09-21-2020-WS - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Attachment: 2021-2030 Affordable and Life-cycle Housing Goals Methodology Months of cumulative outreach and discussion about how 2021-2030 affordable and life-cycle housing goals should be calculated (summarized at a May 4 Communities Development Committee meeting), has led to a methodology that is consistent and easy to understand. The selected methodology attempts to strike a reasonable, balanced approach that considers the variety of differing circumstances across communities. The 2021-2030 affordable housing goals will be a range to reflect the uncertainty and variety of local affordable housing development, and use a similar approach that 2011-2020 goals used. How were 2011-2030 affordable housing goals calculated? In 2009 and 2010 broad discussions were had about how to determine 2011-2020 affordable housing goals, including some of the same stakeholders - and even some of the same people! - that provided input for the coming decade’s goals. In summary, an estimate of available funding for affordable housing was determined for the 2011-2020 decade and used to calculate what percent of the decade’s need for affordable housing could possibly be developed. This percentage was calculated at 65%, which was then applied to each community’s share of affordable housing need for 2011-2020 to create a low end of an affordable housing goal range. The high end of a community’s goal range was the need number itself. Some communities had access to additional funding sources and therefore the low end of their range was increased, but most communities’ 2011-2020 affordable housing goal was a range between 65% and 100% of their 2011-2020 share of affordable housing need. How are 2021-2030 affordable housing goals being calculated? Affordable and life-cycle housing goals are calculated based on each community’s share of the region’s need for affordable housing in the coming decade. Each community has, or is in the process of, updating their comprehensive plans to acknowledge this “need” number, which is based on their forecasted sewer-serviced growth, their existing affordable housing choices relative to the regional average, and whether or not they import or export low-wage workers. Forecasted growth considers a community’s transit capacity, land use guidance, employment growth, and other economic and demographic trends. “Need” numbers are further adjusted as described above to encourage affordable housing development that will provide reasonable housing options at all incomes throughout the region. Determining affordable housing “goals” (which are required for LCA participation) based on affordable housing “needs” (which are required to be addressed per the Metropolitan Land Planning Act) ensures that those goals factor in all the unique characteristics of a community. However, it is widely acknowledged that there is not sufficient funding available to meet the forecasted affordable housing “need,” and affordable housing goals are an opportunity for cities to consider a more realistic, if still ambitious, number of affordable housing units that could be built in the coming decade. For this reason, the amount of funding anticipated for affordable housing development in the coming decade is the primary consideration in determining affordable housing goals. Working closely with Minnesota Housing, we have estimated that funding in 2021-2030 could support the construction of about 45% of the forecasted need for affordable housing.