Manufactured Housing Best Practices Guide

Feb 26, 2010
Abstract:
The California Coalition for Rural Housing is pleased to announce the revised, 2nd edition of:  Affordable Manufactued Housing Best Practices: Opportunities for California Affordable Housing Developers is now available for download.  This guide was written for affordable housing developers, local governments, housing advocates and community groups.  Through case studies that demonstrate the cost-effectivness, quality and vesatility of manufactured housing to meet a wide range of affordable housing needs, readers will learn about the advantages, challenges and potential of this proven, but often underutilized, type of housing.  Extensive information, written at an introductory level, helps prospective developers learn the basics of developing with manufactued housing, demonstrate its effectivness in real-world applications and dispell some of the misconceptions that surround manufactured housing.  This research was funded by the Corporation for Enterprise Development’s I’M HOME Program.


Affordable by Choice: Trends in California Inclusionary Housing Programs

Aug 14, 2007
Abstract:
This report represents the most ambitious effort in California, and probably the nation, to examine the impact of inclusionary housing policies statewide. The single most important conclusion is that inclusionary programs are putting roofs over the heads of tens of thousands of Californians. These homes, in turn, are building mixed-income neighborhoods where houses considered affordable are often indistinguishable from those at market-rate. High school teachers, clergy, health care workers, day care providers, people who are considered lower-income, can now open their front doors and say, welcome to my home as a result of inclusionary housing programs. Rising housing costs and shrinking public funds are prompting more local governments to use inclusionary programs. While not a magic bullet for all affordable housing needs, inclusionary programs are a proven tool for building diverse housing that meets the needs of all of a community’s residents. It is not surprising, then, that a record number of cities and counties are adopting inclusionary housing programs at increasing rates.

California farmworker housing cooperatives represent a small, but important, sector of California’s affordable farmworker housing stock. Farmworker housing cooperatives first took root in the state as the result of farmworker-led grassroots initiatives to fight displacement and establish roots in the communities where they worked. The first four out of the eleven farmworker housing cooperatives that have been established in the state were driven by farmworkers seeking ownership and control of their housing in the 1970s and early 1980s (Bandy 1992). These farmworkers were motivated by years of living in substandard conditions as renters at the mercy of labor contractors, large growers and slumlords. They sought out the cooperative as an intermediate form of ownership that could deliver ownership, control, dignity and security in situations where single-family housing was infeasible. Many years later farmworker housing cooperatives still fill this important niche in the farmworker housing inventory by providing affordable ownership in settings where single family or condominium ownership is not feasible.

Smart Growth and Affordable Housing

Mar 30, 2003
Abstract:
The scale of growth in the Central Valley and the complexity of the problems resulting from this growth have left communities scrambling to find new and effective growth management strategies. There is growing recognition by local governments, civic leaders, environmental advocates, affordable housing developers and other stakeholders of the high social, economic and environmental costs of existing land use practices. New strategies must be found and implemented. The intent of this publication is to present a solution that is increasingly being employed in the Valley itself and communities throughout California and the nation-building affordable housing as a cornerstone of Smart Growth. This publication will present twelve case studies of affordable housing projects undertaken in different communities in the Central Valley to demonstrate how affordable housing is central to any Smart Growth strategy.

With this publication, the 30-year experience of inclusionary housing in California is brought to the attention of a national audience through the sponsorship of the National Housing Conference. It attempts to provide a concise, comprehensive, up-to-date, state of the art account of inclusionary housing in California. It is organized as follows: First, the origins and evolution of inclusionary housing are presented, together with a discussion of the controversy surrounding inclusionary housing, especially the issue of who pays for its costs. Second, the findings of the 2003 survey are presented, followed by a brief analysis of the constitutionality of inclusionary housing. The report concludes with an analysis of the market implications of inclusionary housing. (from page 2 of the report)

Inclusionary Housing in California: 30 Years of Innovationexamines the increasing prevalence and impact of inclusionary housing programs as one of the most promising ways to address the affordable housing crisis in California. The California Coalition for Rural Housing (CCRH) and the Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California (NPH) summarize their survey findings and highlight key program features that are successfully creating affordable housing in 20 percent of the localities in California (107 cities and counties). This represents a two-thirds increase in inclusionary programs in California over the last decade, indicating the growing popularity and importance of this affordable housing strategy.

The report is intended to inform policy makers and the public about the central policy decisions in creating an effective inclusionary housing program. This understanding is crucial because inclusionary housing has the potential to create at least 15,000 units of affordable housing annually, nearly doubling the current rate of affordable housing production in California, according to the authors’ calculations. While inclusionary housing is not a substitute for a comprehensive affordable housing strategy, it can and does play a significant role in creating and maintaining vibrant neighborhoods, reducing traffic gridlock, and strengthening families and communities.

California’s Farmworker Cooperatives: Lessons on Farmworker Ownership and Management

Oct 8, 2002
Abstract:
This study was undertaken by the California Coalition for Rural Housing (CCRH) to evaluate the effectiveness of the cooperative model in providing affordable home ownership to California’s farmworkers. The cooperative housing model has been employed in California for almost three decades and there are now 11 farmworker housing cooperatives operating in the state. Although they vary in terms of funding sources, equity structures and occupational restrictions, all of these cooperatives share a common structure in which low-income farmworkers have an opportunity to collectively own and democratically operate their own housing.