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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAffordable Housing Board - Minutes - 09/01/2022AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 9/1/2022 – MINUTES Page 1 September 1, 2022 4:00-6:00pm Remote/Online via Zoom due to COVID-19 CALL TO ORDER At 4:04 PM the meeting was called to order by John Singleton 1. ROLL CALL • Board Members Present: John Singleton, Bob Pawlikowski, Stefanie Berganini, Seth Forwood, Jennifer Bray, and Kristin Fritz. • Board Members Absent: Sheila Seaver-Davis • Staff Members Present: • Meaghan Overton, Social Sustainability – City of Fort Collins • Claire Havelda, City Attorney’s Office – City of Fort Collins • Noah Beals, City Planning – City of Fort Collins • Taylor Reynolds, Minutes – City of Fort Collins • Guests Present: • Marilyn Heller 2. AGENDA REVIEW – No changes. 3. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION – None. 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Stefanie Berganini moved to approve the July minutes. Jennifer Bray seconded. Approved 4-0. Bob Pawlikowski and Kristin Fritz abstained. 5. NEW BUSINESS • Board Member Introductions – Not discussed. • Newest board member was unable to attend. DocuSign Envelope ID: 6D34566B-98B8-4BE0-8F60-181C0E2029AB AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 9/1/2022 – MINUTES Page 2 • Request from Housing Catalyst to Release Restrictive Covenant • Kristin Fritz recused herself from discussions and presented the request for the release of the restrictive covenant on 331 N. Howes Street on behalf of Housing Catalyst. • The current restrictive covenants are set to expire in 2023; however, the property is currently vacant, and Housing Catalyst would like to move forward with the release of the restrictive covenant now rather than have the property remain vacant for several months. • Housing Catalyst is repositioning their property portfolio from single family homes to multi- family housing to better provide services for their residents. • This property is a single-family unit in Old Town that remains expensive to own and operate. • Proceeds from the sale will be leveraged to purchase a 28-unit property. • DISCUSSION: • Are there any other restrictive covenants that remain on the property from organizations like CHFA? • This restrictive covenant with the City is the only one remaining on this property. Neighboring properties have already been released from their restrictive covenants. • Can you provide additional information about the 28-unit property that Housing Catalyst currently has under contract? • The current owner of the prospective property approached Housing Catalyst to sell it because it currently exists as naturally occurring affordable housing and the owner feels that Housing Catalyst could provide better management and assistance to the residents. Housing Catalyst agreed. • If the 28-unit property was originally intended to be traditional student housing, will it become low-income student housing after it’s acquired by Housing Catalyst? • Housing Catalyst will operate it as unrestrictive until they can determine the best population/ voucher referrals served by this property. Most of the current residents would qualify under any of Housing Catalyst’s programs. • Why would someone argue against this release of restrictive covenants? • Housing Catalyst typically operates permanent affordable housing and releasing this restrictive covenant could be seen as a loss of an affordable housing unit, even if the proceeds will be used to create permanently affordable housing elsewhere. DocuSign Envelope ID: 6D34566B-98B8-4BE0-8F60-181C0E2029AB AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 9/1/2022 – MINUTES Page 3 • Will Housing Catalyst pursue funding that will require these units to be restricted housing? • The property could be purchased without the use of restricted funds to allow Housing Catalyst time to operate it as affordable without it being tied to a specific program. • Is Housing Catalyst able to provide a cost-benefit analysis of the sales of select properties for the purchase of others? • There are not any exact calculations to compare the cost and benefit of the sale and purchase of another property; however, the cost per unit at the 28- unit site is significantly less than the cost of the single-family unit in Old Town. • Housing Catalyst’s strategy is to continue to move away from unsustainable, scattered sites and leverage sales of those properties to acquire more efficient and sustainable permanently restrictive units. • Is there a manner in which the release of restrictive covenants and inventory of affordable housing units can be tracked? • Housing Catalyst is not the only operator of affordable housing units. Many other restricted units exist throughout the city. • Ideally, before any restrictive covenants expire City staff are coordinating with the property owner to extend the affordability. • Board members discussed inviting Beth Rosen, Grants Compliance & Policy Manager at the City of Fort Collins, to attend an upcoming board meeting and discuss the monitoring of restricted properties. • Is there a Plan B following the release of the restrictive covenants if the sale of the 28-unit property does not close? • The 28-unit property is currently under contract; however, closing is approximately 60-90 days out. Housing Catalyst is always looking for the best ways to leverage funds to acquire or build new affordable units. Jennifer Bray moved to approve the release of restrictive covenants and receipt of the funds from Housing Catalyst’s property as requested. Bob Pawlikowski seconded. Approved 5-0. Kristin Fritz abstained. DocuSign Envelope ID: 6D34566B-98B8-4BE0-8F60-181C0E2029AB AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 9/1/2022 – MINUTES Page 4 • Housing Strategic Plan – Land Use Code (LUC) Update • The public draft of the proposed Land Use Code updates is available for review and comment, including feedback from boards and commissions. • The draft updates to the Land Use Code will be presented to the Planning and Zoning Board on September 28 and to City Council on first reading October 18. • Every code change connects to one or more of the guiding principles presented to City Council on November 9, 2021, and is intended to make the code easier to use and improve predictability through the development process • Proposed changes to improve housing choice, compatibility, diversity • Allowing accessory dwelling units in more residential zones and mixed-use zones • Permitting more housing types through Basic Development Review by City staff • Encouraging infill development and missing middle housing • Increasing housing capacity to enable more affordable, high frequency transit in priority growth areas • Regulating development based on how the new and existing structures relate to each other, instead of use type. • Proposed changes to improve housing affordability • Expanding affordable housing incentives throughout the city and removing density maximums in the LMN zone (while meeting other requirements, such as historic, environmental preservation, etc.) • Reducing parking requirements and creating height bonuses • Changing the definition of affordable housing for for-sale (up to 100% AMI) and rental properties (up to 60% AMI) • Extending the deed restriction of affordable units to 50-60 years, instead of 20 years • Summary of Draft LUC Changes • Land Use Code has 5 articles, but the proposed “Land Development Code” has 7 articles to offer better usability, with most used items listed first and process items listed last DocuSign Envelope ID: 6D34566B-98B8-4BE0-8F60-181C0E2029AB AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 9/1/2022 – MINUTES Page 5 • Article 1: General Purpose and Provisions • Clause added to allow the Land Development Code to trump HOA or existing covenants that restrict the City’s ability to increase capacity • Current LUC includes a similar clause for xeriscaping, clothes lines, or solar panels to meet climate goals • DISCUSSION: • Does this clause allowing the City’s development code to trump an HOA or covenant pertain to fines and financial obligations? • Fines and financial obligations related to an HOA or other covenant would be evaluated based on the City’s nuisance code. • There is little regulation of HOAs and covenants at the state level, making it difficult to implement at the municipal level. • Article 2: Zone Districts • With proposed changes, users would be able to see design criteria and a list of building types allowed by zone type. • Article 3: Building Types • Provides information about residential building types only but will be expanded to include non-residential building types in the future. • Promotes the development of missing middle housing and an increase in housing choice. • Provides detailed information about Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), which can be up to 45% of the floor area of the primary building, or the entire basement. • DISCUSSION: • If a basement is finished, how do you determine whether it’s considered an ADU or a duplex? • The two units within a duplex can have different owners, but an ADU must be owned by the same person who owns the primary structure. DocuSign Envelope ID: 6D34566B-98B8-4BE0-8F60-181C0E2029AB AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 9/1/2022 – MINUTES Page 6 • Can you clarify what it means to have 1.5 stories for an ADU? • There are some standards that have been carried over from the existing code to which staff intends to change to create more meaningful standards. • Article 4: Use Standards • The most significant change in this article is the table that displays the zone types and residential use building types allowed as well as the level of review required. • The proposed changes hope to enable City staff to review more development requests, prioritizing review by the Planning & Zoning Commission for the most complex projects. • City residents would still have the opportunity to appeal a development decision and have it discussed at a public hearing. • Neither standards nor the notification process for will change with the LUC updates. • DISCUSSION: • Are there risks to having more development projects be reviewed in Basic Development Review, rather than with the Planning & Zoning Commission? • City staff are working to keep public engagement opportunities available through the entire review process. • Residents would not have to go to a public hearing to voice opinions about projects in Basic Development Review, but could still share their thoughts with City staff. • If the project meets the requirements of the code, the City does not have grounds to not approve it. Under these circumstances, a public hearing would not necessarily change the outcome of a decision. DocuSign Envelope ID: 6D34566B-98B8-4BE0-8F60-181C0E2029AB AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 9/1/2022 – MINUTES Page 7 • Article 5: General Development and Site Design • The biggest changes to this article for Phase 1 of the updates are affordable housing development requirements and incentives as well as parking requirements/ proposed reductions. • Example: Market rate one bedroom/studio apartments will only be required to have one parking space, rather than 1.5 spaces. And, affordable one bedroom/studio apartments will only be required to have 0.75 spaces. • Affordable housing incentives are included to entice market rate developers to include 10% or more of their units as affordable/ income restricted. • DISCUSSION: • As it relates to reduction in parking requirements, does City staff have information regarding plans or funding to develop more public transportation? • There is a level of density that needs to be achieved before transportation development can be warranted. • The City is working towards both capacity and transportation so that if funding becomes available for transit investment, the supportive land use policies are in place to take advantage of it. • The zones with the proposed parking reductions are near transit corridors. • Article 6: Administration and Procedures • Made up largely of the existing code, this article includes information about Basic Development Review process as well as other types of review. DocuSign Envelope ID: 6D34566B-98B8-4BE0-8F60-181C0E2029AB AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 9/1/2022 – MINUTES Page 8 • Article 7: Rules of Measurement and Definitions • Summarizes the standards found in various zone districts and combines the existing definitions with new graphics to provide greater clarity for developers. • DISCUSSION: • Is City staff planning to incorporate specific, nuanced feedback from the various boards and commissions into a new draft of the changes? • Prior to presenting to City Council, City staff will review all of the feedback received and determine what is appropriate to include. • Are there changes that City staff would have liked to incorporate into this phase of the Land Use Code updates? • City staff would have liked to include remapping or rezoning of the districts (may be included in Phase 2 as it requires extensive outreach). • Additionally, staff would have liked to see permittance of duplexes in the RL zone (established neighborhoods without proximity to transit) to allow more housing choices. • Board members discussed the importance of providing a clear written statement of support for the proposed LUC changes, if there is support, as City Council will consider that in their decision to approve them or not. Jennifer Bray moved to draft a general statement of support for the goals of the proposed Land Use Code updates to be discussed and/or voted on at the next meeting, noting that individual board members can provide more specific feedback to City staff. Seth Forwood seconded. Approved 6-0. • Board Member Ideas – None. 6. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS • Meeting Logistics • Many board members are interested in incorporating some in-person meetings into the schedule. • Liaison Reports – None. DocuSign Envelope ID: 6D34566B-98B8-4BE0-8F60-181C0E2029AB AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 9/1/2022 – MINUTES Page 9 7. STAFF MEMBER REPORTS • Nueva Vida Mobile Home Park Funding Appropriation • The Council Finance Committee will discuss appropriating funding for Nueva Vida Mobile Home Park (previously Park Lane) for specific infrastructure needs, in the amount of $125,000, before it goes to the entire Council. 8. OTHER BUSINESS • 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 6:17 PM DocuSign Envelope ID: 6D34566B-98B8-4BE0-8F60-181C0E2029AB