Idaho Assessment of Faair Housing Idahoh Housing and Finaance Association Idahoh Commerce D Final Report March 8, 2017 Idaho Assessment of Fair Housing Prepared for Idaho Housing and Finance Association 565 West Myrtle Street Boise, Idaho 83702 Idaho Commerce 700 West State Street Boise, Idaho 83702 Prepared by BBC Research & Consulting 1999 Broadway, Suite 2200 Denver, Colorado 80202‐9750 303.321.2547 fax 303.399.0448 www.bbcresearch.com [email protected] Table of Contents ES. Executive Summary Geographic Focus ..................................................................................................................... ES‐1 An Economic Opportunity Approach ........................................................................................ ES‐2 Community Participation Process ............................................................................................ ES‐3 Assessment of Past Fair Housing Actions ................................................................................ ES–8 Report Organization ................................................................................................................ ES–9 I. Demographic Summary Section Content and Organization ............................................................................................. I–1 Demographic Summary .............................................................................................................. I–2 Segregation/Integration Analysis ............................................................................................. I–17 Stakeholder Perspectives on Segregation/Integration ............................................................ I–30 Summary .................................................................................................................................. I–31 II. Housing Choice Analysis Housing Market Summary ......................................................................................................... II–1 Disproportionate Housing Needs .............................................................................................. II–6 Publicly‐Supported Housing Analysis ...................................................................................... II–10 Analysis of Private Sector Actions ........................................................................................... II–16 Lending Analysis ...................................................................................................................... II–17 Private Sector Barriers—Stakeholder Perspectives ............................................................... III‐23 Criminal History in Tenant Screening ...................................................................................... II–24 Summary ................................................................................................................................. II‐26 III. Access to Opportunity Education .................................................................................................................................. III–1 Employment ............................................................................................................................. III–9 Transportation ........................................................................................................................ III–14 Low Poverty Neighborhoods .................................................................................................. III–16 Environmentally Healthy Neighborhoods .............................................................................. III–17 Access to Broadband Internet ................................................................................................ III–22 Summary ................................................................................................................................ III‐22 IV. Disability and Access Analysis Accessible and Affordable Housing ......................................................................................... IV–3 Integration of Housing and Services ........................................................................................ IV–7 Access to Opportunity ........................................................................................................... IV–12 Summary ................................................................................................................................ IV‐14 STATE OF IDAHO ASSESSMENT OF FAIR HOUSING i Table of Contents V. Regulatory Review State Regulations Affecting Housing Availability ...................................................................... V–2 Allocation of Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) ............................................................ V–6 Land Use and Zoning Regulations .......................................................................................... V–10 Summary ................................................................................................................................. V‐23 VI. Fair Housing Environment Federal and State Fair Housing Laws and Enforcement .......................................................... VI–1 Fair Housing Complaint Trends ............................................................................................... VI–4 Fair Housing Legal Review ..................................................................................................... VI–12 Fair Housing Resources ......................................................................................................... VI–13 Summary ................................................................................................................................ VI‐14 VII. Contributing Factors, Priorities and Goals Definitions .............................................................................................................................. VII–1 Fair Housing Issues and Contributing Factors ........................................................................ VII–2 Goals and Action Steps ........................................................................................................... VII–5 Appendix A. HUD AFFH Tool Maps Appendix B. Glossary Appendix C. Fair Housing Legal Case Review STATE OF IDAHO ASSESSMENT OF FAIR HOUSING ii SECTION ES. Executive Summary Executive Summary This document is the 2016 Assessment of Fair Housing, or AFH, for the State of Idaho. The State of Idaho is required to conduct an analysis of fair housing barriers every five years as a condition of receiving federal block grants funds for housing and community development. The state agencies that are direct recipients of these funds include the Idaho Department of Commerce (Idaho Commerce) and the Idaho Housing and Finance Association (IHFA).1 Throughout this report, these two entities are referred to as the “Grantees.” This document is modeled after the structure of the HUD‐proposed Assessment of Fair Housing for States and Insular Areas. The proposed template for States and Insular Areas was released for public comment, but not finalized, during the development of this study. As such, the study team incorporated analyses suggested in the draft State AFH tool. Geographic Focus This study is related to the federal housing and community development block grants the state receives from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). IHFA and Idaho Commerce distribute these funds to the state’s “non‐entitlement” areas. Non‐entitlement areas are generally rural areas, with fewer than 50,000 people. “Entitlement,” or urban areas receiving HUD block grant funds directly, are required to conduct their own fair housing analyses. This study does not contain an analysis of barriers specific to entitlement areas. However, when it is important to understand overall fair housing issues in the state, data on entitlement‐areas are included in this report. For example, Appendix A incorporates new data and maps that were recently developed by HUD to assess fair housing barriers. Although only available for the largest incorporated cities in the state, these maps are included because they help demonstrate housing patterns and preferences of Idaho residents. To the extent possible, this study describes barriers by geographic typology using “urban,” “semi‐urban,” “rural” and “very rural” classification. Urban is defined as a county with more than 50,000 residents; “semi‐urban,” 25,000 to 50,000; “rural,” between 10,000 and 25,000; and “very rural” less than 10,000 residents. These distinctions are important for the fair housing analysis because the types of fair housing challenges—and solutions to those challenges—often vary by typology. 1 While the Idaho Department of Commerce is a unit of state government, the Idaho Housing and Finance Association (IHFA) is a uniquely created, independent body corporate and politic. Although IHFA administers federal funds on behalf of the state of Idaho, it is neither a unit of state government nor receives state funds. IHFA and Commerce are referenced as (the) Grantees in this document, while subgrantees and project sponsors refer to local recipients of HUD funds administered by IHFA and Commerce. The State of Idaho refers to the Executive and Legislative branches of state government (responsible for proposing, passing and funding laws) or in some cases, the geographic boundaries of the state—also known as the non‐entitlement jurisdiction—served by IHFA and Commerce. STATE OF IDAHO