February News Updates

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Vision: Everyone has stable, healthy housing they can afford

Housing Strategic Plan Goes to City Council!

On February 16, City Council will consider adoption of the Housing Strategic Plan and a budget appropriation of $290,000 to make housing-related changes to the City’s Land Use Code. Since the fall of 2020, the City, Home2Health, community partners and hundreds of individual residents have been working on this plan update. To view the full draft plan along with other housing data and information, please visit the Housing Strategic Plan webpage at fcgov.com/housing.

I have something to say – how can I comment? There is still a window of opportunity for community members to provide comment to City Council or to participate in the adoption hearing. For information about how to participate in the Council hearing, click here. To submit written comments, email cityleaders@fcgov.com (include “Housing Strategic Plan” in the subject line). Thanks to everyone who has already shared their thoughts about the draft plan!

What’s next? Home2Health will be gearing up for a Community Summit this spring to focus on implementation of the priority strategies in the Housing Strategic Plan. Stay tuned for more updates and how you can get involved with the Community Summit coming soon!

Black History Month – Learn the Past, Shape the Future

Home2Health invites you to celebrate an important part of American History with us this month as we reflect on African American and Black-American History and how it has shaped the world we live in today.

Past: The City of Fort Collins’ Historic Preservation Service recently put together a website which highlights African/Black History right here in Fort Collins. This new website covers early African/Black pioneers, notable families, a virtual walking tour, Black life at CSU, discrimination struggles and so much more! Please visit the site by clicking here.

Present: In addition, the Fort Collins African/Black History site has a link to a variety of Black History Month activities being held by CSU. Activities at CSU include a kick-off event, various speakers, luncheons and more! For more details, click here.

Future: And as the Housing Strategic Plan shifts from planning toward implementation, we wanted to share some food for thought about how community development and housing policy can step more fully into equity and antiracist practices.

Fort Collins Joins 40+ other Colorado jurisdictions in Regional Down Payment Assistance Program

Does your household make less than $150,000 a year? Are you ready to buy a home, but saving up for the down payment is a significant challenge? Just last week, City Council paved the way for our community members to participate in an additional down payment assistance program called Metro Mortgage Assistance Plus (or MetroDPA), which is a regional program administered by the City and County of Denver. This is yet another option for down payment assistance adding to those provided by Impact Development Fund, the Colorado Housing Finance Authority and private banks.

Is your household eligible for this opportunity? Learn more here!

Housing Policy 101 Now Available

Are you interested in learning more about how housing policy is created? Check out this step-by-step guide that was created as a resource to help community members better understand the development of housing policy in the City of Fort Collins Housing Strategic Plan. Check it out here!

Housing in the Local News

• Fort Collins' Mason Place provides a roof for 60 previously homeless residents (Coloradoan – Feb 5, 2021)
• Larimer County residents asked for input on affordable housing challenges, solutions (Coloradoan - Feb 3, 2021)
• Fort Collins creates game plan to tackle housing affordability (Coloradoan – Jan 31, 2021)
• Opinion: To fix housing affordability in Fort Collins, consider more than changing U+2 rules (Coloradoan – Jan 29, 2021)
• As Homeward 2020 ends, here's what its director says needs to happen to end homelessness in Fort Collins (Coloradoan – Jan 22, 2021)
• Community Guide project amplifies housing's impact on health for Fort Collins residents (CSU College of Liberal Arts Magazine – Winter 2020/Spring 2021 issue)