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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAffordable Housing Board - Minutes - 07/09/1998CITY OF FORT COLLINS AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD Meeting Minutes July 9,1998 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 4:20 p.m., at 281 North College Avenue, Fort Collins, Colorado. Board members present included: Bob Browning, Bruce Croissant, Joanne Greer, Stacy Overton, and Kay Rios. Staff present: Ken Waido, Ann Watts, and Julie Smith. Old Business TRAC Update Mr. Waido informed the Board that TRAC deeded over the property to the Housing Authority last week. The Housing Authority will meet with the residents and begin the process of closing the project. All 12 units are currently occupied, and hopefully all 12 will decide to purchase, as well as qualify. They will have a homeowner's association and homeowner's fees. Public Discussion Christa from CARE housing reported they are taking in a lower AMI than originally targeted in their existing units. With their latest project, the projected income is about 55 to 60 percent of AMI. Therefore, they are afraid that if the offset program starts at 55 percent, they will lose a substantial amount of money that they normally would have received. Old Business Mr. Waido noted Ms. Watts has been working on making the affordable housing program more strategically focused, and needs assessment is the first part of that process. The second part is to have Council officially adopt the conclusions that have been reached at study sessions regarding priority projects. Finally, technique and strategies will need to be developed to deal with those priorities. The Board questioned how those priorities would be established. Mr. Waido responded that Council will consider a resolution at the July 21 meeting. A summary was then passed out to all Board members. A discussion ensued regarding the priorities as well as the Board's input into the draft. Mr. Browning noted the Board had half a document to review. He expressed concern that Council Affordable Housing Board July 9, 1998 Meeting Minutes Page 2 would be under the impression the Board was in favor of those issues, when in reality the Board has not had a chance to even review or discuss them. Ms. Watts responded she was in a difficult position by the timelines imposed upon her to create the report; and having only monthly meetings made it difficult to keep the Board up-to-date on the progress of the study. After a lengthy discussion it was unanimously agreed that since the Board felt they were not given an appropriate timeline to review this report, it would be pulled from the July 21 Council agenda. Rebate/Offset Program Mr. Waido commented that there are questions from upper level management about bringing forth the rebate program, even the changes, as they are not convinced that by October the rebate program will continue to be one of the strategic tools used to implement the priorities. The Board commended Mr. Browning's memo relating to the rebate program changes and other programs. Mr. Browning also noted another idea is not to come up with pure outright grants, but to go ahead and recycle the money. It was, again, noted that before these issues are presented to Council, the Board wants to know, understand, and have the ability to make recommendations. Ms. Watts suggested leaving room for a couple more meetings before these issues are presented to Council. Mr. Browning stated he would work with Ms. Watts on following through on some of these issues and then bring them back to the Board for further discussion. It was unanimously agreed the Board would notify Council, in writing, of their concern that these issues are not ready to be presented to Council; and if they want something now, it is without the Board's approval. Mr. Waido suggested Mr. Browning prepare a memorandum to the Mayor, Council members and City Manager so both administrative and legislative parts are aware of the Board's position. The Board discussed Mr. Waido's analysis of different rental projects. Mr. Waido noted the Board's idea of dropping the beginning maximum income from 60 to 55 percent of AMI will have a tremendous impact on the potential for rebates. Ms. Watts said the question to present to developers is — how much money is needed in the form of grants, or low -interest loans, to justify lowering the rents from 60 to 55 percent of AMI, or, how much will it take to make that financially feasible? Mr. Browning also noted they should not tailor a program to a particular user; rather, they should work on getting a good program going. r • Affordable Housing Board July 9, 1998 Meeting Minutes Page 3 Mr. Waido commented on the home ownership component. The City is already putting in $660,000 to home buyer's assistance. He questioned whether it is necessary to take more money out of affordable housing funds to put into the home buyer's program, or should that money be used for something else. Ms. Watts asked why put so much towards home ownership when there are extensive rental housing needs. Ms. Smith spoke briefly and noted the HOME program is changing to not allow co -borrowing anymore, which will significantly reduce the number of people below 60 percent of AMI that can qualify for a mortgage. Mr. Waido noted, regarding home ownership in the past, that rebating the developer meant enticing the construction of a new product. He asked whether the Board wanted this money to now go to first-time home buyers, whether they bought a new or an existing product. Mr. Browning stated the idea was to expand the available housing stock. He believes that helping someone buy an existing house does that, because the extra subsidy puts more homes within low- income families' reach. Ms. Smith also noted it would be easier if this program would run concurrently with the home buyer's assistance, under the same rules and regulations. Mr. Waido stated he did not think separate rules and regulations were being set up for this program. Mr. Waido asked the Board if seeing his analysis of offsets for rental projects had changed their position on anything. Mr. Waido noted that if Bull Run came on line under the offset program, they would exhaust that pot. He also noted they are grandfathered under the current program. Mr. Browning stated the numbers indicate we are getting what we want; if it doesn't work, it can be lowered again. Ms. Rios stated "affordable housing incentive" would be a better name. She also suggested looking further into the information Mr. Browning has put together. Mr. Browning stated he would get with Ms. Watts and expand on that, in delaying the input to Council. They will also inform other Board members when they are meeting to encourage their attendance and input. Mr. Waido confirmed they would pull those items of concern from the Council agenda. New Business A presentation was made by Mike Herzig of the Engineering Department on the Development Construction Permit; namely, what is happening in the process of final approval of a development project and its transition into construction. He explained the current process is a reactive process; project information is lacking, and no system coordinates activities of the developer with what is being done by the City. Mr. Herzig noted they are trying to make the transition to construction more formal. The current system used to work well when there were fewer projects. He stated that with more people and conditions to deal with, the current system is not working as well. Affordable Housing Board July 9, 1998 Meeting Minutes Page 4 Mr. Herzig noted that more people, i.e., contractors and developers, need to be informed as to who in the City needs to be involved and how they need to be involved. A schedule is also needed to show when these projects are going to construction so there is adequate staffing assigned to the project. Mr. Herzig stated they felt a permit would solve some of these coordination problems. This would consist of a one hour long meeting with the developer and their contractor and engineers. The City's development engineer would lead the meeting. It would cover a list of contact persons, critical items, general procedures, and it would be a chance to produce an initial schedule. City staff would set aside a regular block of time each week to meet with developers. Mr. Herzig noted they analyzed staff time costs. Those costs could be in the range from a hundred to a thousand dollars, and their recommendation is to keep the cost to the developer low, because it will save City staff a significant amount of time. This recommendation has not yet been endorsed. Ms. Rios' concern was not to put more obstacles in the developer's way, adding more time to their starting a project, and therefore costing them more money. Mr. Herzig noted it would prevent them from starting a project before they had final approval, require a meeting, and essentially give City staff a chance to say everything is okay to start. He noted most projects could receive permit issuance after that meeting. Mr. Herzig stated this is not a building permit, it is really an infrastructure permit. Mr. Browning suggested an orientation package to the developer, versus additional fees, might be a better idea. The Board also expressed concern regarding the scheduling aspect. Mr. Waido stated the monetary cost to the developer is not the issue, it's the five or six week delay. Mr. Herzig will be on vacation the month of August but will report back to the Board with further information. Review of the Board Bylaws The Board discussed revision of two bylaws. Moved by Ms. Rios, seconded by Ms. Greer: Article 2, Section 5: A quorum of the Board shall consist of 50% of current membership. No official action may be taken by the Board unless a quorum is present. However, if a quorum is not present, the meeting may still be conducted for the purposes of status reporting and discussion of items. Article 2, Section 1: The Board will meet the first Thursday of each month. Motion approved unanimously. i • Affordable Housing Board July 9, 1998 Meeting Minutes Page 5 Approval of Minutes Moved by Mr. Croissant, seconded by Ms. Rios: To approve the minutes of the June 4, 1998 meeting. Motion approved unanimously. Public Awareness Committee Nothing new was reported. Ms. Rios did comment that the Web site is a really great work in progress, however, she did reiterate the need for a resource library instead of a paper product. The meeting concluded at 5:45 p.m.