Draft Minutes
Alliance's Affordable Housing Task Force
February 3, 2005
Fannie Mae, Washington, DC
Robert Wible, Secretary to the Alliance, thanked Paul Weech and Catherine Godschalk of Fannie Mae for hosting the Alliance Affordable Housing Task Force meeting and for setting up a phone conference call connection for those who were unable to make it to the meeting.
Attendance was taken and noted as follows:
Paul Weech, Fannie Mae
Catherine Godschalk, Fannie Mae
Melissa Gesell, Fannie Mae
Dana Bres, U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Ken Ford, National Association of Home Builders
Robert Wible, NCSBCS
On the Phone:
John Biechman, National Fire Protection Association
Krista Curtiss, Institute for Building Technology & Safety
Mark Topping, New York City Department of Buildings
Affordable Housing Activity Update
The agenda for the meeting was reviewed. Mr. Wible invited members to provide an update on their affordable housing activities.
HUD: Dana Bres reported on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s America’s Affordable Communities Initiative and the incorporation of bonus points into all competitions for NOFA’s for barrier removal activities. He provided information on the HUD barrier removal awards program. (The deadline for nominations is March 15.)
Mr. Bres described the Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing’s (PATH) work on regulatory barrier removal issues and the acceleration of the pace for the adoption of innovative technologies.
NAHB: Ken Ford discussed NAHB’s efforts to work with the International Code Council to assure that code provisions promoted affordability. He also covered NAHB’s Green Buildings program and model environmentally sensitive guidelines.
FANNIE MAE: Catherine Godschalk reported on her organization’s America Dream Commitment and services to 55 partnership offices around the United States. A possible affordable housing, regulatory barrier removal initiative in Suffolk County, NY, was described.
Paul Weech added a report on Fannie Mae’s "Fair Growth Initiative" and efforts to encourage increased density in urban areas and smart commute and green building products. The attendees discussed the issue of the importance of universal design and aging in place to address the growing special housing needs of the baby boomer generation who are now retiring.
NFPA: John Biechman described NFPA’s efforts to address housing affordability issues within their codes and to work with ASHRAE on energy conservation requirements. He also described the associations special "Presidential Accessibility Advisory Committee."
New York City: Mark Topping described efforts in New York City to increase the number of affordable homes in the city. (Goal is 65,000 more units.)
Alliance Update
Robert Wible updated attendees on the Alliance’s activities and distributed a report describing the Alliance’s work products during 2004 (Attachment A). Among the products discussed were:
Mr. Wible distributed and invited comments on a draft survey that NCSBCS and the Institute for Building Safety and Technology were about to release to gather data from state and local governments on the savings being achieved from the use of information technology in one or more building code administration or enforcement process (Attachment C).
Affordable Housing Task Force Work Agenda
The Task Force reviewed its major work item, a draft table of contents and outline of a Guide for State and Local Governments on How to Streamline Their Building Regulatory Processes Through the Use of Information Technology (Attachment D).
The attendees discussed the draft as presented by NCSBCS. The need for such a guide was reconfirmed and the attendees approved the draft.
The Task Force noted that they looked forward to reviewing drafts of the text for the guide when they became available. Mr. Wible indicated that such reviews would have tight turnaround times to facilitate efforts to get the guide out as quickly as possible to elected officials, code officials, and the housing and construction communities. It was further noted that distribution of the guide would be coordinated with and assisted by Alliance partners and Task Force members including the National Association of Counties, U. S. Conference of Mayors and National Governors Association.
Date & Location of Next Meeting
There being no further business to come before the Task Force, Mr. Wible thanked Fannie Mae for hosting the meeting and noted that the date and location for the Task Force’s next meeting would be set before the end of February.
The meeting adjourned at 12:10 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Robert Wible, Secretariat