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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAffordable Housing Board - Minutes - 01/02/2003CITY OF FORT COLLINS AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD JANUARY 2, 2003, MEETING MINUTES Kay Rios, Chair Isabel Garity, Vice Chair Ken Waido, Staff Liaison, 970-221-6753 David Roy, City Council Liaison, 970-407-7393 Board Members Present: Kay Rios, Isabel Garity, Denise Rogers and Jeff Taylor. Advance Planning Staff Present: Ken Waido, Maurice Head. Council Members Present: none Also Present: Grace Harris, League of Women Voters. The meeting was held at 281 N. College Ave., Fort Collins, Colorado. Kay Rios called the meeting to order without a quorum at 4:08 p.m. Grace Harris mentioned that she is sending the Neighbor to Neighbor calendar to state legislators for their information. New Business Minutes Without a quorum, no formal action could be taken on the minutes from December 5, 2002. 2003 Work Plan Isabel Garity reported that she had mailed her suggested changes to the Work Plan to members of the education subcommittee. Without a quorum, no formal action could be taken by the Board on the proposed Work Plan for the coming year. Attendance As shown by the postponement of action on the above agenda items, member absences from meetings interfere with conducting Board business. Kay Rios observed that missing members put the rest of the Board in a bind. Ken Waido mentioned that three unexcused absences can be grounds for dismissal from the Board. Jeff Taylor asked if proxies could be taken from absent members so business such as approval of minutes could be conducted in a timely manner. Kay asked Ken to look at the Board's bylaws to determine the legitimacy of proxies. Kay Rios requested that consideration of the bylaws and the subject of member attendance be placed on the agenda for the February meeting, and strongly urged all members to attend. Affordable Housing Board January 2, 2003 Meeting Minutes Page 2 AHB's Recommendations for Improvement Maurice Head distributed a matrix outlining the status of 10 recommendations from 2002. Most have been implemented, with the exception of "one stop" development review; fee exemption program; and the Affordable Housing Network. Staff improvements are being made in lieu of a "one -stop" center; the Fee Exemption Program has been put on indefinite hold; and First National Bank has rejected funding the Community Reinvestment Act Clearinghouse at this time. Jeff said he appreciated being able to see all the projects together in historical context. Kay questioned whether the administrative efforts of the Housing Authority to contact owners of publicly funded low-income properties interested in selling carry the same legal weight as an ordinance requiring the City have Right of First Refusal. Ken reported that in only one recent instance has a change of private ownership resulted in Section 8 vouchers being refused. He added that in tax -credit units, the nonprofit partner has RFR at the end of the mortgage term. Maurice reported that Denver's RFR ordinance has only been used twice, and Fort Collins' supply of about 258 Section 8-based units makes the City's situation different from Denver's. A number of units in the Northern Hotel are under portable Section 8 vouchers, which can be used in other accommodations after a year. Jeff suggested it would be more important to let the marketplace know that portable Section 8 assistance is available. Denise suggested the Board continue to monitor this issue. Kay will investigate who has RFR on the Northern Hotel at the end of the 20-year mortgage. Kay and Denise urged staff to recommend to Council a pilot fee waiver project for nonprofit organizations only, if budgetary concerns prohibit extending waivers to all affordable housing developers. Maurice reported that current market condition and the bank's perception that affordable housing is not the same problem it was a year ago caused reservation for funding the clearinghouse idea. In 1999, there were 200 rental units available for those earning 60 percent of AMI or below. In 2002, there were many more of these units available at the 50 to 60% AMI levels. However, according to a recent state Division of Housing report, while the vacancy rate for 2- and 3-bedroom units is above market equilibrium, there are no 1-bedroom or efficiency units, most appropriate for elder housing, available. The Housing Authority has units available, but there is a waiting list for Section 8 vouchers. Denise suggested working on getting more landlords to accept vouchers. Kay will meet with Maurice, Gina Roe of Funding Partners, and Georgia Zastrow of FNB to explore other options for funding the clearinghouse to get more housing producers involved in affordable housing projects. Affordable Housing Board January 2, 2003 Meeting Minutes Page 3 City Plan Update Ken reported on the progress of the Citizens Advisory Committee developing input on the update of City Plan. He distributed a summary of results from the public survey questions about interest in a transit system and the importance of affordable housing, broken out geographically and demographically. Fifty percent of respondents agreed, either somewhat or strongly, that "it is important for our community to provide affordable housing, even if it requires higher taxes or development fees." Kay mentioned her objection to raising the tax issue in the question. Ken also pointed to Boulder as now in the process of mitigating some of the situations created by its slower growth policies, including commuter traffic problems because housing has become so expensive within the city. Boulder has established an excise tax on development to fund affordable housing and heavily subsidizes public transportation, but the Crossroads Mall and its supporting sales tax revenues are facing extinction because of competition from Flatirons, outside the city limits. The budget questions facing Boulder could face Fort Collins should sales taxes from the next regional megamall go to Windsor or Loveland instead of Fort Collins. Ken suggested a redevelopment plan for Foothills should be in the works. January and February are critical months with a number of significant City Plan Update meetings taking place. Important dates: Monday, January 13 -- CAC meeting to decide which of 39 characteristics should be included in a recommendation to City Council. Thursday, January 16 -- Public meeting on characteristics; 6:30 p.m., Lincoln Center. Tuesday, January 28 -- City Council study session to review characteristics, and input from CAC, public meeting, community survey and various boards and commissions. Wednesday, January 29 -- CAC meeting to refine recommendations based on direction from Council. Tuesday, February 18 -- City Council work session to adopt the characteristics the City Plan update should be built around. Jeff suggested writing a Soapbox supporting growth management and encouraging the public to express opinions to Council, to be published before the Feb. 18 meeting. The Policy Subcommittee will rewrite the draft letter to Council supporting a flexible boundary to the Growth Management Area to reflect the fact that characteristics have replaced the various scenarios previously discussed. The subcommittee will also further discuss options for Soapbox articles. Affordable Housing Board January 2, 2003 Meeting Minutes Page 4 Sales Tax Revenue Review Maurice distributed a memo from the Finance Department explaining the $200,000 reduction of funds for Land Banking in the 2003 budget to cover a shortfall in City revenue. Final 2002 figures are not yet available, but it is expected that the City may experience a decrease in annual collections of sales tax for the first time in the history of Fort Collins. Denise strongly supported not cutting Affordable Housing funds below the 2002 level. There was general agreement. Kay suggested keeping this issue on the agenda for next month's meeting, and asked staff to bring final figures if available. Old Business Update/Reports on Subcommittee Efforts No further updates. Liaison Reports None. Other Business Land Bank Purchase Maurice reported that the Horsetooth Stables, 8.3 acres on West Horsetooth between Shields and Dunbar, is now under contract, while due diligence continues. Plans call for building approximately 70-80 multi -family units on the site, which is adjacent to single-family homes on 8,000-sq.-ft. lots along Seneca St. The site is served by Transfort. Next meeting Scheduled for February 9, 2003. Ken is checking into when Board officer elections must be held, at either the February or March meeting. Meeting ended at 5:23 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Kate Jeracki January 10, 2003