HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-08-30 Housing MIN
ASHLAND HOUSING COMMISSION
MINUTES
August 30, 2007
CALL TO ORDER
Chair Bill Street called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. at the Community Development and Engineering Services Building, 51
Winburn Way, Ashland, OR 97520.
SOU Liaison: none
Commissioners Present:
Carol Voisin
Steve Hauck
Council Liaison: Alice Hardesty, Absent
Regina Ayars
Bill Smith Staff Present::
Aaron Benjamin Brandon Goldman, Housing Specialist
Richard Billin Carolyn Schwendener, Account Clerk
Bill Street, Chair
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The minutes of the July 26, 2007 meeting were approved as presented.
PUBLIC FORUM
No one came forth to speak.
REPORTS AND UPDATES
Subcommittee Report
Education – No meeting/no report
Finance – No quorum
It was decided that both subcommittees for Finance & Education will meet together to plan logistics regarding an upcoming
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Community Workshop on Housing Trust Funds scheduled for October. The meetings will be held on September 5 at 6:00
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p.m. and September 19 at 5:30 p.m. in the Community Development Building. Goldman spoke with Oregon Action
regarding inviting Mary Brooks to the meeting.
Liaison Reports
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Council – No report. Street thanked Voisin, Smith & Benjamin for attending the August 21 Council meeting and going
forward to recommend the condo conversion ordinance be passed. Voisin would like to suggest to the council that the
meetings stop after 4 hours.
Parks – No report.
Schools – Street recently spoke with three different board members regarding housing. It appears unclear what if anything
will be happening regarding housing on the school properties. Street commented that every new teacher he is aware of does
not live in Ashland. Benjamin said this is definitely an opportunity to make the case of workforce housing.
Planning – Goldman reported that at the last Planning Commission meeting the Verde Village subdivision was reviewed. It
will have 15 affordable units. The applicant’s proposal would dedicate the land to RVCDC and they would then develop the
affordable housing on it. Commissioner Marsh recommended that as a condition of approval if RVCDC did not develop the
land within a five year period that it revert back to City ownership.
Tripartite – Goldman reported that the Tripartite Committee met and discussed the Housing notebook that is in development.
Once Goldman has received their recommendations for changes he will forward it on to be published by the City as a
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resource for different types of affordable housing. The time frame is feedback by Sept. 15 and then have it ready in
October.
Public Testimony - City Councilor Cate Hartzell spoke. She is the Council’s representative to the County regarding the
effort to create a 10 year plan to end chronic homelessness. The committee will be setting up sub committees to do work on
data research, outcome identification, prevention, intervention and infrastructure. Hartzell would like to encourage the
Housing Commission as well as the Council to look more strongly at a priority for homelessness. She would like to see
some of the CDGB money used for this.
ASHLAND HOUSING COMMISSION
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MINUTES
August 30, 2007
Federal Appropriations Process Update
Goldman stated that the City made a request for direct earmark funding in the amount of 2.2 million dollars to develop 56
new units on multiple sites. If the funds come through the City would then identify property for development and come
back to the Housing Commission with money in hand looking to do a project. Similar requests have been made in the last
two years and neither of those received the funding.
Land Use Ordinance Changes
The Commission discussed the following three proposed changes that have a direct impact on housing.
Accessory Residential Units and Density-Currently ARU’s are not permitted in multi-family zones. What this ordinance proposes to do
is to allow for those units to be permitted in mufti family zones. The two options are:
1) Units can be up to 1000 square feet
2) Units can be up to 500 square feet maximum
After discussing whether it is appropriate to have ARU’s in multi family zones and if so which option would be best Street/Voisin m/s to
recommend and approve the change of the first option of allowing a unit similar in size of ARU’s up to 1000 square feet in multi family
zones.
Public Testimony – Cate Harzell spoke on the proposal. She shared her concerns about allowing larger ARU”S in multi-family zones.
She felt it would be to high a density and distributes them around town instead of in a concentrated area making the buildings less
desirable. She proposed the question. Would it be legal for the City to make this change but require that any of the new housing done
under the change be affordable?
The Commission voted on Street’s prior motion. The motion passed with a majority vote with Ayars descending.
Voisin left the meeting at 7:00 p.m. because a notice of flash flood warning was announced. She lives on Wrights Creek.
Maximum permitted floor area in mufti- family zones. Goldman explained that the option that has been forwarded says that if you
have an Accessory Unit, provided the unit is less then 500 square feet, it need not meet the MPFA. At this time in the MPFA there is an
exemption of things not included, basements, garages, detached accessory structures. What is recommended is a change that would say
“or” a second residential unit on a lot, where the unit is less then 500 square feet in gross floor area. This changes the exemption from
being just detached residential units to detached 500 square foot residential units. If they are exempted from the floor area it gives more
of an incentive to build them because it doesn’t count against the size of the primary home.
Hauck/Street m/s to recommendation that the Commission look at making detached ARU’s of 500 feet or less exempt from MPFA
calculations, and to recommend that ARU’s less than 500 sq.ft be an outright permitted use in single family zoning. Voice Vote:
Approved
Residential Ground Floor in C-1 and E-1Zones. The proposed standard is to either prohibit ground floor residential or to allow for 500
square foot units on the ground floor provided they are ADA assessable. The existing ordinance allows for up to 35% of the ground floor
area to be residential and all of the second and third stories to be residential.
The Commissioners discussed whether residential should be permitted on the ground floor of Commercial buildings. Street asked the
Commissioners if they were comfortable with buildings in the Commercial district being less then 50% commercial, changing the nature of
the Commercial District. Street felt that with residential in a Commercial zone you’re expecting a very high price for the residential unit
rather then being affordable. Benjamin pointed out the affordable units on Lithia Way. He felt the more residential you have in mixed use
situations the healthier the community is going to be. People without children, older people and those who don’t want to depend on cars
will benefit from that situation.
Street/Hauck m/s to recommend option two to allow 500 square foot units on the ground floor provided they are ADA accessible. Voice
vote: Approved
UPCOMING EVENTS AND MEETINGS
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Regular meeting – September 275:30-7:30. Ayars will not be present at the September meeting.
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City Council: Second reading of the Condominium Conversion Ordinance: September 4 7:00-10:30. It was Goldman’s
understanding that there will be no public impute at this second reading.
ADJOURNMENT – The meeting was adjourned at 7:55 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by,
Carolyn Schwendener, Account Clerk
ASHLAND HOUSING COMMISSION
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MINUTES
August 30, 2007