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Soon the cooling housing market won't offer the only ray of hope for Tucson's cash-strapped home buyers.

The city plans to establish an affordable housing trust fund that would provide down payment assistance or help with home repairs for low- and middle-income residents.

The initial funding will come from a fee on condominium conversions and sales of city land, though the city is in negotiations with home builders, real estate agents and others over a voluntary fee.

The program is aimed at professionals who make too much money to qualify for federal programs but not enough to save for a down payment, as well as at low-income homeowners who need help to make repairs.

The City Council will hold a public hearing on the plan Tuesday.

Councilwoman Carol West, who helped develop the program, said it was important for the city to have a way to support homeownership, especially with the decrease in federal funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

"Frankly, we should have done this years ago," she said. "HUD has been cutting our funds, and now is the right time."

The program also will be more flexible than federal programs, which require that recipients earn no more than 80 percent of area median income, roughly $40,300 for a family of four.

The city's program will be open to families earning up to $50,000.

West said many people who earn a good income by Tucson standards, like teachers, nurses and police officers, would be able to make monthly payments on a house but have a hard time coming up with a down payment.

The trust fund would provide a few thousand dollars of down-payment assistance to qualified home buyers. They would repay the fund when they sold their home.

"That allows people to build equity and still support the fund," said Emily Nottingham, director of the city's Department of Community Services.

Money from the fund also could go to home repairs or to fix up rental property.

"It's a recognition of how important quality housing is to keeping a community strong," Nottingham said.

West said the city has a stake in promoting homeownership.

"When you have homeownership, it stabilizes a neighborhood," she said. "There is more pride in the neighborhood."

Pima County created an affordable-housing trust fund last year. That fund is supported by an impact fee on new homes.

In contrast, the city's fund will be supported by a $100-per-unit fee on condo conversions, including office and commercial buildings, and by sale of excess city land.

West said she has had discussions with home builders, real estate agents and other groups involved in the housing industry about voluntary contributions to the fund.

West said she wanted a broader base of support than the county's fund has. When the county established its fund, the home builders supported it but said they shouldn't bear the full burden.

"We're trying to get all the players in the market to realize they have a stake in this," said Tom Doucette, a Tucson builder who serves on the Metropolitan Housing Commission.

He said government fees, land prices and labor costs mean it's no longer possible just to build cheaper houses.

"The pure economics of construction don't allow the building community to build $100,000 houses anymore," he said.

The goal is a self-supporting fund of between $3 million and $5 million in a few years.

Nottingham said roughly 1,700 families can benefit from every $1 million in the fund. She hopes money will be available by next year.