Friday, February 1, 2008

Attainable Housing Options- (Adopted 1/08)

Adopted: January 2008
Scheduled Renewal: January 2009

Attainable Housing Options
AIA Illinois Position Statements

Introduction:

Housing is the provision of collective shelter from elements, a place where security is created, and families and broader communities form from a sense of stability. Architecture’s most primitive function is the provision of shelter. A variety of attainable housing opportunities is vital to healthy, livable communities.According to Housing Action Illinois, “nearly 1.66 million renters and homeowners in Illinois, or 35% of all households, are paying more than 30% of their income on housing. This year, Illinois is the most expensive state in the Midwest and the seventeenth most expensive state in the nation for renters with a Housing Wage of $15.95. The National Housing Wage* is $16.31. Lack of attainable housing is the primary cause of homelessness. Homelessness leads to disruptions in family life, education, and employment.” The Chicago Rehab Network also cites that “One out of every five renters in Illinois spends more than 50% of their income on rent.”Homelessness is counter-productive to the creation of healthy, livable communities. AIA Illinois believes that decent housing is a basic human right, but as evidence above indicates, a serious housing crisis is being experienced in Illinois today.
Architect’s are key stakeholders and are committed to correcting this crisis because housing is vital to all sustainable communities.

Principles/Position

AIA Illinois supports new incentives and funding for the construction of attainable and workforce housing and related infrastructure, which makes attainable housing more viable financially. (Refer to 2007 Debut Policy #3: Sustainable Design: Issues 6, 7 & 8 Efficient Use of Infrastructure, Transportation Choice and Sense of Place respectively.)

Architects are uniquely trained to advocate for innovation in planning, design and construction techniques that seek to reduce construction costs while providing a sense of community and maintaining standards for life safety.Architects also believe that the definition of “attainable” must consider a building’s operational viability and not be limited to its initial development cost. We recognize that utility costs represent a large portion of housing expenses. Therefore AIA Illinois supports restructuring funding mechanisms for attainable housing so that energy efficiency and durability are recognized in terms of the functional operation of the building. This may mean that an initial cost is slightly higher to provide for a longer lasting material or more efficient equipment which yields improved operating costs.AIA Illinois recognizes the key role of supportive services in the fight to end homelessness for individuals and families with special needs and supports increased budgeting in this area as dollars spent efficiently.Lastly AIA Illinois recognizes the non-traditional structures of families today, and supports the updating of codes to recognize these needs. The continuum of aging populations is one such example and kinship families is yet another.

Goals: (In no particular order of importance)1. Support legislation to restructure construction funding so that developers have an incentive to utilize green and energy efficient technologies to lower building operating costs.

2. Support Legislation or initiatives that require “More Options”.- A Continuum of requirements promoting rental and “for sale” for developments that contributes to healthy communities.-- Recognition of the complete range of family types., ie: Special Needs, Kinship Families and also Workforce Housing.-Support legislation and/or budgets that promote Special Needs Services Funding because there is evidence that spending this money lowers societal costs everywhere else. (ie social services)
3. Support inclusionary zoning and attainable housing set asides.
4. Encourage adoption of building codes that improve energy efficiency and reduce operational or life-cycle costs.
5. Increase Public awareness of the housing crisis, and the basics of what “attainable” housing means today and who benefits.
6. Seek innovative design strategies and solutions with limited budgets. Explore and support cutting–edge project examples including the planning of livable communities, innovative building design, healthy and durable materials, and attainable construction techniques.
Calls to Action:1. AIA Illinois urges State and Local agencies administering design and construction funding for attainable housing to include incentives for:- integrated design process** which results in efficient life cycle considerations and increased building energy efficiencies.
2. AIA Illinois urges State and Local agencies, legislators, architects and planners to collaboratively develop legislation that provides guidelines requiring housing options within multi-family developments.
3. AIA Illinois urges State and Local regulatory bodies to institute inclusionary zoning and attainable housing set asides (20- 25%).
4. AIA Illinois urges State and Local regulatory bodies to adopt building codes that improve energy efficiency and lower operational or life cycle costs.
5. AIA Illinois insists that architects and local AIA Chapters endeavor to increase public and professional awareness of the housing crisis and what “attainable” housing is and can be and the wide variety of people that it can benefit.
6. AIA Illinois encourages Architects, Owners, Developers and Funding Agencies to seek out innovative design strategies and solutions with limited budgets.

Notes:

* "Housing Wage": Housing wage is defined by the National Low Income Housing Coalition as the amount of money a household must earn in order to afford a rental unit at a range of sizes (0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 bedrooms) at the area’s Fair Market Rent (FMR), based on the generally accepted affordability standard of paying no more than 30% of income for housing costs. From these calculations the hourly wage a worker must earn to afford the FMR for a two-bedroom home is derived

** Integrated Design Process – This refers to the structured process in which a “team works as a collective to understand and develop all aspects of a design, which can then emerge organically, with the full benefit of each experts input. So while each expert plays an essential role, in effective integrated design exercises the best ideas often emerge when participants cross the usual boundaries. An engaged focus group thinking together can create solutions that no individual could produce alone.” (by Nadav Malin, “A Group Effort,” GreenSource Magazine, November 2006.)

Informational References:

AIA-IL Housing Policy Workgroup: Susan King AIA, Steve Montgomery AIA, Jeff Bone AIA, Dick Hastings AIA, Dick Morse AIA, MeMarti Wiles, Amy Wagner, and Peter Levavi.

Housing Action Illinois: http://www.housingactionil.org/

“Out of Reach 2006”: This report provides the Housing Wage and other data for every state, metropolitan area and county in the country. http://www.nlihc.org/oor/oor2006/?CFID=17042410&CFTOKEN=27696643

Chicago Coalition for the Homeless http://www.chicagohomeless.org/

The Chicago Rehab Netork http://www.chicagorehab.org/

Metropolitan Planning Council: Metropolitan Planning Council Media Guide to the 95th General Assembly: Affordable & Workforce Housing, January 24, 2007 http://www.metroplanning.org/resource.asp?objectID=3664&categoryID=2

Supportive Housing Providers Association – January ’07 Report: http://www.supportivehousingproviders.org/SupportiveHousingBrief06v3.pdf

National Low Income Housing Coalition http://www.nlihc.org/template/index.cfmNational AIA : Issue Brief: Affordable Housing/Community Revitalization/Historic Preservation
http://www.aia.org/SiteObjects/files/Jones_English_2007.pdf

National AIA – Affordable Housing Position Statement: https://detmail.hedev.com/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.aia.org/SiteObjects/files/Public_Policy_Directory_revised_1205.pdf (the full listing of current board positions) #35 – Affordable Housing
Notes:

* "Housing Wage": Housing wage is defined by the National Low Income Housing Coalition as the amount of money a household must earn in order to afford a rental unit at a range of sizes (0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 bedrooms) at the area’s Fair Market Rent (FMR), based on the generally accepted affordability standard of paying no more than 30% of income for housing costs. From these calculations the hourly wage a worker must earn to afford the FMR for a two-bedroom home is derived.


Recent Housing Legislation:
Housing Comprehensive Housing Planning Act: Legislation was passed that requires the state to develop and update an annual comprehensive housing plan to address the needs of underserved populations such as low- income families, seniors and people with disabilities. The Comprehensive Housing Planning Act codifies Governor Blagojevich's Executive Order 2003-18 and is the culmination of years of advocacy by housing organizations to encourage the development of affordable housing. This legislation ensures that future governors will follow the example of Governor Blagojevich and prioritize the housing needs of low-income families.
Federally Subsidized Housing Preservation Act: In 2004, legislation was passed which will preserve affordable housing stock by requiring owners of buildings that receive a federal subsidy to notify their tenants of their intention to “opt-out” of the program and give tenants the first right to purchase the building at fair market rates.
Homelessness Prevention: In 1999 legislation was passed to help families experiencing short-term emergencies with grants for delinquent rent, utility payments or security deposits. In the first three years, the program prevented homelessness for more than 5,000 families.
Mortgage Foreclosure Prevention: In 2000, the “Homeowners Emergency Mortgage Assistance and Counseling Program Act” provided financial counseling and short-term mortgage payments to families experiencing an emergency and facing the threat of mortgage foreclosure.
Property Tax Protections for Homeowners: In 2000 legislation was passed to expand protection for homeowners who pay their property taxes on time but, due to bureaucratic error, have their taxes posted to the wrong index number and face losing their homes — inspired by Mrs. Willie Weeks, the Evanston homeowner who experienced this serious problem.
Illinois Housing Initiative: Governor Blagojevich's Executive Order #18 created the Illinois Housing Initiative (IHI), a five-year plan to spur more construction and rehab of affordable housing for our State's most underserved populations -- such as very low-income families and people with disabilities. An interagency task force will develop an annual comprehensive housing plan, and report annually on progress being made to achieve the plan. The IHI will pool a portion of available federal and state resources and streamline the application process.
Affordable Housing Planning and Appeal Act: This legislation would clarify some of the outstanding issues from the previous version of the law under which local municipalities with less than 10% affordable housing have created housing plans, including: additional tools for local governments to develop more moderately-priced housing; intergovernmental agreements among municipalities as to how the 10% goals will be met; standards for review of appeals by the Housing Appeals Board; restriction on appeals to the Appellate Court to the district in which the local government involved in the appeal is located; creation of the a Housing Appeals Board as of January 1, 2008 rather than 2006.

Illinois Architecture Licensing Position Statements (Adopted 1/08)

Introduction
The Illinois Architecture Practice Act was the first of its kind in the United States. It continues to serve as a model for state practice regulations even today. From time to time this Act has to be updated to keep it relevant to current professional and practical realities. The architects of the American Institute of Architects of Illinois (AIA Illinois) endeavor to collaborate with the Illinois Department of Regulation and the Illinois Architects Licensing Board to administer the Act and uphold its principles.

Illinois is instrumental to the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), a non-profit federation of architectural licensing boards in the United States. NCARB features state registration requirements and Intern Development Program (IDP) criteria for those seeking license registration. AIA Illinois has a strong vision of the future of the IDP process as well as the Architectural Registration Exam (ARE). This vision is influenced by its connection with schools of architecture.

One of the major tenants of the Illinois Architecture Practice Act is the protection of the health, safety and welfare of the public. This same tenant is a foundation of AIA Illinois. Therefore AIA Illinois continually engages in the review of principles and regulations for architectural practice in Illinois.

Principles
1. The health, safety and welfare of the public as impacted by the built environment are the first priority of practicing architects.
2. The profession of architecture requires a regulating body which must be responsible for upholding the requirements of the Illinois Architectural Practice Act. Among the functions of this body must be a process for hearing and evaluating reports of unqualified practice or violations, abuse and misuse of architectural practice.
3. AIA Illinois generally supports the policies of NCARB and IDP as essential to the preparation of interns seeking to practice as licensed architects in the future.
4. Policies that support Continuing Education encourage and enable architects to sustain and expand the knowledge base that perpetually advances the practice of architecture.
5. Eligibility to begin the Architectural Registration Exam upon obtaining an accredited degree from a National Architectural Accreditation Board (NAAB) program and enrollment in an IDP is important and reasonable.

Goals
1. Continually provide and create access to information, educational programs and seminars for all architects as a means of continuing education.
2. Support AIA Illinois Licensing Committee representation at NCARB Meetings.
3. Ensure that the Architectural Registration Exam is available to architectural students upon graduation from accredited programs.
4. Advocate for and participate in updates of the Illinois Practice Act as it becomes necessary.
5. Advocate and provide the perspective of architects to the Illinois Licensing Board.

Call to Action
1. AIA Illinois stresses the urgent need for constant and consistent enforcement of the Illinois Practice Act.
2. AIA Illinois asks that architects continue to maintain and establish lines of communication with DPR and state legislators on licensure issues.
3. AIA Illinois urges continuous mentoring for architectural graduates, associates and college students on the issue of ethical practice.
4. AIA Illinois stresses the need for qualified regulators and adequate regulation at the state level to insure the protection of the public's health, safety & welfare through the use of qualified architects.

References
Illinois Practice Act of 1989
NCARB “Architects Qualifications” http://www.ncarb.com/
NCARB “Legislative Guidelines and Model Law- Model Regulations”