Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutAffordable Housing Board - Minutes - 05/05/2022AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 5/5 /202 2 – MINUTES Page 1 May 5, 2022, 4:00-6:00pm Remote/Online via Zoom due to COVID-19 CALL TO ORDER At 4:00 PM the meeting was called to order by Tatiana Zentner 1. ROLL CALL • Board Members Present: Tatiana Zentner, John Singleton, Jennifer Bray, Stefanie Berganini, Bob Pawlikowski, Kristin Fritz, and Seth Forwood joined in progress. • Staff Members Present: • Sue Beck-Ferkiss, Staff Liaison – City of Fort Collins • Taylor Reynolds, Minutes – City of Fort Collins • Meaghan DeMasters, Environmental Services – City of Fort Collins • Heidi O’Mara, Environmental Services – City of Fort Collins • Selina Lujan Albers, Environmental Services – City of Fort Collins • Noah Beals, City Planning – City of Fort Collins • Guests Present: • Marilyn Heller • Lisa Cunningham • Bill King • Richard Cavendish • Ruthie (no last name listed) 2. AGENDA REVIEW – • Competitive Grant Process Update – Sue Beck-Ferkiss Sue provided an update regarding the housing applications in the FY22 Competitive Grant Process. The Human Services and Housing Funding Board (HSHF-Board) was asked to rank the six applications as the final funding allocation from the U.S Department of Housing & Urban Development had not yet been determined. In their deliberations, the HSHF-Board utilized the expertise and suggested rankings of The Affordable Housing Board when creating the funding recommendations for City Council. Projects that receive funding outside of the Competitive Grant Process will be removed from the rankings. The Council Finance Committee will deliberate tonight whether to allocate ARPA funding for CARE Housing Heartside Hill. Additionally, the State Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) just awarded Elevation Community Land Trust a $2.2 million grant for the Kechter Townhomes. If CARE Housing receives ARPA dollars, all six projects should receive some funding from the City or another source. DocuSign Envelope ID: AAA61B37-7F7C-4BFA-BEFE-A856C9B421A4 AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 5/5 /202 2 – MINUTES Page 2 3. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION • Marilyn Heller – Member of the League of Women Voters Affordable Housing Team – “Housing Insecurity: A Threat to Behavioral Health?” virtual panel was held on Monday, April 11. The recording is available by visiting https://www.lwv-larimercounty.org/ • Lisa Cunningham – Member of the Rental Housing Advisory Group – shared passion for affordable housing in Fort Collins and participates in conversations regarding occupancy and proposed rental licensing and registration program as part of the rental task force. • Sue Beck-Ferkiss will work with Marcy Yoder from the Neighborhood Services Department to get regular updates regarding the Rental Housing Advisory Group. 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES John Singleton moved to approve the March 30th Joint Work Session and April Regular Meeting minutes. Stefanie Berganini seconded. Approved 4-0. Tatiana Zentner, Bob Pawlikowski, and Kristin Fritz abstained. 5. NEW BUSINESS • 2022 State Environmental Justice Cooperative Agreement EPA Grant ddressing indoor air quality – Megan DeMasters, Heidi O’Mara, & Selina Lujan Albers, Environmental Services • Healthy Homes Program Overview • All Fort Collins residents are eligible, and participants begin by contacting Healthy Homes with interest in a free assessment. • The seven key areas of focus for good indoor air quality identified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development form the basis for this program. • Post-COVID 19 assessments are conducted over the phone by identifying and inspecting various spaces within the home. • Once the phone assessment is complete, three to five low cost or no cost recommendations are provided as well as a Healthy Homes gift bag. • EPIC Homes Overview • The Environmental Services Department partners with the Utilities Department to promote healthy and efficient homes. • This assessment is intended to provide greater comfort and a healthier living environment while creating a space that is more durable and resilient and costs less to operate. DocuSign Envelope ID: AAA61B37-7F7C-4BFA-BEFE-A856C9B421A4 AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 5/5 /202 2 – MINUTES Page 3 • Participants begin by signing up for an assessment ($60 dollar fee). • Following the assessment, residents are provided a detailed list of recommendations and can choose which to complete. Loans for upgrades can be rolled into City of Fort Collins utilities bill. • Program is currently only available to single family homes. • The City received a 2022 State Environmental Justice Cooperative Agreement EPA Grant for $200,000, made available through American Rescue Plan Act funding, to update existing program processes for Healthy Homes and EPIC Homes and develop new home assessment tools. • DISCUSSION SUMMARY: • Does do Healthy Homes and EPIC Homes differ from and/or partner with the Larimer County Conservation Corps? • The Larimer County Conservation Corps focuses on simple efficiency steps. • The City has partnered with the Larimer County Conservation Corps in the past to provide radon test kits. • A key difference between the programs is that Healthy Homes and EPIC Home assessments are only available to Fort Collins residents. • Post-COVID, City staff hope to restore that partnership with Healthy Homes and the Larimer County Conversation Corps once again. • Do those within the Growth Management Area (GMA) qualify for Healthy Homes and EPIC Homes assessments? • Yes, all those with a Fort Collins zip code, including the GMA, are eligible to receive these assessments. • Are the Healthy Homes resources available in other languages? • There have been Healthy Homes volunteers who have been able to conduct the assessment in languages other than English, including Spanish. • One focus group series was conducted completely in Spanish with simultaneous English interpretation based on the language preference by participants. • What is difference in participation between renters and owners for these programs? • The Healthy Homes program participation is equally split between renters and property owners. DocuSign Envelope ID: AAA61B37-7F7C-4BFA-BEFE-A856C9B421A4 AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 5/5 /202 2 – MINUTES Page 4 • EPIC Home program participants are primarily property owners because of the challenges associated with upgrades, but the City hopes to develop incentives for landlords to participate. • How are you working to reduce barriers to participation in the program? • All community members are invited to become volunteer assessors. In the past, there have been assessors who have provided the assessments in Spanish and Chinese. • One of the most important ways to share these programs is by word of mouth. City staff hope that past program participants will continue to invite others to complete assessments. • Housing Strategic Plan – Noah Beals, City Planning • The City is currently in Phase 1 of the Land Use Code Update focused on implementing the Housing Strategic Plan goals of increasing housing capacity and incentivizing affordable housing. • To make the Land Use Code more accessible, City staff and consultants will work to reorganize the document, including restructuring the code articles and developing new form standards. • The overall approach for increasing housing capacity and incentives for affordable housing is to expand incentives to all residential zones and allow more accessory dwelling units. • City staff hope to significantly increase housing capacity in the districts located near transit corridors and increase housing diversity in other districts that have been primarily single- family detached homes. • Other recommendations include: • Offering multiple incentives (including density, height, and parking) • Creating a larger gap between base standards and bonus standards for developers • Adjusting maximum income levels for affordable units (to 60% AMI for rental units and 100% AMI for for-sale units) • Requiring developers to include a minimum of 10% affordable units. • City staff will present the Land Use Code updates to City Council at the work session on June 14, release a public draft in June, and discuss boards and commissions recommendations through August. The hopeful adoption of the new code is expected in September. DocuSign Envelope ID: AAA61B37-7F7C-4BFA-BEFE-A856C9B421A4 AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 5/5 /202 2 – MINUTES Page 5 • DISCUSSION SUMMARY: • Have City staff identified density goals for the various zone districts? • With help from the consultants, City staff are working to identify which zones would most benefit from increased density and create incentives that are attractive for developers to build in those districts. • Will new height standards be included in the Land Use Code update? • City staff have identified one or two districts in which they could increase the building height allowed, but they also hope to decrease the base standard to increase the incentive for developers to build at bonus standard. • What will The Affordable Housing Board’s role be in the Land Use Code updates as it relates to boards and commissions engagement and recommendations? • City staff will present the final draft and, if so inclined, this board can vote on a recommendation to support the changes or offer additional input. • Are there any clauses included in the Land Use Code update that will require units to remain affordable in perpetuity? • City staff are hoping to keep the affordable units restricted for 50-60 years as part of the standard definition changes in the code update and work towards permanent affordability. • Have City staff and the consultants analyzed cost burden ship and access to housing? • The City hopes to create more naturally occurring affordable housing by driving increased inventory, but other strategies will be needed to combat high housing costs. • 2022 Private Activity Bond Request – Sue Beck-Ferkiss • Private Activity Bonds (PAB) are an affordable housing incentive and serve as a capacity for tax exempt borrowing. • PAB are required for tax increment financing and must be paired with 4% low-income housing tax credits at the federal level (increasingly competitive). • The IRS allocates Private Activity Bond amounts to various states based on population formula, and the state distributes to eligible communities and organizations. • Fort Collins regularly receives PAB and can use them or choose to issue them to another for a permitted use. If unused, that capacity returns to the state on September 15th of every year. DocuSign Envelope ID: AAA61B37-7F7C-4BFA-BEFE-A856C9B421A4 AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 5/5 /202 2 – MINUTES Page 6 • The City has an application process for the Private Activity Bonds that require written applications by March 15th. This year, Housing Catalyst was the only applicant and would like to use the PAB for their Impala and Montava projects. • The PAB application was presented to the Private Activity Bond Committee, and all feel very comfortable allowing Housing Catalyst to use these for the purpose of new construction and renovation of affordable housing. • DISCUSSION SUMMARY: • Do unused State Private Activity Bonds return to the federal government? • The State can allocate them to different projects, and most don’t go unused. • The City has not been sent back PAB to the State in 9 years. • How would this PAB allocation impact the Human Services and Housing Funding Board’s Competitive Grant Process funding recommendations? • These bonds support the soft funding allocations made in the grant process. Both are needed to fully fund Housing Catalyst’s projects. • Would Housing Catalyst have requested more Private Activity Bonds, if available? • Housing Catalyst’s needs exceed the City’s allotment of bond cap. • In the past, Housing Catalyst has been issued additional bonds because of their ability to use it for their projects or extend them to other affordable housing developers. • Would the Impala Project by Housing Catalyst be fully funded with these bonds? • The PAB issued by the City, in addition to PAB issued by Larimer County, is expected to fully fund the Impala Project. Bob Pawlikowski moved to recommend to City Council that the entire 2022 allocation of Private Activity Bonds be made to Housing Catalyst for the Impala and Montava projects. Stefanie Berganini seconded. Approved 6-0. Kristin Fritz abstained. • Fee Credit Municipal Code update – Sue Beck-Ferkiss • City staff have been working on process improvements to provide fee relief for affordable housing. DocuSign Envelope ID: AAA61B37-7F7C-4BFA-BEFE-A856C9B421A4 AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 5/5 /202 2 – MINUTES Page 7 • City Council has approved a budget allocation for ARPA funds to provide construction fee credits to affordable housing. The City Attorney’s Office requires a code change to allow the funding to be allocated in a fully administrative process. • City Council has passed on first reading the additional subsidy for EV at affordable housing projects. City staff would like to use the same process created for construction fee credits to allocate other subsidies. • The draft code change language provided to this board for review is more limited than the language City staff hope to bring to City Council, but they are still on track to make this recommendation in June. • City staff hope to test this new process, if approved, with Housing Catalyst who has applied for fee credits for the Impala Project. • DISCUSSION SUMMARY: • Would City Council consider increasing the Area Median Income (AMI) for units supported by the fee credits? • The primary focus for City staff will be the code changes that allow for an administrative process to distribute fee credits and broadening the code language to allow for future changes. • This board is invited to provide input for recommended fee credit relief criteria. • Do fee credits provide a prorated fee or blanket fee waiver? • Fee credits can be applied to select fees for 30% AMI affordable housing units only. • What would be the additional cost to increase the AMI limits for fee credits from 30% AMI to 40% AMI? • Sue Beck-Ferkiss will provide this board with the requested data, including the number of 30% AMI and 40% AMI affordable units built in the last few years. • Is there a cap for the amount of credit the City extends for 30% AMI units per year? • There is not a limit for the credit, however, if the request exceeds the amount allocated for the fee credits, City staff would have to make a request to City Council for the remaining funding. • Board members agree to provide their recommendations supporting the process changes for fee credits and discuss fee credit eligibility standards at the June meeting. DocuSign Envelope ID: AAA61B37-7F7C-4BFA-BEFE-A856C9B421A4 AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 5/5 /202 2 – MINUTES Page 8 Stefanie Berganini moved to support a code change allowing for an administrative process where funds have been appropriated and continue to have funding requests above that amount be reviewed by City Council. Seconded by John Singleton. Approved 7-0. • Board Member Ideas – None. 6. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS • Board members requested an update regarding Park Lane Mobile Home Parks. • Sue Beck-Ferkiss shared that Park Lane Mobile Home Park got the funding they needed and their offer to purchase the park was accepted. • The City has not participated thus far but is opening to hearing the additional needs of residents at the park, including infrastructure. • John Singleton shared that Governor Polis vetoed the rent control section of the mobile and manufactured home parks bill. 7. STAFF MEMBER REPORTS – None. 8. OTHER BUSINESS – NOT DISCUSSED • City Council 6-month planning calendar review • Council Comments – Who, what? • Review 2022 Work Plan • Update on Affordable Housing Projects • Future AHB Meetings Agenda 9. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 6:14 PM DocuSign Envelope ID: AAA61B37-7F7C-4BFA-BEFE-A856C9B421A4