trust canbenefit low-income families byproviding access to affordablehousing in high cost, service-industry dependent areas, whilekeeping housing affordable forfuture residents. Just as impor-tantly, the CLT model can be usedto capture the value of publicinvestment for long-term commu-nity benefit.

WHAT IS A COMMUNITYLAND TRUST?

A community land trust refers tothe vehicle of separating landfrom building (house) for thepurpose of transferring title tothe house without selling theland. It also denotes the non-profit organization that holdstitle to the land and manages theground leases on communityland trust properties.

Homeownership becomes moreaffordable because the transfer oftitle to the homeowner does notinclude a fee interest in the land;the sales price is based on thevalue of the improvements, with-out the value of the land. The landis owned by a 501(c)(3) corpora-tion which provides a 99 yearground lease to the homeowner.

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 the home-owner but the appreciation maybe far less than standard marketappreciation. The resale provisionwill also typically provide a rightof first refusal in favor 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 ofthe local government, society,funders providing subsidy, andaffordable housing advocates ingeneral, the CLT provides a wayof creating permanent housingstock with a single subsidy.

THE FLORIDA COMMUNITYLAND TRUST INSTITUTE

PROVIDES ASSISTANCE WITH:

H Assessing whether acommunity land trust isappropriate for your communityand, if so, which model makesthe most sense for yourcommunity

H Understanding the terms ofthe ground lease and optionsfor resale provisions

H Start up for the nonprofitcommunity land trust

H Capacity building for the non-profit community land trust

H Homebuyer counseling forcommunity land trustpurchasers

H Internal opperations andmarketing for the communityland trust

H Legal questions such as titleand real property tax issues

H 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 Friends of Florida and the Florida Housing Coalition. The Florida CLT Institute is headed by Jaimie Ross, Attorneyat Law, and Affordable Housing Director at 1000 Friends of Florida, a statewide nonprofit growth managementorganization. The training and technical assistance team is comprised of the staff of the Florida Housing Coalition.For more information, call the Florida Housing Coalition at 850/878-4219, or email [email protected].


H

Homeless and Extremely Low IncomeHousing Leadership Forum

Aforum to address housing the homeless andextremely low income held in late March wasdesigned by the Florida Housing Coalition incollaboration with the Florida Coalition for theHomeless, the Supportive Housing Coalition, and theFlorida Housing Finance Corporation. TheLeadership Forum featured John Parvensky,Executive Director of the Colorado Coalition for theHomeless, and Sharon Lee, Executive Director of the LowIncome Housing Institute in Seattle, Washington. A caucuswas held the second day of the Forum for a roundtablediscussion to address overcoming obstacles to producinghousing for the homeless and extremely low income in Florida.

Low Income Housing Institute(LIHI)

In addition to revitalizing neighborhoods and stabilizingcommunities, the LIHI is engaged in advocacy work toincrease affordable housing opportunities and end home-lessness through leadership efforts by Sharon Lee. Since1991, the organization has grown from a staff of one, Ms.Lee, into a staff of 110, which includes housing, finance,property management and resident services departments.

Since its inception, the LIHI has developed over 3,000 unitsand generated over $260 million in capital from private and

public sources for operating and supportive services.It owns or manages approximately 48 propertiesconsisting of approximately 1,600 units, includingmore than 500 designated for homeless persons.Seventy-five percent of the units are provided forfamilies or individuals earning less than 30 percentof the area median income.

Colorado Coalition for theHomeless (CCH)

CCH has developed over 1,000 affordable housing unitsacross eleven housing communities in the Denver Metroarea. The CCH is the lead agency in the Denver HousingFirst Collaborative whose mission is based on a nationwideinitiative to implement the “housing first model” withsupport from the Interagency Council on Homelessness.The CCH is able to be the lead agency given its programdesign to collaborate with various service providers inproviding services such as professional counseling and avocational services program to assist in a person’s transitionto employment.

Mr. Parvensky provided insight into the struggles andsuccesses of its mission driven goals to provide affordablehousing and services. He attributes some of the successesto its capacity building over the years and overall leveraging

John Parvensky overcame NIMBY attitudes bygaining broad community support, culminat-ing in the siting of housing for the homelessacross from City Hall; the Mayor stated, “Ifthese projects can’t be in our own city/countybackyard, how can it be expected for other sec-tors of the community to do so?”

Sharon Lee’s Low Income Housing Institutedeveloped the Green Communities awardwinning Denny Park Apartments, a taxcredit project that consists of 50 apart-ments and support services for homeless andextremely l

Documents

HOUSINGNEWS Volume 23, Number 2Governor Crist and Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, and we continuously add allies to our ranks. Together we will mount a campaign with