How it happened   

Background documents   

Here's how it happened:

Back in 1995, the County, City, and the Towns of Greece and Irondequoit took an innovative metropolitan approach to address fair housing issues in our community.  Previous fair housing planning occurred within individual cities and towns and lacked formal collaborative efforts between neighboring communities. As a result of making a formal commitment to work together the County, City, and the Towns of Greece and Irondequoit (the Cooperators) set a precedent for the entire nation. The first step for the Cooperators was to come up with a statement of what the problems were. Under HUD's planning model the communities produced our local Analysis to Impediments to Fair Housing Choice (called the "AI").

Working from the "AI"  in 1996 the communities now joined by the Rochester Housing Authority put together a planning group that came up with a blueprint to increase  housing choice opportunities. The blueprint was called Community Choice: Strategies for Promoting Fair Housing Opportunities in Monroe County. The plan listed 81 things we need to do to remove barriers and increase housing choice in Monroe County. 

The next step was to get the whole community to help fine tune the strategies.  The planners invited community organizations, business leaders and ordinary citizens to look at the strategies and to tell us what needed to be done to make them work. They got together in five (5) task forces and worked for months to provide specific suggestions to make the fair housing plan come alive.  By December 1997 the task forces had reported back on the 81 strategies. In the Spring of 1998 and the City, County and towns made funding commitments to implement the plan. To learn more about specific programs and projects the Cooperators have funded and the status of strategies currently underway review the Housing Council's Community Choice Action Plan Phase I Progress Report.    

To keep the ball rolling the Community Choice Advisory Committee (CCAC) was created comprised of 15 representatives chosen by the County, City, the towns and the Rochester Housing Authority.  As the choice plan unfolds the CCAC will be there to promote the plan and act as a resource.

The Housing Council was chosen by the Cooperators to administer the Choice Plan.  They convened, staffed and provided technical assistance to all five task forces, compiled the strategies and produced the Progress report.  They also staff the Community Choice Advisory Committee.  Anthony Sipp asipp@housingcouncil.org staffs the Choice Plan at the Housing Council.  Contact him for more information about the plan.

The Choice Plan continues the Rochester area's heritage of involvement in important civil rights and fair housing issues, by inviting citizens to participate in the fair housing plan. One way they can do this is through a broad-based coalition of individuals and social agencies, the Fair Housing Coalition for a Community of Monroe. The Coalition provides input on the fair housing plan through a representative on the CCAC.

According to the April 1998 Community Choice Action Plan. . .

• We need to increase awareness of fair housing laws, including rights and responsibilities;
• We need to develop and expand the range of affordable housing opportunities available throughout Monroe County and
• We need to promote partnerships to increasing housing choice in our community

How will we do it ?

The strategies include four themes to increase housing choice

  Engagement - We will involve more stakeholders in discussions around the issues of fair housing choice in our community. To do this we will try to ensure an open atmosphere where sensitive issues can be explored to increase the constitutuency for change throughout our community.

  Education - We will make sure people know about not only their responsibilities under fair housing laws, but  also learn of the benefits of increasing housing choice.  To do this there will be educational programs to meet a variety of needs.  Residents, professionals and public officials will be provided information to empower them to positively effect change.

Collaboration - We will strengthen working relationships between stakeholders including local agencies and local government to increase housing choice.  The City, County and towns will try to work together to define mutually acceptable outcomes for efforts that can be independently implemented.

  Capital Projects and Programs - We will create affordable housing opportunities by constructing new housing and by developing programs to make better use of existing housing resources.

Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice in Monroe County,  April 1996

Community Choice: Strategies for Promoting Fair Housing Opportunities in Monroe County, November, 1996

Community Choice Action Plan Phase I Progress Report, prepared by the Housing Council, August 1999