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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAffordable Housing Board - Minutes - 12/02/1999CITY OF FORT COLLINS AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD MEETING MINUTES December 2, 1999 Bob Browning, Chair (970) 225-0137 Kay Rios, Vice Chair Ken Waido, Staff Liaison (970) 221-6753 Chuck Wanner, City Council Liaison (970) 484-0810 The meeting of the Affordable Housing Board was called to order by chairperson Bob Browning, beginning at 4:00 p.m., at 281 North College Avenue, Fort Collins, Colorado. A quorum was present. Board members present included: Kay Rios, David Danforth, Isabel Garity, and Stacy Overton. Staff members present: Ken Waido, Joe Frank, Maurice Head, and Melissa Visnic. Council liaison, Chuck Wanner, was not present. Others present: Krista Moberly, CARE Housing; Betty Maloney; Grace Harris, League of Women Voters; Chuck Powell; and Lou Stitzel. Open Public Discussion Betty Maloney expressed her support of the public nuisance ordinance. She made several observations as to the problems being faced in several neighborhoods including: neighborhoods where families are being replaced by rentals with 4 to 10 renters, working families must compete with students for housing, some neighborhoods schools are losing population, parties, loud music, trash in yards and streets, broken beer bottles, loose dogs, parking on lawns and sidewalks, unshoveled sidewalks, and unkempt yards prevail. Ms. Maloney pointed out that owning a rental property is a business, and while one would assume that landlords care about their investment, many do not. If landlords would check on their rentals occasionally, these types of problems would be minimized. Lou Stitzel addressed the board regarding the competitive process. She reminded the board that accountability means a certain amount of control, which is necessary to prevent anarchy, but that too much control limits creativity. New Business Approval of Minutes Ms. Rios would like the second paragraph on page two to clarify that Funding Partners will opt out of the CHFA program at the 20 year mark. Ms. Rios moved to approve the September meeting minutes as amended. Ms. Garity seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Affordable Housing Board December 2, 1999 Meeting Minutes Page 2 Recommendation on a Competitive Process for Allocation of Funds from the City's Affordable Housing Fund Mr. Waido described the technical assistance workshop to be held which will be an afternoon session where the adopted needs will be presented, the application explained, and time allowed at the end for staff members to answer individual questions. Most applicants are familiar with the City process. The new application is clearer and more straight -forward than previous applications. Mr. Danforth inquired as to which of the two applications would be used to apply for funding for a study, the housing, or non -housing application. Mr. Head responded that it would probably fall into the non -housing category. Mr. Waido replied that a study has potential to rank high enough to get funded, and could be justified, but that a real project would be a higher consideration. A study could be funded in the spring by the CDBG funds, and in the fall by Affordable Housing Fund dollars, however HOME money could not be used for a study. There is also a planning and administration category in CDBG, with about 10% of the total CDBG funds available that could be used as a source of funding. As an example, in 2001, staff is very likely to request a neighborhood plan for the BAVA neighborhood. Mr. Danforth questioned how competitive the process is. Mr. Head responded that each project competes against all the other projects, as well as those within the same category. Mr. Waido likened it to the Oscar awards, which are dependent on the competition for the given year. He also stated that if during a funding cycle there aren't any projects worth funding, the money doesn't have to be allocated. The important thing to examine is how well the proposals address the adopted priorities and needs of the community. Mr. Danforth inquired as to what type of message the applicants would receive when given this application. Mr. Head indicated that applicants would like to know what the expectations are. Mr. Waido reminded the board that at the current time, the City's most dire need is rentals for incomes below 50% of AMI. That may change in the future, but for now these are the types of projects that need the most funding. Ms. Garity asked whether the funding will be public knowledge. Mr. Waido responded that all Affordable Housing Board and CDBG meetings held are open, and that the City Council study session is televised. Ms. Rios stated that the board has to be able to justify their decisions because they are accountable. Mr. Browning commented on #15 of the housing application, regarding evidence of the organization's capacity and experience to undertake and complete the proposed project within the established timetable and budget. His concern was that CARE, TRAC and Habitat for Humanity would not exist if this had been an evaluation criteria, because these organizations had no experience. Mr. Frank responded that equal ranking can be achieved Affordable Housing Board December 2, 1999 Meeting Minutes Page 3 for new and previously funded applicants. Ms. Rios commented that new applicants need to show their capacity to comply with regulations, not necessarily their experience. Ms. Rios moved to adopt Option 2A. Ms. Overton seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Ms. Rios then moved to adopt funding cycle alternative 2. Ms. Garity seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Board's Work Plan Possibilities Mr. Browning suggested a new proactive approach to maintaining the existing stock of affordable housing. He distributed a draft letter that would be used by the Mayor or City Manager to contact the owners of Section 8 properties before they get into the decision process. The letter would remind the owners that if they are interesting in selling the property, the City may be able to coordinate some non -profits to purchase the property. Ms. Rios commented that this would put the responsibility on city staff to make the offer rather than an ordinance restricting the owners. Mr. Browning suggested sending the owners a letter every year reminding them of their options. The board discussed changes to the work plan. Items D 1 and 2 under government officials, were removed, and section 3 E was changed to develop procedures for notification and discussion of section 8 properties. Ms. Garity moved to accept the board's work plan as amended. Mr. Danforth seconded. Motion passed unanimously. At the next meeting, board members will sign up for the projects they would like to be involved in. Other Business Mr. Waido mentioned that at the December 7 City Council meeting, there will be two items related to affordable housing. The first is to adopt the sales tax rebate program that was discussed at the November meeting. The second is the Finance Department's submittal of a resolution to Council to prioritize the year 2000 private activity bond allocations for the City for affordable housing. Old Business Follow -Up on the Proposed Nuisance Ordinance City Council has deferred the nuisance ordinance until the first meeting in February. Mr. Danforth expressed that there isn't enough data to back up this ordinance. He Affordable Housing Board December 2,,1999 Meeting Minutes Page 4 read aloud a draft request to City Council regarding this ordinance. In it, he requested that staff be directed to include an affordable housing impact statement in its recommendations to council. Ms. Rios believes the request to staff to be important, and that there should be a clause written in to prevent the ordinance from being used for purposes other than what is intended. The board discussed four questions to include in the letter to City Council. These are: How many houses would be removed from the market by landlords? What do the people who are complaining want? What will be required to get it? Will this ordinance empower one interest group to move another interest group on? Mr. Danforth moved to add these questions and send the letter on to City Council. Ms. Rios seconded. Upon being put to a vote, the motion was denied 3:1. Ms. Rios abstained from voting. Mr. Browning recommended looking at this issue in another month to allow time for the board to review the issue and include additional questions. Other Business At the next meeting, Mr. Danforth would like the board to take a look at a memo from the Boulder Business Journal concerning an inclusionary zoning ordinance for affordable housing that the City of Boulder is working on. He also explained that Governor Owens is favoring the buying of easements for conservation for a period of 20 years. Mr. Danforth would like to look at including affordable housing easements in this effort. Meeting adjourned at 5:45 p.m.