Housing & Urban Development Issues
Team Leader: Sandra Veszi, (954) 772-9945; sandra@rebuildingtogetherbroward.org;
Team Members:
Rhonda Calhoun, Broward League of Cities; Jennifer Johnson, J2, Inc.; Lisa Maxwell, Lennar Corporation; Denny O'Shea, Stiles Development; Dennis Giordano, Calvin Giordano & Associates, Inc.; Thomas Little, Little & Associates, Inc.; Andy Dolkart, Miami Economic Associates, Inc.; Ken Simigran, West City Realty Advisors, Inc.; Jill Cohen, Miller Legg; Sandy Brown, American Land Ventures, LLC; Mimi Murphy, Health & Public Policy, Cleveland Clinic Florida; Tim Stillings, AICP, Kimley-Horn & Associates, Inc.; Greg Kyle, AICP, Kimley-Horn & Associates, Inc.; Alexander Heckler, Shutts & Bowen LLP; Mitchell Friedman, Pinnacle Housing Group; James Carras, Broward Housing Partnership; Mandy Spangler, Broward Housing Partnership; Ron Hicks, City of Fort Lauderdale; Honorable Susan Starkey, Town of Davie; Ira L. Cor; Belinda Keiser, Keiser University; Juan Selaya, Florida Housing For All Corp.; Paul Morris, National City Mortgage; Donna Waldron, National City Mortgage
Mission:
As we struggle with the lasting effects of the recession, it is imperative for sustaining a high quality of life for residents of Broward County that we continue to work together as a community to focus on meaningful measures directed at accommodating the affordable and attainable housing needs of our community, transportation demands, school demands and other infrastructure needs. The mission of the Housing and Urban Development Issues Team stays the same. We will continue to actively advocate on issues relevant to the housing crisis and urban redevelopment in general in Broward County and to monitor and evaluate any proposed legislation during the 2010 legislative session which seeks to implement growth management reforms or other measures that can impact the general quality of life in Broward County.
Issues:
This year the Team will again be focusing on finding a new revenue stream to fund affordable housing as well as funds to improve our existing affordable housing stock. The Team believes that it is critical to the economic sustainability and social fabric of our region that there be an adequate supply of housing that is affordable to all segments of our population, including low and middle income persons and families that work in important industries such as public service (police, fire and EMS), teaching, health care and tourism.
In addition, the Team will support equitable legislation that may assist families in retaining their homes as they struggle with the continuing economic challenges. The Team will consult and work with banking/mortgage experts toward this end.
The economic and social ramifications of housing related legislation ultimately affect us all as a community and, therefore, we should all be concerned about preserving home ownership and providing adequate housing for all Broward County residents.
Date Submitted: 02/03/10