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Housing department presents inventory showing $36 million and 30 programs addressing displacement
Summary
Housing and community development staff told the committee the city has roughly 30 anti-displacement programs spanning 12 departments, funded with over $36 million and serving about 18,000 households; staff recommended a strategic housing plan update and improved access to services.
City housing officials presented a cross-department inventory that found roughly 30 programs across 12 departments aimed at mitigating displacement, more than 77 staff administering the work and over $36 million in funding supporting roughly 18,000 households.
Merrick Malone, director of Housing and Community Development, described the inventory as an "eye-opening" catalog that both celebrates the city’s investments and highlights program fragmentation and redundancies. "There is a tremendous commitment from the city in terms of considerable resources that have been applied to anti-displacement," Malone said, but added the programs are often disjointed and need coordination.
Rachel Heitman (policy and special products manager) summarized the methodology: surveys to department contacts, follow-up meetings, and respondent review. Staff reported that about 40 percent of Richmond households pay more than 30 percent of income on housing, above a national comparison of about 32 percent.
The inventory breaks programs into four categories: housing stability, utilities and billing assistance, assistance for homeowners, and community development and planning. Staff flagged inconsistent eligibility frameworks across programs (HUD AMI, federal poverty levels, and locally developed frameworks) and recommended a unifying approach to eligibility and reporting.
Malone and staff recommended using the inventory as the launch point for an updated strategic housing plan and a consolidated plan update, with six months of additional data work, stakeholder engagement and implementation planning. The department will also explore a public portal to make programs easier for residents and providers to find and use. Committee members praised the work, asked for clearer links to prior council directives and ordinances, and urged that any strategic plan include attention to market forces and the role of private-sector real-estate practices in displacement.
What happens next: staff said they will use the inventory to help shape the city's strategic housing plan and present implementation timelines and stakeholder engagement plans in the coming months.
