|
I. Thresholds for Consideration by the Board
Projects must meet each of five thresholds before they will be considered by the Board:
A. Perpetual Affordability
1. Housing projects funded by the Board should involve mechanisms which assure perpetual affordability for lower-income Vermonters. Such protection shall be recorded in the land records and should be enforceable by the applicant or the Board. Projects which do not assure perpetual affordability are not a priority at this time. Feasibility or planning projects should address how the housing created or protected will be perpetually affordable.
2. Applicants must have a long term plan for stewardship of perpetually affordable projects. The Board may hold the right to approve the transfer of projects it funds, hold a right-of-first-refusal to repurchase such properties, or recapture income earned upon sale by the applicant or its successors.
3. The Board shall prioritize application where there is a clear and effective mechanism to assure perpetual affordability and the applicant's purpose or history is consistent with that goal.
B. Location
1. Housing projects funded by the Board shall be in a location that meets Board priorities and considerations as described below.
2. The location should not, in the opinion of staff, have a large number of negative features such as excessive traffic, proximity to commercial, industrial or other uses that are not compatible with residential uses, unless site or building layout is such as to substantially mitigate these negative features.
C. Readiness
1. The project must be ready to proceed should funding be awarded.
2. Sufficient pre-development work should have been undertaken to demonstrate overall project feasibility.
D. Financial Viability
1. The project must be financially viable, meaning that affordability will be maintained and operations and reserves funded over time.
E. Plan for Addressing Major Health and Safety Issues
1. If major health and safety issues have been identified, there must be a financially viable and practical plan for successfully addressing those problems.
II. Priorities for Funding
The Board establishes the following priorities for funding housing developments:
A. Need
1. Applicants must demonstrate a need for the particular type of housing proposed as compared to other types of housing in the community. Housing that addresses the greatest need within a community or the state as a whole will be a higher priority for funding as compared to housing that proposes to meet a lesser need.
2. In demonstrating need, applicants should be careful to differentiate between need for a particular type of housing and consumer demand for the housing.
3. The Board will support a wide range of housing options to meet a community's needs including: home or coop ownership, rental housing, family or elderly housing. The Board seeks a balance of housing options consistent with a community or region's needs. The Board will use available demographic data to evaluate whether a proposal addresses a community's needs. Applicants should conduct surveys or present other information which supports their assessment of need.
4. When and where there is a demonstrable shortage of affordable housing, adding net new units to the market will be a priority for the Board. Such units shall be added in accordance with the "Guidelines for New Construction Housing Projects".
B. Neighborhood or Downtown Revitalization
1. Projects that involve neighborhood or downtown revitalization will be a priority for the Board.
2. Rehabilitation will generally take priority over new construction unless the new construction is infill housing or contributes to cleaning up a blighted neighborhood.
C. Serve Very Low Income Households or Households with Special Needs
1. Projects that provide affordable housing to households with the very lowest
homeless or at risk of homelessness will also be considered a high priority by the Board. Affordability to this population is an additional consideration under this priority.
2. Projects that serve households with special housing needs are also a priority. The presence of support services or a social service component are additional considerations under this priority.
D. At Risk Housing
1. Projects that preserve federally subsidized housing units or obtain rental assistance for households below 50% of median will be of very high priority.
2. The Board will also strongly consider support of other at-risk housing where a lack of action may result in displacement.
3. Projects in which there has already been an investment of public funds that should be preserved shall also be a priority for the Board.
E. Dual Goal Projects
1. The VHCB recognizes the difficulty and cost of dual goal projects. Those endeavors which provide a community with both affordable housing and preservation of important Vermont lands will be a very high priority.
2. The historic significance of a structure will be considered in evaluating projects and awarding funds.
3. Housing projects shall not have a significant negative impact on important Vermont lands or on other VHCB goals.
F. Health or Safety Threats
1. If there are existing and severe health or safety threats to lower income households and the project would correct those conditions, the project will be considered a priority for the Board.
III. Contributing Factors
In deciding whether or not to fund a particular application, the Board shall also assess the following contributing factors or considerations.
A. Leverage Leverage of other funds is important to the success of projects. Leverage will be evaluated in conjunction with the economic mix of the residents to be served as well as the amount of the request, examined both on a per unit basis and percentage of total funds available. The presence of a bargain sale is considered leverage.
B. Proximity to services or public transportation
C. Overall cost effectiveness of the product as it related to quality and value of the product and the number of other priorities being addressed.
D. Capacity and track record of applicant in housing development.
E. Capacity and track record of applicant in housing management.
F. The project will create or contribute to a mixed income development or community or provide affordable housing for lower income households in a middle or upper income community.
G. Community involvement or support Applicants should demonstrate a strong community base or community support for their project. For state-wide organizations applying for VHCB funds, community base or support can be demonstrated through a partnership with locally based project committees, non-profit development organizations, or other groups that include members who represent the residents. The Board will consider and evaluate local or regional policies which have an impact on the availability and affordability of housing.
H. Level of resident involvement in the development and management of the project. Projects should indicate the extent of resident involvement in the development or management of the project. Applicants should have resident representation or plans for resident representation on the governing board of the recipient organization.
I. Livability including but not limited to quality of design and unit layout.
J. No displacement. The project will not cause displacement, especially of lower income households. The Board may choose to make exceptions to this policy if a property is being converted to service enriched housing for a special population and an acceptable plan is developed to relocate existing residents.
K. The availability of other amenities including but not limited to recreation, gardening or other open space.
L. Collaboration between different organizations, entities, or agencies where each party has a different role to play.
M. Location in a village area or compact growth center designated by a municipality where municipal infrastructure such as water and sewerage either exists or will exist in the near future.
N. Reduced rent for lower income households as a result of the project and/or failure to undertake the project will result in loss of equity for mobile home owners or coop members.
O. Impact on other VHCB goals Project does not negatively impact another VHCB goal in a significant fashion.
P. Consistency with other adopted VHCB policies and guidelines.
Q. Long term plan for stewardship of resource to be used for perpetually affordable housing.
IV. Funding Decisions The Board will assess applications for funding in the context of how the project meets Board priorities as well as other factors for consideration described above. Decisions will also involve a qualitative judgment on the part of the Board regarding how well a project meets the various priorities and factors, not just how many priorities and factors are met by a particular project.
V. VHCB Contribution
A. Applicants should be mindful of past Board actions and note that the Board and staff will continue to monitor per unit investment and overall contributions necessary to make projects work effectively. The cost of partnerships between non-profits and private developers will also be monitored.
B. Applicants should demonstrate that they have exhausted other potential state, federal, and private resources before applying to the Board for funding.
VI. Developing Capacity
The Board policy on Capacity Grants addresses the development of non-profit capacity. As amended, that policy statement addresses the Board's position on overhead, project related capacity and developing broad based capacity.
In pursuing such capability the Board and applicants should be mindful of limited resources. Neither the technical nor the financial resources exist to separately develop housing for every geographical area or client group of distinction. An effective system to deliver much needed housing will require cooperation among local regional and statewide organizations. The Board will work with and encourage collaborative regional efforts that bring together the range of resources necessary to carry out effective programs.
|
