44 Housing Strategy | ENVISION FRANKLIN OTHER HOUSING POLICIES While the Housing Strategy for Envision Franklin focuses on land use and development policy, housing policy is most effective with a multipronged approach. Below are examples of additional housing policy considerations that would benefit from further consideration. Create and preserve dedicated affordable housing units: Market-based strategies alone cannot meet all of housing needs of Franklin’s residents. Affordable housing with subsidies in the financing that support the ability to produce apartments for income-qualified households is essential. Continue to pursue projects such as The Hill, built locally by nonprofit developers on land donated by the City. Help households access and afford private-market homes: Explore programs to lower the cost of homeownership, support down payment or closing cost assistance, offer tenant-based rental assistance, and enforce fair housing laws. While mandatory inclusionary zoning is not legal in Tennessee, other options such as deed restrictions and shared appreciation may be considered. Deed-restricted homes help to support affordability for owner-occupied homes. The Hard Bargain neighborhood has 14 deed restricted homes. They are deed restricted for 25 years, with restrictions and covenants managed by their legal counsel, McCann & Hubbard. Shared appreciation (also known as shared equity) is a worthwhile policy option that can help to make homeownership more affordable. Shared equity programs allow borrowers to purchase homes at below-market prices. In exchange, borrowers agree to sell the property only to other income-qualified buyers and/or share the home's appreciation with the organization that subsidized the purchase. Community land trusts are a common way to implement shared equity homeownership programs. Protect against displacement and poor housing conditions: help renters and homeowners remain stably housed in the face of such challenges as rising rents, job loss, health crises, gentrification, and mortgage defaults; enhance housing quality and prevent the loss of existing units to deterioration. Tax strategies: Institute a land value tax that charges a higher tax rate on land and a lower rate on structures. This practice is designed to encourage owners of expensive land to build more intensively—such as a duplex instead of a single-family home. Image Credit: Deborah Myerson
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