Interest in housing reform abounds. The Metropolitan Mayors Caucus continues to push a Housing Action Agenda, taking advantage of interest generated by the Millennial Housing Commission Report, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the Illinois gubernatorial campaign and the recent Chicago Matters "Inside Housing" Series.
Housing matters. The Chicago Matters “Inside Housing” series ended in June, but Chicago's housing problems remain very much "on the air.” As
gubernatorial and other campaigns intensify locally and nationally, increasing
attention and resources have been focused on the housing crunch.
At the request of the Metropolitan Planning Council, Millennial Housing Commission Executive Director Conrad Egan provided an early briefing on the report his congressionally appointed Commission ultimately presented to Capitol Hill on May 30. To address local interests, Mr. Egan organized his remarks — which he shared first with local mayors and then with a broader group of stakeholders — to respond to the Housing Action Agenda passed by the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus (MMC) in February. See www.mhc.gov for the full report and other background
information.
Also in May, the US. Conference of Mayors called for “a comprehensive national housing policy that addresses the variety of housing challenges in our urban communities including homeownership, rental housing, public housing, special needs housing and homelessness issues.” Click here for that report.
There is no question that the overarching objectives and many of the specific recommendation of these two reports and the MMC Housing Action Agenda are consistent, even while several differences exist.
Although the MMC Housing Task Force does not support the Millennial Housing Commission (MHC) recommendation to “devolve” federal housing policy to the states, it does support the MHC recommendation to siphon off a portion of all federal funds for local efforts to promote more regional coordination of housing, transportation, service and labor dollars.
The Mayors Housing Task Force further supports MHC recommendations related to the Housing Choice Voucher, but encourages a stronger emphasis on funding quality mobility counseling programs.
The Task Force also believes that immediate resources should be invested in the following MHC recommendations:
- Create a new rental production program to eliminate debt-service for units targeted to extremely low-income households. The MMC should clarify that municipalities would prefer that funds be allocated through localities as well as states. (The MMC should further support a
supporting bill H.R. 3995.)
- Preserve expiring federal project-based Section 8 units by providing exit tax relief for current owners who turn properties over to owners who guarantee the long-term affordability of the units. As Section 8 contracts expire, owners of expiring developments are faced with significant "exit taxes" even if they transfer properties to responsible owners for no payment in return in excess of the current mortgage amount. This disincentive prevents other owners who are willing to invest more time and energy in improving and maintaining the units from taking over the expiring Section 8 properties. Again, the MMC should clarify that municipalities prefer some local control over how this relief is allocated.
Tapping into the new grass-roots energy catalyzed by the Chicago Matters "Inside Housing" series, opportunities presented by the Illinois gubernatorial campaign and the increasingly housing-focused U.S. Conference of Mayors, the Task Force Leadership Team hopes to leverage commitments to address the above priorities with partners at the local, state and federal levels.
As staff partner to the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, MPC is committed to helping build the bridges necessary — between political, community, business and faith-based leaders — to move the Action Agenda into an era of broader implementation.