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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAffordable Housing Board - Minutes - 05/04/2023AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 0 5 /04 /2023 – M I N U TE S Page 1 May 4, 2023, 4:00-6:00pm Online via Zoom 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, Ed Hermsen, Jennifer Bray, Kristin Fritz, Stefanie Berganini • Board Members Absent: Sheila Seaver-Davis • Staff Members Present: • Sue Beck-Ferkiss, Staff Liaison – City of Fort Collins • Meaghan Overton, Social Sustainability – City of Fort Collins • Megan Gallagher, Social Sustainability – City of Fort Collins • Guests Present: • Lisa Cunningham • Marilyn Heller 2. AGENDA REVIEW – No changes. 3. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION • Marilyn Heller, a member of the League of Women’s Voters, thanked everyone who attended the League of Women’s Voters panel on April 20. She informed the Board that the recording is available on the League of Women’s Voters website. She also announced that Loveland is starting a safe parking pilot program – an initiative to encourage safe, legal parking locations for those experiencing homelessness who are living in vehicles. • Lisa Cunningham introduced herself as an advocate for affordable housing and announced that she signed up to host a Land Use Code Walking Tour on May 12. She shared that she has reached out to Preserve Fort Collins to gather feedback about perceived changes that could occur under the new Land Use Code. 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Ed Hermsen motioned to approve the April 6 Regular Meeting Minutes. Stefanie Berganini seconded. Approved 4-0. Bob Pawlikowski and Kristin Fritz did not vote due to their recusal from the meeting. AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 0 5 /04 /2023 – M I N U TE S Page 2 5. NEW BUSINESS A. Sustainable Funding – Ginny Sawyer, City Manager’s Office • Ginny Sawyer from the City Manager’s Office joined the Affordable Housing Board members for a presentation regarding Sustainable Funding. The presentation offered insight into the different components of sustainable funding, including but not limited to sources of city revenue, sales tax comparison to other Colorado cities, revenue uses, and potential funding options. The overall goal of the project is to secure additional funds to cover gaps identified through the City’s Master Plans. In June, the team will go to Council and ask if they would like to put any tax initiatives on the November ballot, and if so, what they would be. Several board members followed up with clarifying questions. • The Board invited Ginny to attend the Affordable Housing Board meeting in July to discuss this topic further. B. 2023 Private Activity Bond Capacity Requests – Sue Beck-Ferkiss, Social Sustainability • Sue Beck-Ferkiss gave the Board a brief overview of Private Activity Bonds and what they can be used for. One of the specified purposes is the construction and rehabilitation of affordable housing, which is a priority use of the bonds at the City. Private Activity Bonds are needed for 4% of low-income housing tax credits, which is a tool most developers are using to build affordable rentals. • The City of Fort Collins has a Private Activity Bond Committee that considers annual bond requests. This year, there were three total requests asking for double the amount of bond available. Two of these requests were from local organizations CARE Housing and Housing Catalyst, while the third request was from Steele Properties in Aurora, Colorado. Sue explained that PAB capacity can be used anywhere in the state. • Sue informed the Board that the PAB committee is recommending funding for CARE Housing and Housing Catalyst, but not Steele Properties. This decision was made because the committee wants to prioritize local projects. Sue invited the Board to ask questions, and to make a recommendation to support, not support, or alter the recommendation of the Private Activity Bond Committee. • The Board asked how local organizations collaborate on splitting bond. Kristin Fritz explained that they strategize with organizations doing development in Northern Colorado to see what needs exist and who has the most immediate need for funding. Ideally, each organization will receive the bond they need, but some years the need may be greater than the amount of bond available. • The Board asked if there were restrictions on who can apply for bond. Sue Beck-Ferkiss explained that anyone can apply, but not everyone can issue, so the applying organization needs to be working with an issuer. • The Board asked if companies or investors were purchasing the bonds, or if they were federally allocated. Kristin Fritz explained that the bonds can be publicly sold or placed directly, but since they are specifically a tax-exempt bond, the amount available is AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 0 5 /04 /2023 – M I N U TE S Page 3 limited by the Federal Government. • John Singleton invited Bob Pawlikowski and Kristin Fritz to speak to the Board and share their knowledge of Private Activity Bonds at a later date. Stefanie Berganini motioned to support the Private Activity Bond Committee’s funding recommendation. Jennifer Bray seconded. Approved 4-0. Bob Pawlikowski and Kristin Fritz abstained. C. Update on Land Use Code – Meaghan Overton, Social Sustainability • Meaghan Overton provided the Board with Land Use Code updates including a Council Work Session, a virtual information session, a workshop with the Center for Public Deliberation, Walking Tours that will occur throughout May, and a Land Use Code Open House that will occur on May 9. • The Board asked if there would be more walking tours held in June. Meaghan explained that if there is demand for them, there may be more added. She added that they want to prioritize hearing from folks they haven’t heard from based on the time of day the tours are held, language barriers, etc. if more tours are added in June. 6. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS None. 7. OTHER BUSINESS None. 8. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 6:07 PM.