[Mpls] affordable housing and nrp

[Judith Tennebaum]

In response to the recent posts about the value of NRP and the need for 
housing that is affordable to households at or below 30% of Metropolitan 
Median Income (MMI), I would like to remind everyone that there is an 
opportunity to allocate some of the current, Phase II NRP funds to the 
development of housing that is truly affordable for very low-income 
households.

Under the original NRP statute, 52.5% of NRP funds were required to be 
spent on housing. Because Phase I fell short of this requirement, in 
Phase II 70% must be spent on housing. NRP has established eight funds 
to which neighborhoods may contribute as an efficient way of meeting 
their housing requirements. All of these funds have income restrictions, 
mostly at 80% of the MMI, but Fund 7 is the only one to invest in the 
development of new, long-term affordable rental units. Through the 
Affordable Housing Trust Fund, NRP Fund 7 assists mixed income projects 
and projects for households at or below 50% MMI with priority for those 
at 30% MMI.

Participation by a neighborhood in any of the NRP Housing Funds is 
voluntary. Neighborhoods may devise their own housing strategies, 
different than or similar to these Housing Funds. NRP housing funds can 
be spent within the neighborhood or elsewhere in the City of Minneapolis.

People who are interested in allocating some of their neighborhood's NRP 
funds to affordable housing for those who need it most, can get involved 
in a number of ways:

. Join your neighborhood NRP steering committee or its housing task 
force, if it has one.
. Attend neighborhood NRP meetings. While you're there, speak about the 
need to spend some of your neighborhood's NRP housing money on 
affordable housing, especially for the lower income households whose 
need is greatest.
. Work with your neighbors to create interest in and support for 
affordable housing.
. Respond to NRP surveys about strategies and funding priorities for 
Phase II.

Additional information on the NRP housing funds is available through 
NRP. Additional information on the link between NRP and affordable 
housing is available through SWING, the SouthWest Interfaith 
Neighborhood Group for Affordable Housing. Contact 
maryjanemitchell at qwest.net.


Judith Tennebaum
Linden Hills