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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommunity Development Block Grant Commission - Minutes - 07/12/2012COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING AND PUBLIC HEARING AND JOINT MEETING SEGMENT WITH AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD 281 N. COLLEGE AVE., FORT COLLINS MINUTES July 12, 2012, 5:30 p.m. COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT: COMMISSION MEMBERS ABSENT: Kay Rios, Chair Anita Basham Catherine Costlow Robert Browning Jamaal Curry Gordon Coombes Margaret Long Emily Sander OTHERS PRESENT: Kristin Stephens Affordable Housing Board Members Dan Byers, Chair STAFF PRESENT: Troy Jones Heidi Phelps Karen Miller Beth Rosen Mike Sollenberger Sharon Thomas Wayne Thompson Ken Waido BBC Research and Consulting Heidi Aggeler Jen Garner Others Bill Reinke, ED, CARE Housing Ray Roth, citizen Kate Jeracki, Note Taker The meeting was called to order by Chair Kay Rios at 5:35 p.m. JOINT MEETING SEGMENT WITH AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD TO REVIEW ANALYSIS OF IMPEDIMENTS TO FAIR HOUSING CHOICE (AI) PUBLIC COMMENT Bill Reinke, Executive Director, CARE Housing, addressed the Commission and the Affordable Housing Board about concerns regarding how his organization is represented in the Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice. He also submitted his comments in writing to both the Commission and the Board. ANALYSIS OF IMPEDIMENTS TO FAIR HOUSING CHOICE Heidi Phelps provided an overview of the Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice (AI) document. The purpose of the document, which is required by HUD every five years as a 2 condition of providing funds to the City, is to determine whether barriers to obtaining housing or discrimination against protected classes exist in Fort Collins. BBC Research and Consulting of Denver was hired to create the AI. Consultants reviewed everything the City does with housing, assessed both availability and affordability of housing in Fort Collins, and studied policies of both public and private housing providers. Public input was gathered through workshops, surveys, focus groups and stakeholder meetings. The AI identified four Impediments and two Observations regarding housing choice in Fort Collins. In addition, the Fair Housing Action Plan recommended action in six areas to improve the fair housing environment in the community. Impediments are direct or indirect causes of restricted housing availability, while Observations have no direct link to housing availability. Phelps said this was an improvement over the study done in 2007, which found 10 impediments. The four Impediments: 1. Some housing discrimination occurs in Fort Collins, especially for low-income residents. 2. Hispanics have much higher mortgage loan denial rates than non-Hispanics. Ms. Phelps said City staff challenged the consultants on whether this means there is discrimination in lending or if issues such cultural factors come into play (such as Hispanics being more likely than other groups to be unbanked), which affects qualification of mortgage loans. She added that staff needs to do a better job getting the word out about existing programs that can help bridge lending gaps for potential homeowners. 3. Lack of affordable housing disproportionately affects some protected classes, especially persons with disabilities. 4. Fair housing awareness and knowledge could be improved. The two Observations: 1. Some residents perceive an inequitable distribution of resources and public amenities. Heidi Phelps said data shows the northern part of town actually has more parks than the southeast, and while the city tries to be equitable, staff needs to do a better job telling the City’s story. At the same time, some parts of the city still have dirt streets with no curb or gutter (such as on the west side of N. College Avenue), which she views as unconscionable. It’s an issue that requires the political will of the community to address. 2. Some elements of the Land Use Code could be improved. These included better language in the Code such as the definition of disability, neighborhood zoning issues that may be pressuring affordability, and the convoluted treatment of overnight shelters. The six action areas suggested in the Fair Housing Action Plan: 3 1. Improve the housing environment for persons with disabilities. This area includes not only constructing more visitable units, but also doing a better job getting the word out that such units are available. 2. Strengthen fair housing information, educational and training opportunities. 3. Support efforts to improve residents’ creditworthiness. 4. Continue efforts to pursue infrastructure and public amenity equity. 5. Continue efforts to make community amenities accessible to all residents. 6. Make improvements to Land Use Code. Ms. Phelps said the next steps are to communicate the findings of the AI to City departments and stakeholders and be proactive in collaborating, given the resources available. Staff also hopes to add some great fair housing information and helpful links to the City’s website. The CDBG Commission and Affordable Housing Board will soon begin reviewing applications for the Fall cycle of the Competitive Process, and should take fair housing components into consideration. Chair Kay Rios opened the discussion up to questions. In reference to the concerns from CARE Housing, Heidi Aggeler of BBC said the team will consider making changes to the document based on the information provided. Rios said the summary of the document did not contain specific numbers or percentage of respondents, and while the specifics are in the complete document, she would like to see more detail included in the snapshot that will be read by the most people. Members of both the Commission and Board agreed. Beth Rosen said it would be important for the document to note that Hispanics, a protected class, has a higher poverty rate, which is a factor in mortgage denial. Heidi Aggeler said BBC hasn’t seen as big a gap between groups with the decline of subprime lending. Income can be a proxy for creditworthiness, but the denial rate is something to keep an eye on to make sure there isn’t something else going on in the market. Mike Sollenberger shared that he had difficult in understanding the reported lack of accessible units, when, as a landlord of hundreds of units, he has found the accessible units the most difficult to fill. Rosen said the Bridges and Circles programs, sponsored by the Bohemian Foundation, are looking at cultural issues of poverty, and financial literacy classes are available through CSU Extension and other sources. The important message to communicate is that if you want middle-class success – for example, a home mortgage – you need to play by middle-class rules – using credit wisely to build a FICO score. Sharon Thomas pointed out that living on cash makes it hard to build a credit history. 4 Dan Byers said that in today’s regulatory climate, it’s almost impossible for lenders to discriminate, but lending parameters make it harder for borrowers to fit in the eligibility box. Kay Rios said as a City, we have to make sure we are doing what we can to reach out to as many people as we can so they understand their options. Jamaal Curry said that it is ultimately the individual’s decision and responsibility to take the initiative. Ms. Phelps will send copies of any public input received on the draft AI to members of both the Commission and the Board after the public comment period closes on August 8th and before the final version is sent to HUD in August. Affordable Housing Board adjourned at 6:35 and members departed. APPROVAL OF MINUTES June 2012 Minutes: Kay Rios asked that the wording: “Kay Rios pointed out that while state law says housing authorities are exempt from fees and taxes, it is up to the City to say which fees” be changed to “… it is up to the City determine which fees.” Margaret Long moved to approve the minutes of the June 14, 2012, meeting as corrected. Emily Stephens seconded; passed unanimously. PUBLIC HEARING ON ANNUAL ACTION PLAN Chair Kay Rios adjourned the regular Commission meeting and opened the public hearing at 6:40 p.m. There were no public comments. Heidi Phelps reminded Commission members that any additional comments can be forwarded to her via email through the closing date of August 8th. The final plan must be submitted to HUD by August 15th, so the sooner comments can be received, the better. Chair Rios adjourned the public hearing and reopened the regular Commission meeting at 6:45 p.m. STAFF UPDATES Letter to Merten, Inc.: Beth Rosen presented a copy of a letter sent to Merten, Inc., dated July 9th, de-allocating CDBG funds for the Union Place development in north Fort Collins. As a result, the funds--about 750 thousand dollars--will be available in the Fall cycle of the Competitive Process, or the monies could be held over until the Spring cycle. Rosen also said the Fort Collins Housing Authority could switch out the Affordable Housing Fund money granted by City Council from this past Spring’s cycle and use some of these CDBG funds instead. Kay Rios said she would like to see a breakdown of funds available in writing. Sharon Thomas said she could put together a matrix of available funds within the month, and note where they 5 can and can’t be used. Applications for the Fall cycle are due August 16 th , and are planned to be available to Commission members on September 6th. Legacy Senior Residences: Beth Rosen reported that the Save the Poudre group is challenging the environmental impact study for Legacy Senior Residences, an affordable housing project at 360 Linden St. The study, completed a year ago, showed the project would have no significant impact on the river. The group says it would, and is appealing to HUD to stop funding the project. Heidi Phelps said the development proposal followed both federal and city approval processes, and that development has always been planned for the south side of the river. Kay Rios pointed out the protest is misplaced. Women’s Resource Center: Sharon Thomas presented a request from the Women’s Resource Center Dental Connections to change how the program can spend its 2011 grant of $32,890. They are having trouble spending the $12,000 allocated for dental lab fees because most of the lab fees come from the need for dentures. Participating dentists are not willing/able to donate as much time as is needed to make and fit dentures. WRC proposed a number of possible solutions, including: reallocating the lab fees portion of the grant to the case worker’s salary; using it to pay for community outreach; reimbursing dentists for their supplies and expenses associated with dentures; or paying the dentists for their time when they provide dentures. Kay Rios said she didn’t want to increase the case worker’s salary or have dentists on the payroll, either. Kristen Stephens said she would support whatever combination gets help to the most people. Margaret Long said she was involved in the inception of Dental Connections, and a lot of work went into not paying dentists but in giving them some reimbursement instead. She added that the program is still in its infancy, and they will have to keep experimenting with the system. Rios said she would like to see more specifics on what the remaining $10,000 could buy, in writing. Since the WRC must spend the money by September, the Commission agreed to weigh in by email once the specifics are provided. Sharon Thomas said the Commission should also look at the funds provided for 2012 to see if adjustments are needed as well. OTHER Sharon Thomas gave the Commission a briefing on a financial situation at the Rehabilitation and Visiting Nurse Association (RVNA) that, while serious, she said would have no impact on the current grant or the grant awarded in the 2012 Spring cycle of the Competitive Process. NEXT MEETING The August 9th meeting will likely be canceled. The next meeting is Thursday, September 13th, 6:30 p.m., 281 N. College Ave., Conference Room A, and will include a public hearing. Meeting adjourned at 7:20 p.m.