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Council of the District of Columbia
Committee on Economic Development
Notice of Public Hearing
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20004
COUNCILMEMBER MURIEL BOWSER, CHAIRPERSON
COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
ANNOUNCES A PUBLIC HEARING
On
Bill 20-594, the Disposition of District Land for Affordable Housing Amendment Act of 2013
B20-604, the Affordable Homeownership Preservation and Equity Accumulation Amendment Act of 2013
B20-622, the Housing Assistance Program for Unsubsidized Seniors Act of 2013
Bill 20-708, the Housing Production Trust Fund Baseline Funding Act of 2014
Bill 20-713, the District of Columbia Affordable Housing Act of 2014
May 29, 2014
10:00 AM
Room 120
John A. Wilson Building
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
On May 29, 2014, Councilmember Muriel Bowser, Chairperson of the Committee on Economic Development, will hold a public hearing to consider Bills 20-594, 20-604, 20-622, 20-708, and 20-713.
Bill 20-594, the Disposition of District Land for Affordable Housing Amendment Act of 2013 establishes affordable housing set-aside requirements when District-owned land is being disposed for the development of multi-family residential projects with 10 or more units. A 30% affordable housing set-aside is required for projects that qualify as transit-oriented development, and a 20% set aside for all other projects. Affordability is defined as a 25% set-aside for households earning up to 30% of the Area Median Income (AMI) and 75% of units for households earning up to 50% of AMI for the development of rental units. For ownership units, affordability is defined as a set-aside of 50% of units for households earning up to 50% of AMI, and 50% of units for households earning up to 80% of AMI. The legislation also allows for the Mayor to waive set-aside requirements when the Chief Financial Officer certifies that it would not be economically feasible to comply.
B20-604, the Affordable Homeownership Preservation and Equity Accumulation Amendment Act of 2013 reduces the resale restriction time periods for which affordable units located in distressed neighborhoods and produced with District government subsidies from the Housing Production Trust Fund (HPTF) must remain affordable from 15 to 5 years. It also requires affordable housing subsidies to be repaid to the HPTF at the time an affordable unit is sold.
B20-622, the Housing Assistance Program for Unsubsidized Seniors Act of 2013 establishes a rental housing assistance program for low-income senior citizens to be administered by the D.C. Housing Authority and appropriates $5 million annually to fund the program.
Bill 20-708, the Housing Production Trust Fund Baseline Funding Act of 2014, will amend Title 42 of the District of Columbia Official Code to require that the Housing Production Trust Fund be funded at a minimum of $100 million annually. HPTF is the District’s premier tool for producing and preserving affordable housing. Currently, funding for HPTF relies on a portion of taxes levied on real estate transactions, which subjects it to market volatility. The Housing Production Trust Fund Baseline Funding Act solves that problem by guaranteeing HPTF a minimum of $100 million per year. Establishing the HPTF baseline budget at $100 million per year will also help to address the current affordable housing crisis. For instance, the Interagency Council on Homelessness estimated that the District needs approximately 2,700 units for permanent supportive housing. The District of Columbia Housing Authority reports a waitlist of over 67,000 applicants for a housing choice voucher or public housing. And, one-in-five District households—over 50,000 families—spend half their income on housing. 700 families live in shelters.
Bill 20-713, the District of Columbia Affordable Housing Act of 2014, will develop a ten-year $1,000,000,000 affordable housing plan that provides for $100,000,000 per annum to increase, build, and modernize affordable housing in the District of Columbia, with $25,000,000 per annum for targeted populations. The bill will also authorize the issuance of bonds to finance the reconstruction, renovation, and emergency maintenance of affordable housing facilities.
The public hearing will begin at 10:00 AM in Room 120 of the John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Individuals and representatives of community organizations wishing to testify should contact Judah Gluckman, Legislative Counsel to the Committee on Economic Development, at (202) 724-8025, or jgluckman@dccouncil.us and furnish their name, address, telephone number, and organizational affiliation, if any, by the close of business May 28, 2014. Persons presenting testimony may be limited to 3 minutes in order to permit each witness an opportunity to be heard. Please provide the Committee 20 copies of any written testimony.
If you are unable to testify at the hearing, written statements are encouraged and will be made a part of the official record. Copies of written statements should be submitted by June 12, 2014 to the Committee on Economic Development, Council of the District of Columbia, Suite 110 of the John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004.
