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Volume 3 Number 10
November 2006
In this Issue
Funding for Recovery in the Hurricanes' Wake, Part II
Affordable Housing Grows in Central San Joaquin Valley
Forecasts of Housing Demand in 18 Local Markets
In the next issue of ResearchWorks
Affordable Housing Grows in Central San Joaquin Valley
California's Central San Joaquin Valley faces a number of social, economic, and environmental challenges. This 250-mile corridor runs through seven counties and contains one of the world’s most productive
agricultural regions. At the same time, the area is host to some of the nation's most concentrated areas of poverty; it is sometimes called "Appalachia West." In addition, the valley's rapid population growth, which exceeds California’s overall growth rate, intensifies the need for affordable housing.
In response to this critical situation, President Bush implemented Executive Order 13173 in 2002. This order created the Federal Interagency Task Force for the Economic Development of the Central San Joaquin Valley and designated it as the primary vehicle for leading change. The task force's 19 federal agency members partner with local and state governments, the private sector, universities, congressional representatives,
and local organizations. Rollie Smith, director of HUD's Fresno Office, coordinates the task force, which works in concert with its state counterpart, the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley, which was established in 2005 by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
San Joaquin Valley Affordable Communities Initiative
The San Joaquin Valley Affordable Communities Initiative is part of a larger effort to expand affordable housing in the region. In developing and implementing this initiative, HUD's Fresno Office worked with the task force, the HUD-sponsored America's Affordable Communities Initiative, and the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley.
To build consensus for a regional strategy, federal, state, and local stakeholders interviewed more than 200 groups of builders; developers; lenders; real estate agents; employers; building trade union members; homebuyers; environmentalists; housing counselors; jurisdiction housing planners; housing authority officials; and housing advocates from congregations, neighborhood associations, and legal service organizations.
These interviews, as well as the input of seven focus groups, formed the basis for a regional vision and action plan.
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Illustration credit: Housing Authorities of the City and County of Fresno.
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Yosemite Village will provide mixed-income housing for 168 families in Fresno, California.
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The vision driving change for the Central San Joaquin Valley is that of a thriving, safe community that offers a variety of affordable housing opportunities for all of its residents and encourages homeownership. To realize this vision, the initiative takes a comprehensive,
regional approach that links housing, land use, and transportation policies; plans to appropriately concentrate growth; tailors housing policies to bring jobs and the workforce together; and provides incentives
for mixed-income housing opportunities. The initiative recommends specific reforms and policies within this framework to promote affordable housing, such as contiguous development, regulatory reform to eliminate obstacles to affordable housing, reduced impact fees for affordable housing, and revised zoning ordinances to allow mixed-use housing and higher densities. According to Smith, the task force has accomplished many of its original goals for affordable housing, including:
- Producing 2,000 units of renter- and owner-occupied affordable housing in the valley;
- Increasing funding from competitive grants by more than $30 million in the past two years by marketing HUD programs and providing technical assistance to valley jurisdictions; and
- Raising funds for a regional energy office to support affordable, energy-efficient housing.
"Most importantly," said Smith, "we have a regional housing strategy [the San Joaquin Valley Affordable Communities Initiative]; a model affordable housing strategy [the city of Fresno's 10 x 10 Plan for 10,000 additional units of affordable housing by 2010]; and a proposed regional land and housing trust, [which represents] a big financial carrot for localities to develop affordable housing. The key to developing more affordable housing is to have local jurisdictions concentrate growth and provide more mixed-income developments."
San Joaquin Valley Land and Housing Trust
The San Joaquin Valley Land and Housing Trust is central to the valley's regional housing strategy. According to Smith, legislation to establish the trust will be introduced this year in the California legislature.
Seed funding from HUD and from the state of California ($5 million each) will be available to kick-start the trust, which is designed to be a flexible source of grants and loans to localities for affordable housing projects. For example, cities and counties might use trust fund monies for land acquisition, land trust projects, preconstruction funds, matching funds for state and federal programs, downpayment and other mortgage assistance, and incentives for mixed-income housing in incorporated areas.
With a board of directors approved by participating Councils of Government, a nonprofit housing agency will administer and manage the trust. The agency will provide training and technical assistance to all participating
jurisdictions and their partners in planning and development.
Developing Affordable Mixed-Income Housing
HUD recently helped develop two mixed-income sites that embody the affordable housing goals of the San Joaquin Valley Affordable Communities Initiative:
- Little Longcheng. In April 2005, HUD's Fresno Office and its partners (Self- Help Enterprises, the city of Fresno, Wells Fargo, and Citibank) broke ground on this 41-home affordable housing subdivision 1.
The project is financed in part with $1.2 million in HUD grants administered by the city of Fresno. The development targets Hmong farming families, a growing demographic in the valley, but is open to anyone meeting Self-Help Enterprises' guidelines. Little Longcheng will offer three- and four-bedroom homes for less than $147,500. Families who qualify must have an annual household income of $25,000 or less and contribute
35 to 40 hours per week in sweat equity during construction.
- Yosemite Village. With a $20 million HUD HOPE VI award, the city of Fresno is developing mixed-income housing for 168 families. Yosemite Village will provide 15 public rental housing units and 153 homes for sale, consisting of 65 affordable lease-purchase units and 88 market-rate units for first-time homebuyers. The plan also includes 33 rehabilitated public housing units and programs for computer and job-readiness training.
Financial Education
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Illustration credit: Housing Authorities of the City and County of Fresno.
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A variety of housing styles will be available in Fresno’s Yosemite Village.
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Federal and community partners - HUD, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Internal Revenue Service, local governments, banks, and nonprofits
- are making homeownership more accessible and affordable. HUD continues to expand its financial education and homeownership counseling programs at local sites throughout the valley. The FDIC's financial education curriculum, Money Smart, covers topics critical to prospective first-time homebuyers: banking and homebuying basics, building assets, developing a good credit history, and homebuying. These classes are taught in multiple languages, including Spanish and Russian, to reach the valley's ethnically diverse population.
Valley residents are learning how to use the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit to build assets for homeownership. By helping families with tax preparation, the valley's 48 Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites are helping low-income families learn about and file for these credits. Claims can be made retroactively for up to three previous tax-filing seasons; the current average EITC refund for a family of four is approximately $1,800. These tax refunds can help families save for a downpayment and closing costs. Last year, VITA sites helped secure more than $6.5 million in total refunds for Central San Joaquin Valley residents. More than $6 million of this amount came from the EITC.
For more information on the Interagency Task Force and its partners, visit the following websites:
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Illustration credit: Housing Authorities of the City and County of Fresno.
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Eighty-eight market-rate units will be available to first-time homebuyers when Yosemite Village is complete.
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1. Self-Help Enterprises is a private, nonprofit corporation formed in 1956 that works to improve the living conditions and community standards of low-income families in its eight-county rural service area in California's San Joaquin Valley.
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