Council ActionCommittee on Housing, Neighborhood Development and The Homeless
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WHEREAS, The Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has established a benchmark to determine housing affordability which states that a household should spend no more than 30% of household income for housing costs; and
WHEREAS, HUD defines households that spend more than 30%, but less than 50% of household income for housing costs to be moderately burdened and households that spend more than 50% as severely burdened; and
WHEREAS, The Office of Housing and Community Development in its report on the impediments to fair housing choice documents the fact that over 116,000 Philadelphia renter households are moderately burdened and over 70,000 Philadelphia renter households are severely burdened; and
WHEREAS, The Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) has closed its waiting list for affordable public housing units as the list exceeds 110,000 applicants giving evidence of the severe shortage of affordable rental housing; and
WHEREAS,
In the United States, the 2014 two-bedroom Housing Wage is $18.92. This national average is more than two-and-a-half times the federal minimum wage and 52% higher than it was in 2000. In Philadelphia the 2014 two-bedroom Housing Wage is $21.83 which is three times the federal minimum wage; and
WHEREAS, The primary source of revenue the City has relied upon to carry out its affordable housing programs, the Federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, has steadily declined to the point that adjusted for inflation, the City received this year nearly $40,000,000 less than it did ten years ago; and
WHEREAS, The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has eliminated the Housing and Redevelopment Assistance Program thereby decreasing affordable housing resources by $5,000,000 per year; and
WHEREAS, The Housing Trust Fund, which was established by Ordinance under state enabling legislation, has been able to generate on average $10,000,000 in additional resources but is not able to offset the decline in federal and state resources; and
WHEREAS, The production and preservation of affordable housing is necessary for the health, safety and well being of the citizens of Philadelphia and will stimulate the growth and development of our City through the creation of jobs and the prevention or elimination of blight; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHA, That City Council hereby authorizes City Council's Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development and the Homeless to hold hearings concerning increasing resources to expand the production and preservation of affordable housing in the City of Philadelphia.
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