Housing Affordability Strategy
City of Hudson
Hudson, NY
City of Hudson, NY- Hudson Community Development and Planning Agency
Request for Proposals: Housing Strategy Consultant
May 10, 2022
1. Purpose
The City of Hudson seeks proposals from qualified individuals or organizations to assist with the development of several housing policies.
2. Background
The City of Hudson completed its Strategic Housing Action Plan (SHAP) in 2018, which identified several strategies to preserve and increase housing affordability in the city. To help implement these strategies, the City of Hudson, through the Hudson Community Development and Planning Agency, won a one million dollar Anti-Displacement Learning Network Grant (ADLN) from Enterprise Community Partners and the Office of the New York State Attorney General in 2021. One of the outcomes of this grant was creating the City's first professional housing and planning position of Housing Justice Director. Another outcome was the creation of the Affordable Housing Development Plan (AHDP) by Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress in Fall 2021, which identified sites in the City suitable for the developing new affordable housing, and which also recommended thirteen strategies for supporting housing affordability. Of these strategies, the City has identified several that we wish to pursue.
The Mayor's Office has been working with the Common Council and the Hudson Community Development and Planning Agency to implement several of these strategies and is seeking further professional assistance to develop the strategies. This professional service would be funded by the Anti-Displacement Learning Network Grant and overseen by the Housing Justice Director in the Mayor's Office.
3. Key Events and Dates
Issuance of Request for Proposals (RFP) — May 10, 2022
Deadline for RFP Questions — May 23, 2022
Post Responses for RFP Questions — May 25, 2022
Proposal Due Date — June 6, 2022
Interviews/Presentations (not earlier than) — June 8, 2022
4. Scope of Work
The Mayor's Office has been working to implement some of the strategies recommended in our Affordable Housing Development Plan, which was adopted by our Common Council in 2021. The City is looking for a consultant to first and foremost assist the Housing Justice Director in analyzing the financial feasibility of an inclusionary zoning or set-aside policy. The expected deliverable is not to produce a full report or study but to help create the financial rationale for inclusionary zoning policy recommendations.
In addition, the Mayor's Office is pursuing the five strategies listed below and is looking for this housing strategy consultant to assist with developing one or more of these strategies. Again, the expected deliverable is not a full report or study but tangible content to guide policy and program designs. Applicants should identify in their cover letter which of these five strategies interest them. Applicants may select as many of these strategies as they like based on their professional experience, available time, and interest. Any selected consultant(s) will then work with the Housing Justice Director to create a clear scope of work and deliverables. These five strategies include:
- Finding a public revenue source dedicated to providing sustainable revenue to the newly created Hudson Housing Trust Fund
- Piloting a program that incentivizes homeowners to rent below market rate to tenants in exchange for a tax abatement
- Revising the City's existing vacancy law
- Sketching governance structures for a new community land trust in the City to create permanently affordable housing
- Considering any temporary affordable housing overlays in the interim while the City pursues a new comprehensive plan and zoning code update
To see the full RFP and to learn more about the City of Hudson, please visit https://www.cityofhudson.org/news_detail_T10_R504.php or email Michelle Tullo, AICP, Housing Justice Director at housing@cityofhudson.org