[A] safe, decent place to live is one of life's basic necessities that
enables families to meet other basic necessities and save for their future . . .
- Burlington City Council Resolution Adopting the 2002 Mayor's Affordable
Housing Task Force Action Plan
Broadly, available, affordable housing is clearly something that the City
needs to address - and has been addressing - in order to be a place where
families with children flourish.
WHAT'S ALREADY WORKING:
Between November 2001 and June 2002, the Mayor's Affordable Housing Task
Force held 15 meetings, including two Public Hearings to gather public comments,
assess Burlington's current housing conditions, review regulatory impediments to
creating more housing, and to explore changes needed at the local, regional,
state and federal level to encourage more affordable housing development and
preservation throughout the region. The Task Force's report led to a 67-step
Action Plan adopted by City Council.
In addition, there are a variety of ongoing initiatives that should be
sustained:
1. Section 8 Homeownership Program
- Burlington Housing Authority offers
homeownership to eligible low-income families receiving Section 8 rental
assistance.
2. Neighborworks®HomeOwnership Center
- The City provides
operating funding for the Neighborworks®HomeOwnership Center and works with the
Burlington Community Land Trust to promote affordable homeownership throughout
the region.
- The Neighborworks®HomeOwnership Center of Vermont and CEDO offer
training and financial assistance to encourage the owner-occupancy of existing
investor-owned 2 to 4 unit properties in areas of the city with low rates of
homeownership.
3. Housing Tenure Ladder
- The City support a "housing tenure
ladder" that combines security and mobility, one that guarantees both a
"right to stay put" and a "chance to move on." The rungs of
the housing tenure ladder consist of a wide range of living situations,
including single room occupancy, family-sized apartment, detached homes,
cooperatives, condominiums, group homes and co-housing.
4. RePAIR Program
- The City provides loans and technical assistance to
for-profit rental property owners for the rehabilitation of multi-family rental
housing.
5. Functional Family ordinance
- CEDO will continue to monitor the impact of
this ordinance on the supply and affordability of housing in the City.
6. Housing Initiatives Program
- The City provides funding (CDBG, HOME and
Housing Trust Fund) for housing repair and rehabilitation to both nonprofit
housing organizations and owner-occupants of 1 to 3 units buildings.
- The City
provides grants and loans to homeowners and tenants for accessibility
modification projects.
7. Rental Opportunity Center
- The City provides operating funding for the
Rental Opportunity Center, which is a "one-stop shop" for landlords
wishing to find tenants and tenants needing to find housing.
8. Supporting homeless and housing assistance programs
- The City provides
operating funding to support Vermont Tenants, Inc., Chittenden Community
Action's Housing Assistance Program, Project HOME, COTS and Spectrum.
9. Preserving affordable units in the City
- The City works with the
Burlington Housing Authority and the Vermont Housing Finance Agency to preserve
the affordability of privately-owned, project-based section 8 housing.
10. Increased downtown density
- An amended zoning ordinance is stimulating
efforts to build new housing downtown.
WHAT COULD BE ADDED:
Many of the Affordable Housing Task Force recommendations specifically
support the creation of homeownership and family style housing, specifically the
conversion of student rental housing to homeownership. These recommendations
include:
1. Increase Housing Trust Fund revenue to support homeownership.
- The City
is pursuing possible ways to increase the resources of the Housing Trust Fund
for the purpose of supporting homeownership in areas of the city with low rates
of homeownership.
2. Notify tenants of Minimum Housing code violations.
- Code Enforcement
will routinely send tenants notices of violations found during either periodic
or complaint-based inspections. This practice will serve to inform tenants of
code violations and the City's order to correct, so that they are better able to
assist the inspectors in following up with enforcing compliance.
3. Encourage owner-occupancy of small apartment buildings.
- The City's
Condominium Conversion ordinance will be amended to exempt the conversion of all
rental buildings containing six or fewer apartments. Once the change is in
effect, the City will explore increasing the exemption further.
4. Encourage accessory apartments in single-family homes and barns/garages
- During the winter of 2002-2003, the City will amend the zoning ordinance to
allow accessory apartments (not exceeding 25% of total square feet of a
building) under the condition that the owner (person whose name is on the deed)
lives in the home. An approved accessory apartment would be disallowed if and
when the property ceases to be owner-occupied. This use would be subject to all
applicable regulations currently in place.
5. City employees should be encouraged to buy homes in Burlington
- The City
is currently in the process of creating an Employer Assisted Housing benefit to
encourage City employees to buy homes in neighborhoods with low rates of
homeownership. In addition, both UVM and FAHC are being urged to develop
companion programs for their employees.
6. Require that landlords give tenants a disclosure form
- All landlords
will distribute a "housing disclosure form" that outlines the rights
and responsibilities of both landlords and tenants. Such a notice will reinforce
the concepts of maintaining the condition and appearance of rental properties
and respecting the rights of neighbors. Consideration will be given to requiring
certain lease provisions in all residential leases to further highlight the
importance of respectful conduct.
7. Raise VHFA program limits to encourage homeownership in Burlington
- The
City is working with the Vermont Housing Finance Agency to increase income
limits and purchase price limits in every Census tract in Burlington as a way to
make buying a home in Burlington more attractive.
8. Promote use of the federal Rehabilitation Investment Tax Credit
- This
federal tax credit is for 20% of the costs of renovations to an income producing
building that is historic. The City is actively promoting the use of this
program among owners of eligible properties.
9. Notify tenants of Minimum Housing code violations
- Code Enforcement will
routinely send tenants notices of violations found during either periodic or
complaint-based inspections. This practice will serve to inform tenants of code
violations and the City's order to correct, so that they are better able to
assist the inspectors in following up with enforcing compliance.
10. Enact Time of Sale Minimum Housing Compliance ordinance
- The City will
enact an ordinance that requires every rental property placed on the market for
sale to be inspected for Minimum Housing Code compliance prior to sale. This
should help to bring values of rental properties into line with more realistic
accounting of building conditions.
11. Adopt a flexible rehabilitation sub-code
- During the winter of
2002-2003, the City will adopt a flexible rehab sub-code that provides clear
guidelines for each category of housing rehabilitation, increases the
predictability of the process for property owners and reduces the cost of
rehabilitation. In other communities where such a code has been adopted, the
amount of rental housing renovation has increased dramatically.
In addition, the City should continue to explore new homeownership
initiatives:
12. New Fannie Mae homeownership resources
- The City of Burlington and
Fannie Mae are developing a program to provide home mortgages to help low,
moderate, and middle-income families purchase homes in Burlington.
- The
partnership will focus primarily on loans with low downpayment and flexible
underwriting guidelines for 1-4 unit properties throughout the city as well as
homebuyer education and counseling.
- Mortgages will include energy efficient
savings and provisions for renovations to the homes.
- The mortgage products
will be available for qualified borrowers early next year through Fannie Mae
lender partners in Burlington.
Page last updated November 15,
2002
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