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City of Elk River Housing Plan Updated January 2003 <br /> • <br /> It should be noted that while the demand estimates seem overwhelming for a community, <br /> permits for 2000 and a portion of 2001 have been issued which will meet a large share of this <br /> demand. Permits have been issued for this period for 394 housing units. <br /> Rehabilitation <br /> Although a vast majority of the City's housing stock is fairly new, the community still has just <br /> under 700 housing units that were developed prior to 1960. Some of these units are likely going <br /> through gradual disrepair and a rehabilitation program would assist in maintaining these units. <br /> Efforts to improve housing units in the community can be approached on an individual or larger <br /> community scale. At an individual level homeowners could work with Tri-Cap to access the <br /> MHFA Rehabilitation Loan Program which offers a 0% deferred or fix-up loan or the <br /> Weatherization Assistance Program to qualified homeowners. <br /> Another option would be to take a larger approach to rehabilitate a neighborhood or targeted area <br /> of the community that consists of older housing stock. A program that offers a larger impact to a <br /> community would be the Small Cities Development Program. This program can offer deferred <br /> loans to qualified homeowners to make essential repairs to homes that help remove health and <br /> safety issues and to improve energy efficiency. This program is also available for rental <br /> rehabilitation activities. In addition to rehabilitation, funds can also be used for new housing <br /> construction. A list of eligible activities is found in the resource section. <br /> It should be noted that all the programs have some type of eligibility requirements and are not <br /> available to all households. Funds are also limited and/or awarded on a competitive basis for <br /> these programs. <br /> While the City does have a vast need for multiple types of housing, it is important to note that <br /> these recommendations are based on a conservative estimate of need through 2005. <br /> Development of these units at one period would likely result in an over saturation of the housing <br /> market. The housing market is continually changing and as such should be examined on a <br /> regular basis when working to implementation components of the housing plan. <br /> • <br /> 37 <br />