CPHD
Arlington’s Goals and Targets for Affordable Housing
Approved by the County Board
March 12, 2011
Goal 1: Balance support for the elderly and persons with disabilities with a transitional safety net for families with children.
Target 1A: Provide assistance to priority households in the following proportions by FY 2015:
- 65% to families with children
- 20% for the elderly, and
- 15% for persons with disabilities.
Goal 2: Prevent and End Homelessness
Target 2A: Reduce the number of unsheltered homeless by half by 2015.
Target 2B: Create a Comprehensive Homeless Service Center to serve homeless individuals by FY 2015, to include up to 50 year-round shelter beds that employs best practices to move homeless people to permanent housing.
Target 2C: Increase the number of homeless individuals and families moving into permanent housing through housing grants and supportive housing, with an increase in the supply of permanent supportive housing units to 425 by FY 2015.
Target 2D: Provide permanent housing to at least 95% of sheltered homeless elders and families with children and for 65% of the sheltered homeless persons with disabilities by FY 2015.
Goal 3: Ensure through all available means that all housing in Arlington County is safe and decent.
Target 3A: Ensure that 100% of multi-family rental housing units have no major violations that are not corrected within the standard time permitted by the appropriate code enforcement agency by FY 2015.
Target 3B: Conduct annual common area inspections of all multi-family rental complexes over 20 years old.
Target 3C: Reduce the rates of major violations in [common area inspections of] multi-family rental housing by 10% each year.
Target 3D: Conduct annual full code inspections on 5% of all multi-family rental units over 30 years old.
Goal 4: Ensure that consistent with Arlington’s commitment to sustainability, the production, conversion and renovation of committed affordable housing is consistent with goals set by the County to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Arlington County.
Target 4A: Distribute the Fresh AIRE multi-family toolkit signage and information to 100% of all CAF rental properties by FY 2013.
Target 4B: Track electric, gas, and water utilities in 50% of all CAF rental properties using a free utility tracking software by FY 2015.
Target 4C: Reduce total energy use by an average of 15% in the total supply of CAF multi-family properties between FY 2011 and FY 2015.
Target 4D: Reduce total water use by an average of 10% in the total supply of CAF multi-family properties between FY 2011 and FY 2015.
Target 4E: Each new or rehabilitation project will be in compliance with EarthCraft, LEED or other comparable certification if the developer receives Low Income Housing Tax Credits.
Goal 5: Permit no net loss of committed affordable housing, and make every reasonable effort to maintain the supply of affordable market rate housing*.
Target 5A: Any CAFs lost should be replaced as a priority.
Target 5B: Help maintain the supply of affordable housing by assisting an average of 400 net new committed affordable housing units per year, especially the preservation of existing affordable housing through partnerships with nonprofit housing providers, while meeting the Targets for goals 6, 7, 8 and 9.
Target 5C: In residential site plan projects, ensure developers comply with the Affordable Housing Ordinance to provide a cash contribution or affordable housing units. If the density bonus is used, target 20% with a stretch target of 50% of the total bonus units, bedrooms or gross floor area as affordable.
Target 5D: Minimize involuntary displacement of low- and moderate-income households in complexes being renovated, converted or redeveloped. For committed affordable projects, strive to provide opportunities for 60% of low- and moderate-income households onsite or nearby.
Goal 6: Reduce the number of households in serious housing need (defined as those earning below 40% of median income who pay more than 40% of their income for rent).
Target 6A: Strive to provide rental assistance (including Housing Grants) to 100% of the eligible households requesting rental assistance.
Target 6B: Provide that 25% of the new committed affordable rental units approved annually are reserved for households with incomes below 40% of the median.
Target 6C: Place at least 50% of persons in shelters, transitional and supportive housing with skills training, employment placement or enrollment in public assistance benefits.
Goal 7: Increase the number of housing units with two or more bedrooms in order to match the needs of households with children.
Target 7A: Increase the number of family-sized units in the County to 61,000 by FY 2015.
Target 7B: Provide that half of the rental committed affordable housing units added between FY2001 and FY 2015 are family-sized, of which 25% would be greater than two bedrooms.
Goal 8: Distribute committed affordable housing within the County, neighborhoods, and projects.
Target 8A: Distribute non-elderly, rental committed affordable housing units added between FY2001 and FY 2015 in the following Neighborhood Service Areas (NSAs):
- 25% in A, B, and C,
- 60% in D, E, and H, and
- 15% in F and G.
These targets are not to be construed as caps or quotas, nor to limit the ability to take advantage of projects in any area of the County to advance other affordable housing goals.
Goal 9: Increase the rate of home ownership throughout the County, and increase home ownership education and opportunities for low and moderate income households.
Target 9A: Increase the home ownership rate from 46.4% to 47% with a stretch goal of 50% throughout the County by FY 2015.
Target 9B: Provide home ownership education to 700 households with incomes below 80% of median and annually assist 50 households with incomes below 80% of median to become homeowners.
Target 9C: Increase the home ownership rate for minority households from 24.2 to 30% by 2015.
Goal 10: Ensure, through all available means, that housing discrimination is eliminated.
Target 10A: Reduce all indications of housing discrimination to zero by FY 2015, as measured by fair housing testing.
Target 10B: Conduct fair housing testing bi-annually.
Goal 11: Provide housing services effectively and efficiently.
Target 11A: Annual Housing Targets Report – By December of each year, produce the County’s annual affordable housing report for the fiscal year just completed.
Target 11B: The County’s Code Enforcement department will provide a publically available, written, annual report on housing code inspections completed for the year by complex, listing full code inspections by complex, with a total of violations reported, corrected and pending. Findings will be shared annually in a presentation to the Tenant-Landlord Commission.
Target 11C: Conduct a study of the various Tenant Assistance Funds (TAFs) and make recommendations for a consistent, standard and County-wide program by 2012.
Target 11D: Create an annual report on the outreach, education and assistance to households at risk of foreclosure.
Target 11E: Conduct an updated housing needs survey.
*Market Affordable Units (MARKS) are lower rent units in the private market which receive no County assistance and for which the owners have made no commitment to retain as affordable in the future. Determining the number of market rate affordable units is complicated because affordability varies, depending on family size and income compared to unit size and rent. MARKS are "affordable" based on paying no more than 30% of income for rent. The County has calculated the number of Rental MARKS for four income levels: 80%, 60%, 50% and 40% of HUD median family income. Committed Affordable Units are excluded from the MARKS totals.