It’s Time to Apply for an Affordable Housing Grant
by Ellie Russell,
June 30, 2011, page 5.....

Are you considering adding an apartment to your house, garage, barn or some other structure on your Charlotte land? Why not build an affordable unit and seek an Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF) grant to help cover your costs? These grants provide funding for feasibility studies and for the construction of affordable housing units, including owner-occupied houses. The purpose of the fund is to encourage Charlotte property owners to convert or add an affordable apartment to an existing building on their property or to build new perpetually affordable housing in Charlotte. Grants for feasibility studies will be made for 90 percent of the costs up to $5,000. Grants for construction projects will be made for up to $10,000 per affordable housing unit with a maximum of $30,000 allowed per construction project. A one-to-one match is required for construction projects. Units funded by grants must remain perpetually affordable and must rent at a rate considered affordable for a household earning 80 percent or less of the median income for Chittenden County. According to the latest income data, this means a rental rate of $1,034 per month for a one-person household earning $41,360 per year or $1,330 per month for a three-person household earning $53,200 per year.
AHTF grants are awarded annually. The deadline for applications is this coming August 31. Applicants will be notified by the AHTF committee by September 30 if their application has been selected for further review. At that time selected applicants will be asked to provide more detailed information regarding their projects. The deadline for the new information is October 31. The Trust Fund Committee will review these completed applications during November and will make recommendations to the Selectboard by December 15. Applicants will be advised of the AHTF recommendations at that time. The Selectboard will make final decisions by January 31, 2012.
Priority for funding will go to requests for projects from Charlotte residents, particularly those who are themselves of lower income. Priority is also given to applications that propose rental units, especially units with two or fewer bedrooms as that is the greatest need here in Charlotte. Projects that propose renovating existing structures and proposals that include energy efficiencies are also encouraged.
A brochure describing the grant program in more detail is included in this issue of The News and will also be available at the Town Party on July 9, or at any time from the Charlotte Planning and Zoning Office. Also, please feel free to contact any member of the AHTF committee or Dean Bloch in the Town Office for further information. Comments and suggestions for improving this grant program are always welcome.
The AHTF grant committee consists of Ellie Russell, chair, Allan Jordan, Gordon Brown, Robin Pierce and Ted Montgomery. Application forms are available in the Town Office and on the Town of Charlotte website (charlottevt.org).

Ellie Russell is the Chair of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Committee.