HomeMy WebLinkAboutWORK SESSION SUMMARY-07/13/2021-Work Session (5)
Social Sustainability
222 Laporte Ave.
PO Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522
970.221.6758
MEMORANDUM
DATE: July 16, 2021
TO: Mayor and City Council
THRU: Darin Atteberry, City Manager
Kyle Stannert, Deputy City Manager
Affordable Housing Executive Team1
FROM: Meaghan Overton, Housing Manager
RE: July 13, 2021 Work Session Summary: Housing Strategic Plan Implementation
Update
The purpose of this item was to seek Council feedback on implementation progress for the
Housing Strategic Plan (HSP). This update included a summary of current housing policy direction
as adopted in the HSP (March 2021), an overview of early implementation progress for priority
HSP strategies, and an outline of next steps and future Council involvement. Mayor Arndt and
Councilmember Pignataro were absent. All other Councilmembers were present.
Feedback
Overall: Support for the approach to HSP implementation and to key initiatives including Equity and
Opportunity Assessment, Land Use Code Phase 1 Updates, Occupancy and Rental Programming,
and Revenue for Affordable Housing.
Specific Feedback
• Support for the key initiatives underway, with a desire to ensure that projects continue to
move forward. In particular, some Councilmembers expressed a desire for the current
Council to adopt Land Use Code changes and to consider accelerating the timeline for the
revenue discussion.
• Questions about the City’s role in the housing system , and encouragement to consider
impacts to landlords as a critical part of the Occupancy and Rental Programming work.
• Support for strengthening partnerships with Community Development Financial Institutions
(CDFI) and other partners in the finance sector.
• Appreciation for staff’s work to date and for providing background information about the
HSP and the City’s housing policies.
• Appreciation for “good news” updates about the activities of the MetroDPA down payment
assistance program (11 loans in the last 2 months) and new programs like Impact
Development Fund’s Single-Family Acquisition/Rehab (SFAR) program.
Follow-up Questions and Clarifications
• Clarification: What is the estimated funding gap?
1 Jackie Kozak Thiel, Chief Sustainability Officer; Theresa Connor, Interim Utilities Executive Director; Caryn
Champine, Planning, Development, and Transportation (PDT) Director; Julie Brewen, Housing Catalyst Executive
Director; Dave Lenz, Finance Planning and Analysis Director; Beth Sowder, Social Sustainability Director
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2
o Response: Staff noted an estimated funding gap of $8 -9 million a year during the
Work Session discussion. This is an annual gap, and considers only the estimated
need to support the development of about 282 affordable homes per year from 2021
onward. If the gap in affordable housing production from 2015-2020 is included, the
HSP Existing Conditions Assessment (pg 52) estimates that the historic funding gap
would require roughly $28 million to “catch up” in addition to the estimated annual
funding gap.
• Question: Can the City use vouchers or develop a voucher program?
o Response: The City’s designated housing authority, Housing Catalyst, does
administer the federal Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program. In total, Housing
Catalyst manages and administers 1,090 vouchers in Fort Collins, about half of
which are “special purpose” vouchers targeted to households that have been
experiencing homelessne ss or other specific circumstances.
• Question: Can staff provide a memo about HB 1117 and whether this legislative change
alters the City’s 2020 study on inclusionary housing feasibility?
o Response: Staff will follow up with this information in a separate memo by the end of
July.
Next Steps
• Regular memo updates as deliverables are completed for key initiatives .
• Fall discussion with Council Finance Committee about revenue options for community
priorities including housing, parks maintenance, and transit.
• Two fall Work Sessions: The first work session will discuss potential scope, sequencing and
approaches to Occupancy and Rental Programming work; and the second will discuss
approaches and concepts for the Land Use Code Phase 1 (housing -related) changes.
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