Affordable Housing Fund

LFUCG Urban County Council unanimously voted to more forward with the Affordable Housing Fund and Governing Board. We’ll keep you apprised of any updates to this issue here at fayettealliance.com.

Parkside Apartments

Fayette Alliance supports the ordinance creating the Affordable Housing Fund and its Governing Board.

Lexington must address its shortage of affordable housing for working families, as part of a viable and equitable growth strategy for the community. This is a real need.

According to the study released by CZB earlier this year, “6000 households, most of whom include at least one worker, cannot find decent housing on the open market in Lexington at rates considered affordable (equal or less than 30% of their gross income).”

A comprehensive and coordinated effort must address this complex issue, and an Affordable Housing Fund (“Fund”) is a critical piece of the puzzle. If properly administered, the Fund can leverage local, state, and federal resources to build affordable housing, and improve property values throughout Lexington- Fayette County. With the right programmatic goals in place, the Fund will strengthen our economy, quality of life, and built environment.

Therefore, Fayette Alliance supports the ordinance to create the Fund and its Governing Board. Moreover, we make the following recommendations to promote the long-term success of the program:

1. The policies and criteria by which the Board and staff will administer the Fund should be expressly adopted into ordinance at a future date.

2. The Fund’s project criteria should support development that has solid financing and leverages additional monies from state and federal sources.

3. The Fund’s project criteria should reward those applicants that have a demonstrated capacity and experience in constructing affordable housing.

4. The Fund’s project criteria should reward affordable housing developments that have good design, primarily by exhibiting a respect for neighborhood character, a commitment to sustainability both in form and function, multi-modal transportation considerations, and the use of low-maintenance and durable materials.

5. A support system for the tenants and owners of Fund properties is needed, to ensure that program investments are not made in vain.

6. The Fund Board will yield much power, as it—along with the Executive Director—will establish the policy goals and administrative criteria of the program. Board membership must be diverse and qualified.

For more information about our position on this ordinance read our full statement.

Fayette Alliance’s Position Statement

Additional resources,

“Lexington’s  Affordable  Housing  Challenge  and  Potential Strategy” February 2014, CZB