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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD - MINUTES - 08/01/2024AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 8 /1/202 4 – M I N U TE S Page 1 August 1, 2024, 4:00-6:00pm Conference Room 2A, 215 N Mason St CALL TO ORDER At 4:06 PM the meeting was called to order by John Singleton. 1. ROLL CALL • Board Members Present:  John Singleton, Chair  Bob Pawlikowski, Vice Chair  Kristin Fritz, Ex Officio  Stefanie Berganini  Claire Bouchard  Liz Young-Winne • Board Members Excused:  Josh Beard • Staff Members Present: • Sue Beck-Ferkiss, Staff Liaison – City of Fort Collins • Brittany Depew, City of Fort Collins • Tamra Leavenworth, Minutes • Guests Present: • Marilyn Heller • Lisa Cunningham • Jorja Whyte • Kate Conley • Nina Clark • Anna Navarro 2. AGENDA REVIEW – No changes. 3. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION Marilyn Heller from the League of Women’s Voters shared that the Loveland Homelessness Task Force has an opportunity to purchase the First Christian Church in Loveland to use as a homelessness shelter, but a petition opposing it has emerged. One proposed alternative is to direct individuals experiencing homelessness in Loveland to the Behavioral Health Center in Fort Collins. Lisa Cunningham shared that she recently met with Leah Johnson, who is the head of the Affordable Housing Task Force. From what Lisa understands, their goal is to work with and enable housing developers. They are also interested in regional solutions and collaborating with Fort Collins. AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 8 /1/202 4 – M I N U TE S Page 2 Jorja Whyte introduced herself as the Director of Basic Needs for ASCSU, the student government at CSU, and a founding member of the ASCSU Housing Caucus. She informed the Board that Prospect Plaza, which offers some of the most affordable rental units for students in Fort Collins, is shutting down at the end of 2024. Prospect Plaza is also home to the Lumen Initiative, which offers 20-25 subsidized units to students with demonstrated financial need. ASCSU is working with CSU Strata, who currently owns the Prospect Plaza land, in an effort to collaborate and understand their plans for future development of the site. Kate Conley introduced herself as one of the co-leads of YIMBY Fort Collins, which is a local pro- housing advocacy organization that formed in 2022, and as an architect who specializes in multifamily affordable housing development. Kate joined the Board to speak about the impacts of parking minimums on housing affordability. YIMBY’s campaign, “People over Pavement,” advocates for eliminating excessive parking requirements, arguing that these can significantly hinder affordable housing development. Kate’s presentation covered a brief history of parking in Fort Collins, suggested parking solutions, and YIMBY’s proposal to end minimum parking requirements in Fort Collins. With Phase 2 of the Land Use Code approaching, YIMBY sees an opportunity to reevaluate zoning and parking policies and urge City Council to consider more significant reforms to the way Fort Collins is currently enforcing parking minimums. Nina Clark introduced herself, sharing that she works in funding for Enterprise Community Partners. She recently moved to Fort Collins and is attending the Board meeting to get more involved in the community and because she is passionate about making housing more affordable. 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Claire Bouchard motioned to approve the June 6 Regular Meeting Minutes. John Singleton seconded. Bob Pawlikowski, Stefanie Berganini & Liz Young-Winne abstained. Approved 2-0. 5. NEW BUSINESS A. Welcome New Board Member! • Liz Young-Winne, the newest member of the Affordable Housing Board, introduced herself, and the existing Board members briefly introduced themselves in return. B. Board Officer Election Conversation – Sue Beck-Ferkiss, Social Sustainability • Sue Beck-Ferkiss explained that due to the recent changes to City Boards & Commissions’ terms, the timing for electing Board Officers has also changed. The Board has the option to elect officers this fall or align with the City Clerk’s Office schedule for February/March. Sue mentioned that the current officers are willing to continue until then and prefer to hold elections at that time if the Board is agreeable. The Board opted to wait until February/March 2025 for the elections. Sue will notify the City Clerk’s Office accordingly. C. Providers Panel – Annette Zacharias, Family Housing Network & Seth Forwood, Fort Collins Rescue Mission AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 8 /1/202 4 – M I N U TE S Page 3 • Annette Zacharias, the Executive Director of Family Housing Network, outlined the services they offer for homeless families, including an overnight program, day center, case management, rapid rehousing, resource navigation, and their bridge housing program, Sherwood House. While the overnight program allows families to stay with Family Housing Network for 3-4 months, Sherwood House allows families who need more support to stay for up to a year. • Seth Forwood, the Senior Director of the Fort Collins Rescue Mission and Harvest Farm, which both operate under the Denver Rescue Mission, described their facilities and service. They operate a shelter with 89 beds for men experiencing homelessness and expand by 70 additional beds in the winter in partnership with the City to accommodate extreme weather conditions. Fort Collins Rescue Mission is in the process of planning and zoning for a new facility that would provide day shelter and up to 250 overnight beds. The final public hearing is on August 28. • Sue Beck-Ferkiss provided an overview of Homeward Alliance’s programs and services which include resource navigation, distribution of gear and supplies, housing-focused case management, and behavioral health and employment services to families, adults, and seniors in the community. Homeward Alliance also operates the Murphy Center, which serves as the community’s “front door” for homeless services including a day shelter, health clinic, and connection to on-site partner agencies and services. Homeward Alliance also serves as the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) lead agency for the Northern Colorado Continuum of Care. DISCUSSION: • How do you plan to move forward with limited resources, especially with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds going away at the end of this year? Community partnerships are crucial for ensuring consistent messaging and plans for our clients, which helps reduce the time people spend in homelessness. During COVID, many nonprofits saw a surge in funding, but now there is a nationwide decline, leading to reduced services. This is troubling because the demand for assistance remains high. I also want people to understand that we need both shelter services and affordable housing. People experiencing homelessness often require immediate support to meet their basic needs before they can focus on securing housing. Sheltering services are vital for stabilizing individuals; however, we can’t ignore that we have people ready for housing and there aren’t options available to them. • How are you responding to the Grants Pass v. Johnson U.S. Supreme Court decision, and do you think the Affordable Housing Board should advocate to City Council on this issue? I have a strong relationship with Fort Collins Police Services, so I spoke with the Chief about how this decision might impact their work and it seems unlikely that there will be major changes in policy or practice for Fort Collins Police. I don’t want to speak on their behalf, but my conversation with the Chief demonstrated that they have a sensitivity to the complexities of the issue, which is why they have established the Homelessness Outreach and Proactive Engagement (HOPE) Team. In my community engagement efforts, I often address concerns about the new facility in north Fort Collins, and I explain that police can only enforce camping AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 8 /1/202 4 – M I N U TE S Page 4 bans when there isn’t enough shelter space, which means our guests are less likely to face additional penalties for not having a place to sleep. To prevent adding extra burdens to people experiencing homelessness, I believe the best approach is to advocate for the removal of the law with City Council. Additionally, since police interact daily with homeless families – who often remain under the radar due to fears of losing their children to Child Protective Services – we benefit from a cooperative relationship between service providers and law enforcement. Family Housing Network serves a largely invisible population, and while we may think the number of homeless families is decreasing due to decreased numbers in the Point in Time count, we have tripled our capacity at Catholic Charities and our McKinney-Vento liaisons report a 5-10% annual increase in homeless families. This discrepancy suggests that even if shelters can accommodate that wants a bed, it doesn’t mean we’re serving everyone who is homeless. Therefore, the assumption that no one is sleeping outside just because we don’t turn anyone away is flawed and inaccurate. • In the wintertime, Fort Collins Rescue Mission can increase the number of available beds, but what happens in the summertime? I don’t have exact numbers, but we have very few available beds in the summertime. • What type of housing do people transitioning out of homelessness need the most? Many guests at Fort Collins Rescue Mission are eligible for Mason Place and Redtail Ponds, both of which are permanent supportive housing models. Additionally, sober living should be considered as part of the affordable housing conversation, as it often serves as a viable option. Many families at Family Housing Network who are using our shelter systems have high assessment scores and need housing vouchers. However, those vouchers don’t come or the person loses them due to a severe mental illness or other challenges that contribute to their assessment score. Permanent supportive houses options for families would be extremely beneficial, but we don’t have any in Fort Collins. • Is there anything this Board can do to show our support for Fort Collins Rescue Mission’s new facility? Yes, we have our final hearing for building permits on August 28. A formal letter of support from this Board submitted to the Planning and Zoning Commission, or someone speaking at the hearing, would be very beneficial. Stefanie Berganini motioned for herself to attend the Planning and Zoning Commission hearing on August 28 to speak on behalf of the Affordable Housing Board and express the Board’s support for Fort Collins Rescue Mission’s 24/7 Shelter project because it provides much needed shelter support, acknowledging that there is not enough housing for everyone who is unhoused, and it offers stabilization to help individuals achieve and maintain housing. Bob Pawlikowski seconded. Approved 5-0. AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 8 /1/202 4 – M I N U TE S Page 5 D. Board Priority Committee Reports • Knowledge Repository – Bob Pawlikowski & John Singleton • Bob is continuing to research and organize data for the Knowledge Repository. • Outreach, Education and Partnerships – Claire Bouchard & Josh Beard • Claire shared that she and Josh have been working with Sue to on what an education rollout could look like, beginning with key agencies that significantly impact housing security. The plan also includes involving elected officials in meetings to discuss their efforts to support affordable housing. In this context, Representative Boesenecker will attend the next Affordable Housing Board meeting on September 5. • Council and Local Legislative Support – Stefanie Berganini & John Singleton • No updates. • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in Affordable Housing – Stefanie Berganini • This subcommittee is currently on hiatus since its original leader resigned from the Board. 6. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS a. Meeting Logistics • The Board will continue to have hybrid meetings for the remainder of 2024. b. Liaison Reports • None. 7. OTHER BUSINESS None. 8. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 6:02 PM.