After months of waiting for Congress to get around to approving appropriations
for fiscal 2010, which started in October, it’s finally official: Secretary
Shaun Donovan announced the launch of HUD’s new Office of Sustainable Housing
and Communities (OSHC). The office will be overseen by HUD Deputy Secretary Ron
Sims, who won national recognition for turning King County, Wash., into a model
for sustainable communities. It is managed by Director Shelley Poticha.
OSHC is charged with helping build stronger, more sustainable communities by
connecting housing to jobs, fostering local innovation, and building a clean
energy economy. Funded by Congress, the office will make planning grants and
help HUD coordinate its programs with federal transportation and environmental
programs.
OSHC will be the center point for all of HUD’s sustainability efforts.
The average household spends more than half of its budget on housing and
transportation, which have become American families’ two single biggest
expenses. With OSHC as lead, HUD will work to improve access to affordable
housing and transportation options, saving money for American families while
allowing them more time to spend at home and less time traveling.
OSHC will strengthen HUD’s Energy Efficient Mortgage product and other energy
retrofit financing options—for both single-family homes and multifamily rental
housing—through a $50 million Energy Innovation Fund. HUD will also make
available an Affordability Index that measures the costs of where a home is
located in relation to jobs, schools, and transportation.
Of the $150 million Congress
provided to HUD for a Sustainable Communities Initiative, $100 million is
available for regional integrated planning initiatives through HUD’s
Sustainable Communities Planning Grants Program. These grants will be designed
to encourage regions to integrate economic development, land use,
transportation, and water infrastructure investments, and to integrate
workforce development with transit-oriented development.