Declaration of Cooperation & Public Housing Action Team Press Release

December 11, 2019 Rob Taylor

DECLARATION OF COOPERATION ~ Signed Copy
HOUSING ACTION TEAM ~ Press Release
Finalized July 2019

Purpose

A lack of access to housing causes barriers to a community’s economic development, to attraction and retention of working families and to remediation of the poverty cycle. The Coos County Housing Action Team (HAT) developed as an ad hoc assembly of representatives of various aspects of the housing realm in Coos County. The creation of this team was triggered by and coalesced around findings and recommendations of the Coos County Housing Study & Action Plan. Those findings and recommendations clearly identified the nature of our current housing crisis. It is the intention of the HAT to address this crisis by focusing on advocacy and development efforts in workforce and affordable/supportive housing.

The purpose of the HAT is to coordinate and network individual and organizational resources in order to leverage funding, personnel, land, access and opportunities for housing development beneficial to all in Coos County.

While the Housing Action Plan will provide a basis for HAT actions, HAT members are encouraged to seek and present opportunities beyond those identified by the adopted HAP. It is anticipated that sub-committees or working groups will develop around target markets and specific projects.

Methods

As a diverse stakeholder group, individual members might not align in all areas of housing focus. Working collaboratively, it is the intention of the HAT to identify opportunities of mutual benefit to some or all of its members and to pool resources toward common goals as appropriate. As defined by an initial survey of participants, those goals include the development of housing that;

· is accessible to the affordable/supportive and workforce markets,

· stimulates integration of socioeconomic communities,

· results in efficient, durable housing,

· promotes the growth of a local skilled workforce, of all the building trades, sufficient to support all markets

· complements market housing development.

The HAT will investigate the creation of a Housing Trust Fund (HTF) and/or a Housing Land Trust. Then, if deemed feasible, HAT will assist in the creation of a Housing Trust Fund (HTF) and/or Housing Land Trust. The HAT will educate and lobby others on the merits of an HTF. The HTF will be established to receive and administer funding from public, private, and non-profit sources for uses that complement HAT objectives and the intentions of the funding source. The ultimate goal of the HAT is to establish a fund that receives financial commitments on an annual basis. The HTF Board, to be established upon adoption of the HTF, will be responsible for project review and funding allocations.

HAT Voting Procedure

A vote may be taken when at least ten (10) member entities of the Housing Action Team (HAT) are present. A motion is passed by a simple majority of those present and eligible to vote. Each member entity (per signature in the Declaration of Cooperation) is entitled to only one vote. A member need not be physically present but may be in attendance via a conference call or Skype/Zoom or similar means.

Declaration

This Declaration of Cooperation, while not a binding legal contract, is evidence to and a statement of the good faith and commitment of the undersigned parties to achieve the collaborative vision of the Coos County Housing Action Team. The undersigned parties to the Declaration of Cooperation have, through a collaborative process, agreed and pledged their cooperation on the actions, purpose and methods described above.

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