Housing Commission

10/26/2020 - Minutes I. Call to Order Members Present: Robert Millar, Anna Wageling, Sean McMannon, Chris Melnyk, Leslie Black- Plumeau City Staff Present: Heather Carrington Guests Present: Councilor Jim Duncan Call to Order by: Robert Millar Meeting Start Time: 6:02 PM Minutes Recorded by: Anna Wageling II. Public Comment None III. Approve Previous Meeting Minutes Minutes approved for 8/24/20 and 9/28/20. IV. Review Precedents – State and Local Housing Policies in Response to COVID-19 There are numerous organizations tracking housing policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Several of these resources were included in the Housing Commission materials. Commissioners were encouraged to review the policies included in these documents to determine priority policies for a deeper dive and further discussion at the November Commission meeting. The following resources provide a broad spectrum of possible policy interventions: The Urban Policy Institute has compiled the COVID-19 Resource Tracker: A Guide to State and Local Responses. This tool provides a list of 164 resources tracking COVID-19 policy responses across a wide range of issues from food security and health care access to income supports and housing stabilization. The list includes 27 websites specifically concerned with housing policy at various levels. The Corporation for Supportive Housing is tracking nationwide policies through its COVID-19 State and Local Housing Policy and Legislative Responses Tracker. This spreadsheet tool was last updated in September, and currently includes 598 policies considered by local, county and state governments in response to COVID. Housing policies are categorized by type as follows: Housing Assistance, Eviction, Homeless, Justice, Racial Equity, General Assistance, Affordable Housing, QAP and Construction. Housing Assistance and Eviction Protection policies comprise 70% of all policy interventions listed. Both Eviction Protection and Housing Assistance interventions have been established by the State of Vermont and remain in place. The Housing Commission has evaluated the possibility of providing additional direct housing assistance through the Winooski Housing Trust Fund and established that it would not be an allowable use under the grant provisions. After direct housing assistance, eviction protections are the second most frequent type of policy response to COVID. Eviction Lab developed and issued a COVID-19 Housing Policy Scorecard by state, based on emergency orders, declarations and legislation related to eviction and housing. This provides valuable context on how Vermont policies compare with other state responses, and offers insight into some high impact policies that have and have not been  under the grant provisions. After direct housing assistance, eviction protections are the second most frequent type of policy response to COVID. Eviction Lab developed and issued a COVID-19 Housing Policy Scorecard by state, based on emergency orders, declarations and legislation related to eviction and housing. This provides valuable context on how Vermont policies compare with other state responses, and offers insight into some high impact policies that have and have not been implemented. Vermont scored 8th highest in the nation based on this scorecard with a 2.48 out of 5.00. The highest score was 4.15 for Massachusetts, and the median score was 0.5, with 17 states scoring at that level. Overall, 33 states fell below a score of 1.0. Vermont has implemented two of the seven high impact policies, and half of the overall policies listed. On average, the top 10 ranked states have implemented two of the seven high impact policies. The highest implementation rate has been accomplished in Oregon, where five of the seven have been adopted. The high impact COVID-19 housing policies which have not been implemented in Vermont include: l Sealing eviction records l Mandating a grace period to pay rent l Precluding reports to credit bureau l Eliminating late fees l Disallowing rent increases during COVID As a starting point, the Commission discussed prioritizing advocacy for the State of Vermont to adopt some of these additional protections. Commissioners will begin sifting through responses that other towns and cities across the country have taken to get a better sense of how others are seeking to support homeowners, landlords and renters through the pandemic. In addition, the Housing Commission will begin connecting with other state and regional groups in Vermont who are advocating for high-impact programs at the state level to support housing security through the pandemic and beyond. V. Adjourn Motion by: Sean Second: Leslie Meeting End Time: 6:53 PM