2000 Best Practice Awards

Best Practice: Ephraim City Affordable Housing Project

Partnership Provides Affordable Housing to Utah Residents

Ephraim. The Ephraim City Affordable Housing Project, formed in 1998, is a partnership consisting of Ephraim City and Snow College South to build affordable housing – a need documented by a study of housing needs in Ephraim. Ephraim City provided a parcel of city-owned land, while Snow College South provided students to help build the homes. Federal, state and local agencies also contributed to the project. The local USDA’s Rural Development Office served as qualifying agent; the State of Utah’s Olene Walker Trust Fund provided $120,000 at no interest for three years; the Utah State University Extension Service offered homebuyers a home maintenance course; and the Sanpete County Building Inspection Department waived fees. In two years, the city and college built five homes, which were sold to families qualifying under the affordable housing guidelines.

Contact: Gary Anderson, Phone: (435) 283-7595
Tracking Number: 470
Winning Category: Program (Community Builders)

Best Practice: Envision Utah

Utah Partnership Develops Long-Term Growth Strategy

Salt Lake City. Envision Utah, a public/private partnership studying the effects of long-term growth in the Greater Wasatch Area of northern Utah, created a publicly-supported long-term growth strategy that will preserve Utah's high quality of life, natural environment and economic vitality during the next 50 years. Key to the program’s success was early and constant involvement of residents and local community groups. The group formed an advisory board representing community interests to act as partners in the planning process. They also held a series of meetings, surveys, and open workshops to encourage local community support for the final proposal. The final scenario includes the promotion of transit-oriented development, walkable communities, in-fill development, higher-density housing development, preservation of agricultural and recreational land, and conservation of natural resources. Adoption of the strategy by local communities will preserve 171 square miles of land, reduce mobile emissions by 7.3 percent, decrease traffic congestion by 12.5 percent, and save $4.5 billion in infrastructure investment.

Contact: Stephen Holbrook, Phone: (801) 973-3372
Tracking Number: 590
Winning Category: Geographical

Best Practice: Utah Fair Housing Forum

Forum Increases Awareness of Fair Housing Issues

Salt Lake City. The Utah Fair Housing Forum serves as a state-level clearinghouse for all fair housing-related projects. The forum is a cooperative effort by HUD, the state, municipal and nonprofit entities to identify common interests and design a cooperative venture to address these interests. The Fair Housing Forum has resulted in a greater understanding among fair housing organizations. Forum members have become much more active in assuring fair housing rights, and property owners and managers are now more aware of the fair housing goals and are responsible for a noted decrease in fair housing complaints being filed with the Utah Anti-discrimination and Labor Division. Members of the Forum have also put together training on the Analysis of Impediments for Entitlement Communities that the communities in turn are using to develop their Consolidated Plans.

Contact: Harold Stephens, Phone: (801) 530-6435
Tracking Number: 434
Winning Category: Program (Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity)

Best Practice: Section 8 Lease Up Extravaganza

Outreach Program Helps House 200 Extremely Low-Income Families

Salt Lake City. The Housing Authority of Salt Lake City (HASLC) hosted a Section 8 Lease Up Extravaganza to put the 200 Welfare-to-Work Vouchers it was awarded in January of 2000 to immediate use by extremely low-income families. The event consisted of both a press conference and landlord training. The purpose of the press conference was to inform the public of the need for affordable housing within the community, and of the voucher award. The landlord training served as a means to inform and prepare landlords, and persuade them to accept the vast amount of families that would be flooding the private market in search of affordable housing. The program allowed the State of Utah’s Department of Workforce Services to successfully establish a maximum lifetime benefit in the amount of 36 months for welfare recipients. Furthermore, the program resulted in 200 extremely low-income families living in the safe and sanitary housing of their choice.

Contact: Jill Riddle, Phone: (801) 487-2161 Ext. 1209
Tracking Number: 73
Winning Category: Geographical and Program (Public and Indian Housing)

Best Practice: Homeless Veterans Apartment Complex

Program Provides Housing for Homeless Veterans

Salt Lake City. The Housing Authority of Salt Lake City (HASLC) brought together nontraditional funding partners to acquire and rehabilitate a 14-unit complex for homeless veterans who were willing to enter into a lease requiring a mandatory work component. The goal is to give the residents an opportunity to learn new marketable skills and transition into the private sector for both employment and housing. HASLC partners provide housing, social services, vocational training, and job placement for participants. Residents are required to pay 30 percent of their income towards rent, and maintain both their apartments and the community. Monthly meetings are held with the residents to address any property or case management issues. Because of this project, 24 formerly homeless veterans now have a safe place to live, are in active case management, and are learning new job skills.

Contact: Eileen Hjorth, Phone: (801) 487-2161 Ext.1220
Tracking Number: 72
Winning Category: Program (Public and Indian Housing)

Best Practice: Northeastern Housing Partnership

Utah Partnership Provides Affordable Housing and Job Training

Roosevelt. The Northeastern Housing Partnership is an innovative solution to producing quality affordable housing units while at the same time teaching job skills to inmates in the local prison. Inmates receive training in building homes for a wage of 50 cents per hour, while under the supervision of a licensed contractor from the Applied Technology Center. The Partnership is made up of three state units: the Uintah Basin Association of Governments, Duchesne County Justice Complex, and Uintah Basin Applied Technology Center. Since its inception a year ago, the program has completed two homes. On average, it takes between three to four months to complete a home, which cost between $55,000 to $58,000 while other homes in the area cost approximately $86,240 to build. The cost savings allow the homes to be affordable for low-income families.

Contact: Curtis Dastrup, Phone: (435) 722-4518
Tracking Number: 118
Winning Category: Program (Community Builders)

Best Practice: Habitat for Humanity Northern Utah - City Creek Estates - Spring Break - Collegiate Challenge 2000

Volunteers Build Affordable Homes in Utah

Salt Lake City. Habitat for Humanity Northern Utah is building townhouse-style units in Brigham City for low-income families. Upon completion in December of 2000, the Habitat’s City Creek Estate Project will have 17 critically-needed homes for families who have no other way of becoming homeowners. The units will be sold to low-income families with 0 percent interest and no profit mortgages. Habitat for Humanity relies on prospective homeowners and volunteers to build the homes. Volunteers for this project include local churches, youth groups, and college students from Utah State University, the State University of New York at Cortland State, and the University of Wisconsin at LaCrosse. The Collegiate Challenge 2000 program, where college students use their Spring break to work on a project that benefits the community, offered students the opportunity to learn valuable construction and team work skills while building homes for Habitat.

Contact: Patricia Williams, Phone: (801) 524-6076
Tracking Number: 83
Winning Category: Program (Community Planning and Development)

Content Archived: April 20, 2011