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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAffordable Housing Board - Minutes - 04/04/2002CITY OF FORT COLLINS AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD April 4, 2002 MEETING MINUTES Kay Rios, Chair Isabel Garity, Vice Chair Ken Waido, Staff Liaison Chuck Wanner, City Council Liaison Board Members Present: Kay Rios, Isabel Garity, David McKelfresh, Joe Hebert, Jane Phelan, Jon Fairchild, Mary Glode, Denise Rogers, and Kathleen Cherroff. Advance Planning Staff Present: Ken Waido, Maurice Head, Joe Frank. Council Members Present: None. Also Present: Cameron Gloss, City of Fort Collins Current Planning Director; Ted Shepherd, Current Planning; Jeff Weiss, Equinox Group, Dale Snyder and Daryl Terry, Dustin Jordan, architect and site designer. Kay Rios called the meeting to order with a quorum present at 4:05 p.m. New Business New Board Member The Board welcomed Joe Hebert, who has been appointed to replace David Danforth. Minutes Several corrections were made to minutes as submitted: Under CSU Housing Presentation: "dorms" was changed to "residence halls" throughout. Third sentence now reads: "Jim pointed out that University facilities are feeling a squeeze because of Colorado's explosive growth over the past decade and the increased number of freshmen who are required to live on campus." Final sentence of second paragraph now reads: "As a result, the University will go back to the CCHE for clarification of its directive." Punctuation of final paragraph was corrected; "discussion of" is now 'discussion as to", period after "education" and "which" is now `This" beginning a new sentence. Affordable Housing Board April 4, 2002 Page 2 Under Status of AHB's Recommendations for Improvement: First sentence of second paragraph now reads: "The Board expressed concerns regarding the 120-day review process recommendation." Fourth paragraph now reads: "Kay and David McKelfresh are looking at the Right of First Refusal ordinance currently in use in Denver to see how it could be adapted to Fort Collins, with the approval of Legal. They will work with staff to draft a possible ordinance." City Council Retreat now reads: "Kay Rios reported that the Council's agenda for this retreat was full." Under Updates/Reports on Subcommittee Efforts, fourth paragraph now reads: "]on will chair the Subcommittee for Policy Development and Review, with Kay and Denise as members." Under Liaisons with other boards, Senior Coalition was changed to "Larimer County Affordable Housing Coalition"; 'sand David McKelfresh will take care of Air Quality" was added to the list of responsibilities Under Senate Bill 102, final paragraph now reads: "Board members would like to know more about SB 102 and will discuss it at future meetings." Isabel Garity moved to accept the March 7 minutes as corrected, Mary Glode seconded, motion carried unanimously. I-25 Subarea Plan Ken Waido started the discussion with an overview. The I-25 corridor was identified in City Plan as in need of more detailed planning efforts because it had received little attention in the original City Plan. The Subarea Plan covers the corridor from the Budweiser plant to the Windsor exit. The Subarea Plan calls for limited residential development east of I-25, with a limit of two dwellings per acre and industrial and commercial uses along the highway. Although the commercial and industrial businesses would offer opportunities for lower -wage employment, there seem to be few opportunities for affordable housing in the corridor at a residential density of less than two units per acre. Property owner Dale Snyder explained that his property at Vine and I-25 had been annexed into the city about 10 years ago. He has plans for development that would be half residential and would like to dedicate some of it to affordable housing, but won't be able to do it within the proposed density limits. He is asking for support from the Board in his bid to build Affordable Housing Board April 4, 2002 Page 3 higher density units; this presentation was for informational purposes only. Dustin Jordan showed drawings of the proposed development, which would encompass 78 acres northeast of Vine. An entrance on east Vine would give access to 40 acres of owner -occupied townhomes, a total of 320 multifamily units with a density of 8 units per acre. The housing community, which would not be gated, would lie about a quarter -mile from I-25 and provide access to Boxelder Creek along with other amenities such as a clubhouse and pool and about 30 percent green space. Jeff Weiss, whose Equinox Group is acting as developer on the project, estimated that the square footage of each unit would be between 1200 and 1600, priced between $150,000 and $175,000, which places it at 80 to 100 percent AMI. Ken pointed out that site planning had not been done, and that staff is still concerned with some aspects of the plan. The major hurdle is density. The draft plan from the property owners still must go through the review process. The Subarea Plan must also go through a review process with all key boards and commissions; that's when the Board will have a chance to officially comment on it. Daryl added that although the property is worth more for industrial use, he and Dale did not think the back portion of the acreage was appropriate for that use. Ken pointed out that there are a number of incentives and bonuses that are available for affordable housing developers, including the affordable housing bonus that requires units to remain at 80 percent of AMI for 20 years and allows a density of 12 units per acre, but when these units are built near lower density housing, issues of compatibility arise. Many of the incentives kick in when 10 percent of the units in a project are in the affordable range. Dale said the inclusion of any residential in the project is market -driven, and that it will blend better with the existing residential in the area. Ken will bring the draft plan back to the Board for formal consideration in the future. Affordable Housing Board April 4, 2002 Page 4 Status of AHB's Recommendations for Improvement Cameron Gloss talked about the history of the 120-day review rule in Oregon, where regulators are required to schedule a public hearing on development plans within 120 days of submission or the plan is automatically approved. The result is that poor plans were routinely denied, and the good ones could count on a predictable timetable for review. He suggested that while that was the rule in Oregon, it should be a goal in Fort Collins, where in -fill projects tend to be the problem sites, which is why they haven't been developed before. Floodplain considerations, odd easements and other factors that make a site "affordable" would make a 120-day rule difficult to achieve. All departments working toward that goal would be his preference, especially for affordable housing projects. Kay agreed that setting that goal and working toward it would make sense. Joe Frank said it won't need an ordinance from council, just set an internal policy, like the priority processing policy for affordable housing permits. Joe also suggested the board monitor how long the process is taking and how well the departments move toward the 120-day goal. Cameron thought it was taking longer, even with priority processing, but that that was indicative of the kinds of sites the projects involve. Jon asked about one -stop development review. A new automated system is in place that makes it easier to collect comments from various staffs. Cameron added that they are working on resolving conflicts between standards from various City agencies, and are close to having a formal process in place. The concept is to define the conflict immediately, and have the parties resolve the conflict for the applicant within a matter of days. The city should take more responsibility for resolving the conflicts, he said. Cameron said he would like to return to the Board soon to explain the policy developed. Bonding for Street Improvements Ted Shepherd updated the Board on the proposal to reduce the pre - construction bonding requirements by the Engineering Department for public improvements -- sidewalks, manholes, gutters, etc. -- for affordable housing projects. He said the Engineering Department has agreed to reduce this requirement proportionally for the number of units in affordable housing projects. The Engineering Department is taking the lead in getting the proposal through the adoption process, which should conclude in June, giving the ordinance a June 14 effective date. Affordable Housing Board April 4, 2002 Page 5 CPA Clearinghouse Kay reported she and Maurice met again with First National Bank and Funding Partners, who have drafted a potential agreement that would establish a clearinghouse for resources and information to build affordable housing and to get loans to get into affordable housing. Maurice added First National Bank is willing to fund a staff position for Funding Partners to coordinate public outreach, public funding and bank programs; this is a three to five year commitment. Other Maurice reported that of the other recommendations, Right of First Refusal ordinance is moving toward a formal process (see below). In the meantime, Fort Collins Housing Authority is acting as an effective clearinghouse; if any affordable housing -- not just Section 8 properties -- becomes available, FCHA contacts the owners. It is currently purchasing Sleepy Willow, which means 95 units of affordable housing will be staying in the FCHA inventory. Jon asked about the status of the fee exemption ordinance. Maurice reported it is going back to the Finance Committee later in April, then on to Council in May. The main issue is where the money would come from to support this program, which is scheduled to start in January 2003. Old Business Update/Reports on Subcommittee Efforts Isabel reported that the Education committee is somewhat dormant, reviewing applications and working on the website. Jon reported the Policy/Development committee is putting together comments on the Nexus study to send to the Board. Maurice announced that the meeting with the consultant scheduled for April 8 had been postponed because a key council member was not able to attend at that time. It has been rescheduled to May 13. There is also an updated copy of the study, with lots of comments, that Jon, Denise and Kay will review. It will also be included for discussion in Council's July 23 Study Session. The Advocacy Committee is working on the Right of First Refusal Ordinance. David reported that the Deputy City Attorney had determined that an Affordable Housing Board April 4, 2002 Page 6 ordinance like the one in Denver would be permissible in Fort Collins. Maurice and David will coordinate through Legal to discuss with the Denver City Attorney how the ordinance is working there and report back to the Board in May. Isabel reported that she had received many thanks form the CDBG for the Board's very thorough review and good questions on the recent round of development funding proposals. Other Business Liaisons with Other Boards Jon reported he has set up a once -a -month meeting with Dan Gould of the Transportation Board. The Transportation Board is very interested in alternative transportation and how it relates to affordable housing, and how both will affect the City Plan update. Kay reported on meeting with Mike Budaris of the Senior Advisory Board, who would like to send a liaison to the Affordable Housing Board meetings. Mary moved that the regular session be adjourned for the purpose of going into executive session, Kathleen seconded and motion carried unanimously at 5:05 p.m. Isabel then moved that the Board go into executive session to discuss pending real estate transactions. Mary seconded and motion passed unanimously. Members of the general public left the room before the discussion began. Respectfully submitted April 18, 2002 Kate Jeracki