HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Futures Committee - 01/11/2021 -1
MINUTES
CITY OF FORT COLLINS
FUTURES COMMITTEE MEETING
Date: January 11, 2021
Location: Zoom Webinar
Time: 4:00-6:00pm
Committee Members Present:
Mayor Wade Troxell
Emily Gorgol
Julie Pignataro
City Staff:
Jackie Kozak-Thiel, (Staff Liaison)
Presenter:
Jonathon Rose, President of Jonathon Rose Companies
Additional Staff present:
Sarah Meline, CPIO
Caryn Champine, PDT
Dean Klingner, PDT
Teresa Roche, Human Resources
Greg Yeager, Police Services
Nina Bodenhamer, CityGive
Marcy Yoder, CDNS
Lucinda Smith, Environmental Services
Lynn Sanchez, Human Resources
SeonAh Kendall, Economic Health
Victoria Shaw, Sustainability Services
Caroline Mitchell, Environmental Services
Christine Arnott, Human Resources
Clark Mapes, CDNS
Kai Kleer, CDNS
Community members:
Julie Brewen, Housing Catalyst
Lisa Auer, CSU Extension, FLTI
Steve Kuehneman, CARE Housing
Brooke Bettolo, Larimer County
Christophe Febvre, PSD Board of Education
Kevin Jones, Fort Collins Chamber of Commerce
Meeting called to order at 4:02 pm
Approval of Minutes:
2
Emily Gorgol moved to approve November 11 minutes. Julie Pignataro seconded. Motion passed
unanimously. 3-0-0.
Chairman Comments: None
Summary
• Recognize that strategies that we discuss and pass now related to affordable housing will
set us up for the long-term success
• To create communities of opportunity we need to think beyond just affordable housing
and consider things such as:
o How to bridge the digital equity divide
o Balance the need for open space and housing needs
o Create access and transit
o Connect affordable housing to other aspects of communities of opportunity
through:
▪ On-site health clinics in housing developments
▪ Exercise rooms
▪ Opportunities for socialization
• It is important to balance affordable housing units with other resources so community
members can thrive
• City of Fort Collins is part of the Mindful Cities program and mindfulness is critical to
expanding our frames of mind which can help solve many problems
Think Tank Item 1-2021: The Future of Housing and Communities of Opportunity
• Jonathon begins the presentation discussing the geography of intergenerational poverty
o Born in 1940 and turned 26 in 1966 and in bottom quartile income family in
America, there was a 90% when you turn 26 earning more than low-income
parents
o Born in 1990 and turning 26 in 2016, 70% chance that a person earns less than
lower-income earning parents
o This is the issue of intergenerational opportunity, the deeper the red, the greater
the chance of earning less than low-income parents.
• There are many issues that as a City we will need to address including climate issues,
racial inequality and when we are talking about the future of housing, the goal is also to
discuss the history of income inequality and how to create incomes of opportunity and
develop tools to overcome issues related primarily to income inequality
o All of these issues tie together—cannot solve one without solving others
• Communities of opportunity include:
o Arts and Culture—aspects of the ability of human mind to have symbolic
thought and think about jobs of the future, need caring jobs of healing and
symbolic thought of creativity and imagination that computers cannot be
o Neighborhood serving markets—particularly food
o Open Space—essential to well being of community
o Health care—pandemic has highlighted that in community health, we are all in
this together
o Education—continue to be disparities in this
3
o Affordable Housing –base of communities of opportunity. This must be
subsidized, and hope is that the Biden administration will have more a
commitment to this
o Livelihood –jobs
o Spiritual –happy to hear Fort Collins is part of the Mindful Cities movement.
Spirituality and mindfulness can shift antagonism into a “we” it creates a different
context and language
o Access and transit—essential to a community
o Digital Divide—need every resident with equal digital access
• The Benedict Commons Affordable Housing development in 1996 as an example:
o 88 units to the acre even though it doesn’t look like it. The lesson is to not be
afraid of density and also design is key to community acceptance
o Aspen began affordable housing requirement in 1976 and began a fund for
affordable housing then. Today 25% of all housing in Aspen is affordable
o Thinking about the future, strategies we discuss now are critical for the future
• 2 strategies that Jonathon Rose Companies are focusing on:
o Strategy 1: Preservation of existing affordable housing
▪ Both regulated and naturally occurring affordable housing
▪ Recommends mapping them—because it is difficult to build affordable
housing it is critical to preserve existing ones
o Strategy 2: Commit to long-term development of affordable housing
▪ Bring social health and education to affordable housing to make it a
community of opportunity
• Example: one community has health exam rooms located onsite so
that community members can have easy access to health care
▪ COVID has exacerbated many issues related to childcare and access to
health care—bringing health care to home sites helps to address some of
these concerns
▪ Projects focus on 4 areas of health:
• Move
• Nourish
• Connect
• Be
• Important aspects of the future of affordable housing
o Build intergenerational communities—this can help balance work and childcare
o Believe in community participation and providing resources so people can be
informed and actively participate
o Bridge the digital divide
o Build support between local police and residents
o Mindfulness is critical to stress reduction but also helps move from reactive mode
of our brain to a more strategic role and more integrated frame of mind. That
frame of mind will most likely solve our problems.
• Jonathon provides an example of a project that addresses needs across the housing
spectrum
4
o It is important to balance affordable housing units with other resources—do not
just need units, we need affordable housing that people can thrive in—how to
support health and other needs
• We use the phrase of human and nature as if we are separate—we are a part of nature, if
we can bring nature back into projects, this is a major task. Making wholeness makes the
maker—make wholeness of residents.
Comments/Q&A:
• Strong feelings about how timely this discussion is. Comments about spirituality, and the
digital divide resonate strongly with our City. During BLM we saw some of the same
diffusing that was seen in other communities because of the openness and curiosity in our
community.
• Mayor recommends a book that can be an inspiration as we continue to think through
these things: “Godel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid” by Douglas Hofstadter
• Question about if a movement like mindfulness takes the place of a deity or something
else:
o Jonathon says the answer is yes. Mindfulness allows us to open our mind and be
brought together without references to deities or other things can divide people
• Appreciation that Jonathon discussed the many factors that go into a neighborhood and
opportunity because we often forget to think about all the pieces that come together for
people to have an opportunity to thrive.
o Important to look at social determinants of health which are very geographically
related
• Julie Brewen from Housing Catalyst shares some of the great work that has been done
o Have exam rooms and gyms in all developments
o Question around private activity bonds scarcity (subsidy needed)
▪ Bonds are not always enough to subsidize project—need home or local
match
▪ Option for more bond cap
• Discussion about the deep fear in Fort Collins that density is bad
o Jonathon shares that the fear is shifting a lot in America
o There is a rising movement of “Yes in my backyard” and that design matters for
affordable housing and the positive development of it
▪ Focus on mixed income housing
▪ Younger generation prefers density
• Fort Collins has grown significantly and there continues to be lots of discussion about
open space, nature in the City and enhancing access and ability to get to nature.
• Question about how to use data when creating communities of opportunity
o There are different types of data and the important thing to remember is how to
use data to help inform decision making
▪ Future casting to project trends and adjust as needed direction to
▪ Need to understand what data really matters and then think about how to
use that
5
• Example: Bus app to show when buses will show up
o Darin notes that Fort Collins is building fiber optic to create equitable access to all
information and data
▪ Jonathon notes that training is also part of this
Bloomberg updates from the Mayor
• Bloomberg City lab is a great resource
Additional Discussion: None
Meeting adjourned by Mayor Troxell at 5:50pm