On September 3, 2021, the City issued Request for Proposals (RFP) # 092721 for Affordable Housing and Economic Development Planning Consulting Services. The responses were received and reviewed and it was the recommendation of the selection committee to award continuing contracts to three (3) firms (The Corradino Group, Lambert Advisory, and East to West Development Corporation). On December 1, 2021, the City Commission approved continuing contracts with the three (3) recommended firms.
The City was awarded a Department of Economic Opportunity Planning Technical Assistance Program Grant for the Phase II Affordable Housing Study.
It is staff's recommendation that the City contract with East to West Development Corporation (ETWDC) for the Phase II of the Affordable Housing Study in an amount not-to-exceed $65,000. ETWDC is a not-for-profit corporation that specializes in affordable housing. Additionally, ETWDC produced the initial white paper that recommended further evaluation of affordable housing. ETWDC will also utilize the services of Lambert Advisory, one of the other firms awarded a continuing contract by the City, to provide additional detailed economic analysis and mapping services as part of the housing study. These costs are included as part of the overall study price.
A full evaluation of affordable housing requires significant time and resources. East to West Development Corporation has provided a proposal that would to perform the study as follows :
Task 1. Perform an affordable housing inventory analysis of the government subsidized housing units within the City to include the year each unit was built and/or became available for use as a subsidized unit and its affordability period. Develop recommendations for the highest and best use of parcels owned by governmental agencies within the City and parcels with non-owner occupied, single-family dwellings that are subject to a City lien.
Task 2. Conduct Community Outreach, to discuss the goals and process of incentivizing quality affordable housing opportunities and obtain input from City residents and stakeholders.
Task 3. Perform a literature review assessing best practices for municipal affordable housing policies. Evaluate affordable housing strategies and recommend which strategies may be best suited for the City, including but not limited to inclusionary housing ordinances, and work to develop draft plan. Evaluate the City’s Land Development Code requirements for existing Single-Family Dwelling and Multi-Family Dwelling units to identify potential opportunities to enhance quality housing standards.
Task 4. Prepare the Final Phase II Affordable Housing Study and present the Study to the City Commission.
Pursuant to the grant deadlines, the project must be completed no later than May 2022. Please note that while Phase II of this study will be more comprehensive, it is important to underscore that the deliverables for this engagement will be in the form of granular data, analysis of key factors and expert policy recommendations concerning the City's affordable housing efforts. These expected outcomes are not to be confused with the implementation of a formal affordable housing program. In that regard, the following should be noted:
- Oakland Park is not an eligible HUD Entitlement Community (and therefore does not receive direct federal funding allocation).
- Oakland Park does not currently have the resources to administer or monitor any formally implemented affordable housing program.
- The establishment of such an on-going program would require a specific study related to costs, resources, and desired outcomes.
Should the City Commission wish to explore such an endeavor, it is staff's recommendation that such consideration take place subsequent to the completion of the Phase II study, thus allowing the data and policy recommendations to provide further context in this subject.