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To: Mayor, Candidate City for In-City Low Cost Housing Experiment From:: John F. Collins, Project Director Re: Information Goals of the Initial City Visit As 1nentioned in my l etter, the following is a list of subjects of . particular concern to us, subjects about which we would like to acquire infonnation on our visit to your city this week . Several copies of this men1orandurn have been enclosed with my letter; so that you 1nay circulate them to the key me1nbers of your adrn.inistration. We hope that you will b e able to arrange for our team to n1eet with these members of your govenuncnt so that they will be able to discuss the following topics. Status of Model Cities Program 1. 1 What progress has be e n made since the designation of your city in the program? I. 2 Have any model cities projects advanced to the design or construction stage? I. 3 Have any projects had specific HUD approval for program concept, and economi·cs? I. 4 Have ther e been any basic changes in your model citi es program since approval by HUD? 1. 5 Has any of the model cities :r:;1·oject l and been acquired by the City or · Community Renewal Agency since approva l of your program? I. 6 Besides mod e l cities projects, do any other low r-~nt housing projects, whether govermnent or privately sponsored, currently e x ist or have progressed well along into the d e s ign stage? Building Cod e s , Zonin g and Plan nin g Re gulations 2. I Does the City use any regional building or planning Codes? 2. 2 Is a variance or other proc e dure us e d for minor adjustment to fit sp e cific conditions? . \ 2. 3 Wha t a re the ag e nci e s and pro c edur es involve d in code ad1n inis tration and enforceme nt? 2. 4 When ~va s th e l as t y e ar in w hi c h th e se v e r a l code s we r e sub s t a ntially upda t e d? 2 . 5 I s the r e a regula r m e chanism for cod e r e vi ew and am e nd1n e nt? Loca l Gover nme nt H ou s in g St ructu re ,- 3. l Wh a t lo c al a gen cie s ar e in v olve d in th e pla n n ing and d eve l o p rn ent of low- cost h ous i ng ? Wha t ar e th e ir r es p ec tive rol es and th e i r re lat ions hip t o eac h other·? �3. 2 Which of these ager:i.cies are in practice most i1nportant to the housing process? 3. 3 In particular, is there a local Public Housing Authority and is 1t cur rently 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 p articul ar ly knowledgeable about these so1new-hat technical matters we woul d appreciate it if you could arrange for our people to contact a fe'\V inforn1ed 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 constru ~tion industry and the design 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 industry unions? 5. 4 Is ther e an organized Buildings Trades Unions Council or co1nparable body? 5. 5 How much construction 1s done uncl er union jurisdiction? 5. 6 What is the racial composition of the building trades umon men,bership? 5. 7 Have the trade unions played a role in any recent consideration of building cod e revisions? Plannin g In s titutions 6. 1 Is th e re a com1~unity or r e gional master plan; if so, when was it adopted? When was it l ast revised (updated)? 6. 2 Wha t organization, if any, ,is responsibl e for th e impl e m e ntation and n1odification of this plan? Financ e 7. 1 Wha t sta t e or lo c al go v erm11ent funds ar e availa ble for low inco1ne housing ? Are th e re any tin,e limit s on this 3.va ila bility? 7 . 2 Ar e th e r e a ny si gnific a nt a1noun t s of priva t e fu n ding ava ila bl e l oca lly for lo w -co s t hou s i ng , and if s o, fro n, '\Vh a t sou r c es? '~ ~ . �Land Availability 8. 1 Is there any land whether vacant or built up under public ownership available for low income housing? How much o f this land is available and \vhere in · the city is it located? . 8. 2 Is this land suitable for rehabilitation, for new construction or for some combination of both? 8. 3 · Is there any land under private ovmership available for low income housing and where i s it located? 8. 4 What is the approximate current market value in dollars per square foot of the various typ es of land a vailable? Is there any characteristic (geologic or locational ) which limits (o r encourages ) the type of use to which this land might be put? Taxation Is th e re a property tax b ased on sorn.e type of assessed valuation? Is it applicable to all property iricluding government-ovvned property and prop e rty owned by non-profit organizations? 9. 3 How are assessments set and reviewed? 9. 4 What is th e effect on property t ax l evies of undertaking a rehabilitation proj ect ? 9. 5 What tax inc e ntive or abaten.1.ent programs apply in the case of lo wco st hou sing ? 9. 6 What i s the annual tax rat e p e r $1, 000 of real marke t va lue? How is this broken down into tax rat e per dollar of assessed valuation and the relation ship of assessed to re a l v a lue? 9. 7 Wha t local, state, county or special district government organi zations are supported by th e property tax? ~ ., -- �