via MHA President Mary Rippe in the Star Tribune:

“The Met Council is working in partnership with property owners and residents in a program called the Community Choice Housing Assistance Program. The program will offer training and other services to both residents and property owners.

As with most regulated industries, the regulation of housing is complex, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s programs are even more complex than local initiatives.

There are 100,000 units of rental housing in the city of Minneapolis, with more apartments being built. The Glidden effort would make participation mandatory for all Minneapolis properties. It would create longer wait times for residents looking for housing by imposing onerous bureaucratic inspections on an already-stretched staff. And it would further concentrate housing disparities that the Met Council aims to disperse throughout its new initiative.”  READ MORE: http://strib.mn/1UNV8Ha

EXCERPT: “The Metropolitan Council, which operates the largest housing and redevelopment authority in the state and has 6,300 housing voucher holders, launched its Community Choice program in December.

It’s aimed at families with children under the age of 10 that receive federal housing vouchers and want to move into “areas of opportunity” — places with good schools and lower poverty levels. The families spend 30 to 40 percent of their income on rent and use vouchers to cover the balance.