May 16, 2006 CCP - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

5. Leverage Existing Housing Programs To Create More Opportunities For Moderate- And Lower -Income House- holds. Earlier this report showed the large deficit of housing available to lower- and moderate -Income families in Edina. Ad- dressing this deficit is part of creating a well-balanced housing stock and is unlikely to occur through market forces alone. Fortunately, Minnesota has a well developed and committed af- fordable housing industry and many programs exist to help lower —and moderate -income families, both homeowners and renters. Existing programs and resources can be used to achieve balanced housing in Edina. Examples of existing programs include: 1) the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency provides low Interest loans and down payment assistance to first time homebuyers, with a special emphasis on assisting minority homebuyers: 2) Thrivent Financial has recently launched a $100 million, nation- wide effort to build 2,000 Habitat for Humanity homes in the next four years; 3) Lutheran Social Services has had great suc- cess working with landlords to increase their willingness to ac- cept and manage Section 8 vouchers. 4) Hennepin County pro- vides gap financing for affordable housing developments for rental and homeownership; 5) Community Development Block Grant funds can be used to create zero or low interest, deferred pay- ment loans to residents to update their houses. Many lower -income households live in Edina now and contribute to our community. People are often concerned that lower - income housing leads to diminished property values or increased crime. But, these fears are not substantiated by the evidence. Many studies have been conducted to evaluate the impact of lower -income housing on property values. There is no link found between affordable housing and reduced property values. As for t. Mother ork. Ph.= mr- teyofsac and s.d.A fm&...