To address the need for affordable, accessible, and available housing, approximately $100,064,100 in funding through Round 2 of the Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing) Grant Program will be administered through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The City of Toledo will be eligible to receive up to $7,000,000 in federal funding from HUD through the PRO Housing Grant Program. The purpose of the PRO Housing Grant funds is to identify and remove barriers to affordable housing production and preservation. These funds can be used to remove barriers caused by zoning decisions; land-use policies or regulations; inefficient procedures; gaps in available resources for development; deteriorating or inadequate infrastructure; lack of neighborhood amenities; or challenges to preserving existing housing stock, such as increasing threats from natural hazards, redevelopment that reduces the number of affordable units, or expiration of affordability requirements.

Public comment will open September 27, 2024 through October 11, 2024.

A public hearing has been scheduled for October 3, 2024 at 3 p.m. in Council Chambers at One Government Center.

Summary

The City of Toledo is seeking HUD PRO Housing funding to address significant barriers to affordable housing production and preservation in the City of Toledo, including an outdated zoning code and a weak market for new or preserved housing.

The PRO Housing proposed approach will implement key affordable housing policy recommendations and comprehensive land use planning goals of the following major stakeholder driven initiatives already completed:

• Toledo Together, a Guiding Vision & 10 Year Action Plan for Housing (2021), Toledo’s first comprehensive housing strategy.
• Forward Toledo (2024), a comprehensive land use plan guiding Toledo’s development and planning for the next decade and beyond.

If funded, the City of Toledo will coordinate a HUD PRO Implementation Advisory Group comprised of community stakeholders involved in land use and housing regulation, social services, affordable housing development, advocacy, neighborhood groups, and more.

Barriers

The City of Toledo has an immediate and identifiable need for more affordable housing. There is a shortage of 12,705 affordable and available rentals for extremely low-income renter households. We have identified five barriers to affordable housing production in Toledo:

1. Outdated zoning and land use control.
2. Permitting procedures and approval timing and predictability.
3. Availability of financing and subsidies for affordable housing.
4. Capacity to conduct meaningful community engagement, procedural delays associated with soliciting engagement or community review, and/or opposition to new and or affordable housing, and advocacy for development projects.
5. Market barriers – low property values and return on investment.

Vision

Our proposed PRO Housing approach to address these barriers is:

1. A comprehensive update of the Toledo Planning and Zoning Code and development standards.
2. Development of housing design templates made available to housing developers to streamline permitting and lower the cost of new affordable housing production.
3. Appraisal gap financing to incentivize housing production in targeted high Low-to-Moderate Income and weak market neighborhoods.