Affordable Housing Finance

THE BUZZ

CHFA Tops in Green QAPs

AFFORDABLE HOUSING FINANCE • April/May 2009

THE CONNECTICUT HOUSING FINANCE AUTHORITY (CHFA) has the greenest low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) program in the country, according to an analysis by Global Green USA.

Connecticut’s qualified allocation plan (QAP) and corresponding Design and Construction Standards earned 48 points out of a possible 55.

Global Green, a nonprofit environmental organization, studied each state’s 2008 QAP for the inclusion of green building strategies in four categories—smart growth, energy effi ciency, resource conservation, and health protection.

CHFA earned high marks for incorporating its Green Design and Construction Standards as part of a design review process, reported Global Green. Those guidelines represent a consensus standard of national and regional building codes, design practices, and construction methods and materials.

Overall, the 2008 QAPs, which spell out the states’ rules and scoring system for developers to receive LIHTCs, show an increased emphasis on green building. Forty-four states improved their scores in the recent analysis. The average score increased from 17 to 25. The recent QAPs were most successful in scoring points in the smart growth category followed by the energy-efficiency category. The greatest increase in points was seen in resource conservation.

Georgia, New Jersey, Massachusetts, California, Maine, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Montana, and North Dakota round out the Top 10 list of greenest QAPs.