The Community Development Network

Molly Rogers of the Housing Development Center and asset managers from seven CDN Member community development organizations presented on issues impacting the stability of the affordable housing supply to a crowd on nearly 100 at CDN’s October Public Forum last Wednesday.

The seven asset managers, all members of CDN’s Property and Asset Management Workgroup (PAMWG), presented on results gathered from a survey of thirteen PAMWG member organizations, representing 76% of PAMWG members. Their combined portfolios contain 8,632 units of rent restricted housing. Seven independent property managers, who manage nearly 20,000 (19,089) units of rent restricted housing, also participated in this survey.

· Repetitive, duplicative, and/or unnecessary compliance and reporting requirements are jeopardizing the long-term financial stability of the affordable housing industry in the Portland metropolitan area.

· Staff who work for participating owners and property managers spend approximately 264,000 hours annually on compliance and reporting to external funders, which is equivalent to 132 full time positions^[1]. That’s over one-fifth of all reported staff time and equals $7.5 million^[2] in annual salaries and overhead spent on compliance and reporting to external funders.

· The per unit per year (PUPY) costs for compliance and reporting is $403, which represents almost 10% of a typical project’s budget. Depending on the property, $403 may represent 60% - 100% of one month’s revenue, meaning the majority or all of one month’s revenue per year goes solely to cover the cost compliance and reporting.

· The sharp increase in the number of compliance staff needed to oversee affordable housing compliance has resulted in increased property management fees and an increased number of site staff necessary to oversee individual properties. The combination of increased management fees and increased staff has led to manager salaries remaining largely flat over the past 5 years, contrary to the increasing skill set needed to successfully manage affordable properties. Increasing compliance requirements divert staff time and resources from other vital management functions such as leasing, unit inspections, successfully managing difficult tenancies, and resident services.

· Small and medium size owners (those with less than 600 units) consistently report higher compliance and reporting costs, indicating external funder requirements impose a greater burden for these organizations. To a medium size provider with 500 units, the annual cost of compliance and reporting is just over $200,000. This means the compliance burden is especially daunting to new and prospective owners in the process of developing their portfolios.

· Survey respondents identify waving the annual recertification requirement for 100% LIHTC properties as the single most significant potential cost-saving measure. This would require clear direction from State and local agencies and should be reasonable in both cost and threshold requirements. Respondents also consistently recommend combining funder inspections in order to reduce the strain on tenants whose units are often entered as many as six times a year by complete strangers.

· Owners and portfolio analysts agree that implementing a unified compliance and reporting system – modeled after the Combined Funders Reporting System in Washington State – would cut compliance and reporting costs by at least half of the $7.5 million figure noted above, and the savings could produce approximately 50 additional units of affordable housing annually.

CDN would like to thank HDC's Robin Boyce, Molly Rogers, & Joy Hunt, Brian Bieler (REACH), John Walker (NAYA), Maralea Lutino (Catholic Charities), Martin Soloway (CPAH), Robin Smith (HDC of NW Oregon), Sean Hubert (CCC), Ray Hackworth (NHA), Karen Walker (CDN) and all the organizations and property managers that participated in te survey an analysis.

[1] Assuming a 40 hour work week with two weeks of vacation per year.

[2] Total costs are calculated by adding salaries plus twenty percent (to cover costs such as health insurance, vacation, and workspace) plus direct costs such as audits and software.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2895, the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Act of 2007, by a vote of 264-148, on October 10, 2007. The National Housing Trust Fund Campaign reached this critical milestone because of the hard work of thousands of low income housing advocates to educate elected officials about the critical shortage of affordable housing for the lowest income people in our country. All those calls and letters and visits have paid off. We are closer to establishing the National Housing Trust Fund than we have ever been.

The strong bipartisan vote in the House gives us great momentum going into the Senate. In the next few weeks, we expect to have a bill very similar to H.R. 2895 introduced in the Senate with bipartisan support.

It is now time for you to start thinking about how to get your Senators' attention focused on the shortage of affordable housing for the lowest income people and the solution that the National Housing Trust Fund offers.

Walking the Green Path: CDN 2007 Awards Banquet Is SOLD OUT

CDN is happy to announce that we have sold all available tickets for the 2007 CDN Annual Awards Banquet this Thursday October 25, 2007 at the Oregon Zoo Cascade Banquet Center. CDN Annual awards banquet brings together hundreds of community development leaders and professionals to celebrate the industry accomplishments of the past year.

The theme of this year's banquet is Walking the Green Path, featuring a key note address from Denis Hayes, director of the Bullitt Foundation and one of the original founders of Earth Day.

To get more information about the Banquet, contact Karen Walker at (503) 335-9884 or via email.

Significant opportunity exists for the development of the green building industry in Portland as an economic driver, according to a report released today by the Portland Development Commission and the City of Portland Office of Sustainable Development.

“Economic Opportunities for Portland’s Green Building Industry,” prepared by Cogan Owens Cogan and Sera Architects, identifies green building products, services and systems that could provide economic benefits for the city and state.

"Portland is known for pushing the envelope in its green building, and this report lays out how we can continue to do just that. As we expand our green building program, not only will our citizens benefit; our economy will too," said Commissioner Dan Saltzman.

A key goal of the report was to identify opportunities for import substitutions which could improve regional capacity and benefit the region economically.

“We know green building is good for the environment. Now this study adds to our understanding of green building as a positive business opportunity,” said Bruce Warner, executive director of the Portland Development Commission.

Leading local green building design teams provided interviews and input to the report and recommended several specific ways in which the city could facilitate and support green building, including financial incentives, regulatory systems that facilitate green building, and developing regional economic development alliances around specific product industries. The report notes an opportunistic link between Oregon’s traditional wood products industry and new initiatives related to the demand for certified wood products, modular construction and prefab materials.

Design team members also called on both the City of Portland and PDC to place more emphasis on green building and sustainability and market Portland as a leader in these areas.

The report is intended to stimulate discussion among green building and economic development professionals. Follow-up is likely to include an examination of supply side opportunities, to address whether existing Oregon businesses can provide the products in demand, or the potential to recruit such businesses to the region.

The report is among a series of initiatives resulting from the ongoing collaboration between PDC and OSD, which involves research and activities to expand the regional sustainable industries cluster. An additional study to be released later this fall by OSD, PDC and the Athena Institute will address current and proposed policies and regulations as well as information on the region’s sustainable industry and competitive strengths and weaknesses.

The full text of “Economic Opportunities for Portland’s Green Building Industry” is available at www.pdc.us/sustainable.

HCDC Seeking Comments on Community Needs in Multnomah County

The Housing and Community Development Commission for Multnomah County (HCDC) wants to give local residents and providers the opportunity to present information and views on housing and community development needs and priorities. This information will be used to set allocation priorities for locally-controlled federal entitlement funds (CDBG, HOME, HOPWA, & ESG). These priorities will be reflected in the Action Plans for FY 2008-09 under development by the City of Portland, City of Gresham, and Multnomah County. HCDC is especially interested in learning about emerging needs, as well as about the success of funded efforts to address previously identified needs (and the amount of additional funding needed to continue the work).

HCDC is accepting comments by letter, e-mail, or telephone through November 14th, 2007. Please address your comments to: Mr. Jim McConnell, Chair, HCDC, c/o City of Portland, 421 SW 6^th Avenue, Portland, OR 97204, or e-mail them to Beth. You may also call 503 823 2393, or use the City of Portland's TTY at 503-823-6868, or the Oregon Relay Service at 1-800-735-2900. For more information or updates, please visit http://www.portlandonline.com/bhcd/index.cfm?c=40872.

We are planning an action packed and fun filled Annual Membership Meeting and you are all cordially invited!

Where: Augustana Lutheran Church at 2710 NE 14th Ave. (the usual place) Located at the corner of NE 15th and NE Knott. Bus # 8 will get you here.

7:00 Fun filled and exciting Meeting: Help us celebrate! Elect board members! Hear about important tenant issues and share your thoughts!

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call us at 503.460.9702 or email us.

Come gain insight on how to apply Fair Housing Accessibility Regulations to your current and future projects!

As a development partner of the Portland Development Commission, we invite you to attend the Section 504 Accessibility/Adaptability Seminar on October 26, 2007 beginning at 9:00 am sharp. Robert Zurowski, HUD’s Equal Opportunity Specialist from the Seattle Regional Office, will be sharing his expertise on the federal regulations surrounding adaptable and accessible units and will explain which rules apply to what.

Anyone involved with projects that have federal funding in them should make time on their calendar to attend. This is a special event that you don’t want to miss. HUD does not generally send representatives to outside agencies to speak. These types of events are usually held at a HUD office and are by invite only.

In order for us to have enough materials available, please RSVP via email reply by Monday, October 22nd.

HOST Development is proud to introduce Portland's first LEED certified neighborhood as part of the Building Blocks campaign. Green building techniques save energy and money, whether in a luxury office building or an affordable family home. Helensview showcases the successful partnerships that have allowed HOST to build state of the art green homes affordably.

Please join HOST staff and board members, partners and friends for a tree planting as we recognize the collaborations that elevated HOST's innovative, affordable homeownership model to new heights of sustainability and look to the future for the Building Blocks campaign."

The Clackamas Community Land Trust invites you to our Annual Fundraising Reception on Thursday November 8th. We will be celebrating from 6 pm to 9 pm at the Historic Broetje House in Milwaukie.

Enjoy the beautiful historic surroundings of this classic 1889 Victorian Estate while exploring very modern architectural models of environmentally responsible pre-fabricated homes designed for CCLT by architectural students at Portland State University.

Meet our new Executive Director, Sarah Buckley and bid farewell to Nancy Yuill, our outgoing Executive Director.

Hearty appetizers and a hosted bar will keep you satiated as you bid on fabulous silent auction items. You could win a weekend at a house on the coast or a fabulous dinner at a local restaurant!

Tickets are $25 and are on sale at www.clackamasclt.org or send your check to CCLT, 2316 SE Willard Street, Milwaukie, Oregon 97222. For more info: (503) 654-1007 x112

The 19^th annual conference of the National Association for the Education of Children and Youth will be held in Portland, Oregon at the Oregon Convention Center November 10-13, 2007. The conference is locally hosted by the Oregon Department of Education and volunteer local liaisons. Go to www.naehcy.org for registration and more information

The conference theme is Blazing Trails and Moving Mountains: Educating All Our Children and Youth and promises a unique showcase for best practices and services from across the country. It is the only national conference dedicated to improving the well-being of homeless children and youth. NAEHCY’s conference equips educator and advocates nationwide with the knowledge, skills, information, and inspiration they need to remove barriers and help ensure that every child and youth experiencing homelessness is successful-academically, personally, and socially.

Keynote speakers truly exemplify the title of the conference through their lives and work. Featured speakers this year are Dr. James L. Mason, Director of Multicultural Health for the Oregon Department of Human Services, who brings the message of cultural competence. Jessica C. Owens calls upon her own life experiences to share her fight for survival. Dr. Kent Peterson, a professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at University of Wisconsin-Madison, who conducts workshops and has co-authored four books on educational leadership will bring strategies for successful school improvement.

A special highlight of this conference will be a Youth Summit where local homeless youth and national LeTendre Scholarship awardees will have the opportunity to hold issue forums. A reception for LeTendre recipients will be held where $1,000 education scholarships are presented to selected youth who apply and have met the criteria for selection.

THE YOUTH SUMMIT WILL BE HELD ON SUNDAY, NOV. 11^TH. This event will be presented by Youths from the Newberg-Dundee Youth Outreach Program. Portland indie band “The Rainy States” will provide music, 7:00- 8:30pm -- www.therainystates.com

The Casey Foundation and the ABA Center on Children and the Law are partnering with NAEHCY to present a child welfare track during the conference. Other sessions will address :Transportation Challenges and Successes; Developing a Comprehensive Homeless Education Program; Academic Achievement; Addressing the Early Education Needs of Young Children Without Homes; IDEA 2004 and Strategies for Implementation; Data Collection and Program Evaluation; Unaccompanied Youth: Understanding Legal, Educational, Social and Emotional Issues; and Legislative and Policy Updates.

Attending the conference will be State Homeless Education Coordinators, School District Homeless Liaisons, School Administrators, Homeless Service Providers, Social workers and Counselors, Head Start Program Staff, Special Education Personnel, School Transportation Directors, College and University Personnel – and homeless and formerly homeless youths.

Information regarding the conference may be found at the NAEHCY website www.naehcy.org.

LAUGH for Livability is an evening filled with spoken word, sharp-tongued political satire and musical talents from our region's leaders and rising stars. Between bouts of knee-slapping laughter you'll enjoy cocktails; locally-produced beer, wine, and hors d'oeuvres (featuring organically-grown produce and meats); a silent auction showcasing the region's local businesses and a raffle featuring an Electra Amsterdam Bike valued at $550 donated by the Bike Gallery (raffle tickets may be purchased in advance).

This year's LAUGH for Livability brought to you through the generous support of:

Over 300 people joined us for this great event last year. You won't want to miss it!

For more program details and a complete cast of characters go to: www.clfuture.org

You are invited to join us in Portland, Oregon for the NeighborWorks Training Institute! The institute is an ideal venue for building your community development skills and networking with peers to enhance your career. With more than 100 courses being offered, this event promises to be an exciting and educational experience. Register by October 29 and save $50 off the registration fee!

• Full scholarships to attend the five-day Native American Community Economic Development Training Program

• An affordable housing-related symposium - Taking Shared Equity to Scale: An Innovative

• An advanced field course on green building - Green in Action: Portland! and additional

• A new homeownership certification course - Foreclosure Prevention and Default Counseling Certification, Part I (you must pass a prerequisite test before enrollment)

• Two financial certification program courses in partnership with the National Development Council

See our complete online course grid with many more community development courses to choose from or go to the online event page for the NeighborWorks Training Institute in Portland, Oregon for more information: www.nw.org/training.

If this is your first time using our online registration system, you will need to create a New User Profile before registering for the event. Register online today at www.nw.org/onlinereg. If you have any questions about online registration, please call 800-438-5547.