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To: Mayor, Candidate City for In-City Low Co st Housing E xperiment From: : John F. Collins, Project Director Re: Information Goals of the Initial City Visit As mentioned in my l e tter, the following is a list of subjects of _particular concern to us, subjects about which we would like to acquire information on our visit to your city this week. Several copie s of this memorandum have been enclosed with my letter, so that you may circulate them to the k e y members of your administration. We hope that you will be able to arrange for our team to n1eet with these members of your governme nt so that they will be able to discuss the following topics. Status of Mod e l Cities Progran~ 1. 1 What progress has b ee n made sinc e .the designation of your city in the program? 1. 2 Have any model cities projects advanced to the design or construction stage:? 1. 3 Have any projects had spe cific HUD approva l for program conc ept, and e conomi·cs ? 1. 4 Bave the re b een any b as ic changes in you r model cities pr ogram since approva l by HUD? 1. 5 Has any of the model citie s proj e ct land been acquired by the City or Community Renewal Agency since approva l of your program? 1. 6 Besides model cities proj ects , do any other low rent hou sing pr oj ects, whe ther government or privat e ly spon so r e d, curr e ntly exist or have progresse d we ll along into the d es ign stage? Building Codes, Zoning and Planning Regulations 2. 1 Does the City us e any regi onal building or planning Codes? Z. 2 Is a variance ~r other proc e dur e us ed for minor adjustment to fit spe cific conditions? 2. 3 What are ' the agenc i es and pro cedu:tes involve d i n code administration and e nforcerne n't? 2. 4 When was the l ast y ear in w hich the several codes were sub stan tia lly update d ? 2. 5 I s there a regular mechanism for code review and amendment? Loca l Governm ent Housing Structure 3. 1 What lo cal agenc i e s ar e involved in the planning and d eve lopment of low-cost housing? What are their respe ctive roles and their relationship to each other? "' �3. 2 Which of these agencies are in practic e most important to the housing process? 3. 3 In particular, is there a local Public Housing Authority and is it currently operating any projects? City Population Characteristics 4. 1 What are the principal ethnic and racial groups in your City? 4. 2 Are any of these groups concentrated in particular areas of the city? Construction Industry: Contractors and Trade Unions If there is no one in your administration who is particularly knowle_dgeable about these somewhat technical matters we would appreciate it if you could arrange for our people to contact a few informed -individuals, experienced on building and construction. 5. 1 Is there a active local trade association in which the majority of general building contractors participate? 5. 2 What role has the building construction industry and the desi gn profession in your city played in the introduction or new construction methods and techniques? 5. 3 What has been the history of jurisdictional disputes among _ . construction indust"'r y unions? 5. 4 Is there an organiz e d Buildings Trad es Unions Council or comparable body? 5. 5 How much construction is done und er union jurisdiction? 5. 6 What is the racial composition of the building trades union membership? 5. 7 Have th e trade unions played a role in any recent consideration of building code revisions? Planning Institutions ' 6. 1 Is there a community or regional master plan; if so, when was it adopted? When was it last revised (updated)? ' 6. 2 What organization, if any, is respon·sible for the implementation and modification of this plan? Financ e 7. l What state or local government funds are available for low income housing? Are th ere any time limits on this ::tvailability? 7. 2 Are there any significant amounts of private funding available locally for low-cost housing, and if so, from what sources? �Land Availability 8. 1 Is there any land whether vacant or built up under public ownership available for lo w income housing? How much of this land is available and where in the city is it located? 8. 2 Is this land suitable for reha bilitation, for new construction or for some combination of both? 8. 3 Is there any land under private own e rship available for low incorne · housing and where is it located? 8. 4 What is the approximate current rnarket value in dollars per square foot of the various types of land available? 8. 5 Is there any characteristic (geologic or locational) which limits (or encourages) the type of use to w hich this land might b e put? Property Taxa tion 9. 1 Is there a property tax based on so1ne type of assessed valuation? 9. 2 Is it applicabl e to all prop erty includin g government-av.med property and property own e d by non.:.profit organizations? 9. 3 How are assessments . set and revie wed? 9.4 What is the effect on property tax levi es of und ertaking a rehabilitation project? 9. 5 What tax incentive or abate1nent programs apply in the case of lo wco st housin g? 9. 6 What is the annual tax rate per $1, 000 of real market value? How is this broken down into tax rat e per dollar of assessed valuation and the relationship of ass es sed to real value? 9. 7 What local, state, county or special district government organizations ar e supported by the pr operty tax? �