DESCRIPTION

Develop a tenant relocation assistance program to help those impacted by new development find and afford living situations that meet their needs.

PURPOSE

Help tenants who are directly impacted by new development find new living arrangements they can afford and help offset the cost of relocation.

CONTEXT

We heard multiple accounts of people’s lives being upended as they had to relocate due to demolition of their housing to make way for new development. They had to absorb moving costs and often could not find another affordable place nearby to live. They did not know where to turn to for help and had to move away from their community. The impact of such displacement and housing insecurity generally can have long-lasting impacts on children’s health and well-being as well.

STEPS

1. Work with partners to develop the Relocation Assistance Program’s parameters, requirements, and operating principles.
2. Develop the program and establish the Relocation Assistance Fund.
3. Launch the Relocation Assistance Program.
4. Evaluate, adjust and extend

DESCRIPTION

Adopt a Displaced Tenants Preference Policy so that lower income tenants displaced due to new development or rising rents are given priority for moving into deed-restricted units created on the site or within the area from which they were displaced.

PURPOSE

Establish a preference policy for displaced tenants to return to the site or neighborhood from which they were displaced when deed-restricted affordable housing units become available.

CONTEXT

“Deed-restricted” housing units provide affordable living opportunities for their residents, with rents set in relation to their income. To help ensure that local residents impacted by rising rents and displacement are given a priority for affordable units, some communities have adopted a preference policy that gives qualified applicants “extra points” in their application. This proposed policy would establish a preference for tenants displaced from unsubsidized housing due to demolition, rehabilitation, or rising rents so that they have the opportunity to return to the site or area from which they were displaced when deed-restricted units become available. It works in conjunction with Priority 1A, the Tenant Relocation Assistance Program, as well as 4C, which is focused on strengthening the City’s capacity to manage deed-restricted housing.

STEPS

1. Establish a working group of City staff and key partners.
2. Review and refine the draft policy, including proposed implementation procedures.
3. Conduct public review and policy adoption.
4. Work with partners to put the policy into practice.

DESCRIPTION

Improve and expand tenant resources, access to legal services, and landlord training to better meet the level of need and protect tenant rights.

PURPOSE

Help tenants remain in their housing whenever possible by educating them and their landlords about their rights and about the resources available to help them, including rent assistance, mediation, and legal services, while expanding investment in those resources and innovating in how they are delivered.

CONTEXT

More than half of Salt Lake City’s residents are renters—and that percentage continues to grow. But legal protections and resources for renters are limited, at best. We repeatedly heard residents point out that limited tenant rights is a critical issue. They that renters are seen as second-class citizens and like the deck is stacked against them, even as they face the reality that homeownership is becoming more and more unattainable. As rents have risen, many lower income renters have had to move farther away, double up with family or friends, or live in their vehicle or on the street. Even in situations where they have the legal right, they do not exercise it because they are afraid of retaliation via rent increases or eviction.

There are important changes to state law that could improve tenants’ rights (see Priority 6A), plus expanding the supply of affordable housing is a critical long-term solution (see Priorities 2A and 2B plus all of the priorities in Goal 3). But those actions will take time. This priority addresses near-term needs.

STEPS

1. Increase awareness of funding for tenant assistance.
2. Innovate on service delivery, including how legal services are provided.
3. Make changes to the Landlord Tenant Initiative.

DESCRIPTION

Create a Tenant Resource Center and Navigation Service to connect people to the services they need, including affordable living resources and eviction prevention services.

PURPOSE

Facilitate the process of connecting lower income residents, especially renters, with the resources and services that can help them live more affordably and remain in their housing.

CONTEXT

Tenants who receive eviction notices often do not know their rights and are not familiar with the services or resources available to help them. Helping them quickly find and access available services can help them stay in place or connect with resources that can help improve their housing security. This proposed action is in direct response to input from many residents, who talked about the issue of not knowing about or having difficulty accessing available services–especially in a time of stress that requires quick action. This priority aims to create not only a centralized clearinghouse and access point for helpful programs and services, but also a knowledgeable ally committed to helping facilitate the process of connecting people to the help they need.

STEPS

1. Form a small working group of key City staff and partner representatives.
2. Seek expressions of interest from those qualified to build the website and develop and staff the resource center and navigation service.
3. Create a Tenant Resource Center website.
4. Develop and launch the navigation service.
5. Ensure effective marketing of the website and service.

DESCRIPTION

Help tenants become owners to provide greater housing security and help them grow equity and wealth over time.

PURPOSE

Develop and invest in shared equity housing and other programs that can provide income-qualified renters with the opportunity to build wealth, improve their financial security, and access opportunities to become homeowners.

CONTEXT

Homeownership is a fundamental way in which many Utahns have grown their wealth, helping to provide greater financial security. However, the growing gap between incomes and home prices has made it increasingly difficult—often impossible—for current generations of residents to achieve homeownership. To help address this gap, the City has provided a first-time homebuyer program and has started investing in “shared equity” models of housing that can help create pathways to ownership and the many benefits that entails (see Priority 2C). Having more deed-restricted rental housing where households pay a fixed 30 percent of their income on rent also helps, providing more financial security and the ability to save money over time (see Priority 2B and all of Goal 3).

STEPS

1. Convene key partners and stakeholders.
2. Identify funding goals, resource needs, and investment priorities.
3. Review the priorities and balance of planned investments with members of the Anti-Displacement Coalition (see Priority 5B).
4. Coordinate investments, property development, outreach, and management of shared equity units (see Priority 4C).

DESCRIPTION

Promote affordable living and better jobs to help bridge the gap between what people earn and what housing costs.

PURPOSE

Help connect lower income renters in Salt Lake City with education and job training opportunities that can lead to increased incomes, and continue to invest in affordable living resources like high quality transit-oriented development, transit services, and energy-efficient housing that can help reduce monthly living costs.

CONTEXT

In addition to providing rental assistance and other services that can help people stay in their homes, it is important to help people save money in other aspects of their lives, improve their incomes through education and job training, and get paid more fairly for the work they do.

STEPS

1. Include economic development and job training partners in the Anti-Displacement Coalition (see Priority 5B) and in the offerings of the Tenant Resource Center (see Priority 1D).
2. Build in job training and “connection” opportunities for lower income residents whenever possible.
3. Integrate services in affordable housing and continue to support transit-oriented development (see Priority 3E).
4. Consider piloting a local Guaranteed Income program (see Food for Thought).

DESCRIPTION

Adopt a community benefit policy to prioritize the preservation or replacement of affordable housing as a condition of approval for changes to zoning and master plans.

PURPOSE

Establish a Community Benefit Policy by which new developments preserve, replace, or otherwise mitigate the demolition of existing housing units in return for an increase in development capacity, with a focus on retaining or replacing affordability.

CONTEXT

The purpose of the Community Benefit Policy is to guide developers, residents, staff, and decision makers in the development agreement process, setting expectations for benefits to be provided in return for changes to zoning designations and master plans. In this case, the specific benefit to be advanced is the preservation of affordable units that already exist on a property or the replacement of those units with new units that are similar in size and affordability, as well as on ensuring relocation assistance for the impacted tenants (see Priority 1A).

STEPS

1. Convene a Working Group.
2. Craft a Community Benefit Policy, which should address:
   • A Definition of Affordability
   • Documentation of Impacted Units
   • A Definition of Community Benefit
   • Options In-Lieu of On-Site Units, including: In-Lieu Fee Payment, Land Donation, and/or Deed Restriction of Unsubsidized Units on Another Site
   • Tenant Relocation Support
   • Legislative Process
   • Business Process
3. Adopt the Community Benefit Policy.

DESCRIPTION

Invest more in the acquisition and rehabilitation of unsubsidized affordable housing to maintain it as a long-term community asset.

PURPOSE

Invest in the rehabilitation and deed restriction of existing unsubsidized housing in places where it already exists, helping to stabilize neighborhoods at high risk of displacement.

CONTEXT

Many older housing units rent for prices that lower income households can afford, without any subsidy or restriction. They are typically more affordable due to their age, quality, and/or location, and are referred to as “naturally occurring affordable housing.” However, as rents have risen, many of these units are becoming unaffordable.

While rent stabilization policies are not currently possible in Utah, the City and its partners can invest in purchasing existing housing and then establish “deed restrictions” so that rents are set to correspond with the incomes of the renter. This is already being done by the City and its partners, but could be increased, as it is typically less costly than building affordable housing from scratch. It also has the benefit of maintaining the existing neighborhood fabric and creating affordable housing where lower income renters already live.

STEPS

1. Continue and expand funding.
2. Identify priority acquisition opportunities.
3. Develop a small landlord incentive program.
4. Issues Notices of Funding Availability (NOFAs) or Requests for Proposals (RFPs).
5. Ensure that partners work with tenants in acquired properties.

DESCRIPTION

Invest in Community Land Trust models to support long-term affordability and equitable development.

PURPOSE

Grow the City’s Community Land Trust (CLT) and support similar community-based initiatives to help leverage land assets for long-term affordability.

CONTEXT

Community Land Trusts (CLTs) are a form of shared equity housing (see Priority 1E) that can support long-term affordability and wealth building. In a CLT, the underlying land stays in community ownership while the homes on that land are sold at affordable prices, providing an opportunity for lower income households to become homeowners and to build equity, eventually selling their home to another income-qualified homeowner at an affordable price. CLTs can also support long-term affordability in multi-family rentals, as well as other types of desired community development, like affordable commercial spaces for local businesses.

STEPS

1. Convene a City working group to develop and refine the City’s CLT strategy and legislative policy.
2. Build Council and community awareness of the CLT model.
3. Ensure that City-owned lands contributed for affordable housing and related development are held by the CLT.
4. Build the necessary capacity to manage CLT assets as they grow.
5. Seek private and philanthropic land donations.
6. Work with partners to grow and sustain other community-based CLTs.

DESCRIPTION

Develop an enforceable strategy to address the impact of short-term rentals (STRs) on the city’s rental housing stock.

PURPOSE

Develop a cohesive policy for short-term rentals, with a focus on mitigating their impact on the city’s rental housing and residential neighborhoods, with a workable enforcement mechanism.

CONTEXT

Under the City’s zoning code it is illegal to have short-term rentals (STRs, i.e., housing rented for less than 30 days, via Airbnb, VRBO, and similar services) in residential areas of Salt Lake City. However, everyone knows that such rentals occur throughout the city, with a particularly high frequency in some neighborhoods. In some ways, short-term rentals can help households supplement their income, making it possible to afford housing that might otherwise be out of reach. However, because the nightly rate for short-term rentals is higher than what would be possible from a longer-term rental, they can erode the supply of what would otherwise be longer term rentals and put upward pressure on rent prices in general.

Under current state law, it is extremely difficult for the City to monitor and enforce STR restrictions. There is still value in developing a long-term policy and enforcement strategy for STRs. At a minimum, the City should have a mechanism for legally monitoring STRs and capturing revenue from these rentals to help mitigate their impact by funding affordable housing initiatives.

STEPS

1. Convene a working group.
2. Understand the extent of the issue and options for addressing key areas of concern.
3. Seek community input.
4. Develop policy and program recommendations.
5. Enact the new rules and ensure consistent enforcement.

DESCRIPTION

Adopt the affordable housing incentives policy to encourage the construction of additional affordable housing in market-rate developments.

PURPOSE

Incentivize the creation of affordable units in new market-rate residential developments.

CONTEXT

The City’s Planning Division is developing a proposal for Council’s consideration that would incentivize the creation of affordable housing in the city’s residential zoning districts by providing developers with choices that would provide them with benefits (additional development capacity) in return for including affordable units in their development. The proposal is similar to inclusionary housing programs in other communities but operates on an incentive basis, in keeping with Utah state law. Developers would not be required to utilize the incentive and could proceed to develop their property under the regulations already in place for that zone district, without including any affordable units.

STEPS

1. Support adoption of the proposed Affordable Housing Incentives
2. Clarify how the Affordable Housing Incentives do or do not apply in relation to the proposed Community Benefit Policy (Priority 2A)
3. Ensure appropriate monitoring and enforcement of deed-restricted units created through the policy (see Priority 4C).

DESCRIPTION

Improve information, resources, and processes to help support the creation of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) as a strategy for infill housing in existing neighborhoods.

PURPOSE

Support the development of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in Salt Lake City to create new rental housing opportunities in existing neighborhoods and provide income generation for homeowners, with particular focus on helping lower income homeowners create ADUs.

CONTEXT

ADUs help add rental housing in established neighborhoods, create more neighborhood diversity, and can help owners generate income to offset other costs. However, creating ADUs can be challenging. Most homeowners don’t even know where to begin: how to evaluate the financial costs and benefits; how to navigate city codes and processes; how to find a designer and financing; or even how to go about being a landlord. The City can make it easier and less expensive to build ADUs through improved information that is understandable to homeowners; by helping connect homeowners to ADU designers and low- or no-cost plans; by reducing fees; and by making review processes transparent, fast, and efficient. The City can also support homeowners by connecting them to low-interest financing and having an identified ADU liaison to be their ally through the process.

STEPS

1. Continue and expand upon the work of the City’s ADU taskforce.
2. Consider designating an ADU Liaison position within the City organization.
3. Explore the potential for creating a staffed ADU Resource Center.

DESCRIPTION

Create more diverse housing choices in all areas so that people can find housing that meets their needs in locations that work for them.

PURPOSE

Support zoning and code changes as well as City investments that help to create more middle housing types in neighborhoods throughout the city.

CONTEXT

We heard many people talk about the need for housing that was not only affordable but that also met their needs. They talked about the large number of small one bedroom and studio apartments being built in large apartment buildings, which meets some people’s needs, but not others. Creating more diverse housing choices can help respond to these community concerns and also create more inclusive neighborhoods with a richer mix of housing options.

STEPS

1. Implement the RMF-30 code changes.
2. Adopt and implement additional middle housing policies and programs.

DESCRIPTION

Utilize publicly owned property to leverage land assets in support of long-term affordability and equitable development.

PURPOSE

Leverage the value of underutilized and surplus City-owned and other publicly owned properties for affordable housing and related community-serving uses, ensuring that they provide for long-term affordability.

CONTEXT

There are a variety of city-owned lands as well as lands owned by other public agencies that could be utilized for housing, including vacant rights of way, surplus lands, and underutilized properties that could be developed with a mix of affordable housing along with other community-serving uses. These are significantly valuable assets that can be leveraged to achieve community priorities like affordable housing with or even without additional public investment.

STEPS

1. Build a database of City-owned and other public agency properties that could be prioritized for affordable housing.
2. Define the desired development program for priority properties and develop partnerships for implementation.
3. Establish the necessary zoning and other enabling policies.
4. Ensure that publicly owned lands utilized for affordable housing and related development remain in some form of community ownership and control.

DESCRIPTION

Prioritize long-term affordability, integration of support services, and access to transit and other amenities to create stable living environments where lower income families and residents can thrive.

PURPOSE

Create housing that will be affordable in perpetuity, supports lower cost living, and that is integrated with needed services.

CONTEXT

Depending on how deed-restricted affordable housing units are created and funded, the term of their affordability restriction may vary from 15 years up to “in perpetuity.” Units with any term of deed restriction help to meet Salt Lake City’s affordable housing needs, but they present a future challenge when deed restrictions expire and the units shift to market rate rents.

To help avoid the future challenge of expiring deed restrictions, the City and its partners should prioritize longer deed restrictions whenever possible. Additionally, City investments and land donations should prioritize housing developments in areas that are walkable and with good transit access, integrated with needed services (e.g. daycare centers, health clinics, job training centers, arts programs, and community space), and developed and managed by partners with a long-term commitment to supporting tenants.

STEPS

1. Identify key opportunities for changes to City and partner policies and practices that can create longer term deed restrictions.
2. Work with mission-driven development partners and service providers to identify the highest areas of need and key opportunities for delivering housing integrated with support services.
3. Incorporate identified priorities in Notices of Funding Availability and Requests for Proposals in City and Redevelopment Agency funding and land development opportunities.

DESCRIPTION

Develop new funding sources and leverage existing resources to better meet the level of need in supporting tenants at-risk of displacement and expanding the supply of deed-restricted affordable housing.

PURPOSE

Ensure that the City and its partners have the resources needed to implement the Thriving in Place strategy.

CONTEXT

Many of the actions outlined in the Thriving in Place strategy will require financial and other resources for implementation. While some of the desired outcomes can be achieved by working or investing differently, others will require reprioritization of existing resources (budget, staffing, work plans), working with partners to leverage each other’s resources, and additional funding to support investments and staffing.

STEPS

1. Convene a City working group to review current and potential funding.
2. Evaluate options for new or expanded revenue sources.
3. Leverage potential contributions from new development.
4. Pursue state, federal and philanthropic resources in collaboration with key partners.
5. Work closely with partners to coordinate investments, pursue funding opportunities and leverage each other’s resources
6. Ensure strong and transparent management of City funds and investments.

DESCRIPTION

Define indicators to track displacement and develop systems to track progress to better know where and how the City’s anti-displacement policies and actions are working.

PURPOSE

Agree on key indicators for tracking displacement work and ensure efficient and workable systems are in place to collect needed data and provide regular reports.

CONTEXT

Success of the Thriving in Place strategy relies on having reliable, shared, and easily accessible data to track progress, inform policy development, and make it possible to course-correct as needed as conditions change. This action is focused on establishing key metrics to track conditions and progress over time and ensuring that investment is made in developing the necessary data systems.

STEPS

1. Refine the list of displacement indicators that the City team will track and report on.
2. Develop manageable systems for collecting the needed data.
3. Develop a web-based dashboard for reporting the latest data on each indicator and provide an annual report .

DESCRIPTION

Develop capacity to enforce and manage deed-restricted housing commitments to ensure agreements are upheld, maintain quality and affordability, and meet fair housing requirements.

PURPOSE

Ensure that deed-restricted units are managed in accordance with their established requirements and fair housing laws, and that they are maintained as long-term, high-quality community assets.

CONTEXT

Many of the actions in the Thriving in Place strategy and current City work efforts and investments will create hundreds (hopefully thousands) of new affordable housing units in Salt Lake City. The requirements, terms, and mechanisms that make these units affordable will vary from project to project. Thus, the City will need to grow its housing management capacity—internally, with key partners, and potentially with contractors—to ensure compliance with each development’s and unit’s established requirements, consistency with fair housing laws to ensure nondiscrimination, and maintenance of the long-term quality and affordability of these valuable community assets.

STEPS

1. Convene a working group to review current capacities, identify gaps, and define a shared vision.
2. Ensure consistency in how deed restrictions are written.
3. Determine City and partner roles.
4. Regularly report on the status of deed-restricted units.

DESCRIPTION

Form a City Implementation Team to oversee and coordinate implementation of the priority actions in the Thriving in Place strategy, monitor progress, engage partners, and identify needed updates and next steps.

PURPOSE

Ensure clarity on departmental and division roles and responsibilities for implementation of Thriving in Place, and an ongoing structure and process for coordination, oversight, and course corrections to support success.

CONTEXT

Achieving the priority actions of Thriving in Place will be a significant undertaking, requiring ongoing coordination, engagement, resources, decision making, and problem solving. It is critical that everyone knows who “owns” implementation of the strategy and its various components, and that those charged with its ownership are empowered to convene, facilitate, delegate, and act.

STEPS

1. Review and finalize the list of core and on-call team members.
2. Convene key leadership and staff.
3. Develop a Team Charter.
4. Commit to an initial two-year pilot period for the team.

DESCRIPTION

Work with regional partners to convene a Wasatch Front Anti-Displacement Coalition to provide an ongoing platform for cross-agency and cross-sector discussion and collaboration on priority actions, tracking of progress, collective problem solving, and responding to emerging issues and challenges.

PURPOSE

Provide a regular platform for communication, coordination, and collaboration across the key agencies and organizations working on displacement-related issues, projects, and programs in Salt Lake City and across the region.

CONTEXT

Effective action to address displacement and stabilize neighborhoods takes time, coordination, and persistence. The City is one part of a regional ecosystem that needs to work closely together to achieve goals related to housing affordability and neighborhood stabilization. This ecosystem includes other governmental agencies in the region, nonprofits, community organizations, research centers, private sector developers, financers, and others.

During the community engagement process, multiple stakeholders identified the need for the agencies and individuals working on displacement issues to meet regularly to share information, coordinate action, problem-solve, and build trust. Many also pointed to the regional nature of the housing affordability challenge, and the need for an ongoing means of engaging with regional partners to identify shared priorities for action.

STEPS

1. Identify groups and individuals to include in an initial meeting of the proposed Regional Anti-Displacement Coalition.
2. Extend an invitation to participate.
3. Host a launch meeting.
4. Establish a regular meeting schedule.

DESCRIPTION

Partner with impacted communities to coordinate action and investment to preserve affordability and counter displacement.

PURPOSE

Establish an ongoing interdepartmental structure and process for meeting regularly with community representatives in areas experiencing the highest displacement risk to share and discuss the City’s work efforts, identify new and emerging needs, and partner on priority actions.

CONTEXT

The focus of this action is on ensuring a structure and process for place-based partnership that can support better coordination on anti-displacement efforts in Salt Lake City’s most impacted neighborhoods, with an initial focus on the Westside and in the Ballpark/Central City/Liberty Wells area. Strong, ongoing partnerships are essential to ensuring ongoing communication and alignment and to supporting implementation work that is more nimble and responsive to changing realities, new challenges, and emerging opportunities.

STEPS

1. Convene key stakeholders and draft the partnership’s charter.
2. Define the partnership’s goals, priority actions, and measures of success.
3. Coordinate community engagement via the partnership.
4. Provide an annual report to Council and the community on the partnership’s work.

DESCRIPTION

Work to advance tenant rights and affordable housing at the state level to remove state preemption obstacles where possible, develop a stronger state-level policy framework for countering displacement, and expand resources committed to housing affordability and neighborhood stabilization.

PURPOSE

Continue to ensure that Salt Lake City’s priorities are supported and advanced in state legislation, working with regional and state partners to achieve changes in state law as well as commitments of state funding that help counter displacement, stabilize neighborhoods, and create long-term affordability.

CONTEXT

A number of actions that could be taken and are used in cities in other states to help stabilize neighborhoods are not possible in Salt Lake City due to existing state laws that prohibit or limit potential local policies and actions. State preemptions were an issue repeatedly raised by stakeholders during the community engagement process. It is important to keep pushing for changes to state-level affordable housing policies and funding that can better support tenants to avoid eviction from rising rents and to preserve existing affordable housing. It will also continue to be important to help community members understand the limits on City action from state preemption and how they can help lobby for change.

STEPS

1. Work with the City Council, City Implementation Team, Regional Anti-Displacement Coalition, and other partners to identify priority policy initiatives for each legislative session.
2. Collaborate with state agency partners.
3. Partner with other agencies and community partners to pursue state resources.
4. Report back to the community and adjust City policies and programs as changes in state law occur and new opportunities emerge.