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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAffordable Housing Board - Minutes - 02/06/2003CITY OF FORT COLLINS AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD February 6, 2003, MEETING MINUTES Kay Rios, Chair Isabel Garity, Vice Chair Ken Waido, Staff Liaison, 970-221-6753 Marty Tharp, City Council Liaison, 970-484-5711 Board Members Present: Kay Rios, Jon Fairchild, Isabel Garity, Joe Hebert, Jane Phelan, Denise Rogers, Jeff Taylor. Advance Planning Staff Present: Ken Waido, Maurice Head. Council Members Present: Marty Tharp Also Present: Lou Stitzel, The Resource Assistance Center; Grace Harris, League of Women Voters. The meeting was held at 281 N. College Ave., Fort Collins, Colorado. Isabel Garity called the meeting to order at 4:05 p.m. Lou Stitzel addressed the Board, urging support for encouraging housing developers, both for -profit and nonprofit, to include transportation plans in new developments. Even Land Bank projects won't remain affordable if they don't include well -thought-out plans for getting residents to work, she pointed out. She asked the Board to make this support known through the City Plan/Transportation Master Plan Update process. The Affordable Housing Board recommendation to City Council on City Plan characteristics supports expansion of local transit. Isabel Garity recommended all Board members read Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich, a report on what it's like to live and work at minimum wage. Board members introduced themselves to Marty Tharp, new City Council liaison, who said she looks forward to attending meetings on a regular basis in the future. New Business Minutes Minutes from Dec. 5, 2002, and Jan. 2, 2003, were approved without changes. Jane Phelan moved to accept the December minutes, Jeff Taylor seconded. Jeff Taylor moved to accept the January minutes, Denise Rogers seconded. Board Resignation Kay Rios announced that Mary Glode has officially resigned from the Affordable Housing Board. Kay added that she will contact Kathleen Cherroff to clarify her current status. Citv Plan Update Ken Waido reported on the progress of the Citizens Advisory Committee developing input on the update of City Plan. A number of documents were distributed to the Board prior to the meeting outlining the process. At its Jan. 28 study session, City Council decided to hold a second study session before formally adopting the characteristics to be incorporated into the updated City Plan and Transportation Master Plan. The delay will also allow the Affordable Housing Board more time to submit input. Jon Fairchild distributed a draft of the Policy Subcommittee's memo to City Council, offering recommendations in the areas of development patterns, transportation, and housing and neighborhoods. Although in general the recommendations seem to be in line with overall staff and CAC thinking, it will be revised to reflect current wording of CAC recommendations and be submitted for consideration at the next Council study session. Kay reported on addressing Council at the January study session, speaking as a member of the CAC, not on behalf of the Affordable Housing board. She supported maintaining flexibility in the Growth Management Area, a subject still under debate within the CAC. She also apologized for counseling in last month's meeting against writing a Soapbox article in advance of the study session, since another member of the CAC did so. One of the comments from Council, which Marty and other members supported, was that the characteristic calling for policies "encouraging" affordable housing was not strong enough. Kay suggested the revised memo to Council include suggested wording, and members should e-mail ideas to Jon. In response to a question from Isabel about the feasibility of adding new programs for affordable housing in this time of tight finances, Ken pointed out that not all supporting programs are financial. Marty added that financial ups and downs are an ongoing cycle, but issues like affordable housing require more active involvement over the long term. Important dates: Tuesday, February 25 -- Second City Council study session to review characteristics, and input from CAC, public meeting, community survey and various boards and commissions. Wednesday, February 26 -- CAC meeting to refine recommendations based on direction from Council. Tuesday, March 18 -- City Council work session to adopt the characteristics the City Plan update should be built around. Ken added that once Council adopts the characteristics, Phase II of the City Plan Update will begin, in which actual wording of policies will be revised to meet those characteristics. The Policy Subcommittee will rewrite the draft memo to Council as discussed. Sales Tax Revenue/Reduction of Affordable Housing Funding Ken reported that there were no updated figures from the ones presented in January, but that Advance Planning is looking at another set of departmental cuts and new hiring has been frozen. There is money available for the Affordable Housing Fund and the Land Bank, just not any additional over last year's amounts. Marty added that the last thing Council wants to do is lay off people to balance the budget. She said they will be reassessing other spending and shift money around as needed. Kay suggested keeping this issue on the agenda for next month's meeting, and asked staff to bring final figures when available. AHB's Recommendations for Improvement Maurice Head referred to the matrix distributed for last month's meeting, indicating the status of the recommendations. A number have been implemented in one way or another. Funding Partners will continue to pursue the CRA Clearinghouse project with another bank, although First National decided not to pursue it. Maurice and Kay will continue to be involved. Kay asked Maurice to invite Cameron Gloss to the Board's April meeting to review how the dispute mediation process is working. She also asked that the fee waivers for nonprofit developers and the right -of -first -refusal ordinance remain on future agendas. 2003 Work Plan The proposed work plan was reviewed, along with suggestions from Isabel to revise Section II under Education and Outreach as distributed at January's meeting. Kay once again asked for volunteers to join the Advocacy Subcommittee. Jeff Taylor moved that the Affordable Housing Board's Work Plan for 2003 be adopted as amended; Joe Hebert seconded. The motion carried unanimously without further discussion. Bvlaws/Elections With Mary's resignation, Board membership is now at eight. Although Article II, Section 5 of the Board's Bylaws defines a quorum as "50 percent of current membership," the City's Boards and Commissions Manual specifies that a quorum "consists of the majority of the total number of members specified by the City Code to comprise the board or commission. This quorum requirement does not change even if a position on the board or commission is vacant and the City Council has not appointed a replacement." According to Ken, the City Clerk is working to find a replacement, but the number need for a quorum is still five, a majority of the required nine members. Ken also reported that in the opinion of the City Attorney, proxies are not allowed for board votes. The Bylaws also specify that elections for chair and vice chair be held "at the first regular meeting in each year (October)." Isabel moved to change the bylaws to require officer elections in February rather than October; Jeff Taylor seconded. The motion carried unanimously without further discussion. As a result, elections were held. By unanimous acclamation, Kay Rios remains chair of the Affordable Housing Board and Isabel Garity vice chair for 2003. Old Business Update/Reports on Subcommittee Efforts Policy: Jon asked for e-mail input on the City Plan Update memo within the week, so it can be submitted to Council for the Feb. 25 study session. There were no other subcommittee reports. Liaison Reports Planning and Zoning: Isabel reported on a presentation on the new CSU residence hall going in at the old Ropes Course site. While it is expected to pull students out of the general housing market, Ken added that the effects won't be felt for three or four years from now, because once the new facility opens in 2004 two others will be closed for renovations. Senior Advisory Board: Kay reported that the Board has included affordable housing as a line item on its agenda, and added that this would be a good group for the advocacy subcommittee to work with. Dial -A -Ride: Kay also reported that staff has asked this board to take a broader view and consider which stops on a fixed transit route would be appropriate to support affordable housing. Other Business Colorado Senate Bill 03-154 Ken distributed a summary of the bill, which prohibits cities or counties from requiring anyone to sell private residential property below fair market value. The measure is to bring ownership units in line with existing regulations for rental properties. He pointed out that the effect of the measure on developers who receive financial assistance from the Housing Authority was not at all clear -- Can the City require sales to those making less than a certain percentage of the AMI as a condition of providing the assistance? Marty said the City and the Colorado Municipal League also opposed the measure on the grounds that it encroached on local control within Home Rule cities like Fort Collins, and the City's lobbyist was working on the issue. Maurice reported that the measure was moving through the Legislature rapidly. Practical Housing For All This group has asked to be included on next month's agenda to provide an update on their efforts to make housing more accessible with little or no cost to builders. Ken will determine the nature of the presentation before including it. Comoetitive Process Ken reported that applications for funding through the spring cycle of the Competitive Process will be distributed at the next meeting, and that the Board should set up a special meeting near the end of March to consider them. Recommendations for City Council Retreat Isabel asked that discussing recommendations for the next City Council retreat be placed on next month's agenda. That should give the Board enough time to be included on the agenda for the Council's retreat, which Marty said will take place after the April elections. The purpose of the retreat is to discuss Council policies and direction for the coming year. Isabel asked members to e-mail her suggestions for issues to include on the retreat agenda. Land Bank Purchase Maurice reported that the City is still conducting environmental assessments on the Horsetooth Stables property. Closing is scheduled for Feb. 15. Next meeting Scheduled for March 6, 2003. Meeting adjourned at 5:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Kate Jeracki February 11, 2003 f�llw W U� �/ 0 3