This just in, via Cleveland City Council, via Facebook... "Another step taken toward Breaking the Cycle of Abandonment". This is about how City Council has decided to spend our community's $25 million in Federal taxpayer funds from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) - the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development - intended to help our impoverished inner city. You must ask yourself, who decided how your $25,000,000 should be spent here, how did they really decide this, and is this a step forward or backwards?

If ever there was a time when citizens of Cleveland must follow $25,000,000 in taxpayer money taken from the paychecks of citizens of America for urban redevelopment here, now moving from the pockets of our Mayor and Cleveland City Council members to their chosen ones, it is now... especially as our community may expect $100,000,000s more in similar funds, in coming years, through further federal government economic stimulus programs.

Is this how you want your $25,000,000 spent? How about the next $100,000,000?

This $25 million in Federal HUD funds is already allocated here to "provide emergency assistance to state and local governments to acquire and redevelop foreclosed properties that might otherwise become sources of abandonment and blight within their communities. The Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) provides grants to every state and certain local communities to purchase foreclosed or abandoned homes and to rehabilitate, resell, or redevelop these homes in order to stabilize neighborhoods and stem the decline of house values of neighboring homes."

It is not clear exactly how the City Council intends to spend this money, and where in the community, and that must be determined, exactly. One concern is certainly the $15,000,000 or nearly 60% of the money to be spent on demolitions. But there is no less reason to be concerned about how will be spent any money for new development...

More than $4 million of the NSP funds has been specifically set aside to create rental housing opportunities for households with an income of 50% or less of the average median income (AMI). Another $2 million has been allocated to encourage quality rehabilitation. Both of these strategies rely on loans, project subsidies and grants to for profit and non-profit organizations and developers. Almost $2.5 million has been specified for a construction loan program that model block areas within Cleveland to revive transitional and fragile housing markets, where up to 40% of the cost of a single family renovation would be lent by the City of Cleveland.

It is safe to assume this new economic development money will follow through the "Connecting Cleveland 2020", "Strategic Investment Initiative", "More Sustainable Cleveland" networks, going to Neighborhood Progress Incorporated, select CDCs, and friends and family (literally) to demolish houses and assemble land in SII Zones, that will be given or sold at low cost to real estate developer friends, who will receive additional money to build subsidized rental and above market housing, and lots of other friends and family will profit.

Shocking is that $350,000 is to be spent on "demolition support in the form of increased workforce"... "two residential housing inspectors, a site inspector, a senior clerk to the Diligent Title Unit and a paralegal for the Diligent Title Unit"... not to mention "almost $600,000 in NSP funds to hire additional personnel to administer aspects of the program", and "More than $650,000 in NSP funds is to be specifically used for Operation Prevent – an integrated data system"... totaling over $1,600,000 or 6% for dubious administrative and overhead spending.

That "$500,000 of the NSP funds have been set aside to harness the creativity of Cleveland’s communities to find new uses for vacant land such as urban gardening, pocket parks, environmentally sensitive storm water management, bioremediation of hazards and green energy generation" is likely funding of Neighborhood Progress Inc., Cleveland Botanical Gardens, Shaker Lakes Nature Center, the Natural History Museum cum Green City Blue Lake Institute and Kent Urban Design Collaborative to implement pilot green projects around the Cleveland Foundation Strategic Investment Initiative Zone plan, and should likely be counted as administration and overhead as well.

That is about it. Nothing for socially equitable urban redevelopment, or foreclosure prevention, or blight prevention, or growing real food.

No programming focused around social services, or public health, or real human crisis management.

This is just increased funding for more infrastructure and enforcement and expanding destruction and segregation in discrimination against the most vulnerable, to benefit the rich.

Does how the Cleveland City Council intends to spend this money meet the intent and expectations of this Federal Program?

Does the Cleveland City Council plan remotely live up to the intent and expectations of United States President Barack Obama and our new Federal leadership?

Does the Cleveland City Council plan remotely live up to your expectations?

Was the public ever consulted on any of this, really?

Read on and you decide...

Another step taken toward Breaking the Cycle of Abandonment

Council passes $25 million program to address vacant and abandoned housing

Cleveland City Council took another significant step toward Breaking the Cycle of Abandonment last night by passing legislation that addresses how $25 million in funds from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) are to be used. The Council, in collaboration with the Jackson Administration, developed a multi-faceted approach to tackling vacancy and abandonment in the City of Cleveland.

There are several key elements to the overall plan for strategic use of NSP funds, including (1) eliminating blight conditions; (2) expanding land bank opportunities; (3) working with community organizations on aggressive code enforcement; (4) encouraging and sustaining investment in Cleveland’s current housing stock through rehabilitation; (5) varying the development approach in neighborhoods based on need and market potential; (6) stabilizing the residential housing market; (7) focusing on green land redevelopment efforts; and (8) developing “Operation Prevent” centered on an integrated data system that increases department to department communication aimed at combating the dumping of severely distressed properties into Cleveland’s housing stock.

The core elements of the NSP legislation cover the full scope of the foreclosure crisis, including demolition, rehabilitation of distressed properties and prevention of a further infusion of toxic properties into Cleveland’s housing market. All action will further the elements of the strategic approach to Break the Cycle of Abandonment, including using inspection to support reinvestment through rehabilitation, using aggressive code enforcement to discourage flipping of properties without proper repairs, the initiation of site control after demolition, requiring demolished lots be properly cleared to encourage future development and the use of deconstruction methods that recycle materials.

In addition to $15 million allotted for demolition, more than $350,000 has been allocated for demolition support in the form of increased workforce. The legislation authorizes the Cleveland Building and Housing Department to hire two residential housing inspectors, a site inspector, a senior clerk to the Diligent Title Unit and a paralegal for the Diligent Title Unit. The Cleveland Department of Community Development is scheduled to receive almost $600,000 in NSP funds to hire additional personnel to administer aspects of the program as well.

Cleveland has long been a leader in innovate uses for vacant land such as urban gardening. $500,000 of the NSP funds have been set aside to harness the creativity of Cleveland’s communities to find new uses for vacant land such as urban gardening, pocket parks, environmentally sensitive storm water management, bioremediation of hazards and green energy generation.

More than $4 million of the NSP funds has been specifically set aside to create rental housing opportunities for households with an income of 50% or less of the average median income (AMI). Another $2 million has been allocated to encourage quality rehabilitation. Both of these strategies rely on loans, project subisidies and grants to for profit and non-profit organizations and developers. Almost $2.5 million has been specified for a construction loan program that model block areas within Cleveland to revive transitional and fragile housing markets, where up to 40% of the cost of a single family renovation would be lent by the City of Cleveland.

More than $650,000 in NSP funds is to be specifically used for Operation Prevent – an integrated data system capable of providing real time information on the ownership, code enforcement, utility service, real estate transaction, foreclosure, occupancy, cost recovery and public acquisition status of vacant, abandoned and at risk properties. The data system is to be compatible with other local data sources such as the City and County land banks, all City departments and County offices. The Operation Prevent integrated data system will provide for a proactive prevention program to improve the Cleveland Building and Housing Department’s capacity to enforce existing laws and allow multiple departments to quickly identify actionable activities for stabilizing housing disinvestment through abandonment, foreclosure and destructive market activities. Access to the same set of data in real time should drastically increase department to department communication as well as the speed at which housing issues can be tackled.

The passage of the NSP legislation is the latest step in Cleveland City Council’s ongoing efforts to combat foreclosure and to revive the Cleveland housing market. Since the start of the current term in January 2006, Cleveland City Council has focused on the foreclosure crisis and the resulting presence of vacant and abandoned properties in the City of Cleveland. Cleveland City Council’s efforts to Break the Cycle of Abandonment include a four step, holistic approach, addressing Detection, Prevention, Maintenance and Blight Elimination, and Redevelopment. In February 2008, Council’s Initiative was highlighted in a day-long forum on foreclosure held for the presidential candidates.

Each and every Cleveland neighborhood is affected by the problem of vacant and abandoned properties. Cleveland City Council is committed to working with community leaders and all Clevelanders toward a solution that addresses the needs of the residents of these neighborhoods and makes Cleveland a place people choose to live, work, learn and play.