Virginia Housing Commission
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VIRGINIA HOUSING COMMISSION 2011 ANNUAL REPORT 2011 Virginia Housing Commission Legislative Members Delegate John A. Cosgrove - Chair Senator Mamie E. Locke - Vice Chair Senator John C. Watkins Senator Mary Margaret Whipple Delegate David L. Bulova Delegate Rosalyn R. Dance Delegate Daniel W. Marshall, III Delegate G. Glenn Oder Citizen Members Mark K. Flynn T.K. Somonath Melanie S. Thompson Legislative Services Staff Elizabeth Palen, Executive Director Elizabeth Jamerson, Research Assistant Table of Contents I. Executive Summary 1 II. Full Commission Meeting Summary . April 27, 2011 3 . September 6, 2011 17 . November 16, 2011 29 . December 13, 2011 40 III. Housing Affordability and Real Estate Law, and Mortgages . July 19, 2011 52 . September 6, 2011 64 IV. Housing and Environmental Standards Work Group . May 3, 2011 72 V. Common Interest Communities Work Group . May 2, 2011 77 . October 5, 2011 83 VI. Neighborhood Transitions and Residential Land Use Work Group . May 3, 2011 92 . June 20, 2011 99 . August 16, 2011 108 . September 6, 2011 114 VII. Receivership Sub-Work Group . June 6, 2011 122 VIII. Mortgage Sub-Work Group . July 19, 2011 131 . November 15, 2011 140 IX. Timeshare Sub-Work Group . August 15, 2011 146 X. Water and Sewer Sub-Work Group . May 2, 2011 152 Executive Summary The Virginia Housing Commission "VHC", a legislatively based commission, works through a year-long process to create and recommend bi-partisan, housing-related legislation to alleviate the Commonwealth's concerns regarding neighborhoods, mortgages, affordability of housing, and other issues relevant to housing. The Commission is divided into four permanent work groups, Affordable Housing and Real Estate Law, Common Interest Communities, Environmental Issues, and Neighborhood Transitions, as well as three sub-workgroups, Mortgages, Time-Shares, and Water and Sewer, each composed of legislators and interested stakeholders. They are the conduits used to work together to form solutions and good compromise legislation in preparation for the legislative session. All work group meeting agendas and summaries are posted to the Virginia Housing Commission website (http://dls.state.va.us/houscomm.htm). The Commission was created by the 1970 General Assembly (HB 1231, 2004) "to study the ways and means best designed to utilize existing resources and develop facilities that will provide the Commonwealth's growing population with adequate housing," and became a permanent legislative commission in 2004. The Commission works to fulfill that initiative while expanding the Commission's scope of topics as the housing needs of the Commonwealth have grown as well. Chaired by Delegate John Cosgrove, with Senator Mamie Locke serving as the vice- chair, the Commission has 11 members: three members of the Virginia Senate, five members of the House of Delegates, and three citizen members appointed by the Governor. Most have a housing background, and all have a strong interest in housing concerns. Topics are chosen for study by the Commission chair and with the recommendation of the work group chairs in addition to referred bills from the General Assembly, as well as topics determined by the current housing work group chairs. The Commission held four full Commission meetings throughout the 2011 interim where speakers from the Federal Reserve Bank, Department of Housing and Community Development, and Virginia Housing Development Authority, among other entities, worked to give the Commission members background information on housing trends and best practices in the Commonwealth. All presentations are available online. In addition to full Commission meetings, work group meetings were held throughout the interim to provide for a more intensive discussion involving interested parties. All meetings were open to the public, and meeting notices were posted on the General Assembly website, and the Housing Commission website. Eight pieces of legislation were recommended by the Commission for the 2012 Legislative Session and they include the following: a bill on Receivership (HB 491, R. Dance) (SB 122, J. Watkins); three landlord-tenant bills: (HB 502, R. Dance), accounting 1 of rental payments (SB 34, M. Locke), and a prohibition on self-help eviction (SB 35, M. Locke); landlord-tenant issues related to water and sewer services (HB 567, D. Marshall); licensing and registry requirements for mortgage loan originators (HB 570, D. Marshall) (SB 75, J. Watkins); and an owner-financing exemption from mortgage loan originator licensing and registry (HB 572, D. Marshall) (SB 76, J. Watkins). Full descriptions of bill history and content are available in the Housing Commission summaries found online. The Commission, in 2011, studied, debated, and evaluated issues to determine the necessity for legislative action on many housing issues and remains an active and crucial component in creating a remedy for the housing concerns of the Commonwealth. 2 GENERAL ASSEMBLY BUILDING 910 CAPITOL STREET, SECOND FLOOR DELEGATE JOHN COSGROVE, Chair RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 23219 SENATOR MAMIE LOCKE, Vice Chair (PHONE) 804-786-3591 ELIZABETH A. PALEN, Executive Director (FAX) 804-371-0169 [email protected] http://dls.state.va.us/houscomm.htm VIRGINIA HOUSING COMMISSION AGENDA Virginia Housing Commission House Room C, General Assembly Building April 27, 2011 10:00 A.M. Members Present: Delegate John Cosgrove, Delegate Rosalyn Dance, Delegate Daniel Marshall, Senator John Watkins, Senator Mary Margaret Whipple, Melanie Thompson, T.K. Somanath, Mark Flynn Staff Present: Elizabeth Palen, Jillian Malizio, Beth Jamerson I. Welcome and Call to Order Delegate John Cosgrove; Chair o The meeting was called to order at 10:05 AM II. Agency Update Bill Shelton, Director, Virginia Department of Housing & Community Development (DHCD) o DHCD’s mission is to work in partnership with the Housing Commission and the Virginia Housing Development Authority (VHDA) to make Virginia’s communities safe, affordable, and prosperous places in which to live, work, and do business. However, the economic reality and policy environments remain challenging. o The challenging economic situation limits the ability to do work, and DHCD has had to be creative in order to respond to problems in a number of different areas. o DHCD has a broader mission than just housing; it includes a comprehensive view of the community with an emphasis on economically distressed communities. DHCD’s mission includes supporting affordable housing options, building viable communities, creating and sustaining a safer built environment, assisting local and regional groups, and participating in critical studies. DHCD does a lot in the area of building and safety, and Virginia is one of the first states to have a Uniform Safety Code. DHCD also emphasizes working with regional groups. o Affordable Housing: DELEGATE DAVID L. BULOVA SENATOR MAMIE E. LOCKE MARK K. FLYNN DELEGATE JOHN A. COSGROVE SENATOR JOHN C. WATKINS T.K. SOMONATH DELEGATE ROSALYN R. DANCE SENATOR MARY MARGARET WHIPPLE MELANIE S. THOMPSON DELEGATE DANIEL W. MARSHALL, III DELEGATE G. GLENN ODER 3 . DHCD continues to oversee federally-funded housing and homeless programs amid shifting federal priorities. Historically the agency’s budget has been around $100–$120 million but recently they have received over that amount in stimulus money alone, so the budget has almost doubled in the last two years. During the 2011 session the General Assembly amended The Livable Homes Tax Credit with H.B. 1950 [§58.1-339.7 of the Code of Virginia] to increase the maximum amount of credit available from $2,000 to $5,000. The program makes houses more accessible and livable. The availability of the credit increase has been extended to homebuilders and licensed contractors to allow them to use the credit. The Communities of Opportunity launched an affordable rental tax credits program in January. The program provides tax credits to managers of affordable rental housing in less-impoverished areas within the Richmond metropolitan area who participate in the Housing Choice voucher program. This provides an incentive to use vouchers across the market instead of concentrated in areas. Delegate Marshall—Asked if DHCD will monitor this program. Bill Shelton—Confirmed that DHCD will administer the program. Landlords will apply to DHCD, it will issue certificates, and then the landlords will get the tax credits back. Delegate Marshall—Asked whether regulations have been drawn for the program. Bill Shelton—The legislation called for guidelines, and DHCD has indeed drawn them up. o Homeless Programs . State housing policy recommends more effective approaches to preventing and overcoming homelessness. DHCD is beginning to implement these approaches with more emphasis on rapid re-housing and permanent supportive housing. The agency has limited resources, but is moving state general funds it receives to support these programs. If DHCD can intervene as soon as people become homeless and move them back into housing, it reduces long-term support needs through social services. DHCD wants to better coordinate social services and housing for homeless. They have launched the Homeless Services Coordinating Council to improve state agency coordination. Delegate Cosgrove—Asked where homeless people are currently being housed, as far as shelters and other structures. Asked whether DHCD is building any new facilities or if they are taking advantage of existing housing inventory. Bill Shelton—There is an existing shelter support network, which