"The City Council allocated $1 million Tuesday to create two new affordable housing programs and gave money to Charlottesville’s housing authority to plug a budget shortfall caused by a drop in federal funding.

Earlier this year the council set aside $1.75 million to start a housing trust fund, a dedicated source of money that would enhance and increase the city’s stock of affordable housing. Additionally, the city has another $400,000 in its coffers that is marked for housing initiatives.

On Tuesday, councilors took the first steps toward defining the parameters of the Char-lottesville Affordable Housing Investment Program. They established two new programs that are set to provide housing vouchers and rehabilitation grants to low- and moderate-income residents, and that should help nonprofit developers build more affordable units.

“This is a relatively modest commitment of funds on the part of the city to step up our support and hopefully challenge [Albemarle County] and others to do likewise,” Councilor Dave Norris said.

“We can talk and talk about affordable housing, but until we bring more resources to the table, it’s not going to happen.”

Councilors devoted $500,000 to create more homeownership opportunities for city residents earning less than 60 percent of the area’s median household income, which is roughly $65,000. Another $500,000 will be used to expand housing for disabled, elderly and other “special needs” residents who make less than 30 percent of the median income.

The Charlottesville Area Community Foundation will manage the money, in hopes of leveraging contributions from other sources, but the council will have final say over how the $1 million is spent.

“We see ourselves collecting, managing and investing the money and then waiting for [the City Council] to call on it,” said Kevin O’Halloran, the organization’s director of donor relations.

Councilors decided not to assign the other $1.1 million it has scheduled to use for affordable housing this upcoming fiscal year. City staff suggested those funds be used for home construction assistance, loans for nonprofits and for a deferral loan program for residents. But councilors asked the city’s Housing Advisory Committee to vet those ideas, and others, and return with recommendations later this summer.

“Before I commit us to doing this, I want the housing committee to flesh it out … and give us a sense of where we are going to spend it,” Mayor David Brown said.

Councilors said they wanted to make the housing trust fund a regional program, yet they made sure that only city residents will be eligible this year because the county’s Board of Supervisors has not contributed funding.

Norris asked city staff to generate stronger incentives for developers to create more affordable units, though he conceded that the city government has limited authority to do such a thing under Virginia law.

Because of a drop in federal funding, the Charlottesville Housing and Redevelopment Authority has been facing a budget deficit of $166,000. But councilors came to the organization’s rescue Tuesday by making up the shortfall with city dollars.

“We have an obligation to city residents not to leave them high and dry when the feds shirk their responsibilities,” Councilor Kevin Lynch said.

The council also gave the housing authority $50,000 to begin planning for the redevelopment of its properties." (Seth Rosen, The Daily Progress, May 23, 2007)