Livable Communities bill up for Senate vote

The US Senate is close to moving a bill forward that would help cities and towns integrate housing with "smart" transportation systems, according to Transportation for America.

The organization describes the bill as follows: The Act authorizes $400 million in competitive grants to plan for livable communities, integrating transportation, housing, economic development, and environmental needs. It authorizes $3.75 billion over three years for implementation of projects promoting sustainable development by creating and preserving affordable housing in neighborhoods with access to jobs and served by transit; improving public transportation; creating safe places for walking and biking; redeveloping brownfields; and fostering revitalization. It also creates an inter-departmental council to coordinate among transportation, housing and urban development and environmental agencies, and creates an office of sustainability at HUD.

The Livable Communities Act is sponsored by Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd and is scheduled to be voted on by the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs in what’s called a “mark up” next Tuesday morning (8/3) at 10 a.m., Transportation for America reports. This bill was introduced almost a year ago.

Meanwhile, HUD reports that July 27 the House Financial Services Committee took a key step toward enactment of the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative. "This proposal is designed to transform distressed neighborhoods and public and assisted housing developments into viable and sustainable mixed-income neighborhoods by linking housing improvements with appropriate services, schools, public assets and access to jobs," according to HUD.

The initiative was passed on a 42 - 27 committee vote as part of a larger public housing measure (H.R. 5814) that also included proposals aimed at clarifying federal rules for replacement of demolished housing units, and providing new methods for financing of public housing.  Choice Neighborhoods was originally funded as a $65 million demonstration project in HUD's 2010 funding bill, HUD says.