Affordable Housing for Low and Moderate Income Families in Reston--1984--Reston Interfaith

8/11/2019 Affordable Housing for Low and Moderate Income Families in Reston--1984--Reston Interfaith

1/21

AFFORDABLE HOUSING

FOR

LOWN MODERATE

INCOME FAMLIE

S

IN

RESTON

Reston Interfai th

Housi ng Corporati o

n

Background

Paper

J anuary

984


2/21

AFFORDABLE

HOUSING

FOR LOWNDMODERATE INCOME

FAMLIE

S

IN RESTON

RESTON

INTERFAITH HOUSINGCORPORATIO

N

BACKGROUNDPAPER

RESTON

PLANNED

NEW

TOWN

Reston

as

a

pl anned

residenti al

communi ty

owes

much

of

i ts

character

to i ts

creator,

R E Simon. To thi nk that

j ust

a

l i ttl e more

than

twenty

years

ago

where

Reston stands

were

j ust

a

handful

of homes and the

Bowmn

di sti l l ery.

Fortunatel y

fi rst

and

foremost

i n

Simon s mnd was that the

devel opment

of Reston

not be

characteri zed

by

randomsuburban

spraw

but,

rather, be a

pl anned

NewTown.

Seven

goals

have

gui ded

Reston s

devel opment

since

i ts

begi nni ngs.

The

second

of these

goals

states: I t

shoul d

be

possi bl e

for

anyone

to remin i n a

si ngl e

nei ghborhood throughout

hi s l i fe,

uprooti ng

bei ng

nei ther i nevi tabl e

nor

always

desi rabl e

By

provi di ng

the ful l est

range

of

housing styl es

and

pri ces

--

from

high-ri se

effi ci enci es

to

si x

-bedroom

townhouses and detached

houses,

housi ng

needs can be

met

at

a

vari ety

of

i ncome

l evel s

and at

di fferent

stages

of

faml y

l i fe Thi s kind of mx

permts

resi dents

to remin rooted i n

the

communi ty

--

i f

they

so choose

as thei r

parti cul ar housi ng

needs

change.

As a

by

-product

thi s

al so

resul ts

i n

the

heterogenei ty

that

spel l s

a

l i vel y

and vari ed

communi ty.


3/21

-2-

Cedar

R dge,

Reston s

fi rst

rental

devel opment

for

l ow

i ncome

faml i es

was

not

completed

unti l

1970

. The

process l eadi ng

to

Cedar

R dge

had,

i n fact,

begun

much

earl i er

. The

Reston

Times

reported

on the

pl an

three

years

earl i er

i n a front

page

arti cl e on

August

16,

1967

. The

headl i ne

read,

Reston

Resi dents

Have

Formed a

Uni f i ed

Front

i n

Defense

of the Lower Income

Housi ng

Pl ans . Thi s

l ag

time between the

proposal

of l owand moderate

i ncome

housi ng development,

the

fundi ng

and the

constructi on

woul d

prove

to be

typi cal

i n

Reston.

A so, the

goal

of

ful l

range

of

housi ng styl es

and

pri ces

conti nued

through

the

years

to

have

a

l arge

amount

of

support

fromthe Reston

communi ty

and the

Reston

Communi ty

Associati on

(RCA).

By

earl y

1970,

concern about the l ack of affordabl e

housi ng

for

l ow and moderate i ncome

faml i es

wshi ng

to l i ve and

work

n

the new

town

of

Reston had brought together representati ves

of

seven Reston

rel i gi ous organi zati ons

The

group,

Reston Inter-

fai th

Housi ng Corporati on,

i s

nonprofi t corporati on

establ i shed

to

i ncrease

the

housi ng opportuni ti es

for l owand moderate

i ncome

persons

Uti l i zi ng

federal

funds, Reston

I nterfai th

sponsored

Laurel

Gade

Apartments

i n

j oi nt

venture wth

pri vate devel oper.

th

the

compl eti on

of

Laurel Gade

i n

1974, 200

more l ow

and

moderate i ncome

faml i es were

abl e to fi nd affordabl e

housi ng

i n

Reston

The

number of

assi sted

faml y

uni ts

compl eted

i n Reston

at

the end of 1974 was

688

uni ts.

A though

Reston

experi enced


4/21

-3-

steady

economc

and

residenti al

growh,

no addi ti onal

uni ts have

been

bui l t for

faml i es at

the

l ower

end of

Reston s

i ncome

scale

since

1980.

Ownership

of I sl and

Wal k s

102

cooperati ve

uni ts

was

turned

over

to the residents

that

year.

ASSISTED

FAMLY 1

UNTS

INRESTON

mef

assi sted

famly

uni ts

avai l abl e at the

438

end of 1973,

the

end

of

Reston s fi rst decade

of

occupancy

.

Cedar

Rdge

1970)

-

198

units

Stonegate

1973)

-

240 uni ts

Number

of

assi sted

famly

uni ts

that became

avai l

-

368

abl e

duri ng

Reston s

second decade of

occupancy,

1974

through

1983.

aueade

1974)

200

units

The

Green 1975)

50 uni ts

Shadowood

1975)

16

uni ts

I sl and

Wal k

Coop

1980)

102

uni ts

806

Total number of assisted

famly

uni ts avai l abl e

i n

Reston,

representi ng

approximatel y

5.9

of

Reston s

13,550

housi ng

uni ts

Toward the end of 1980

i t became

apparent

to Reston

I nterfai th

that a

sl owdown in

the

producti on

of

assi sted

famly

uni ts

was

occurri ng

i n

Reston.

Thi s was

a resul t

of

general

communi ty wari ness fol l owng

the

growth

between

1970

-1975

.

From

thei r

experi ences

wth

Laurel Gade,

Reston Interf ai th

recogni zed

1/

mssi on

of

any

di scussion i n

thi s

paper

of

el erl y

households

does

not

imply

that

housi ng

for

elderl y

l owand

moderate

i ncome

househol ds

i s

not needed

i n

Reston.


5/21

-4-

that

typi cal l y

a number of

years

el apses

fromthe time of a non-

profi t group' s

fi rst

i nvol vement

and the

occupancy

of

any

assisted

uni ts.

What concerned

Reston Interfai th was

the

possi bi l i ty

that

l ow and

moderate-i ncome

housi ng

constructi on in Reston

woul d

gri nd

to

a

stop.

In

that case, future

vi l l ages

woul d

not

contai n

a

ful l

range

of

housing,

and low and

moderate

-i ncome faml i es

woul d

remain

concentrated

al ong

Gade

Dri ve. As the

detrimental

effect

of concentrati on

of low and

moderate-i ncome

housi ng

had

been

demonstrated

in

other communi ti es,

ston

I nterfai th

feared

that

thi s woul d

not be

good

for

the new town

of

Reston.

Meanwhi l e,

commerci al ,

l i ght

i ndustri al ,

and busi ness

growh

i n Reston

conti nued to create a

ful l

range

of new

j obs

.

FAMLY

(AND

ELDERLY)

ASSISTEDUNTS

13? VILLAGES

Hunt ers thSout

h

Dogwood Wods

Lake

Anne

Point

Lakes

Tal l

Oaks

The

(Fel lowship (Fel l owship

eda

Green

ouse

224

House

24

Rdge

19

8

50

Laurel

Shadowood

sandal k

Gade

6

p

1 2

200

Stonegate

-

240

Reston I nterfai th

appl i ed

for

Communi ty

Devel opment

B ock Grant

(CDBG

funding

in

1981.

The

appl i cati on

read:

Funds

wl l be

used to

determne the

feasi bi l i ty

of

bui l di ng

cluster,

townhouse and/or

cooperati ve

l owand

moderate

housi ng

in

the


6/21

-5-

Phase I I I

secti on of

north

Reston.

Funding

wl l cover

admni strati ve

costs associ ated

wth

pl anni ng

and

devel opi ng

communi ty

support

Subsequentl y

15,000

of

Year 7 s CDBG funds

were

approved

by

the

Fai rfax

County

Board

of

Supervi sors

and the

Department

of

Housi ng

and

Urban

Devel opment

(BUD

for

that

purpose

.

Reston Land

Corporati on s

housi ng

pol i cy

begi ns

wth

the

second

of the

ori gi nal

goal s

set

i n

pl anni ng

the

devel opment

of Reston, a ful l

vari ety

of

housi ng

and

i ncome l evel s woul d

be

avai l abl e

i n

the

newtown. Furthermore,

Al

Hagel i s,

a

Reston

Land

pl anner,

i n

l etter to

Reston I nterf ai th

i n

1981,

poi nted

out

that Reston

has

always

been

open

to

the

devel opment

of l owand

moderate

i ncome

housi ng

Mr

.

Hagel i s

al so wote

of Reston Land

Corporati on s

commtment to

work

for the

achievement

of

a ful l

range

of

housi ng

Reston

Land

has been

qui te

successful

i n

attracti ng

devel opers

of townhouses

that sel l at

pri ces

bel ow

the

county

medi an.

According

to

the Fai rfax

County

Of i ce

of

Research

and

Stati sti cs

(ORS),

the

l atest, 1981,

median

famly

i ncome

fi gure

for

the

Upper

Potomac

Pl anni ng

Dstri ct,

whi ch i ncl udes Reston,

i s

41,500

compared

to

county

median

faml y

i ncome of

41,600.

The current Reston

Land

Corporati on

Popul ati on

Market

Profi l e

gi ves

41,600

as the median househol d

i ncome

i n

Reston

The

medi an

housi ng

val ues

for

Upper

Potomac

and the

County

as

whole

are

shown

bel ow


7/21

-6-

MEDAN HOUSING

VALUE

OF

OWNED

UNTS

1982

AND

1983

Upper

Potomac 1982 1983 Fai rfax

County

1982

9

Si ngl e Famly

$127,500 125, 900 11450$115,200

Townhouse

81,900

81, 200

87,100 87,300

Condomnium 42,800

44, 800

59,200

59,90

Al l

99,000

98, 800 104,100

103, 60

EMPLOYMENT IN RESTON

Simon envi si oned

an

economcal l y

vi abl e new

town

which

i ncl uded busi ness, commerci al ,

l i ght

i ndustri al

and

governmental

as

wel l

as

resi denti al

devel opment

.

Si nce

empl oyment opportuni t i es

and

housi ng

were

pl anned

for Reston,

Simon' s

fourth

goal

was

feasi bl e,

Peopl e

shoul d

be

abl e

to

l i ve

and

work

i n

the

same

communi ty

.

Accordi ng

to Reston Land

Corporati on' s

market

profi l es

almost 40%of

Reston' s

j obs

are

hel d

by

Restoni ans

Themarket

profi l es

al so stress

that the

number of

young

faml i es i n Reston

has

been

one of the

maj or

attract i ve forces

i n

drawng

busi ness

to Reston.

Resi dents i n

the

25-44

age

bracket

represent

the

heart

of an

act i ve l abor

force

Si gni fi cantl y, between

1970

and

1980

thi s 25-44

age

group

i ncreased at an annual rate of

56%

i n

Reston

compared

to

6%

of the

County

as

whole.


8/21

-7-

Besi des

l ocal busi nesses

such as retai l and

grocery

stores and

restaurants

and l ocal

government i ncl uding

school s,

Reston i s home to si x

maj or

categori es

of

employers

: governmental

agenci es

;

professi onal

techni cal servi ce

f i rm;

nati onal trade

and

educti on

associati ons;

corporate

admni strati ve

headquarters

or

operati ons

centers

;

speci al i sts

of feri ng

personal

servi ces

; and

companies

engaged

i n el ectroni c

product

desi gn, assembl y

or

manu-

facturi ng.

Thi s

l ast

category,

more

commonl y

cal l ed

hi gh technol ogy

compani es, currentl y

i s

the

source of the

greatest

amount of

empl oyment

growh. Empl oyment growh

has

been

so

rapid

i n Reston

these l ast

few

years,

according

to the Fai rfax

County

Of i ce of

Economc

Devel opment,

that

j obs

nowoutnumber

households

.

Reston

at

present

has

approximatel y

13,550

households

and 14,000

jobs.

Competi ti on

for the

desi rabl e

hi

-tech

market

i s keen

i n

Fai rfax

County.

Reston has

emerged

as one

of the

most successf ul

areas i n

attracti ng

hi

-tech

f irm.

-tech

f irm

general l y

have

aestheti cal l y pl easing

bui l di ngs,

are

envi ronment l l y

sound, and

prefer campus

-type

setti ngs.

Reston s

hi

-tech f i rm

empl oym ny

techni ci ans

and sem

-ski l l ed

empl oyees

earni ng

bel ow

20,000

i n

addi ti onal

to

thei r

professi onal

staf f

of

engi neers,

managers,

etc

accordi ng

to a

Reston

Interf ai th

employer

survey

conducted

i n

1982. The Reston

Land

Empl oyment

Prof i l e states that hi -tech

f i rm have

al l

been

drawn

to Reston not

onl y by

the

qual i ty

of

the

physi cal

envi ronment,

but

al so

by

the

qual i ty

and

avai l abi l i ty

of the

l abor

force.


9/21

-8-

A recent arti cl e

i n The

Washington

Post

outl i ned the

di ffi cul ti es faced

by

l ower

pai d

employees

of hi

-tech firm i n

Reston

when

tryi ng

to

fi nd

affordabl e

housi ng

i n Reston.

I n

parti cul ar,

many

of

Reston' s

newhi

-tech fi rm

are

tryi ng

to fi l l

cl eri cal

j obs

paying

$12,000

to

$16,000

.

To

quote

from

thi s

arti cl e,

For

Reston,

a

pl anned

town

based

on

the

concept

of

provi di ng

an

envi ronment where

peopl e

could

l i ve and

work

wthout

l eavi ng

the

communi ty,

the

growh

of

hightechnology

i ndustri es

i n western

Fai rfax

County

has created a

gap

between who works i n

Reston

and

who

can afford

to

l i ve there.

I f

housi ng

i s

ti ght

now

for

employees

at the

l ower end

of

Reston' s

i ncome scal e,

consi der

that Reston' s 1000 acre

Busi ness

Center

i s

onl y

about one-hal f

devel oped

RENTAL

HOUSINGSUPPL

Y

Rental

vacancy

rates are

extremel y

l ow

for

pri vate,

unassi sted rental

apartments

i n

Reston. A

survey

done

by

the

Wel iborn

Real ty

Company September

14,

1983,

reveal ed a rental

vacancy

rate of l ess

than

1/3

of

1%

for

these

apartments

Tradi ti onal l y

Restons

806

assi sted

famly

uni ts

have had

substanti al

wai ti ng

l i sts. Thi s

si tuati on has been

exacerbated

by

three

factors:

(1)

Unl i ke

other

older communi ti es i n

Fai rfax

County,

Reston

contai ns

no

ol der

rental

apartments,

those

often

referred

to

as

tri ckl e-down

housi ng;

2

currentl y,

accordi ng

to the

Fai rfax

County

Ofi ce

of

Research

and

Stati sti cs,

condomnium


10/21

-9-

conversi on

has removed

approximatel y

430

rental

uni ts

fromthe

housi ng

market

in

Reston

;

j /

and

3

no

new

new

rental

housi ng

complexes

have

been

bui l t

by

pri vate

enterpri se

i n

Reston

duri ng

the l ast

few

years

Rents in the fal l of 1983 for an unassi sted

two

bedroom

apartments

in

Reston,

general l y

not

i ncl udi ng el ectri ci ty, ranged

from

426

to

430.

At that same time

in

an assi sted two

bedroom

apartment

at

Cedar

Rdge,

Laurel Gade,

and

Stonegate,

rents

ranged from

319to 412.

Wth

the

excepti on

of

Stonegate,

these

rents i ncl uded al l uti l i ti es.

I nvestors

have found rental

housi ng

unattracti ve in

term

of

return on thei r i nvestment

compared

to

other real estate

ventures

Hgh

interests

rates combined

wth

high

constructi on

costs

resul t in

rents that

are

unmarketabl e

.

Any

rental

housi ng

bui l t since 1977

in

Fai rfax

County

has invol ved

some

form

of

subsi dy

such

as

federal subsidi es,

tax-exempt

fi nancing

and/or

federal

mortgage

i nsurance

according

to a

League

of

Women

Voters

Fai rfax Area

Housi ng update

rel eased i n

March,

1983. Reston' s

devel opers

are no

excepti on.

/

Unl ess

conventi onal

mortgage

I f condomniumconversi on uni ts return to the

rental

market,

they

usual l y do so at

a

hi gher

rent.

A though

there are

no

fi gures

for Reston, in 1980 about

33

.5

of Fai rfax

County's

total

condomnumstock was rented

according

to

the

Housi ng

Needs

Study

RERC, March 1983.

3

Constructi on

of

rental

housi ng

complex

fi nanced

wth

conven-

ti onal

fi nancing

i s schedul ed to commence in

Reston

in l ate

1984.


11/21

-10

i nterest rates

drop

l ower than

today' s

i nterest

rates,

apartment

complexes

bui l t

by pri vate enterpri se

wth

conventi onal

fi nanci ng

wl l

have

rents

too

hi gh

for l ow

and moderate i ncome

faml i es.

I f l ow

and

moderate i ncome

faml i es have to

pay

more

than 30%of thei r

i ncome

for rent and uti l i ti es,

they

are

cl assi fi ed

as excessi ve rent

payers

by

the

Department

of

Housi ng

and Urban

Devel opment

.

I n Reston,

though,

even l ow and moderate i ncome

faml i es

who want to

pay

more than 30%of thei r i ncome for rent

are

not

l i kel y

to

fi nd any

vacanci es

i n

pri vate,

unassi sted

housi ng

.

To make matters worse,

accordi ng

to Real Estate

Research

Corporati on s

Housi ng

Needs

Study,

whi ch was authori zed

by

the

Fai rfax

County

Board of

Supervi sors,

Upper

Potomac

al ready

has

the thi rd

highest

number of excessi ve

rent

payers among

Fai rfax

County

pl anni ng

di stri cts

. Furthermore

very

few

of

the

County s

excessi ve rent

payers

have i ncomes

over

20,000

.

FARFAX

COUNTY' S

EXCESSIVE RENT PAYERS

(RERC

23

Marri ed

22

wdowe

d

32

Dvorced

or

separated

S 23

Have

never

been

marri ed

The

squeeze

conti nues even

though

addi ti onal households

have been abl e

to

move

up

i nto

the

for-sal e market because

of

4/

Between 1970 and 1980,

accordi ng

to

Census

fi gures,

the num

ber of households

wth one

parent

and chi l dren i ncreased

by

132%

i n Fai rfax

County

.

Thi s

social

phenomenon

i n

i tsel f

creates a

greater

demand

for

more

affordabl e

rental

housi ng.


12/21

-11

somewhat l ower i nterest

rates.

Rental

apartments

freed are

quickly

snapped

up

by

faml i es

on the

wai ti ng

l i sts:

faml i es

who have l ost thei r

apartments

as

a

resul t

of

condomniumconver-

si ons, new

one

-parent

faml i es, or

new faml i es attracted

by

Reston s

empl oyment opportuni ti es.

PROECTED HOUSI NG NEEDS

The Fai rfax

County

Comprehensi ve

Master)

Pl an i denti f i es

the

areas

i n

each

pl anni ng

di stri ct

that

are

pl anned

for

mul ti famly

housi ng

.

In the

Upper

Potomac

pl anni ng

di stri ct, vari ous

undeveloped

secti ons of

Reston and Herndon contai n the

pri mary

l ocati on

that are

pl anned

for new

mul ti famly housi ng

.

The

potenti al

for

mul ti famly

housi ng

el sewhere in

Upper

Potomac i s

l ow

because

the

Comprehensive

Plan cal l s

for

l ow

densi ti es

In

the

Fai rfax

County

Housi ng

Needs

Study

Real Estate

Research

Corporati on

RERC)

l ooked

at three di fferent

ways

of

proj ecti ng

i ncome di stributions

by pl anni ng

di stri cts

for

the

present

decade, 1980-1990. Those al ternati ves, which

were

based

on

Counci l of Governments

COG

cooperati ve

forecasts,

were:

1

Current

I ncome

Profi l e: The 1980

percentage

i ncome

di stributi ons

i n each

pl anni ng

di stri ct

were assumed

to be

maintained

as

the

populati on

grows

;

2

Extrapol ati on

of Past Trends: The rate of

change

i n

the number of

households

i n

each i ncome

group

duri ng

the

1970 s was

determned

by usi ng

Census i ncome di stri -

buti on

data.

Thi s

rate of

change

was

then used

to


13/21

12

proj ect

the

di stri buti on

of househol ds

by

i ncome

groups

for each

pl anni ng

di stri ct; and

3

Share of

Regi onal

Lower

I ncome

Employees: Projecti ons

i n thi s al ternati ve were based on the number of lower

wage j obs

in Fai rfax

County

i n

1980.

At that time

i t

was

determned

that

the

number

of househol ds i n

Fai rfax

County

bel ow the

regi onal

median i ncome was

equal

to 79

of the total

number

of

county

j obs

bel owthe

regional

median

wage. In

other

words

there were

1

.27

Fai rfax

County j obs

bel ow the

regi onal

median

wage

l evel for

every

househol d

in

the

county

bel ow the

regi onal

median

income

Thi s

percentage

was

then

used

to

proj ect

the

number

of

househol ds bel owthe

regi onal

median i ncome

need ng

housi ng

i n each

pl anning

di stri ct

i n

1985

and

1990

based

upon anti ci pated

j ob

growh

i n the

County

In

proj ecti ng

future

housi ng

needs for the househol ds

not

provided

for

by

the

pri vate

market RERC

assumed that

assi sted

newconstructi on woul d be bui l t for the

upper

end

of that

group

In

addi ti on RERC consi dered

that assi sted new

constructi on should

be

emphasi zed

i n the

rapi dl y

growng pl anni ng

di stri cts l i ke

Upper

Potomac

.

Some formof rent

supplements

woul d

be

necessary

for

the

poorer

households

Housi ng

needs

for

househol ds

not

provided

for

by

the

pri vate

market were

proj ected

for

each

pl anni ng

di stri ct


14/21

-13

for the

present

decade, 1980

-1990. I n

eachof

the three

proj ected

al ternati ves

of i ncome

di stri buti ons,

one

of the

pl anning

di stri cts

wth

the

greatest

need

was

Upper

Potomac

.

The

projected

needs were:

NEWUNTS

REQURED

FOR HGHEST I NCOME

HOUSEHOLDNOT

SERVED B Y

THE PRVATE

MARKET

INUPPER

POTOMA

C

1980-85 1980-1990

Current

I ncome

Pr of i l e

1179

3061

Extrapol ati on

of

Past

Tr end s

81

2265

Share

of

Regi onal Lower

I ncome

Employees

5 6015568

IN

ADDTION

RENT

SUPPLEMENTS

NEEDFOR

EXCESSIVE

RENT

PAYERS

IN UPPER POTOMAC

1980

-85 1980 990

Current I ncome Profi le

3 733 3153

Extrapol ati on

of Past

Tr end s

3612

5035

Share

of

Regi onal

Lower

I ncome

Employees

7 252

2097

Upper

Potomac households wth i ncomes between

20,000

and

24,999

in 1980 dol l ars are i denti f i ed

by

the fi rst

and second

proj ecti ons

as

most

needing

assi sted

new

constructi on

housi ng.

Usi ng

the

thi rd

proj ecti on,

households

wth

i ncomes

bel ow

20,000

i n 1980 dol l ars would

most

need the

new

constructi on

assi sted

housi ng.

The 1980

Wshington

Metropl i tan

Stati sti cal

Area

(WMSA)

medi an

faml y

i ncome was

27,887.

The

Department

of

Housing

and

Urban

Devel opment

(HUD

has determned that the 1983

WMSA

median


15/21

-14

-

faml y

i ncome

for a

faml y

of

four i s

35,800

The

i ncome l imts

for

HUD

program

are

currentl y capped

at

26,000

for

faml y

of

four.

POSSIBLE

SOLUTIONS

Two

opti ons

for

provi di ng

affordabl e

housi ng

i n Fai rfax

County

have

proved

unworkabl e so far i n

Reston

. One

opti on

i s

accessory housi ng

a

separate

l i vi ng

uni t wthin

a

si ngl e faml y

home

where

ei ther the

owner

or

the

renter

i s

elderl y

or

handi capped

.

In

fact,

at thi s

wi ti ng

no owner i n Fai rfax

County

has

appl i ed

for

such

a

zoni ng

vari ance

.

The second,

a free

county

servi ce,

i s

operati on

Match:

persons

who

have

space

i n thei r homes to share are

put

i n touch

wth i ndi vi dual s

needi ng

housi ng Unfortunately

Reston

i s one of

the l owest

placement

areas,

Operati on

match

does

not

pl ace

more

than two

persons

i n

any

househol d

Another deterrent i s the

necessi ty

of

personal

i ntervi ew at the

operati on

Match

offi ce

i n the Route One Corri dor

Unti l

very recentl y

no federal

program

for

new

construc-

ti on of l owandmoderate i ncome

faml y housi ng

was

bei ng

funded

by

Congress.

Constructi on for l imted number of newuni ts has

nowbeen

authori zed

by

the

Department

of

Housi ng

and Urban

Devel opment

HUD.

There are at

present

774 certi fi cates avai l abl e for

el i gi bl e

faml i es i n

Fai rfax

County,

Fai rfax

C ty,

and Fal l s


16/21

-15

Church

under the Federal

Secti on

Eight

Rental

Assi stance

program

El i gi bl e

Fai rfax

County

faml i es are

free to

l ocate

thei r

apartment

anywhere

i n the

county

from

landl ords

wl l i ng

to

accept

the

cert i f i cates.

Maximum

rent for

two

bedroom

apartment

i ncl udi ng

uti l i ti es i s

455.

The

di fference between the

rent

and

30 of

the

el i gi bl e

tenant' s

i ncome

i s

pai d

for

by

HUD

through

the l ocal

Department

of

Housing

and

Communi ty Devel opment

di rectl y

to

the

l andl ord

.

However, fewer than 40

of the

el i gi bl e

faml i es

wth

certi fi cates

use

them

i n

Reston

housi ng

that

i s

not

al ready

consi -

dered

to be

assi sted

.

State

resources

are

l imted,

as the

V rgini a

Housi ng

Devel opment

Authori ty

(VHDA)

recei ves

no

fundi ng

fromthe Common-

weal th

of

Vi rgi ni a.

I t

has recei ved

appropri ati ons

from

the

Federal

government

under assisted

faml y housi ng

program

no

l onger

bei ng

funded

.

VHDA

does not fund

cooperati ve

housi ng

.

Currentl y

i n

Fai rfax

County,

the

VHDA,

through

funds deri ved

from

i ts

power

to

i ssue

tax-exempt

bonds, conti nues to

be i nvol ved i n

provi di ng

bel ow

market

rate

fi nancing

for fi rst

time home

buyers.

The

Fai rfax

County

Redevel opment

and

Housing Authori ty

(RHA)

has recei ved

fundi ng

from

both

the federal

government

and

the VHDA. I n

addi ti on, the RHA,

wth

the

approval

of

the

Board of

Supervi sors,

can use i ts own

tax-exempt powers

to

provi de

bel ow

market rate

fi nanci ng

for the constructi on

of l owand

moderate

i ncome

faml y

housi ng

.

Proceeds

fromthe

tax-exempt

bonds are

l oaned

to

qual i fi ed

devel opers

.

The

developer

real i zes

savi ngs


17/21

-16-

because of hi s l ower i nterest l oan

fromthe

RHA.

Thi s

savings

i s

passed

on

i n

the

form

of

l ower

rents to l ower i ncome faml i es who

under Federal

l aw

must

compri se

at

l east

20%of

the

residents of

a

development

f i nanced

through tax

-exempt

bonds. Faml i es

el i gi bl e

for

the l ower rents

must

be

earni ng

no

more

than

80%

of

the

median

faml y

i ncome

for the

Washington

area.

Thi s

i s

currentl y

an

i ncome

of

28,640

or less. The faml i es

i n

the moderate

i ncome

uni ts can

earn

up

to 95%of the Fai rfax

County

Median I ncome,

around 42,000.

No

cash

subsi dy

or costs

to

the

county

are

i nvol ved

wth

thi s

type

of

f i nancing.

Fai rfax

County

coul d

through

i ts

proffer

(vol untary

offer to

provi de) system

acqui re

l and,

uni ts,

or

cash

duri ng

the

rezoni ng process.

Sewer

and water

tap

fees, the

pro

-rata

cost of

si te

improvements

and

vari ous

permts

coul d

be

subsi di zed

by

the

County both

to

reduce

the

pri ce

of the

uni ts

and to

help

ensure

that the

devel oper

wl l

not i ncur

f i nanci al l oss on

the

proffered

uni ts. A

proffer

was made

by

Reston

Land

Corporati on

and

accepted

by

the

Fai rfax

County

Board of

Supervi sors

on

October 31, 1983 in

rezoni ng

case

l 83

C

-039

i n

north Reston. Reston

Land

Corporation

proffers

to hol d the

parcel desi gnated

for 260

mul ti famly

and/or

si ngl e faml y

attached

uni ts for a

peri od

of

two

2

years

and

wl l

seek a

devel oper

for a

market

rental

housi ng program

to

i ncl ude

up

to 20%subsi di zed uni ts

(dependi ng

on the subsidi zed

program

avai l abl e at

the time of

development).


18/21

-17

Reston I nterfai th

pl ans

to

request

seed

money

through

the

Communi ty

Devel opment

Block Grant

process

to

acqui re

an

opti on

on

land in North Point

Vi l l age

and to cover

front

-end costs such as

archi tectural and

engineeri ng

costs,

tap

fees, etc.

CDBG

funds

cannot be

di rectl y

used

for

constructi on

costs.

Appl i cati on

for

CDBG

funds are revi ewed

by

the RHA and ci ti zens

proj ect

sel ecti on

commttee. Fi nal

determnati on of the di stri buti on of

these

federal

al l ocati ons

i s made

by

the

Fai rfax

County

Board

of

Supervi sors

and must

be

approved

by

HUD

The Fai rfax

County

Department

of

Housing

and

Communi ty Devel opment

HOD

wl l

be

taki ng appl i cati ons

in

J anuary,

1984.

Other

possibi l i ti es

for

reducing housi ng

costs

in

Reston

would

mean

the i nvolvement

of

Reston Land

Corporati on.

In order

to

encourage

the

devel opment

of ful l

range

of

housi ng

in i ts

fi nal

vi l l age,

Reston Land could

provi de

free

or

reduced cost

l and,

provide

seed

money,

and/or

provi de

second

mortgage

for

the

devel opment

.

These

possibi l i ti es

could

be

used in

combinati on

wth each other and/or

wth

tax

-exempt fi nancing

Except

i f

deal i ng

wth

the

V rgini a

Housing

Devel opment

Authori ty

VHDA),

any

affordabl e

faml y housing

developed

would

ei ther

be

mul ti -famly

rental or

cooperati vely owned

housi ng

.

Cooperati ves

have

many

of

the

advantages

of

home

ownership

.

In

the event

of

the

resal e

of a share the

return on

the

i nvestment

i s

l imted

so

as to

keep

the

uni ts affordabl e

to low

and moderate

i ncome faml ies

Cooperati ves

do

requi re

more resi dent i nvolvement


19/21

than rental

devel opments

as wel l

as

a down

payment

of about

700

to

1, 000

.

Concerned about these

very

i ssues, a

group

of

Restoni ans

from

al l walks of l i f e

have

vol unteered to serve on Reston I nterfai th

Housi ng Advi sory

Commttee

The fi rst

meeti ng

was hel d

September

27,

1983.

These advi sors

recogni ze

the

need for more affordabl e

faml y

housi ng

i n

North Poi nt, Reston s

f i fth

and

f i nal

vi l l age,

and

i n

the

Town

Center

. The commttee

hopes

that

through

the

j oi nt

efforts

of

Reston

I nterf ai th,

the

Centervi l l e

Dstri ct

Supervi sor,

Ms.

Penni no, the

Redevel opment

and

Housi ng

Aughori ty,

and

the

Reston

Land

Corporati on,

the

gap

between those

who work

i n

Reston

and those

who can afford

to

l i ve there wl l not

grow l arger

.

The

commttee, as wel l as Reston I nterf ai th

Housi ng Corporati on,

i s

commtted to the

goal

that

any

such

housi ng

be wel l

desi gned,

wel l constructed,

and

wel l

managed

so

as

to

be

credi t

to

both

the resi dents and the Reston

communi ty.


20/21

-19

-

SELECTED SOURCES

Fai rfax County

Department

of

Housi ng

and

Communi ty Devel opment,

Three Year

Housi ng

Assi stance

Pl an

May

2 1983.

Fai rfax

County Redevel opment

and

Housi ng Authori ty,

Annual

Report

J ul y

1981 to J une 20 1982.

League

of Women Voters Fai rfax

Area,

Affordabl e

Housi ng

for

Lo

w

and Moderate-I ncome

Peopl e

i n the

Fai rfax

Area

March, 1983

.

Letters

to the Edi tor,

Reston Resi dents

Have

Formed A

Uni f i ed

Front I n Defense of

the

Lower

I ncome

Housi ng

Pl an,

The

Reston Times

Aug.

8 1967.

Real

Estate Research Corporati on, Fai rfax

County Housi ng

Need

Study

March,

1983

.

NewTown Publ i cati ons, Pl ace Cal l ed Reston

1983

.

Reston

Communi ty

Associati on,

Housi ng

Posi ti on

Paper

.

Reston Interfai th

Housi ng Corporati on, Survey

of

Reston

Employer

s

1982.

Reston Land

Corporati on, Housi ng

Pol i cy August

2 1983.

Reston

Land

Corporati on Market Profi l es, Major Employers

and

Popul ati on

Swal l ow

Wendy, Housi ng

Costs

Hurt

Hgh-Tech

Fi rm

LowPai d

Empl oyees,

The

Washi ngton

Post

August

13 1983.

ASSISTANCE

Counci l of Governments,

US.

Department

of

Housi ng

and Urban

Devel opment, Fai rfax County Department

of

Housi ng

and Communi ty

Devel opment,

Fai rfax

County

Economc

Devel opment

Authori ty,

Fai rfax

County

Offi ce

of

Research

and

Stati sti cs,

and Reston

Land

Corporati on


21/21

20

RESTON

INTERFAITH HOUSING

CORPOR TION

BOARDOF

DRECTORS

obe

r ndur

Executi ve Drector

:

nne

ai l ey

onsance

etti nger

Frank

de la

Fe

Susan

Deandrade

Housi ng

Consul tant:

Baba Fr eeman

ue

Lyons

Robert

F

Hanlon

J anet Howell

Rev.

Dougl as

Ibach

Wl l i am

L

. Jackson

Terry

Mtchel l

Lee Rau

Franna Ruddel l

Sondra

Smth

Deena

Sortl and

J eanne

Snyder

Nancy

Taylor

RESTON

INTERFAITHHOUSINGDVISORYCOMMTTEE

Pa

rthur

Ex Ofi ci o Members

:

J oanne Brownsword

onsance

etti nger

Betty

ut l er

ckeon

Baba

Freeman

Davi d

H l l

Staff Consul tant

:

Karl

Ingrebri tson

ue

Lyons

J ames

Jones

Fred

Lowry

Harold

Ml l er

J oan Smth

J oe

Stowers

Affordable Housing for Low and Moderate Income Families in Reston--1984--Reston Interfaith

Documents

Transcript of Affordable Housing for Low and Moderate Income Families in Reston--1984--Reston Interfaith