HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-10-28 Housing & Human Services PACKET
Ashland Housing and Human
Services Commission
Regular Meeting Agenda
October28,2021:4:00–6:00pm
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://zoom.us/j/96686676912?pwd=KzJjTW1CL3JDN0FNMHhQQ3VpUzhIdz09
1.(4:00)Approval of Minutes (5 min)
September 23, 2021
2.(4:05)Public Forum (5 min)
3.(4:10)Rent Burden Discussion(15min)
4.(4:25)November/December Meeting Schedule Discussion(15min)
5.(4:40)Overview of the Affordable Housing Program Presentation(30min)
Linda Reid, Housing Program Specialist
6.(5:10)Severe Climate Event Policy Stakeholder Meeting Discussion (25min)
Rich Rohde,Echo Fields, Joy Fate
7. (5:35)Annual Update to the Council Discussion(15min)
Linda Reid, Housing Program Specialist
8. (5:50)(Liaison Reports)(10min)
Liaison Reports
Council(Gina Duquenne)Staff (Linda Reid)
SOU Liaison (Unfilled)General Announcements/Local Housing
SOU program report (Chris Mahan) Updates
9. (6:00)Upcoming Eventsand Meetings and Agenda Item Suggestions
10.(6:00)Adjournment
Housingand Human Services
Commission Memo
TITLE:Rent Burden Discussion
DEPT:Community Development
DATE:October 28,2021
SUBMITTED BY:Linda Reid, Housing Program Specialist
HB 4006 was passed in 2018, and required Cities with a population over 10,000 whose residents that
experience severe rent burden at a rate greater than 25% annually hold a public meeting to discuss the
issue of rent burden, and opportunities for addressingand reducing rent burden. Oregon Housing and
Community Services annually evaluates and provides data on the percentage of residents within a City
that experience severe rent burden. The information provided by Oregon Housing and Community
Services is provided as an attachment to this memo.
Severe rent burden is defined by the Department of Housing and Urban Development as those who pay
50% or more of their income toward rent costs.
Year# of Severely Renter # Severe Rent Total Renter Total Population
Burdened HHBurdenedHouseholds
201835%1,4724,17821,002
201933.6%1,4164,21720,815
202031.7%1,4754,25620,960
202132.3%1,3604,21621,105
Memo
DATE:10/28/2021
TO:Housingand Human ServicesCommission
FROM:Linda Reid, Housing Program Specialist
RE:Holiday Meeting Schedule
Every year the Housing and Human Services Commission members decide upon an alternatemeeting
schedule for the months of November and December as the Commission’s regular meeting schedule
conflicts with major holidays. The commission has several options:
Schedule alternate meeting dates for both month’smeetings
Schedule an alternate meeting date for onemonth and skip meeting the other month
(commissions are allowed to skip one meeting a year)
Skip one month’s meeting and schedule a longer meeting for the other month (possibly a retreat)
DEPT. OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Tel: 541-488-5305
20 E. Main Street Fax: 541-488-6006
Ashland, Oregon 97520 TTY: 800-735-2900
www.ashland.or.us
Memo
DATE:10/28/2021
TO:Housingand Human ServicesCommission
FROM:Linda Reid, Housing Program Specialist
RE:Overview of the Affordable Housing Program
Power Point Presentation on the City of Ashland Affordable Housing Program.
DEPT. OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Tel: 541-488-5305
20 E. Main Street Fax: 541-488-6006
Ashland, Oregon 97520 TTY: 800-735-2900
www.ashland.or.us
Memo
DATE:10/28/2021
TO:Housingand Human ServicesCommission
FROM:Linda Reid, Housing Program Specialist
RE:Severe Climate EventWorkgroup Outreach Plan
The three-memberSevere WeatherPlanning Workgroup met to discuss a process for eliciting
stakeholder feedback regarding the development of the City’s Severe Climate Event Policy. Below is a
summary of the recommendations that came out of that discussion.
What:The City of Ashland is undertaking the process of developing a Severe Climate Event Policy to
provide a plan to ensure the health and safety of the City’s most vulnerable citizens during emergent
severe climate events. These events are becoming more and more common. Consequently,the City is
wanting to develop a comprehensive plan to address the need for providing resources and access to
respite for the people who do not have access to those resources to keep them safe during a variety of
severe weather events which are a consequence of the changing climate.The City is looking to
community stakeholders to provide input on the development of such a policy, in order to make it
comprehensive and ensure that all voices impacted by the issues created by the changing climate have
the opportunity to contribute their perspectivesand ideas.
Who:The Commission is looking to those who are most impactedby severe climate events, those who
work with vulnerable populations, and those whose physical resources are often utilized formally or
informally as places of respite during extreme weather events, to provide input on best practices and
considerations for the development of specific aspects of a Severe Climate Event policy. The
Commission is relying on your unique perspectives and experiences to inform and shape the policyand
an action planfor implementation.
When:The Commission is looking to set parameters for various types of severe climate events that may
necessitate the opening of a respite resource. Commissioners have looked at other community’s models
and at public health information to inform these parameters. Options that have been proposed are
below, along with data regarding the number of days that the City has initiated shelters for various
severe climateevents or which may necessitate calling some form of respiteresource in the future.
Model Parameters for calling a Severe Climate Event Respite Shelter
Model #1
Cold35 degrees or below/45 if precipitating
DEPT. OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Tel: 541-488-5305
20 E. Main Street Fax: 541-488-6006
Ashland, Oregon 97520 TTY: 800-735-2900
www.ashland.or.us
Heat95 degrees or above
SmokeUnhealthy for Sensitive Groups or Above
Model #2 (City of Medford)
Cold25° or less; 32° or less with additional
factors that increase risk of cold exposure
102° or more; 80° or more with
Heat
additional factors that increase risk of
heat exposure
SmokeAQI of Very Unhealthy or More
Shelters called by the City Administration
Temperature:Heat-The City called for Cooling Shelters 9 days in 2021.
Temperature:Cold/Inclement Weather(beginning in 2009 there was a Sunday nightshelter every
week regardless of temperature. Then in 2012 two more nights were added for a total ofthree shelter
nights every week. In 2014 another shelter night was added for a total of 4 nights a week. 2018and
after OHRA coordinated the shelter every night of the weekwith 45 dedicated beds from November to
April. OHRA also coordinated inclement weather shelter for those who were not already housed in the
weekly shelter. Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice took over operation an inclement weather shelters as
needed from beginning in 2019. (Reporting of shelter night number directly to me stopped in2013.)
YearTotal # of Shelter Nights# of Emergency Shelter NightsTotal # of Guests
Winter 2007-2008121253
Winter 2008-20091111102
Winter 2009-201021?189
Winter 2010-20112313206
Winter 2011-2012326448
Winter 2012-2013?636
Winter2013-2014885362
Winter 2020-20211060(no data from 1/24-1/28
shelters)
Inclement
Weather
OHRA Winter 150094
Shelter Program
2020-2021
UU Pallet Continuous07
Shelters
No data on smoke shelters
Smoke:PM2.5 values for Medford 2011-2021(current).
DEPT. OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Tel: 541-488-5305
20 E. Main Street Fax: 541-488-6006
Ashland, Oregon 97520 TTY: 800-735-2900
www.ashland.or.us
Where:The Commission is looking for solutions to the problem of locations to serve as temporary
daytime or night time shelters for vulnerable populations during severe climate events. One possibility
is to develop a list of pre-approved locations (much like the City of Medford’s Severe Weather Event
policy) which are assessed to meet the health and safety requirements (i.e. building code and fire safety
requirements), and which are dedicated as available for certain days/nights of the week, preferably for
multiple days in a row. If there was a calendar of available spaces, then,when anemergentsevere
climateeventhappens, organizerswould know which location would be utilized based on the
availability and the day of the week that the severe climate event or events take place.
Why:The Community is regularly experiencing health and safety impacts due to climate change. The
City and other community partners struggle to address these urgent needs as they arise. The City would
like to come up with a plan for quickly mobilizing needed resources in terms of space/location,
volunteers/staffing, and goods/services, and funding needs in order to be better prepared for and to react
quickly to these increasing severe climate events. This is not unique to Ashland, as several other entities
are also working on developing a policy to address these needs, if there is an opportunity for
collaboration, the Commission would be open to hearing what those collaborative efforts might be.
How:The Commission is looking to set up a model which identifies:
Roles:Who will be responsible for which aspects of putting a plan into action?
Resource Needs:What is needed to provide a safe climaterespite center?
o Physical Location: Where will climate respite resources be located?
o Staffing Needs: Volunteers? Volunteer Coordination? Trainings for Volunteers? Paid
Staff?
o Goods: Food, Water, Ice, Masks, Air purifiers, blankets?
o Funding: For staffing,rental space, utilities, goods?
DEPT. OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Tel: 541-488-5305
20 E. Main Street Fax: 541-488-6006
Ashland, Oregon 97520 TTY: 800-735-2900
www.ashland.or.us
Housingand Human Services
Commission Memo
TITLE:Rent Burden Discussion
DEPT:Community Development
DATE:October 28,2021
SUBMITTED BY:Linda Reid, Housing Program Specialist
HB 4006 was passed in 2018, and required Cities with a population over 10,000 whose residents that
experience severe rent burden at a rate greater than 25% annually hold a public meeting to discuss the
issue of rent burden, and opportunities for addressingand reducing rent burden. Oregon Housing and
Community Services annually evaluates and provides data on the percentage of residents within a City
that experience severe rent burden. The information provided by Oregon Housing and Community
Services is provided as an attachment to this memo.
Severe rent burden is defined by the Department of Housing and Urban Development as those who pay
50% or more of their income toward rent costs.
Year# of Severely Renter # Severe Rent Total Renter Total Population
Burdened HHBurdenedHouseholds
201835%1,4724,17821,002
201933.6%1,4164,21720,815
202031.7%1,4754,25620,960
202132.3%1,3604,21621,105
Memo
DATE:10/28/2021
TO:Housing and Human Services Commission
FROM:Linda Reid, Housing Program Specialist
RE:Housing and Human Services Commission Annual Update to the City Council
Discussion
______________________________________________________________________________
th
The annual update to the council is scheduled for November 16.Below is the draft memo that
staff put together using the suggestions from the Commissioners two years ago (as the
commission did not do an update last year due to COVID).It would be great if the Commission
could take a few minutes to go over this narrative below, along with the suggested updated
information from 2020 and 2021 which staff has added, which are bold and underlined, and
suggestchanges, additions, and edits as the Commission deems necessary. The Commissioner
should also select a Commissioner to present the update at the virtual Council meeting.
Mayor and City Council,
The Housing and Human Services Commission is pleased to report on the work we have
undertaken this year, and to provide a brief overview of the ongoing work which will be carried
over in the next year.
Affordable Housing Trust Fund
The Housing and Human Services Commission oversaw thefirst ever grant awards of Affordable
Housing Trust funds to eligible organizations. In 2018 the Commission reviewed applications
and made award recommendations on this new source of funding to support the development of
needed housing within Ashland by recommending the award of funds to two organizations;
Columbia Care and Options for Helping Residents of Ashland. The awards to these two
organizations supported the highest priority identified through several adopted city documents,
the provision of affordable housing. The award of Affordable Housing Trust funds assisted these
two organizations in the development of at least 30 units of affordable housing, and in the long
term, the potential for a permanent shelter and/or transitional housing development. The City
will once again be offering Affordable Housing Trust Funds to eligible applicants in January
2020. Over the past two years the Commission has worked to evaluate the previous grant review
and recommendation process and will have a better more efficient process in the coming year as
a result. In 2020the Housing and Human Service’s regular meeting schedule was disrupted
by the onset of the pandemic and the related declaration of a state of emergency within the
City which suspended all unnecessarymeetings. The City issued Requests for Proposals in
January 2020 for both the regular CDBG program and for the Affordable Housing Trust
funds. The Housing and Human Services Commission met in March 2020 to review and
make recommendations regarding the applications received, which did not address issues
related to the pandemic as the applications were solicited, written, and returned prior to
the onset of the pandemic. The Commission reviewed and made recommendations on three
CDBG funding requests and three Affordable Housing Trust Fund requests.
Social Service Grant Program
City staff and the H&HS commission completed the process of reviewing and making award
recommendations regarding the City’s allocation of Social Service Grant Funds. For the 2019-
2021 Grant Cycle, the Housing and Human Services Commission undertook a two year long
look at the funding priorities and garnered community and grantee feedback on how best to
utilize the funding to meet the needs of the community. Along with a review of the funding
priorities identified in the strategic plan, the Commission evaluated the grant application and the
grant review processes to ensure the most thorough, and efficient review process, which provides
the most impact to identified needsin the community while utilizing the funding in the most
efficient manner. To that end the Commission recommended funding several projects, and not
funding others. The projects that were recommended targeted identified service shortfalls within
the community. One such project, the Addictions Recovery Center Community Engagement
Mobile Response Unit, a pilot program that provides transportation in emergency situations for
people experiencing drug induced crisis situations. This program addresses two priorities
identified in the strategic plan, transportation, and mental health resources. The program
offered an innovative solution to a problem, that is currently unmet within the community. The
Community Engagement Mobile Response Unit, similar to the CAHOOTS crisis response model,
provides emergency transportation to the detox center and will respond to calls from hospital
emergency rooms, law enforcement and non-profit, service providers as needed. Similarly, the
Commission recommended funding two organizations that have a long history of providing
services in Ashland but have not asked for funding in the past. The La Clinica mobile unit
provides, among other things, drop in mental health services, and Peace House, which provides
thousands of meals every year to homeless and low income community members, both provide
services identified by the strategic plan, to some of the most vulnerable populations in the
community. The Commission also recommended supporting organizations that had projects
funded inprevious years. Those that were recommended for funding again, either provided
needed identified services, and/or are providing the biggest bang for the tax payer buck. The
activities funded in 2018 served a total of 6,327 individuals at a cost of approximately $21.18
per person. Evaluation of service provider’s activities and outcomes are an ongoing goal for the
Commission, and is a process which will continue to be improved over the next year to ensure
the wisest, most effective use of these valuable resources.
In 2021 City staff and the H&HS commission completed the process of reviewing and
making award recommendations regarding the City’s allocation of Social Service Grant
Funds. For the 2021 Grant Cyclethe H&HS commission awarded $135K in funding to 11
different activities.
CDBG
City staff and H&HS commission completed the process of reviewing and making award
recommendations regarding the City’s allocation of Community Development Block Grant
Funds. For the 2019 program year the Commission recommended funding projects that serve
vulnerable populations within the city including homeless youth, and at risk families and
children. This past year the Commission also evaluated and made recommendations on two
projects outside of the regular grant Cycle to expend surplus funding and provide for identified
needs within the community. One such project, the Ashland Housing Safety program is an
innovative partnership between Ashland Fire and Rescue and Rebuild Together, a local non-
profit serving seniors andpeoples with disabilities. This program has already assisted 8
households with health and safety repairs to prevent falls and create a safer living environment.
In 2020 the H&HS Commission Completed the process of updating the Consolidated Plan
for theuse of CDBG funding. The document was the culmination of a yearlong update
process which included an extensive public outreach and feedback process. The
Commission also reviewed and approved an update of the City’s Analysis of Impediments
to Fair Housing Choice, a document that outlines activities to ensure that the City works
toward removing barriers to fair housing choice for all citizen’s.
Homeless Goals
The Housing and Human Services Commission has identified several goals related to alleviating
issues of homelessness. These goals are ongoing as addressing them is primarily a community
wide effort. The primary goals identified for the future are around generating resources to
provide mental health services, exploring resources to encourage the development of a tiny
house village, and supporting opportunities for the expansion of the car camping program. The
Commission also has followed and will continue to follow the Ashland Winter Shelter Program,
though the Commission itself had no direct impact on the creation of the One Site Shelter, many
of the individual Commissioners were very involved in that effort and continue to be involved in
a volunteer capacity.
Education and Outreach
In 2017 and 2018 members of the Housing and Human Services Commission worked with the
Planning Commission and Staff to elicit public Comment regarding an update of the Housing
Element goals and policies. The Commission hosted several meetings in which community
members could comment on the draft document. In 2018 the Council adopted the Housing
Element.
In November of 2018 The Housing and Human Services Commission held a Public forum to
discuss the issue of rent burden. The forum was attended by over 40 individuals concerned
about the issue of rent burden in the Ashland Community. The Commission Held an Education
and Community Engagement Forum in October of 2019 on Rental Housing Issues. The forum
featured four panelist and Senator Jeff Golden was the Key Note speaker.
In July 2021 the Housing and Human Services Commission held a virtual Post Legislative
Session with Representative Pam Marsh to provide updates and information about bills
related to housing and homelessness.