01-08-2025 Workshop Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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HED-8 FEDERAL ROLE IN AFFORDABLE AND WORKFORCE HOUSING •Prohibiting landlords from denying housing opportunities to residents based on their source of income; •Housing stability for renters through policies that mitigate the impact of or reduces the number of evictions filed; •Policies that encourage public housing authorities and owners of federally assisted housing to consider a holistic approach to selecting tenants during the application and screening process, and avoid excluding tenants solely based on criminal records; •Exploring best practices toward increased housing affordability for residents, housing maintenance standards and providing quality housing for residents. Cities should work with rental housing owners and operators when establishing best practices; •The state housing tax credit to support local governments and the private sector to help spur construction and secure additional private investment; and •Maintaining existing municipal authority to establish a housing improvement area (HIA). If the Legislature grants multi-jurisdictional entities the authority to create HIAs, creation of an HIA must require municipal approval. Federal funding plays a critical role in aiding states and local governments in their efforts to maintain and increase affordable and workforce housing. Providing working families access to housing is an important piece to the economic vitality of the region. Metro Cities encourages the federal government to maintain and increase current levels of funding for affordable and workforce housing. Federal investment in affordable and workforce housing will maintain and increase the supply of affordable and life cycle housing as well as make housing more affordable through rental assistance programs such as the Section 8 housing choice voucher program. In July 2015, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released a final rule on affirmatively furthering fair housing (AFFH) with an aim to provide communities that receive HUD funding with clear guidelines to meet their obligation under the Fair Housing Act of 1968 to promote and reduce barriers to fair housing and equal opportunity. HUD has since provided new guidance to comply with the AFFH rule. Metro Cities supports: •Preserving and increasing funding for the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) and the federal HOME program that are catalysts for creating and preserving affordable housing; 47