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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAffordable Housing Board - Minutes - 11/04/2004CITY OF FORT COLLINS AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD MEETING MINUTES 281 N. College Ave. Fort Collins, Colorado November 4, 2004 4-6p.m. Kay Rios, Chair Isabel Garity, Vice Chair Ken Waido, Staff Liaison, 970-221-6753 Marty Tharp, City Council Liaison, 970-484-5711 Board Members Present: Kay Rios, Isabel Garity, Jon Fairchild, Jane Phalen, Denise Rogers and Peter Tippett. Staff Present: Maurice Head, Ken Waido Council Members Present: None Guests: Cam McNair and Matt Baker, City of Fort Collins Engineering Department; Gary Diede, Transportation Department; Kelsey Lopez, Ellis L. Smith, Jason Bird, Brook Bell, Thomas Haines, CSU Tourism Planning Class; Bob Browning; Aaron Seifritz. Chair Kay Rios called meeting to order with a quorum present at 4 p.m. Open Public Discussion None. New Business Minutes The minutes of October 7, 2004, were corrected as follows: Under Liaison Reports, the words "per day" were deleted after the number 50 in Kay Rios' report on Dial -A -Ride ridership reduction. The minutes were unanimously accepted as corrected on a motion by Isabel Garity seconded by Denise Rogers. Street Oversizing Fee Adjustment Matt Baker, Street Oversizing Fee program manager, presented an update on the City's proposed revision to the fee. To account for recently adopted changes to the City's Master Street Plan, including the East Mulberry Plan and the Transportation Master Plan, staff is proposing a 10.2 percent increase in the Street Oversizing fees. This would increase the fee per residential dwelling unit throughout the City to $2,210 from the current $2,006. Fort Collins Affordable Housing Board November 4, 2004 Minutes Page 2 of 5 Mr. Baker said that the Street Oversizing Fee is routinely recalculated to insure that the City's revenues match outlays for improvements through build -out in 2025 or whenever the last house is built in Fort Collins. Inflation in fuel and material prices has driven the Engineering News Record Regional Inflation Index for the area to 9.5 percent. However, staff has included the actual cost increases of 3.6 percent in its recalculation of the Street Oversizing fee. Street Oversizing fees cannot be used to correct existing deficiencies, but the East Mulberry Plan tripled the amount of arterial and collector lane miles to support the zoning and density of land uses indicated. All types of buildings - light industrial, office and retail as well as residential - will also be affected by the fee increase. Gary Diede explained that the fees are adjusted annually to make them as fair as possible across the board. Cam McNair added that the Street Oversizing fee is a one-time fee assessed on new development, and as such, it is not possible to calculate a rebate or reduction of the fees for affordable housing projects. However, it is possible for developers to recover some of the fees through the Competitive Process. Kay Rios asked if the cost increase for the East Mulberry Plan was foreseen before it was adopted. Ken Waido explained that previous Master Street Plans were not as detailed as Subarea Plans, and the fees charged were lower than they should have been in the past. Needs also change as vacant areas develop. Jon Fairchild asked why the streets downgraded in the Transportation Master Plan didn't decrease fees, as in the Fossil Lake expansion in 2000. Mr. Baker explained that there were a number of other factors that offset costs in Fossil Lake. Mr. Fairchild asked how we know how much future road improvements will cost. Mr. Baker explained that we don't, which is why the fees are adjusted as we go to keep them reasonable as budgets are hit by inflation. Denise Rogers asked if it would be possible to estimate what it would cost the City to exempt affordable housing projects from this fee. Ken Waido pointed out that if such an exemption were granted, someone would have to make it up, and the City can't charge every development more to pay for exempting others. Ms. Rios pointed out that the Fort Collins Housing Authority is exempt from fees which other developers can only recover through the Competitive Process. She suggested that impact fee rebates should be kept separate from competing for affordable housing funds Mr. Waido said that taking the fees out of the Competitive Process would have them competing with everything else in the General Fund. Fort Collins Affordable Housing Board November 4, 2004 Minutes Page 3 of 5 Mr. Fairchild thought that the issue of an impact fee rebate was a separate issue that should be pursued by the Board. He thought the Street Oversizing fee increase made sense, and he could support it, but he agreed with Ms. Rogers that the accumulation of fees, including recent building code changes, has a serious impact on affordable housing in the city. Ms. Rios said she supports the way the Street Oversizing fee is determined, but with the budget cuts from affordable housing funds, she can't support the increase. Maurice Head recalled that staff had previously researched what would be required to put all developments on the same playing field with FCHA. The conclusion was that it would take a freeze on all fee increases for affordable housing projects. The Board discussed this idea. The consensus was that asking City Council for a general freeze on fee increases rather than for restoration of the Affordable Housing Fund budget cuts would be worth pursuing. Jon Fairchild made a motion that the Affordable Housing Board supports the proposed Street Oversizing fee increase, with a recommendation that qualified affordable housing projects be exempted from the increase. Jane Phelan seconded, and the motion passed on a 5-1 vote, with Kay Rios dissenting. Isabel Garity asked what an exemption from the Street Oversizing Fee for affordable housing would cost; Maurice Head said he would research the figures. Ken Waido reminded the Board that the difference would have to be made up out of the General Fund. Mr. Fairchild and Kay Rios will work on a letter to City Council supporting a freeze on fee increases for affordable housing projects. They will send it around for comments from other Board members via e-mail so it can be included in the information packet for the City Council's study session on November 30, when the Street Oversizing Fee is to be discussed. The proposed Street Oversizing fee increase is scheduled for a formal hearing before City Council December 7. Homebuyer Assistance Program Kay Rios asked Board members to review the memo from Joe Rowan dated November 1, 2004, on this issue for future discussion. Mr. Rowan was not in attendance; this item will remain on the agenda until he is present. Sales and Use Tax Rebate Program The Policy Committee - Denise Rogers, Jon Fairchild and Kay Rios - will meet to consider the 1999 City Ordinance that rebated sales and use taxes to developers of affordable housing. This ordinance expired at the end of 2001; Fort Collins Affordable Housing Board November 4, 2004 Minutes Page 4 of 5 since then, these repayments have been made through the Competitive Process. The Policy Committee will make a recommendation to the entire Board on the feasibility of reinstating a rebate program that would not be dependent on the variables of the Competitive Process. 2005 Work Plan By consensus, the 2005 Affordable Housing Board Work Plan was accepted, with the following changes: Kay Rios will no longer serve as liaison to the OOA Senior Attainable Housing Committee. Denise Rogers will replace Isabel Garity as liaison to the Planning and Zoning Board depending on her schedule and availability. There will no longer be an Affordable Housing Board liaison to the Sever Weather Shelter, because Isabel Garity has declined to serve another term on the Board. Under Advocacy, the Board will not investigate the practice of assessing application fees for low income rental housing. Under Policy Development and review, the Board will not be reviewing City Plan or the nexus study - the City Plan update is completed, and the nexus study is currently on hold. Ken Waido will forward the Work Plan to the City Clerk's office. Competitive Process Review Ken Waido updated the Board on staffs assessment of the CDBG Competitive Process. He said the challenges they are facing are in the non -housing sector, which is outside the purview of the Board. On the housing side, everyone was comfortable with the process in the recently completed cycle. The City will begin advertising for applications for the spring cycle in January. Old Business City Budget/Affordable Housing Fund Kay Rios felt that the possible repeal of the grocery tax, which will appear on the April ballot, could have a significant impact on affordable housing and transportation as a result of across-the-board budget cuts the loss of $6 million in City revenue will require. She asked Ken Waido if he knew of any group being formed to assess the impact of the ballot initiative; he did not. She asked the Board for suggestions on how to "put a face on" the issue, and acknowledged that this is not the time to ask City Council to restore affordable housing funds to the budget. Rental Licensing Ken Waido reported on the recent City Council study session, in which staff was directed to evaluate various options and report back to Council on January 11, 2005. He said the options under consideration range from Fort Collins Affordable Housing Board November 4, 2004 Minutes Page 5 of 5 registration of every rental unit to licensing for a certain number of occupants, which could carry a fee, and various combinations of registration and licensing that could include specific conditions allowing exemption from the City's ordinance against more than three unrelated adults living in a unit. One idea, in use in East Lansing, Michigan, is to allow neighbors to vote to create a boundary in which rentals would be exempt from licensing but occupancy would be limited to just three people. Kay Rios said she understands the concerns of homeowners in single-family neighborhoods affected by rental issues, such as parking, parties and property maintenance, but felt strongly that any new rental fees would have a negative impact on affordability of housing in Fort Collins. Mr. Waido added that as the demographics of the neighborhoods change, the demand for types of housing change, and limiting the number of occupants does not decrease the need for housing. He felt confident that the Council will want to have some kind of rental regulation on the books before the April elections. He will keep the Board updated with copies of memos, etc., between now and the January 6, 2005, meeting, at which Ms. Rios would like the Board to make a recommendation to Council on the issue. Update/Reports on Subcommittee Efforts Jon Fairchild reported that Joe Rowan had put a lot of effort into the memo on the Homebuyers Assistance Program. Liaison Reports Kay Rios reported that Dial -A -Ride Advisory Committee is exploring ways to communicate what effect the repeal of the grocery tax would have on people who depend on public transportation. ODen Board Discussion Ken Waido has invited Cameron Gloss, Director of Current Planning, to discuss the Development Review Process at the January Board meeting. Meeting adjourned at 5:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Kate Jeracki November 23, 2004