The Oxford Square. (Matt Nichols)

The Oxford Affordable Housing Commission presented its annual report to the Oxford Board of Aldermen on Tuesday, outlining progress on key goals and highlighting recent developments aimed at improving access to affordable housing in the city and county.

Donna Zampella, ex-officio member of the commission, opened the update by summarizing the commission’s work over the past year.

“The Affordable Housing Commission has worked very hard this year on trying to resolve some of our issues that we have within the city and the county,” she said. “We’ve had four goals that we worked on this year. The first one was the trust fund. The second was ordinance incentives. The third was outreach, engagement and property.”

Trust fund

Duncan Gray, also an ex-officio commissioner, provided an update on the community trust fund and the commission’s strategy to avoid duplicating local efforts.

The Community Trust Fund is managed under the CREATE Foundation and designed as a long-term, interest-generating endowment specific to Oxford and Lafayette County. Rather than giving grants directly, it distributes funds through existing local programs to extend its reach.

“We’ve been thinking about whether there is a way to align what we’re doing with some of the other community endeavors that are going on in the community right now, so that we’re not necessarily duplicating everything,” Gray said. “We don’t lack the resources in our community to do incredible things. We lack the alignment of the resources.”

He noted that conversations are ongoing with potential partners and that another update will likely be shared in the coming months.

Ordinances

Dr. Janice Antonow, chair of the incentive subcommittee, discussed work on expanding housing incentives to increase supply.

“We have been looking at and researching any housing-related trends that might impede increasing the stock of affordable housing,” Antonow said.

One success came from analyzing a Mississippi statute that allows tax abatements based on net operating income. Antonow explained that the city of Oxford qualifies under this rule, making it possible to offer partial tax abatements to developers who meet the requirements of the city’s affordable housing ordinance.

“We think that that is a big incentive for developers,” Antonow said, adding that any decrease in tax revenue is expected to be minimal. The subcommittee’s next step is to develop an implementation plan that includes procedures and eligibility criteria.

Another statute uncovered allows public schools to sell or lease property for community improvement, including affordable housing, without following typical market-based or bidding requirements.

Antonow said the commission has requested the statute be amended to include municipalities and counties.

The Oxford School Board was not previously aware of the statute, but showed interest after learning how it could help with housing for staff amid teacher recruitment challenges.

Antonow also noted the committee is monitoring short-term rentals.

Community engagement

Dr. Laura Martin reported on the Community Engagement subcommittee’s outreach efforts. These included a press release, a slide deck and an updated Housing Resource Guide that added new transitional housing options and homeowner resources.

The subcommittee also hosted LOU Project Connect in January at the public library, which brought together over 60 attendees to access local housing and food resources.

“It was really designed to elevate resources for folks experiencing food security and housing insecurity,” Martinon said.

Additional outreach included two Lunch and Learn events—one aimed at realtors and landlords, and another for property owners interested in development opportunities.

New property 

In response to community interest sparked by the outreach work, a new property subcommittee was formed. Commissioner Brooke Worthy introduced the group, which includes members Stuart Rutledge and Alonzo Hilliard.

“This subcommittee will act as a central repository to store properties suggested by the people,” Worthy said.

The goal is to collect and vet properties donated or recommended by private or public entities for affordable housing development.

“We’re still trying to get the word out about education, but many of us are fired up and ready to start making some dents in the affordable housing world of Oxford,” Worthy said.