Building Neighborhoods Workshop Series

Summary: This workshop series, presented in February 2003, was designed to demonstrate effective planning for affordable housing development under Wisconsin’s “Smart Growth” legislation. Working in collaboration with the state Division of Housing and Intergovernmental Relations (DHIR), the Fannie Mae Foundation and regional nonprofits, the Partnership designed the workshop series to promote affordable housing through traditional neighborhood design.

Wisconsin Partnership's role: PJ TA provider

Staff contacts: Kristin Silva , Dave Porterfield

Status of work: Completed in early 2003

Wisconsin’s Smart Growth law gives local governments until 2010 to complete a planning process and file comprehensive plans for managing future growth and development activities. Planning for housing, and specifically affordable housing, must be included in each such “Smart Growth plan.”

DHIR, although wanting communities to be as creative as possible in addressing affordable housing needs in their comprehensive plans, had only limited technical assistance funding available. Under its PJ TA contract with HUD, the Partnership designed a three-part regional workshop series to help DHIR accomplish its goal.

The workshop series presented in February 2003 was cosponsored by the Fox Cities Housing Coalition/Housing Partnership of the Fox Cities. The format for the three half-day workshops was as follows:

Day 1 – Affordable housing in a Smart Growth framework Participants examined the elements of Smart Growth as they relate to affordable housing development and traditional neighborhood design (TND). Following a presentation on an existing TND project, small groups designed TND subdivisions reflecting the characteristics of their area.

Day 2 – The development process and project financing Participants reviewed the financing needs and mechanisms related to predevelopment, site development and construction; topics included capital subsidies and down payment assistance programs. Advised by a panel of experts, small groups met to determine how their own projects could be financed

Day 3 – Local strategies Participants identified barriers to building affordable housing in their area and devised strategies to deal with these barriers and make projects happen.

The Partnership’s own TND subdivision project—The Uplands—was used as an illustration throughout the workshops, drawing on actual experience for the plans, budgets and problems that were shared with workshop participants.

Participants in the Fox Valley series included for-profit and nonprofit developers, shelter providers, city government officials and staff, housing authority representatives, regional plan commission members and real estate professionals. Lisa Schneider, Grants Administrator for the City of Appleton, called the workshops a “hands-on, community-specific opportunity to explore the possibilities that existed within the community.” According to Ms. Schneider, community members have proceeded to explore project ideas that were viewed as impossible prior to the workshops.