Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutAffordable Housing Board - Minutes - 06/06/2002CITY OF FORT COLLINS AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD JUNE 6, 2002 MEETING MINUTES Kay Rios, Chair Isabel Garity, Vice Chair Ken Waido, Staff Liaison, 970-221-6753 Board Members Present: Isabel Garity, Joe Hebert, Jon Fairchild, Mary Glode, and Denise Rogers. Kathleen Cherroff and Kay Rios were excused. Advance Planning Staff Present: Ken Waido, Maurice Head, and Joe Frank. Council Members Present: None. Also Present: Doug Smith, City of Fort Collins Finance Department; Julie Brewen, Executive Director of the Fort Collins Housing Authority; Chip Steiner, Vice Chairman of FCHA Board of Commissioners; Mark Beck, Commission on Disability Chair; Felix Lee, City of Fort Collins Chief Building Official; Michelle Jacobs, Director of Information for Practical Housing for All; 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 with a quorum present at 4:05 p.m. New Business Ken Waido announced that David McKelfresh had resigned from the Board. Minutes The minutes of May 2 were corrected to reflect the name of the executive director of the Fort Collins Housing Authority as Julie Brewen. The first paragraph of Mary Glode's Liaison Report now reads: Mary reported that she had met this morning with Julie Brewen, executive director of the Fort Collins Housing Authority. They discussed a glitch that has developed in the Rigden Farm development that has put the project on hold. There is some concern over the affordability cap, that prospective buyers won't buy the capped units if they can make more money reselling uncapped units. Isabel Garity's Liaison Report now reads: Isabel attended the Planning and Zoning work session. Denise Rogers moved to accept the May 2 minutes as corrected, Joe Hebert seconded, motion carried unanimously. Fee Exemption Ordinance Doug Smith of the Finance Department explained the effect on the Affordable Housing Trust Fund of using budgetary cash flow to fund fee payments for eligible projects. He reported that the Finance Committee of City Council has agreed to a two-year pilot funding program to study whether there is enough cash flow in the Affordable Housing Board June 6, 2001 Meeting Minutes Page 2 budget to cover the fee exemption program as well as any projects identified through the Competitive Process. Doug distributed a spreadsheet showing both historical and projected figures for the Affordable Housing Fund, based on the 10- year goals set by the Board. In essence, the figures show that since 1994, the entire amount budgeted for Affordable Housing projects has not been spent in any one year. The remaining balance always has been rolled forward into the next year, and City Council always has allocated additional money from the General Fund each year. The Finance Department assumes that 75 percent of the Affordable Housing Fund will be spent in budget years 2003-2010, with the remaining 25 percent rolled forward into the next year, and that City Council will continue to allocate funds from the General Fund annually. During the ensuring discussion, Denise Rogers raised the concern that if the 75/25 historical trend shifts, the budget would not be adequate to cover the projects committed to in any one Competitive Process cycle. Doug said that concern was one of the reasons for the two-year pilot study, to see if adjustments to the ratio are necessary. He added that all affordable housing commitments will be met, because Council is committed to the fee waiver project and any "debt" incurred is to the City's General Fund, which would cover any shortfall. His charge from Council was to come up with a viable way to implement the program without expending additional resources. The cash flow program, an accepted budgeting process, is a way to achieve that goal. In response to a question from Mary, Maurice said fee waivers amount to an estimated $4400 per rental unit and $6500 per ownership unit. After this explanation, and reassurance that all approved projects and fee waivers will be funded, the consensus of the Board was that it was comfortable with the cash -flow process for funding the fee waiver exemption program. Denise proposed the following motion: The Affordable Housing Board appreciates City Council's support for affordable housing ad we support the use of the Affordable Housing Trust fund to fund impact fee exemptions without a negative impact on affordable housing projects. Joe Hebert seconded; motion passed unanimously. Maurice explained that beginning with the next Competitive Process cycle, developers will be able to indicate whether they require the fee exemption as part of the application, rather than using the first -come -first -served entitlement process currently in place. Joe Frank added that Council will set a cap on the amount of money available for fee waivers each year. Mary was in favor of the Board being able to recommend full or partial awards of waivers for each project as part of its input to the Competitive Process. Joe Frank and Maurice agreed that some minor adjustments to the existing ordinance will be needed; staff is in the process of Affordable Housing Board June 6, 2001 Meeting Minutes Page 3 developing options for Council. After further discussion, Jon proposed the following motion: The Affordable Housing Board supports including the impact fee exemption program in the Competitive Process and prefers inclusion in the Competitive Process over an entitlement program. Mary seconded; motion passed unanimously. Riaden Farm Update Julie Brewen and Chip Steiner provided a follow-up to last month's report by Mary on the collapse of the affordable housing portion of the Rigden Farm development. Julie acknowledged that from the beginning of the textbook mixed -income, mixed - unit, new -urbanism project, the biggest issue was the housing market in Fort Collins. The greatest concern was that buyers of lower -end properties, in the $160,000-$170,000 range, would be more likely to purchase in a subdivision without deed restrictions in hopes of realizing a greater appreciation on their home investment. Julie noted that Rigden Farm did not approach the estimated 20-25 percent under -market pricing required to offset the deed restrictions, and that the Authority did not hold the land rights on the development. She said the Authority's Board had decided to slow down and not take as much risk with grant money as the deal took on a different structure and mix of units. Jon asked what can be done differently in the future to make such projects work. Julie answered that either the developers have to take the majority of the risk or the Authority has to have the majority of the control over the project. He added that the issue of deed restrictions will become more important as the Board works with the Nexus study. Ken pointed our that nonprofits like the Authority can't do it all; the question is how to keep private developers responsible for implementing any deed restriction program, because it's ultimately the buyer who winds up with a restricted deed. Julie added that this could be particularly disadvantageous to buyers in a market with rising interest rates. Julie also reported on her research into barriers to homeownership for those at 60 percent of AMI. The biggest barrier was not available product, as is generally assumed, but the attitude of potential buyers that their first home has to be a detached single family unit. It was agreed that there should be more focus on educating first time homebuyers and realtors on alternatives. Joe Frank suggested rethinking the role of the Board if there is a supply of housing available for buyers below the local AMI; should it be focused on down -payment assistance only? While Rigden Farm proved a big disappointment, Julie said the Authority has learned a lot that will be useful in shaping future projects. Affordable Housing Board June 6, 2001 Meeting Minutes Page 4 Practical Housing For All Initiative Mark Beck and Felix Lee gave a PowerPoint presentation outlining the benefits of Practical Housing, a concept created in Atlanta in 1990 to make all new houses "visitable" by everyone, with or without disabilities. Practical Housing for All is a voluntary program, based on incentives for homebuilders to include simple solutions to access barriers in the original design and construction of single-family homes. Practical Housing for All is asking for the Affordable Housing Board's support for a proposed ordinance, a copy of which was distributed to the Board, to encourage construction of such homes in Fort Collins. Lou Stitzel pointed out that on the state level, any project using Housing Trust funds must have general accessibility. Felix said the ordinance would cover projects not receiving government funding, and that PHA was looking for general support from the Board and others. Jon expressed concern that the copy of the ordinance distributed to the Board was too vague on the cost of the incentives as well as the actual incentives proposed. Isabel asked Felix to e-mail any additional details to Ken, and Board members to read the ordinance and comment on it at the next meeting. I-25 Subarea Plan Ken presented a brief update on the I-25 Subarea Plan, which is scheduled to go before Council at its August study session. At the current housing density of two dwellings per acre, affordable housing does not seem to be a viable option. Ken pointed out that the City could encourage higher densities with affordable housing density bonuses. During discussion, Denise pointed out that infrastructure and services have to plan for the expected density. He suggested the Board make a statement at next month's meeting; in the meantime, Ken will meet with Kay, Jon and Denise as the Land Use Subcommittee to discuss the impact of affordable housing in the I-25 Subarea. Nexus Study Maurice announced that on June 28, five min-taskforces will be taking community input on the study from representatives of commercial interests; residential construction; environmental groups; industry organizations, and nonprofits and citizen groups. Significant comments will be included in the final report that goes to Council at its July 23 study session. He invited members of the Board to attend the meetings, which are designed to get more eyes to look at the study as well as make various groups aware of it and air any concerns that may arise. Maurice said he would provide the Board with a copy of the memo on the recommendations generated by the small -group sessions. Affordable Housing Board June 6, 2001 Meeting Minutes Page 5 Status of AHB Recommendations Maurice distributed a memo updating the status of Affordable Housing Board recommendations. Update/Reports on Subcommittee Efforts None. Liaison Reports None. Other Business E-mail Reminder Ken reminded Board members that any e-mail communication on Board business is part of the public record, even if it does not go through the City's e-mail system. Street Standards For informational purposes, Ken distributed a copy of proposed revisions to Larimer County urban area street standards. Although it may have little impact on affordable housing, Ken requested any comments be sent to him to be forwarded to the Engineering Department. Down -Payment Assistance Funds Ken also announced that all the funds for down -payment assistance have been distributed for this year. Council has approved $300,000 of CDBG funds for down - payment assistance; however, those funds must be matched and will not be available until October. There is an estimated current demand for 50-60 grants, and staff is looking at various options to cover as many of those as possible in the interim. Poster Distribution Ken announced that the second version of the Affordable Housing poster is now available for distribution, and asked for volunteers to help distribute it. Next meeting Ken will coordinate rescheduling the next meeting to avoid conflict with the July 4 holiday. On a motion by Denise Rogers and seconded by Joe Hebert, meeting adjourned 6:05 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Kate Jeracki June 18, 2002