Category:
Fair Housing
HUD Blue Ribbon Practices in Housing and Community Development
John J. Gunther Awards
1999 Winner
City of Rochester, New York
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Category: |
HUD Blue Ribbon Practices in Housing and Community Development John J. Gunther Awards 1999 Winner City of Rochester, New York |
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Affirmative Fair Housing Activities
Program Description
The City of Rochester, County of Monroe, and the Towns of Greece and Irondequoit are fulfilling their fair housing requirements through a cooperative, countywide planning and implementation strategy. These four entitlement grantees (the "Cooperators") agreed to jointly fund an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice and encompass all of Monroe County, rather that prepare four separate documents. In partnership, these grantees developed a Fair Housing Action Plan designed to overcome identified impediments. These Cooperators also agreed to coordinate their funding of specific proposals contained in an Action Plan. These joint efforts are described in the grantees respective Consolidated Plans submitted to HUD.
Results
Following completion on the Analysis of Impediments (AI), the Cooperators convened a twelve-member team composed of their staff and representatives of the Rochester Housing Authority, banking, suburban government, the Urban League and the Greater Upstate Law Project. This Housing Choice Strategy Team was charged with developing the framework of the action plan which would address the identified impediments setforth in the AI. The team met over a four-month period and produced a draft document that contained 77 strategies grouped according to eight key result areas. This draft document was the topic of a public workshop and a presentation to the newly formed Fair Housing Coalition For A Community of Monroe. Using comments received on the draft, the strategy team completed an interim plan containing 81 strategies.
In early 1997, the Cooperators appointed 80 individuals, the majority representing significant stakeholders, to serve on five task forces whose purpose was to flesh out the interim Action Plan framework into a detailed plan of action. The groups met over several months and developed specific recommendations concerning the implementation of each strategy, including how implementation should occur, resource needs, measurable goals, expected challenges and obstacles, and an overall implementation schedule. By this time, the Cooperators had been expanded to include the Rochester Housing Authority and the group collectively funded The Housing Council in the Monroe County Area, Inc. to assist the task forces and to provide staff support to the implementation effort. The task forces concluded their work in October 1997. The final plan will be included in each Cooperator's 1998-99 program year Consolidated Annual Action Plans, including funding recommendations.
Among the efforts currently underway are RHA request-for-proposals for project-based Section 8 certificates/vouchers for suburban family rental projects; Monroe County's Lease-Purchase Affordable Homeownership Program; Local Land Use Decision Making Training Program/Fair and Affordable Housing Session by Monroe County; Monroe County Legal Assistance Corporation's Fair Housing Initiative Program (FHIP) Enforcement Project (training, outreach/education, and testing); city-funded CRA Monitoring Project by the Public Interest Law Office of Rochester; and a county-wide rent survey being jointly financed and administered by the city, county and RHA.
Funding
The Cooperators developed a funding matrix for the 1997-98 CDBG/HOME program year that demonstrated that more than $33 million will be committed to activities implementing high priority strategies. This information was incorporated in each jurisdiction's Consolidated Plan annual submission.
The analysis of impediments study was assisted by $37,500 in CDBG, and the Action Plan was financed by $66,600 in CDBG, provided jointly by the city, county, Greece and Irondeqoit.
Award-Winning Achievements
The significance of these efforts is that they were accomplished through a unique intergovernmental cooperation and extensive public/private partnership; it is metropolitan in scope; there has been significant public involvement; and there is a commitment to implementation. Planning has fostered several public education efforts that have enhanced community understanding of fair housing, and it has prompted the implementation of a number of private initiatives consistent with the strategies.
Also noteworthy is the City of Rochester's intent to assist in the financing of a suburban, affordable rental project for low-income families in the Village of Scottsville. The Rochester Housing Authority has also committed project-based Section 8 assistance to this development, thus enabling the developer, Housing Opportunities, Inc., to secure needed Sate financing.
Contacts