Northwest HUD Lines
December 2016

HUD e-Briefs from Alaska, Idaho, Oregon & Washington

Leland Jones, Editor, 206/220-5356 or Leland.jones@hud.gov

www.hud.gov/alaska	www.hud.gov/idaho
www.hud.gov/oregon	www.hud.gov/washington
http://twitter.com/hudnorthwest

THANKS
100 down, 100 to go
This is the 100th issue of our monthly e-letter Northwest HUDLines. Over the years, we hope you've found it a valuable resource, with information that helps you better understand what we at HUD do and help you do better what you do. We thank each of you have share news of initiatives launched, milestones achieved, groundbreakings held and projects completed and, yes, celebrated. And we thank every, single one of you for the work you have done in housing, community & economic development in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon & Washington every single day, in good times and trouble ones, to better the lives of those our Department serves. Thanks to you, we've never run short of good news to share in Northwest HUDLines. As we now begin work on the next 100 issues of Northwest HUDLines we're absolutely, 100 percent sure we never will. Again, thanks.

! ! ! NEWS FLASH ! ! !
HUD has announced that the Federal Housing Administration - FHA - has issued Mortgagee Letter 2016-20 approving an increase nationwide in FHA mortgage insurance limits effective for mortgages assigned a case number on or after January 1st, 2007. In most non-metro cities & counties across the United States, the maximum mortgage amount - "the floor limit" that FHA will insure will increase from $271,050 in calendar 2016 to $275,665 in calendar 2017 for one-family homes; from $347,000 to $352,950 for two-family homes; and from $419,425 to $426,625 on three-family homes; and from $521.250 to $530,150 on four-family homes. In high-cost areas, the maximum mortgage - "the ceiling limit" - that FHA national loan limit "ceiling" will increase to $636,150 from $625,500. There are also a considerable number of housing markets - like Seattle/Tacoma or Portland/Vancouver - which have "in-between" mortgage limits, many of which are also seeing limit increases from 2016 to 2017. Finally, FHA will also increase its "floor" to $275,665 from $271,050. Additionally, the maximum claim amount for FHA-insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs), or reverse mortgages, will increase to $636,150. This amount is 150 percent of the national conforming limit of $424,100. To determine the new FHA mortgage limits in your community effective January 1st, visit. By the way, since FHA was established during the New Deal, it's insured 1,772,606 finance or re-finance mortgages in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon & Washington, more than 300,000 of which are "active" this very day.

"STRONG, SUSTAINED PROGRESS" AT FHA
Independent actuary takes a look at FHA's books
An analysis by an independent actuary has reported that the Federal Housing Administration's - FHA - Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund capital ratio grew by $3.8 billion and now stands at 2.32 percent-the second consecutive year since 2008 that FHA's reserve ratio exceeded the congressionally required 2 percent threshold. The Fund's "strong, sustained progress," said HUD Secretary Castro, has "helped field the housing market recovery" over the past eight years and confirms that our steps to maintain a financially sound Fund are paying off, giving more American families the opportunity to afford a home of their own." The Fund's value now stands at $27.6 billion and its single family forward component's growth outpaced by actuary's projection by $10.1 billion. Since its creation during the New Deal in 1934, FHA has helped more than 46 million Americans purchase or refinance homes-nearly seven million of those just during the most recent crisis.

CLEARING THE AIR
Smoke-free public housing
Saying he believes ""Every child deserves to grow up in a safe, healthy home free from harmful second-hand cigarette smoke," HUD Secretary Castro has announced that a new final rule the nation's more than 3,100 public housing authorities will be required to establish a smoke-free environment for its residents over the next 18 months. Since 2009 HUD has encouraged that authorities voluntarily adopt such a standard & more than 600 authorities with a total of some 228,000 public housing units have done so, including some 70 percent of the public housing authorities in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon & Washington. Making the standard mandatory, the Secretary says, "will create healthier homes for all of our families and prevent devastating and costly smoking-related fires." The final rule, effective 60 days after its expected publication in The Federal Register on December 5th, is expected to save authorities an estimate "$153 million every year in repairs and preventable fires, including $94 million in secondhand smoke-related health care, $43 million in renovation of smoking-permitted units, and $16 million in smoking-related fire losses."

GOOD FATH RESULTS
IHBG funding formula rulemaking concludes
Following a government-to-government rule making process required periodically under the Native American Housing & Self-Determination Act of1996, representatives of HUD and 24 designated Tribal governments, a final rule has been agreed upon to update the funding formula for the Indian Housing Block Grant which annually distributes by formula some $650 million to 587 Native tribes across the United States for housing development, assistance, maintenance & safety projects as determined by the Tribes. The process included a year-long study of potential data sources as well as the publication of a proposed rule in May, 2016. HUD General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public & Indian Housing Lourdes Castro Ramirez thanked the Tribes for their "meaningful engagement" while Jason Dollarhide & Annette Bryan, co-chairs of the rule making committee, said the committee "worked in good faith in a consensus decision-making process with the goal of doing what was in the best interest of all the tribes." Since its establishment, the Indian Housing Block Grant has built or acquired nearly 37,000 affordable housing units & rehabilitated more than 77,000 others. More than half the self-governing, Federally-recognized Tribes & Native Villages are in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon & Washington.

RIGHTS REMINDER
Protecting rights of HUD-assisted tenants affected by RAD conversions
HUD issues formal guidance to public housing authorities on meeting their fair housing, civil rights & relocation obligations to affected residents as their units are converted under the Rental Assistance Demonstration program authorized by Congress in 2012 to "to help stem the loss of public housing units by allowing local housing authorities to convert the current federal subsidy to a more stable long-term financing model for up to 185,000 public housing units and, thereby, permit them, like the private owners of single- ^ multi-family properties to use debt financing for the upkeep & upgrade of their rental properties

IN EFFECT
Section 184 premium hike
Don't forget!! As posted in Federal Register, as of December 1st the annual premium on Section 184 Indian Housing Loan Guarantee mortgages increases from .15 to .25 percent of the remaining loan balance and the premium will continue until the unpaid principal balance, excluding the upfront loan guarantee fee, reaches 78 percent of the lower of the initial sales price or appraised value based on the initial amortization schedule. With the number of Section 184 loans doubling over the last five years, the increase permits HUD to keep up with the rising demand for this homeownership product.

BRIEF BRIEFS
25-year HUD veteran Doug Carlson name director of HUD in Oregon...At the polls this November reports Oregon Public Broadcasting, voters in Portland, Oregon passed $258.1 million housing tax levy 62 to 38 percent and, across the Columbia River in Vancouver, Washington voters approved a $42 million housing tax levy 57 to 43 percent. For the second year in a row, reports KTVA-TV, U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan joins Covenant House to spend a cold night sleeping outdoors to raise awareness about homelessness...NeighborWorks Boise's 36 Oak affordable housing project in Garden City & Pocatello's Martin Luther King Way Livability & Stormwater Project win Idaho Smart Growth 2016 Grow Smart Awards...Community Action Center welcomes $65,000 allocation from City of Pullman, Washington as "positive step" in addressing city's affordable housing issues ‘says Spokesman Review . .HUD awards $ 450,000 in HUD Indian Community Development Block Grant "imminent threat" grant to the Spokane Tribe of Indians in Washington State to assist it in rebuilding much of the housing stock destroyed or severely damaged by the Cayuse Mountain Fire in August, 2016...RurALCAP completes $6 million transformation of downtown Anchorage office building into 20 units of affordable, permanent housing for the homeless reports Alaska Dispatch...National Community Fund LLC of Portland, Oregon wins $80 million CDFI New Markets Tax Credit allocation...Washington Department of Commerce launches program to reimburse landlords up to $5,000 for property damage done by Section 8-assisted tenants...Juneau Assembly considering ordinance, reports The Empire, to allow developers of housing subdivisions to build smaller share access roads at their discretion which, "in theory, might drive down the cost of development since building roads to city standards isn't cheap," especially in some of the city's steep, rugged terrain...Forty-five vets were homeless last year, says Kitsap County's Home for All Who Served campaign, but this month only five are, says Kitsap Sun, which might mean an end to veteran homelessness is in sight...Redmond, Oregon City Council allocates $201,000 in CDBG funds says Bend Bulletin to convert single-family residence into shelter for homeless young people. . Anchorage, Alaska Mayor Ethan Berkowitz & team named 2017 Daniel Rose Center for Public Leadership in Land Use Fellows by Urban Land Institute & National League of Cities...Eugene, Odeon City Council, reports Register Guard, is mulling how best to start small but ultimately engage neighborhoods in expanding "rest stop" initiative which provides temporary and legal shelter to the homeless...Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium's Dr. Gary Ferguson named new chief executive officer of RurALCAP...Pierce County, Washington Commission, says News Tribune, establishes impact fee to raise $51 million over next 15 years to maintain & upgrade parks & trails...Springfield/Eugene Habitat for Humanity files plans to build six duplexes in Springfield, Oregon, says Register Guard, its "largest build in organization's 26-year history...HUD awards Home Forward of Portland, Salem Housing Authority, Seattle Housing Authority, King County Housing Authority, Snohomish Housing Authority, Yakima Housing Authority & Walla Walla Housing Authority another 311 more HUD Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing vouchers to help fulfill, says HUD Secretary Castro, our responsibility to ensure that those who have served their country in uniform have a home."

UPS & DOWNS
"Our work is far from finished," says HUD Secretary Castro, "but we're on the right track."
On November 17th HUD issued its 2016 Homeless Assistance Report to the Congress. It's a 98-page report chock full of data which we have space only to summarize. For more, we'd encourage to click on the full report. In brief, the report finds that the total number of homeless people in the United States fell 2.6 percent from the January, 2015 "point-in-time" count to 2016 and by 13.7 percent from the 2010 count - the year the Obama Administration launched its Opening Doors coordinated Federal policy to reduce & end homelessness - to 2016. Closer to home, homelessness in Alaska fell .8 percent from 2015 to 2016 but rose 4.1 percent from 2010 to 2016; in Idaho rose 14.3 percent from 2015 to 2016 but fell 4,2 percent from 2010 to 2016; in Oregon rose .1 percent from 2015 to 2016 but fell 32.1 percent from 2010 to 2010; and in Washington State rose 7.3 percent from 2015 to 2016 but fell 9 percent from 2010 to 2016. Even closer to home, the Report also includes data for the 18 Continuums of Care - organizations of local governments, service providers & homeless advocates that receive annual funding from HUD & chart the strategies & set the priorities on how best to use those funds to prevent & end homelessness - in our Region. In those Continuums, the Report indicates that:

In Alaska -

• The total number of homeless people in Anchorage fell 10.2 percent from 2010 to 2016. Over the same period, the number of homeless individuals has risen 22.3 percent, but the number individuals in families has fallen 59.3 percent. From 2015 to 2016, the number of counted chronically-homeless individuals, veterans and homeless youth all decreased. 
• The total number of homeless people in Alaska Balance-of-State - i.e., the state's smaller, more rural communities - rose 32.1 percent from 2010 to 2016. Over the same period, the number of homeless individuals rose 64.6 percent while the number of individuals in homeless families fell 16.1 percent. From 2015 to 2016, the number of chronically-homeless people counted decreased, while the number of homeless youth and the number of homeless veterans rose.

In Idaho -

• The total number of homeless people in Boise/Ada County fell .6 percent from 2010 to 2016. Over the same period, the number of homeless individuals fell 15 percent, and the number of individuals in families also fell 33.6 percent. From 2015 to 2016, the number of counted chronically-homeless individuals and homeless youth decreased slightly, while homeless veterans increased.
• The total number of homeless people in Idaho Balance-of-State fell 6.5 percent from 2010 to 2016. Over the same period, the number of homeless individuals rose 387.1 percent while the number of individuals in homeless families rose 284.2 percent. From 2015 to 2016, the number of chronically-homeless people counted decreased, while the number of homeless youth and the number of homeless veterans rose.

In Oregon -

• The total number of homeless people in Eugene/Springfield/Lane County fell 43.8 percent from 2010 to 2016. Over the same period, the number of homeless individuals fell 35.4 percent and the number individuals in families fell 67.1 percent  From 2015 to 2016, the number of counted chronically-homeless individuals, homeless veterans and homeless youth fell.
• The total number of homeless people in the Portland/Gresham/Multnomah County fell 7.6 percent from 2010 to 2016, though increased from 2015 to 2016. Over the same period, the number of homeless individuals rose 9 percent while the number of individuals in homeless families fell 45.4 percent but rose from 2015 to 2016. From 2015 to 2016, the number of chronically-homeless people counted rose 33 percent and there also were increases in the number of homeless veterans and homeless youth fell.
• The total number of homeless people in Medford/Ashland/Jackson County fell 42.8 percent from 2010 to 2015. Over the same period, the number of homeless individuals fell 11.5 percent while the number of individuals in homeless families fell 80.8 percent. From 2015 to 2016, the number of chronically-homeless and homeless veterans fell, but the number of homeless youth rose.
• The total number of homeless people in Central Oregon rose 5.8 percent from 2010 to 2016. Over the same period, the number of homeless individuals rose 26.6 percent while the number of individuals in homeless families fell 18.2 percent. From 2015 to 2016, the number of homeless veterans rose slightly but the number of chronically-homeless almost tripled while the number of homeless youth fell.
• The total number of homeless people in Oregon Balance of State fell 35.2 percent from 2010 to 2016 but rose from 2015 to 2016. From 2010 to 2016, the number of homeless individuals fell 4.2 percent and the number of individuals in homeless families fell 56.4 percent. From 2015 to 2016, the number of chronically-homeless and homeless veterans rose while the number of homeless youth fell.
• The total number of homeless people in Hillsboro/Beaverton/Washington County fell 39.9 percent from 2010 to 2016. Over the same period, the number of homeless individuals fell 25.5 percent while the number of individuals in homeless families fell 56.9 percent. From 2015 to 2016, the number of chronically-homeless, homeless was substantially unchanged while the number of homeless veterans and homeless youth fell.
• The total number of homeless people in Clackamas County fell 67.4 percent from 2010 to 2016. Over the same period, the number of homeless individuals fell 69.8 percent while the number of individuals in homeless families fell 62.2 percent. From 2015 to 2016, the number of chronically-homeless doubled while, homeless veterans and homeless youth fell slightly.

 In Washington -

• The total number of homeless people in Seattle-King County rose 18.9 percent from 2010 to 2016. Over the same period, the number of homeless individuals has risen 38.9 percent, but the number individuals in families has fallen12.7 percent. From 2015 to 2016, the number of counted chronically-homeless individuals fell while the number of homeless veterans and homeless youth increase.
• The total number of homeless people in Washington Balance-of-State fell 26.2 percent from 2010 to 2016, though increased from 2015 to 2016. Over the same period, the number of homeless individuals fell 5.6 percent while the number of individuals in homeless families fell 44.4 percent. From 2015 to 2016, the number of chronically-homeless people counted as well as the number of homeless youth fell, while the number of homeless veterans rose.
• The total number of homeless people in Spokane City and County fell 21 percent from 2010 to 2015. Over the same period, the number of homeless individuals rose 2.7 percent while the number of individuals in homeless families fell 47.9 percent. From 2015 to 2016, the number of chronically-homeless and homeless youth fell while the number of homeless veterans rose slightly.
• The total number of homeless people in Tacoma/Lakewood/Pierce County fell 2.5 percent from 2010 to 2016. Over the same period, the number of homeless individuals rose 52.4 percent while the number of individuals in homeless families fell 36.9 percent. From 2015 to 2016, the number of chronically-homeless and the number of homeless veterans rose and the number of homeless youth fell.
• The total number of homeless people in Everett/Snohomish County fell 52.4 percent from 2010 to 2016. Over the same period, the number of homeless individuals fell 12.8 percent and the number of individuals in homeless families fell 78.7 percent. From 2015 to 2016, the number of chronically-homeless rose while the number of homeless veterans and homeless youth fell modestly.
• The total number of homeless people in Yakima City and County fell 18.7 percent from 2010 to 2016. Over the same period, the number of homeless individuals fell 17.3 percent while the number of individuals in homeless families fell 20.2 percent. From 2015 to 2016, the number of chronically-homeless, homeless veterans and homeless youth fell.
• The total number of homeless people in Vancouver/Clark County fell 37.7 percent. Over the same period, the number of homeless individuals fell 46.2 percent while the number of individuals in homeless families fell 38.9 percent. From 2015 to 2016, the number of chronically-homeless, homeless veterans and homeless youth fell.

BRIEF BRIEFS TOO
In the culmination of a 2-year process to develop a more "issue-focused, equity-based" grants portfolios, Oregon's Meyer Memorial Trust announces the award of 151 grants totaling $17.3 million - 65 awards in its Build Community portfolio, 47 awards in its Healthy Environment portfolio & 39 awards in its Affordable Housing Opportunities portfolio with awards in its Equitable Education portfolio expected in early 2017...Boise, Idaho's Housing First project that will provide housing & supportive services to up to 40 families & individuals experiencing homelessness has reached "critical milestone," says Idaho Housing & Finance Association, with announcement of $7.3 million in funds from City of Boise and in Low Income Housing Tax Credits & HOME funds from the Association...Washington State Housing Finance Commission begins month of November okaying $328 million of financing for some 1,800 affordable housing units in Auburn, Des Moines, Federal Way, Mill Creek, Olympia, Seattle & Spokane and then ends month okaying another $234 million in financing for another 966 units of affordable rent housing at four complexes in Puyallup, Lacey & Airway Heights, Washington...REACH CDC files pre-application documents with City of Vancouver, reports The Columbian, for phase II of Isabella Court, another 49 units of affordable rental housing, this time focused on residents with disabilities...Juneau Housing First Coalition conducts walk-through of 32-unit Housing First facility for highly-vulnerable homeless under construction that's expected to open next May reports KTOO-FM...City of Tacoma launches Residential Infill Pilot Program to encourage "developers & property owners to propose designs for four infill housing types" as part of citizen design review process to guide City Council "in future infill housing types & appropriate zoning districts"...Portland, Oregon becomes first city in United States., says Atlantic magazine's CITY LAB, to require deconstruction rather than demolition of homes built prior to 1916...Kalama, Washington City Council dissolves its local housing authority, reports Longview Daily News, and transfers all assets to Kelso Housing Authority...Salem, Oregon housing authority reaches conditional sales agreement, says Portland Tribune, to buy & convert Yaquina Hall on grounds of "mostly vacant" state hospital into 50 units of affordable housing...Mount. Vernon, Washington's efforts to build flood wall to protect downtown housing & commercial buildings from Skagit River flooding is focus on HUD Webinar on innovative uses of HUD Section 108 loan guarantee program...Portland Housing Center opens Vancouver, Washington office to help first-time homebuyers there obtain mortgages...St. Vincent de Paul of Lane County unveils plans to acquire Springfield, Oregon Church of the Brethren & convert into 35 affordable housing units and, just a few weeks later, says Register Guard, wins $6 million in funding from Oregon Housing & Community Services to proceed...Fairbanks Co-Op Market & Deli & Alaska Housing Finance Corporation launch Shop & Share initiative that enables shoppers to purchase staple food items & "pay it forward" for needy families, many with children, in Corporation's rental assistance programs, reports News-Miner...Business Oregon announces $10.1 million in CDBG grants to cities of Idaho, La Pine, Seneca, Mt. Vernon, Roseburg, Newberg, Veneta, Lebanon, Pendleton, and Independence & Josephine and Coos counties to, among other things, to upgrade water and wastewater systems upgrades where outdated systems are creating health hazards and renovation and expansion of; senior centers providing support & Head Start facilities & production & preservation of low-income housing.

NOFA-TUNITY
Small grants for environmental justice projects
The Environmental Protection Agency has set a January 31st deadline to apply for funding under the Environmental Justice Small Grants Program. A total of 40 grants are expected to be awarded of no more than $30,000 each. The grants are intended to ""help communities understand and address exposure to multiple environmental harms and risks. Applying organizations are encouraged to have a direct connection to the vulnerable affected, community impacted by environmental harms & risks." EPA will host pre-application assistance calls on December 8, January 12th & January 24th for interested organizations.

NOFA-TWO-NITY
Non-profit leadership & capacity funds
The Meyer Memorial Trust of Oregon has set a December 7th deadline for non-profits to respond to a request-for-proposals in two categories - Leadership Development Support & Capacity Building Support. The request reflects the Trust's Building Community portfolio which aims "to strengthen our collective capacity to improve conditions for communities of color, Oregonians living on low incomes and other historically marginalized populations" and is guided by its "vision that all Oregonians reach their full potential, influence the decisions that affect them and contribute to building vibrant communities."

NOFA-LERT
Lead demonstration funding availability
HUD has announced an anticipated application date of February 21st as the deadline for state, county & local governments (singly or in consortia) & tribal organizations to apply for some $45 million in Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration Program grants. It is expected that up to 15 grants of at least $1 million & not more than $3 million each will be awarded. The grant synopsis is expected to be posted at www.grants.gov on January 5th.

NOFA-LERT TOO
Lead hazard reduction funding viability
HUD has announced an anticipated application date of February 21st for state, county & local governments (singly or in consortia) & tribal organizations to apply for some $48 million in Lead Paint Hazard Reduction Grants. It is expected that up t0 20 grants will be competitively awarded of no more than $2.5 million & no less than $1 million will be awarded. The grant synopsis is expected to be posted at www.grants.gov on January 5th.

NOF-ALERT THREE
Healthy Homes funding availability
HUD has announced an anticipated application date of February 22nd for eligible applicants to apply for the $3.8 million Healthy Homes & lead Technical Studies Grant program. Up to 6 grants of no more than $700,000 & no less than $300,000 each are expected to be competitively awarded. A grant synopsis is expected to be published at www, grants.gov on January 23rd.

NOF-ORECAST
HUD posts tentative NOFA schedule
HUD also has forecast at www.grants.gov that it expects to post the grant synopsis for the $35 million Jobs Plus Initiative on February 7th with an application deadline of April 10th; for the Resident Opportunities & Self Sufficiency Program NOFA a grant synopsis posting on May 1st with an expected June 20th application deadline; for the $75 million Family Self Sufficiency NOFA a grant synopsis posting on February 20th with an expected application deadline of April 25th; and for the $59 million Indian Community Development Block Grant program a grant synopsis posting on January 12th with an application deadline of April 18th.

BRIEF BRIEFS THREE
Facing a shortage of affordable rental housing, Renton, Washington City Council approves "source of income" ordinance, says Seattle Times, prohibiting housing discrimination against holders of HUD Housing Choice Vouchers...Housing Works executive director Tom Kemper  says award of $7 million in Low Income Housing Tax Credits from Oregon Housing & Community Services will allow it to begin 12-month conversion of former Ochoco Elementary School in Prineville into 29 units of affordable family rental housing next spring, reports KTVZ-TV...Expecting senior housing to be the top priority, a survey of Native households in the Wrangell area conducted by the Wrangell Cooperative Association & Tlingit Haida Regional Housing Authority finds, reports KSTK-FM, that energy efficiency ranked first among three-quarters of the 133 respondents with senior housing placing third after energy efficiency & affordable housing...Boise Regional REALTORS Community Foundation, says Idaho Business Review, donates some $25,000 to more than a dozen Ada County, Idaho non-profits including Boise Rescue Mission, CATCH, Habitat for Humanity & Firefighters Local...Pat Kaplan of Portland, Oregon, a REALTOR for the past 36 years, wins the 2016 National Association of REALTORS distinguished service award...Often and, sometimes, even affectionately described as "10 floors of basement," HUD's Headquarters building in Washington, D.C. is coming up in the world, winning LEED Silver Certification thanks to efforts, in collaboration with Honeywell International, that have lowered its energy usage by 47 percent, its carbon footprint by 50 percent (the equivalent of removing 1830 cars from the road), while creating nearly 400 jobs...Housing & Finance's The Housing Company starts construction of 37-unit Moon Valley Apartments in downtown Star, says Idaho Business Review, with first affordable units expected to be ready for occupancy in March...To meet Cannon Beach, Oregon's need for affordable, workforce housing, local task force recommends that City Council okays place of 10 "park model" mobile homes at city-owned RV Park reports Daily Astorian... Four clean water infrastructure projects in rural communities in Clearwater & Canyon counties in Idaho & King County in Washington among 85 awarded USDA grants & loans...City of Cornelius says it's received Oregon Housing & Community Services funding to move forward in 2017 to ;build Cornelius Place, 45 affordable housing units, a community center, a YWCA branch and an expanded home for its public library...Bremerton, Washington City Council allocates $211,000 in CDBG funds, says Kitsap Sun, to demolish dilapidated property on site designated for 25-unit affordable apartment complex...HACSA & St. Vincent de Paul celebrate grand opening of Bascom Village II, says KEZI-TV, 43 more units of affordable housing in Eugene Oregon.

QUOTEWORTHY
The transition begins
"Today, we have a new President-elect, Donald J. Trump. Soon you will begin seeing many new faces here at HUD. I ask that you, the dedicated and hard-working civil servants who make HUD work for millions of Americans every day, to extend the same warm welcome that you afforded me and my staff nearly two and a half years ago. HUD's mission is too important to have it any other way. Without each of you, we would never have accomplished all that we have. President Obama has made it clear that a seamless transition is one of his top priorities and I share that goal. The President's Executive Order on transition reminds us that "It is the policy of the United States to undertake all reasonable efforts to ensure that Presidential transitions are well-coordinated and effective, without regard to political party...As always, thank you for the work you do every day to deliver impact to so many people across America and around the world." - HUD Secretary Julián Castro in a message to HUD employees, November 9, 2016

THOUGHTWORTHY
Does Seattle have the crisis it thinks it has?
Seattle's "housing shortage narrative" - i.e., that "When housing production falls behind demand we have a housing shortage" - "obscures the real problem: out of control rents. There is, however, a specific housing shortage for those without the means to afford all this plentiful new housing. And it's because of this specific shortage that simply building more housing doesn't address the fundamental problem. To address the specific shortage, it's time we started looking at specific solutions including a progressive income tax, rent stabilization, and aggressively capturing the value concentrating in urban land so it can be funneled into affordable housing. In a future article, I will lay out a housing affordability program that blueprints specific solutions, particularly a politically and economically feasible concentrate-and-capture land value scheme. In the meantime, a housing affordability program that says "just build" and nothing more is pouring water into a glass that's already full." - Michael Goldman, The Urbanist, November 22, 2016

HOODATHUNKIT
A paradigm buster?
"Housing units earmarked for low-income residents have virtually no impact on surrounding property values in major U.S. metro areas...The findings, from real-estate tracker Trulia, looked at more than 3,000 projects financed using the federal low income housing tax credit program between 1996 and 2006 in the 20 most expensive U.S. metro areas. Trulia researchers measured the change in home values for properties within a 2,000-foot radius of the low-income units as well as an outer ring between 2,000 and 4,000 feet. Across the 20 metro areas, the study found no significant difference in price per square foot when looking at properties closest to the low-income units and those farther out. The 20 markets chosen are the ones with the highest percentage of a median household's income needed to pay toward a monthly mortgage payment on the median home value in each market." --."Low Income Housing Shown to Not Weigh on Nearby Property Values, The Wall Street Journal, November 28, 2016

FACT-ASTIC
The electorate speaks
"Election Day 2016 was historic for ballot measures that supported investment in public transportation. We saw a record number of measures on ballots. There were 77 measures nationwide; 71 percent of those passed. That accounts for almost $170 billion in new transit funding." -Jason Jordan, director of the Center for Transportation Excellence, All Things Considered, National Public Radio, November 23, 2016

NOT-SO-FACT-ASTIC
Homeless students on the rise
Oregon Department of Education reports that 3.7 percent, or 21,340, of its public school students grades K though 12 ae homeless this year, the third straight year the number has risen and exceeding numbers reported during the Great Recession.

WORTH A VISIT
At-risk Alaska villages
What does a melting polar cap and rising sea levels mean for Alaskan Native villages? Well, join The New York Times on a visit to Shaktoolik, population 251, an Inupiat community on the far western shores of Alaska. The only good news probably is that you won't have to wear boots. 

WORTH A READ
A welcome partnership
Long before there was a HUD or an HHS, communities across the country established "poor farms" where those of limited means and nowhere to go could turn Ever wondered what they were like? Well, let The Bonner County Daily Bee & Sandpoint, Idaho's Pat Gooby give you a tour one still standing across the street from where he grew up. "This poor farm was started way before Social Security and probably before the term ‘pension' was invented," he said. "It was a good program - and a real needed program for this area."

DITTO
Habitat for Humanity of Anchorage, Alaska recently completed the sale of the last 23 townhouse condos in its Neighbor Drive its now completed subdivision in east Anchorage. The Alaska Dispatch ow this brand-new community & its residents are faring. They've "come a long way," it reports, but even better allows some of Neighbor Drive's tell their own story in their own words. They're worth a read.

WORTH A LOOK
With Bellwether's Arbora Court & Mercy Housing's Othello Station projects as examples, Daily Journal of Commerce's Clair Enlow's Design Perspectives column argues Seattle, Washington's affordable housing developments are getting bigger AND better. And she explains why.

JUST PUBLISHED
Documents & data drops of interest
President Obama signs Executive Order establishing Federal interagency Community Solutions Council to "modernize the Federal Government's work with communities" & "help communities identify, develop, and share local solutions, rely on data to determine what does and does not work, and harness technology and modern collaboration and engagement methods to help share these solutions and help communities meet their local goals"....Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issues "snapshot" report of the complaints veterans has about the process of refinancing their Veterans Administration mortgages...Portland State University Institute on Aging study reports, says Oregonian,  that health & social services on-site in low-income housing can help residents "stay healthier & in their homes longer ...NeighborWorks America & Urban Institute post report on Homeownership Education & Counseling: Who Receives It and Is It Effective?...Asking questions for the first time in its 42-year history about food insecurity, Census Bureau's American Housing Survey reports that some 10.5 million American households - close to 9 percent of all households - report "low" or "very low" food insecurity scores with renters three times more likely than homeowners to report food insecurity...HUD Policy Development & Research visits Central City Concern in Portland, Oregon & reports that its approach "empowers individuals and families experiencing homelessness to take control of where and how they live"...EPA launches on-line Superfund Clean-Up Work Map of clean-u work being done at Superfund sites across the country...Portland, Oregon Housing Bureau issues 2016 State of Portland Housing Report.

NOTES TO NOTE
OMB sets December 5th deadline to submit public comments on HUD's proposal to collect information on utility & water consumption by its multifamily & public housing units...Meyer Memorial Trust sets December 7th for non-profits to apply for Leadership Development Support & Capacity Builders Support funding...Oregon Business extends deadline for $125 million Seismic Rehabilitation Grant Program until December 20th...EPA sets December 20th deadline to apply for brownfields clean-up assessment grants to proposals to "inventory, characterize, assess, and conduct planning (including cleanup planning) and community involvement related to brownfield sites"...EPA also sets December 29th deadline to apply for up to 290 Brownfields Clean-Up grants...USDA sets December 31st deadline to submit applications to state offices for 2nd Quarter Rural Economic Development Loan & Grant Program...EPA sets January 31st application deadline for $1.2 million Environmental Justice Small Grants program...EPA sets March 17th deadline to apply for Solar in Your Community Challenge to assist communities to increase areas to solar power in low-income communities.

COMING UP
EPA hosts We binary on its Solar in Your Community Challenge, December 1st, on-line. Visit

HUD's Office of Housing Counseling hosts Webinar on Expression of Interest Letters for Fiscal year 2017 Grantee Funding, December 5th, on-line. Visit

Washington AHMA hosts REAC Uniform Physical Condition Standards workshop, December 6th, Tukwila, Washington. Visit

32nd annual Rental Housing Management Conference & Trade Show, December 6th, Seattle. Visit HUD's Northwest Office of Native American programs hosts NAHASDA Essentials workshop, December 5th to 8th, Seattle, Washington. Visit

Solid Ground hosts Housing Forum: Can Rapid Re-Housing Solve Seattle's Homeless Crisis? December 8th, Seattle, Washington. Visit

King County Office of Civil Rights hosts workshop on Reasonable Accommodations & Modifications for Residents with Disabilities, December 12th, Seattle, Washington. Visit

HUD Idaho & Idaho Housing & Finance Association host Continuum of Care Start-Up Workshop for Fiscal Year 2015 Grants, December 13th, Boise, Idaho. Visit

HUD Oregon hosts Continuum of Care Start-Up Workshop for Fiscal Year 2015 grants, December 14th, Portland, Oregon. Visit

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco hosts Washington State Community Reinvestment Act Roundtable, December 16th, Seattle, Washington. Visit

NeighborWorks America hosts Webinar on Maximizing the Effectiveness of Telephone Counseling with HECM Clients, December 20th, on-line. Visit

Alaska Association of REALTORS hosts 2017 Leadership Conference, January 3rd & 4th, Anchorage, Alaska. Visit

Northwest Indian Housing Association hosts quarterly meeting, January 24th & 25th, Seattle, Washington. Visit

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