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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAffordable Housing Board - Minutes - 10/05/1995AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD MEETING MINUTES October 5,1995 The meeting of the Affordable Housing Board began at 4:15 p.m. in the Community Planning Conference Room, 281 North College Avenue, Fort Collins, Colorado. Board members present were Chairperson Mary Cosgrove, Tom Sibbald, Ann Sanders, Bob Browning, and Susan Nabors, who arrived later in the meeting. Staff members present were Ken Waido, Dickson Robin, Joe Frank, Felix Lee, and Alan Krcmarik. Gina Janett was present from the City Council. A quorum was not reached. Therefore, meeting discussion was held informally. No public comment was heard. The previous meeting minutes were received by Staff in rough draft form too late to prepare them in final form for the Board. Ms. Cosgrove stated that she had noticed at least one misspelling. No further comment was heard on the meeting minutes. Mr. Lee addressed the Model Energy Code and stated that an extensive question and answer log on issues that were raised at the previous meeting of the Board, as well as other boards, had been included in the Board's packet for review. Since the last meeting, the Building Review Board endorsed both the residential and commercial code with a vote of five to two, and the Natural Resources Advisory Board has also since endorsed the code. Mr. Schwartz explained the process of the blower door test and stated that the cost of such a test would be from $50 at the low end and up to $100 for the service being offered for profit. Mr. Browning stated that the cost of Habitat for Humanity to build houses has doubled since 1992. Part of that is attributable to the cost of land in Fort Collins. However, Mr. Browning pointed out that with every small increase in front-end costs, more and more people are eliminated from the possibility of obtaining affordable housing. Mr. Browning also stated that Habitat for Humanity is facing a Possible future of being forced out of business in Fort Collins due to the increase in costs. Mr. Charlie Lucas stated that since 1960, Fort Collins was in the top third of the nation for affordable housing, and in 1990 it dropped to the bottom third. He stated that such statistics demonstrate less available affordable housing regardless of energy conservation efforts. Mr. Sibbald stated that local builders have been offering energy efficient packages since 1984, and by and large, the consuming public does not want to pay for the additional expense. AHB Minutes • • October 5, 1995 Page 2 Mr. Charlie Lucas pointed out that a purchaser of a new house may believe that it is energy efficient and have no idea of some of the huge energy problems that exist. He also stated that it is very difficult to upgrade energy efficiency once a home is built due to barriers that may exist. Mr. Sibbald stated that he would be more supportive of the code if the adjoining communities were also implementing such a program. However, he feels that by implementing the code, the moderate income home buyer could be excluded from the Fort Collins market. Mr. Sibbald also stated that the longer -term view of upgrading makes sense, but the moderate income buyers are simply trying to get into a house and will concern themselves with the monthly cost of the utilities once they are in. Mr. Sibbald suggested that balance could be achieved by taking something out if costs were going to be added by implementing the code. Ms. Cosgrove suggested that another possibility may be to utilize monies that have been set aside for affordable housing to reimburse home buyers for some of the energy expenses. Mr. Browning reiterated that each additional cost forces additional buyers out of the market and gave an example of two families living in a 40-foot trailer due to the fact that they couldn't afford anyplace else. Mr. Charlie Lucas stated that such a living situation would cut the cost of living in half and was similar to the way of living of immigrants. He suggested that perhaps that could be one answer to the affordable housing dilemma. Mr. Charlie Lucas reiterated the fact that people are expecting to get a quality pproduct in a new home and can only be assured of such if the code is implemented He cited an example of an upscale house in which a second furnace was installed because the original furnace was not adequately heating the house. The problem was not due to a faulty furnace but rather due to improper insulation installation. He believes that had the code been in place, such a situation would have been prevented. Mr. Browning expressed his disapproval of Mr. Charlie Lucas citing immigrant issues as one possible solution to affordable housing. Mr. Charlie Lucas replied that no disrespect was meant, and he was unsure of the Affordable Housing Board's goals but believes affordability consists of many elements beyond what the Government can discuss. Mr. Sibbald left the meeting. Ms. Cosgrove suggested that comments could be sent along with the code to City Council, or the Board could decline to send along any comments. She feels the Board needs to determine some suggestions on the issue of affordability in the event the code is implemented. Mr. Waido stated that the potential subsidization for the energy costs was not probable because the monies that have been set aside for affordable housing are AHB Minutes • October 5, 1995 Page 3 not significant. Mr. Robin questioned the possibility of excluding affordable housing from the code. Mr. Lee stated that it would be impossible to do a selective code. Ms. Sanders suggested possibly deferring to a different code that would be comparable to the Model Energy Code such as the Farmer's Home Administration 502 Codes. Mr. Schwartz stated that Government financed homes, including Farmer's Home Administration, have to be built to the 1992 Model Energy Code which is similar to the proposal being made. He believes some of the requirements proposed are below the 1992 Code and some requirements are above. Therefore, the result would probably be a wash. Mr. Browning questioned what the increased closing costs would be with a $1,300 cost increase. Ms. Sanders stated that she is working with 5 percent down loans, which would result in an additional $65 at closing. Agreement was made that the comments that were made regarding the code would be put in form and passed on to City Council. Mr. Waido addressed the issue of extending the City's Development Impact Fee Rebate Program passed the city limits. He stated that this issue was not extremely time sensitive and could be delayed for further discussion until next month. Mr. Waido did say that he had talked to Paul Eckman and two things were decided: The Code itself says the program is for the benefit of the citizens of Fort Collins. This was interpreted to mean residents of the city of Fort Collins. The adopted regulations state that the projects must be located inside the city unless otherwise authorized. Therefore, the determination was made that the Code and regulations need to be brought into parallel wording. Mr. Waido also questioned the Mercy Housing people on their resistance to annex into the city. The Mercy people stated that the major reason is the sales tax that would have to be paid. Ms. Cosgrove questioned whether or not Mercy would have nonprofit status on sales tax. Mr. Browning stated that Mercy is a for -profit company building low income houses. Ms. Sanders asked if Staff had heard anything from HUD on the conflict of interest status. Mr. Waido stated that there is still no information from HUD. Ms. Cosgrove suggested possibly a group of citizens sending a letter to HUD requesting an answer. She also suggested that perhaps Ms. Sanders herself should call HUD requesting an answer. AHB Minutes • • October 5, 1995 Page 4 Mr. Robin gave an update on the Pioneer Mobile Home Park situation. He stated that there is a possible new mobile home park that could go in in the north area of Fort Collins. The developer will be presenting their project to the Planning and Zoning Board on the 23rd of October. Small concerns exist with the wetlands in the area and potential concern exists with the annexation with the land not being contiguous. The applicant is looking fora partnership situation with a local nonprofit group with the hopes of the nonprofit group potentially owning and/or managing the project. The developer has hired Ms. Lucia Liley for assistance in the process. An open house was held on the 20th of September. 1,100 neighbors of the proposed site were invited, and 28 people came. Most of these people were in opposition to the project. Mr. Robin stated that the Neighbor to Neighbor counseling is underway. They are assisting residents of Pioneer move out of the state, move into different homes, apartments, and the like. The Pioneer Mobile Home Park Association has drafted a plan for a mobile home park with an envisioned four parcels of land, 50 acres apiece, in all four quadrants of the city. The association has plans of seeking a landowner or developer for the plan. In response to questioning, Mr. Robin stated that approximately ten families have moved out of Pioneer at the present time and most have simply abandoned their homes. Mr. Jeff Donaldson will be issuing his eviction notices in March of 1996, which is an extension from the previous date. The Resources Assistance Center is considering building ten town house units particularly for Pioneer residents. They are receiving referrals from Neighbor to Neighbor for income eligible people. Mr. Robin stated that CDBG has put together an RFP advertisement that went out the 1 st of October for the $235,000 that has been set aside for Pioneer assistance. Proposals are being taken between the 1 st and the 31 st. Once the proposals are received, the CDBG Commission will review the proposals and recommendations will be made to City Council for the final decision and the goal is to distribute funds before the end of the year. At the present time, 50 applications have been received. Ms. Sanders questioned whether or not the proposed new park is an issue in which someone needs to personally sit down with the neighbors to discuss the plans in an effort to reduce opposition. Mr. Robin stated that every indication has been that opposition will not be a problem, and Staff is optimistic. Mr. Waido stated that the applicants of the new park do not want a PUD, and it is felt that a compromise can be reached with regard to the wetlands and the annexation issues. Mr. Robin believes that a negotiation will be reached before the P and Z report is issued. AHB Minutes • • October 5, 1995 Page 5 Mr. Waido stated that due to the fact that no quorum was reached, the impact fee, work program, and cost of services study will be carried over to the next Board meeting. Ms. Cosgrove had one comment on the work program. She feels the priority for the elements that make housing more affordable should not be delayed. Mr. Robin stated that the reason for delaying the issue until March of 1996 was due to lack of Staff resources. Mr. Frank stated that the original idea was to do a cost benefit analysis in terms of everything in affordable housing, which would have been an enormous undertaking. Instead, the idea now is to determine the most significant costs and focus in on a couple of things that can be done. In response to questioning, Mr. Waido addressed the issue of a housing plan at CSU. He stated that the Physical Development Plan will become public information soon. The Physical Development Plan considers the academic core the eastern half of the campus. There is not a lot of room for additional housing on campus. Therefore, additional housing sites will probably be pursued near the campus in the southwest part along Lake Street, and some possibilities exist for housing on the north side, south of Prospect. Mr. Frank discussed the City dialogue process stating the processes has been going through a forum to identify and prioritize issues. Issues have now been determined and prioritized, and a processes has been developed on how to deal with the issues which include: education, health, governments, growth, and affordable housing. A public forum will be held on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th of November for a presentation on the surveys taken. Ms. Janett gave an update on the CDC. The CDC is a public/private partnership that would have the sole mission of providing capital for the production of affordable housing units. The CDC committee has recently learned that Loveland has a similar corporation. Therefore, a subcommittee from Fort Collins has met with a subcommittee from Loveland for discussion. Ms. Janett stated that the Loveland group has incorporated with pledges of $500,000 a year, $100,000 a year coming from the City of Loveland. They have no Staff but do have a project in mind. One individual from the Loveland group believes these should remain two different organization that contract together with one Staff. Mr. Robin questioned whether or not there has been any indication from the financial entities on their willingness to support two separate CDC issues. Ms. Janett stated that it seemed clear that the banks would rather have one, as would the County. Ms. Janett said that a joint board would have a Loveland specific committee and a Fort Collins specific committee, but the board could every year put out a list of types of housing, price of housing, locations, and monies specific to each. Mr. Frank questioned the availability of funds to outside areas such as Estes Park. AHB Minutes • October 5, 1995 Page 6 Ms. Cosgrove stated that portions of the county could not be excluded, and therefore, some vehicle for outside area application needed to be determined. Mr. Krcmarik stated that the anticipated funding for the CDC was $225,000 for two years. The decision was made to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned at 5:45 p.m.