Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutAffordable Housing Board - Minutes - 08/01/2002CITY OF FORT COLLINS AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD AUGU, T 1, 2002, MEETING MINUTES Kay Rios, Chair lllll/`�� Isabel Garity, Vice Chair Ken Waido, Staff Liaison, 970-221-6753 /�t 141"44itlo David Roy, City Council Liaison, 970-407-7393 Board Members Present: Kay Rios, Isabel Garity, Kathleen Cherroff, Jon Fairchild, Mary Glode, Jane Phelan, Denise Rogers and Jeff Taylor. Advance Planning Staff Present: Maurice Head. Council Members Present: David Roy. Also Present: Julie Brewen, Executive Director of the Fort Collins Housing Authority; Mary Greeley, FCHA Resident Commissioner from the Northern Hotel; Mike Buderus, Chairman of the Senior Advisory Board, liaison to the Affordable Housing Board; Lou Stitzel, The Resource Assistance Center; Grace Harris, League of Women Voters. The meeting was held at 281 N. College Ave., Fort Collins, Colorado. Kay Rios called the meeting to order with a quorum present at 4:05 p.m. New Business Jeff Taylor was introduced as the newest member of the Board. David Roy addressed the Board as the new City Council Liaison, and encouraged members to contact him either by phone or at his e-mail address, droy@fcgov.com. Minutes The minutes of June 6 were approved as submitted on a motion by Isabel Garity, seconded by Denise Rogers. The motion carried unanimously. Practical Housing For All Initiative Kay reported there were no additional details on this initiative forthcoming from the PHA team, which is doing more outreach to the building industry at this time. The issue may come before the Board in the future. Northern Hotel Julie Brewen and Mary Greeley outlined a number of issues, including lease upgrades, marketability of the units and problems Northern Hotel residents are having with some amenities, especially parking. Funding Partners and National Development Council are the ownership group for the hotel, known as Northern Hotel LLC; FCHA is the property manager. Joe Rowan of Funding Partners was not able to attend this meeting. Affordable Housing Board August 1, 2002 Meeting Minutes Page 2 Last November, FCHA set aside 20 Section 8 vouchers for the hotel, and those units leased fairly quickly. To date, 26 of the hotel's 47 units are leased. Julie pointed out that while the market study done at the beginning of the Northern project showed a real need for senior housing, about 100 new units. Since then, several other projects have come online -- in particular Reflections with 72 units and Woodbridge with 60 units. These projects offer seniors more amenities than the Northern, in particular parking, central air conditioning, larger units and a quieter location. The FCHA board really wants the Northern to be fully occupied and become an integral part of downtown, so beginning Sept. 1, an additional 27 Section 8 vouchers will be available for units in the Northern. HUD regulations allow residents to use these project -based vouchers anywhere they want after the first year. FCHA is concerned about a mass exodus next year. Some of the air conditioning issues have been taken care of, although central air is not possible. Parking is still a major concern. While the City has set aside a number of spaces for residents to lease at a discount, they are located on the fourth floor of the structure at Mountain and Walnut, quite a distance from the hotel with unreliable elevators. Julie gave Kay the file of letters from residents expressing their safety and security concerns about this arrangement. She said the residents would rather have spaces in the lot on College Ave. directly across from the hotel, and Joe Rowan has worked on the issue with the Transportation Department to no avail. Parking has become a major leasing and retention issue. Kay pointed out that at the beginning of the Northern project, the Board had harped on exactly these issues that made it inappropriate for senior housing: size of units, air conditioning, parking. She suggested Julie follow up with Transportation on the lot closer to the Armadillo, which would also be cheaper and had been part of the discussions previously. Kay and Julie agreed that the size of the rooms might make the Northern more appropriate as transitional housing, which the deep subsidy of the Section 8 program will allow. Julie expects several residents of the City's 45 single -room occupancy units to move over to the Northern once more vouchers are available. If project -basing additional vouchers doesn't work, FCHA may suggest to the ownership group that the Northern become a mixed -ages project. Jon Fairchild asked Mary Greeley what she would think of seniors occupying two floors and having the other two open to all ages. She thought it would be a great idea. She said she likes living in the Northern now that the air conditioning works; the rooms are small but pleasant and she likes being downtown. The parking is getting worse, however. In response to a question from Isabel, Mary Greeley described the problems associated with the current parking situation: the distance for people who have trouble walking; ice in winter; no open spaces in the summer; walking past -- or Affordable Housing Board August 1, 2002 Meeting Minutes Page 3 over -- bar patrons at night; no enforcement of the reserved handicapped spaces and loading zone at the hotel. She added that only about five residents even bother to have cars, and those who do are hesitant to renew their leases. She has sometimes not returned to her apartment in the Northern at night rather than face the drunks in the elevators and the kids skateboarding on the ramps. Jon suggested exploring the option of leasing spaces in one of the private parking lots in the area closer to the hotel, for example on Pine Street behind Rasta Pasta and Fireplace West. Kathleen Cherroff pointed out that those are not gated lots, but Mary Greeley felt such lots could be safer because they're not inhabited after dark. Kay also thought the residents could get spaces cheaper than $24 per month there. Kay, despite her recently retired status, said she would follow up with Transportation to see what happened with the lot nearer the Armadillo. Julie will follow up with the private sector to see if leasing closer parking would be possible. She will also keep the Board updated if the resident mix changes to increase the marketability of the Northern Hotel. Kay did not say, "I told you so." City Plan Update Kay has submitted her application to become part of the citizen advisory committee to the Advance Planning Department's project to update City Plan, which will be coordinated with the Transportation Master Plan Update. Maurice reported about 70 applications have been received. City Council will select the final 21 members at the Aug. 20 meeting. Whether or not she is appointed, the Affordable Housing Board will have input to the process, and will set up a subcommittee for that purpose. Nexus Studv Maurice reported on results of five mini-taskforces that gave input on the study from representatives of the chamber of commerce; residential developers; commercial developers; industry organizations, and nonprofit groups on June 28. The comments divided into eight themes, summarized by Maurice in a memo distributed to the Board. (Complete reports are available from Maurice.) He said the discussions were all very positive and straightforward, and everyone expressed a willingness to work on the issue. The overall feeling was that affordable housing is a citywide problem and should be addressed by all sectors of the community. Of most concern to the mini-taskforces was the general perception that the recent softening in the higher end of the real estate market and historically high rental vacancy rates translated into a lessening of demand for affordable housing. The feeling of task -force participants was that the 50-60 percent of AMI market was already being served and the City's priorities should be refocused to the 30-40 percent of AMI market. Affordable Housing Board August 1, 2002 Meeting Minutes Page 4 Maurice explained that the Division of Housing survey taken twice a year measured only market rate units, not affordable/nonprofit housing. The most recent study showed a 7 percent vacancy rate, compared to last year's 3 percent. Maurice added that the Advance Planning Department's own research showed higher vacancies among nonprofits as well. However, Isabel pointed out that homes under $200,000 are on the market for less than 30 days. Maurice said while everyone agreed that there should be mitigation for affordable housing, there was some concern that the City's estimate of the need was too high. As a result, staff is reducing its recommendation for 100 percent mitigation of affordable housing demand to 50 percent of what has been identified in the study. The Board generally disagreed with Maurice's opinion that the mitigation reduction has to be the same for both residential and commercial development to remain fair. Jon Fairchild and Mary Glode asked about the numbers used to determine what's too high, both for housing demand and fees imposed. Maurice agreed that there may be difficulties with the figures generated by the real estate community and that staff will take the lead in updating the housing needs report. Denise said that fees are only too high if they prevent something the City wants, like affordable housing, from happening. Kathleen said it can happen, and has in Loveland. Status of AHB Recommendations Maurice distributed a memo updating the status of Affordable Housing Board recommendations, referring to the matrix that had been previously distributed. Although the one -stop development review center will not be implemented due to budget constraints, Cameron Gloss, Current Planning Director, has been designated as the staff person with the responsibility and authority to resolve conflicts between City departments in regard to development review issues. In addition, the Current Planning Department has made the 120-day review period an internal goal. Maurice will invite Cameron Gloss to the next meeting to explain what's in place and its cost. Maurice also announced that the Finance Committee of City Council had rejected the plan to use budgetary cash -flow to fund the fee exemption ordinance, although at the June 6 AHB meeting Doug Smith of the Finance Department reported that the Finance Committee had agreed to a two-year pilot funding program to study the cash -flow approach. The reason given was declining sales tax revenues that could reduce the level of funding and therefore the float in the future. Kay and Denise both questioned the decision not to restrict the fee exemption to nonprofits only. Kay added that exempting nonprofits would put them on the same footing as the FCHA when competing for Competitive Process funds. Extending the Affordable Housing Board August 1, 2002 Meeting Minutes Page 5 exemption to all builders made the price tag too high. Maurice said the City's attorneys were concerned about the fairness of offering exemptions to some builders and not others. The Board generally disagreed; Kathleen pointed out that for -profit builders aren't in that segment of the market anyway, but perhaps City Council members don't realize that. Jeff Taylor asked for background on the source of the funds, and asked if, in light of the recent 4 percent decrease in sales tax revenues, the Finance Committee no longer considered the float a safe way to go. Kay said that she didn't want to see the idea die, and that the Board should follow up with the Finance Committee and get documentation of the reasoning. Jon suggested the Board resubmit its resolution of May 2, which called for the exemption be restricted to nonprofits; the Policy Subcommittee will consider this option. The consensus of the Board was that they would like to hear more on this issue from Doug. Maurice will invite Doug Smith of the Finance Department to the September meeting for further discussions. Kay also announced that a representative from Funding Partners will attend the next meeting to discuss the Clearinghouse, which should be finalized by the end of the summer. New Model Building Code Review/Adoption Kay explained that Felix Lee, the City's Chief Building Official, wanted a member of AHB to participate in the upcoming review/adoption of the latest model residential building code. The review will look at how code changes and associated fees affect the bottom line for builders Isabel Garity volunteered to serve. Policy Changes Regarding Boards and Commissions, Including Term Limits Kay explained that the major change was to clarify that any appointment to fill a vacancy considered a term. Once that term is completed, an individual can only apply to serve one more term. Maurice also pointed out that the approved minutes must now be signed by the chair of the committee and the recording secretary. Affordable Housing Board August 1, 2002 Meeting Minutes Page 6 Old Business Update/Reports on Subcommittee Efforts With the cancellation of the July meeting, there were no subcommittee meetings. Kay urged all subcommittees to begin meeting again. Liaison Reports Jane Phelan will be attending the next meeting of Natural Resources; Isabel has been attending Planning and Zoning work sessions. Mary Glode has begun receiving the monthly report prepared by FCHA for City Council. She has three copies of the succinct summary of current local housing issues, if anyone would like to see it. She also distributed an article from the Boston Globe about single -room occupancy hotels. Other Business Colorado Housing NOW Conference Mary distributed information about the conference to be held in Breckenridge Oct. 7-10. Meal Sites Mike Buderus of the Senior Advisory Board reported that City codes prohibit cafeterias in some senior housing facilities and Dial -A -Ride has been transporting seniors to off -site cafeterias. He suggested addressing this issue in the City Plan Update. Kay will meet with Mike to discuss the issue. Trans[)ortation Tax Kay attended a meeting to put together a citizens advisory group on the transportation tax, and she recapped the quarter -cent sales/use tax and the 1 percent transportation excise tax for transportation to appear on the November ballot and the $1 monthly transportation maintenance fee Council is considering enacting. She is concerned about the impacts these taxes will have on affordable housing and businesses with a high -volume of foot traffic as well as the lack of transit serving populations in need of affordable housing. Kay will invite Mike Burns of the Citizens Advisory Group to give a presentation at the next meeting. Affordable Housing Board August 1, 2002 Meeting Minutes Page 7 City Organization Booklets Maurice distributed one to each board member. Next meeting Scheduled for September 5, 2002, 4 p.m. Meeting adjourned 5:35 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Kate 7eracki August 13, 2002