Affordable Housing Public Hearing to be Held in Lewiston on Monday (July 21)

BOISE - An affordable housing public hearing will be held in Lewiston on Monday (July 21) from 7 to 8:30 p.m., at the Grand Plaza, 621 21st Street. The hearing is sponsored by the Governor's Affordable Housing Advisory Task Force. Housing industry professionals, businesses, community leaders and the public are encouraged to attend.

Task Force members, representing 17 organizations statewide, are asking Lewiston area communities to identify affordable housing barriers in their area and to recommend strategies for government to better promote affordable housing opportunities.

To gather community input on affordable housing issues, questionnaires were mailed to housing industry professionals and local government officials in the Lewiston area. Copies of the questionnaire will be available at the hearing or may be obtained by contacting Rod Beck, IHFA executive director at (208) 331-4889.

The Task Force will use the comments given at the hearing and information obtained from the questionnaires to establish Idaho's affordable housing policy. Public hearings were held in Pocatello and Idaho Falls on May 12 and 13, in Boise and Twin Falls on June 16 and 17 and in Coeur d'Alene on July 21.

Each time housing costs rise in our state, more families are excluded from renting or owning quality affordable homes," said Rod Beck. It's time for Idaho communities and the state's housing providers to work together and place affordable housing back within the reach of Idaho families."

Governor Batt formed the Task Force in April to assess existing affordable housing resources throughout the state. Task Force members will submit a final report to the Governor in October 1997. The report will assess the effectiveness of existing affordable housing resources and how they are being used, as well as evaluating a variety of ways to leverage market resources and remove regulatory barriers. The report will also define appropriate roles for the various state, federal and local government agencies involved in providing affordable housing funds.

Individuals unable to comment at the hearing need to submit completed questionnaires by Aug. 15, 1997 to IHFA's Executive Department, P.O. Box 7899, Boise, ID 83707-1899. Individuals may also e-mail their answers and affordable housing questions to: taskforce@ihfa.org.

For more information about the Governor's Affordable Housing Advisory Task Force, please contact IHFA Executive Director Rod Beck at (208) 331-4889 or toll free at (800) 219-2285. Individuals may also e-mail their questions to: taskforce@ihfa.org.