The DC Housing Preservation Strike Force was created in June 2015 by Mayor Muriel Bowser. Its goal: addressing actions by or with the District government to preserve existing affordable housing. To accomplish this mission, the 18-member advisory group has met several times to develop an action plan. This plan focuses on affordable housing preservation in all eight wards using a two-fold approach: (1) assessing tools at the city’s disposal, such as the Housing Production Trust Fund (HPTF) and the District Opportunity to Purchase Act (DOPA, which requires rental property owners to give the District the opportunity to purchase housing accommodations consisting of five more rental units, as long as at least 25% are “Affordable”); and (2) discovering innovative and effective ways of leveraging those resources. The Strike Force’s initial Jan. 29 recommendations will serve as the basis for a final report to be issued by April 30, 2016.
Strike Force Members
• Chairperson: Polly Donaldson, Director, DC Department of Housing and Community Development
• Brian T. Kenner, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development
• Anita Bonds, Chair Housing/Community Development Committee, DC City Council At-Large
• Elissa Silverman, Member, Housing/Community Development Committee, DC Council At-Large
• Adrianne Todman, Executive Director, DC Housing Authority
• Maria K. Day-Marshall, Interim Executive Director, DC Housing Finance Agency
• Eric D. Shaw , Director, DC Office of Planning
• Melinda M. Bolling, Director, DC Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs
• Johanna Shreve , Chief Tenant Advocate, DC Office of the Tenant Advocate
• Tom Borger, Chairman, Borger Management
• Elizabeth Elia, Member, Elia Law Group, PLLC
• Christopher W. Hornig, Klein Hornig
• Ramon Jacobson, Senior Program Officer, Local Initiatives Services Corporation
• Todd Lee, Housing Consultant
• Eric W. Price, Executive Vice President, AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust
• Joe Sternlieb, CEO, Georgetown BID
• Sandy Wilkes, Chairman, Wilkes Company
• Amy Vruno, Washington Interfaith Network (WIN)
