Having developed specific goals, assigned priorities, determined relationships, and identified ways that the goals might be accomplished, the final step is to synthesize the information into housing strategies. Strategies--the major policies and plans for achieving the goals--should be stated in a way that outlines what economic, physical or other condition the community is in or wants to be in and the kind of community it desires to be.  

An overall strategy should be a clear, concise statement of proposed accomplishments, supported by a clear rationale so that the strategy can be justified to community leaders and officials. The housing strategy plan must be a part of a larger set of strategies that deal with major local problems such as economic and human development (U. S. DHUD, 1978). Although strategies for accomplishing each goal can be developed separately, the final plan must be checked for internal consistency (Sorkin et al., 1984).  

Strategy planning consists of determining the series of actions that are required to meet all objectives, determining who shall carry out each of these actions, how, and in what order (Wakely, Schmetzer & Mumtaz, 1976). In the absence of strategies recommended by task forces or staff members, the most useful method for developing and prioritizing community housing strategies may be brainstorming (perhaps with technical advisors on hand). Then analyze each option for political feasibility, practicality, cost, etc.  

A large number of sample community housing strategies from which communities may choose to meet the goals of the 1990 National Affordable Housing Act are shown in FIGURE 14. A set of strategies that gradually brings the community to the desired position will be more likely to yield success than any single strategy. To ensure that the resulting plan can be implemented, however, strategies should always focus on the few most critical issues for the community. Moreover, the public is more likely to support a focused effort.  

The final strategy/action plan specifies the responsible parties for carrying it out, sets firm deadlines, and outlines intermediate steps (Sorkin et al., 1984). Action plans may include development or revision of local policies and/or taking specific measures to improve the local housing delivery system and institutional structure. For example, a community may commit itself to submitting a grant application for HUD HOME funds or establishing a nonprofit Community Housing Development Organization.  

The most efficient way to develop the action plan is to include it in strategy development. Therefore, the strategy development process should include a review of alternative programs available to implement the strategy, and their respective feasibilities. FIGURE 15 outlines specific actions and policies that can influence the housing cost components (raw land, site improvements, construction, administrative, financing, and taxes). Although guidebook space does not permit explanations of the various actions, details may be found in current references that describe "new" public-private partnerships and methods for developing affordable housing without federal subsidies (Nenno & Colyer, 1988; Brooks, 1989).  

FIGURE 14. SAMPLE LOCAL STRATEGIES TO IMPLEMENT NATIONAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING ACT GOALS  

IMPLEMENTATION   STRATEGIES		Increase Homeownership	Retain Affordable Housing	Extend/ Strengthen Housing Partnerships	Expand Rental assistance for very low income	Increase Housing for Special Needs Groups
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
1.	Locate Housing consistent with regional growth/economic development policies
2.	Develop inter-governmental cooperative agreements for housing delivery
3.	Develop local housing plans/seek funding consistent with CHAS goals
4.	Encourage citizen participation in the housing planning process
5.	Develop public/private partnerships including nonprofit agencies to address housing needs holistically
6.	Support creation/operation of Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO)
7.	Use Community Development Block Grant funds for housing programs
8.	Exempt lower income developments for growth/utility controls, property taxes
9.	Provide technical assistance to nonprofit housing developers
10.	Disperse minority/lower income housing according to Affirmative Marketing Plan
11.	Promote fair and open housing
12.	Encourage and monitor local lenders' Community Reinvestment Act activities
13.	Cooperate with lenders in developing housing funding strategies
14.	Examine state legislation and local regulations for impact on housing costs
15.	Develop affordable housing project and site selection criteria
16.	Develop local policies to reduce housing costs
17.	Promote private (re)investment in declining neighborhoods
18.	Enforce housing codes in declining areas
19.	Require rental housing conformance with local housing codes
20.	Assist small landlords in securing rehabilitation funds
LOCAL HOUSING AGENCIES/ORGANIZATIONS
1.	Conduct local.areawide housing surveys
2.	Utilize a variety of housing assistance programs to develop and manage housing for very low income people
3.	Vary housing types to meet the needs of special populations
4.	Publish guide to assisted housing
5.	Identify know legal barriers to housing choice
6.	Identify and assist lower income housing development sin threat of default

Source: Adapted from Denver Regional Council of Governments (1978)  

FIGURE 15. STRATEGIES, POLICIES, AND ACTIONS THAT CAN INFLUENCE HOUSING COST COMPONENTS  

In developing strategies and action plans designed to meet community housing objectives, several questions related to conflicting goals can guide the review of potential resources and activities. Many of today's local regulatory requirements for new housing development have emerged when the answer to, "Does new development and construction pay its own way in this community?" was "No-where near!" The current question is, "Who pays for infrastructure costs (new-home buyers), and is that equitable?"  

Tradeoffs may be necessary (e.g., between environmental, ecological, or conservation goals, plus health and safety regulations vs. the cost of housing and community or economic development). Do the benefits produced by local requirements outweigh any negative effects on housing affordability? How much of the public costs of growth should be paid by buyers of new housing, and how much should be borne by the community as a whole? Are life cycle regulations that save future city maintenance expenses--but also raise initial costs to the developer and new-home buyer--fair and equitable?  

Conversely, are housing cost-cutting advantages worth any possible sacrifices of public health and safety--or the quality of our children's future environments? Do cost reduction techniques actually reduce the price of housing and construction, or do they simply shift the costs to someone else or to some date in the future?  

The local regulations that are most likely to dictate requirements for the items below are the zoning ordinance, subdivision regulations, building code, housing code. No single ordinance or suggested item alone will create major savings by itself. The cumulative effect of several actions, however, can reduce the overall development cost by several percent. Potential savings will vary significantly from one local housing market to another.  

The following checklist outlines specific actions that communities can take to reduce or stabilize housing development, financing, and occupancy costs.  

Raw Land Costs  

Available, buildable land supply  

_____ Adopt policies that assure/increase the supply of buildable land adequate to accommodate projected growth and facilitate affordable housing development.  

_____ Encourage in-fill development to revitalize vacant or under-used areas and reduce costs by utilizing existing infrastructures (streets, water sewer lines, etc.)  

_____ Allow building on "older" in-fill lots that do not meet current minimum lot size requirements.  

_____ Identify surplus city- or state-owned land that may be made available for affordable housing developments.  

 

_____ Program the incremental expansion of major roads and utilities to provide 3-4 times the amount of developable land that will be needed in a given future period (future adequate supply).  

_____ Allocate local capital costs of major infrastructure expansion equitably between new development and all users of the system.  

_____ Permit more opportunities for use of small, private wastewater treatment systems, especially where a shortage of local sewage treatment facilities limits the supply of developable land.  

 

_____ If developable land supply is restricted through natural forces or public policy, consider testing the idea of increased density via demonstration projects on excellent sites within the community.  

_____ Increase density (and therefore decrease per-unit land costs) by using these innovative approaches to reducing costs: upzoning, flexible or performance zoning, reducing minimum area for Planned Unit Developments (PUDs) and cluster plans, zero-lot-line zoning, reduced minimum setbacks, density bonuses, lot splitting, and accessory dwellings.  

_____ Consider potential new-housing price effects when adopting policies to protect resource lands such as farmland, wetlands, woodlands, or scenic areas. Achieve a balance between conservation and production policies. 

Consider these cost reduction opportunities related to site improvement standards: _____ Reducing or relaxing street, sidewalk, and utility requirements  

_____ Allowing flexible use of natural drainage systems  

_____ Reducing off-street/on-site parking space requirements  

_____ Modifying dedication requirements or payments in lieu.  

_____ Reduce minimum lot frontage requirements to save per-unit costs of street, sidewalk, and utility line installation.  

 

_____ Permit savings via the economies of scale available from attached housing: duplexes, tri-/four-plexes, townhouses, and low-rise apartments.  

 

_____ Permit modular and permanently sited, multi-sectioned manufactured homes in all residential zones  

_____ Provide adequate zoning to allow construction of new mobile home parks.  

 

_____ Adopt updated nationally-recognized model building codes that use performance standards and new construction techniques instead of restricting substitutions, etc.  

_____ Adopt a cost-sensitive rehabilitation code with standards/requirements more appropriate to rehabilitation than to new-housing.  

_____ Lower excessive minimum floor area requirements that prohibit downsized (less than 1,200 square feet) new housing.  

_____ Use cost-cutting demonstration projects to encourage builders to experiment with cost-saving site designs, construction methods/materials, and instrastructures.  

 

_____ Evaluate local government development fees (e.g., water/sewer hookup charges, open space land fees, inspection fees, etc.) for equity.  

_____ Consider whether performance bonding requirements eliminate small contractors from competing in the housing market.  

_____ Waive procedural requirements, as appropriate, for flexibility.  

  

 

_____ Streamline and simplify local procedures to reduce delays, risk, and uncertainty and increase efficiency, thus reducing housing prices.  

_____ Set processing deadlines (maximum time limits) for local government approvals at the various stages of development: pre-application, staff review, decision, and inspection.  

_____ Institute streamlining techniques such as "one-stop" or "fast-track" processing, permit expeditors, concurrent review committees, and joint public hearings.  

_____ Via a major overhaul or "clean-up" amendments, modify basic ordinances to eliminate confusion, out-of-date requirements, and potential for variable or conflicting interpretations.  

_____ Provide information and technical assistance on affordable housing techniques to public and private sector groups and individuals.  

 

_____ Investigate the use of below-market-interest-rate (BMIR) mortgage loans (via mortgage revenue bond issues or other mechanisms) for land purchase, site improvement, construction, rehabilitation, and home purchase.  

_____ Encourage lenders to make high loan-to-value ratio home mortgages with private or government mortgage insurance.  

_____ Seek out Community Reinvestment Act products offered local mortgage lenders to assist special needs' populations with homebuying and remodeling (e.g., waived closing costs, low downpayment, etc.).  

 

_____ Obtain enabling legislation to permit taxation of permanently-sited manufactured housing as real property instead of personal property.  

_____ Allow local property tax abatement for nonprofit housing construction and rehabilitation.  

_____ Streamline local procedures for securing titles of abandoned and tax-delinquent properties and reselling them for private use.  

_____ Permit regional property tax sharing to reduce local government fiscal zoning.  

 

    
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