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Home My WebLink AboutAffordable Housing Board - Minutes - 10/07/2021AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 10/7/2021 – MINUTES MINMINUTES Page 1 October 7, 2021, 4:00-6:00pm Remote/Online via Zoom due to COVID-19 CALL TO ORDER At 4:03 the meeting was called to order by Kristin Fritz. 1. ROLL CALL a. Board Members Present: Diane Cohn, Kristin Fritz, Tatiana Zentner, Daphne Bear, John Singleton Jennifer Bray and Bob Pawlikowski joined in progress. b. Staff Members Present: ▪ Sue Beck-Ferkiss, Staff Liaison – City of Fort Collins ▪ Meaghan Overton – City of Fort Collins ▪ Kleena Brown, Minutes – City of Fort Collins ▪ Russ Hovland – City of Fort Collins ▪ Kirk Longstein - -City of Fort Collins ▪ Brad Smith - -City of Fort Collins ▪ Abbye Neel – City of Fort Collins c. Citizens Present: ▪ Marilyn Heller 2. AGENDA REVIEW – No changes 3. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION – Marilyn Heller stated that the topic for the League of Women Voters Panel is housing and behavioral health. Date for panel TBD. 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES John Singleton moved to approve September minutes. Tatiana Zentner seconded. Approved 5-0 DocuSign Envelope ID: 53289BEB-7B43-4EBD-8866-4C49D8E9686A AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 10/7 /2021 – MINUTES Page 2 5. NEW BUSINESS a. Updates to the International Building Code – Russ Hovland, Interim Chief Building Official Russ Hovland provided an update on the 2021 Building Code. The International Building Code is updated every three years and City Staff is recommending City Council update the current codes to the 2021 I- Codes with local amendments that are consistent with City Plans and Policies. The City Staff and a Code Review Committee reviewed the 2021 I-Codes. Now City Staff is presenting to the City Boards and Commissions, with a planned City Council workshop on November 9, in hopes of adopting the new Codes by early 2022. Benefits of adopting recommendations: maintain steady improvements and incremental cost increases vs. adopting every 6 years; improve residential and commercial efficiency; increased support for grid responsive homes and electric vehicles; improved indoor air quality, including radon mitigation; improved sheltering in place during increasing climate events. The Code Review Committee supported most of the City Staff recommendations; however, did not support the Electric Vehicle recommendations. City Staff is also recommending removal of some local amendments that are now incorporated into the 2021 Codes. Construction cost increases from 2021 IECC codes expected to be 1.6% of the total cost of a new home, or about $16/mo for the average buyer. There are concerns around increased costs to builders and homeowners and increased cost of living, with benefits from lower Utility Costs, and less environmental impact. DISCUSSION SUMMARY: • Kirk Longstein clarified that the “supported” / “not supported” tags in the presentation reflected the Code Review Committee’s recommendations and that all points were recommended by the City Staff. Amendments not supported by the Code Review Committee were largely due to cost. • Need to keep overall lens of affordability in focus • Board members had concerns around Electric Vehicle mandates. City Staff reviewed the projected costs and the significant savings of EV installations during new constructions vs. applying to existing buildings. • Russ Hovland clarified that Code updates are primarily for new construction and major additions, i.e. requires permit. Russ also clarified that increased costs are calculated from worse case prescriptive measures, but builders have flexibility in attaining results. • Russ Hovland stated that the City Staff has not presented waivers for housing affordability, however, incentives do exist to help affordability. • Russ Hovland clarified that the fine increase is due to current fine not being a big enough deterrent. The fine is meant for the contractor who refuses to get permits. b. Housing Strategic Plan – Meaghan Overton Meghan Overton provided an update on the Housing Strategic Plan implementation progress: • 10 “quick(er) wins” strategies – expected to complete in less than a year DocuSign Envelope ID: 53289BEB-7B43-4EBD-8866-4C49D8E9686A AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 10/7 /2021 – MINUTES Page 3 o 3 are complete o 3 are at 50% or more completion. o 2 in yellow status: (1) sequencing Land Use Code changes and development of incentives; and (2) ARPA funding requests for eviction prevention and legal representation. • 8 transitional strategies – expected to complete in 1 to 2 years o Most are ongoing. Some are ongoing and will continue working on. o Innovate Fort Collins Challenge was approved above the line o 1 in yellow status: Water Resources Matter currently on pause Meghan also updated the Board on the progress of Land Use Code changes. Currently, at the beginning of the LUC update project, holding Phase 1 informational sessions with input sessions scheduled in late October. Then will share diagnostic inputs with the Board and community. Then will propose changes in November and December with a draft of Code changes in January 2022. Staff is aiming for City Council decisions and adoption in early 2022. Meghan provided an overview of the process, from reviewing related City policies, taking input from the recent code audit and housing-related goals to creating guiding principles. Meghan also shared that there are currently 154 new affordable homes under construction, 138 more in the final planning stages, 31 under review, and 113+ in pre-development stages. DISCUSSION SUMMARY: • Meghan Overton clarified that the LUC update project includes some additional impact studies. She will share the data and analysis with the Board when completed. • Sue Beck-Ferkiss announced the Kechter Land Bank sale is scheduled for final Council consideration on October 19 for First Reading. • Sue Beck-Ferkiss will forward the news article about Kristin Fritz and Oak 140 to the Board DocuSign Envelope ID: 53289BEB-7B43-4EBD-8866-4C49D8E9686A AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 10/7 /2021 – MINUTES Page 4 c. Affordable Housing Board Work Plan – Sue Beck-Ferkiss Sue Beck-Ferkiss provided a copy of a draft Affordable Housing Board Work Plan and noted that the deadline for the Work Plan is November 30. Sue requested that any comments and suggestions for the workplan be provided to her by October, 22 and she will incorporate them into the document. d. Board Member Ideas • Sue Beck-Ferkiss suggested that the Board use the City Clerk’s Engage software to use for sharing articles and ideas. Board members requested a cheat sheet for using Engage and stated a presentation would not be necessary. • Board members inquired about terms and the reapplication process. Sue Beck-Ferkiss clarified that everyone can serve for up to 8 years. Sue will clarify the renewal process, including the different term lengths. There will be an opening for this Board following Diane Cohn’s departure in a couple months. 6. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS • Diane Cohn reported that Meghan Overton had invited her to participate in a discussion panel for Housing Capacity. Diane does not have the capacity to, so suggested Kristin Fritz to Meghan. • Sue Beck-Ferkiss shared that a Public Health Masters student is sifting through the Recovery Funds to determine what the different funds are for and how to apply. Sue will arrange for them to present at a future Board meeting. • Sue Beck-Ferkiss reported that the big Colorado Housing conference is happening this year in person. Recordings will be made available afterwards. • Sue Beck-Ferkiss is still planning to hold the December 2nd meeting for education campaigns and The Affordable City book. • Kristin Fritz reported that Councilmember Susan Gutowsky will be visiting for the next Board meeting. Kristin also shared that it will be a meet-and-greet between the Councilmember and the Board and opening up lines of communication with the Council and the Board’s Council Liaison. The Board will be prepared to discuss the mission, goals, and relevant statistics. • Sue Beck-Ferkiss announced that Kleena Brown is leaving the City before the next Board meeting and that they will find someone to take minutes for the next meeting. • John Singleton suggested that the City starts using Engage more for public informational and input sessions. 7. OTHER BUSINESS – NOT DISCUSSED a. City Council 6-month planning calendar review N/A b. Council Comments – Who, what? N/A c. Review 2021 Work Plan N/A d. Update on Affordable Housing Projects N/A e. Future AHB Meetings Agenda N/A 8. ADJOURNMENT DocuSign Envelope ID: 53289BEB-7B43-4EBD-8866-4C49D8E9686A AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 10/7 /2021 – MINUTES Page 5 Meeting adjourned at 6:03 PM DocuSign Envelope ID: 53289BEB-7B43-4EBD-8866-4C49D8E9686A