Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutAffordable Housing Board - Minutes - 12/02/2004CITY OF FORT COLLINS AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD MEETING MINUTES 281 N. College Ave. Fort Collins, Colorado December 2, 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, Jane Phalen, Denise Rogers and Joe Rowan. Staff Present: Maurice Head, Ken Waido, Julie Smith and Heidi Phelps. Council Members Present: None Guests: Tom Vosberg, City of Fort Collins Assistant City Manager; Tom Honn, Fort Collins Housing Authority Board and Affordable Housing Coalition. Chair Kay Rios called meeting to order with a quorum present at 4:10 p.m. Open Public Discussion Tom Honn commented on the memo from the Board to City Council concerning the proposed increase in Street Oversizing Fees. He suggested that the memo emphasize the fact that all housing is affected by such fee increases, and if you're going to exempt affordable housing from the fees, the amount waived is going have to be made up somewhere. He suggested that this point is usually missed in the conversation about the effect of fees on affordable housing, and it's time for the City to take a look at what increasing fees are doing to the cost of all types of housing. New Busin Minutes The minutes of November 4, 2004, were corrected as follows: Kay Rios requested the minutes show she voted in opposition to the recommendation in favor of the Street Oversizing Fee. The following paragraph was corrected to show that Isabel Garity asked what an exemption from the Street Oversizing Fee for affordable housing would cost. Denise Rogers clarified that she will serve as liaison to the Planning and Zoning Board depending on her schedule and availability. The words "Advisory Committee" were added after Dial -A -Ride under Liaison Reports. Fort Collins Affordable Housing Board December 2, 2004 Minutes Page 2 of 5 The minutes were unanimously accepted as corrected on a motion by Isabel Garity seconded by Jane Phalen. Expanded Roles of Boards in the Development Review Process Tom Vosberg presented four options under discussion for increased involvement of various boards and commissions in the City's Development Review Process. City Council has asked for public discussion of the alternatives, developed by staff with input from the Natural Resources Advisory Board, the Board of Realtors, Chamber of Commerce and Homebuilders. Staff has recommended Option 5, no change from existing practice, but has been directed by Council to proceed with development of an ordinance for discussion. Mr. Vosberg provided background that at one time, various Boards and Commissions provided technical expertise not otherwise available to the City. The trained architects on the Landmark Preservation Commission, for example, provide valuable expert advice to the City because there is no City architect. However, other boards, such as the NRAB, are no longer made up of experts in fields not represented by City staff, instead providing important citizen input. Mr. Vosberg reviewed the various administrative considerations of implementing Option 1 - boards act like a neighborhood group - and Options 4 and 4a - boards offer "complementary review" to staff and applicant, with 4a, the NRAB option, allowing the board to call up projects on their own initiative. Option 1 would involve all boards and commissions, while the Options 4 would restrict involvement to those boards with clear relationship to land development, and clear technical capability. According to Mr. Vosberg, this could include the Transportation Board, the LPC, the NRAB and possibly the AHB, but a final decision on which ones would be included has not been made. Mr. Vosberg asked for the Board's opinion, to take to Council on December 21. Kay Rios felt that this is a major issue for affordable house. Adding more boards to the review process could result in creating obstacles that can create costs and add time to the process. It is also saying, in effect, that the Planning and Zoning Board can't make good decisions on its own. If any board is included in the process, she felt the AHB should be, but she wasn't sure that where we should be. Joe Rowan agreed, saying that without objective standards for technical expertise required, there's no reason any board shouldn't be included. Ken Waido pointed out that the idea of boards providing complementary review evolved from a part of the Land Use Code that deals with modifications of development -related standards. If, for example, a developer proposes to infringe on a buffer zone, the P&Z Board can examine the project and make recommendations for modifications. Under Option 4a, such review Fort Collins Affordable Housing Board December 2, 2004 Minutes Page 3 of 5 could be applied to all projects, not just modifications, and not just by the P&Z Board. Right now, the P&Z Board can ask for more information from the applicant or staff, but not from policy advisory boards, because input to the development review process is not within the boards' scope of duties. If this language is added, it would be. The role of the policy advisory boards is to provide input to the legislative process of adopting plans, fees, regulations and so on. Once the policy is set and the development review process begins, that is a quasi- judicial proceeding. P&Z is both an advisory and a quasi-judicial board; AHB is advisory only. Other quasi-judicial boards work within very clearly proscribed parameters, and any changes would require amending the Code. Ms. Rios felt that when boards begin advising Council on the involvement of other boards, the situation could become absurd. Each board should focus on the issues at which they are semi -expert, rather than butting into other boards' areas of expertise. Mr. Waido reminded that Board that the planning process involves balancing a variety of different values. Boards should be advocates for their passions, but they should not insist that their passion be the only concern. He agreed that the citizens appointed to the P&Z Board have the responsibility to make decisions that take all perspectives into consideration. Mr. Rowan said he was also concerned with the weight boards and commissions have in some areas, since they are not elected and therefore not accountable, although they sometimes act as if they have a mandate. Isabel Garity moved that the Affordable Housing Board supports Option 5 — No Change from Existing Practice — for Expanded Duties of Boards and Commissions in the Development Review Process. Joe Rowan seconded, and the motion passed unanimously. Denise Rogers and Kay Rios will draft a memo to City Council for e- mailing to City Council in time for the December 21 meeting. Homebuyer Assistance Program Joe Rowan asked for comments or questions on his November 1 memo regarding potential changes to the City's downpayment assistance program for first-time, low-income homebuyers. In essence, he would like to see the loans repaid in 15 years to help "recycle" the dollars available rather than depending on outside sources such as CDBG and HOME funding. Kay Rios was concerned that requiring such a repayment schedule would create an issue for those forced to pay it off. Anyone in need of downpayment assistance who was still in the same home after 15 years Fort Collins Affordable Housing Board December 2, 2004 Minutes Page 4 of 5 would most likely be least able to make such a payment without taking out a second mortgage or otherwise going into debt. Mr. Rowan suggested there could be a simple process to obtain a hardship exemption, perhaps allowing those who need it to refinance the downpayment assistance amount at 0 percent. He said the important point was to create the expectation that the assistance was a loan, not a grant. He said if there were an incentive to pay off the loans, the community would get more use out of the dollars. Isabel Garity asked staff to confirm that homebuyers assistance loans only go to owners living in the homes, not investors. Julie Smith did confirm. Ms. Rios said she could not support the proposed change, and would prefer not to forward it to Council for further investigation if there was disagreement on the Board. She asked staff for input. Ken Waido said that while staff was supportive of the concept of recycling the money, they could not support anything that puts a burden on the homeowner, even adding the amount of the assistance to the monthly payment for 15 years. Ms. Smith pointed out that even when the loans are repaid, by federal law the money does not go directly back into the homebuyer assistance program but rather into the general CDBG fund. Denise Rogers felt that the program can never be self-sustaining. Ms. Garity asked if it would be possible to provide incentives for paying off the loan, but Mr. Rowan said rebates are not legal. Ms. Rios said she knew Jon Fairchild and other absent Board members also had questions about the proposal. Kay Rios asked that this item remain on the January agenda to gather more input from board members. She asked anyone with comments to forward them to Ken Waldo for distribution. Sales and Use Tax Rebate Program No report. Old Business City Budget/Affordable Housing Fund No report. Update/Reports on Subcommittee Efforts None. Liaison Reports Isabel Garity reported that she had responded to the Planning and Zoning Board's question about the Affordable Housing Board's position on the Street Fort Collins Affordable Housing Board December 2, 2004 Minutes Page 5 of 5 Oversizing Fee increase by saying the AHB supported it but expressed concerns about its effect on affordable housing. In response to Ms. Garity's question about the cost to the City of exempting affordable housing projects from the fee increase, Maurice Head reported that, based on the 2005 goal of adding 94 affordable housing units, the cost would be approximately $19,000; in 2006, the cost would be $21,000. Jane Phelan reported that the Natural Resources Advisory Board had been split on the issue of expanded duties for the boards and commissions in the development review process. She said four board members were definitely in favor of Option 4a while three were definitely against it. The rest are struggling with the issue, she said. Open Board Discussion Kay Rios will update the Street Oversizing Fee memo to make the point that increasing fees affect all housing costs, although they hit affordable housing the hardest. While the Board recognizes that any Street Oversizing Fees not collected from affordable housing projects must be made up elsewhere, the Board recommends a freeze on all development fee increases for affordable housing projects. She will e-mail the final memo to City Council for consideration during its December 7 discussion of the Street Oversizing Fee increase. Joe Rowan asked staff about possible development plans for the downtown airport. He felt it would be good for the Board to keep tabs on that area, especially the issue of building houses in an industrial area. Ken Waido said he would invite Pete Wray form the Advance Planning Department to give an update on the situation at the next meeting. He added that Cameron Gloss will also be giving an update on the Zucker recommendations for improvements to the development review process. Ken Waido announced that this was Isabel Garity's last meeting, and He offered the heartfelt thanks of staff for her passionate commitment and great amounts of work on behalf of affordable housing. Kay Rios also thanked Isabel for her service to the Board, saying that it has been a pleasure working with her. Denise Rogers added that Isabel will be missed, a sentiment shared by the entire Board. Ms. Garity thanked the Board and staff for making her tenure a pleasant and educational experience, and said that she intends to stay involved with the City in some capacity in the future. Meeting adjourned at 5:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Kate Jeracki December 19, 2004 .9 (3 (6 S