Virginia Housing Coalition Annual Fundraising Dinner

Richmond Omni Hotel
Thursday, June 19, 2003

Thanks.  Susan Dewey, Karl Bren. VA Housing Coalition

Introduction

All of us here this evening are engaged in two important enterprises--

1. providing decent, safe and affordable housing to meet the needs of individuals and families of low and moderate income, and

2. building the physical infrastructure of viable and sustainable communities.

The housing we together develop addresses people's need for a safe and healthy place to call "home."

Housing is also a central part of our built environment.  The houses we develop and finance will likely outlive the tenure of their initial occupants and remain a part of the physical fabric of our communities for generations.  Ensuring that our investments today will serve the needs of our communities later, is an equally important part of our work.

Tonight, I speak to you from two perspectives.  Good fortune of working with 2 functional organizations.

First, as a relatively new member of VHDA's Board of Commissioners, I want to share a few thoughts on the Authority's work and plans.

Second, as a local elected official, I want to share my perspective and hopefully challenge you to help integrate affordable housing programs with local community development needs.  To see the larger picture and understand, and act on, what we are reminded repeatedly -- that affordable housing needs cannot be satisfied over the long-term unless housing solutions are fully integrated into sustainable communities.

VHDA's response to changing housing needs

VHDA works.  The Commonwealth created VHDA over thirty years ago with a mission to address the unmet housing needs of low- and moderate-income Virginians.  But while, our mission has remained constant, the housing needs of Virginians have undergone considerable change.

To date, VHDA has financed the development of over 95,000 new or rehabilitated housing units throughout the Commonwealth.  VHDA is one of Virginia's jewels, always rated among the top performers among state housing finance agencies in the U.S.

Some real challenges remain:  The cost burden continues to grow for those with limited means.  Their incomes have not kept pace with housing and other necessary costs.

Households today face a new set of financial challenges.  Unlike a generation ago, household credit is readily available today, but often under terms and conditions that result in excessive debt burdens, financial hardship, and-far too often-in personal bankruptcy.

And changing demographics are also shifting the balance of housing needs.  We are dramatically more diverse, racially, ethnically, and in our household living arrangements.  For two-wage earner households and White non-Hispanic households, housing conditions have improved considerably and homeownership rates are high.  Housing conditions and homeownership rates of minorities and single wage earner households continue to lag well behind.

What does this mean for how VHDA addresses its mission?

VHDA is taking steps in its strategic plan to address these challenges.  I will highlight 4 strategic goals.

1. First, VHDA must better reach the lowest income populations.  To this end, we anticipate launching the new "Commonwealth Priority Housing Fund" soon, SPARC initiative and it's flexibility, and better coordination integration of Housing Choice Vouchers and project-based rent subsidies with VHDA's housing finance and development programs.

2. Second, VHDA must expand our financial education and counseling programs, and our outreach to underserved groups.  Education and outreach are critical if we are to assist people who are not just "first-time" but also "first-generation" home buyers.  Special focus rest on minorities and new immigrants.

   Additionally, if you haven't heard, VHDA will be holding a public hearing at 3 pm on Thursday, July 24 to hear comments on the single family loan program regulations.  The VHDA Board will consider amending its regulations to eliminate the requirement that persons borrowing jointly for a single residence must be related by blood, marriage, adoption or legal custodial relationship.  This regulation has been an embarrassment to Virginia for too long, setting us apart from every other state and the entire private sector.  Please help us get rid of this discriminatory regulation for good.

3. Third, VHDA must better link housing to support services.  An increasing share of our low-income population is comprised of people with disabilities and frail elders who need accommodations or services that extend beyond the scope of what has been provided in the past.

   1. VHDA must adapt to better support and actively promote accessible housing design and accommodations that address the broad range of individual needs.

   2. We must become more proactive in forging partnerships across the housing/human service divide to allow all Virginians the ability to access and coordinate the full array of financial and service supports that they require in order to live independently as fully integrated members of their community.

4. Finally, VHDA must, through its allocation of resources, encourage local revitalization efforts.  I.e. - we at the VHDA must become a model for all of you.  VHDA must see the larger picture, think long-term about housing..and about building sustainable communities.  This leads me to the meat of my comments.

Integrating housing and community development

As a local elected official I know that a community development perspective is essential to the effectiveness of affordable housing programs.

A quick picture of my county - Arlington.

The facts:  26 square miles.  190,000 residents.  Average sales price of a single-family home in April was $492,000, $234,000 for a condominium.  Housing affordability is our single greatest challenge.

Fortunately, we have a vision of being a diverse and inclusive community which provides a foundation for our commitment to providing affordable housing opportunities for our residents.  I understand the challenge faced in many communities across the country - Affordable housing is associated the public housing and tenement buildings of the 60s and 70s.  There is great resistance among residents, property owners and politicians.

In Arlington, the costs of housing are affecting Everyone.  My partner and I would likely not afford the house we now live in and bought in 1987.  Parents worry about their kids.  Arlington county employees, such as teachers and public safety workers, have difficulty finding a place to live in Arlington.  This is our most vexing problem - saturated through the middle class.

We have extensive programs and tools in use.  Some are similar to those in other jurisdictions, some could be replicated elsewhere, and others might be less attractive to a different jurisdiction.

Now what may seem like a tangent.but I must... and will draw the connection.  Smart growth.  A concept with multiple definitions, rouses strong emotions.

I am an advocate of smart growth.  Not no-growth.  But planned, sustainable growth.  Arlington received the US EPA first annual award for Overall Excellence in Smart Growth in 2002.  What is smart growth?

To me, it means compact, transit-oriented, pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use development.  The alternative is sprawl, devouring open space, creating greater distances between home and work, and destroying our sense of community in the process. 

If you are even remotely interested in these issues, I direct you to a watershed book written in 2000 titled "Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream."   This is a profound commentary and a practical resource.  As the authors state, "For the past fifty years, we Americans have been building a national landscape that is largely devoid of places worth caring about."  This is true.  It is appalling.  A street corner looks the same across America.  The same 200 stores are replicated across America.  These are generic, listless, lonely places.  In Arlington we are working to ensure we are different - and you can, too.

As the authors say, "We shape our cities and then our cities shape us."  We're not talking about bricks and mortar, but the body within which are nurtured the hearts and souls of a community.  These structures and spaces should facilitate connections among us and enrich our quality of life.

Today, the needs of our urban and rural communities are becoming increasingly complex, interrelated, and interdependent.  They demand more holistic approaches to affordable housing and community development issues.  According to the authors of my favorite book, "Affordable housing must be provided in a form and a place that allows for affordable living, even if it comes at greater cost."

The need to better link housing and community development was made loud and clear by the 700 citizen participants in VHDA's 2001 housing needs assessment public forums.  Time and again we were told that affordable housing development must:

• address the economic and physical decline of older urban and rural communities
• be linked with transportation and employment growth centers
• enhance economic mobility and opportunity rather than perpetuate social isolation and concentration of poverty
• support the environmental quality and sustainability of our communities

These comments reflect my favorite button:  "Everything is connected."  We know this, yet too often we resist integrating housing with broader community issues.  Why is that?

Partly it's the complexity of the issues posed by residential growth and development.  It's simply easier for us to deal with housing and let others deal with transportation, business site development, and human services-to name just a few of the interlocking pieces of the community development puzzle.

In addition, we often fear that affordable housing needs will lose out in the give and take of local politics.  It seems easier-and safer-to steer clear of interaction with community groups and local politics.  Often our reluctance seems justified.  After all, the views of local communities can be parochial, and dominated by NIMBYism and negativism toward development, growth and traffic.

But, there is an alternative, positive local vision of community development that we must embrace.  That vision is inclusive of all people.  It acknowledges that viable and sustainable communities are rich in diversity and must provide affordable housing opportunities for all people.  It recognizes smart growth alternatives to sprawl, and endorses the design concepts of a "New Urbanism" through which physical structures and spaces can facilitate connections among people and enrich the quality of life.

So what does this mean for us?  What should we all be doing about these issues?  I'll be provocative.

• First, we should focus more of our efforts on the revitalization of our older urban communities.  I am pleased that VHDA and DHCD have included revitalization in their strategic priorities, and that Governor Warner has appointed an Urban Policy Task Force to recommend new revitalization strategies for Virginia.

  This is a good start, but more can be done.  Local governments, through zoning ordinances, and VHDA, through allocation criteria, should focus new effort on:

  • Mixed income development in order to address concentrated poverty.  And the affordable housing should not look any different than the market-rate housing.
  • Mixed use development is critical in order to enliven our urban communities and increase residential densities in a manner that enhances the quality of life.  We have been very successful in Arlington on this score, with several new complexes that mix ground-floor retail, with residential directly above - sometimes with office space as well.  The European model.  Local zoning often works directly against this by separating uses.
  • New partnerships that use state-level resources to support locally defined and initiated housing and community development strategies
  • Reinvent old ideaslike granny flats/outbuildings, live-work units, and English basements.
  • Explore a special insurance program for Urban Pioneerswho would move back to new or renovated homes in order to help turn around marginal but improving neighborhoods.  Similar to mortgage insurance that protects the lender, this could protect the homeowner from a loss in equity growth.  Might this work in Richmond, Norfolk, Roanoke or Portsmouth?  Might this be a VHDA demonstration project
• Second, recognize the value of integrating land use planning with transportation, and reward projects sited in proximity to transit or transportation.  Support or create location-efficient mortgage products.  The costs of a car and travel time are often an after thought for homebuyer who doesn't include travel time and costs in their calculation.  Credit should be provided for making a more efficient choice.
• Third, explore employer-assisted housing initiatives. Today, our urban and rural communities span distances that were unthinkable a generation ago.  Where we live and where we work are increasingly separated over greater distances.  For some this has become a matter of increased "stress," as our travel time seems to grow exponentially.  But for many low-income people who lack access to affordable, timely and reliable transportation, this has limited residential choice and brought increased social isolation, and an inability to access needed employment and services.
• In Arlington, I proposed a Live Near Your Work program, based on a Maryland program with their smart growth initiatives.  It took us 3 years to get General Assembly approval, allowing us to use our own County General Funds to assist County and School employees with the costs of purchasing their first home in Arlington.  It's been in place nearly 1 full year and 35 employees have used the program, receiving about $3000 each.  It is an employee recruitment tool, keeps commutes short, and helps build community through home-ownership.   Why not expand to other large employers?  With little hope for new public dollars, why not partner with employers to help solve common problems?
• Finally, we should do more to ensure that the residential development we carry out promotes the essential principles of "green" building.

"Green" building is about healthful living and stewardship of our environment and limited natural resources.  "Quality" affordable housing must be energy efficient, provide for healthy and safe living, and create a lasting built environment that avoids the degradation and waste of our natural resources.

These "green" building principles are essential if the housing and neighborhoods we build today are to remain vital, healthy and sustainable communities for generations to come.  If we build junk that doesn't fit in and requires replacement or major rehab within a few years.. Then don't seem miffed when the NIMBYs come calling.  And long term energy efficiency and lower utility costs is arguably more important for a low-moderate income homeowner than for others.  This is part of VHDA's strategic plan.

Conclusion

I attended a housing luncheon last week at which Senator Ted Kennedy spoke.  He said, "The first rung on the ladder of success is housing."  He's right.  But it's a long ladder.

Please continue to make a difference in this world for those who are least spoken for..and who deserve a helping hand.  And when you hesitate, get tired, or begin to retract to the path of least resistance..and think narrowly about just building SOMETHING..One must also remember the words of Ted Kennedy's brother, Robert, when he said, "Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly."