About: Accomplishments 2003

Mission | What We Do | Past Highlights | 2006 Legislative Wrap-Up | Accomplishments 2005 | Accomplishments 2004 | Accomplishments 2003

In 2003 the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania successfully worked to expand state dollars for housing:

• In a sea of budget cuts, the Housing and Redevelopment Assistance (HRA) budget, (the primary housing and community development line item), was increased from $14 to $25 million.
• The Homeownership Choice Program was doubled in size from $7.5 to $15 million.
• The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) increased Penn Homes and Tax Credit set-asides from 10% to 20% of allocation for 2004, to save and rehabilitate existing subsidized housing.

• Lead the successful effort to prevent the County Affordable Housing Trust Fund from being diluted to pay for economic development out of housing funds.
• Lead the statewide effort to preserve market rental housing, by fending off accelerated eviction which would reduce eviction time from 21 to 11 days.

• Reclaiming Abandoned PA was released in Philadelphia to an audience of 90 people and a panel of city and state officials and in Pittsburgh to an audience of 40 people.
• The Housing Alliance used the report release to broaden our coalition to a range of local groups, including: the Pa Horticultural Society, Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations, 10,000 Friends, Philadelphia Neighborhood Development Collaborative, Pittsburgh Partnership for Neighborhood Development, Sustainable Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundations and the Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group, Vacant Property Working Group.
• The recommendations of the report were incorporated into a bi-partisan community revitalization legislative agenda for 2004.
• Three of the blight bills that we worked on passed in the 2002 session and two downtown revitalization programs were fully funded in the 2003 budget--Main Street and Elm Street.

• The Housing Alliance was named to the Governor's Housing Transition Team.
• The committee embraced our agenda of appointing a senior-level housing policy director and establishing a state housing policy as major components of the report.
• We hosted the new DCED Secretary Dennis Yablonsky at the Housing Alliance board meeting in April, and new PHFA Executive Director Brian Hudson in June.

• The Future of Housing Development: Chester County, November 2003; 90 participants; sponsored by the Homebuilders of Chester and Delaware Counties and the Fair Housing Council of Suburban Philadelphia.
• The Future of Housing Development in Our Community - Western PA: Affordability and Smart Growth: presented in high-growth counties; 60 participants; sponsored by the Builders of Metropolitan Pittsburgh, the Fair Housing Partnership of Greater Pittsburgh and the Mon Valley Initiative.
• The Future of Section VIII with national expert Barbara Sard: sponsored by the Housing and Community Development Group of the Statewide Legal Services System; 50 participants in Harrisburg; follow-up session planned for June 17 in Philadelphia, co-sponsored by the Blueprint to End Homelessness and the Philadelphia Neighborhood Development Collaborative.
• Featured Expert on Workforce Housing: October 2002; sponsored by the Chester County Chamber of Commerce and the Homebuilders of Chester and Delaware Counties.
• Featured expert on Reclaiming Vacant Property Statewide Conference, December 2003; 400 participants, Harrisburg.

• Increased paid memberships from 174 to 300.
• Published three newsletters and two updates, sent to a growing list of more than 2500 people statewide.
• Revamped the Housing Aliance website to create a current resource getting more than 4000 hits a month.
• Hosted our annual membership meeting in Harrisburg, attracting nearly 100 people for workshops and a business meeting.
• Co-hosted the first statewide meeting of Women in Housing and Community Development, attracting 90 women from all parts of the state. A delegation of eight women then represented Pennsylvania at the National Network meeting in California in May.

Mission | What We Do | Past Highlights | 2006 Legislative Wrap-Up | Accomplishments 2005 | Accomplishments 2004 | Accomplishments 2003