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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAffordable Housing Board - Minutes - 09/05/2019AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING September 5, 2019, 4:00-6:00pm Colorado River Room, 222 Laporte Ave 9/5/2019 – MINUTES Page 1 1. CALL TO ORDER: 4:06 2. ROLL CALL • Board Members Present: Jen Bray, Catherine Costlow, Jeff Johnson, Rachel Auldridge • Board Members Absent: Diane Cohn, Kristin Fritz, Curt Lyons [resigned] • Staff Members Present: Sue Beck-Ferkiss, Brittany Depew • Guests: Bob Pawlikowski, Nick Francis, Debbie Mayer, Kathy Dubiel, Marilyn Heller 3. AGENDA REVIEW A) Jen would like to add a Development Fee update 4. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION a) None 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Rachel moved to approve July minutes. Catherine seconded. Approved unanimously 4-0-0. 6. PRESENTATIONS AND DISCUSSIONS A. U+2 Occupancy Rule, board discussion continued Affordable Housing Board could submit memo to Council suggesting that exceptions be made for programs like HomeShare. Jen shared update from Development Fee group related to Occupancy Ordinance—found extra occupancy process was underfunded. It currently costs $500 to apply for this permit and, in order to recoup costs, it needs to be closer to $1,700. Found that it requires approximately 20 staff hours per permit. Questions/Q&A: • Jen: Someone at the meeting shared that they had applied for an extra occupancy permit—had to do a waterflow test, hire someone to make blueprint of the home, plus the permit fee. o Jeff: Did they get the permit? AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 9/5/2019 – MINUTES Page 2 o Jen: It took 3 or 4 months, but yes. • Jeff: Who holds the public hearing for these permits? o Sue: Is it a hearing officer? o Jen: Or it might be Planning & Zoning Board • Sue: There’s nothing currently in front of Council around U+2. o Jen: I think it would be worth mentioning to Council that it would be a great time to review the occupancy process in general. They have reviewed and streamlined other processes in the past. o Sue: It’s a great recommendation that they review the process and consider simplifying it to encourage the program and discuss if there could be exemptions.  Jen: Right, like for nonprofits.  Jeff: Exemptions are a good thing, but not if they’re in place and the problematic structure remains.  Sue: The benefit of a nonprofit exemption is that neighbors would have someone else to discuss concerns with. • Catherine: This may not be the place to spend our political capital, at least not right now. o Jen: It may be worth rolling our feedback into the conclusions from the development fee study group. • Catherine: Where do you find information about the process for getting this permit? I’d like to read about it. o Sue: I would search on the Planning, Development & Transportation (PDT) website. B. Metro District Conversation, Board Discussion continued The current policy around metro districts is negotiation-based; if people want this privilege, they have to provide stretch goals and the City works with them on what might be acceptable to Council before moving forward. This Tuesday night, a metro district was brought forward to Council and it was pushed for another two weeks because of some concern over parts of the agreement, and there might be a work session scheduled in the near future. Questions/Q&A: • Jen: It sounds like in Josh’s memo, he hits on specific concerns about rigid requirements. o Sue: Josh has said in the past it might be helpful to have one metro district go forward under current requirements and see how it goes. • Jen: These agreements are approved. What’s keeping them from moving forward? o Sue: Nothing. The just have to go back to Council before starting the project. I think if they have their Development Agreement approved, they AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 9/5/2019 – MINUTES Page 3 can issue debt. I did speak with Waterfield about their project—giving us all homeownership, intend to build the affordable housing in their first phase. o Jen: Is it going to be a trust? o Sue: They’re considering it, but it’s not set. The benefit to the City is they stay affordable for much longer. • Jen: I’d like to get Josh in here again, as we’re getting closer to some of these moving forward. o Sue: Let me talk to Josh about where things are. There might be a work session scheduled soon. o Jeff: Would the work session be changing policy? o Sue: I think it would be reviewing the process. o Jeff: Do metro districts with approved service plans know they can move forward with the requirements agreed to? Or could those change? o Sue: Requirements that have already been agreed to would not be changed. This would be changing for future metro districts. • Sue: I think people are aiming at the November election. After that date, there will be a chunk of time where no one can move forward, so that will be a good time to focus more on the process. o Jen: November 2020 election? o Sue: Northfield is coming back to Council in two weeks and will be seeking an election this November. If that timing doesn’t work, then yes, we’d be looking at 2020. • Jen: I agree with staff’s recommendation in their memo to Council. • Sue: In relation to our affordable housing goals, metro districts are a tool to get us there. C. Affordable Housing Board Agendas & Priorities, Board Discussion – including review of 2019 Work Plan Kristin is doing an Affordable Housing 101 presentation for the City, but we were talking about repeating that for us. It could be prioritized this fall—what else? DMA Plaza tour may be this year or next January. The board also discussed the City Clerk’s Office questionnaire. After it’s complete, they will schedule a time for Councilmember Gorgol to come review the responses with the board. Comments/Q&A: • Sue: What are our must-dos for the rest of the year? o Jen: One thing we need to be thinking about is the Affordable Housing Plan update. o Sue: The Public Health and Environment grant is going to be our vehicle for working on the plan, but it just started on July 1. There will be some outreach this year but more starting next year. We will have to reevaluate if AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 9/5/2019 – MINUTES Page 4 10% at buildout is where our goal should be. The grant is about implementing City policy to benefit housing and health, but it looks at attainable housing up to 120% as well. • Rachel: Can we do a Land Bank tour next year? o Sue: Yes. That’s pretty easy since it’s mostly vacant land. We are looking at trying to purchase another property. We had one offer out that was not accepted, so we’re continuing to look. • Sue: We did enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with Elevations Land Trust. Their options are either development or buy existing properties (type is very flexible). They have capital and can bring some gap money to the table but it takes all players. o Jen: And they manage the site? o Sue: Yes. They own the land, lease is to the homeowner, certify the buyers and price. This would help us get some permanently affordable units, unless we are able to build our own with Land Bank. But the City is pretty much at capacity for managing and certifying, so now we’re looking to our partners. It is very difficult to make permanent affordable housing work. 7. BUSINESS a) Council Comments—not discussed b) Review 2019 Work Plan—discussed above c) Open Board Discussion Reimagining Boards & Commissions: Curt has resigned, Jeff is term-limited at the end of the year, and Kristin is up for renewal. The City Clerk’s office is not currently filling board positions unless it’s a matter of quorum. There is a work session on September 26 to do a periodic review. d) Liaison Reports—Jen discusses Development Fee Working Group below 8. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS a) Development Fee Updates—Jen Bray The group will come in and present more final numbers, but the overview is that building permit fees would be going down almost 50% because it will be based on square footage rather than valuation. Where the more challenging changes occur are when a development is proposed, and more fees are required up front. Hartford Homes feedback was that Capital Expansion Fees were a huge hit to them, but this change didn’t feel like a big deal. For the average homeowner, they’re changing a few things to make them a simple flat fee. They AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 9/5/2019 – MINUTES Page 5 wouldn’t implement these fees until probably February 2020. • Sue: Did they give you any tangible examples? o Jen: I asked them to do Village on Redwood and she’ll be adding that in there o Sue: That’s a great choice because I think the waiver on that was pretty small o Jen: They’re also in the Fort Collins water district. They might also look at Mason Place. • Jeff: Does residential go up on planning or permitting? o Jen: It goes up for planning and down for permitting, with a net difference of +2% • Catherine: Any sense if they’ll take that employee information and address their efficiency? o Jen: I think that was part of the calculation—considering how some of these processes could be streamlined • Jeff: The planning fees are going to double across the board? o Jen: The planning increases pretty substantially. Development review process is challenging. o Jeff: That’s a pretty shocking number. I would look at the timing of the planning fee, and if the City is going to be collecting all that up front. o Sue: You do get one conceptual for free. o Jeff: I’d rather pay more for a permit because I know I’ll get the permit; I don’t want to pay more for the planning because it may not go through. This does demonstrate, though, that there’s a lot of planning activity going on in the City. 9. OTHER BUSINESS a) Update on Affordable Housing Projects—not discussed b) Future AHB Meetings Agenda • Need to move October and December meetings—new dates will be Tuesday, October 15 and Thursday, December 12 c) City Council Six-Month Planning Calendar—not discussed 10. ADJOURNMENT: 6:04 AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING September 5, 2019, 4:00-6:00pm Colorado River Room, 222 Laporte Ave 9/5/2019 – MINUTES Page 1 1. CALL TO ORDER: 4:06 2. ROLL CALL • Board Members Present: Jen Bray, Catherine Costlow, Jeff Johnson, Rachel Auldridge • Board Members Absent: Diane Cohn, Kristin Fritz, Curt Lyons [resigned] • Staff Members Present: Sue Beck-Ferkiss, Brittany Depew • Guests: Bob Pawlikowski, Nick Francis, Debbie Mayer, Kathy Dubiel, Marilyn Heller 3. AGENDA REVIEW A) Jen would like to add a Development Fee update 4. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION a) None 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Rachel moved to approve July minutes. Catherine seconded. Approved unanimously 4-0-0. 6. PRESENTATIONS AND DISCUSSIONS A. U+2 Occupancy Rule, board discussion continued Affordable Housing Board could submit memo to Council suggesting that exceptions be made for programs like HomeShare. Jen shared update from Development Fee group related to Occupancy Ordinance—found extra occupancy process was underfunded. It currently costs $500 to apply for this permit and, in order to recoup costs, it needs to be closer to $1,700. Found that it requires approximately 20 staff hours per permit. Questions/Q&A: • Jen: Someone at the meeting shared that they had applied for an extra occupancy permit—had to do a waterflow test, hire someone to make blueprint of the home, plus the permit fee. o Jeff: Did they get the permit? AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 9/5/2019 – MINUTES Page 2 o Jen: It took 3 or 4 months, but yes. • Jeff: Who holds the public hearing for these permits? o Sue: Is it a hearing officer? o Jen: Or it might be Planning & Zoning Board • Sue: There’s nothing currently in front of Council around U+2. o Jen: I think it would be worth mentioning to Council that it would be a great time to review the occupancy process in general. They have reviewed and streamlined other processes in the past. o Sue: It’s a great recommendation that they review the process and consider simplifying it to encourage the program and discuss if there could be exemptions.  Jen: Right, like for nonprofits.  Jeff: Exemptions are a good thing, but not if they’re in place and the problematic structure remains.  Sue: The benefit of a nonprofit exemption is that neighbors would have someone else to discuss concerns with. • Catherine: This may not be the place to spend our political capital, at least not right now. o Jen: It may be worth rolling our feedback into the conclusions from the development fee study group. • Catherine: Where do you find information about the process for getting this permit? I’d like to read about it. o Sue: I would search on the Planning, Development & Transportation (PDT) website. B. Metro District Conversation, Board Discussion continued The current policy around metro districts is negotiation-based; if people want this privilege, they have to provide stretch goals and the City works with them on what might be acceptable to Council before moving forward. This Tuesday night, a metro district was brought forward to Council and it was pushed for another two weeks because of some concern over parts of the agreement, and there might be a work session scheduled in the near future. Questions/Q&A: • Jen: It sounds like in Josh’s memo, he hits on specific concerns about rigid requirements. o Sue: Josh has said in the past it might be helpful to have one metro district go forward under current requirements and see how it goes. • Jen: These agreements are approved. What’s keeping them from moving forward? o Sue: Nothing. The just have to go back to Council before starting the project. I think if they have their Development Agreement approved, they AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 9/5/2019 – MINUTES Page 3 can issue debt. I did speak with Waterfield about their project—giving us all homeownership, intend to build the affordable housing in their first phase. o Jen: Is it going to be a trust? o Sue: They’re considering it, but it’s not set. The benefit to the City is they stay affordable for much longer. • Jen: I’d like to get Josh in here again, as we’re getting closer to some of these moving forward. o Sue: Let me talk to Josh about where things are. There might be a work session scheduled soon. o Jeff: Would the work session be changing policy? o Sue: I think it would be reviewing the process. o Jeff: Do metro districts with approved service plans know they can move forward with the requirements agreed to? Or could those change? o Sue: Requirements that have already been agreed to would not be changed. This would be changing for future metro districts. • Sue: I think people are aiming at the November election. After that date, there will be a chunk of time where no one can move forward, so that will be a good time to focus more on the process. o Jen: November 2020 election? o Sue: Northfield is coming back to Council in two weeks and will be seeking an election this November. If that timing doesn’t work, then yes, we’d be looking at 2020. • Jen: I agree with staff’s recommendation in their memo to Council. • Sue: In relation to our affordable housing goals, metro districts are a tool to get us there. C. Affordable Housing Board Agendas & Priorities, Board Discussion – including review of 2019 Work Plan Kristin is doing an Affordable Housing 101 presentation for the City, but we were talking about repeating that for us. It could be prioritized this fall—what else? DMA Plaza tour may be this year or next January. The board also discussed the City Clerk’s Office questionnaire. After it’s complete, they will schedule a time for Councilmember Gorgol to come review the responses with the board. Comments/Q&A: • Sue: What are our must-dos for the rest of the year? o Jen: One thing we need to be thinking about is the Affordable Housing Plan update. o Sue: The Public Health and Environment grant is going to be our vehicle for working on the plan, but it just started on July 1. There will be some outreach this year but more starting next year. We will have to reevaluate if AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 9/5/2019 – MINUTES Page 4 10% at buildout is where our goal should be. The grant is about implementing City policy to benefit housing and health, but it looks at attainable housing up to 120% as well. • Rachel: Can we do a Land Bank tour next year? o Sue: Yes. That’s pretty easy since it’s mostly vacant land. We are looking at trying to purchase another property. We had one offer out that was not accepted, so we’re continuing to look. • Sue: We did enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with Elevations Land Trust. Their options are either development or buy existing properties (type is very flexible). They have capital and can bring some gap money to the table but it takes all players. o Jen: And they manage the site? o Sue: Yes. They own the land, lease is to the homeowner, certify the buyers and price. This would help us get some permanently affordable units, unless we are able to build our own with Land Bank. But the City is pretty much at capacity for managing and certifying, so now we’re looking to our partners. It is very difficult to make permanent affordable housing work. 7. BUSINESS a) Council Comments—not discussed b) Review 2019 Work Plan—discussed above c) Open Board Discussion Reimagining Boards & Commissions: Curt has resigned, Jeff is term-limited at the end of the year, and Kristin is up for renewal. The City Clerk’s office is not currently filling board positions unless it’s a matter of quorum. There is a work session on September 26 to do a periodic review. d) Liaison Reports—Jen discusses Development Fee Working Group below 8. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS a) Development Fee Updates—Jen Bray The group will come in and present more final numbers, but the overview is that building permit fees would be going down almost 50% because it will be based on square footage rather than valuation. Where the more challenging changes occur are when a development is proposed, and more fees are required up front. Hartford Homes feedback was that Capital Expansion Fees were a huge hit to them, but this change didn’t feel like a big deal. For the average homeowner, they’re changing a few things to make them a simple flat fee. They AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REGULAR MEETING 9/5/2019 – MINUTES Page 5 wouldn’t implement these fees until probably February 2020. • Sue: Did they give you any tangible examples? o Jen: I asked them to do Village on Redwood and she’ll be adding that in there o Sue: That’s a great choice because I think the waiver on that was pretty small o Jen: They’re also in the Fort Collins water district. They might also look at Mason Place. • Jeff: Does residential go up on planning or permitting? o Jen: It goes up for planning and down for permitting, with a net difference of +2% • Catherine: Any sense if they’ll take that employee information and address their efficiency? o Jen: I think that was part of the calculation—considering how some of these processes could be streamlined • Jeff: The planning fees are going to double across the board? o Jen: The planning increases pretty substantially. Development review process is challenging. o Jeff: That’s a pretty shocking number. I would look at the timing of the planning fee, and if the City is going to be collecting all that up front. o Sue: You do get one conceptual for free. o Jeff: I’d rather pay more for a permit because I know I’ll get the permit; I don’t want to pay more for the planning because it may not go through. This does demonstrate, though, that there’s a lot of planning activity going on in the City. 9. OTHER BUSINESS a) Update on Affordable Housing Projects—not discussed b) Future AHB Meetings Agenda • Need to move October and December meetings—new dates will be Tuesday, October 15 and Thursday, December 12 c) City Council Six-Month Planning Calendar—not discussed 10. ADJOURNMENT: 6:04