The Housing Blueprint

The Housing Blueprint: A Housing Strategy for FY 2011 and Beyond

About

Philosophy: The Housing Blueprint reflects the philosophy of the Board that affordable housing is a continuum ranging from the needs of the homeless to first-time homebuyers. In between these two poles, the continuum includes the diverse housing needs of hard-working, but low paid families; senior citizens; persons with disabilities; and the workforce across Fairfax County. Housing in Fairfax County is a three-legged stool that depends on a smooth partnership between the non-profit community, the for-profit development industry and the public sector.

Serving the Greatest Need: The Housing Blueprint further reflects the consensus among Board members that affordable housing priorities have shifted and that the emphasis should shift to those with the greatest need. This includes individuals and families who are homeless, those with low to extremely low incomes, those with disabilities and low-income seniors. Central to addressing this priority will be providing our most disadvantaged citizens with a housing “bridge” to stability, recovery and greater self-sufficiency; this will be achieved by competitively funding innovative non-profit solutions, potentially to include rent subsidies and affordable housing development.

Addressing the Pipeline: The Housing Blueprint also reflects a desire to complete projects in the pipeline where the need and the community expectation have already been established.

Leveraging the Capacity of the Private Sector: Finally, the Housing Blueprint reaffirms the Board’s long-standing policies of the Comprehensive Plan which encourage affordable and workforce housing development through land use incentives to the private sector.