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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAffordable Housing Board - Minutes - 01/05/2023AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 01/05/2023 – M I N U T E Page 1 January 5, 2023, 4:00-6:00pm Online via Zoom CALL TO ORDER At 4:01 PM the meeting was called to order by John Singleton. 1. ROLL CALL • Board Members Present: John Singleton, Stefanie Berganini, Jennifer Bray, Kristin Fritz, Ed Hermsen, Bob Pawlikowski, and Sheila Seaver-Davis • Board Members Absent: None • Staff Members Present: • Sue Beck-Ferkiss, Staff Liaison – City of Fort Collins • Selina Lujan de Albers, Environmental Services – City of Fort Collins • Megan DeMasters, Environmental Services – City of Fort Collins • Heidi O’Mara, Environmental Services – City of Fort Collins • Meaghan Overton, Social Sustainability – City of Fort Collins • Hannah Tinklenberg, Minutes – City of Fort Collins • Council Liaison Present: Susan Gutowsky • Guests Present: • Marilyn Heller • Lisa Cunningham • Seth Forwood 2. AGENDA REVIEW – No changes. 3. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION – Marilyn Heller is with the League of Women Voters of Larimer County’s (LWVLC) Affordable Housing Planning team. The LWVLC is hosting a virtual panel event on Thursday, April 20, 2023 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. showcasing three collaborative projects that support development of affordable housing projects in the community. Visit https://lwv-larimercounty.org for more information and event registration. Seth Forwood (former AHB member) gave thanks for the opportunity to serve on the Board. His Board term ended December 2022 and he was unable to attend the December 1, 2022 meeting. AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 01/05/2023 – M I N U T E Page 2 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Jennifer Bray moved to approve the December minutes with the correction to Kristin Fritz’ name on page 2. Sheila Seaver-Davis seconded. Approved 6-0. Bob abstained due to absence at the December meeting. 5. NEW BUSINESS A. Welcome Board Liaison • Susan Gutowsky gave a quick overview of her role as Council Liaison to the Affordable Housing Board. B. Environmental Justice Grant – Megan DeMasters and Selina Lujan de Albers, Air Quality Team, Environmental Services • Meaghan DeMaster and Selina Lujan de Albers provided a status update on the Air Quality Justice Grant and the two programs supported by the grant. • The vision is to ensure that all Fort Collins community members have a healthy, energy efficient, and resilient home environment. • DISCUSSION: • Does the age of the home determine eligibility to participate in the program? Age of home does not disqualify. • If there are lead/asbestos concerns, does the assessment shift education and offerings to meet those health concerns? If serious health concerns, is there the ability to rehouse until the issue is resolved? The program does not provide lead/asbestos testing; however, the program does serve as a conduit to other City and community resources. Currently no ability to re-house but the team will consider how to best handle those situations (radon, lead, asbestos). The program is not a regulatory or code compliance program. • Does the program provide connection to help individuals obtain the funding to make larger fixes for extreme weather? There have been workshops that provide tips on how to improve indoor air quality during extreme weather situations (wildfire preparedness) and the team is having larger conversations with other City departments and County services on how to help individuals experiencing extreme weather and provide some intervention. AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 01/05/2023 – M I N U T E Page 3 • What are some multi-lingual approaches to get the word out about the program? The program team is working with neighborhood connectors. C. Affordable Housing Board Annual Report, 2023 • The City Clerk requires the board to record two documents that highlight the work anticipated (Annual Work Plan) and the progress made (Annual Report). The 2022 Annual Report is due January 31, 2023. Stefanie Berganini moved to approve the 2022 AHB Annual Report with the correction to the year throughout and the addition to highlight that Land Development Code updates and open forum discussions were a frequent topic at board meetings. Jennifer Bray seconded. Approved 7-0. D. Housing Strategic Plan – Meaghan Overton, SSD • Land Development Code (LDC) Update – there were enough valid signatures so that it will go back to Council on January 17, 2023 to vote on the following options 1) repeal and go back to City staff to make edits or 2) keep the LDC as is for a special election/ballot initiative. • DISCUSSION: • The board discussed how they can continue to reaffirm their support for the LDC in how it promotes affordable housing in the community and ways they can provide education and outreach to the community on the positive impacts. • Some members of the Board will be attending the January 17, 2023 Council meeting, however, not all attending will be able to represent the Board as they will be there for professional purposes. • Board members asked Susan Gutowsky’s thoughts on whether Council is leaning towards repealing the LDC or keeping it as is for a ballot initiative. Susan has not spoken with other Council members and thus does not know how other members will vote but does appreciate hearing the discussion and the opinions of the AHB members. • While Susan voted no in Council to adopting the new LDC, she didn’t disagree with the new code updates but instead felt the community needed more time and information to understand the changes. • The Board discussed the need for more education on the differences between building for income-qualifying housing (AMI, deed restricted units) vs. increasing capacity of market rate housing and why varied spectrums of housing will help keep up with demand while slowing the increase of housing cost. AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 01/05/2023 – M I N U T E Page 4 Stefanie Berganini moved to update the position of the Affordable Housing Board’s support of the Land Development Code to include recommendation to Council that it does not go to the ballot. Jennifer Bray seconded. Approved 7-0. • Rental Housing Program Update – The proposed Rental Housing program design will go before Council on January 17, 2023 for First Reading. Bob Pawlikowski moved to recommend to Council the adoption of the proposed Rental Housing Program as it is designed in the memorandum. Stefanie Berganini seconded. Approved 6-0. Jennifer Bray abstained. • Implementation Update – None. E. Board Member Ideas – None. 6. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS – None. 7. OTHER BUSINESS • City Council 6-month planning calendar review • Council Comments – Who, what • Review 2023 Work Plan • Update on Affordable Housing Projects • Future AHB Meetings Agenda 8. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 6:01 P.M. Minutes were finalized and approved by the Affordable Housing Board on February 2, 2023.