Four Communities Honored for Reducing Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing
HUD News Release
HUD HONORS FOUR COMMUNITIES WITH ROBERT L. WOODSON, JR.
WASHINGTON -- The Department of Housing and Urban Development today announced three local communities and one state agency will be presented HUD's Robert L. Woodson, Jr.
Award for reducing burdensome regulations that unnecessarily inflate the cost of housing.
The following communities are the recipients of this year's Woodson Award: Mount Joy, Pennsylvania; Suffolk County, New York; and, San Jose, California.
In addition, the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development was selected for its efforts to reduce regulatory barriers to affordable housing throughout the state (see attached summaries).
Award is named in memory of HUD's late chief of staff and is designed to recognize state and local governments who aggressively work to reduce regulatory barriers to affordable housing.
After struggling to balance the pressing need for more affordable housing with city's other goals and programs, the city took action in 1999 by making affordable housing a priority and setting ambitious goals for the production of affordable housing.
Zoning restrictions and building specifications prompted a dramatic rise in land and home prices, prohibiting builders from making profits on affordable housing.
The workshop was very successful and participants developed a consensus on a comprehensive development plan for Mount Joy permitting greater density on the available sites.
The first fruits of the plan led a new is a mixed-use development called Florin Hills.
Because the authority to make housing and land decisions resides with the 42 local governments in the county, the county government served in the roles of convener/coordinator, educator, expediter, and cajoler to streamline the regulatory review processes involved in housing development approvals.
