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Home My WebLink AboutResponse to Constituent Letter - Mail Packet - 06/17/2025 - Letter from Mayor Jeni Arndt to the Affordable Housing Board (AHB) re memorandum from June 9, 2025 re 2025 Ballot Measures for Affordable Housing Funding Mayor City Hall Fort Collins, CO 80522 970.416.2154 970.224.6107 - fax fcgov.com June 12, 2025 Affordable Housing Board c/o Sue Beck-Ferkiss, Staff Liaison PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 Dear Chair Stefanie Berganini and Board Members: On behalf of City Council, thank you for providing us with the memorandum dated June 9, 2025 regarding 2025 Ballot Measures for Affordable Housing Funding. We understand that the Board supports Council’s efforts to place measures related to affordable housing funding on the ballot in 2025. We acknowledge that the Board supports CCIP and understand your perspective that $25M be specified instead of $10M. Thank you for elaborating on your reasoning for this recommendation. On Tuesday, June 17, City Council is scheduled to act on agenda item “Approving the items Council wishes to place on the upcoming November 2025 ballot and item order.” We encourage you to watch the City Council meeting that night via fcgov.com/fctv or in person at City Hall at 300 Laporte Avenue, Building A, starting at 6:00 p.m. Thank you for the expertise and perspectives that you bring to the Board and share with City Council. Best Regards, Jeni Arndt Mayor /sek cc: City Council Members Kelly DiMartino, City Manager Rupa Venkatesh, Assistant City Manager June 9, 2025 From: Affordable Housing Board Chair Stefanie Berganini To: City Council, via Sarah Kane Re: 2025 Ballot Measures for Affordable Housing Funding Per the Affordable Housing Board’s mission of advising the City Council on matters pertaining to affordable housing issues of concern to the City, we support Council’s efforts to place measures related to affordable housing funding on the ballot in 2025. First, we strongly suppor t placing the renewal of the Community Capital Improvement Program (CCIP) on November’s ballot. This is a critical funding stream for much-needed programs and ser vices, and we hope that voters will support it. Second, we applaud City staff ’s recommendation for the inclusion of $10M in affordable housing funding in this renewal, but strongly encourage Council to increase that amount as much as possible in the final ballot language. Though we don’t have enough information to comment on the nuances of specific funding logistics or the preferred project list, we are highly appreciative and generally supportive of the Fort Collins Chamber of Commerce’s Building On Basics 2025 proposal for $25M of affordable housing funding (attached). We strongly advocate that Council include this $25M figure for affordable housing funding instead of the proposed $10M when finalizing measures to refer to the November ballot. Though we know there are many important and worthy projects vying for funding through this renewal measure, we also know that funding for affordable housing must be prioritized. If we are to meet the City’s goal of 10% deed-restricted affordable housing by 2040, we need bold and urgent action to secure more funding. Below are a few points of data to highlight the urgency of this need: ● When the Affordable Housing Board and Human Services and Housing Fund Board review applications for affordable housing funding during the City’s competitive process each year, we are routinely faced with a much larger need for funding than the City is able to provide. During this year’s funding cycle, for example , we received applications for $4.36M in funding, but had only about half that amount to award. ● To meet its affordable housing goals, the city needs to build 282 affordable units every year between 2020 and 2040. We are currently drastically behind this goal, and failing to meet the goal in one year only compounds the construction pressures in future years when construction costs are likely to be even higher. ● It currently costs about $500k per unit to build affordable housing. Construction costs have risen and local construction economies have become unpredictable due to federal tariffs and broader market instability. Local funding streams must be planned not only to create as much inventory as possible, but to fill the gaps created by ongoing volatility at the federal level. ● There continues to be a growing disparity between incomes and housing costs for both renters and homeowners in Fort Collins. This places an increasing burden on the City’s already-insufficient affordable housing supply, and may lead to even more pressure for affordable units than we are currently predicting. As you make plans for this year’s Council-referred ballot measures, we urge you not only to place the CCIP renewal on the ballot, but to do so with the most funding possible for affordable housing in Fort Collins. Thank you for your consideration. Respectfully, Stefanie Berganini Chair, Affordable Housing Board April 7, 2025 BOB25 Housing Investment Fund This November, voters of Fort Collins will be asked to consider the renewal of Community Capital Improvement Program. This 10-year ¼-cent sales tax is intended to fund public projects that might not otherwise be possible through the general fund budget. Building on Basics 2025, or BOB25 for short, is expected to generate $11M per year (in 2025 dollars), or approximately $110M over the life of the tax. As diminishing housing affordability is one of, if not the, primary issue consistently identified by residents, the BOB25 Housing Investment Fund (the “Fund”) is offered as a meaningful response. Key elements include: • Allocate $5M annually (2026-2031) for a total investment of $25M • The Fund will support two programs: o $5M deposited into a revolving loan fund o $20M invested directly into qualified projects • Revolving loan fund to be administered by a community development financial institution capable of attracting additional capital from outside sources • Direct investments are primarily in the form of grant capital with affordability/occupancy requirements extended in perpetuity • Qualified projects include: o Owner-occupied housing serving households up to 120% AMI o Rental housing serving households up to 100% AMI o New construction, preservation of naturally occurring affordable housing, and land for future development • Promote smaller format and niche housing types not readily available within the market • Incentivize infill and redevelopment within commercial corridors and centers • Empower City staff and developers to identify process improvements, code revisions, and align departments in the common purpose of removing barriers to all residential development • Reduced impact fees for housing that advances the 15-minute city concept • Reduced water supply requirements for housing that demonstrates a reduced long-term consumption pattern • Cumulative capacity/height bonuses for housing that meets affordability targets and/or 15-minute city objectives April 7, 2025 BOB25 Preferred Project List The current roster and brief description of community projects under consideration for inclusion within the renewed sales tax can be found HERE. With a total estimated value of $160M, the list will require adjustments to reach the anticipated 10-year tax revenue of $110M. The Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce proposes the following projects for Council consideration. • Housing Investment Fund $25M • Bicycle Infrastructure & Overpass/Underpass Program $20M • Arterial Street Improvements $18M • Pedestrian Sidewalk Program $16M • Mulberry Pool $10M • Downtown Parks Shop $7.9M • Downtown Trolley Building Renovation $6.8M • Inflation Contingency $6.3M Total Project List $110M