Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommunity Development Block Grant Commission - Minutes - 12/13/2001CITY OF FORT COLLINS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT Meeting Minutes December 13, 2001 Phil Majerus, Chair Alfred Flores, Vice Chair Bill Bertschy, City Council Liaison Chairman Phil Majerus called the meeting of the Community Development Block Grant Commission to order at 5:45 p.m., at 214 Linden Street, Fort Collins, Colorado. Board members present included: Chairman Phil Majerus, Terri Bryant, Linda Coxen, Alfred Flores, Vi Guthrie, Brett Hill, Tia Molander, Jennifer Molock, Bill Steffes, Dennis Vanderheiden, and Cheryl Zimlich. Staff present: Ken Waido, Heidi Phelps, Maurice Head, Julie Smith, and Stacy Kelley. Council Liason Bill Bertschy. APPROVAL OF JULY AND OCTOBER MINUTES Moved by Mr. Steffes, seconded by Ms. Guthrie: To approve the July 2001 and October 2001 minutes as written. Motion approved unanimously. SIMPSON HOUSING Ms. Smith report. In the time it has taken for the project to submit paperwork, it has developed that the entity awarding tax credits will not allow the recommended HOME loan of 3% loan with 3-year balloon. The regulations require a higher rate over a longer term. Funding will also be used to defray certain construction and development costs. Commission action is needed for these new terms to be approved. The subject fees are allowed under HOME guidelines. The project is essentially already built out. Staff is tracking the project and the accounting of the project. The reworked arrangement will produce more funds returned to the program, but over a longer term. Moved by Mr. Steffes, seconded by Mr. Flores: To approve the new terms as outlined by Staff. Motion approved 7-1, with one abstention. CDBG TIMELINESS LETTER Ms. Smith report. HUD is concerned nationally about CDBG entities that are not expending funds in timely fashion and has issued a letter to all entities. These concerns do not apply to this CDBG effort. Staff assured the Commission that progress of all projects is tracked closely. Project funding is churned as quickly Community Development Block Grant Commission Meeting of December 13, 2001 Page 2 and efficiently as possible. This HUD report is presented for information purposes. It is important to reprogram funding on unproductive projects. AWARENESS CAMPAIGN Ms. Phelps report. The awareness campaign is Mr. Waido's brainchild from two to three years ago and has been revived about six months ago. A public awareness campaign on affordable housing is ready to be pursued in 2002. Larry Kendall donated $1,000 from The Group for printing costs. A poster campaign is organized. Those with ties to affordable housing are being contacted to assist in this effort. The PowerPoint presentation will present Weld and Larimer County statistics. A 15-minute video has been prepared for presentations as well. The Affordable Housing Coalition and the Continuum of Care will assist. 36 presentations are planned for both Weld and Larimer Counties in 2002. A database is being built for poster distribution sites. Staff distributed printing material to Commissions members and reviewed the target locations. Staff has attempted to be very detailed on the material that has been assembled. The printed matters will be mailed and/or distributed by hand. Mr. Waido complimented Ms. Phelps for the outstanding results of this effort. He advocated those who belong to interested groups to invite presenters from the City for meetings. Ms. Phelps stated that posters will be rotated over a quarterly type cycle. Every affordable housing project meeting will have them. Planning departments in other areas will help to coordinate in the distribution. Ms. Kelley will have custody of the PowerPoint demonstration. Others can use and modify this presentation as long as the prevailing theme is kept intact and credit is given to the preparer. In response to questions by Commission members, Staff stated that some community groups exist who may be able to spot results, but concrete results would be very difficult to assemble. Mr. Majerus stated that he works with a national campaign, and Staff's results are as good as anything he has seen at that level. Ms. Phelps reviewed some dynamics of the campaign. The posters will be 11 by 17. The Coloradoan is aware of this effort. It is presently working on a series on affordable housing. There will be a press conference for this awareness campaign in January. Commission members were urged to participate in the distribution of the printed material. The first posters are to be posted by the end of January. The following posting is planned for late May; the next, in September or October. Community Development Block Grant Commission Meeting of December 13, 2001 Page 3 Ms. Smith noted that the groups that Staff works with are highly impressed by Ms. Phelps' work. The Commission heartily approved of the Staff efforts. NEXUS STUDY UPDATE Mr. Head report. Staff received the first working paper from consultant and presented the results to City Council last Tuesday for its direction. This is a study to measure the impact of development on the demand for affordable housing. New market rate housing requires new goods and services, driving jobs, and thereby driving affordable housing, due to the lower -paying nature of the goods and services industries that increased housing generated. On the nonresidential development side, lower -paying new employers drive up demand for affordable housing as well. Mr. Head reviewed the three potential strategies: Inclusionary zoning would require new developments to include a certain percent of affordable housing in the development plan. This becomes more problematic on the rental side, but a "fee in lieu of may prove workable. Job linkage fee. This is usually calculated on a square footage basis. Excise tax. The Council took this off the table. It would require voter approval. Mr. Head reviewed the three different approaches: The nexus -based approach is more scientific, with the fee based upon the demand that is created by development. The policy -based approach is not necessarily a scientific process, but is goal -based, oriented to City policy. A hybrid approach would apply a balancing of the first two approaches. Council is considering all of these approaches. Staff has been directed to move forward with its analysis of inclusionary zoning and job linkage. The consultant is to return with a more refined version of findings, with more exact measurements and calculation of dollars generated. Mr. Head mentioned that additional resources will be needed to address additional need. This would provide new funding source to address the affordable housing demand. This money generated would be used for the new demand created. Community Development Block Grant Commission Meeting of December 13, 2001 Page 4 The Commission queried as to the nature of a linkage fee. Staff explained that it is very similar to an impact fee. This is an analysis to try to determine the demand created by a new development, including a statistical analysis on the nexus component to determine the demands and how to make them pay their way. The present estimate is that every 100 market units create affordable housing demand of six units. For commercial, four to six units are created for each 10,000 square feet of nonresidential development. The definition of affordable units will be discussed in the next phase of the study. This is a City - promoted study as a tool to be used in addressing affordable housing needs. It is an attempt to explore ways to keep new development from making the affordable housing problem worse; it does not address the existing problems. In this way, it is again akin to impact fees. In response to questions by the Commission, staff stated that when people providing services cannot afford to live in town, they move out, thus creating traffic stresses. This creates a retraining cycle for the commercial sector as people leave. This is not a simple issue and there is no simple answer. The consultant being used is the same one who put together the Land Bank Program study. The cost of the study is $35,000. These problems do not have defined political boundaries; rather, it is a regional issue, and solutions may help with other regional issues. Where people used to talk about subdivisions, now they talk about communities, the cities being the community elements rather than the subdivisions. The consultant is making certain assumptions based on certain data, which will be refined with further study. The Commission will be provided with a copy of the report. A very detailed analysis on converting jobs to income will be done, looking at spendable income for various levels, the development translation to square feet, the translation to jobs. A scientific basis will be used to come to the numbers. The results will be open to challenge, and the data has to be solid to survive the challenges. The City Attorney's analysis will tend to the conservative side and will not let marginal processes through. Staff noted that this is the first step, with much opportunity left for further refinement. Copies will be provided in the next meeting's packet, and staff will be happy to discuss the progress. The next target date is April to tighten up the present issues and bring the scope to a level of comfort for all. Then a study session will be held with City Council to review the refined elements of the initial study. City Council has not been asked for its endorsement. Council turned down the possibility of an excise tax and has asked for more study on the other possibilities. All other possibilities are open, and the result could be a very political decision. Community Development Block Grant Commission Meeting of December 13, 2001 Page 5 The Commission questioned the effects of Berthoud's stance on growth and the impact of numbers of Front Range communities limiting growth. Staff noted that a line of questioning at a Council meeting seemed to imply that if Fort Collins grows at a rate that creates demand, and if the growth is cut off, the affordable housing issue is not made worse. The Commission idly speculated on a progressive impact fee for higher -end homes. 2002 SCHEDULE The March meeting has been moved to the first Thursday of the month, March 7, due to spring break. All meetings will be at 281 South College, including presentations by applicants. This is due to occasional conflicts with P&Z and City Council meetings at the CIC room. On the schedule, the highlighted meetings will start with dinner at 5:30. The February meeting is presently scheduled on Valentine's Day; the Commission may wish to revisit that scheduling in its January meeting. The February meeting is a likely candidate for cancellation. In the past the fall meetings have generally conflicted with the Housing Now convention. This year, that convention will be held October 7-10 in Breckenridge; the CDBG Commission meeting schedule accommodates it. Attendance is encouraged. This convention offers a great opportunity for networking and gathering of current information. A recess was taken for dinner. RECOGNITIONS Retiring Commission members. Bill Steffes, after nine years of service. He is a former Chair of the Commission and has been extremely supportive, with keen observations over the years. Mr. Waido related the origin of the "Bill Steffes Amendment" regarding residency requirements. Alfred Flores. Mr. Flores has been vice chair for a number of years and brought a wealth of experience on affordable housing issues with him to the Commission. He has been a very valuable Commission member. Mr. Bertschy noted the professional presentations that the Commission makes at study sessions. Council is extremely impressed, feels that the Board does its homework, recognizes the hard work involved in reading proposals, and notes with approval the discussion and deliberation that culminates in the Community Development Block Grant Commission Meeting of December 13, 2001 Page 6 Commission's recommendations. Mr. Waido noted the value of having a former Commission member as Council member who understands the work involved. OTHER BUSINESS Mr. Waido stated that Council has requested a City policy to be drafted on monetary awards presented to applicants outside of city limits. Staff is drafting a policy to be presented to Council. The policy will be part of the spring cycle. HOME funds need to be used within city limits by Federal regulations. CDBG funds and the City's Affordable Housing Fund do not have such a requirement. Staff is contemplating the Growth Management Area (GMA) boundary as the limitation for funding recipients, as long as the property has an annexation request. The UGA is a line of agreement between City and County as to where probable future city limits will be. Council approved the CDBG-recommended allocation to Bethphage. Staff will have its formal request to the Commission at the January meeting. Ms. Phelps stated that staff is gearing up for the application process. The applications will be more user-friendly. Staff will require an hour of technical assistance for each project in order to help applicants and result in a more polished process. Mr. Head is looking for new applicants who are active developers in other areas. It was noted that FirstCall has done as much business in its last four months as it did in the previous year in terms of food baskets and housing. The Housing Authority went before the State Housing Board and received a $1 million grant for Rigden Farm, the largest ever award. The two rounds of CDBG funding plus $1.1 million in fee waivers were important considerations. The project is hoping to close by March. Mr. Waido and Ms. Phelps attended a State Division of Housing training session. Staff wished to ensure that City and State applications were in sync, for the benefit of applicants. The detailed budget pages from both forms are exactly the same. Rusty Collins of Neighbor to Neighbor was quoted as citing the application form as a huge convenience for applicants. Ms. Phelps related a story about KB Home homeowners in Texas suing KB for building homes on a former bombing range that still contained unexploded ordnance. Community Development Block Grant Commission Meeting of December 13, 2001 Page 7 Ms. Coxen opined that the Coloradoan article on the Northern Hotel was very favorable. The possibility of another tour was raised. The development company is not comfortable with having spectators trapsing through the halls. Mr. Majerus noted that next month's meeting will feature election of officers. He asked the Commission members to plan accordingly. Moved by Mr. Flores, seconded by Mr. Steffes: To adjourn. The motion was approved unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 7:50 p.m