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Opportunities
<br />EXPLORATORY SCENARIO PLANNING PROCESS
<br />1.Due to our strengths, developers are interested in building/developing in Lakewoodand people
<br />Over the last several years, various conversations have beentaking place regarding the difficulties of
<br />want to live here.
<br />supporting and maintaining affordable housing in the community. However, these conversations were
<br />2.Redevelopment of former sites into housing createsnew opportunitiesthat would not otherwise
<br />disparate and not outcome focused. With the assistance of the Lincoln Institute, the Greater Ohio Policy
<br />exist in the community.
<br />Center,and Professor Chakraborty, the City undertook a series of exercises to understand current
<br />3.The Lincoln Institute LegacySP project is an opportunity for Lakewood to look at housing and
<br />conditions and opportunities and then convened a one-day workshop. The workshop includeda cross-
<br />address affordability needs.
<br />section of Stakeholders that are leaders in supporting affordable housing in the community and
<br />4.Incentive and financial assistance programs are availableand there is community support for
<br />surrounding area. This included representatives from a broad spectrum of organizations representing
<br />maintaining these programs as well as developing new ones.
<br />multiple perspectives onaffordable housing. Utilizing the LegacySP toolkit, the exercises and workshop
<br />5.Support by the community to do something about affordable housing.
<br />ŅƚĭǒƭĻķ ƚƓ ƷŷĻ ŭǒźķźƓŭƨǒĻƭƷźƚƓ ƚŅͲ ͻ How do we ensure affordable housing for all Lakewood residents now
<br />ğƓķ źƓ ƷŷĻ ŅǒƷǒƩĻͪͼ
<br />Threats
<br />SWOT: Analyzing Affordable Housing in Lakewood
<br />Њ͵\[ğƉĻǞƚƚķƭ ƭƷƩĻƓŭƷŷƭ ğƩĻ ğƌƭƚ ğ ƷŷƩĻğƷ ΑƷŷĻ ķĻƒğƓķ ğƓķ ķĻƭźƩğĬźƌźƷǤ ĭğƓ Ʀǒƭŷ ƦĻƚƦƌĻ ƚǒƷ ğƓķ
<br />limit who can get in.
<br />Prior to identifying and engaging with Stakeholders in the planning process, City staff conducted an
<br />2.As a bedroom community, changes in the housing market can drastically impact the community
<br />internal SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis facilitated by the Greater Ohio
<br />economically.
<br />Policy Center and Professor Chakraborty. One on one interviews with stakeholders also informed the
<br />3.The cost of construction hinders the opportunity for new construction & redevelopment of former
<br />SWOT analysis. A SWOT analysis identifies attributes and forces that are strengths, weaknesses,
<br />buildings/sites.
<br />opportunities, or threats to the issue being analyzed, affordable housing in this case. This exercise is
<br />4.Lakewood is one of the top communities for property value appreciationin Cuyahoga County.
<br />commonly used by City Planners to help understand positive attributes while also understanding
<br />The increased sales prices and resulting property values and taxes arethreatening housing
<br />challenges. Conclusions from the SWOT about Lakewood and its ability to ensure affordable housing for
<br />affordability.
<br />all Lakewood residents include:
<br />5.Older housing stock that dominates the streets of Lakewoodcan be more complexand costlyto
<br />rehabilitate and modernize,creating a disincentive.
<br />Strengths
<br />Identifying StakeholdersInfluencing Affordable Housing in Lakewood
<br />1.Being a lakefront City that is walkable and accessible by bike, car, and mass transitis a significant
<br />draw for residents.
<br />The City identifiedkey Stakeholders that might be impacted by outcomes or be leaders in ensuring the
<br />2.The city has a strong(quality)housing stock (pre and post pandemic).
<br />success of initiatives related to affordable housing. In addition to providing valuable insight and input into
<br />3.Lakewood is a bedroom community and housing is thetop economic driver.
<br />the planning process, these individuals and their organizations are key decision makers, influencers, and/
<br />4.Lakewood has financial resources to address affordable housing (HOME, CDBG, and tax
<br />or change makers in the community.
<br />abatement for100+ unit projects).
<br />5.There are many community partners engaged in providing and supporting affordable housing in
<br />To the extent possible, a 360-degree perspective was desired. This resulted in the City prioritizing
<br />the community and region.
<br />agencies and individuals representing financial institutions, affordable housing developers and providers,
<br />social service providers, community organizations with a housing focus, the Lakewood City Schools, and
<br />Weaknesses
<br />tenant advocacy organizations. The following organizations and individuals were invited to participate in
<br />the workshop, and several also participated in early one-on-one interviews.
<br />1.Lakewood is landlockedso opportunities to create new affordable housing is more difficult.
<br />2.With an older housing stock entering its second century, the cost of historical rehabilitation can
<br />EDEN, Inc.: Emma Petrie-Barcelona,
<br />be expensive.
<br />First Federal of Lakewood: Lisa Behm, Eliseo Garcia, and Carolina Purcell,
<br />3.Outside of the city government structure,LaƉĻǞƚƚķ ƌğĭƉƭ ğƓ ǒƓƚŅŅźĭźğƌͻĭŷğƒƦźƚƓͼΑŅƚƩ ŷƚǒƭźƓŭ
<br />Fair Housing Center for Rights & Research: Carrie Pleasants
<br />and other policy concerns in the city.
<br />Human Services Department: Laura Jaissle
<br />4.There are many partners involved in housing however the efforts are not always coordinated.
<br />Lakewood City School District:Mark Walter
<br />5.Tax abatement supporting affordable housing is tailored to high volume, new construction
<br />LakewoodAlive: Allison Urbanek and Mark McNamara
<br />projects (100+ units), which may make Lakewood less attractive to smaller scale affordable
<br />LSC Service Corporation: Donnald Heckelmoser
<br />housing developers or entities that do rehab.
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<br />Overall, participants in the workshop later advised that the Stakeholder group achieved its intended
<br />purpose. It was suggested that potential attendees for future efforts could include a representative from
<br />CHN Housing Partners, CuyahogaMetropolitan Housing Authority, Cuyahoga County, representative of
<br />the church community, Legal Aid Society, and a local owner of a naturally occurring affordable housing
<br />unit.
<br />Pre-Workshop Interviewswith Select Stakeholders
<br />Several weeks prior to the workshop, the City contacted several of the key stakeholders forinput on
<br />changes they have seen in affordable housing in Lakewood, the current supply of affordable housing in
<br />Lakewood, and the role naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH) plays in Lakewood. The following
<br />are the results from the interviews.
<br />Interview Questions & Responses: Changes in Affordable Housingin Lakewood
<br />Interview Questions & Responses: Role of Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing in Lakewood
<br />Interview Questions & Responses: Supply of Affordable Housing in Lakewood
<br />These questions and responses were shared with the Stakeholders at the workshop. There was
<br />agreement with the group that affordable housing supply in the community was threatenedand that the
<br />reasons for it were multi-faceted. There was also agreement that the City and the Stakeholders are
<br />presently challenged to maintain the current supply of affordable housing given market forces,
<br />preemptions by State of Ohio laws, and limited availability of opportunities to create new affordable
<br />housing.
<br />ƚƩƉƭŷƚƦʹ 5ĻŅźƓźƓŭ \[ğƉĻǞƚƚķƭ CǒƷǒƩĻƚŅ !ŅŅƚƩķğĬƌĻ IƚǒƭźƓŭ
<br />Stakeholders met in-person for a full day workshop. Based on the data analysis and interview results, a
<br />series of questions were developed to prompt stakeholders to define a vision for the future of Lakewood
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