Mayor
Muriel Bowser presented her Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) Budget and Financial Plan
to the Council of the District of Columbia on May 18, and on June 3, DMPED testified
on its FY21 proposed budget before the Council on Committee on Business and
Economic Development.
The
Mayor’s budget makes significant new investments in education, healthcare,
housing, jobs and economic opportunity, public safety, transportation, and
more.
The
Mayor’s proposed FY21 budget supports DMPED’s commitment to producing and
preserving affordable housing, supporting our local business community, and
growing the District’s tax base. DMPED will continue its efforts to promote
housing affordability and stability, and support for the minority and
undeserved business communities -- focus areas that have become even more
important in uncertain economic times due to COVID-19.
Below
are a few highlights of new investments and initiatives, particularly around
affordable housing and business support, in Mayor Bowser’s FY21 budget
proposal, as well as DMPED specific budget investments:
- An investment of $100 million
in the Housing Production Trust Fund (for the sixth consecutive year) and
a $1 million investment in the Housing Preservation Fund.
- $76M in the capital plan for
the creation of the Public Housing Assessment and Structural
Transformation Fund (PHAST) to renovate, rehabilitate, and refresh the DC
Housing Authority portfolio to ensure residents have safe, healthy and
stable homes.
- An increase of $5.4 million for
the Local Rent Supplement Program in FY22 and FY23, which provides tenant-
and project-based rent vouchers and is essential to providing persons
making less than 30% of median family income with housing they can afford.
- $7M for the Great Streets
Program and other grants that support businesses and bring new
community-serving amenities to underserved areas.
- Investments in key economic
development projects such as $75.5M for McMillan Reservoir Redevelopment,
$122.6M for St. Elizabeths infrastructure development and $14.5M for Hill
East
Beyond
investments, several weeks ago, you may remember the Bowser Administration
submitted the amended Comprehensive Plan (Comp
Plan) to the DC Council. Informed by the input of tens of thousands of
residents gathered via public meetings and more than 3,000 amendment proposals,
the recently transmitted Comprehensive Plan includes important changes to the
Future Land Use Map to allow for greater density where appropriate and text
changes that will make the Planned Unit Development (PUD) process more
efficient by adding clarity that will minimize legal delays. Over the long
term, the Comp Plan amendments could increase housing production by 15%.
In
addition, to spur new affordable housing development in the four planning areas
that have the largest targets for new production in the Housing Equity Report
(Rock Creek West, Capitol Hill, Rock Creek East, and Upper Northeast), Mayor
Bowser has proposed a pilot property tax exemption for projects that include 33
percent of units affordable at 80 percent MFI or below, include a 40-year
affordability covenant, and deliver by 2025.
Visit budget.dc.gov to
view more on the budget, and to the DC Council’s
website to view budget oversight hearings and to provide your
feedback.
Sincerely,
The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic
Development
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