ADVOCACY

JUNE 2023

Advocate for the Passive House standard in the Connecticut Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program.
Speak up to ensure Passive House is encouraged and rewarded in publicly funded low-income housing.

Public hearing on Wednesday, June 14 @ 1:00 to receive data, views and comments
See notice for call in details.

Written statements are accepted through the close of business on Friday, June 16.

STEP 1: DOWNLOAD OUR TEMPLATE  LETTER
Download an editable Word document.

STEP 2: FILL IN THE BLANKS
Customize the letter with your info.
Here’s a portion of what you’ll see:

“I am a resident of ______________ and am involved in my community as a ______________ (environmental steward, business owner, developer, contractor, parent, teacher, health care professional etc.). I care about this issue because ______________.”

If you have the time, add more information.
Need some ideas? See the TALKING POINTS for more information.

STEP 3: SUBMIT YOUR WRITTEN STATEMENT TO CHFA
Save your document and send it to:

Terry Nash Giovannucci
CHFA Manager 2 – Multifamily, Community Engagement
PublicComment@chfa.org
mail to attention Terry Nash Giovannucci, CHFA, 999 West Street, Rocky Hill, CT 06067
no later than close of business June 16, 2023

Have more a few more minutes?  Also send it to:

Seila Mosquera- Bruno,
CHFA Board Chair & Commissioner of the Department of Housing
seila.mosquera-bruno@ct.gov

Heidi DeWyngaert
CHFA Board Vice Chair
heidi.dewyngaert@chfa.org

Nandini Natarajan
CHFA CEO
nandini.natarajan@chfa.org

Pat Guliano
CHFA Managing Director of Multifamily
pat.guliano@chfa.org

Seema Malani
CHFA Architect, Manager 1 – Multifamily
seema.malani@chfa.org

Katie Dykes
DEEP Commissioner
katie.dykes@ct.gov

Governor Lamont:
via web form

GOOD GOING! THIS SIMPLE ACT CONTRIBUTES TO POSITIVE CHANGE IN OUR COMMUNITY!

BACKGROUND
One of our ongoing advocacy initiatives is to ensure Passive House tax incentives are available for developers through the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program.  These tax credits have a powerful impact on a developer’s decision to build healthy, comfortable, low energy buildings for affordable housing while also helping to meet the state’s goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing the resiliency of our building stock.

The Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) designates these tax credits in the form of points for meeting various qualifications.  Competition among developers is fierce, so the allocation of points in the QAP for specific high-performance criteria determines the type of projects that are pursued and approved for funding.

Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) is on a two-year cycle for revising their Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) which sets priorities and criteria for awarding federal tax credits to housing properties.

CHFA is inviting comments to their 2024-2025 draft.  This is an opportunity for the green building community to promote and advocate for sustainable design in publicly-funded housing.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Passive House has been included in the QAP through many cycles as part of the “Sustainable Design Measures” (SDM) section.  In the draft, the SDM remains unchanged.  It’s time to raise the bar.

We suggest:
• Increasing the points Passive House can earn;
• Adding more points for meeting the more stringent PHI and Phius levels;
• Adding points for certifying the projects;
• Adding Passive House into the SDM: Preservation section to include improving our existing building stock as part of the building sector’s response to meeting climate targets.

Passive House is the world’s most rigorous building energy standard, incorporating strategies based on building science to minimize energy use – reducing energy demand for heating and cooling by up to 90 percent.

Additional benefits are low energy costs, health, comfort, durability, resilience, and the ability to shelter-in-place.  All factors important to Connecticut’s most vulnerable residents.

Public funds should be used to better Connecticut’s communities and environment, and help to address the climate crisis.  Using Passive House for affordable housing works in lockstep with Connecticut’s ambitious climate goals.

WANT MORE DETAILS?
• See the entire draft here: 2024 and 2025 QAP Draft (Redlined)  Passive House is addressed in “Sustainable Design Measures” (SDM) in Exhibits A-1 & A-2 at the end of the document.
• Learn more about the Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Program.
• See the current 2022 and 2023 – LIHTC Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP), approved by Governor Lamont on July 30, 2021.

The time to act is now.
Please write to the officials below to encourage them to escalate Connecticut’s momentum towards energy and sustainability goals, and continue to use tax incentives to promote high quality buildings for that sector of the population who would most benefit.

TALKING POINTS