Title
Resolution to Recommend Affordable Housing Policies to the City of Ann Arbor for FY19
Memorandum
The City of Ann Arbor adopts an annual policy agenda to coincide with the annual budget process. The City's Policy Agenda Committee has requested that the City's boards and commissions provide assistance to help identify the key issues pertaining to the mission of each public body for possible inclusion in the FY19 Policy Agenda by January 31, 2018. Attached is the FY18 Policy Agenda as an example. In addition to the current policies related to creating and sustaining an affordable and welcoming community, it is recommended that the City adopt the following additional policies.
1) Support incentives and policies to encourage landlords to accept voucher rent subsidies in the City of Ann Arbor
Washtenaw County's Office of Community and Economic Development is working with the Equity Leadership Committee (which includes elected and appointed officials from Washtenaw County, City of Ann Arbor, City of Ypsilanti, Ypsilanti Township and Pittsfield Township), Washtenaw Housing Alliance and the Ann Arbor Housing Commission on a 4-pronged approach to increasing landlord participation in local voucher programs in high opportunity/low poverty neighborhoods.
* Washtenaw Housing Alliance is hiring a Housing Navigator to work with landlords to rent to homeless households with a voucher
* The County has proposed using creating a PILOT program utilizing City CDBG funds it administers to incentivize landlords to participate in voucher programs and to make those units eligible for a PILOT in Ann Arbor
* The County has proposed that member communities share the cost to hire a Housing Navigator specifically to assist households to move from low opportunity/high poverty neighborhoods to high opportunity/low poverty neighborhoods and to provide application fee and security deposit assistance
* Create a loss mitigation fund to incentive landlord participation to off-set the cost o...
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