HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Read Before Packet - 3/2/2021 - Memorandum From Lindsay Ex And Meaghan Overton Re: Item 4: Housing Strategic Plan Second Reading And Item 5: Land Use Code Appropriation Second Reading - Board And Commission Recommendations
Social Sustainability
222 Laporte Ave.
PO Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: February 26, 2021
TO: Mayor and City Council
THRU: Darin Atteberry, City Manager
Affordable Housing Executive Team1
FROM: Lindsay Ex, Interim Housing Manager
Meaghan Overton, Senior City Planner
RE: Item #4: Housing Strategic Plan Second Reading and Item #5: Land Use Code
Appropriation Second Reading Board and Commission Recommendations
Purpose: The purpose of this memo is to summarize the recommendations of the Planning and
Zoning Board (7-0) and the Economic Advisory Commission (6-1) for approval of the Housing
Strategic Plan (HSP). The Planning and Zoning Board also recommended approval (7-0) of the off-
cycle appropriation for Phase 1 of the Land Use Code (LUC) update.
Summary:
The Economic Advisory Commission recommended the HSP at their January meeting (draft
meeting minutes were included in the First Reading Packet) and revisited the final plan at their
meeting on February 17, 2021. The Planning and Zoning Board considered the HSP and the off-
cycle appropriation at their hearing on February 18, 2021. Minutes from these discussions have
been included as attachments. Board and Commission members offered the following feedback:
Appreciation for the comprehensiveness and
feedback and incorporate it into the plan.
Support for moving forward with HSP adoption and the LUC changes.
Emphasis on the importance of community engagement for both implementation of the HSP
and the LUC changes, particularly any changes that impact existing neighborhoods.
lenges;
strategies that can advance quickly should be implemented as longer-term work continues.
In addition to feedback on the plan itself, Board and Commission members discussed key topics to
explore further in implementation, e.g., impacts of occupancy on housing costs, the resources
needed to implement the HSP, and the intersection of economic vitality and affordability. Planning
and Zoning Board members also requested historical information about housing costs and wages,
which will be shared in a future memo.
Attachments:
Planning and Zoning Board Draft Minutes (February 18, 2021)
Economic Advisory Commission Draft Minutes (February 17, 2021)
1 Jackie Kozak Thiel, Chief Sustainability Officer; Theresa Connor, Utilities Executive Director; Caryn Champine,
Planning, Development, and Transportation (PDT) Director; Julie Brewen, Housing Catalyst Executive Director;
Travis Storin, Chief Financial Officer; Dave Lenz, Finance Planning and Analysis Director; Beth Sowder, Social
Sustainability Director; and Josh Birks, Economic Health Director.
Planning and Zoning Board Hearing | February 18, 2021 1
Draft Minutes, Item #3
3. Housing Plan Recommendation
Project Description:This is a request for a Recommendation to City Council regarding the adoption of
the Housing Strategic Plan and the off-cycle appropriation to advance Phase 1 of the Land Use Code
(LUC) Update.
Recommendation: Approval
Secretary Manno reported that no citizen emails or letters were received.
Staff and Applicant Presentations
Planner Overton and Lindsay Ex Interim Housing Manager gave a brief verbal/visual overview of this
recommendation.
Public Input (3 minutes per person)
None noted.
Staff Response
None noted
Board Questions / Deliberation
Member Hansen questioned what is being recommended and that it was not code changes. Planner
Overton responded that he was correct and that the Board would make the recommendation to Council
for adoption of the plan and adoption of the appropriation that would fund the Land Use Code changes,
but not recommending and specific changes at this point.
Vice Chair Shepard is intrigued by the community summit that is coming up. Are all the partners shown
[Home2Health partners] participating in the summit? Planner Overton responded yes, that is the plan and
others will join in if they would like.
Member Katz questioned where the funding from the appropriation was coming from. Planner Overton
responded that the funding is coming from the general fund.
Member Schneider commended the team for how well they listened to citizens and the analysis
completed. He is behind phase I, 100%. With everything else, he is a bit concerned due to the details
and funding not being dug into. Fort Collins needs this, but there are many details that need to be worked
out. This is appreciated, great job.
Chair Haefele agrees. Housing affordability is one issue that ticks all the boxes.
Member Katz thanked the team for their work.
Member Hansen echoed the sentiment. This is complex. Is there is list of the quicker wins? Priority 21
looks at occupancy limits, this should be looked at early on. This takes the existing stock and
redistributes it among income levels. What is going to take longer than a year to dive into this? Lindsay
Ex responded there is similar and wide perspective in regard to occupancy. Time needs to be taken to
have the conversation with the community. The community is interested in the aspects of what can be
moved forward more quickly, e.g., the extra occupancy process and is there a safe haven. If you are in
violation of those occupancy rules could you raise your hand and get those concerns addressed without
being held in violation.
Planning and Zoning Board Hearing | February 18, 2021 2
Draft Minutes, Item #3
Vice Chair Shepard commented that he could see how from a lay person’s perspective it could be
daunting. But the discussions have been happening and all are up to speed.
Chair Haefele asked if the City has done an analysis on how many unused bedrooms for rent there
are. Is there anything that shows that there is an excess of bedrooms?
Member Katz has the same questions and does not feel it is possible to find this data.
Member Hogestad questioned the Land Use Code audit. Is this audit based on the 26 strategies and that
the Land Use Code would be tailored to support all 26 of the strategies? Planner Overton clarified that it
was done after the adoption of City Plan in 2019 and includes a specific focus on house, and affordable
housing in particular because housing was such a key topic in City Plan. The 26 strategies and the
Housing Strategic Plan are looking at the audit and saying, “yes we should continue to move that forward
and consider changes to the Land Use Code”.
Member Hogestad, within the audit, is there consideration to the stability of the existing neighborhoods
and how this might affect the existing neighborhoods? Single family neighborhoods should be protected
as well as their quality of life. Planner Overton responded that the Land Use Code audit was done int he
context of City Plan which includes policy language about the delicate balance of neighborhood livability
and stability and change. The guiding principles in the Housing Strategic Plan, these are meant to be a
tool for decision making for staff. In the principles there is talk about being more strategic about where
things are happening, direct language like Member Hogestad is not in there. There is flexibility.
Member Hogestad talked about the occupancy limits. He feels that people will start buying up single-
family homes as an investment. This will cut out single-family ownership. Lindsay Ex responded that
according to the graphs, single-family home ownership is already out of reach for the majority of our
community. We need to lean into this conversation. Member Hogestad does not agree based on what
he is seeing in the papers. He feels the intent is to provide more housing.
Member Hansen feels that priority 21 should be a higher priority on the list. Most to look at realistic view
of the data regarding the rental stock. U+2 was implemented as a way to protect neighborhoods; it does
not make sense to apply the same rules to all homes. Chair Haefele and Member Katz touched on
something that is skewing the data. There is a likelihood 4-bedroom homes that has 3 people on the list
likely has 4 people renting it. This is a task for an implementation of the plan. How are these homes
actually being used for rental and does the housing stock on the graph need to be redistributed so we
know how it is really being used and how it is affecting incomes and we have a better understanding of
where we truly have a housing shortage. Deregulation is going to help a little bit here. U+2 and the
application process have a stick feel to so people avoid using it. So, we have people using houses that
are out of compliance and we have no way to track it, no idea how it is impacting our housing
stock. Otherwise, we may be misinformed when making strategies to improve.
Member Katz feels two potential issues may be run into; 1. It would become more attractive to investors
and 2. It may actually increase the rent and be a negative impact. Please consider with item 21 and
chart, maybe do an overlay map like short-term rentals. Planner Overton clarified that the timeframe of
the strategies do not mean they are waiting two years to start, more, how long do we think a process
would take to come to a conclusion. Staff are currently pooling notes about who’s responsible, have the
same data and get on the same page. Whatever the solution, staff think that this could be done within a
year.
Chair Haefele commented that a majority of the zone districts already allow extra occupancy. It is
underutilized and maybe the first phase of strategy 21, look at what are the barriers of applying for it. The
City has a tendency to reward or not punish those who ask for forgiveness rather than permission. So, it
is suspected that many landlords who could get it don’t do it because it is cheaper and easier to do it until
they get caught. This needs to be addressed.
Planning and Zoning Board Hearing | February 18, 2021 3
Draft Minutes, Item #3
Member Hogestad feels it is important to have adequate community outreach and would like to make
sure that it happens.
Member Hansen wants to make sure that this does not move at a leisurely pace and that we need to do
what we can close the gap. Implement what we can within the next 12 months.
Member Hogestad asked how the price of housing has escalated, is it a spike or a curve? Lindsay Ex
shared that rents have increased by 68%, median price for a single-family detached home has increased
by 124%, the price of townhomes and condos has increased by 164% while wages have only increased
by on 25%. Planner Overton responded that they would have to do some research to get data back to
him and will follow up. This would be on historical housing costs.
Member Schneider took a holistic look at where we are at these days. Costs are outrageous and we
have had a housing issue for 100 years.
Member Hansen would like to see how a housing bubble pop relates to the timing of the current trend we
are seeing in housing. To the difficulty of this problem, the salary range does not work for employees to
live where they work. This needs to be corrected.
Chair Haefele pulled up some internet sites that are for vibrant cites and they are showing the expense in
living in a city such as that. The only way affordability happens is if prices come down or if housing is
subsidized. People need a way to have or reach equity.
Member Shepard feels this is a very comprehensive piece of work by staff and he would like to move to
recommend to Council.
Member Shepard made a motion that the Fort Collins Planning and Zoning Board recommend
approval to the City Council of the Housing Strategic Plan and the Phase 1 Land Use Code
Updates based on the findings of fact and the information presented. Member Hansen
seconded. Member Hansen requested an amendment. Member Schneider asked if Phase I Land Use
Code Updates should be included and made a friendly amendment to have it added to the motion. Both
Shepard and Hansen accepted amendment.
Vote: 7:0.
ECONOMIC ADVISORY COMMISSION
TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR
February 17, 2021 4:00 - 6:00 pm
via Zoom
2/17/21 – MINUTES Page 1
1. CALL TO ORDER
4:00 pm.
2. ROLL CALL
List of Board Members Present
Connor Barry
Braulio Rojas
John Parks
Ted Settle
Aric Light
George Grossman
Julie Stackhouse
Renee Walkup
List of Board Members Absent – Excused or Unexcused; if no contact with Chair
has been made
Spencer Clark
List of Staff Members Present
Josh Birks - Staff liaison and Director, Economic Health
Cameron Gloss, Manager, City Planning
Lindsay Ex, Interim Housing Manager
Meaghan Overton - Sr. Planner
List of Guests
none
3. AGENDA REVIEW
No changes
4. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
N/A
5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD
TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR
2/17/21 – MINUTES Page 2
There were some minor changes regarding attendance, end time, language and
punctuation.
As there were no further objections, Connor declared the January minutes
approved as amended.
6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
a. Update: Reimagining Boards and Commissions -Ted Settle
Ted did not have any additional information after his presentation at last month's
meeting.
Connor -Q - What are the next steps? A - Josh - Next step is for Council to adopt
the proposed changes.
b. Update on Housing Strategic Plan (Cont.) - Lindsay Ex and Meaghan Overton
Lindsay reported that on February 16 City Council reviewed and adopted the draft
Housing Strategic plan on first reading. The draft plan is still being reviewed, and
she and Meaghan Overton were present at this meeting to share updates to the
plan.
There have been several revisions to the plans, including efforts to more clearly
connect the 26 strategies to six specific outcomes. Other changes include:
Additional storytelling
Emphasized supportive services & linkage with Our Climate Future
Letters from leadership, Home2Health partners, executive summary, and
appendices added
Recognition of businesses in implementation
Updated graphics to illustrate the supply gap, enhanced connections to the
existing goals, and strategies
Additional updates to the guiding principles
Language changes to 9 of the 26 strategies for clarity and specificity
Need for more messaging around affordable housing
Next steps for the plan include: Council second reading and adoption on March 2;
Ad Hoc committee meetings in March/April; a community summit in April/May; and
implementation of the plan and Council work session this summer.
As supply side strategies of the draft Housing Strategic Plan had previously been
of most interest to the EAC, Lindsay asked the group if it wanted to amend its
previous recommendation to specifically focus on the supply side strategies in the
AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD
TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR
2/17/21 – MINUTES Page 3
plan, or to consider amending its prior overall recommendation, or take no action.
Board Discussion
John - Q - What impacts would the EAC changing its recommendation have?
A - Most likely nothing, only to clarify the EAC's thoughts and position.
Julie - Thinks the EAC should stand ready to respond if staff needs assistance
from us.
Braulio - Q - How often is that plan going to be reviewed and reevaluated in
order to adjust to any changes that may happen? A - Lindsay - Historically
these types of plans have been updated on a 5-6 year basis, but staff
recognizes things need to be more dynamic here and will evaluate the plan on
a two-year cycle. However, it will be flexible enough to quickly act on
opportunities that may appear.
Renee - It is important the EAC continue to stay involved and she
recommended that future focus groups include, in addition to builders and
developers, also people who are in need of affordable housing,
Connor - Q - What will implementation realistically look like? A - There will be
a community summit in late April, and conversations around implementation
would be more appropriate after that. Staff will also go back to a Council work
session in the summer to present the overall implementation plan with
strategy-specific action roadmaps.
Julie - Citizens need to be kept informed of the finite amount of housing that
will be available in the future. Price pressures will remain and be difficult to
solve. We need to establish a shared expectation of what is possible as a
laudable goal in order to reduce frustration. Discussions around housing
density also needs to be discussed
Connor is also concerned about supply issues and suggested the community
be kept informed about what the City is doing to address this.
Braulio - To have affordable houses, there needs to be houses available
under $300,000. However, builders need to be willing to build these houses.
This will not happen in a free market. He suggests the City offer some kind of
benefits to builders to help their profit margin or these affordable houses will
probably not be built.
7. NEW BUSINESS
a. Revised Residential Metro District Evaluation Process - Cameron Gloss
Cameron Gloss reviewed updates to the plan he previously presented to the