CDAD advocates for homes for all Detroiters
CDAD advocates for homes for all Detroiters – ensuring that Detroit residents have a variety of truly affordable, accessible, and safe housing options in thriving neighborhoods. CDAD advocates for the construction, rehabilitation, preservation, and maintenance of naturally occurring and regulated affordable housing in Detroit neighborhoods. We also advocate for creative approaches to affordable and accessible housing development. We support the adoption and implementation of the Detroit average median income (AMI) guidelines, whenever applicable. City Council Legislative Policy Division report and Detroit AMI Chart.
Staff and members pursue policy, legislative, and funding solutions on the local, state and federal levels. CDAD is a partner in the CEDAM Coalition for Strong and Prosperous Communities statewide group and a US congressional housing justice work group.
Locally, CDAD is a partner in the Detroit Housing Trust Fund Coalition Detroit Housing Trust Fund Flyer. The coalition works to improve the implementation of the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance. Unlike other housing funds, the Detroit Housing Trust Fund was established by ordinance; targets a range of housing options for low and very low income Detroiters; requires 10% of housing units to be accessible; contains community engagement and reporting provisions; and has a designated funding stream. The Housing Trust Fund is funded by 40% of all land sales made by the City of Detroit together with funds appropriated by City Council and financial penalties from developers who violate the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance.
Also on a local level, CDAD partnered with Wayne State University Law School. In the Fall 2022 semester, CDAD’s Public Policy Director co-taught a clinic course on affordable and accessible housing in Detroit for the Fall 2022 semester. As part of this course, law students were matched with CDAD members to work on advocacy projects that will benefit members and the larger Detroit community. These are the four project deliverables: Detroit Residential Bulk and Yard Waste guide; Blight Violations guide; Detroit Housing Help video; and Alley Guide brochure. We continue to explore opportunities for WSU and Wayne Law to collaborate with CDAD and our members around legal research and assistance projects.
On the state level, we advocate for CDAD members during Michigan State Housing Development Authority’s annual Qualified Allocation Plan development process and the agency’s racial equity impact work. The QAP sets forth the selection criteria to be used to determine housing priorities appropriate to local conditions in Michigan and is used to allocate Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) funds. The LIHTC program offers a financial incentive to construct, rehabilitate, and operate rental housing for low-income tenants.
In conjunction with CEDAM; Michigan League for Public Policies (MLPP); Michigan Nonprofit Association (MNA); and other organizations, CDAD advocates for and with our members to promote our policy and budgetary priorities on the state level. On the federal level, we collaborate with the National Alliance for Community Economic Development Association (NACEDA); National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) and other national groups to further CDAD priorities