Tavares, FL (Lake County, FL) Major update added Sept. 10, 2018 - scroll down to see the update
Created: August 20, 2015
I will be adding "big picture"content periodically to this Factsheet with links to source materials. For frequent, detailed updates on AFFH, I recommend www.AFFH.net and Sustainable Freedom Lab .
The shortcut to this page is: http://bit.ly/Kill-AFFH
FiscalRangers.com has already published several articles on AFFH HERE.
If you want to start with a five minute overview video on AFFH, try THIS one.
AFFH (Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing) is a Federal HUD rule that was recently approved by HUD (in 2015) and requires that any local city or county agency receiving CDBG Federal Grants (like Lake County and several cities) must agree to a condition to implement AFFH. The new Lake County CDBG annual HUD grant plan contains a “Certification” page where they agree to implement AFFH. I have given public input to the Lake County Board more than once about the risks of accepting CDBG grants, but they ignored me.
AFFH is a liberal Obama Administration social justice program that replaces local zoning decisions with plans defined by the Federal Government. They require communities to conduct demographic studies to identify “economic disparity”, then develop a plan to correct it, and then actually implement the plan, monitored by HUD. A pilot case in Westchester County, NY of a less precise version of AFFH resulted in a massive lawsuit (see link further down) and now they are building 750 HUD defined low income housing units split among 31 predominately white, upper class neighborhoods.
Numerous news stories have appeared on AFFH dangers in mid-2015 and how it will be used to mandate creation of low income housing in wealthy neighborhoods. Critics question why the Federal government should have the right to over-ride local zoning then redistribute low income people into wealthier neighborhoods. This is different from requiring more spending in minority neighborhoods. Instead, the plan is to require movement of minority and low income people into higher income neighborhoods by creating HUD defined low income housing units. So, some neighborhoods with 1/4 acre + zoned housing will be forced to do infill low income housing.
The main result is to use AFFH to reduce home rule and make the Federal government a replacement for local zoning boards.
Recommendation (Updated May 23, 2016):
AFFH needs to be defunded and killed.
Lake County, FL Residents need to understand that if the County Board, and the local cities keep taking HUD grants that require AFFH compliance, they are obligated to implement AFFH, and could be sued later by local activists or HUD like Westchester County, NY experienced (see below) to create HUD defined low income housing within higher income neighborhoods. Westchester County is now having to build 750 low income units spread among 31 predominantly wealthy neighborhoods based upon AFFH required studies.
It is a Federal overreach of local zoning decisions and individual property rights. Cities and counties need to refuse HUD grants which now have requirements to comply with AFFH. One Colorado town did just that and we wrote about it HERE. Both US Senate and US House bills have been filed to defund AFFH but died (see below).
Recent articles / references on AFFH:
Major Update added Sept. 10, 2018:
Aug. 16, 2018 - HUD, under President Donald Trump and HUD Secretary Ben Carson, has determined that Obama era AFFH rules and methods to facilitate affordable housing were "not working" and have called for public comments on the Regulations.gov website on amending it to meet different objectives while reducing regulations and emphasis on studies vs results. Here is the request for comments and you can add them until the deadline and read other comments: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=HUD-2018-0060-0001
Additionally, here is the official August 16, 2018 "Proposed Rule" in the Federal Register.
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-08-16/pdf/2018-17671.pdf
If you read the first 1-2 pages, it is clear there is a major shift away from Obama's survey oriented approach to identify rich neighborhoods and then make local government "assess" them, and start plans to MOVE low income people into those neighborhoods. I posted a comment just saying let home rule guide affordable housing efforts and that AFFH should be abolished.
Added Oct. 26, 2016 - Rush Limbaugh May 9, 2016 story on new HUD efforts to force low income people into higher income neighborhoods. It is about "Obama's intention to destroy the suburbs." This is different from AFFH, but another HUD initiative to "equalize" neighborhoods. HUD is coming up with a new program to provide amped up Section 8 rent subsidy vouchers to low income people to pay rents while moving into higher income neighborhoods.
Added May 23, 2016 - This March 25, 2016 article explains how the City of Baltimore just settled a complaint filed by the NAACP with HUD regarding AFFH compliance. "HUD is requiring Baltimore County to spend $30 million ($3 million annually for ten years) to create 1,000 affordable housing units, either through new construction or rehabilitation. (NOTE: Rehabilitation means they could renovate a vacant house next to you and move a section 8 voucher family into it. This could be a way to use up HUD foreclosures.)
"The goal is to move low- and very-low-income people out of the city and into the suburbs."
"The units will be geographically dispersed in "neighborhoods that provide access to opportunity." The 46-page settlement includes a chart (Exhibit F) listing the 116 relatively affluent census tracts surrounding Baltimore City where most of the 1,000 housing units must be located."
"At least 500 of the units must have three or more bedrooms to accommodate families with children; and at least one-third of the units must be accessible and made available to people with disabilities."
"The county must "proactively market the units to potential tenants who are least likely to apply, including African Americans families and families with a member who has a disability.""
"In addition, the county must provide 2,000 Housing Choice Vouchers to help families gain access to "higher opportunity neighborhoods.""
Added May 23, 2016 - This Jul 20, 2015 National Review article on AFFH gives the best background on the motivations and plans leading up to AFFH. It's entire socialistic goal is to kill suburbs and merge them into a bigger regional government filling socialism goals of big government. They cite the original source for the ideas, the publication and the relationship with Obama's Alinsky supporters.
Added May 23, 2016 - This Jul. 28, 2015 New York Post article. "Obama collecting personal data for a secret race database" on AFFH explains how AFFH is being used to collect a massive database on minority demographics to be used to sue banks for finance discrimination or plan where low income housing needs to be built (in the middle of wealthy neighborhoods). Much of the data will be collected via AFFH HUD requirements for local cities and counties receiving HUD grants to conduct massive "assessments" to gather data, then develop AFFH compliance plans and implement them.
"The granddaddy of them all (racial databases) is the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing database, which the Department of Housing and Urban Development rolled out earlier this month to racially balance the nation, ZIP code by ZIP code. It will map every US neighborhood by four racial groups — white, Asian, black or African-American, and Hispanic/Latino — and publish “geospatial data” pinpointing racial imbalances.
The agency proposes using nonwhite populations of 50% or higher as the threshold for classifying segregated areas.
Federally funded cities deemed overly segregated will be pressured to change their zoning laws to allow construction of more subsidized housing in affluent areas in the suburbs, and relocate inner-city minorities to those predominantly white areas. HUD’s maps, which use dots to show the racial distribution or density in residential areas, will be used to select affordable-housing sites.
HUD plans to drill down to an even more granular level, detailing the proximity of black residents to transportation sites, good schools, parks and even supermarkets. If the agency’s social engineers rule the distance between blacks and these suburban “amenities” is too far, municipalities must find ways to close the gap or forfeit federal grant money and face possible lawsuits for housing discrimination.
Civil-rights groups will have access to the agency’s sophisticated mapping software, and will participate in city plans to re-engineer neighborhoods under new community outreach requirements.
“By opening this data to everybody, everyone in a community can weigh in,” Obama said. “If you want affordable housing nearby, now you’ll have the data you need to make your case.”
(Note: In my opinion, this means "civil rights groups" can SUE local cities for not taking action. Much like the Westchester County, NY lawsuit or being sued for not protecting endangered species.)
May 20, 2016 - A US Senator filed a bill to block funding for AFFH, but the Senate let it die. The House may still file a bill to defund AFFH. They did last year.
HERE is a radio interview on the Rush Limbaugh show just before the vote on the Senate bill.
"Published on May 17, 2016 May 17, 2016, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning appeared on the Rush Limbaugh Show with guest host Mark Steyn at 2:30PM EST to discuss the imminent Senate vote on an amendment by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), S.3897, to the Transportation and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) appropriations bill that will prohibit implementation of the HUD regulation “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” (AFFH) that conditions $3 billion of yearly community development block grants on 1,200 recipient cities and counties rezoning neighborhoods along income and racial guidelines.
Jul 8, 2015 - "Housing Redistribution: HUD Plans to Move Subsidized Housing Into Areas 'Rich With Opportunity'"
"If communities want to continue receiving federal housing funds, they must spend the money in ways that move inner-city minorities, for example, into subsidized housing in wealthier, whiter suburbs."
Jul 29, 2015 - Breitbart article "War on Suburbs: Obama, Julian Castro Rev Up Affirmative Action Housing"
References about AFFH:
You can see all prior articles we have written on FiscalRangers.com about AFFH HERE.
FiscalRangers.com also has a periodically updated Factsheet on AFFH dangers HERE (this page).
HERE is a March, 2016 five minute overview video on AFFH dangers by expert John Anthony.
AFFH.net is a podcast about dangers of AFFH. Here is their "Elevator Speech" on AFFH. They post continuous new items about AFFH so are a good source for updates.
"AFFH gives FREE federal grant money to the suburbs. But what they don't tell you is that by taking the money, you the suburbs will be forced to gentrify your neighborhoods with low-income racially diverse high density housing."
Sustainable Freedom Lab is a major source of info on AFFH
http://sustainablefreedomlab.org/ has many posts on property rights and the dangers of AFFH and HUD's Federal overreach.
They produced a property rights pamphlet "Agency Tyranny" by John Anthony which should be required reading by all City & County elected officials and City/County Managers, planners and HUD grant adminstrators. Here is a copy if you cannot download the latest version from their site:
Download 2016-02-agency-tyranny-ebook
Legal Issues - Westchester County, NY, home of Hillary Clinton, is a lawsuit pilot case
Westchester County is an example of what will happen when communities take HUD grants but then ignore AFFH requirements. They got sued based upon an early version of AFFH, and the lawsuit has been going on since 2009 because they fell under AFFH earlier.
March 29, 2016 - Mark Levine 9-minute radio show interview of Westchester County, NY's County Executive Rob Astorino about AFFH and the lawsuit there. He says under a HUD federal agreement, Westchester County must build 750 low income units in 31 white communities like Baltimore is doing, while HUD keeps expanding the requirements. AFFH social engineering "is coming to your community next like we warned Baltimore...especially if Hillary Clinton is elected..." he says.
July 27, 2015 - An earlier Fox News segment with Rob Astorino about the Westchester lawsuit.
HERE is an older update on the Westchester lawsuit from April 25, 2014 .
And, here is a short video on AFFH for Dummies by resident & Westchester County, NY County Executive Rob Astorino about the anguish AFFH caused to local residents by the lawsuit.
===
