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The Board of Supervisors held a work
session on the topic of the Neighborhood Stabilization
Program on November 13, 2008. On January 8, 2009, the Board
authorized County Administration to apply for a $25,000
Planning Grant from the Virginia Department of Housing and
Community Development (DHCD).
The planning grant was awarded to fund the administrative
costs associated with developing an implementation grant
application, including the formation of a Management Team to
identify properties and targeted neighborhoods, prepare
qualified homeowner lists, initiate an ongoing public and
financial institution outreach program, and outline a
strategy for delivery of homeownership training/counseling.
The County is now positioned to issue a
competitive, multi-jurisdictional grant proposal to DHCD for
program implementation funds on July 1, 2009. The basic
components of the NSP program and a basic outline of the
contents of the County’s competitive application are
provided below.
NEIGHBORHOOD STABILIZATION
PROGRAM: Authorized under Title III of the Housing and
Economic Recovery Act of 2008, the Neighborhood
Stabilization Program offers targeted emergency assistance
to state and local governments to acquire, redevelop, and
re-sell foreclosed properties that might otherwise become
sources of abandonment and blight within their communities.
·
Virginia Allocation: $38.7 million to
be administered statewide by The Department of Housing and
Community Development (DHCD), plus separate allocations to
Fairfax and Prince William Counties.
·
Eligible Counties: DHCD identified
Fauquier County as having a high level of need based on the
number of bank-owned properties – 228 as of October 2008 (14th
highest in the state); the number of foreclosures in an
18-month period ending June 2008 (19th highest);
and the number of subprime mortgages issued in 2004-2006 (21st
in the state).
·
Eligible Properties:
Abandoned/foreclosed/blighted properties vacant at least 90
days in a neighborhood impacted by the foreclosure crisis.
·
Project Beneficiaries: 100% of project
expenditures must benefit households earning 120% or less of
median income; 25% of project funds must benefit households
earning 50% or less of median income, classified by HUD as
‘very-low income’. The 25% ‘very-low income’ requirement may
best be met by working with nonprofits that provide
supportive housing.
·
Eligible Project Activities: 1)
Establish financing mechanisms for purchase and
redevelopment of foreclosed homes and residential
properties; 2) purchase and rehabilitate homes and
residential properties abandoned or foreclosed; 3) establish
land banks for foreclosed homes; 4) demolish blighted
structures; 5) redevelop demolished or vacant properties.
·
Program Benefits for Homebuyers: 1)
Housing Counseling Assistance; 2) The purchase of a
rehabilitated property (up to $25,000 of program funds can
be utilized to rehabilitate the property to meet minimum
DHCD Housing Quality Standards; 3) Up to 3% matching down
payment assistance funding.
Application
Step 1. Planning Grant
Phase: DHCD staff has worked closely with Fauquier
County’s program Management Team (Attachment 1) to produce
planning grant products that prepare the County for a
competitive proposal. The team was charged with developing
an organizational infrastructure demonstrating the County’s
ability to successfully administer a foreclosure
stabilization program.
Step 2. July 1, 2009
Application: As the planning grant phase concludes at
the end of June, 2009 the County is positioned to submit a
competitive application for statewide funding with the
following major components:
·
Target Neighborhoods: The grant
requires program funds to be targeted to neighborhoods with
foreclosure rates between 8-12%. The team has studied the
foreclosure phenomena and has found that Fauquier County
continues to witness high foreclosure levels largely
concentrated in Warrenton, Remington and the Bealeton areas.
The high foreclosure rates appear to be remaining constant
in some sub-areas of these communities. Additionally, other
neighborhoods have stabilized even as other neighborhoods
have become newly impacted. DHCD staff will be flexible in
administering the program with the understanding that
neighborhoods and homes currently identified as targeted
areas in the application may not be the same as those that
demonstrate need when funding would be appropriated in the
late Summer, 2009.
For purposes
of this application, the currently identified priority
target neighborhoods are Meadowbrook in Bealeton and Oak
Springs in Warrenton, as mapped on Attachment 2. The
application must also list at least nine potential sub-areas
within three overall targeted areas meeting program
specifications.
·
Outreach: The team had a successful
community outreach meeting on April 15th. Sixteen
members of the public, in addition to Management Team
members who were present, signed in and provided follow-up
contact information. Presentations were given on the nature
of NSP and county history with foreclosures. Loretta Flynn
of Wells Fargo bank spoke on the subject of mortgage
financing. The meeting was covered by the Fauquier Times
Democrat, which ran a subsequent article and editorial
endorsing the proposed program. The Management Team is
working with local non-profits to develop a list of
qualified potential home buyers who may be interested in
living in one of the targeted communities. Outreach efforts
to the community at large and to local financial
institutions will continue and accelerate throughout the
next three months. |