CDBG Programs Facing Possible Cuts

Community Development Block Grant programs, used in many communities in many ways, including economic development, housing, assistance to older adults and persons with disabilities, youth programs, anti-graffiti, etc., may be facing cuts in the FY 2012 budget, either under the President's own budget request or under attacks from Representatives and Senators who consider it wasteful.

The potential loss of CDBG money comes at a time when — despite improving unemployment figures — many in the country still need to find work. Unemployment rates won't return to pre-recession levels until at least 2012 for an estimated 335 metro areas, according to a report released this week by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. And at least 32 metro areas won't see employment figures return until beyond 2025. Those conditions suggest that CDBG is needed now more than ever, local leaders argue.

In Waukesha County, the CDBG program funds activities, which can be seen in this report, which lists activities such as youth opportunities, outreach to older adults, parenting classes at Catholic Charities, homebuyer services, pregnancy support, transportation services in six communities, meal programs, and even a farmers market. 

Of course, Uncle Sam doesn't just hand out checks willy-nilly; they make sure communities plan to meet the needs in their area, and that they gather input from the residents of the community.  The current 2010-2014 Consolidated Plan  discusses this process.

Rust Belt or...Prosperity Belt?

 
Something to brag about, Milwaukee posted the 6th highest personal income increase in the nation, going from a per capita of $40,028 (in 2009 adjusted dollars) to $41,696.  Keep in mind the ranking discusses the change not the actual income amount.

The list is fascinating in the cities that you would not typically expect-many are Rust Belt cities such as Milwaukee-are in the top ten! Baltimore led the way with a 9.7% increase (thanks, I'm sure, to its proximity to #3 Washington D.C.) although Pittsburgh at the number two spot is surprising. 

On the opposite end, we have poor San Jose at -18%, but don't weep for them-their per capita income is still substantially higher than Milwaukee's even after the loss.  Next two worst cities were Atlanta and Detroit, the city that just can't seem to catch a break, being the only Rust Belt city in the bottom ten.

Of course, the 2000s certainly were an unusual time. But it does suggest that the dogma about the geography of regional prosperity needs to be challenged and perhaps thoroughly revised.

Counting the Homeless

The Journal-Sentinel has an article on the annual Milwaukee Point-In-Time Count of people who are homeless.

The census not only provides a portrait of homelessness in the city, but it's used to determine the condition and needs of the homeless so that agencies and advocates can better plan how to target services for the next two years. This year, HUD will provide more than $10 million for a variety of programs aimed at preventing homelessness and helping the homeless locally.

The results of previous Milwaukee Point-in-Time count in 2009 can be found here, which showed a 13% increase from 2007.  It is likely the new count will show a significant increase again.

More Rope, Part II

Following up to my previous update on MSP's efforts in New Berlin being made more difficult; 

In rejecting a new agreement with the developers of a City Center property Tuesday night, several council members made it clear they wanted to hold to the original vision of an upscale, mixeduse(sic) site, including some owner-occupied condominiums, but not the rental units that led to a public uproar this summer.

This is the zombie talking point in the whole thing-it just won't go away.  There are already rental units in the City Center, there was no formalization of the "upscale" requirement in the City Center plan, nor can there be.  You can only zone a property-legally, you can't specify a Saks vs a Wal-Mart,, and the City Center plan very clearly allows for "changing market conditions" in it.  Of course, it also thought that "common sense and reason" would rule the day.

Having abandoned all pretense about this being about something other than "low-income housing," the Common Council has put New Berlin in a very vulnerable position should MSP decide to pursue this in a different forum.

Mequon affordable housing

In Mequon, they're talking about affordable housing, with many in the community seeing a need for affordable housing because of a perceived lack of young families moving into the community.

Gielow and the council also discussed housing in the city. Gielow said there is a growing segment of the community that believes the zoning in the city should allow for the construction of affordable homes that would attract young families.

More Rope

By this point, I cannot help but get the feeling that MSP Development is gleefully feeding New Berlin more rope. 

After the 5-1 vote rejecting the amended agreement, which was only supposed to be about ensuring that the developer can complete the infrastructure to the City's standards, MSP President said:

"We believe as owners of property, we are entitled to certain rights to develop that property. The vote last night (Tuesday) was supposed to be about the public street and infrastructure required to develop this property as zoned. Given the outcome, . . .  we are evaluating our next steps as property owners," he said.

Don't you hate it when Big Government tramples all over the rights of property owners?

Historic Status of Waukesha Gas Station Upheld

The Journal-Sentinel reports that the Waukesha Administrative Review Board has upheld the historic status of the gas station on the site where the Waukesha Family YMCA is trying to develop housing.

Merits of the status aside, it's unclear to me what the City expects to happen next.  The Y has argued that the building is in disrepair, and I cannot imagine why the Y would spend any money to repair it when they have no use for it.  Their ability to sell the lot is now limited because potential buyers probably won't have any use for it, either.

So what happens to the gas station now?

It'd be one thing if the Y bought it knowing it was a historical building, but that's not what happened here.  The City or other interested parties should purchase it from the Y.  If they are not willing to take it off Y's hands, then they should allow the Y to do whatever they want to with it. 

Community vs Institutional

The United States has had a bias in favor of institutional care for persons with disabilities for a long time, and even now, institutional care is mandated while community care is optional.  That has been changing over the past decade, especially since the Olmstead case, with more and more states focusing on community-based care.  No, not Olmstead v. United States which dealt with wiretapping, but the Olmstead v. L.C. and E.W. Supreme Court decision on the rights of persons with disabilities to live in the community with access to the care and services they need.

The Wall Street reports on this debate in Arkansas. 

Waukesha Habitat for Humanity

The Waukesha Freeman reports that the Habitat for Humanity of Waukesha County is planning to build a two-family home this spring, and will be holding a meeting to select families who will be participating.  Applicants can visit the Habitat for Humanity website for meeting information and a downloadable list of information to bring to the meeting..

At least part of the funding seems to have possibly come from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.  The duplex will be built in cooperation with the City of Waukesha Redevelopment Authority.  The new home will be part of the Dunbar Oaks Development at the former YWCA property.

It Ain't Cheap in Brookfield & New Berlin

I wanted to take a moment to point out a map from the current housing study that is being developed by the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (SEWRPC).  The map below is from Chapter IV: Existing Housing.  In case you can't see it fully, the high-rent (median gross monthly rent of greater than $800) in 2000 sub-regions are coded yellow.  There are two sub-regions coded yellow:  Brookfield and New Berlin.


Source: SEWRPC.  Click to view in separate window.


The median gross monthly rent in Brookfield was $961 in 2000, and New Berlin was $830.  I can't imagine the new data for 2005-2011 coming in the next few months will show a reversal.  While rent costs can vary greatly not just from city to city, but also neighborhood to neighborhood, this map is a strong indicator of how affordable it is to live in an area.  Many of the areas with emerging employment centers  such as Brookfield, New Berlin, Oak Creek, Franklin, western Waukesha County (Oconomowoc, Delafield, etc.), and lower Ozaukee County are not very affordable to live in, which makes it very difficult for low-income people to follow employment opportunities.

SEWRPC will be exploring the housing/job balance later in Chapter VIII.

Deer Creek Homes Resurrection

Mike Johnson at the Journal-Sentinel has some more details on MSP's resurrection of the low-income housing tax credits in the City Center.  Details are still somewhat vague, but it appears that the condo development will use the tax credits approved for the previous MSP proposal. 
I'm rather stunned that they're able to use this for a completely different proposal.  This isn't a matter of "we used aluminum siding instead of a brick facade" or something relatively minor like that.  But apparently this is allowable by WHEDA.  Opponents of the previous MSP proposal are, predictably, unhappy with this new proposal, calling it a "bait and switch." 

They do seem to be unjustifiably blaming Mayor Chiovatero on this issue.  There is no reason I know of for MSP to consider the Mayor an ally on this issue, and I'm wagering MSP is minimizing their contact with the city, especially after being sand-bagged by New Berlin staff and the Common Council at the meeting which resulted in their proposal being rejected.

There is a New Berlin Common Council meeting January 25 at 7 PM on this issue.

You can see the 2004 plans and the agreement for Deer Creek Homes here.  And I still have not read anything that disproves my theory that this may be rent-to-own.  Note that MSP has 102 tax credits, but the previously approved plan for Deer Creek Homes has 117 units.  Details are not clear on what happens with the remaining 15 units. 

After all this time, the opponents' argument boils down to this: "They're too poor to live here."  All previous arguments about density, impact on school system, parking, etc. no longer applies, something they seem to realize.  When you look at the heading of the alert from the "Concerned Citizens of New Berlin", it reads:

URGENT!!! LOW INCOME HOUSING TO BE BUILT IN CITY CENTER

Update: Edited to finish incomplete sentence on tax credits. 

Sex Offenders & Housing Restrictions

Waukesha may follow in the wake of Delafield in further restricting where "sex offenders" can live. The proposed ordinance would:

The Department of Corrections and the landlord for the transitional housing must give the city notice 60 days in advance of the placements and give all property owners within 2,000 feet of the residence a 30-day notice, including information about time and place of the committee meeting. The ordinance also requires the corrections officials and landlord to attend the notification committee meeting to provide information.

Keep in mind Waukesha already has a sex offender registry of living within 750 feet from a school, park, playground, etc. since 2007; this would be extended to 2,000 feet.  Property owners who would be notified are also extended from 300 feet to 2,000 feet.

2,000 feet is pretty much an entire block length. 

• According to the school district, there are 16 elementary schools, four middle schools, three high schools, and five charter schools.  That's 23 sites.
• Bing lists approximately 20 parks (subtracting duplicates & offices)

If you extend that block in all directions from schools, parks, etc., that's a pretty good chunk of the city that can't be used. Add in the fact that transitional housing generally can't afford higher-priced housing, that doesn't leave much. The intent of legislation like this is to basically ordinance out any place a sex offender can live in the municipality.  In the long run, this is not ideal because sex offenders, unable to find a place or employment, will "go underground" and we won't know where they are. 

From Wikipedia:

Many believe that sex offender registration has become a self-defeating process. In the effort to register as many people as possible for sex-related crimes, the sex offender registry has grown exponentially with too many people for law enforcement to effectively manage. In many states, the sex offender lists even include people arrested for visiting prostitutes, underage teenagers who engaged in consensual sex with each other, and minors who emailed or texted nude photos of themselves to their friends.^[41]

I'm not very comfortable writing about this topic because I feel I don't know enough, but I do know that eager prosecutors have abused the purpose of the sex offense laws and by extension, the registries.  You have underage couples (usually just the boy) being convicted and put on the registry, possibly for life, you have prosecutors going after children and teenagers for sexting and sending pictures to each other.  Are those kind of people really the kind that you need to put on registries, restrict where they live, what kind of jobs they can have, etc.?  From what I read in the articles, neither the Waukesha nor the Delafield ordinances make distinctions between the types of sex crimes that the registries would cover.  Until municipalities figure out how to judiciously apply ordinances so that they impact the people they should, I'm generally not in favor of overly broad language.


Update: Typo in title corrected.  Note to self: Spell-check does not cover title box.

Homelessness in America & Wisconsin

The National Alliance to End Homelessness has a new report out, State of Homelessness in America 2011, with some interactive maps. Check it out!  Some of the findings & statistics will surprise you!

Continuum of Care Awards

HUD recently announced the list of awards to the Continuum of Care (coalition of agencies that provide housing and services to people who are homeless) and the specific projects within each.  The urban areas in Wisconsin that have their own Continuum of Care with a separate pot of money are  Milwaukee, Racine, and Madison/Dane while everything else is served by the "Balance of State" category.  Unfortunately, the awards listed under the "Balance of State" don't specify the county/city/town the awardees are based in, so your guess is as good as mine.  Two that I recognize in Waukesha County are Jeremy House Safe Haven and Richard's Place.

Just Sayin'

If you opposed KRM, the Milwaukee streetcar, or the high-speed rail through Madison, you do not get to do this.

Just sayin'.

McMansions

Wall Street Journal reports on some workshops at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) which reveals that today's "Generation Y" have different preferences than their parents did, and are not looking to buy McMansions.

For the suburbs-if they want to keep the younger generation at home, as well as attract young professionals, I believe that suburbs will want to develop a downtown urban core dense enough to support activities such as restaurants, shopping, etc.

An example may be the City of Waukesha's downtown area which has seen a few new buildings sprout up which contribute to supporting the downtown businesses.  It doesn't have to be all multi-family housing, of course-homes on smaller lots can be affordable to younger people, and properly placed near downtown core with mass transportation and/or paths for pedestrians and bicyclists might do the trick.

Keystone Explains Downtown Proposal in Waukesha

The Waukesha Freeman reports that Keystone Development explained their proposal to the City of Waukesha Plan Commission. 

I have to say, for a City that swore to follow the Ad Hoc Housing Mix Commission recommendation of 65 % Single-family Housing to 35% Multi-Family Housing (it's 55%/45% now), they were surprisingly receptive. Or perhaps it's okay if you're above 62, which isn't really fair to younger people, especially if those new elderly-only housing units are applied to the housing mix ratio. I previously discussed the Housing Mix recommendations in the latter part of this post in which I noted that a proposed apartment for students seemed to receive far less scrutiny.  I hope this does not mean that the City of Waukesha will be selectively enforcing the Housing Mix recommendations.

New Berlin update

I just posted a blog moments ago with some housing updates in Waukesha County, and came across new information on the New Berlin condo proposal.

I mentioned that MSP was proposing high-end condos-this was published at the Journal-Sentinel on Jan 9-and then yesterday, two days later, there's a new article implying the affordable housing tax credits may still be in play for the new proposal.  It's still unknown whether they will be using the tax credits. Quite frankly, I did not think it was possible since the development details are quite different!

If they do, it will be an elegant end-run around the city since those condos (previously proposed by a different developer) were already approved.

In an e-mailed statement, MSP President Milo Pinkerton would say only, "MSP plans to build out the condominium development as approved in 2004. Condos are a form of ownership, and tax credits are compatible with condo ownership."

This may imply that they are planning a rent-to-own development similiar to Gorman's successful Metcalfe Park Initiative in Milwaukee. It'd certainly explain why they're building condos when there are condos nearby being rented out as apartments.

Or they could be doing straight-up luxury condos & just enjoying a bit of sweet revenge as people scramble to try to figure out what they're doing!

Waukesha County Housing Updates

Some quick updates:

• The YMCA housing proposal continues to have difficulties as the City of Waukesha Plan Commission's decision to delay will cause the developer to miss the deadline for applying for tax credits, with the delay being due to design questions and a question on the historical status of a gas station.
• A developer, Keystone, would like to create senior housing downtown Waukesha. 
• MSP Real Estate is taking another run at New Berlin, proposing "high-end condos" with 3 buildings of 34 condos each.  You may remember MSP Development and New Berlin butted heads previously on MSP's proposal for a development with both workforce housing and senior housing. (More on this soon!)

A note here.  With the YMCA housing proposal in Waukesha, and the original MSP proposal in New Berlin, every delay by the cities meant more expenses to the developers.  In the case of MSP, they had to scrap their entire plans (personally, I wish they fought more), may have concluded that this was the best they could do to recover the costs lost in their original proposal. 

In both cases, the developments were sidetracked after neighbors began protesting.  In YMCA's case, there was no concern about the historical status of the gas station until after they bought the land and the development plans were announced.  With MSP, the Planning Commission actually had given their approval, and reversed themselves after an outcry from New Berliners.   Is that any way to conduct business in a city?

Update on Housing/Commerce post

Just last Friday I posted regarding the changes at the Department of Commerce and the housing programs:

In my opinion, the housing programs will be moved into WHEDA....

But I failed to reckon with the slow process of the budget-making. This morning I learned that it appears that housing will move-along with the economic development activities-into the new Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC).  It's possible that at some point the housing programs will be moved into Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) as I theorized.  But for now, WEDC it is (probably).

Value of Bicycling

A recent study shows that bicycling is good for Wisconsin.  It can only get better as more and more bicycle lanes are added on city streets, but officials budgeting for trails in local and state parks are important, too.

From 1993 to 2008, Wisconsin invested nearly $40 million of state and local funds in bicycle projects, with an additional $156 million contributed by the federal government (WI DOT, 2008).... This study estimates the economic impact of bicycle recreation and tourism in Wisconsin to be 924,211,000, and the total potential value of health benefits from reducing short car trips and increasing bicycle trips to total $409,944,167.

Status of Housing at Dept. of Commerce

At this time, it's looking very definite that the Department of Commerce will be transformed into Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), according to Essie Kammer, with the regulatory functions moved into "likely a revamped Department of Regulation and Licensing." 

Obviously the current housing activities at the Department of Commerce are not regulatory functions, and although advocates regularly argue that housing development is job & economic development, many people don't view  it that way, making its move into WEDC unlikely.  In my opinion, the housing programs will be moved into WHEDA, where the new Director is Wyman Winston.

From WHEDA's website:

Wyman B. Winston, Executive Director


Governor Scott Walker appointed Wyman B. Winston as the Authority's Executive Director effective January 3, 2011. Wyman spent 14 years at WHEDA as a Senior Manager, first in Multifamily and later heading the Emerging Markets Group. He launched the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program at its inception, worked on solving challenges to preserve WHEDA's oldest housing portfolio and prepared the initial proposal for WHEDA to participate in the federal New Market Tax Credit (NMTC) program.

Outside of WHEDA, Mr. Winston spent 10 years at other redevelopment authorities and accomplished the following: Operated the first retail and job creation Tax Increment Financing in Atlanta, Georgia; launched the City of Atlanta's NMTC programs; managed a big city redevelopment agency with an annual budget of over $250 million; established major NMTC programs in Portland, Oregon; and headed a city housing finance department.

Mr. Winston is committed to leveraging WHEDA's resources, including its professional staff of highly motivated individuals, to expand economic opportunities for Wisconsin. He will help Governor Walker achieve his goal of creating 250,000 jobs for Wisconsin with: a clear vision that incorporates staff contributions; a Transformational Strategy built on WHEDA's mission; and a more participatory work environment.

I'm told Mr. Winston has experience with responding to an earlier foreclosure crisis in Milwaukee, and reportedly is a bright and competent executive.  Although I'm not familiar with him, he seems to be a good pick for WHEDA; someone familiar with Wisconsin, but away long enough to have a fresh look.  A positive factor is that Mr. Winston apparently has experience with multiple programs, seemingly making him a good choice if, indeed, Commerce's housing programs are moved into WHEDA.

The former Director of WHEDA, Antonio Riley, is now at HUD.  Directors are appointed by the Governor, so with each new Governor, we have a new Director.

Thoughts on Housing Prices

Among the bloggers I read is Ezra Klein, currently at the Washington Post.  He's a very wonky blogger, and I usually learn something new from him each day. 

I noticed two recent posts on housing prices.  The first is in reference to a business researcher (I think), Gary Shillings, who predicted that housing prices had another 20% to fall.

If Shilling is right, this'll be a big drag on the economy in 2011. And it helps explain why House Republicans are rapidly backpedaling from their once-cavalier confidence that Fannie and Freddie can be swiftly privatized and spun loose. Where the housing sector had a lax -- and occasionally fraudulent -- attitude toward lending and appraisal in the run-up to the bubble, they've tightened considerably since the bust. So considerably, in fact, that basically the only mortgages that are moving are those that Fannie or Freddie are willing to buy: (Chart here-Brian)

Incidentally, Ezra also refers to a study on the possible role of the two agencies at the Congressional Budget Office. 

That was three days ago on December 29th, and a day later, he pointed to a more optimistic view of housing prices from Ryan Avent at the Economist. 

If home prices stabilised from May of 2009 to May of 2010 while conditions were highly uncertain, then sank as broader conditions deteriorated, it is somewhat difficult to imagine how they would fall precipitously as conditions brightened to their strongest state since before the recession. Dynamics in housing markets aren't supportive of strong growth. But neither are they worsening.

That is, Mr. Avent said, unless a major policy mistake is made.

So there you have it-either it'll stabilize or get worse.  Personally, I think, in Wisconsin, at least, the prices will stabilize.  But I'm just a guy sitting at home in my pajamas, so what do I know?