(Click here for a copy of the Hurricane Housing Work Group's recommendations.)
Governor Jeb Bush’s Hurricane Housing Work Group released its recommendations for the use of disaster funds to address housing recovery needs resulting from the devastating 2004 hurricane season. The group, chaired by Lt. Governor Toni Jennings, met to determine the best use of one time hurricane housing recovery funds totaling $354.4 million.
Florida Housing’s Executive Director Orlando Cabrera served as a member of the group, which met from November 2004 through February 2005, to assess affordable housing issues and identify strategies to help the market respond. Florida Housing’s initial housing recovery efforts were estimated at $42.5 million, including $5 million through the State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) program, $15 million through the Tenant Based Rental Assistance program, $21 million through the HOME Again program and $1.5 million in emergency farmworker housing.
“Members of this group worked together to develop resource allocation methods that underscore the need for quickly addressing community needs,” said Florida Housing’s Executive Director Orlando Cabrera. “In addition to Florida Housing’s $42.5 million commitment, we redesigned some of our multifamily programs’ funding priorities in the 2005 Universal Application Cycle to allow financing in the 11 hardest hit counties.”
Governor Bush charged the Work Group with identifying regulatory barriers that will hinder the rebuilding of suitable housing, ensuring state and federal resources for hurricane recovery are targeted as effectively as possible, and recommending any appropriate market-based strategies that would help communities better meet the housing needs of their residents.
The group’s recommendations include:
A locally-administered Hurricane Housing Recovery Program that would accommodate the different housing needs of different communities. This $208 million program would provide special incentives and requirements to focus on homeownership, community collaborations and recovery plans, and helping those with extremely low incomes.
A Rental Recovery Loan Program that would leverage available federal resources and private capital to build and rehabilitate affordable rental housing to help communities respond to their hurricane recovery needs. $95.5 million would be used to provide gap financing to help create rental communities that would be affordable for at least 50 years.
A $20 million Farmworker Housing Recovery Program that would leverage other resources to provide financing for the areas where farmworker housing was devastated by the storms.
A Special Housing Assistance and Development Program that would offer repair funds and development financing that serves some of Florida’s most vulnerable residents, including frail elders, the disabled, and homeless families. The Work Group has recommended $20.5 million for this highly flexible, targeted program.
In addition to the recommendations for specific housing programs, the Work Group has also proposed:
A $10 million Community Contribution Tax Credit program. These tax credits encourage contributions and volunteer labor from Florida businesses to support such community development and housing programs as Habitat for Humanity.
Additional Training and Technical Assistance totaling $400,000 for local governments, nonprofit and faith based organizations and others on ways to effectively use the various tools available to respond to the housing needs that the hurricanes created.
Members of the Hurricane Housing Work Group included: Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Charles Bronson; Secretary of the Department of Community Affairs Thaddeus Cohen; Interim Secretary of the Department of Elder Affairs Susan Tucker; Executive Director of the Florida Housing Finance Corporation Orlando Cabrera; Dan Gilmore, President of the Florida Home Builders Association; Tom D'Aprile, Charlotte County Commissioner; Clay Ford, Mayor Pro Tem of Gulf Breeze and President of the Florida League of Cities; Richard Weber, Regional Director for Florida for Habitat for Humanity International; Mike Fields, Bank of America and immediate past President of the Florida Bankers Association; Pamela Duncan, Fannie Mae; Gus Dominguez, a member of the Board of Directors of the Florida Housing Coalition and of the Affordable Housing Study Commission; Scott Culp, a member of the Board of Directors of the Coalition of Affordable Housing Providers and of the Affordable Housing Study Commission; Kent Spuhler, Executive Director of Florida Legal Services, Inc.; Steven Kirk, Florida Farmworker Housing Coalition; Frank Williams, Executive Director of the Florida Manufactured Housing Association; Sen. Mike Haridopolos and Rep. Nancy Detert.
For more information on available housing for hurricane victims, visit www.DHRonline.com.
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