2012 MHC Annual Meeting

“Rebuilding for Our Future” 

Tuesday, June 26
Kentucky Center for African American Heritage
1701 West Muhammad Ali Boulevard
Social Hour- 5:15 to 6:15 p.m.
Dinner and Presentation- 6:15 p.m.
Tickets- $60  

Keynote Speaker

Dory Rand, President of the Woodstock Institutewill be the Keynote Speaker for this year’s Annual Meeting.  Her presentation, called “Preserving Communities in the Wake of the Foreclosure Crisis,” will focus on the disproportionate impact of foreclosures on minority communities and how foreclosures and the vacant property crisis are entwined.   She will also discuss strategies for addressing foreclosures and vacant properties on the local level.

Dory has a wealth of community reinvestment knowledge and has long advocated for lower-wealth people on welfare law and public financial issues at the local, state, and national level.  In her work with the Woodstock Institute, she has prioritized responding to the impacts of vacant properties and foreclosures on low-income communities, particularly how they affect their economic security.   The Woodstock Institute has conducted community-based research and advocacy around these issues in Chicago.

Dory has published extensively, presented at many national conferences, and appeared in national and Chicago media, including American Banker, the Chicago Tribune and the Huffington Post.

The Woodstock Institute is a nonprofit research and policy organization working in the areas of fair lending, wealth creation, and financial systems reform. Woodstock Institute works in Chicago and nationally to create a financial system in which lower-wealth persons and communities of color can safely borrow, save, and build wealth so that they can achieve economic security and community prosperity.

Join us at the 2012 Annual Meeting. Dory Rand ‘s thoughts on strategies to respond to vacant properties and foreclosures in Louisville.

Tickets

Tickets to the 2012 Annual Meeting are $60.  Please take the following steps to purchase your tickets online.

1) Go to our online donation page and enter your payment information and the total amount for all tickets you would like to buy.

2) Include the following information in the “Comments” box on the page

• Type 2012 Annual Meeting Tickets and the names of all attendees (if known)
• If you need a vegan/vegetarian meal, please type “veg meal” and the number of meals requested.

If you cannot attend but wish to donate ticket(s) as sponsorships for low-income attendees, please type “Ticket Donation” in the “Comments” box.

If you prefer to purchase your tickets by check, please mail payment with names of attendees to:
MHC, PO Box 4533, Louisville, KY 40204-4533.

Sponsorships

Sponsoring the 2012 Annual Meeting is a great way to demonstrate your commitment to our community and to fair and affordable housing.

• Foundation Sponsor – $4,000
• Cornerstone Sponsor – $2,500
• Keystone Sponsor –  $1,500
• Groundbreaking Sponsor –  $1,000
• Table Sponsor –  $500

To purchase a sponsorship go to our online donation page, complete your payment information and type your Sponsorship Level in the “Comments” box.

Benefits of each sponsorship level are described below.

Program Ads

Getting an ad in the 2012 Annual Meeting Program is another great way to demonstrate your support of MHC’s work the hundreds of  local community members, elected officials, affordable housing advocates, and business leaders who will be at the event.

• Full page ad- $500
• ½-page ad- $300
• ¼-page ad- $75

To purchase a sponsorship go to our online donation page, complete your payment information and type your “Program Ad” in the “Comments” box.

 Sponsorship Benefits

Foundation Sponsor – $4,000

• Two central eight-seat tables with company name
• Opportunity to greet guests at the event
• Opportunity to speak at the event
• Display banner at the event on the stage
• Option to display marketing materials at the event
• Large font program mention
• Full first page ad in program
• Title sponsor listing in all media, press releases, and advisories
• Recognition in MHC Newsletter, website, and annual State of Metropolitan Housing Report
• Centerpiece with corporate logo

Cornerstone Sponsor – $2,500

• Two central eight-seat tables with company name
• ½-page ad in program
• Display banner at the event in social area
• Recognition from Podium
• Centerpiece with corporate logo
• Recognition in Media and Press Releases
• Recognition in MHC Newsletter and website

Keystone Sponsor –  $1,500

• ¼-page ad in program
• Display poster on stand in social area
• Recognition in MHC Newsletter and website
• One eight-seat table
• Centerpiece with corporate logo

Groundbreaking Sponsor –  $1,000

• Listing in program
• Recognition in MHC Newsletter and website
• One eight-seat table
• Centerpiece with corporate logo

Table Sponsor –  $500

• Listing in program
• One Eight-Seat Table

Sponsors As of 5-14-2012.  Add your organization to this list!

PNC Bank – Keystone Sponsor
Fifth Third Bank- Groundbreaking Sponsor
Volunteers of America Kentucky- Table Sponsor
Louisville Metro Housing Authority- Table Sponsor & 1/2-page Program Ad
LG&E- KU- Table Sponsor
River City Housing- Table Sponsor
Carpenters Local 64- Table Sponsor
Susan Hinko & Carl Batlin- Table Sponsor
The Dental Care Plus Group- 1/2- page program ad
Priddy, Cutler, Miller & Meade, PLLC- The Labor Law Firm- 1/4-page program ad

For More Information

If you have questions about the 2012 Annual Meeting or event sponsorships, please contact Curtis Stauffer at curtisstauffer@metropolitanhousing.org.

Tuesday, June 19- Louisville Vacant Properties Campaign Meeting.

George Eklund of the Network Center for Community Change will be teaching a seminar to show how you can use online resources to learn more about problem properties- including ownership and liens.  Join us for this very important meeting of the LVPC.  Space is limited, so please RSVP in advance by emailing
info@metropolitanhousing.org

The Fair Housing Coalition’s 2012 Fair Housing Month Forum held on April 16, 2012 was a great success.  Over 40 people attended and learned about Louisville’s Land Development Code and how it affects fair housing choice in our city.

At the Fair Housing Month Forum, the audience asked  questions largely focused on how zoning has historically facilitated segregation and limited affordable housing development to certain neighborhoods.  As part of this conversation, Bills and Hill provided more information on the history of zoning in Louisville.  Bills showed the Comprehensive Plan from 1966 that consisted only of a large map on one side of poster showing how Jefferson County was zoned and text in columns on the other side- a stark contrast to the 140 pages of Cornerstone 2020!  Carolyn Miller-Cooper, Executive Director of the Louisville Metro Human Relations Commission then discussed the State of Fair Housing in Louisville- building on the finding s  MHC’s 2011 report of the same name. Carolyn demonstrated that classes of people protected by fair housing laws are concentrated in certain parts of our city- areas where the land development code allows affordable housing (multi-family and/or smaller lot sizes) to be developed.  The Fair Housing Month forum concluded with a panel discussion of how zoning impacts affordable and multi-familiy housing development.  Panelists were Gale Lively of the Louisville Apartment Association, Tawana Hughes of Tawana Hughes Builder, LLC, and Chris Dischinger of LDG Development.  They discussed how zoning regulations and community response serve as a barrier to the development of multi-family housing and add costs to affordable housing units.

At the LVPC meeting, participants wanted to learn more about how zoning facilitates and inhibits development and reuse of properties.

At both meetings, attendees asked how citizens can participate in the upcoming “Phase 2” of the revision of the LDC.    PDF of Michael Hill’s Powerpoint presentation on Planning & Zoning in Louisville 4.16.12

MHC’s 2011 report- The State of Fair Housing in Louisville: Impediments & Improvements showed that zoning is a barrier to fair housing choice in our community and recommends changes to the Land Development  Code. The LDC is now under review.  Louisville Metro has appointed a 14-member LDC Improvement Committee consisting of Louisville Metro Government staff, representatives from the development industry, representatives from neighborhood groups, as well as other organizations and citizen groups.     Phase 2 of the LDC review begins on May 22 and will focus on more controversial issues than the minor Phase 1 edits completed in January, The Phase 2 revision of the LDC will provide an opportunity to advocate for changes to the code that can further fair housing choice and facilitate infill development of our urban neighborhoods. Go to the LDC Improvement Committee web page for more information.  If you have questions about the LDC review or would like to make comment, please contact Michael Hill at 502-574-6230 or
michael.hill@louisvilleky.gov

The upcoming revision of the LDC  provides opportunities to make changes that increase fair and affordable housing opportunities throughout our community. Citizen input is key to this process and MHC will work to keep you updated on opportunities to participate.

MHC released our newest issue paper at a public forum hosted by the Louisville Urban League on March 21.   Produced in partnership with the Network Center for Community Change (NC3), Louisville’s Foreclosure Recovery: Understanding & Responding to the Impacts of Foreclosure Sales updates MHC’s January 2008 report Louisville’s Foreclosure Crisis.

The 2008 report examined and analyzed all 1,699 foreclosures filed in Jefferson County, KY from January 1 through June 30, 2007. This new paper examines the status of those properties, using data from local government supplemented by site examination. The report assesses current trends in foreclosure in Louisville, the impact of foreclosure on vacancy rates, the tremendous loss in home value resulting from these 2007 foreclosures, and the subsequent increase in costs and loss in property tax revenue to Metro Louisville Government. The issue paper concludes with recommend actions that will guide a recovery from the tremendous losses of foreclosure in our city.

The forum opened with a welcome by MHC’s Cathy Hinko and a statement from NC3′s Dana Jackson observing the power that research and data can give residents to advocate for change.  Jane Walsh and Micah Herrmann of NC3 then presented the report’s findings, followed by a discussion of the reports recommendations by Cathy Hinko and Jane Walsh.

After the report’s presentation, a panel discussed their reactions to the report’s findings and recommendations.  Our panelists were:

• Christie McCravy, Director of the Louisville Urban League Center for Housing and Financial Empowerment
• Adam Hall,  President of the Mortgage Bankers Association of Kentucky
• Chuck Kavanaugh, Executive Vice President of the Homebuilders Association of Louisville
• Mary McGuire, leader of the Louisville Metro Vacant Abandoned Properties Initiative

MHC wishes to thank the sponsors of the report, Louisville Metro Council and NC3 for their generous support.

LOKL advocates for fair and humane practices of collecting delinquent property taxes and keeping tax-related revenue in the hands of local government.  There is a model that shows that over $1 million a year is being taken away from local government by the mandated sale of property tax liens to third-party speculators.  We also want to erase the complications of multiple lien holders on the title to a piece of property that needs to be put back in use.   LOKL has studied the way that our Land Bank is limited in function and want to modernize state laws governing land banks using best practices from around the country.  This will also help us in re-use of vacant properties and in helping neighborhoods have more control over land.

A comprehensive bill to change the collection of delinquent property taxes and the way the Land Bank operates is being prepared and has the support of Mayor Fischer.  There have been two contracts with the Center for Community Progress (CCP).  Vacant property and land bank expert Dan Kildee of the CCP visited Louisville on January 24 and 25 to provide technical assistance on this work. He returned to Kentucky to meet with legislators and key stakeholders on March 21.

We are working to see legislation created in the legislative  interim period so it can be introduced in teh 2013 Legislative Session.  The legislation will:

• protect homeowners by reducing the wildly-disparate fees private speculators attach to tax liens they purchase and ensuring a fair and uniform schedule of enforcement against tax-delinquent properties;
• allow counties (rather than third-party tax purchasers) to collect the most collectible tax liens and capture the lost revenue which could provide a land bank with funding to maintain and redevelop properties;
• enable counties to retain control over the destiny of their neighborhoods and act strategically when redeveloping currently unproductive property;
• allow counties to efficiently foreclose upon and take title to tax-delinquent properties; and
• update land banks’ authority to restore tax-delinquent property to productive use.

We will need your help to build support for this bill and expand the LOKL coalition.  If you think your organization would be willing to endorse LOKL’s platform, please contact MHC at info@metropolitanhousing.org or 584-6858.

Also, this spring LOKL will conduct outreach to homeowners at risk of having their tax liens sold to third-party speculators.  In May, June and July, LOKL will host clinics will where  homeowners can learn more about property taxes, obtain legal assistance, and set up property tax payment plans with the County Attorney’s Office.  For information about how you can help with outreach in your neighborhood, contact George Eklund at 618-5892.

We would like to thanks to the report’s authors- John Vick,  Carol Norton, Allison Smith and Lauren Heberle, Ph.D. of the University of Louisville Center for Environmental Policy and Management for their fantastic work.

MHC also wishes to thank the report’s sponsors, PNC Bank, Louisville Metro Government Department of Community Services and Revitalization, the Gannett Foundation, and  Janet Dakan,  for their generous support our our work.