NAA/NMHC joined a coalition of real estate industry groups
to ask HUD Secretary Julián Castro to extend the comment period.
Members who have had experience with SAFMRs and/or FMRs,
or who have general comments, should email NMHC’s Caitlin
Walter by June 19.
Several areas currently use SAFMRs instead of FMRs. The
FMRs 50th percentile methodology has been criticized as not furthering efforts to de-concentrate poverty. Ultimately, HUD argues
that 40th percentile SAFMRs have made more progress towards
that goal.
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The 50th percentile methodology is used, instead of the 40th
percentile, if an area contains at least 100 Census tracts. The area
must also have a concentration of voucher participants and affordable
housing in a small portion of the overall area. Metro Denver is
among the 50th percentile areas.
INDUSTRY KEEPS PUSHING FOR FULL
FUNDING OF KEY CENSUS SURVEY
As Congress continues to debate the FY 2016 federal budget,
funding of the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey
(ACS) is still in jeopardy. The ACS is important to the apartment
industry because it helps in estimating the economic impact of
apartments and provides the latest relevant data.
NAA/NMHC are urging lawmakers to fund ACS, along with
testing for the 2020 survey. We co-sponsored a congressional staff
briefing where various economists and researchers highlighted
concerns about potential funding short falls.
In addition, we have submitted numerous letters with a broad
coalition to the full Congress expressing our concern over the proposed deep cuts.
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KANSAS CITY TO BECOME LATEST TO
REQUIRE ENERGY BENCHMARKING AND
DISCLOSURE
The Kansas City Council is the latest local governing body to
require multifamily building owners to track and report their energy and water usage. The practice, known as benchmarking, is law
in more than a dozen other cities. The ordinance, which is expected
to pass, has been opposed by the local real estate community including the Apartment Association of Kansas City. Commercial buildings – including multifamily – 50,000 square feet or larger are
covered by the new law; the first compliance deadline (for properties
100,000 square feet and larger) is May 1, 2017. The rest of the covered buildings will begin reporting May 1, 2018. Public disclosure
starts 15 months after data is submitted.
While the ordinance contains exemptions in cases where building owners are unable to get the necessary utility data, and does not
require property owners with poor energy scores to improve their
efficiency, opponents’ primary concern remains the eventual expansion to a mandate, which could include costly retrofits. There are also
concerns on the overall impact that this ordinance may have on
development in the Missouri city; specifically if this restrictive ordinance will disadvantage the community by driving development
away to neighboring cities. The noncompliance penalties range up
to $2,000.
While this ordinance is expected to pass at the local level, the
industry is considering pursuing preemption language with the state
legislature. Arizona’s legislature set a precedent in April of this year,
passing a bill to prohibit cities from mandating that commercial and
multifamily owners benchmark and disclose their energy usage.
Other cities that have passed benchmarking ordinances are
Atlanta, Austin, Berkeley, Calif., Boston, Cambridge, Mass., Chicago, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Portland, Ore., San
Francisco, Seattle, and Washington D.C. New ordinances are anticipated this year in Los Angeles and Orlando.
www.aamdhq.org
ROCK‘N CHILI
2015 Chili Cookoff
SAT. OCTOBER 10 • 11-3PM
JULY 2015 • TRENDS | 35