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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAffordable Housing Board - Minutes - 10/27/1993• DRAFT AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD MEETING MINUTES October 27, M Council Liaison: Gina Janett Staff Liaisons: Tom Peterson, Ken Waido The October 27, 1993 meeting of the Affordable Housing Board began at 4:00 p.m. in the Main Conference Room, 281 North College Avenue, Fort Collins, Colorado. Commission members present included: Robert Browning, Mary Cosgrove, Susan Forgue, Joanne Greer, Cliff Kight, Ann Sanders, Christa Sarrazin, Tom Sibbald and Craig Welling. Staff members present included: Greg Byrne, Tom Peterson, Ken Waido and Rick Ensdorff. Greg Byrne, Director, Community Planning and Environmental Services (CPES) for the City of Fort Collins, gave a presentation on that Service Area's Council -directed work programs. Mr. Byrne shared that the CPES Service Area was in the process of reorganizing internally to deal with its work load. Mr. Byrne said that CPES was attempting to give impacted boards and commissions a handshake acquaintance with the work program. He explained that the work program projects were divided into four "product" areas, with employee teams responsible for each area. Mr. Byrne shared that the new structure was designed to accommodate interrelated issues that often were a part of any project. Ken Waido briefed members on the work program's tie-in with affordable housing. He stated that the City's Affordable Housing policy, adopted in Autumn 1992, states that all new policies and programs must be reviewed for their impact on affordable housing. Rick Ensdorff, Transportation Department Director, spoke on the Land Use. Transportation. and Air Quality (LUTRAO) area; Tom Shoemaker, Natural Resources Department Director, shared on the Corridor/Foothills/QRan S category; Tom Peterson, Planning Department Director, reviewed the Neighborhood Issues portion; and Greg Byrne detailed the Growth Management Techniques area. Mr. Waido asked Greg Byrne how any priorities the Board would develop might fit in with the work program (e.g., revising street standards). Mr. Byrne shared that key staff would act as the "gatekeeper" on any project in coordinating with other CPES staff who might need to be involved. He added the reminder that although City staff would do everything possible to fulfill any work requests that the Affordable Housing Board might have, to keep in mind that CPES's workload was primarily dictated by City Council directive. AH Board Meeting Minutes October 27, 1993 Page 2 Tom Sibbald, Board member, expressed concerns that some new projects scheduled to be presented before Council in the near future had not had affordable housing impact statements completed in accordance with the Affordable Housing Policy's directive. Mr. Byrne explained that the CPES work program was in a period of transition; the Service Area was working to finish up some projects which were initiated prior to the Affordable Housing Policy and the appointment of the current Board. He added that CPES had reviewed the affordable housing area and had determined that it should: run a parallel track with the CPES work program; have its own work program and staffing; and have access to communication with other City areas at appropriate points. Mr. Sibbald concurred that some of the projects pre -dated the policy, but stated that some projects (e.g., Planning Fees) were initiated after the policy was in place. He continued by saying that some of the actions that have taken place were already in conflict with the Affordable Housing Policy. Mr. Byrne reiterated that the CPES service area was in a period of transition. He added that it was not the City's intent to shirk the spirit or the letter of the policy, and CPES Area staff would work to bring items of concern before the newly initiated Board. There was some discussion regarding: projects currently scheduled to be brought before City Council in the near future; Affordable Housing Board versus staff roles in processing affordable housing impact analyses; and affordable housing impact analysis as part of the project/policy review process. IA• Council Liaison Tom Peterson, Planning Director, introduced Gina Janett to Board members as the City Council liaison. Ms. Janett explained the role of Council liaison. She stated that she will act as the Board's primary contact to City Council. Additionally, she is expected to be more apprised on affordable housing matters and is available to assist the Board with any proposals or recommendations it might formulate. Ms. Janett noted that from a personal standpoint, issues surrounding affordable housing, transportation and growth management were of specific concern to her. AH Board Meeting Minutes October 27, 1993 Page 3 In response to a Board member question, Gina outlined what she believed to be affordable housing priorities from a Council -wide perspective: 1) Identify the City's role in enhancing the availability of affordable housing. 2) The Housing Trust Fund 3) Monitor the atmosphere of housing (e.g., conflicting policies -- preserving neighborhood character vs. density increases, etc.) Ms. Janett said she hoped to pursue private -sector donations in seeking to increase the Housing Trust Fund base to 1-11h million dollars. WEIVID—L ' tW C111A1� i1 I t Ken Waldo requested Board member comments and/or questions on the City's Affordable Housing Policy document. Member Browning expressed concern on the definition of affordable housing, as stated in the policy: "Affordable housing is housing which can be purchased or rented by people of low or moderate incomes (i.e., incomes of less than 90% of the City's median income) where the occupant, either the owner or renter, pays no more than 30% of their grass income for housing costs, including utilities." Member Browning stated that the definition should be changed to state an income level of 50% of median income (rather than 80%). He added that the City's policy should not be tied to the HUD definition. Member Browning also said he was concerned about community perceptions regarding housing subsidies for certain income levels. There was some group discussion on separating out housing issues in terms of subsidies versus housing standards or policy direction. Board members generally agreed that the policy definition allowed for a broad perspective, but that specific implementation strategies or grant applications might often focus on lower income levels. Mr. Waldo noted that any action taken to lower housing costs for any part of the income spectrum would result in lower housing costs "across the board", and actually benefit persons in the lower income brackets. AH Board Meeting Minutes October 27, 1993 Page 4 DQNZVV I C M. ; M . 1 Ken Waido asked the Board to prioritize the implementation strategies recommended by the Affordable Housing Mini -Task Forces in order provide a framework for its work program. Mr. Waido explained to the group that the recommendations had been brought before City Council this past summer; Council had passed a resolution authorizing the Affordable Housing Board to work on all items presented, and to bring them back to City Council for formal consideration. The Board reviewed, discussed and reached consensus on each of the strategies. Each item was rated in terms of importance (high, medium or low priority) and ease of accomplishment (hard, medium or easy task difficulty). The resulting matrix is presented as follows: IlVIPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES (LISTING BY ITEM) (Al) Housing Trust Fund: HIGH Priority/HARD Task (A2) Affordable Housing Board: HIGH Priority/MEDIUM Task (A3) Housing Trust Fund Initial RFP: HIGH Priority/MEDIUM Task (A4) Comprehensive Trust Fund Program: MEDIUM Priority/MEDIUM Task B. Devel (Bl) Affordable Housing Provider Development Fee Funding: HIGH Priority/MEDIUM Task (B2) Development Fee Collection Delay: HIGH Priority/EASY Task (Cl) Revise PUD Preliminary Plan Requirements: MEDIUM Priority/MEDIUM Task (C2) Use of R-L-M, Low Density Multi -Family, Zone: HIGH Priority/EASY Task (0) Affordable Housing Support Groups: HIGH Priority/EASY Task (C4) Revise Affordable Housing Projects Staff Reports: HIGH Priority/MEDIUM Task (C5) Change Zoning Code on Accessory Dwelling Units: MEDIUM Priority/HARD Task (C6) Change Zoning Code on Two Detached Dwelling Units: MEDIUM Priority/HARD Task (C7) Revise Overall Development Plan (ODP) Review: MEDIUM Priority/MEDIUM Task (C8) Change Zoning Code Re: Family Size/Impact Mitigation: HIGH Priority/HARD Task AH Board Meeting Minutes October 27, 1993 Page 5 (Dl) Reduce Right -of -Way Width Standard/Local Streets: HIGH Priority/EASY Task (132) Reduce Right -of -Way Width Standard/Collector Streets: HIGH Priority/EASY Task (133) Affordable Housing Developer/Utility Dept Coordination: HIGH Priority/EASY Task (134) Alternative/Innovative Utility Service: MEDIUM Priority/MEDIUM Task (D5) Building Code/Cost Implication Review: MEDIUM Priority/MEDIUM Task EIAPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES (LISTING BY RANI) RL"iaw—t i / B2 Development Fee Collection Delay C2 Use of R-L-M, Low Density Multi -Family, Zone C3 Affordable Housing Support Groups Dl Reduce Right -of -Way Width Standard/Local Streets D2 Reduce Right -of -Way Width Standard/Collector Streets D3 Affordable Housing Developer/Utility Department Coordination F. Tffl 0. 0 a 1 lul__.11I� A2 Affordable Housing Board A3 Housing Trust Fund Initial RFP Bl Affordable Housing Provider Development Fee Funding C4 Revise Affordable Housing Projects Staff Reports Al Housing Trust Fund C8 Change Zoning Code Re: Family Size/Impact Mitigation A4 Comprehensive Trust Fund Program Cl Revise PUD Preliminary Plan Requirements C7 Revise Overall Development Plan (ODP) Review D4 Alternative/Innovative Utility Service Methods AH Board Meeting Minutes October 27, 1993 Page 6 C5 Change Zoning Code on Accessory Dwelling Units C6 Change Zoning Code on Two Detached Dwelling Units D5 Building Code/Cost Implication Review W �61ML 0i 1.3 -11 16BI1_;_.A Ken Waido informed the Board that the Draft Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) would be available as of November 2, 1993. He also noted that a public hearing on the document was being scheduled for Tuesday, November 23, 1993 at 6:30 p.m. in the Ben Delatour Room, Fort Collins Public Library. Mr. Waido said that there were 14 priorities in the document; he had given each of those priorities a numerical ranking based on public input received. Ken Waido told Board members that they might be asked to re -rank those priorities based on comments received during the CHAS' public review process. V. A. Permanent Meeting Day/Time Ken Waido presented the Board with several options for a permanent meeting day and time. B. Joint Meeting with CDBG Commission Based on Board member Sibbald's previous request, Mr. Waido told the group that he had tentatively set a joint meeting time with the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Commission for Thursday, December 8th. Member Sibbald said that he had also wanted other agencies such as the Fort Collins Housing Authority and the Larimer County Affordable Housing Task Force in attendance. He clarified that the intent was to get all the "players" at the same table, communicate and avoid duplication of effort. There was some group discussion on which entities to involve at this point in time. Mr. Sibbald said that he had wanted to include Larimer County for two reasons: 1) the County is doing an extensive housing study; and 2) to coordinate "entitlement community" efforts. AH Board Meeting Minutes October 27, 1993 Page 7 C. Other Items Mary Cosgrove announced to the group that HUD was sponsoring an Affordable Housing seminar in Denver on October 28th. 2. One of the meeting handouts was a letter from Rusty Collins, Faculty member at CSU, stating the availability of an "Accessibility Guide" for rental housing in Fort Collins. Mr. Sibbald requested a copy of the document due to its potential de -in with the CHAS. Board member Craig Welling offered to contact Mr. Collins, obtain a copy, and see if Mr. Collins might speak at one of the Board's meetings. The meeting adjourned at 6:07 p.m. C:\AHBOARD\OCT27MTU.MIN 11/93:hep