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Housing Plan Profile: Jacksonville, FL

Plan title: Report of the Affordable and Workforce Housing Task Force [PDF], available on the website of the City’s Department of Housing and Neighborhoods.

Issued: December 31, 2006

Overview: This plan was prepared by a City Council Task Force on Affordable and Workforce Housing, appointed by City Council President Hyde in April 2006. Written in recognition of a growing housing affordability crisis in Jacksonville, the plan provides an exhaustive overview of available strategies, at varying levels of detail. Recommendations are intended to provide a starting-point for local officials and other stakeholders to address the shortage of affordable housing in the City.		 Carlton Court
Photo courtesy of McCormack Baron Salazar


Selected Strategies:
  • Create local incentives for the preservation of affordable homes, support State preservation initiatives, and mandate long-term affordability by placing deed restrictions on assisted properties and using a "shared appreciation" homeownership model.
  • Convene a multi-departmental taskforce to inventory the supply of publicly-owned land appropriate for residential development, and prioritize disposition of this land, particularly in targeted neighborhoods, to developers of affordable housing.
  • Stabilize targeted neighborhoods and facilitate infill housing development by coordinating Community Development Block Grant spending on infrastructure and other complementary projects with funding plans for affordable housing.
  • Promote adoption of employer-assisted housing programs.
  • Adopt the "Don't Borrow Trouble" Program to improve homebuyer readiness and prevent foreclosures.
  • Streamline regulatory procedures and administration of funding to minimize duplication of review and approvals processes and expedite the development of affordable housing.
  • Become more aware of and actively involved in the rule-making and design of the state housing finance agency’s programs, to ensure better use of state funds and favorable local opportunities for affordable housing development.
  • Strengthen existing provisions related to affordable housing, to implement higher production standards and eliminate loopholes.

Financing Sources Identified:
  • Jacksonville Housing Commission program income
  • Jacksonville general fund dollars
  • Jacksonville Housing Finance Authority Subsidy Pool
  • Local government support loans
  • Affordable/Workforce Housing Trust Fund funded by assessments on market rate housing developments (proposed)
  • Revolving Loan Acquisition Fund, funded with accumulated program income, General Fund dollars, or a bond issue (proposed)
  • Predevelopment fund (proposed)
  • Recaptured funds from SHIP-assisted "shared appreciation" housing sales (proposed)
  • Tax-exempt bonds/local bond issues
  • Florida Housing Finance Corporation programs
  • Florida Affordable Housing Trust Fund programs (SHIP and SAIL)
  • Federal sources (Community Development Block Grants, HOME, HOPWA)
  • Private equity investments
  • Water and Sewer Expansion Authority funds for infrastructure

Background:

Written by the Affordable and Workforce Housing Task Force, appointed by the City Council President.

The lead agency is the Jacksonville Housing Commission; other partners include the Housing and Neighborhoods Department, Jacksonville Housing Finance Authority, City of Jacksonville, Jacksonville Electric Authority, Department of Public Works, Parks and Recreation, Jacksonville Economic Development Corporation, Florida Housing Finance Corporation, and Planning and Development Department.

A timeline is not identified, and production goals and target populations are not specified.