10 x 10 Affordable Housing Plan

The "10 x 10" Affordable Housing Plan is a community based Mayoral Initiative to foster the creation of 10,000 new affordable housing units by 2010. The Plan was created by members of the Fresno Housing Alliance in cooperation with the Mayor and City staff over a six month period. The Plan emphasizes land-use; planning and affordable housing policies that will help Fresno become a healthy, prosperous and affordable destination.

The 10,000 affordable housing units include units that are completed, under construction, permitted or approved in master plans. Affordable means housing for very low to moderate-income households, but may also include new housing that is priced at or below the median home price for the city.

Plan Strategies

The "10 x 10" Plan was unveiled at the Mayor's State of the City Address on May 25, 2006. The initial step of the Plan calls for the Mayor to appoint a "10 x 10" Blue Ribbon Committee to complete an Action Plan around the five strategies below, to fulfill the goal of 10,000 units by 2010.

Smart Growth Plan Implementation - Achieve the higher densities of the General Plan to increase affordability, and promote developments that are mixed-use and pedestrian oriented.
Urban Reinvestment, In-Fill, and Transitional Housing Developments - Look to other cities for models of reinvestment and continue to proactively address the housing issues of our urban core.
Expand Affordable Housing Resources and New Financing - Continue to seek and support additional housing resources.
Innovative Local Government Planning, Incentives, Regulations, Permitting, and Enforcement - Fast track City review and approval of affordable housing developments, and adopt stricter code enforcement penalties against slumlords.
Coordinate Regional Land Use and Transportation Policies - Participate in the Regional Blue Print process, and lobby the State and Federal Government to financially reward local jurisdictions that regionally plan and work together.

As part of the 10 x 10 Committee's work, members and staff have overseen the development of research by David Rosen and Associates (DRA) to assist the City in the development of alternate on-ongoing revenue sources for the City's Housing Trust Fund. DRA has prepared several reports for the 10 x 10 Committee to facilitate the analysis and selection of an alternate revenue source. To receive a copy of the documents please call Corrina Nunez, Housing Project Manager, at (559) 621-8300.

The documents are: 1) Revenue Sources - identifies on-going revenue sources for the Trust Fund, 2) Land Use Best Practices - identifies land use implementation strategies used to provide additional affordable housing opportunities throughout the State, 3) Non-Local Resources - provides useful information regarding other affordable housing loans and grants available to affordable housing developers, and 4) Gap Analysis and Gap Appendices - provides detailed information regarding the gap between the cost to build homes in Fresno and what a family can afford to buy/rent (the "gap"). Please take the opportunity to attend our next 10 x 10 Blue Ribbon Committee on Affordable Housing meeting, Monday April 13, 2009, 10 a.m., Fresno City Hall, 2600 Fresno St., 3rd Floor (room 3054) where the Committee will have a chance to discuss the documents with the consultants.

Blue Ribbon Committee Membership
Keith Bergthold (Chair, City of Fresno)
Cynthia Sterling (Co-Chair, Councilmember City of Fresno)
Dennis Woods (United Security Bank)
Sara Hedgeth-Harris (League of Women Voters)
Sharon Stanley (Fresno Interdenominational Refugee Ministries)
Veda Stamps (The Ramsey Group)
Jeff Roberts (Granville Homes)
Bonnie Rusko (Center for Independent Living)
Anthony J. Miranda (Habitat for Humanity)
Allysunn Williams (Fresno EOC)
Brian Domingos, Jr. (Sol Development)
Claudia Cazares (City of Fresno)

Power Point Presentation to City Council
Blue Ribbon Committee Agendas and Minutes