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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSection 4 Housing 27 Housing Vision: Iowa City is a community of neighborhoods with safe, attractive, and affordable housing options to serve residents throughout their lifetimes. To this end, the City of Iowa City will support policies that preserve and enhance the character of existing neighborhoods while encouraging diverse and affordable housing options in all neighborhoods—new and old. Housing Goals and strategies: Encourage a diversity of housing options in all neighborhoods.  Ensure a mix of housing types within each neighborhood, to provide options for households of all types (singles, families, retirees, etc.) and people of all incomes.  Encourage development on smaller lots that conserve land and allow for more affordable single- family housing options.  Strive to create a healthy balance of rental and owner-occupied housing in all neighborhoods.  Identify and support infill development and redevelopment opportunities in areas where services and infrastructure are already in place.  Concentrate new development in areas contiguous to existing neighborhoods where it is most cost effective to extend infrastructure and services.  Encourage projects that attract long-term residents to Downtown, Riverfront Crossings, and the University Impact Zone.  Encourage publicly and privately developed dormitory-style housing for University students in ar- eas close to the University campus, but away from single-family neighborhoods.  Ensure that dormitory-style housing for University students includes recreational and open space amenities that provide for a safe and healthy student living environment.  Promote housing design and features that allow people to age in place, such as universal design.  Encourage green building techniques and promote energy efficiency in all housing. Neighborhoods should provide a variety of housing options to serve people throughout the various stages of life: single working people, families, and seniors. 28 Improve and maintain housing stock in established neighborhoods.  Continue to support and promote programs that fund or provide low-interest loans for housing maintenance or rehabilitation such as the General Rehabilitation and Improvement Program (GRIP), the Targeted Neighborhood Improvement Program (TARP), and the UniverCity Neighbor- hood Partnership.  Encourage the improvement or re-development of substandard multi-family housing.  Identify areas within established neighborhoods where infill development would be appropriate. Maintain and improve the safety of all housing.  Enforce building and housing codes.  Review existing codes for consistency with the goal to provide safe housing, re-evaluating provi- sions that have no apparent basis in safety.  Update codes to accommodate the use of new technology and construction techniques.  Explore Home Energy Rating Standards for new construction and significant remodel/rehab- ilitation projects. Preserve the integrity of existing neighborhoods and the historic nature of older neighborhoods.  Develop neighborhood plans that help ensure a balance of housing types, especially in older parts of the city.  Support the Historic Preservation Commission’s efforts to meet its goals.  Support housing rehabilitation programs and re-invest in housing in existing neighborhoods. Support sustainability initiatives to create more energy efficient development.  Support programs to improve the efficiency and environmental sustainability of housing.  Support compact, contiguous development to ensure the efficient use of land and to enhance op- portunities for alternatives to commuting by car. The UniverCity Neighborhood Partnership purchases and renovates rental properties in areas near the Downtown and Campus. These homes are then resold as affordable owner- occupied housing. The goal is to achieve a healthier balance of owner-occupied and rental properties in near-campus neighbor- hoods that still retain a single-family charac- ter.