HomeMy WebLinkAboutAffordable Housing Board - Minutes - 01/08/2004CITY OF FORT COLLINS
AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD
MEETING MINUTES
281 N. College Ave.
Fort Collins, Colorado
January 8, 2003
4 - 6 p.m.
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: Isabel Garity, Jon Fairchild, Joe Hebert, Jane
Phelan, Denise Rogers, Jeff Taylor and Peter Tippett. Kay Rios was excused.
Advance Planning Staff Present: Ken Waido, Maurice Head
Council Members Present: Marty Tharp
Guests: Felix Lee, City of Fort Collins Chief Building Official
Isabel Garity called the meeting to order with a quorum present at 4:05 p.m.
No members of the public were present and there was no open public
discussion.
New Business
Minutes
The minutes of December 4, 2003, were unanimously accepted as presented
on a motion by Denise Rogers seconded by Joe Hebert.
Welcome Board Members
Ken Waido welcomed the reappointment of Jane Phelan, Joe Hebert and Jon
Fairchild to the Affordable Housing Board for another term. He also
announced that Jeff Taylor has resigned from the Board to become part of
the Community Development Block Grant Board. The City Clerk's Office will
begin advertising for individuals to fill the two vacancies on the Board.
International Residential Code (IRC)
Felix Lee, Director of the Building and Zoning Department, made a
presentation of the proposed updates to the City's Building Code. The IRC
replaces the 1997 Unified Building Code, merging the regulations of three
code organizations into one set of requirements. An ad hoc task force studied
the IRC for 17 months and suggested local modifications.
The presentation focused on three areas: Safety/Architectural Requirements;
Indoor Air Quality, including radon mitigation; and energy conservation.
Under Safety, minimum stairway geometry has been changed to make the
stairs less steep, which can add about two feet more in the overall horizontal
run dimension. This in turn can require redesigning and reconfiguring to get
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January 8, 2004 Minutes
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the most home on small lots, which can add $400-$800 to the cost of the
home, according to an example provided. Builders can request an
administrative review to exempt existing designs, but the City would like to
have all new designs conform eventually.
Under Indoor Air Quality, the IRC addresses the issue of interior moisture
accumulation and consequent fungal growth in enclosed spaces below
suspended basement structural floor systems. Such systems were developed
to combat foundation damage caused by expansive soils, but if not vented
correctly, can encourage mold growth. The proposed code requires venting
the furnace through the space to keep the air dry and circulating. Such a
system would add $1,650-$2,450 to the cost of a home, but is only required
in homes with wood basement structural floors, approximately 10 percent of
the homes with basements in Fort Collins; about 80 percent of Fort Collins
homes have basements.
Two options for radon mitigation are under consideration: active and passive.
The active system has a continuously running fan installed at the time of
construction; the passive system has provisions for later installation of the
fan by the homeowner. The passive system can cut the amount of indoor
radon in a home built on a slab by about one-half, but slab -homes are the
exception in Fort Collins; homes requiring venting of basement floors would
also use a fan. Either system seals the below -grade portion of the house with
a plastic membrane and vents gas from below the house through a pipe to
the roof. The passive system is estimated to add $1,000-$1,600 to the cost
of a two-story home; the active system $1,200-$1,900. If a gravel bed under
the foundation is standard, the cost can be reduced $400-$500. The IRC
addresses only single-family and duplex homes; multi -family construction
presents different issues of ownership. Multi -family homes will be addressed
later in the year, with the update of the City's General Building Code, but the
requirements will affect new construction only.
Under Energy Conservation, the proposed code in general increases exterior
minimum wall insulation and requires high -performing windows. It also offers
builders the option of foregoing detailed heat -loss calculations in favor of
complying with standard tables. In a local modification of the model code,
the draft proposal would restrict excessive oversizing of new air conditioning
systems, require them to be tested for proper operation and all duct systems
to be properly sealed, and require any new systems to meet federal Seasonal
Energy Efficiency Ratings for 2007 now. The effect of the new requirements
on homes designed to maximize solar gain in the winter was discussed.
Although current City code requires solar orientation and seasonal shading to
be considered in new construction, in practice it is ignored in favor of views
or other factors. As a result, homeowners install bigger air-conditioning
systems -- on average 200 percent oversized -- to fight the summer heat,
which cost more to buy, consume more energy so the cost more to operate,
and wear out sooner by running inefficiently. Homes specifically designed
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January 8, 2004 Minutes
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with thermal mass or other solar heating systems are exempt from the
requirements, and a complete energy analysis can be performed in place of
using the standard tables. As long as the home doesn't consume more
energy than allowed in the tables, the prescriptive standards will not apply.
The increased wall insulation would add $2,600-$4,500 to the cost of the
example home; high -performing windows $400-$800; sealed ducted system
and testing of the system $800-$1500; upgraded air-conditioning standards
$400-$500.
One other item that could increase the cost of a home is a requirement that
hardboard siding be backed by a weather -resistant membrane, $650-$1,350.
Mr. Lee provided a matrix outlining the different options and the costs of
different combinations.
Mr. Lee confirmed that affordable housing developers can apply for a
hardship exemption for the stair design for projects under way until buildout,
if plans call for compact homes on small lots. The estimated cost for testing
ducts covers certification of the installers and new equipment installers will
need to perform the tests. This exemption would be available for up to two
years after the code takes effect.
Mr. Lee will research the costs and savings associated with the code changes
over the life of a standard mortgage loan and share them with the Board and
Councilwoman Tharp.
The IRC will go before the City Council for a study session on Feb 12, first
reading in March with a second reading in April, and should be enacted within
3-6 months of adoption. Within a year or two, all projects should be built to
its new requirements.
Isabel Garity, who attended task force meetings while the changes were
developed, said she appreciated the amount of work that had gone into the
proposal, and thanked Mr. Lee for the depth of the presentation.
The Board will study the information presented and make a
recommendation on the proposed code changes next month.
Priority Affordable Housing Needs and Strategies
The Board discussed the final section, Part III, of this report, which updates
1999 data. Board members made suggestions and reviewed updates made
since last meeting. Final recommendations will be forwarded to City Council
in time for its study session on March 9, 2004.
In a related matter, Ken Waido announced that in the future more accurate
and timely data on Fort Collins demographics will be available through the
annual American Community Survey, which will collect the same detailed
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January S, 2004 Minutes
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data as the U.S. Census "long form." The ACS data -collection beings this
year; the 2010 Census will no longer use the long form.
City Plan Update
Ken Waido reported that staff had distilled the comments of the Citizens
Advisory Committee and other boards and commissions, including the AHB,
into 13 specific questions to take before a City Council study session on
Tuesday, Jan. 13. These topics include the ever -popular topics of the Grown
Management Area, Infill and Redevelopment, Transportation and others.
Once Council has provided direction in these areas, staff will prepare the final
document for adoption.
Sales Tax Revenue Review
Marty Tharp reported that sales tax revenue is still down, although less than
a percent. Projections for 2005 call for 4.7 percent growth; if the first quarter
of 2004 does not show that growth, Council will have to start adjusting the
2005 budget in the second quarter.
Update/Reports on Subcommittee Efforts
None.
Liaison Reports
None.
Open Board Discussion
Ken Waido distributed the Board's meeting schedule for 2004. A special
meeting will be added in April to consider applications for the Spring Cycle of
the Competitive Process. Applications will be available at the end of February.
Maurice Head shared an e-mail from Julie Brewen of FHA that showed 100
percent of the residents of the Northern Hotel live in households headed by
individuals who are 55 year or older. (Two residents are under 55 but live
with someone older.)
Jeff Taylor announced his resignation and move tot he CDBG Board. He
commended everyone on the AHB for their focus on what needs to be done.
The Board thanked him for his efforts on behalf of affordable housing. I
Meeting adjourned at 5:55 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by
Kate Jeracki
January 21,2004 �