CLPHA Members Consider Ambitious Housing Agenda at Summer Meeting
It was a legislative briefing, an opportunity for PHAs to make their case to members of Congress and to HUD, and, not least, an occasion for executive directors to share what’s working — and what’s not — back home.

And the timing could not have been better.

As Congress embarks on the most ambitious housing legislative agenda the lawmakers have considered in more than a decade, dozens of large public housing authority executive directors and key staff members gathered in Washington June 28-29 for CLPHA’s summer meeting. CLPHA executive director Sunia Zaterman spoke of the new Democratic Congress. "There’s a new crew in town and they are ready to get to work," she said.

Indeed they are.

Some of what was learned and discussed:

-- The Section Eight Voucher Reform Act (SEVRA) will likely be considered by the full House this week (CWR, June 4). The legislation includes a provision pushed by CLPHA expanding Moving to Work (MTW) program eligibility from the current 25 PHAs to 80 PHAs. The expansion of MTW – renamed the Housing Innovation Program (HIP) in the bill – is proving controversial (see related story, page 3). Still, said House Financial Services Committee professional staff member Scott Olson, the House "is in a position to pass this bill with substantial bipartisan support."

-- Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, told CLPHA members that he is planning to introduce legislation that would implement changes to HUD’s Asset Management Plans along the lines of those recommended by CLPHA and its industry partners (CWR, June 18). The industry groups argue that a negotiated rulemaking process be established to determine how best to ensure that management fees are "reasonable," that HUD be prohibited from restricting the fungibility of Capital Funds provided for in the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act (QHWRA), that PHA’s have until FY 2011 to meet strict limits on management fees, and that agencies with fewer than 500 Public Housing units be exempted from the asset management requirements.

-- The anticipated appropriations for both the Public Housing Operating and Capital Funds are "not a cause for jubilation," said Zaterman, but are "really moving in the right direction." The House appropriations subcommittee, for example, approved an increase of $600 million over last year for the Operating Fund (including the $300 million added earlier this year in the FY 2007 supplemental appropriation), held the Capital Fund level, and called for $120 million in HOPE VI funding, a program the Bush Administration wants to eliminate (CWR, June 18). Meanwhile, there are indications, though no commitments, that Senate appropriators might go beyond the House funding levels as they consider their appropriations bills.

-- It will be difficult for HUD to achieve the objectives of its Administrative Reform initiative (CWR, June 18) in the relatively short time remaining for the Bush Administration, said Orlando Cabrera, HUD Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing. The 10 working groups developed by HUD to consider the deregulation issues at the core of the initiative begin their work July 12 in Washington. Zaterman said that the effort that goes into the administrative reform process could be useful in helping to set an agenda for the next administration. (CLPHA members asked that a side-by-side analysis of the statutory, regulatory, and administrative requirements that HUD oversees be distributed to members. It can be found here.)

-- PHAs will be among the entities eligible to receive funding through the $1 billion National Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which is the subject of legislation introduced by Frank and a bipartisan group of 15 members of Congress June 28. The money for the trust fund, Frank told the CLPHA gathering, does not come from other affordable housing programs, but largely from revenue generated by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. The Trust Fund monies would be used to develop affordable housing or rehabilitate existing housing.

-- The reauthorization of the HOPE VI program involves issues that may prove difficult to resolve (see related story, page 3). Among them: one-for-one replacement of Public Housing units, the right-of-return, and the call for PHAs to link redevelopment with local education initiatives.

Does all this activity represent a new day for PHAs? Does the new Congress recognize the severe funding constraints and regulatory burdens PHAs have operated under for at least the better part of a decade?

To those executive directors in the room who have had to lay-off staff, or are planning additional reductions in personnel and services to residents due to funding cuts, there was some skepticism. They’ll believe it, it seems, when they see it.

Rep. Frank, however, cautioned against despair. "You have been living in the heart of darkness," he told the CLPHA attendees, "but help is on the way."

DC’s Kelly Elected CLPHA President; Ann Lott of Dallas is New Vice President
Michael P. Kelly, Executive Director of the District of Columbia Housing Authority, is CLPHA’s new President and Ann Lott, President and CEO of the Dallas Housing Authority (DHA), is the group’s new Vice President. Kelly and Lott were elected to their posts by CLPHA’s board June 27.

Kelly succeeds Sandra B. Henriquez, administrator and CEO of the Boston Housing Authority, who served as CLPHA President for the past three years; Lott succeeds Kelly as Vice President.

"In Washington and across the country Public Housing Authorities are using innovative techniques to provide affordable housing to low-income families, the elderly and the disabled while serving as an economic engine to revitalize inner-city neighborhoods," said Kelly. "CLPHA is right in the middle of the fight to secure the funds needed to support these efforts and the policy initiatives necessary to make them a success," he continued.

From 1995-2000 Kelly, a Princeton University graduate, served as Executive Director of the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO) where he was successful in removing the agency from HUD’s Troubled Housing Agency list. Prior to his tenure at HANO, he spent 10 years at the San Francisco Housing Authority where he served in several capacities, including Acting Executive Director.

In Washington, Kelly transformed an agency emerging from court-supervision at the time of his appointment to one of the nation’s most innovative and effective affordable housing developers. With six federally-funded "HOPE VI" redevelopment sites and several other revitalization efforts throughout the city, DCHA and its partners have generated over $2 billion in economic development in the city.

DCHA has increased the number of low-income families served in the properties included in its redevelopment portfolio by nearly 40 percent, from 2,449 in 1995 to 3,986 today.

DCHA is currently embarked on its most ambitious redevelopment effort, using a $34.9 million federal grant to leverage nearly $400 million in additional funds to create 1,562 rental and home-ownership units, office space, neighborhood retail facilities, and a community center near the new baseball stadium in Southwest Washington. The redeveloped Arthur Capper/Carrollsburg Public Housing site will include more than 700 homes for public housing residents, 525 affordable apartments, and 330 market-rate homes for purchase.

DCHA manages more than 8,000 Public Housing units and administers approximately 12,000 vouchers, which low-income families use to secure affordable housing in the private market.

Kelly received a Master’s in Architecture from the University of California at Berkeley and a Master’s in Education from San Francisco State University. He is the only registered architect to head a large public housing agency, and is the former Harvey-Wadsworth Professor of Urban Affairs at Tulane University’s School of Architecture.

Lott has more than 20 years of management and planning experience at DHA, which includes approximately 5,300 Public Housing units, 500 private market units and 17,000 housing choice voucher families.

During Lott’s tenure, DHA has been a catalyst in revitalizing aging communities, building public/private partnerships and creating homeownership opportunities for low-income families. For example, DHA partnered with KB Home, Habitat for Humanity and American CityVista to create Greenleaf Village, a development of 300 privately owned single-family homes in West Dallas on 68-acres of land previously owned by the housing authority.

DHA is also actively engaged in changing the face of South Dallas, hiring renowned Boston Urban Planner Antonio Di Mambro to create a master plan and revitalizing three of its largest, oldest and most troubled housing developments: Frazier Courts, Rhoads Terrace and Turner Courts.

She began her career at the housing authority shortly after graduating from San Diego State University in California. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Work and is currently pursuing an MBA in Strategic Leadership. She serves on the Dallas Urban League and is past board member the Metro Homeless Association.

"Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) across the country are taking remarkable steps to transform their communities," said Lott. "In Dallas and elsewhere, PHAs serve as an economic engine for the local economy, are in the vanguard of vital redevelopment efforts, and continue to provide affordable housing opportunities to low-income families, senior citizens and disabled persons," she continued.

"CLPHA is at the center of the debate in Washington, pushing to see that these important programs get both the funding and the sensible policies they need to make a difference for cities across the nation," said Lott. "I’m eager to play a greater role in making that happen," she said.

In other actions, the CLPHA board reelected Jon Gresley, Executive Director of the Oakland Housing Authority, as its Treasurer and Tony O’Leary, executive director of the Akron Housing Authority, as Secretary.

Greg Russ, executive director of the Cambridge Housing Authority was also named to the CLPHA Board. Russ previously served as Director of HUD’s Office of Troubled Agency Recovery, as a Senior Associate at Abt Associates, and at the Philadelphia Housing Authority. Russ has been a leader in CLPHA’s efforts to expand the Moving to Work demonstration program.

Henriquez Steps Down as President
Sandra Henriquez, Administrator and CEO of the Boston Housing Authority, stepped down as CLPHA President June 28, a post she held for three years.

"In Boston, the mayor and the city’s leaders recognize Sandra’s work as central and fundamental to addressing the affordable housing needs of the community," said CLPHA executive director Sunia Zaterman.

"She brought all that to her leadership role at CLPHA – speaking not only to what was going on locally but knowing how to translate that to being an effective and respected advocate on the national front," said Zaterman. "She represents what is best about housing authorities across the country."

Henriquez told the CLPHA membership meeting that she was proud to serve the "phenomenally stellar organization" as president. She continues as a board member.

The CLPHA Board will formally recognize Henriquez’s contributions to the organization at its October membership meeting, said Henriquez’s successor Michael P. Kelly.

One-for-One Replacement Shaping Up As Key Issue in HOPE VI Reauthorization
What’s the hope for HOPE VI?

Or, posed another way, what is the vision for a program that many hail as the most innovative Public Housing initiative since Franklin Roosevelt signed the Housing Act in 1937?

Those were among the most pointed questions asked, and sometimes answered, at the June 28-29 CLPHA summer meeting.

House Financial Services Committee chairman Barney Frank was, well, frank on the issue of one-for-one replacement. "Public policy will not contribute to the diminution of housing for low-income people as long as I am chairman," he declared. Further, he continued, tenant-based vouchers – subject to the vagaries of the annual appropriations process – are not an acceptable substitute for actual units and should not be included in discussions of one-for-one replacement.

Further, displaced residents should have the right to return to their communities of origin and it is preferable to build replacement housing prior to demolishing existing structures, said Frank

On the other hand, he continued, project-based vouchers should count toward one-for-one replacement of habitable units, PHAs should have some "flexibility" in determining the location of replacement housing, and he is committed to providing PHAs the financial resources they need to make one-for-one replacement feasible.

Frank said the House Financial Services Committee will consider its HOPE VI reauthorization bill toward the end of this month.

Scott Keller, HUD Deputy Chief of Staff, offered a different perspective. A "build-first" requirement, he told the CLPHA meeting, "would kill HOPE VI." Likewise, he said, stringent one-for-one replacement provisions would hurt the program.

Testifying June 21 before the House Subcommittee on Housing and Community Development, DC Housing Authority Executive Director Michael Kelly noted that the authority will be able to achieve one-for-one replacement at its Southwest Washington HOPE VI redevelopment site, but that the local conditions that make that possible may not always be present. "We are fortunate to be able to bring each unit back, but this investment may not be possible at other HOPE VI sites throughout the country given the potential of weaker market conditions and impediments to denser placement of housing," said Kelly.

House to Consider SEVRA This Week
Prospects for passage of the Section Eight Voucher Reform Act (SEVRA) are good in the House, where lawmakers are expected to take up the measure this week. But that doesn’t mean that the road to the president’s desk will be without bumps, cautioned several speakers at CLPHA’s summer Executive Director’s meeting.

A key source of possible contention as the bill moves forward: the expansion of the Moving to Work program (renamed the Housing Innovation Program in the legislation) from 25 to 80 PHAs. CLPHA and its members strongly support expanding the program, a position backed by a broad range of members of the House Financial Services Committee, which voted 52-9 in May to support SEVRA.

SEVRA "represents a sea change" in thinking about the role of PHAs, CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman told the group’s summer meeting. The Committee’s vote, she said, represents a clear message from those legislators who know PHAs best: "It’s time to let our housing authorities innovate." But whether that message is received and accepted by the interest groups who oppose expansion of MTW, and the House and Senate members who must ultimately support it, is a key question.

"There’s some skepticism over Moving to Work," House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank told the CLPHA meeting. HUD, said Orlando Cabrera, Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing, is "getting some serious push back" from those who argue that MTW should not be expanded. Opponents of an expansion contend that even with the resident protections included in the SEVRA legislation, PHAs are being given too much discretion and HUD is ill-prepared to oversee the program.

CLPHA and its industry partners, meanwhile, say an expanded Housing Innovation Program is key to both residents and the PHAs that serve them. They cite, among other findings, an Urban Institute study which reported "increased HA stocktaking, initiative, and sense of ownership" through the MTW program.

"The local flexibility and independence permitted under MTW appears to allow strong, creative HAs to experiment with innovative solutions to local challenges, and to be more responsive to local conditions and priorities than is often possible where federal program requirements limit the opportunity for variation," said the Urban Institute.

HAI Supports Advocacy Tool
In partnership with the Housing Authority Insurance (HAI) Group and the Public Housing Authority Directors Association, CLPHA will soon roll-out a state-of-the-art online advocacy action tool that will enable the organization and its members to identify and contact elected officials at the state and federal levels and communicate their issues and views to targeted members using five different message delivery options.

Brian Braley, Vice President Legislative Affairs at HAI, told the CLPHA membership June 28 that the "Capwiz" system will make the organization’s advocacy efforts more potent, enabling CLPHA to more effectively "coordinate grass roots efforts" with its members and its industry partners.

Braley noted that the Capwiz project is just the latest indication of HAI’s interest in working with Public Housing advocates. HAI, for example, also funded the recent report on the economic benefits of Public Housing in 10 American cities.

HUD to Move on Mixed-Finance Rule; HOPE VI Funding Notice Forthcoming
HUD will soon issue a final rule designed to streamline the application process for mixed-finance development of Public Housing. That was among the items discussed by key HUD staffers at the CLPHA summer executive directors meeting.

Among the other topics addressed by HUD staff:

-- A notice of funding availability (NOFA) for HOPE VI will be issued this year, though no additional information on the NOFA is available at this time, said Sue Wilson of the Office of Public Housing Investments. Likewise, a draft of the new Capital Fund rule should be available "sometime this summer," said Wilson.

-- HUD is working on a revised bridge agreement for MTW agencies, said Ivan Pour of the Office of Public Housing Investments. In May, CLPHA cautioned that the proposed language instituting the bridge agreements could saddle PHAs with "greater reporting requirements, additional bureaucratic obstacles and less certainty of their ability to be creative and innovative within the bounds of this Revised Agreement."

-- PHAs, said HUD Deputy Chief of Staff Scott Keller, should be concerned about how the FHA will be structured in legislation recently passed by the House. The reduction in FHA fees from $2 billion to $300 million, said Keller, means there will be continued pressure on the Public Housing Operating and Capital Funds as well as the Section 8 program.

-- The Congress is likely to make significant changes to the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Progam, said Orlando Cabrera, Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing. (Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said he too expected action on the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, especially as it relates to making the credit compatible with HUD programs.)

The final mixed-finance rule, said Wilson, will "change the way we certify mixed-finance deals." CLPHA, in comments to the proposed rule submitted earlier this year, welcomed the initiative, but warned that process changes are not sufficient.

"CLPHA strongly supports the move to a streamlined application process," said the comments. "Specifically, reducing the number of closing documents that must be submitted and allowing PHAs to submit certifications instead will reduce the time and money that PHAs must spend to on a mixed-finance project. Because longer timelines increase the cost of redevelopment deals, streamlining the process should result in better, more efficient redevelopment projects."

However, said CLPHA, "streamlining the process is not sufficient by itself."

Said the CLPHA letter: "The new streamlined process must be accompanied by clarity with respect to the requirements that PHAs must meet. Under the current application process, HUD’s review of documents is not always consistent from project to project. In some cases, guidance contained in notices or the Model Documents is considered a requirement by the reviewer while in other cases, only formal regulations are considered. The changes to the application process in the proposed rule largely do not address these problems. Without changes to the current requirements, uncertainty on the part of PHAs and their partners about the standards they must meet will undercut the benefits of the streamlined application process."

Morris Inducted Into California Housing Hall of Fame
Elizabeth C. Morris, President & Chief Executive Officer of the San Diego Housing Commission, has been inducted into the California Housing Hall of Fame. The prestigious honor, given by the California Housing Consortium (CHC), recognizes Ms. Morris for her 35 years of service and leadership in the affordable housing field.

Morris joined the San Diego Housing Commission in 1979 and became its President & CEO in 1994.

Under her leadership, the agency has grown from an annual budget of $95 million to $231.3 million, and has expanded its role and mission to encompass three areas of work:

-- As a traditional public housing agency, the San Diego Housing Commission helps more than 12,400 families pay rent in private housing; owns and manages nearly 1,750 apartments; and provides residents with academic support and career development tools.

-- As a housing finance partner, the agency helps nonprofit and for-profit developers create affordable housing (12,000 affordable units built to date); has provided technical and financial assistance to 4,300 home buyers and 10,000 low-income owners of homes in need of repair; assists in development of supportive housing; and manages an extensive loan portfolio.

-- As a policy advisor, the agency helps shape local affordable housing programs by advising the San Diego City Council on housing policy matters.

Of her major accomplishments at the San Diego Housing Commission, Morris is most proud of helping create a local affordable housing trust fund, successfully advocating for inclusionary zoning, and building collaborations to house individuals with special needs, especially persons with debilitating illnesses.

To be inducted into the California Housing Hall of Fame, an individual or organization must demonstrate visionary leadership, innovation, effectiveness, inclusiveness, impact, tenure, collaborative spirit, inspirational records of service, and substantial contributions toward advancing affordable housing issues and causes in California.

"CHC’s Board of Directors was extremely pleased to induct Betsy into the California Housing Hall of Fame in recognition of her long-standing leadership on housing issues most critical to serving very low-income residents, particularly in San Diego," said Jeff Loustau, Executive Director of the Consortium. "Over the past quarter century, she has expanded the role of the San Diego Housing Commission from a traditional public housing agency to a housing finance partner responsible for over 12,000 units of quality rental and ownership housing."

The California Housing Consortium is a statewide housing advocacy organization representing the development, building, financial, and public sectors in a non-partisan effort to advance enlightened housing policy that addresses California’s affordable housing needs. From sustaining catalytic public funding to improving land use planning and pursuing regulatory reforms, CHC is actively engaged in expanding rental and homeownership opportunities for low-and-moderate income Californians.

California Housing Hall of Fame inductees range from private and nonprofit developers, lenders and investors, to visionary public sector leaders and philanthropic foundations. Ms. Morris was recognized in the public sector category. Other 2007 inductees included Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, as well as Community HousingWorks, a San Diego-based nonprofit affordable housing developer led by Executive Director Sue Reynolds.

 

Q & A
Q: There’s a rumor about that HUD is rejecting PHA stop-loss applications – I’ve heard that more than a dozen applications have been denied. Is there any truth to this?

A: No, say HUD officials.

"No one has officially failed," Greg Byrne, Director of HUD’s Financial Management Center told the CLPHA summer Executive Director’s meeting June 28. Instead, said Byrne, two authorities that submitted applications were informally told that they should withdraw them, polish them up, and resubmit them.

Further, said Byrne and Orlando Cabrera, Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing, HUD will work with agencies whose applications are rejected to identify shortcomings so the application can be successfully resubmitted.

"We’re not playing ‘hide-the-ball’ here," said Cabrera. He said HUD will "work to resolve the issues" that arise in failed applications and will share their findings "the minute we know information."

The first deadline for stop-loss applications is October 15. HUD has posted a stop-loss "toolkit" on its website, which can be accessed by clicking here.