Affordable Housing: Building an effective coalition

The pain of having to send $8 million in affordable housing tax credits back to Des Moines - and losing the opportunity to help dozens of working families find a safe, decent home - should be a powerful motivator for building an affordable housing coalition in the Cedar Rapids metro area. A Gazette editorial ('Cleaning house,” Nov. 20) incisively debunked the myths that lead people to oppose affordable developments, and recommended a 'uniform, cross-jurisdictional approach” that would provide 'alignment, coordination and muscular oversight” in advocating for affordable housing in the future.

The editorial did not mention that affordable housing advocates in Johnson County created a coalition in 2013, and have made a strong, positive impact on affordable housing policies and resources over the last three years. The Johnson County Affordable Housing Coalition began as an informal group of concerned individuals, non-profit agency leaders and public officials. Instead of pushing for an overarching, silver-bullet solution to the acute shortage of affordable housing in Johnson County, coalition members sought multiple opportunities for tangible, achievable change.

Riverfront Crossings was such an opportunity. In late 2013, Iowa City was finalizing a master plan for the area. Coalition members realized that there was virtually no mention of affordable housing in the plan, although Riverfront Crossings would benefit from tens of millions of dollars of public resources. Through a combination of advocacy with the Planning & Zoning Commission and Iowa City Council and education for the general public - Op-Ed pieces, bus tours, public events, a website, videos - our coalition made the case that affordable housing is a needed asset that makes communities more stable and productive. As a major redevelopment area, Riverfront Crossings represented a tremendous opportunity to integrate affordable and market-rate housing, and allow employees of businesses and the University of Iowa to live near their work.

Fortunately, the Iowa City government listened. The city council, then led by Mayor Matt Hayek, established an Inclusionary Zoning Working Group, consisting of city staff, affordable housing advocates, a banker and local developers, to hammer out a plan to provide both incentives and mandates for developers to include affordable housing in projects over ten units in Riverfront Crossings. It worked. After much discussion and compromise, the working group came up with a set of principles that city staff turned into an ordinance, passed by a city council led by Mayor Jim Throgmorton. Both the former and current mayors, members of city council, and city managers deserve a great deal of credit. However, without the Affordable Housing Coalition's advocacy and education, and willingness to partner with others to find a solution, I doubt that Iowa City would have inclusionary housing today.

The coalition's efforts have resulted in other significant changes as well. In 2016, the Johnson County Board of Supervisors allocated $600,000 in bond funding for affordable housing - the first county in Iowa to do so. Given the decades-long decline in federal funds, the county's dedication of resources makes a huge difference to local developers of affordable housing. This fall, Iowa City passed a 15-point Affordable Housing Action Plan, which includes $500,000 in funds for affordable housing in this fiscal year, and the possibility of more in future years. The plan also includes other funding and regulatory changes that will allow the city to directly support affordable housing, and to incentivize non-profit and for-profit developers to create more units.

What has allowed the Coalition to have a significant impact in a relatively short time? By blending advocacy, education and partnerships, we created an effective strategy. Also, members of the coalition provided essential resources. From the very beginning, the Housing Trust Fund of Johnson County has given the coalition much-needed financial and logistical support. Shelter House has shared a VISTA/AmeriCorps volunteer with the coalition, allowing us to create a lively web presence, and produce a public-access TV show and short videos. In 2014, we worked with Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity on a countywide conference, and several times each month we utilize the Housing Fellowship's conference rooms for staff and committee meetings. The coalition's board benefits from the guidance of these organizations' executive directors, leaders from the Center for Worker Justice and Domestic Violence Intervention Program, and also individuals with expertise in faith-based social justice, helping persons with disabilities, multifamily property development, and residential real estate.

There is much the coalition still wants to do. We are working hard to build productive relationships with businesses in Johnson County and the UI. We are hopeful that the governments of Coralville, North Liberty and Tiffin will take a more proactive approach to encouraging the construction of lower-cost as well as permanently affordable housing in their communities. Recently the coalition became a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization, to strengthen our financial and organizational structure. We are eager to recruit new members, to firmly root us in the multiple Johnson County jurisdictions where affordable housing is scarce. As we grow, we hope that Cedar Rapids will build a coalition that not only 'aligns, coordinates and oversees” affordable initiatives, but generates a strong grass roots constituency that champions affordable housing as an asset that benefits the entire community for years to come.

' Sally Scott is executive director of the Johnson County Affordable Housing Coalition. More information: www.jcaffordablehomes.org