News & Events

S. 1619 Livable Communities Act of 2009
In June 2009 the Obama Administration announced an interagency partnership among HUD-USDOT-EPA on sustainable communities. In August, Senator Chris Dodd introduced S. 1619, the Livable Communities Act, to formalize this partnership and provide $4 billion in grants to develop and implement livable communities, including;

undertaking comprehensive regional planning,

building affordable housing,

transit-oriented development,

public transportation, walking and bicycling infrastructure,

energy efficiency projects,

brownfield redevelopment and projects to spur economic development.

This funding will provide critically needed resources to assist localities in planning more sustainable communities that will restore the economy, advance social equity, and promote more energy efficient housing and transportation solutions. Contact your Senator regarding your support for The Livable Communities Act, and ask them to vote YES for S. 1619. For Senator Jim Webb go to http://webb.senate.gov/contact/, for Senator Mark Warner go to http://warner.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=contact

To read a summary of this legislation, click here.

Final Report and Recommendations of the Affordable Housing Initiatives Work Group for the City of Alexandria

On June 13, the Alexandria City Council received the final report of the City’s Affordable Housing Initiatives Work Group at a public hearing. The work group, chaired by Councilman Ludwig Gaines and Councilman Rob Krupicka, met regularly over the past two years to consider affordable housing policies, discuss challenges, and review national best practices on affordable housing preservation and development.

One of the key findings of the final report is that despite extensive City and private-sector initiatives, there has been a significant loss of affordable rental and ownership housing in the City over the past decade. Preservation of affordable housing is a top priority, and the report recommends making changes to the City’s homeownership programs to create long-term affordability when purchase assistance is provided. Other recommendations (most notably, a priority housing unit policy for preserving over 3,400 publicly-assisted rental units) will be addressed in the Housing Master Plan to be developed over the coming year, or will be held for consideration until the City’s fiscal situation improves. Council also approved the work group’s recommendations for an annual “report card” to measure the City’s affordable housing progress. To read the entire report, click here.

HUD FY2010 Budget Supports Affordable Rental Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan announced the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) FY2010 budget last week, and at $46.344 billion it is an eight percent increase over the FY2009 budget.See the HUD budget, or read the complete article.

One Community's Spiritual Journey Toward Affordable Housing for All Renee Jakobs from the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax (UUCF) describes how her congregation moved from faith to action in their advocacy and service for those who need decent, affordable housing in Fairfax County. Read the complete article.