Rhode Island Housing Resources Commission

Housing 2030 outlines an actionable plan for the Rhode Island Executive Office of Housing to address the state's critical housing needs. Its central goal is to permit 15,000 new homes by the end of 2030, ensuring a diverse range of affordable and accessible housing options. The plan focuses on five key strategies: establishing municipal production goals, addressing zoning and regulatory barriers, making strategic investments in infrastructure and preservation, building partnerships, and supporting homeownership and housing stability. This comprehensive approach aims to foster economic growth, promote healthier communities, and create a more equitable and affordable housing environment for all Rhode Islanders.

The council discussed the development of a comprehensive Strategic Plan to End Homelessness, noting the release of an RFP for a vendor. Additional topics included the ongoing effort to create and distribute Street Sheets as resource guides for individuals experiencing homelessness, and various communication improvements, such as maintaining an updated website and coordinating with first responders. Furthermore, the meeting addressed the state's winter response efforts, which involved funding seasonal shelters, warming centers, and pop-up sites. Finally, a new working group between the Executive Office of Housing and the Department of Corrections was introduced, aimed at developing a pilot program to reduce housing instability and recidivism for incarcerated individuals upon release.

This interim report represents the initial phase of the Rhode Island Housing Organizational Plan, providing a landscape analysis of housing functions across various state departments, agencies, boards, and commissions. The analysis identifies key challenges including fragmented governance structures, unclear and often duplicative roles, inconsistent strategic planning efforts, resource and staffing gaps, dispersed data, and issues with transparency and accountability. The report is structured around seven policy areas: housing development, homeownership, housing affordability and access, specialized housing, preservation, health and safety of existing housing stock, climate and energy, and homelessness, with the ultimate goal of the Housing Organizational Plan to achieve role clarity, proactive and data-driven planning, optimized resource allocation, streamlined operations, and enhanced transparency and accountability in the state's housing efforts.

This Annual Action Plan for the State of Rhode Island details the application for HUD funding across CDBG, HOME, HTF, and ESG programs for Program Year 2024 (July 2024 - June 2025). The plan outlines strategies to achieve the overarching strategic goals of the 2020-2024 Consolidated Plan, focusing on increasing housing opportunities, preserving affordable housing, ending homelessness, adapting housing for resident needs, eliminating lead hazards, and investing in community infrastructure and services. It describes expected outcomes such as the construction and rehabilitation of rental units, provision of housing for homeless individuals, and support for anti-poverty efforts, specifically targeting extremely and very low-income households and special needs populations.

This feasibility study examines public development and ownership models to address Rhode Island's significant shortage of affordable multifamily rental housing. It analyzes domestic and international case studies, the local development context, and various financing and regulatory mechanisms. The study aims to guide the potential creation or utilization of a government entity for affordable housing development and ownership, offering recommendations to leverage existing strengths and establish new frameworks for promoting housing affordability in the state.