Reports & Publications

Northeast Florida Regional Planning Council: Affordable Housing Task Force Update

The Northeast Florida Regional Planning Council (NERPC) joined HUD’s National Call to Action in December 2006, with passage of a Resolution. The previous May (2006), in response to the growing importance of the affordable housing issue within the region, the Council developed a Task Force comprised of key players from the housing arena and held a Regional Housing Summit.

Following the initial Kick Off of the Task Force, the 9th Annual Regional Cooperation Summit entitled "Affordable Workforce Housing...and the Roads that Lead Us Home" was held in August, 2006, at the St. Johns County Convention Center with the objectives:

1.	To define the problem for the Northeast Florida region and to raise awareness of the issue of affordable workforce housing.
2.	To share success stories which will encourage participants to engage in dialogue and set the stage for continued involvement and action.
3.	To provide best practices that serve as a springboard for the Northeast Florida Regional Council Affordable Workforce Housing Task Force.
4.	To implement regional approaches and regional responses to solve the issue

As a result of the success of the Summit, Task Force Chair was asked to be a special guest speaker at the State-level Summit sponsored by the Florida Chamber Foundation. The event, "Florida Summit On Affordable Living: Attainable Housing" was held at the Tampa Convention Center in September 2006. The Commissioner delivered an effective presentation on the Affordable Housing crisis in Northeast Florida and reiterated that the best solution is a regional one. She also emphasized the effectiveness of the Task Force to serve as a collaborative force for addressing the problem. The Regional Council's efforts have been identified as examples of some of the State's "Best Practices" related to addressing the issue.

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