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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-07-26 Housing PACKET Ashland Housing Commission Regular Meeting Agenda: th July 26, 2007 5:30 Î 7:30pm Community Development Building 51 Winburn Way 1. (5:30) Approval of Minutes 2. (5:35) Public Forum items not on the agenda 3. (5:40) Reports and Updates Subcommittee Reports Liaison reports Education (no meeting) Council (goals) Finance (See agenda Item 4) Parks Land Use Schools Planning Tripartite (no meeting) 4. (6:00) Housing Trust Fund Development Mission Statement Eligible applicants Uses and Priorities Future hearing and Public input 5. (6:30) Clay St. Park and Affordable Housing Development Regarding property previously purchased by the Parks Department with a portion set aside for affordable housing 6. (6:50) Rental Needs Analysis Review and Discussion 7. (7:20) Future Agenda Items August Meeting Review Housing Commission goals Land Use ordinance changes before the Planning Commission Siegel Report modifications 7. (7:25) Upcoming Events and Meetings Regular Housing Commission Meeting th August 30 2007, 5:30-7:30 (Note this meeting is one week later th than our typical meeting date and will thus be on the 5 Thursday of the month Î In September we will return to our regular meeting day) Special Study Session on HTF Î August date TBA 8. (7:30) Adjournment ASHLAND HOUSING COMMISSION MINUTES JUNE 28, 2007 CALL TO ORDER Î Chair Bill Street called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. at the Community Development and Engineering Services Building, 51 Winburn Way, Ashland, OR. Commissioners Present: SOU Liaison: Sunny Lindley, Absent Bill Street, Chair Richard Billin Council Liaison: Alice Hardesty, Present Regina Ayars Carol Voisin Staff Present:: Bill Smith Brandon Goldman, Housing Specialist Absent Members: Sue Yates, Executive Secretary Steve Hauck Aaron Benjamin APPROVAL OF MINUTES Î Voisin/Ayars m/s to approve the minutes of the May 24, 2007 meeting. Voice Vote: There was unanimous approval of the minutes. Comment: Street has heard from the Council and some members of the community criticisms concerning the assumptions of the Rental Needs Analysis and he wondered if those concerns could be answered and results defended. Hardesty suggested the Housing Commission members watch the online video of the June 12, 2007 Planning Commission meeting to hear first-hand the comments made concerning the Rental Needs Analysis. The Commissioners agreed to add this item to next monthÓs agenda. PUBLIC FORUM - No one came forth to speak. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS Education Î Smith reported the RVTV show went well, they received good feedback and they learned some things. They would like to reach a broader audience. Voisin urged the committee to select callers and prepare critical and substantive questions to raise interest in topics. Street said one of the goals for this program is to educate the community that affordable housing is about more than just low income residents of Ashland but about a whole range of people. Finance Î They are working on the housing trust fund and have settled on a mission statement. They plan to use the CDBG model and see how those goals would work within a housing trust fund. They will then prioritize their preferences and goals. They will plan to bring it to the Housing Commission in July and hold a public meeting in August to review the priorities that have been preliminarily identified. Goldman said he would investigate how the money that is in the general fund earns interest. Land Use Î No meeting was held. th Condo Conversion Update Î The ordinance went to the Planning Commission and City Council on June 19. The Council held th a public hearing, received comments, and began deliberations. A motion to approve was tabled until July 17 when a decision will be made (first reading). It is not too late for the Housing Commissioners or the public to comment. LIAISON REPORTS Council Î See Condo Conversion above. Parks Î No report. Schools Î Street reported the school board had a meeting (for the first time ever) and in-depth discussion of affordable housing and school properties. It seemed to go very well. Street said the hope is that the school board will identify housing as a goal. It has to be a goal in order for the superintendent to act on it. The school board wants a stream of income from housing. Smith offered to locate models from universities that have been doing this for over 20 years. Planning Commission Î Hardesty would like to see the Housing Commission better communicate their goals and purposes to the Planning Commission. Voisin said she would be willing to set up lunch meetings with different Commissioners (two from Housing and two from Planning). Hardesty and Goldman agreed to assist her. Note: Street will be out the whole month of July. Tripartite - Street, Hardesty and Goldman attended but no one else came. Hardesty will set up the July meeting and work the meeting date around the school board members. Goldman will write a brief memo to the school board outlining their options for putting together an application for a successful project. There is not an advantage in identifying a specific property at this point. His hope is to keep the ball rolling. Hardesty cautioned that we donÓt want to overwhelm the school board. She will get in touch with Goldman before the e-mail is sent. 2007-2008 GOAL SETTING th Goldman handed out a process for setting goals. The Council will be establishing their goals on July 14 and it would be valuable for the Housing Commission to weigh in. He reminded the Commissioners that the Housing Action Plan goals should direct their strategy. Brainstorming: o Write a specific goal that resonates with enough people that they can remember what it is - a goal that becomes short, achievable, measurable and time sensitive. The Goal: That we, in collaboration with the Planning Commission, City, and City Administrator, identify a piece of city land that can be developed as housing for a wide range of incomes with particular focus on City employees. o Keep track of vulnerable properties; that is, properties that have USDA grants. Work with non-profits to understand their strategies and track the properties. Define vulnerable properties. Vulnerable properties could include trailer parks. Long-term plan to deal with vulnerable properties. o Build better relations with the Planning Commission. o Complete the housing trust fund. o Build housing above parking lots (a larger parking lot than the Lithia lot). Develop a Request for Proposals for housing over a parking lot. Document the lessons learned from the Lithia lot. o Stay strong in liaison work. o Land use regulation Î regulatory controls related to housing, zone changes and annexations. o Finances available for acquiring land for affordable housing. o Create a program(s) to use the $20,000 (in the Housing Commission budget) that had once been identified but underutilized for rental assistance and down payment programs. o Examine feasibility of zoning incentives to create rental housing. o Ongoing education to raise awareness of housing needs through public information programs. o Identify land to be purchased and /or constructed with Strawberry Lane fund to build workforce housing. o Complete annexation ordinance. o Limit development of Ðfor-purchaseÑ housing on multi-family zoned property. o Examine expanding financing options such as bonds and tax credits Refine Priorities The Commissioners voted (with dots) for their top three priorities that will be sent to the Council. They will still keep the other goals. They decided on the following priorities: 1. Collaborate with the City Council and Staff to identify a piece of City owned land to accommodate housing for a whole range of City employees for at least 25 housing units. 2. Complete the housing trust fund. 3. Complete the annexation ordinance. Goldman will draft the letter to the Council and send it to Voisin for her review. UPCOMING EVENTS AND MEETINGS th Next Housing Commission meeting - July 26, 5:30 p.m. (check for a quorum). Review all the goals at the August meeting The Education committee will not meet in July. ADJOURNMENT Î The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted by, Sue Yates, Executive Secretary ASHLAND HOUSING COMMISSION 2 MINUTES JUNE 28, 2007 Memo TO: Housing Commission Title: Housing Trust Fund Development Date: July 26, 2007 Submitted By: Brandon Goldman, Housing Program Specialist Ashland Housing Trust Fund The Ashland Housing Commission has begun the process of developing a Housing Trust Fund (HTF). Specifically the finance subcommittee of the Housing Commission has taken an active role in the research and development of the HTF, and brings forward information to go before the full commission for consideration. The process of establishing a Housing Trust Fund is expected to take a total of 20 months. This undertaking includes a number of discrete tasks including: defining the mission of the HTF examining the housing needs of the community to inform potential uses establishing priorities for use of funds determining eligible applicant criteria determining an administrative an award decision process identifying dedicated funding stream to support the trust development of the legal and financial frameworks of the trust public review and adoption of the trust fund platform Securing the dedicated funding stream(s). The finance subcommittee has most recently completed a survey (mail and online) of Ashland residents to assist in defining what uses for a trust fund were supported by the respondants, and further had brought to the full commission in April 2007 alternatives for crafting a mission statement . With direction from the full commission the mission statement proposed is as follows: Mission The mission of the Ashland Housing Trust Fund is to keep our community diverse by facilitating the production and preservation of affordable housing throughout Ashland. To further explain the intent behind the creation of a Housing Trust Fund the finance committee evaluated the inclusion of a purpose statement as presented below. The intention of this purpose statement was to providing direction to potential applicants as to generalized limitations for the application of the trust funds, the desire to utilize the trust to encourage leverage, and the underlying premise that the HTF should remain flexible to changing conditions. Purpose The purpose of the Ashland Housing Trust Fund is to establish a dedicated source of revenue to provide ongoing funding for housing projects or programs that address the housing needs of Ashland residents. To this end the AHTF is established to address the primary purpose of encouraging the creation of housing for homeownership or rent, at a cost that will enable low and moderate income families to afford quality housing while paying no more than thirty per cent of gross household income on housing, To promote the rehabilitation, preservation and production of quality, well designed rental and homeownership housing the AHTF will award funds to community development partners that are furthering the AHTF mission. It is expecting that the local contributions made through AshlandÓs Housing Trust Fund will assist in maximizing the leveraging of state and federal funds, as well as encourage private sector investment in affordable housing. Understanding the high cost of housing regionally, it is evident that low and moderate income households are not being served by the housing market. To address the disparity between the cost of housing and the means of resident households to afford housing, the Ashland Housing Trust Fund aims to provide direct financial support to projects that retain or increase the supply of needed housing for households earning less than 120% the Area Median Income as defined by HUD. The Ashland Housing Trust Fund framework further establishes eligible uses, eligible applicants, and the method by which funds are awarded. In recognition of the changing nature of the housing market, and of the corresponding housing needs, the Ashland Housing Trust Fund has been developed to remain flexible to respond to changing conditions. Eligible Applicants The Ashland Housing Trust Fund may best be structured to ensure that many different types of organizations are eligible to receive financing. Eligible applicants may include governmental subdivisions, community development corporations, local housing authorities, community action agencies, community-based or neighborhood-based non-profit housing organizations, other non-profit organizations, for-profit entities, and private employers. Preferences To provide further direction to potential applicants it was suggested that guidance in the form of preferences be expressed in the Housing Trust Funds framework. Beloware examples of some preferences that could be incorporated into the final platform. It is important to note that such preferences need to be examined by the public, the Housing Commission and ultimately the City Council to ensure that such policy decisions are meeting the objectives of the community. They are provided at this point in advance of the public hearing on the development of the priority used primarily to engage the Housing Commission in the discussion. The Finance Subcommittee did express a clear distinction in preferences citing that such uses that create new affordable housing were seen as a preferred use of funds than such uses that retained or rehabilitated existing affordable housing. The survey results received also noted a clear direction to direct any HTF funds to benefit households at 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI) or less as opposed to targeting benefits to households at the 120% AMI level. Ultimately such ÒguidelinesÓ would be used to establish ranking criteria to better evaluate competing proposals. Guidelines Given the limited amount of funding available through the Ashland Housing Trust Fund the distribution of grants, or low-interest loans, is conducted through a competitive award process. The full criteria of selection are included in the annual Request for Proposals, however the following preferences are provided as guidance for future applicants. Developments that produce ÐnewÑ affordable housing units. For the purposes of these Guidelines, ÐnewÑ affordable housing units shall include housing units constructed where none had existed previously, abandoned or fire-damaged residential units to be returned to residential use, and non-residential or non- residentially-zoned property converted to residential use. Any designated new affordable housing units shall be secured as affordable through recorded Resale Restriction Covenants. Developments that provide new affordability. For the purpose of these Guidelines, Ðnew affordabilityÑ refers to existing housing where a new level of affordability is provided that does not currently exist. This could occur in rental or ownership housing where the number of affordable units is increased; where a portion of existing units will be made affordable to households at income levels substantially lower than the units currently served; or where the term of affordability on the units will be extended for a period beyond thirty (30) years. Developments that include affordable units for families with 50% or more of the units containing two or more bedrooms. Developments including a substantial proportion of units serving households with incomes of 30% or less of the median income Developments of housing utilizing the Land Trust model to secure property and perpetual affordability. Developments that include joint ventures between multiple non-profit developers and or for-profit developers, working in partnership, to complete an affordable housing project Developments that include a joint venture between service providers and non-profit affordable housing developers to create projects that contain additional benefits to low income individuals in the development of the project, or additional services for the residents upon completion. Developments that include affordable units for the disabled and the homeless. Projects that propose the longest term of affordability. Projects that are sponsored by non-profit organizations. Projects that use private funding sources and non-state funding sources to leverage the least amount of Ashland Housing Trust funds. Potential Uses The determination of how trust funds will be used is essential to ensure that the mission of the HTF is being carried out. To ensure some measure of flexibility in the trust fund it has been discussed that providing a broad list of eligible activities is preferable to a narrow scope. Although the Trust will not be in a position to fund every activity in any given year, it did not seem reasonable to exclude potential uses under the expectation that we would consistently receive applications for the highest valued use. The listing below is provided to the full commission for consideration. The commission may wis to discuss both the contents of the list and whether any should be added or removed, as well as provide some initial impression as to which uses are a higher priority than others. This distinction will assist in the development of the awards process by providing assistance in formulating award selection criteria. Eligible Activities The purpose of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund is to support the creation or preservation of housing that is affordable to people with incomes that do not exceed 120% of the area median income, as defined by HUD. AHTF funds will be focused on those activities that create, preserve or acquire housing within the Ashland Urban Growth Boundary. AHTF funds may also be used for permanent or transitional housing for homeless families and individuals, and for the modernization, rehabilitation and repair of public housing. A housing development to be financed by the Ashland Housing Trust Fund which receives subsidy, financing, tax credits or other assistance under a state or federal housing program, may contain market rate units insofar as permissible under those programs and/or to the extent that they are necessary to support the creation of and/or on-going sustainability for the affordable housing units in the development. However, AHTF funds may not be used to support market rate units. The Ashland Housing Trust Funds can be provided as either a grant or a loan depending on the project or program receiving funding. To retain a significant degree of flexibility the eligible uses have a broad application including the following: Acquisitionand Construction of new affordable housing. Eligible acquisition and construction costs include reasonable costs associated with building or land purchase, such as: ¤ Purchase price ¤ Option costs ¤ Financing fees ¤ Appraisal costs ¤ Closing costs ¤ Interest ¤ Inspection fees ¤ Title insurance ¤ Relocation costs ¤ Architectural/engineering fees ¤ Construction costs Conservation of energy through the use of ÐgreenÑ technologies provided that the benefits of the energy savings is passed on in the form of reduced costs to the qualified occupants of the affordable housing. Land Banking: the purchase of land to be dedicated toward the development of affordable housing in the near or long term. Predevelopment activities undertaken by a community development organization in support of the development of affordable housing including planning, architectural services, engineering services, landscape design, legal services, surveys, site clearance and demolition, environmental clearance, permit application fees and system development charges. Bridge loans to assist in development of low-income housing (for rental or owner occupancy). Bridge loans are intended to provide funding to permit housing projects to proceed in advance of the availability of permanent project funding. Bridge loan funding is available for such project development activity as acquisition and/or construction. Capacity Building for non-profit affordable housing providers in the form of direct grant awards to fund administration of an affordable housing project or program. Rehabilitation and Emergency Repairs as part of an established program to secure units as affordable or to provide direct benefits to existing low-moderate income households. Eligible rehabilitation and emergency repair costs include but are not limited to: ¤ Architectural/engineering fees ¤ Construction costs ¤ Relocation costs ¤ Hazardous materials abatement including lead based paint noticing consistent with The Federal Lead Safe Housing Regulations HUD requirements at 24 CFR §35 Direct benefits to low-moderate income households through an established program including down payment assistance, rental assistance, mortgage foreclosure prevention, emergency housing vouchers, homeownership training, renter education, or other programs intended to increase housing opportunities for AshlandÓs low-moderate income residents. Transitional and Emergency Housing for homeless individuals and families Other uses as deemed appropriate by the Ashland City Council as supporting the development or preservation of affordable housing within Ashland. As noted previously the development of a Housing Trust Fund is an undertaking that requires careful consideration, public involvement, and will ultimately require rd significant support to secure funding and approval. As we are essentially only 1/3 of the way into the development of the framework with approximately 12 months to go before a final document is presented for City Council review and approval, there remains ample opportunity to modify the potential uses and preferences to better meet the needs of the Community. Integral to the success of a HTF is considerable public input and direction. To this end the finance subcommittee is recommending the full Commission have a special meeting to elicit comment on the potential uses identified to date and to introduce the purpose of the trust fund to interested community members. To accomplish this it is recommended that the Education Subcommittee become involved in the planning and execution of these outreach and public involvement efforts. Memo TO: Housing Commission Title: Clay Street Park Property Development Date: July 26, 2007 Submitted By: Brandon Goldman, Housing Program Specialist Clay Street Park History In 2006 the Ashland Parks Department acquired a 2.3 acre parcel to be used as a neighborhood park along Clay Creek. Prior to purchase the Parks Commission reviewed a proposal to set aside a small portion of this property to be developed as affordable workforce housing. The Parks Commission was amenable and allocated a roughly 14,000 square foot developable portion of the property to be developed as housing. As the parkland was to be purchased with openspace funds (meals tax) the area dedication for housing had to be purchased with separate revenue. Doing a cost allocation on a square foot basis it was determined that $8.9327 per square foot would be the cost for the property to be set aside for affordable housing. Thus the 14,000 square foot area cost $125,057.80. This cost is to be paid from the proceeds of the first of the four Strawberry Lane lots sold. As the land set aside for affordable housing could potentially accommodate 5 attached town homes the original purchase price equates to a land cost of just $25,000 per unit. Comparatively the most recent acquisition for such a project by the Rogue Valley Community Development Corporation (Park Stand Siskiyou Blvd) was $375,000 for a parcel with a 6 unit potential, or $62,500 per unit. It was through collaboration with the Parks Commission that the benefit of reduced cost land was realized. Given the low initial land cost the City can offer the property to affordable workforce housing developers at cost, or a reduced cost in the form of direct subsidy, to facilitate affordable housing development. Selecting a developer The process of developing five units on the property necessitates the selection of a housing developer to design the project, process the planning subdivision and building approvals, and construct the housing. The Land Use subcommittee has briefly reviewed this item and has indicated that issuance of a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) would be an expeditious way to elicit conceptual proposals from area affordable housing providers. The purpose of a RFQ would be to identify the respondent most capable of designing a housing project, financing its development, and completing the review and construction phases of the project. Staff suggests the formation of an ad-hoc RFQ review committee to be comprised of a Housing Commissioner, Parks Commissioner and City Staff to initially review responses to bring back to the full Housing Commission an evaluation of the applicants for consideration. The Housing Commission would then review the conceptual housing elements proposed by the respondents to forward a formal recommendation to the City Council to direct staff to enter into a negotiated development agreement with the most capable respondent. Subsequent to selection and the execution of a development agreement the developer will formalize a proposal and begin the planning review process. The Housing Commission would review the proposal at the pre-application stage of the planning process in advance of the formal review by the Planning Commission. Staff recommends that at this time the Housing Commission direct Staff to develop an RFQ to send to affordable housing providers, and to initiate the formation of the Ad- Hoc RFQ review committee. S I S K I Y O U B L V D T S Y A s h A l a n d e r L ( 6 , 0 0 0 s q C. f t . ) 14,000 sq.ft. Residential portion $ 2-story townhomes Residential =1200 sq.ft garage = 300 sq ft. (1 car) 89,000 sq.ft. Park / Openspace Proposed Park Property , Approximate lot areas: Parks/OS = 89000 sq.ft (82%) N Residential = 14000 sq.ft. (13%) 80080160Feet Ashlander Parking = 6,000 sq.ft.(5%) Scale: 1" = 80' Contour interval = 2' SOURCE: CITY OF ASHLAND Property lines provided for identification only, not scalable 2 1 4 0 A s h l a n d e r ( 6 , 0 0 0 s q . f t . ) 14,000 sq.ft. Residential portion $ 2-story townhomes Residential =1200 sq.ft garage = 300 sq ft. (1 car) 2 1 5 0 89,000 sq.ft. Park / Openspace Proposed Park Property , Approximate lot areas: Parks/OS = 89000 sq.ft (82%) N Residential = 14000 sq.ft. (13%) 50050Feet Ashlander Parking = 6,000 sq.ft.(5%) Scale: 1" = 50' Contour interval = 2' SOURCE: CITY OF ASHLAND Property lines provided for identification only, not scalable Housing Commission 2007-2008 Goal Recommendations th The Housing Commission, at their regular meeting on June 28, 2007, conducted a goal setting process in which a number of short and long term goals were identified. Of these goals the Commission specifically isolated three primary goals they wished to forward to the City Council for consideration as part of the Council's 2007-2008 goal setting efforts. Through collaboration with the City Council, and City Staff, identify a piece of City owned property to accommodate housing for a whole range of City employees. The intention of this goal is to create new housing opportunities for City employees as an employer assisted housing activity. Establish a Housing Trust Fund One priority goal is the development of a Housing Trust Fund. This undertaking has been initiated and the Housing Finance Committee has made significant progress in recent months toward establishing a proposed mission, list of eligible uses, defining eligible applicants, and have begun examining both prioritization of uses of a trust fund, as well as establishing an application process. Legal Department and Finance Department assistance would be imperative to establish the legal and financial frameworks for administration of the trust. The development of the platform will likely take a considerable amount of Commissioner and Staff time to develop and refine a framework for the Housing Trust Fund to ultimately present to the City Council for Consideration. Review and complete ordinance amendments relating to Annexations and Zone Changes The development of regulatory controls pertaining to affordable housing required through zone changes and annexations is a continuation of an activity that should be considered in establishing a workplan for 2007-2008. The review and approval of the Annexation ordinance modifications will continue well into 2007-2008 and constitutes a high priority of the Housing Commission for the coming year. From the Desk of: Brandon Goldman Department of Community Development Tel: 541-488-5305 20 East Main Street Fax: 541-488-5311 Ashland, Oregon 97520 TTY: 800-735-2900 www.ashland.or.us Council Goal Setting 2007 Final Goal List A Group Goals Score Develop a City-led Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy with an Emphasis on Local Economy, Diverse Population, Risks of 1 Over-Reliance on Single-Industry, and Living Wage45 2 Develop City-Employee Continuity Strategy36 3 Develop a City-Wide Transportation Strategy32 4 Complete a City-wide Visioning Plan31 Develop plan to establish fiscal stability, manage costs, prioritize 5 y revenue streams31 services, and insure ke Generate Net Increase in Affordable/Workforce Housing by a 6 Minimum of 200 Units by 201026 Increase Effectiveness in Conservation programs and Identify Specific 7 targets in Energy and Resource Consumption25 B Group Goals Score 1 Implement Program to Provide Workforce Housing for City Employees20 2 Develop a Long-Term Plan for all City Facilities and Properties19 3 Develop a Strategy for the Railroad Property18 4 Complete Downtown Planning Process16 Formulate and Adopt a Comprehensive Policy to Create a Self- 5 Sustaining Community14 6 Create a master plan for the imperatrice property (Parks)13 Develop a plan to address resident's basic needs in an non-evacuation 7 emergency11 Adopt Strategy for City Council to Influence State and Federal 8 gislative Policy as it Impacts the City Interests8 Le C Group Goals Score 1 Develop a homeless action plan by partnering with non-profits1 2 Create alternate programs for troubled youth1 Independently Inventory Deferred Maintenance on USFS Lands in City 3 Watershed1 4 Create a Plan for North Main Street1 Stabilize and Increase the Population of Working-Age Residents by Increasing the Percentage of Adults between the ages of 30 - 45 by 5 10% in ten years0 6 Update the Comprehensive Plan0 7 Begin Education programs & outreach to promote diversity awareness0 8 Build a Cooling Facility for the Water Treatment Plant0 9 Complete Charter Revisions and Resubmit for Vote0 5 of 5