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<br />Affordable Housing <br />Maintaining affordable housing stock, creating lifecycle housing choices, and incorporating <br />housing into mixed-use development and buildings are stated goals of the Coalition. The <br />Coalition is also concerned with the subregional 'jobs-housing balance." <br /> <br />The Phase I housi"ng study took several steps first steps in toward these goals. The build-out <br />study would add to this work by using socio-demographic data (not available during the first <br />study) to conduct an analysis of housing needs analysis and of market potential for different <br />types of housing. This analysis would seek to: <br />] . understand the subtle patterns of demographic change that have dramatic impact at the <br />local level, e.g. small neighborhoods of seniors aging in place; <br />2. conduct a full-spectrum, market analysis of subregional housing needs; <br />3. identify opportunities to expand and mix housing options using smart growth strategies; <br />4. identify opportunities to enhance existing neighborhoods with trail connections, transit <br />amenities, and infrastructure improvements; and <br />5. assess which housing programs have the greatest capacity for ensuring continued <br />affordability of housing. <br />The build-out study would use findings from the housing analysis along with Livable <br />Community Act affordable housing goals approved for Coalition cities to inform how housing <br />needs might be best addressed under the preferred smart growth scenario. <br /> <br />Public Infrastructure Impacts <br />Determining the effects of smart growth land use changes on public infrastructure is a primary <br />purpose of the build-out study. Although transportation networks and services are specifically <br />identified, the Coalition realizes that the projected growth will have significant impacts on sewer <br />and water infrastructure, parks and open spaces, and urban forests. The Coalition anticipates that <br />the existing public infrastructure will lack sufficient capacity to accommodate every city's <br />development plans, if they follow conventional suburban patterns and, there may even be more <br />stress if smart growth principles are applied. . <br /> <br />The preferred smart growth option would seek to address these tensions through a variety of <br />strategies, including: enhancing existing infrastructure, reclaiming deteriorated natural <br />resoUrces, applying sustainable engineering designs, practicing smart growth site designs, and <br />strategic phasing of development and redevelopment activities to avoid unnecessary <br />infrastructure demands. The transit corridor component of this study represents one specific <br />example of the types of opportunities the Coalition wishes to explore to resolve the region's <br />growth pressures. Accompanying the options would be policy and financial recommendations for <br />implementing infrastructure changes. Like the physical strategies, the policy and fiscal <br />recommendations would seek to work with existing resources in new ways and under new <br />perfonnance measures. <br /> <br />11 <br />