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Nashua, New Hampshire 03061-2019 Franepetation
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Date: January 27, 2021
To: Ald. Lori Wilshire, Board of Aldermen President
Jim Donchess, Mayor
CC: Board of Aldermen
From: Sarah Marchant, Community Development Director
Re: Housing Trust Fund — R-21-118
INTRODUCTION:
The City of Nashua Economic Development and Community Development Divisions partnered with RKG
Associates Inc. to complete a comprehensive Housing Study to better understand the dynamics in
Nashua and the surrounding region that impact housing supply and demand. The goal of this study was
to provide a data based sense of the housing market, an understanding of key housing factors and
provide a list of strategies for implementation.
The creation of an affordable housing trust fund was one of the multiple recommendations that can be
explored and implemented now. Housing Trust Funds (HTF} are a flexible source of funding that can be
used to support many different affordable housing initiatives. The money that supports the fund is
typically created and administered at the city level and not subject to restrictions common with state
and federal funding. The money can be designed to address local needs and priorities, such as those
noted throughout the Housing Study.
A HTF has many components and considerations. The overarching questions include: Is there a need
{and the will) to address a shortage of affordable housing? |s there a source of funding that can be
dedicated to that purpose? Is there an appropriate local agency capable of initiating and administering
the housing trust fund? The following guide outlines the tasks and detail necessary to create the HTF.
History: The City originally adopted and funded an Expendable Trust Fund dedicated to affordable
housing in 2001 (R-01-264) by appropriating $100,000 of excess revenue from FY01 budget into the
Housing Trust Fund. The original fund was created to: established for the purpose of assisting non-profit
organizations to provide affordable housing in Nashua. This fund was administered by the Urban
Programs Department and once expended was discontinued in 2015 (R-15-153) as it had a zero balance
for more than five years.
Need: The RKG Housing Study adds to years of analysis and conversations surrounding the lack of
affordable housing. That study indicates the following key housing findings:
