One of the first things the National Housing Law Project does when a group calls for advice is connect it with organizations that have taken on similar projects. Groups who have faced similar situations, worked with the same HUD officials, or developed innovative responses can provide useful support and lessons.
Build Community Support
It will usually be important to build additional community support for a preservation effort, either to convince an owner to preserve the development or sell to a preservation purchaser, or to secure the additional subsidy funds necessary to make a transfer feasible.
Along with tenants and neighborhood residents, "the community" includes numerous organizations that can add the support of their constituencies or members to the effort, or provide additional connections into the local political structure. These include:
housing and homeless advocacy organizations;
nonprofit housing providers;
social service organizations providing services to low-income constituents;
neighborhood organizations;
churches and faith-based institutions; and
civic organizations working on anti-poverty issues.
Engage Local Government
many situations, the support of local government is crucial. This could include city housing and planning staff, members of the legislative body such as the city or county council, and those with executive authority such as the mayor, city manager, or county executive.
Local government can:
Community Survey
Local governments often assess housing needs and develop action plans, which creates obvious advocacy opportunities for advancing local preservation work.
get information;
provide funding;
take regulatory action;
enforce existing restrictions;
encourage the owner toward a preservation plan by leveraging its discretionary authority over local approvals sought by the owner for other development or land use decisions; or
advocate for preservation with the federal or state government.
It is important to start this process of communication early.
