The second annual “What’s Next? Solving Colorado’s Housing Affordability Crisis” event brought movers and shakers together to tackle one of the state’s biggest headaches: sky-high housing costs – with 89% of residents identifying housing costs as a serious issue, and many low-income households worrying about being priced out of their homes. The good news? If we double down on smart investments and protect the affordable housing we’ve got, we can start turning the tide. Bold action, big ideas and collaborative teamwork will get us there.
Housing Challenges:
- Low Income Housing Tax Credit funding is insufficient to meet community needs; new non-tax credit funding alternatives are desperately needed.
- Housing Preservation (include plug for Enterprise event Dec 11)
- Maintain focus on 3 levels of gov for funding sources: local, state, and federal
- Zoning – Medium density has its benefits but is hard to build
Affordable housing developers identified the need for alternative funding sources to LIHTC. With construction costs and income-restricted housing need on the rise, developers called for funding sources that were less competitive and more flexible than the established sources.
Additionally, preserving income-restricted housing continues to be a challenge, as units begin to age out of their LIHTC-mandated affordability periods. Short purchasing timelines, and scarce resources continue to challenge potential buyers who would preserve a building’s affordability restrictions.
Affordable housing advocates must also remain focused on all 3 levels of government, local, state, and federal, for policy initiatives. As federal funding has decreased over the years, affordable housing developers must participate in federal-level advocacy efforts while ensuring that state and local governments provide adequate resources and incentives for affordable housing.
Solutions within Reach:
- Need more innovative funding
- Incorporate the interconnectedness of health, housing, environment, and welfare into policy approaches.
- Build relationships and collective power across stakeholders to develop a shared vision
- Need better funding evaluation – not the $/unit, but the impact of the housing development on the community
- Strengthen enforcement of existing community land trust, zoning and tenant protection laws
In addition to new and innovative funding sources, attendees and speakers recognized the need to approach affordable housing from a more intersectional perspective by including health, environmental friendliness, and other factors into policy approaches.
Speakers also mentioned the need to shift the way we evaluate the effectiveness of funding. Rather than prioritizing the amount of funding per unit, funders should prioritize housing developments with fewer funding options or those that will have the greatest impact in their communities, like rural projects.