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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAffordable Housing Board - Minutes - 12/04/1997E CITY OF FORT COLLINS AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD Meeting Minutes December 4, 1997 Bob Browning, Chair Joanne Greer, Vice Chair Chuck Wanner, City Council Liaison The meeting of the Affordable Housing Board began at 4:05 p.m. at 281 North College Avenue, Fort Collins, Colorado. Board members present included: Chairman Bob Browning, Bruce Croissant, Sylvie Glass, Joanne Greer, Kay Rios, and Terry Wahl. City Council Liaison Chuck Wanner was present. Staff members present: Ken Waido, Ann Watts, and Joe Frank. Mr. Waido introduced Ann Watts, replacement planner for Dickson Robin. Board members had received Ms. Watts' resume in their meeting packet. Ms. Watts has a master's from Rutgers in urban planning, has worked as a developerfor nonprofit affordable housing, and is looking forward for the opportunity to do policy work. Mr. Browning opened up the meeting to public discussion. None was offered. IMPACT FEES REBATE PROGRAM Mr. Browning noted that the Board had discussed review of impact fees and rebates to ensure that the City was receiving fair benefit for its policies. He called for volunteers for a review subcommittee. Mr. Croissant and Mr. Wahl, who arrived later, will join Mr. Browning on that subcommittee. The Board's general impetus has been to know, with clarity, the benefits received by the City from the developer for the fees rebate program. TRAC Mr. Waido reviewed the letter that had been sent to TRAC from the City; in essence, the letter demonstrates some frustration on the part of the City in discovering where TRAC is on the project and expectations of a closing time. John Barnett of TRAC stated that a lender is present who is willing to carry the mortgages but is unfamiliar with land trust projects. That lender has asked for review and approval by FNMA. FNMA has waited to review the project pending approval of the Fort Collins 1998 HOME funds. The funds were approved the prior day; review is imminent, and approval by the lender should be forthcoming. TRAC is also attempting to gather other lenders as contingency if the primary lender does not follow through on expectations. INTERNET SEARCH - AFFORDABLE HOUSING Ms. Rios reported on the search she had undertaken. She attempted, through the Internet, to discover the optimum percentage of affordable housing, as reported by other Affordable Housing Board • • Meeting of December 4, 1997 Page 2 communities. She and Mr. Waido discussed some parameters, to include reports by Portland, the HUD regional economist, and the Mount Laurel court case. Ms. Rios will follow up further on this project. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Moved by Mr. Croissant, seconded by Mr. Nicely: To approve the minutes of November 6, 1997. Motion approved unanimously. 1998 WORK PROGRAM Mr. Waido reviewed his memo of November 26, 1998, to the Board. Two areas of high priority are review of the Impact Fee Rebate Program, and establishment of a more effective affordable housing program. Mr. Waido has been working with the County and its consultant on the Affordable Housing Information System. The system is currently on computer but not readily available. The City and County will work to make it a functional program. Discussion was held on how the information was gathered and the likelihood of an accurate affordable housing inventory occurring. The City is aware of inventory in the larger projects, but trying to account for smaller or singular projects is more elusive. Census information would be helpful if not so outdated. Some information is gleaned from the numbers of Section 8 vouchers. Mr. Waido encouraged Board members to offer their suggestions in this endeavor. The Board and Staff discussed the upcoming Housing Distribution Policy, to be reviewed by Council in January. This issue arose during the Pioneer relocation effort. Sectors of the city were arguing that they already had a fair share of mobile housing, and more would be inappropriate. A dispersal policy was envisioned, with financial or other support from the City valuated based upon the need for affordable housing in a given area. Distribution over the entire City may be presently more equitable than many would perceive. HOUSING FAIR Ms. Rios reported a general consensus that a housing fair would be a worthwhile project. She has since received calls from people in support of the idea. A mix of public and private developers would be best. Private developers are suggesting a time frame of February or March, before their busy season begins. The City Manager has offered to provide space to meet. The Senior Attainable Housing Committee is the driving force behind this concept. Ms. Rios, Ms. Greer, and Mr. Browning attended and will be reporting to the Board on any progress. The format of discussion has not been decided. City Staff and the Affordable Housing Task Force would be helpful resources and were encouraged to attend the planning meeting. Affordable Housing Board • • Meeting of December 4, 1997 Page 3 HUD BEST PRACTICES EXAMPLES HUD publishes an annual report on highly -regarded affordable housing practices through the country. They have contacted Mr. Waido for permission to describe the City's rebate program in the report. Mr. Waido had some hesitance in answering due to the Board's evolving perception of the program and the program's potential reduction or elimination. Discussion was held on whether other programs within the City would be appropriate to publish. The fee rebate program is not widely used, while other City programs are more common. Board members expressed concern whether the rebates are actually promoting housing in the city or being used simply to further development profits. The subcommittee will explore the issue further. It was discussed that the City will continue incentives for affordable housing. There is uncertainty whether the rebate program, as a back -end loaded program, is desirable. Evaluation needs to be done to ensure that a benefit of lower rent, directly attributable to an incentive, can be quantified by a developer in a pro forma. LISTING OF PROJECTS/ITEMS Board members related a number of projects that were not contained in the listing. Mr. Frank acknowledged responsibility for the listing and encouraged Board members to send in all their suggested additions to the listing. In response to suggestions, he will amend the title to set forth a listing of available projects, and not imply that the listing is an inventory. HOME PROGRAM Ms. Glass expressed a concern that the cycle of HOME funding misses people who are not eligible until later in the funding year, particularly flood -displaced people who may be on one-year leases. Mr. Waido noted that Staff had worked with landlords to try to ensure that those people were given six-month leases. Rental subsidies are only good for six months. The HOME program has much more money this year than last, so funding will not be exhausted in the first few months of the funding cycle. A further problem with a staggered funding cycle was illustrated by an applicant who would qualify in February and have to wait until June for funding. OTHER BUSINESS Mr. Browning announced a Habitat open house for House No. 9, at 1313 Laporte Avenue, on January 10, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., with a brief ceremony at 1:00 p.m. He invited the Board members to attend. There being no great motivation to hold the next meeting on New Years Day, the next meeting was postponed to Thursday, January 8, 1998, at 4:00 p.m. There will be a meeting of chairpeople of City boards and commissions to discuss the areas of community planning and environmental services. The meeting will be Monday, Affordable Housing Board • Meeting of December 4, 1997 Page 4 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at the 281 North College conference room. Mr. Browning is not available, and Ms. Greer agreed to attend in his absence. The meeting concluded at 4:40 p.m.