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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAffordable Housing Board - Minutes - 06/03/2004CITY OF FORT COLLINS AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD MEETING MINUTES 281 N. College Ave. Fort Collins, Colorado June 3, 2004 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, Jane Phelan, Denise Rogers, Joe Rowan, Peter Tippett and Sunshine Workman. Chair Kay Rios was excused. Staff Present: Ken Waido Council Members Present: none Guests: Cathy Miller, CARE Housing Inc.; Mike Sollenberger, Fort Collins Housing Authority Board; Steve Roy, City Attorney. Vice Chair Isabel Garity called the meeting to order with a quorum present at 4 p.m. Open Public Discussion Mike Sollenberger spoke about the FCHA Board's opposition to the proposed Right -of -First Refusal Ordinance, on the agenda for today's meeting. He said his board felt it represented an additional layer of regulation that might discourage further mobile home park development. He said his board felt the provision that the homeowners' association execute a contract to purchase the park from the landlord within 120 days of notice was unworkable and the board's attorney had advised that as written the ordinance may not be enforceable. He said his board had taken no action but is sending comments to the City Attorney for consideration. Mr. Sollenberger felt that no new owner would be interested with this sort of cloud over the property, but the issue might be moot in light of recent zoning changes. Ken Waido said that while there is no longer specific zoning for new manufactured housing, such uses are allowed in LMN zoning, with review by the Planning and Zoning Board. Jon Fairchild suggested it might be difficult, if not nearly impossible, to have a new mobile home park in the City limits; they would be more likely be developed in the County. Mr. Sollenberger invited a member of the Affordable Housing Board to attend the next meeting of the FCHA Board, to be held the last Thursday of the month. Jon Fairchild and Jane Phelan volunteered to share the liaison duties. Fort Collins Affordable Housing Board June 3, 2004 Minutes Page 2 of 4 New Busin Minutes The minutes of May 6, 2004, were unanimously accepted as presented, on a motion from Jon Fairchild seconded by Sunshine Workman. Right -of -First -Refusal Ordinance for Mobile Home Parks Steve Roy presented a draft of an ordinance drawn up by his office in response to a request from City Council. The local version is based on an unsuccessful state bill that would have afforded the occupants of mobile home parks an opportunity to acquire their parks through a right of first refusal if the parks are offered for sale. Mr. Roy asked for input from the Board on the substance of the draft, as well as any suggestions or recommendations on whether it's a good idea. Ken Waido offered some historical perspective on mobile home parks in Fort Collins. Pioneer Mobile Home Park at College and Harmony was originally developed in the County then annexed into the City with its existing Commercial zoning. After 25 years, the infrastructure was in dire need of repair the owner chose to get the highest and best use value from the property and not to pay the $2.5 million for required improvements to street, water and sewer infrastructure. The developer purchased a new piece of property on the north side of Vine Drive for a new park, but could not get the appropriate zoning. As a result, the residents received assistance from the City and local organizations to relocate to other parks or other types of housing; some left Fort Collins. In the flood of 1997, the City lost another 120 mobile home units. The last new mobile home park built was Dry Creek eight years ago, south of Vine and north of the airport. Manufactured housing is considered in the City Code as detached single-family housing and could be put in any area zoned for low -density mixed use, if there were a market for it and it were not prohibited by covenants adopted by developers and residents of the neighborhoods. In response to a question from Isabel Garity, Mr. Waido estimated there are five parks currently within the City limits; the rest are in the County. He had no idea how often they change ownership, although about five years ago ARC was buying up parks throughout Northern Colorado. Steve Roy said one of the challenges in drafting the ordinance is to balance giving tenants adequate opportunity to buy the park without tying the owner up forever; the City can delay but can't prevent the sale. He said 120 days seems a pretty long time to keep a sale from moving ahead. Isabel Garity shared an email from Kay Rios that offered the observation that 120 days seems like an awfully short string for a new homeowners' association to take action, much less raise the money needed for a buyout. Mr. Roy admitted there are two sides to the issue and suggested his office Fort Collins Affordable Housing Board June 3, 2004 Minutes Page 3 of 4 may need to look at more models of right -of -first -refusal ordinances for guidance. The only example Ken Waido was aware of was in Denver, which was written in response to a specific situation and never used. Denise Rogers expressed concern about the capacity of the residents to come together and get financing in the millions of dollars, let alone in 120 days. She asked if the ordinance could allow a nonprofit organization, such as CARE Housing or Neighbor to Neighbor to act as the homeowners' association's representative or designee. Joe Rowan reported that in Boulder, negotiations for residents to purchase a mobile home park owned by the city's Utilities department - a willing seller - have dragged on for 18 months, so the timeframe could be years, not days. He asked why Council wants such an ordinance in the first place. Steve Roy had no additional insights into the reasons for Councilman Hamrick's request to his office. Mr. Rowan offered to forward the email exchange between Council members Hamrick and Bertschy on the issue, posted on the City's website. He added that this ordinance would marginalize market competition, and simply legislate loopholes. He thought even with right of first refusal, a homeowners' association wouldn't be able to raise the amount needed in their wildest dreams.Isabel Garity agreed with Mr. Rowan and added that, given all the abuses faced by mobile home park residents, this ordinance would be just a drop in the bucket. Steve Roy said this would only come into play when the park is sold to a developer. Jon Fairchild asked if the wording was too open to interpretation, and Isabel Garity also shared Kay Rios' concern about the exemption for barter transactions. Mr. Roy said there was room for improvement, and discussed possible modifications of the notice requirements, but was reluctant to refine the language if the ordinance isn't going anywhere. Ken Waido suggested there might be an outpouring of people in opposition to the ordinance at the June 15 Council meeting, based on the reaction to its announcement at a recent Affordable Housing Coalition meeting. If consideration of the issue is postponed, it will not come before Council before July 20, allowing the Board the opportunity to discuss it again at its July meeting, he added. Jon Fairchild moved the Affordable Housing Board recommend City Council postpone consideration of the right -of -first -refusal ordinance for further study, information and examination of issues. Jane Phelan seconded; the motion carried unanimously, 6-0. Ken Waido will ask Maurice Head to research the issue for presentation at the next meeting; Joe Rowan will contact Marty Tharp for more information on Council's reasoning in asking for the ordinance. Fort Collins Affordable Housing Board June 3, 2004 Minutes Page 4 of 4 Old Business City Budget/Affordable Housing Fund Ken Waido reported that sales tax revenues are up considerably over last year, about 20 percent, in part because they were so low last year. He did not know about the use taxes, and did not have a dollar amount, just percentages. Update/Reports on Subcommittee Efforts None. Liaison Reports None. Open Board Discussion Isabel Garity thanked Heidi Phelps and Julie Smith for the follow-up memo on their presentation last month on categorization of Competitive Process proposals, and their hard work on the process. MS. Garity also reminded board members of the People's Walk for Housing Justice, a walk around the state to raise awareness of the need for affordable housing in Colorado, arriving in Fort Collins on June 12. Ken Waido reported on the Sensible Housing Summit sponsored by the Board of Realtors he attended with Peter Tippett and Mike Sollenberger. He said the discussion of affordability centered on regulation that drives up the cost of housing and market demand. One interesting statistic from the panel discussion was the number of homeless students in the Poudre School District: Of the thousands who move at least once during the school year because of housing problem, Ken said approximately 800 don't know where they will be spending the night after school. Meeting adjourned at 4:55 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Kate Jeracki June 22, 2004