Summary

The Washington Area Housing Partnership presented their Toolkit for Affordable Housing Development at the Council of Government’s December 14th Annual Membership meeting. The Toolkit is a compilation of policies and planning tools local governments can use to preserve and promote affordable housing development in their respective communities. The Toolkit was developed as a response to local leaders’ concerns for the need to have more housing affordable to individuals in the public and service sectors of the economy. Because local governments play a major role in influencing the local housing market, their programs and policies should encourage a vibrant economy by providing housing options affordable to a diverse population.
  
The best practices in the Toolkit give specific information and resources about how local governments apply planning tools and policies in the context of housing. The Toolkit examines how these best practices are structured and applied locally within the metropolitan Washington region and throughout the country. The Toolkit is designed to be a resource for elected officials, non-profit and for profit developers, the business community, neighborhood organizations, housing advocates, religious institutions, and the general public. The Toolkit elements focus on a wide range of local government approaches to affordable housing, depending on the unique needs of a community. The eight sections are divided into the following affordable housing topics: policies and programs, preservation, design, financial tools, homeowner assistance, rental assistance housing for special needs, and education/advocacy.

Support for the Toolkit for Affordable Housing Development was provided by:

Enterprise Foundation
Fannie Mae Foundation
Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments
Meyer Foundation
Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation
Prince Charitable Trusts
SunTrust Bank