Housing GSO: HRA Greensboro Affordable Housing Plan

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: RECOMMENDATIONS

There are five primary actions the City must undertake for the implementation of Housing GSO to be successful. The 16 housing tools recommended in Housing GSO represent an ambitious approach to addressing Greensboro’s significant and growing housing challenges. Greensboro can be successful in achieving these goals if it undertakes these actions: Identify various funding sources totaling an additional $50 million over the next ten years. Affordable housing requires public subsidy. To make meaningful progress toward Greensboro’s affordable housing goals, an additional $50 million over the next ten years is needed to fully implement all of the recommended tools. This funding could come in the form of additional bonds, an ongoing annual commitment of general funds, or some other form of subsidy from the City. Any commitment of additional public funds should be leveraged with corresponding commitments from philanthropic and private sector community leaders. 1 Design a community education and awareness campaign. Community education, awareness and buy-in is essential for the successful implementation of Housing GSO. NDD should coordinate with implementation working groups to lead a community education and awareness campaign around the need for affordable housing in the community, the benefits it provides, and how supporting the recommendations in Housing GSO will strengthen Greensboro for all. 5 Confirm a timeline and performance metrics, and report on progress against them twice a year. A timeline and associated performance metrics will provide the public and elected officials with the information necessary to gauge the City’s progress toward its housing goals and measure how effectively public funding is being used. Regular reporting on progress toward the goals of Housing GSO will help keep the community engaged and the City accountable over the ten-year life of the plan. 4 Facilitate intergovernmental coordination and collaboration. NDD should establish intergovernmental administrative teams to facilitate collaboration across departments and agencies to effectively implement many of the recommended housing tools. As with the public private partnership working groups, internal teams should be tasked with advancing specific housing tools. The implementation section of Housing GSO identifies which housing tools will require intergovernmental collaboration. In addition, while the GSO2040 Comprehensive Plan is being developed, NDD should coordinate with the planning process to ensure proposed land use and zoning strategies align with the goals and recommendations outlined in Housing GSO. 3 Establish working groups with private and philanthropic partners to jointly implement housing tools. Several of the recommended housing tools require a commitment of resources from the public and private sectors. The City should establish public private partnership working groups to drive implementation of these recommendations. Working groups should be organized around specific tools and their membership should comprise organizations who are committing resources to match the City’s investment. The implementation section of Housing GSO identifies the housing tools that will require working groups. 2 .

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