Toledo housing officials outline development projects and local barriers; Fair Housing Center reports 2,000+ intakes

Speakers at a Toledo housing briefing on Sept. 4 described a range of housing challenges and development plans, saying federal CDBG funds, public-housing renovations and local zoning changes will be needed to address shortages, homelessness and barriers to homeownership.

The Fair Housing Center reported more than 2,000 intakes for housing assistance over the past year and cited source-of-income discrimination against tenants using Housing Choice Vouchers as a persistent barrier. Lucas Metropolitan Housing (LMH) Chief Executive Officer Siguor Vance gave an overview of LMH programs, wait-list data and a slate of renovation and new-construction projects.

The Fair Housing Center representative said the center completed an analysis of barriers to housing choice that drew on outreach, surveys, focus groups and demographic data. The representative listed access to homeownership, investor purchases of housing stock and limited lending products for low-income buyers as major obstacles. The representative also said “source-of-income discrimination” — where landlords refuse tenants who plan to pay with Housing Choice Vouchers — remains a significant local problem and noted that other Ohio jurisdictions, including Columbus, have adopted protections addressing that issue.

The representative said work to address these barriers includes recommendations for outreach, zoning and an action plan to target the identified barriers. The…