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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1992-155-10/06/1992-AFFORDABLE HOUSING POLICY RESOLUTION 92- 155 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS ADOPTING AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING POLICY WHEREAS, City Council has adopted a goal to strengthen the community's commitment to affordable housing; and WHEREAS, in furtherance of that goal , City Council wishes to adopt a comprehensive policy statement to define the City's role and responsibilities with respect to affordable housing in the City; and WHEREAS, the City of Fort Collins desires to continue its development as a city where all people of the community can live in a safe and healthy environment; and WHEREAS, a safe and healthy environment includes affordable housing choices for lower income families and individuals to meet the basic human need for shelter; and WHEREAS, the City of Fort Collins considers meeting basic human needs of families and individual citizens as part of its purpose. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS that the Affordable Housing Policy, dated October 1992, and attached hereto as Attachment "A," is hereby adopted as the affordable housing policy of the City of Fort Cc'lins. Passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the Council of the City of Fort Collins held this 6th day of October, A.D. 992. a or ATTEST: City Clerk � Attachment "A" AFFORDABLE HOUSING POLICY October 1992 I. Purpose GOAL: Strengthen community commitment to affordable housing. OBJECTIVE: Develop a comprehensive policy statement that defines the City' s role and responsibilities with respect to the availability of affordable housing in the community. II. General Policy The following is the City of Fort Collins' general policy related to the availability of affordable housing within the community: The City of Fort Collins desires to continue its development as a city where all of the people of the community will have the opportunity to live in a safe and healthy environment. This environment includes the availability of affordable housing choices for low and moderate income families and individuals to help meet the basic human need for shelter. The City considers meeting basic human needs as part of its purpose and therefore has a responsible role in the availability of affordable housing to the citizens of Fort Collins and considers the issue just as important as, for example, police protection or parks and recreation programs. The City therefore declares, as a matter of policy, its appropriate role is best characterized as a partnership among the public and private sectors and citizens in meeting the affordable housing and support service needs of the citizens of Fort Collins. The city's main objective is to assist private developers and non-profit agencies in the creation and expansion of affordable housing opportunities and support services to enhance the quality of life of lower income people. The City's role in this effort involves facilitating process and procedure required for housing development and/or rehabilitation, providing data and demographic information to help define housing needs, and the consideration of other initiatives on a case-by-case basis. III . Findings Citizens look to the City to participate in problem solving when pressing needs affect the community. Citizens and the City Council have observed the following: (1) a growing number of persons on the waiting list for Fort Collins Housing Authority subsidized units; (2) a very low rental market vacancy rate making it more difficult for lower income people to find decent, affordable housing; (3) a very low vacancy rate for single-room-occupancy (SRO) units making it more difficult to assist people in the transition from homelessness to more permanent housing; (4) an increasing number of requests from people with handicaps for help in removing architectural barriers within their homes; (5) an increase in demand for services by homeless persons for emergency shelter; (6) an increase in the number of families needing transitional housing and services to move from a state of homelessness into one of self-sufficiency; and (7) an increase in the difficulties faced by lower income people in attempting to find and purchase affordable housing, including a lack of available units, and problems in accumulating down-payments. IV. Definition of Affordable Housing The following provides a working definition as to what is considered to be "affordable housing" in the Fort Collins: Affordable housing is housing which can be purchased or rented by people of low or moderate incomes (i.e. , incomes of less than 80%, of the city,s median income) where the occupant, either the owner or renter, pays no more than 30% of their gross income for housing costs, including utilities. V. Specific Policies and Strategies In addition to the general policy presented above, the following statements provide further specific policy guidance for the City in regards to issues related to the availability of affordable housing in the community. (1) Maintain up-to-date information to help determine what the full range of affordable housing needs are of the citizens of the community, to analyze the continuum of housing available in the community, and to determine what resources exist within and outside the community to deal with the needs. 7 (A) Become a clearing house for vital statistics, planning information, and an inventory of existing and potential financial resources through the preparation of an annual Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) which will: (1) provide data and analyze affordable housing needs of the city, (2) establish a five-year strategic plan for priority programs and resources required to address the identified needs, and (3) contain an incremental one-year action plan of discrete housing and support service objectives. (B) Review needs assessments and data collected by other governmental entities (such as the Census Bureau, the State of Colorado, and Larimer County) and housing agencies (such as the Housing Authority and support service agencies) in preparation of the City's CHAS. (C) Assist citizens in gaining access to and information about affordable housing and support service providers in the community. (D) Research Federal and State grants and other technical assistance which may be available to support meeting the affordable housing needs of the community. (2) Maintain an active involvement in the availability of affordable housing in the community by assisting the private sector ,as appropriate and by pursuing the key roles as a planner and funder to meet the needs of the community. (A) Become a facilitator and expeditor of affordable housing development. (B) Act as an agent for Federal and State funds for housing programs and projects. (C) Strengthen support to programs which focus on the prevention of problems which eventually manifest themselves in affordable housing issues, for example unemployment and underemployment, divorces, high school drop-outs, lack of vocational training, and teenage pregnancies. (D) Direct City staff to analyze the impact of City policies and programs on the provision of housing affordability. 8 (E) Direct City staff to analyze the City's impacts on the initial construction cost of housing and try to minimize the impacts without reducing health, safety, and welfare concerns nor reducing the quality of life amenities within residential neighborhoods. (F) Provide a mechanism, or source, for matching Federal and State funding programs. (G) Land bank City property for future affordable housing development. (H) Communicate to the community the state of affordable housing issues and the progress made on affordable housing goals as an education process. (I) Establish ways to keep some units permanently affordable and available for renters. (3) Support and encourage the private development of affordable housing in the community. (A) Stimulate the private sector in affordable housing development as a growth industry. (B) Utilize Urban Renewal Authority or Downtown Development Authority Tax Increment Financing (TIF) to promote affordable housing redevelopment activities. (4) Strengthen or pursue cooperative relationships with other affordable housing providers. (A) Strengthen joint agency and governmental efforts at problem solving by participating in both "local" and "regional" problem solving efforts. (B) Become a partner in collaborative ventures and housing opportunities. (C) Advocate affordable housing with Federal and State legislators and officials. (5) Maintain the existing affordable housing stock through the preservation of older residential neighborhoods. (A) Prepare neighborhood plans which promote the preservation and conservation of residential land uses in older neighborhoods while identifying which sections are appropriate for conversion and/or redevelopment activities. 9 (B) Make appropriate amendments to the zoning code, and other land use regulatory techniques, to implement the adopted policies of the neighborhood plans. (6) Assure an acceptable minimum level of quality within affordable housing units. (A) Use the City' s regulatory abilities to improve the basic quality of housing for citizens including implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. (7) Encourage a city-wide distribution of neighborhoods which contain affordable housing units. (A) Promote diversity within neighborhoods and support neighborhoods that are economically, ethnically, and culturally varied. (8) Eliminate practices of de facto economic, ethnic, and race discrimination in housing. (A) Use the City's regulatory abilities provided in Section 13-18 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins to deal with discriminatory housing practices. (B) Monitor other actions within the community which may lead to discrimination in housing. 10