The Affordable Housing Production Task Force on Monday, April 7, released its final report to the governor and Delaware General Assembly, outlining nine main objectives on how to increase production of homes in Delaware. Those objectives were developed based on a review of 71 specific recommendations that the task force’s subcommittees approved following months of meetings and deliberations.
The Affordable Housing Production Task Force was established in August of 2024, via House Bill 442, to make recommendations on how the State and local governments can increase the supply of housing that is affordable to households across the income spectrum.
“Housing is a human right. Increasing housing supply is a critical step to ensuring safe, stable and affordable housing for all Delawareans,” said Delaware State Housing Authority Director Matthew Heckles. “I am proud of the work that the Affordable Housing Production Task Force has done to identify policy changes and recommend solutions to increase housing production in Delaware.
“I want to thank the task force and subcommittee members, my co-chairs in this work, Sen. Huxtable and Rep. Johnson, and especially the public who participated in the process. We look forward to working with Gov. Matt Meyer, the General Assembly and our housing partners on this critical issue.”
The Task Force outlined a number of high-level objectives designed to increase the overall supply of housing in Delaware, and affordable housing in particular:
• Objective 1 — Increase/expand funding opportunities for affordable housing;
• Objective 2 — Implement local zoning reform;
• Objective 3 — Streamline the approval/permitting process;
• Objective 4 — Adopt a statewide building code;
• Objective 5 — Strengthen comprehensive plan requirements;
• Objective 6 — Provide incentives to developers to create affordable housing units;
• Objective 7 — Develop the construction workforce pipeline;
• Objective 8 — Assist in the purchase of manufactured home communities by homeowners;
• Objective 9 — Optimize and improve the capacity of existing programs/processes.
The report, available online, represents the collective work of the 20-member, bipartisan Affordable Housing Production Task Force and five subcommittees. The members of the task force and its subcommittees included state and local officials, state agencies, housing-focused organizations, homebuilders, community members and multiple representatives from the housing sector.
“Every Delawarean deserves a safe and affordable place to live. As expenses continue to climb, it is more important than ever to address our state’s housing crisis,” said state Sen. Russ Huxtable, co-chair of the Affordable Housing Production Task Force. “I’m proud to have served on the Affordable Housing Production Task Force alongside dedicated leaders like Rep. Johnson, Director Heckles and former DSHA Director Cynthia Karnai.
“Since the task force convened last summer, we’ve gathered valuable input from constituents and advocates to assist in the creation of a comprehensive housing report that will be used to guide housing policy moving forward. Lasting change requires a multi-faceted approach, and this report represents one tool at our disposal as we work to deliver affordable housing solutions to communities across Delaware.”
“Delaware is experiencing an affordable housing crisis. That fact cannot be overstated,” said state Rep. Kendra Johnson, co-chair of the Affordable Housing Production Task Force. “Not every Delawarean feels the negative impacts of this crisis, but for far too many, the lack of affordable housing in our state has drastically changed their lives for the worse. Those Delawareans will not be left behind.
“The Affordable Housing Production Task Force was created with the goal of ensuring that every resident of our state can go to bed with a roof over their heads without having to make difficult sacrifices. I am so proud of the work that we have done over the past few months to determine the best possible solutions to increasing the production of affordable housing units, and I look forward to implementing policies that will see us through this crisis.”
For the final report and information on the Affordable Housing Production Task Force, visit destatehousing.com.
