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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHousing Catalyst - Minutes - 02/07/19770 0 DATE TO: FROM: M E M O R A N D U M March 3, 1977 The Fort Collins Housing Authority Mary Ann Kennaugh, Secretary RE: Minutes of the February 7, 1977 special meeting of the Housing Authority with City Council I. Call to Order Called to Order by Mayor Wilkinson at 7:30 p.m. in the Community Building, 171.5 'West Mountain Avenue. II. Role Call Members Present: Pete Sanchez Nancy McComb Al Kruchten Mary Klopfenstein Charlie Muenzberg Guests: Earl Wilkinson Arvid Bloom Dick Suinn Chuck Bowling Peggy Reeves Nancy Grey Staff: John D. McGraw, Executive Director Wayne Taylor, Asst. for housing Management Mary Ann Kennaugh, Secretary Jim Woods, Housing Rehabilitation Director Robert L. Brunton, City Manager Roy Bi.ngman Bill Waldo John DeHaas, KCOL Jake Henshaw, Coloradoan Lou Stitz.el, Neighbor -to -Neighbor Kay Uriev Theodoratus, Neighbor -to -Neighbor Packets containing agenda item materials were distributed (see packets). City Manager Brunton gave a brief overview of the meetings agenda and topics to be discussed: 1) Overview of the Fort Collins Housing situation. 2) The Housing Rehabilitation Program 3) The Fort Collins Housing Authority 4) A Fort Collins housing code 5) City staff functions in the housing field Jim Woods, Housing Rehabilitation Director, reviewed and summarized a memo sent to City Manager Brunton from himself and John McGraw regarding the status of housing assistance fbr low-income persons in the City (See Packets): The Fort Collins Housing Authority Minutes of February 7, 1977 meeting Page Two - Inadequate Housing, based on H.U.D. standards, involves the following factors: 1) Housing that Is physically substandard. 2) Housing units with more than 1.2 persons per room. 3) Rent payments; in excess of 25% of the family's gross income. - Community development funds provide a significant source of income for the City (the City is eligible for approximately $2.1 million through 1980) and a mandatory requirement for receipt of these funds is the submission of a Housing Assistance Plan. Woods indicated the 1977 Plan would be submitted to Council, along with the appli- cation for community development funds, at their March 8, 1977 meeting. The Housing Assistance Plan is an assessment of community housing needs and must have one (1) and three (3) year goals; and, the Plan for 1977 should be very similar to the one for 1976. He further stated that H.U.D. has indicated 1977 as the "year of performance" and use of community development funds will be closely scrutinized. - Woods indicated that except for elderly housing, the Section 8 Program is not working well and there will likely be some reassessment of the program in the future. - Of funds for family housing to be available next year, funding for only 150 units is available to Colorado. - Councilman Bowling: "How do we entice private developers to go into the family (housing) market?" - Charlie t'uenzberg replied that developers currently need more mortgage dollars (which would help to ensure dispersal) through such things as: 1) credit on real estate taxes 2) utility tap fee abatements City Manager Brunton indicated that tap fees will not be used as an incentive., It was suggested that perhaps commmunity development or revenue sharing funds could be utilized to pay tap fees. A positive community attitude was also felt to be important in terms of encouraging developers to build family housing. - Regarding the Section 8 Program: Councilman Suinn: "Do we have some assurance that Section 8 New Construction will not be creating a slum?" John McGraw: "Limited success of Section 8 is related to such things as ontreprenual concerns about family housing slum problems experienced in the east and construction costs vs. low fair market rents. City Building Code enforcement, Public Housing dispersal, good management with social services and increased Fair Market Rents should help in avoiding slums and increasing housing production. (Bowling: "What would raising the Fair Market Rents do to the base rent level in the community?") No effect, the Fair Market Rents are currently below the community level. r The Fort Collins Housing Authority Minutes of February.7, 1977 meeting Page Three - Councilman Suinn: "Does low-income housing attract more low-income people to a particular area?° Jim Woods: "They come more for employment and econimic opportunity,, reasons." - Councilman Bloom: "In terms of current staffing, etc. can Fort Collins handle more housing units? Are we going to be creating problems by over -accelerating this program? What is the history of success/failure of these programs in other cities? John McGraw: "The housing problems are already here; provision of low-income housing is helping to solve some of the problems in the community as a whole. A 50-100 unit Housing Authority is a liability because it requires the same staff size to manage 100 units as it does to manage 200 units. hHA income increases with every added housing unit. History of success or failure varies from community to community, but Greeley and Boulder are examples of currently successful housing programs in citiee near the size of Fort Collins. - Community development funds currently can be used under the Rehab- ilitation Program to demolish property and clear the lot, but not for new construction. Possible uses for 1977 cor;,nunity development funds include replacement and rehabilitation of existing units. John McGraw: "We need to look at and discuss a housing code for Fort Collins; it will give needed leverage to get people interested in rehabilitating their properties. We will not be able to meet all our housing needs with just one program. A multi -level approach with variations of rehabilitation supported by a Housing Code and new construction will help disperse low-income people, thus creating better social interactions and opportunities. John McGraw gave a general view of what the Housing Authority is doing. The Housing Authority goal is to provide decent housing and back it up with social programs. - City Council has indicated support for the Housing Authority dispersal policy. If a situation arizes where alternatives are locating a large number of units on one site or not receiving the units at all, then the Housing Authority and the City Council should meet to discuss the situation. - Agenda packets, as distributed, were discussed. In reference to a few houses on Meldrum Street owned by the City which are being sold and relocated Neighbor -to -Neighbor requested purchase of one of the houses to be used for: 1) office space for the agency 2) an indoor recreation center 3) temporary housing for people whose properties are being substantially rehabilitated. r The Fort Collins }lousing Authority Minutes of February 7, 1977 meeting Page Four Other suggested uses of these houses include their use in the Rehabilitation Program. IV. Closing discussions centered around the establishment of a Fort Collins Housing Code. A housing code will hopefully work toward eliminating substandard housing and the cycle wherein low-income people may move out of substandard housing into decent housing but other low-income people tend to replace them in the substandard units. "The question is not whether we should or should not have a housing code; rather, what kind we should have." V. Meeting adjourned at 10:30 p.m.