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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAffordable Housing Board - Minutes - 01/06/2005CITY OF FORT COLLINS AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD MEETING MINUTES 281 N. College Ave. Fort Collins, Colorado January 6, 2005 4 - 6 p.m. Kay Rios, Chair Denise Rogers, Vice Chair Ken Waido, Staff Liaison, 970-221-6753 Marty Tharp, City Council Liaison, 970-484-5711 Board Members Present: Kay Rios, Denise Rogers, Jon Fairchild, Joe Hebert, Jane Phalen, Joe Rowan, Peter Tippett. Staff Present: Maurice Head, Ken Waido, Julie Smith, Heidi Phelps and Pete Wray. Council Members Present: None Guests: Tom Honn, Fort Collins Housing Authority Board and Affordable Housing Coalition; Michelle Jacobs, Home Builders Association; Sandra Gibson, Denior Advisory Board; Chadrick Martinez, CARE Housing, Inc.; Cameron Gloss, Director, City of Fort Collins Current Planning Chair Kay Rios called the meeting to order; a quorum was present at 4:05 p.m. Open Public Discussion Michelle Jacobs announced that she has applied to fill the Board seat vacated by Isabel Garity, but she was attending today simply as an observer. New Business Minutes The minutes of December 2, 2004, were unanimously accepted as presented on a motion by Jon Fairchild seconded by Peter Tippett. Kay Rios and Denise Rogers will complete the memo to City Council about expanded duties for Boards and Commissions mentioned in the minutes this week. Downtown Air Park Redevelopment Project Pete Wray, Senior City Planner, provided background on a proposal to convert the airport into a residential, mixed -use project. A developer has three-year option to redevelop the area, and has held three or four public meetings with surrounding property owners, but to date no formal plans have been submitted to the City. Fort Collins Affordable Housing Board January 6, 2005 Minutes Page 2 of 6 The area is covered by the City's East Mulberry Corridor Plan, which envisioned airport use to continue for some time. The plan's 20-year timeframe acknowledged the potential to expand employment uses and eventually connecting the streets. If the current proposal goes forward, it could include commercial, office and residential units, which would require amendments to the plan to allow residential units in an industrial area. Shifting the existing route of International Boulevard nearer to the airport runway to become the main street of the project is also a possibility. Mr. Wray said he will be working toward amending the East Mulberry Corridor Plan and the City Structure Plan to support the project, which could offer an opportunity for medium -density workforce housing as well as potential senior housing units. Mr. Wray said that although 85 percent of the property is now outside the City limits, the airport is adjacent to the City limits and is eligible for annexation. The planned Dry Creek Channel Improvements, to be completed within the next year or two, will remove a majority of the area from the Dry Creek floodplain, while a potential berm on the edge of Lemay Ave. would take it out of the Poudre River floodplain. A proposed Special Improvement District could provide funding for other infrastructure upgrades needed to bring old Larimer County development up to Fort Collins standards. He added that should this project come forward - and there are no guarantees that it will - it will be the biggest infill redevelopment that the City as seen. Joe Rowan questioned the economic impact of turning industrial into residential units. Mr. Wray said staff is still assessing that aspect, but that it could be seen as an interim level of development that could increase jobs over what is offered by simply industrial uses. Mr. Rowan asked if the annexation could be completed without the Dry Creek channel improvements. Ken Waido confirmed that the annexation is not contingent on removing the area from the floodplain, although that has been a challenge to development of the area for decades, according to Mr. Wray. Zucker Report Update Cameron Gloss, Current Planning Director, updated the Board on efforts to implement changes to the City's development review process. Of the 51 tasks recommended by the Zucker Report last year, Mr. Gloss said 35 have already been successfully implemented and development review time has been reduced by about 40 percent, which represents about 6 or 7 weeks on a typical project. In addition, the development community sees the City working in a more collaborative manner, which Mr. Gloss described as a subtle but profound shift. Simply including developers in the weekly project review meetings has made a significant positive difference, as has lowering the requirement for engineering drawings from 90 percent complete to 50 percent for permitting and using email to prepare for conceptual reviews. Fort Collins Affordable Housing Board January 6, 2005 Minutes Page 3 of 6 One recommendation that has yet to be implemented is greater involvement of Boards and Commissions in the development review process. The Zucker Report recommended taking only certain projects, those that would require modifications to existing regulations, before directly involved Boards and Commissions. However, that is not the way it has gone forward and will be presented to City Council later this month, as outlined by Tom Vosburg at the Board's December meeting. Mr. Gloss felt it was possible Council will approve something more than what was recommended by Zucker, and he said there was concern about that among members of the development community. Some of the final recommendations are proving to be more complicated to implement, according to Mr. Gloss, including the results of the fee study. He added that some of the remaining issues will be pretty tough because they involve changes to the organization and staff training to better understand the issues developers face when managing a project. Mr. Waido pointed out that on the redevelopment of Block 33, City staff will be acting as both regulators and representatives of the developer, so they will have to work to find a solution that not only maximizes the sale price but also meets the City's housing goals. Jon Fairchild asked if any of the options on Board and Commission involvement to be presented to Council are close to the Zucker recommendation. Mr. Gloss thought Mr. Vosburg would be adding something along those lines back into the options. Mr. Gloss will send Mr. Waido a copy of the final Zucker Report to forward to Board members via email. Homebuver Assistance Program This item was discussed in two parts: Repayment of Down Payment Assistance Loans and Down Payment Assistance for Habitat for Humanity projects. Joe Rowan, who presented the original memo on repayment, made a final argument for the proposal, saying the homeownership should be a reward for sacrifices made to save for the down payment, as opposed to meeting basic housing needs like renting. He would like those receiving the assistance to recognize that no one owns anything until the down payment is made, or in this case, repaid. He felt anyone without the ability to save for a down payment likely would not have the resources to be good candidates for homeownership. Kay Rios felt it would not be fair to impose a penalty on anyone needing down payment assistance if they are still in the same home after 15 years by requiring a payment they likely could not afford. Her concern was with giving Fort Collins Affordable Housing Board January 6, 2005 Minutes Page 4 of 6 families the opportunity to become invested in the community through homeownership, not simply through sacrifice. Mr. Rowan felt the investment would be more meaningful and the benefits greater if the recipients were putting their own money into the home at some point. He also made the point that by not recycling the dollars available - which are currently being reduced by the federal funding sources - the community is losing the opportunity to help others in need. Jon Fairchild said the problem he had was requiring the assistance to be paid back all at once, saying gradual payments would be more manageable for most people. Ken Waido explained that that would simply increase the monthly payments, and as the program is currently set up, the City recoups the amount when the house is sold or refinanced. He added that staff has looked at a number of options, some of which cannot be legally implemented because of restrictions on the funds, and is not in favor of the repayment proposal. Denise Rogers moved that the Affordable Housing Board recommends leaving the Homebuyer Assistance Program as it is, but asked staff for regular updates, at six month intervals, on how the funds are actually being used, including how long before the loans are being repaid. Joe Hebert seconded. Ms. Rogers added that for her the strongest argument in favor of requiring repayment is the opportunity cost, especially in light of declining funds from the federal government. But, since the program has only been granting loans since 2001, she felt the Board did not have enough information to make such changes. Mr. Rowan acknowledged that his proposal was more of a suggestion, and encouraged the Board to continue to monitor the program, otherwise it could be relegated to just money from the Affordable Housing Fund. The motion carried on a vote of 6-0, with Joe Rowan abstaining. Ms. Rios thanked Mr. Rowan for all his effort and research on this issue. On the subject of down payment assistance to Habitat families, for the Board's information Mr. Waido explained that the CDBG Commission had asked staff for information, prompted when staff indicated the program could be out of funds prior to the start of the new program year on October 1, which did not occur. The issue with Habitat is that for these families, monthly mortgage payments are capped at 30 percent of income. Therefore, down payment assistance does not reduce monthly payments, as it would for other participants, but it does reduce the length of time the family pays on its mortgage. And, since Fort Collins Affordable Housing Board January 6, 2005 Minutes Page 5 of 6 all Habitat families are below 50 percent of AMI, they qualify for $18,000 of assistance rather than $9,000 for those above that income level. The CDBG Commission was concerned that funding Habitat families when funds are scarce could result in not funding other families who would not be able to qualify for a mortgage without the assistance. After researching the issue, staff felt that the City should continue offering assistance to Habitat families because doing so frees up Habitat resources to make loans to other families in need. Heidi Phleps added that without the assistance, the families who qualify for Habitat couldn't afford a mortgage because Habitat, which is the only organization to makes loans to those at that income level, couldn't afford to make them. Julie Smith explained that the only time the City provides homebuyer assistance to families below 50 percent AMI is when they are attached to another organization such as Habitat that will be providing case management. Denise Rogers felt that if staff and the CDBG Commission were agreed, the program should continue to include Habitat families. Sales and Use Tax Rebate Program Ken Waido said that this will have to wait until after the April election for any policy certainty. Old Business City Budget/Affordable Housing Fund Ken Waido urged Board members to learn as much as possible about the implications of repealing the grocery tax on the City budget. If the initiative on the April ballot passes, it will represent a reduction of $6 million over three years - the first year's $2 million will carry over into subsequent budgets. He added that with the lower revenues of the past few years, the City has tried to cut programs, not jobs. However, this additional reduction would mean personnel reductions as well as programs. While the past few budgets have included no increases for the Affordable Housing Fund, without grocery taxes, the fund could be eliminated along with other services. Staff is currently developing scenarios for presentation to Council at a study session in February. Kay Rios asked Mr. Waldo to keep the Board informed with copies of those scenarios. She will also research other groups working on this issue. Update/Reports on Subcommittee Efforts None. Liaison Reports None. Fort Collins Affordable Housing Board January 6, 2005 Minutes Page 6 of 6 Open Board Discussion Staff explained the recent reductions in HOME and CDBG funds were the result of the Congressional allocation of funds to HUD being divided differently than in the past. The net result is across-the-board program cuts of 10 percent in CDBG funds, 8 percent for HOME. Fort Collins is one of 59 communities that received no new American Dream funding above the previously allocated $50,000; Heidi Phelps reported CDBG administrative personnel reductions, with no improvement anticipated for 2006. Kern Waido also reported that he will be making a presentation on the City's Land Banking program and the Competitive Process at a national conference in San Diego in the second week in February Kay Rios asked staff for a presentation on the bailable lands database, which identifies parcels available for employment uses, at the next meeting. Election of Officers By affirmation, Kay Rios was re-elected Chair of the Affordable Housing Board for 2005. Jon Fairchild nominated Denise Rogers as Vice Chair; Jane Phelan seconded the nomination. Ms. Rogers was elected unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 5:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Kate Jeracki January 19, 2005 ub 31�