| OHCS's Homepage / Affordable Housing |
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Oregon Housing and Community Services' vision is to "Ensure that all Oregonians have housing which meets their needs." And through our mission, we "provide leadership that enables Oregonians to gain housing, become self-sufficient, and achieve prosperity."
OHCS is developing this on-line information and resource center for organizations and local governments interested in addressing affordable and workforce housing needs in their communities. This on-line resource center will provide links to numerous local and national publications and organizations offering information, strategies, tools and other useful references for developing affordable housing and improving the quality of our communities. We will continue to build and refine this on-line resource center as a service to our partners and interested organizations.
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Looking to develop affordable housing in your area?
Contact a Regional Advisor
Ph: 503.986.2000
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| Understanding Employer-Assisted Housing: A Guidebook for Employers |
Homes for Working Families released Understanding Employer-Assisted Housing: A Guidebook for Employers in February 2008. The guidebook provides a straightforward examination of employer-assisted housing options and gives employers practical guidance on how EAH programs work. It also includes a detailed how-to section to help employers begin to create their own EAH programs.
EAH programs provide businesses an opportunity to stand out among their competitors in the marketplace. This is evident in the guidebook's case studies of successful EAH programs, which business and civic leaders can look to as they work to increase the availability of affordable homes. Homes for Working Families will use the guidebook to increase awareness among employers about the business benefits and cost-effectiveness of EAH programs.
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| The Workforce Housing Summit Handbook |
This handbook was distributed at the February 21st 2006 Workforce Housing Summit. The handbook provides housing and economic data for Jackson, Josephine and Curry County. This data demonstrates that the cost of housing in these regions has consistently outpaced wage increases and as a region we have reached the point where median income families can not afford home ownership. Employers have expressed that the impact of the regions high housing costs has made recruiting and retaining even relatively high wage employees difficult. The economic impacts of high housing costs go far beyond appreciation in equity for existing individual homeowners. The economic growth and vitality of our communities relies on addressing this issue in a comprehensive and lasting way.
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| Workforce Housing Report |
A joint study commissioned by Portland Development Commission and the Portland Business Alliance presents a summary of projected 5-year housing demand and supply for workforce housing in the Central City Portland. The study is based on a review of market data and economic/demographic trends for the Central City and the larger region.
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| Other Workforce Housing Topics: A general listing of topics and references regarding workforce housing as listed from Answers.com. |
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| The Housing Alliance |
The Housing Alliance proposes numerous strategies and references to promote affordable and workforce housing in Oregon.
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| Housing as an Economic Stimulus |
OHCS investments strengthen families, help children finish school, and provide safe affordable housing for all kinds of low-income Oregonians. These investments mean more than homes—they create jobs, increase activity at local business, and generate tax revenue. Each $1 OHCS spends on affordable housing development generates as much as $15 in economic benefit across the state.
The Housing as an Economic Stimulus report highlights the agency’s progress toward achieving its strategic objective of better describing the economic impact of affordable housing development. |
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| Removing Regulatory Barriers |
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines “regulatory barriers” as outdated, exclusionary, and unnecessary regulations that continue to block the construction or rehabilitation of affordable housing. An Oregon land use expert, John VanLandingham (staff attorney, with Lane County Legal Aid and Advocacy Center), has developed some specific strategies which local governments might find useful to employ as tools to enhance affordable housing development.
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| More Resources: |
Oregon Benchmarks measure progress towards Oregon´s strategic vision, Oregon Shines. Its goals are three-fold:
- Quality jobs for all Oregonians
- Safe, caring and engaged communities
- Healthy, sustainable surroundings
Benchmarks are organized into seven categories: economy, education, civic engagement, social support, public safety, community development and environment.
These measures help to provide the long view perspective in solving economic, social and environmental problems. In addition, Oregon Benchmarks are used for a broad array of policymaking and budget-related activities. Oregon state agencies are required to link their key performance measures to them. Student achievement benchmarks are the cornerstone of Oregon´s educational reform initiatives. State-local planning processes, like Oregon´s innovative Partners for children and Families program, use benchmarks to focus collaborative efforts. County governments and community organizations use benchmarks to help gauge their progress.
Visit the Oregon Benchmarks - County Data page for information on your area.
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The National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) website has a number of publications and other resources regarding the housing and community development industry.
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| The National Low Income Housing Coalition's 2006 Report on Housing Affordability has affordable housing data for every jurisdiction in the country. |
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The Smart Communities Network offers numerous publications and resources on green building and affordable housing.
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Neighborhood Works America has eighteen topical areas of interest to community development practitioners featured on their site. The topics listed present unique strategies for affordable housing including homeownership promotion and rental housing strategies. You will also find information on revitalizing urban and rural communities, financial education, and many other topics.
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Rural Homeless Capacity Building Project - In order to more effectively serve the needs of persons who are homeless in rural communities, shelter providers must also build and maintain financially strong, well-managed organizations. However, it is often difficult for these providers to access the resources needed to improve their capacity.
The Housing Assistance Council (HAC), in partnership with the National Alliance to End Homelessness, created the Rural Homelessness Capacity Building Project to provide rural homeless organizations with the technical assistance, training, information, and financial resources they need to improve their ability to serve homeless populations.
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The California Housing Law Project provides a list of links to research, reports and other references on affordable housing data, law, policies and tenant's rights.
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Affordable Housing NOW! (AHN) is a growing movement of individuals and organizations acting to address the Portland metropolitan region's affordable housing shortage and the impact it has on families and communities. Their purpose is to secure new, ongoing sources of funding for affordable housing for the region that will result in safe and stable homes for low-income families, families of color, and people with disabilities and low-income individuals.
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The Association of Oregon Community Development Organizations (AOCDO) has an extensive list of online resources and references on affordable housing and community development. Some notable AOCDO links are as follows:
Public Forum & Homeownership Development Peer Support Network, December 20 in Portland. On Thursday, December 20th, AOCDO and CDN will co-host a public forum: Closing the Gap on Minority Homeownership. This brown bag lunch event will speak about the barriers to homeownership for people of color from both an urban and rural perspective. For more information on the panel and agenda, go to the AOCDO web site. Following the public forum will be a Homeownership Development Peer Group meeting. Click here for an agenda and more information. Public Forum at 12pm and Peer Group meeting at 1:45. New Genesis Community Church 5425 NE 27th Ave, Portland 97211, at the corner of NE 27th Ave and Killingsworth. Enter at the back of the church from the parking lot. This is a free event, but bring your lunch.
Correct AOCDO Fax Number: The correct fax number is: 503-335-0475.
Announcements
New CDBG cross-cutting toolkits from HUD. A new resource tool that will allow Entitlement and State grantees to find information on financial management, environmental, labor standards, acquisition, relocation and fair housing right at your fingertips. Instead of searching all over the web, grantees can now go to this one location and find the regulation or notice that grantees need to address their question. Grantees will also find web links to various departments such as the Labor Relations Office to assist in the review of new policies or regulatory changes. There are currently 3 modules: Financial Management and Procurement, Environmental Review and Federal Labor Standards. Click here for the toolkit.
Funding/Training/Awards/Fellowships
Training Opportunity. The National Alliance to End Homelessness will hold its fourth annual national conference on ending family homelessness in Seattle on February 7 and 8, 2008. The conference will bring together leaders from all parts of the country, from the nonprofit provider community, to local, state, and federal government, to business and philanthropy. We will share solutions, confront issues, and unite in our resolve to ensure that the day is near when no child or parent will experience homelessness. Scholarship deadline has been extended to December 21, 2007. To register and for more information, visit the conference web site.
Community Development News
Article: “Affordable housing challenges counties”(The Columbian, November 15, 2007. “Washington's widening housing affordability gap is creating some unintended consequences. Rural counties compete for new business and industry - then find new workers can't afford to live in their gentrifying communities. Spiraling city housing costs push workers into ever more distant suburbs - a phenomenon known as "Drive until you qualify" - thereby defeating the state Growth Management Act's goal of containing urban-level development in cities.” Read the complete article.
New GSE Proposal (S. 2391). Introduced November 16 would amend the Housing and Community Develoment Act of 1992 to strengthen the afforedable housing mission of GSEs Fannie mae and Freddie Mac.Sixty-five percent of their contributions would go to an Affordable Housing Block Grant Program managed by HUD. Read the full bill text.
Report: Housing Demands through 2014.The Joint Center for Housing Studies has released a paper examining the challenges of projecting long-run and sustainable demand for new housing construction. The report offers estimates for new housing demand from two years ago (2005) through 2014. It analyzes relationships between housing markets and economic, demographic, and social trends. The report also helps readers understand the logic behind long-run housing demand projections and makes them sensitive to the choice of datasets, interpretation of datasets, and assumptions behind these projections. Read the full report.
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Knowledgeplex has a web page which summarizes Knowledgeplex content about affordable housing development and finance. This section contains information associated with the development, finance, management, and preservation of affordable housing, generally defined as housing for which a household pays no more than 30 percent of its annual income. Typical residents of such housing are at or below median household incomes for the communities in which they live. The information contained in this section is often technical in nature, aimed at non- and for-profit development organizations and public agencies.
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| General Google search results for affordable and low-income housing. |
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