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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAffordable Housing Board - Minutes - 08/06/1998`r • • AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD Meeting Minutes August 6,1998 Bob Browning, Chair Joanne Greer, Vice Chair Chuck Wanner, City Council Liaison The meeting of the Affordable Housing Board was called to order by Chairman, Bob Browning, beginning at 4:00 p.m., at 281 North College Avenue, Fort Collins, Colorado. Board members present included: Bob Browning, Bruce Croissant, David Danforth, Mike Nicely, Stacy Overton, Kay Rios, and Mickey Willis. Staff present: Ann Watts. There was no public discussion. Ms. Watts introduced two new Board members, David Danforth and Mickey Willis. The third new Board member, Isabelle Gary, will be at the next meeting. NEW BUSINESS Approval of Minutes Moved by Mr. Croissant; seconded by Ms. Rios: To approve the minutes of the July 9, 1998. Motion approved unanimously. Transportation Funding Advisory Committee A copy of the memorandum from the TFAC to the City Manager was distributed to Board members. Bill Neal, Chair of that committee, spoke to the Board, describing his personal and academic background. Mr. Neal stated that transportation funding is not a problem of efficiency, nor a public sector not doing the job it is supposed to, but it is a state, region, and nationwide problem, with many contributing factors; namely, the decision over the last 20 years not to fund needs in transportation because there were other more important issues. Mr. Neal noted that now with growth, the number of vehicles on roadways has increased 30 percent; there are more and more young people driving, and more vehicles registered per household; and, in reference to Affordable Housing, the need for adequate, affordable transit, mobile services in a growing city. Mr. Neal stated how the affordable housing advocacy groups have a stake in this and will be directly affected because it is a big money issue. Their recommendation is a sales tax increase of .36 percent to fund transportation. Affordable Housing Board August 6, 1998 Meeting Minutes Page 2 Mr. Neal said he felt the development industry is going to be very supportive of the extended warranty for the street construction standards and will see extended warranty requirements on behalf of the development industry. He also stated the TFAC report is going to be exposed to the scrutiny of Council policy and may or may not make it to the voters in its current form. Mr. Neal stated the Board's opinion and endorsement is very important and needed. Ron Phillips, Director of Transportation Services, spoke to the Board, and indicated, as detailed in the memorandum, that their needs are broken into two areas, maintenance and operation. Mr. Neal commented how he had tried to put himself in the Board's position and concluded there would be both a positive and negative effect. The positive would be that he sees the transit system as possibly serving a portion of the Board's constituency. The negative side is that a lot of the requirements, in terms of warranty conditions and fees would increase the cost of housing. A discussion ensued regarding the amount of sales tax generated. Mr. Phillips directed the Board to the chart on page 4 of that memorandum. Mr. Browning suggested running this through the housing affordability model to see what the fee increase is projected to do. Mr. Phillips also stated he felt this would have less of an impact than the street oversize fee increase. Mr. Browning stated that when you start going through the model, all of the little increases that seem insignificant all have a cumulative effect. Ms. Rios agreed with the concept, but since the Board had just received this information, would need to study it more in-depth. It was unanimously agreed the Board would need additional time to study this information and this item would be tabled to the next meeting. Mr. Phillips indicated this'will be going to Council next week for a study session; while the Board can wait until next month, Council will not be aware of the Board's position. The Board suggested having one representative of the TFAC at next month's meeting. Choice Streets Proposal Cam McNair, City Engineer, and Rick Richter, Pavement Management Engineer, discussed this subject, which was accompanied by a booklet describing all seven of their action items. A few of these items were discussed in-depth. Mr. McNair stated the development construction permit would be a requirement; a new permit that developers would have to attain at the end of the planning process before commencing construction. He noted the permit fee would be less than a thousand dollars. Mr. McNair discussed the street warranty issue. He noted that currently there is a one-year warranty; after that time, it is the taxpayer who pays to fix it. He stated that most of the impact on new roads is by the development itself. They felt it should be the developer's responsibility to maintain the streets for at least two years. It was also their consensus that streets built properly will last up to five years without any maintenance. a Affordable Housing Board • • August 6, 1998 Meeting Minutes Page 3 Mr. McNair stated the seven items were all compiled and listed under the moniker of Choice Streets. He noted a model was run, based on current, different -sized subdivisions, to see what the implementation of these fees would do to the cost of a home. They found that the average increase per lot cost to a developer was about $750. Mr. Browning noted that last month, when Mr. Herzig made his presentation to the Board, it was a zero cost permit and now is a thousand dollars. Mr. Browning stated his concern is that with a thousand dollars more on the contractor, internal City coordination is beefed up. He questioned why a pamphlet could not address all these different areas. Mr. Browning also questioned where the money was going and why it was needed. Mr. McNair responded the money is to cover the cost of administering the permit, of calling the people together for the meeting, and the time and effort of City staff. He also noted that in the long run this would not only save the staff time, but also the developer and contractor. Mr. McNair stated they would acknowledge, through the planning process, that they were aware of all the procedures and were going to follow them. Ms. Rios noted that the Board's concern, in terms of affordable housing, are the obstacles incurred by the developer, including fee requirements, and regulation permits. She also questioned how long the developer would be delayed in trying to obtain this permit. Mr. McNair responded they would experience, at the most, a week time lag, assuming they have their plans approved and agreements signed. He added that since this is not part of the law, the permit would be built into the development review process. Ms. Rios noted this fee appeared to be a wash as it would also be saving staff time. Mr. McNair stated if the fee was the problem, they could certainly work on that. His opinion was if there was no fee, than the permit has no value to the developer and they won't pay attention to the terms of the permit. He noted that $1,000 may be too much, but there has to be some value associated with it or it becomes unimportant to them. Mr. Browning questioned this rationale. Mr. Richter explained that in some instances, plans are approved, good for three years, and go the day they are signed; other plans may sit on the shelf for two or three years. The purpose would be to separate the active plans from those sitting on the shelf. Mr. Richter stated that if the permit was free, they could come in and get a permit for a project, and may or may not start it. This forces a commitment on the developer. Mr. McNair stated that since they are paid by the City to regulate development, in order to do a better job, this is a necessary tool. Mr. Browning commented that upon tying fees to their cost in bringing these people together for an hour and a half. He stated they are already being paid so to say it is the cost for bringing people together does not make sense. Mr. McNair responded that the amount of inspectors they are able to retain is based on the budget. He noted the budget is based on how much money is available which, in turn, is based on the fees that are collected. So indirectly, if fees are not collected, they would not have as Affordable Housing Board August 6, 1998 Meeting Minutes Page 4 many inspectors. Ms. Rios stated she did not think it was a money issue, but the idea and the way it is perceived by the development community. A discussion ensued on the section pertaining to arterials, street repairs and standards. Mr. McNair noted, currently, there is a manual of design and construction standards with a chapter on repairs which would be replaced with this information. Mr. McNair stated that these standards have been coordinated with the rest of the country; therefore, contractors from other areas can expect the same kind of treatment and consistency. He also noted they are working on a new manual for construction to assure they have consistency in that area also, but will probably take another year to finish. Mr. Willis suggested instead of assessing the fee, rewarding them for coming to the preplanning meeting. Mr. McNair stated they would like some sort of endorsement or recommendation from the Board before carrying the package forward. The Board agreed the package had some good ideas but were concerned about the impact of fee increases on affordability. Affordable Housing Program Revisions Ms. Watts addressed the handout and noted this was an attempt to summarize all of the City funding affordable housing incentive programs, and then put in the targets so they are consistent across all the programs. Ms. Watts commented she wanted to make sure that for everything, except the impact fee offset program, it targets: 1. People who are low income, earning less than 80% AMI 2. Rental houses, paying no more than 30% of gross income 3. Home ownership, paying no more than 38% for all housing costs out of gross income She noted the following for the offset program: 1. Rental - start being available for projects at 55% of median income 2. Ownership - start at 60% of AMI Mr. Browning noted that these incentives are available across the board, regardless of where the developer comes in. If they want to compete for more offset program, than they have to get below 55% AMI, but the standard definition of low affordable housing starts at 80%. Ms. Watts noted this has to be put in a more formal language, the ordinance reviewed by attorneys for any modification, and will be brought back to the Board next month. OLD BUSINESS Affordable Housing Priorities Ms. Watts noted the Board has the draft agenda item summary that was talked about last month. The subcommittee met in July to work on an update and this was mailed to Board members in advance. a Affordable Housing Board • August 6, 1998 Meeting Minutes Page 5 Moved by Ms. Rios, seconded by Ms. Overton: To accept the agenda item summary. Motion approved unanimously. Ms. Watts stated this would be in front of City Council on August 18. Update on the Process to have the City Council Adopt Changes to the Development Impact Fee Rebate (Offset) Program Ms. Watts noted the City Council did pass an ordinance on the second reading to add fees from special purpose districts and/or other governmental entities. Other changes were: to change from rebate to offset program, percentage of fees paid, and home ownership changes. Update on the Affordable Housing Needs Assessment This item will be discussed next month. TRAC Update Ms. Watts noted nothing has closed and they are still dealing with TRAC. Will have more update next month. Public Awareness Subcommittee Report Mr. Wilder presented a live demonstration of the home page that was developed by the committee. He noted there are still some areas to be worked out, e.g., the image on the opening page. Mr. Wilder also stated they could try to convince IT to add something like community planning and or affordable housing, with bullets. Mr. Willis suggested putting on the site information on how one can get involved, not only for residents of Fort Collins, but an opportunity for outside sources; those who may want to make a donation of land or money. Mr. Croissant noted that one of the subcommittee ideas was that when the page was up, to advertise it. They would need approval to get money to do that. Ms. Rios suggested sending out a press release on PSA, announcing the opening of it. Mr. Wilder also noted since this is the affordable housing page, it would be a good tool to show projects that are in the works or projects that need to be promoted in the community. Northwood Apartments Ms. Watts reported that the Vine Street apartments will no longer carry the affordability restrictions that HUD financing put on it; however, someone is interested in buying it and keeping it affordable. In the instance of Northwood, the same thing is scheduled to happen September 3 of this year. HUD requires them to keep, rent levels for 60 days, and after they prepay it, no rent restrictions apply. Ms. Watts noted the rumor is the new owner intends to renovate it and rent it at market rate. The are not sure if it will be close to affordable rent or when this will happen. Affordable Housing Board August 6, 1998 Meeting Minutes Page 6 Ms. Watts stated the Housing Authority has applied for Section 8 vouchers to give to most of the current tenants. This, however, does not mean that the tenant can actually remain there. Ms. Watts also noted she thought the company buying Northwood was from California. Ms. Rios will contact Ms. Greer to get more information on the new owner. Mr. Nicely noted that with new owners, policy cannot be changed for the first 18 months, which means they would have to accept Section 8 vouchers for that period. The property manager from Northwood Apartments was in the audience and identified herself. She noted she had no information but would be willing to provide a name and number of the management company. Ms. Greer had suggested she attend this meeting. Mr. Browning stated that Habitat went through 4 1/2 months and came up empty. Applications will be available next Monday. The meeting concluded at 6:15 p.m.