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Home My WebLink About2010-07-22 Housing PACKET Ashland Housing Commission Regular Meeting Agenda nd Thursday July 22 2010: 4:30 – 6:30pm Community Development Building - 51 Winburn Way 1. (4:30) Approval of Minutes (5 min) th June 25 2010 2. (4:35) Public Forum (5 min) 4. (4:40) Liaison Reports (15 min) Liaison Reports Council (Navickas) Parks Commission(Hauck) School Board(Frost) Planning Commission(none) SOU Staff(Linda Reid) 5.(4.55)Homeless Shelter Presentation and Discussion(30 min) Housing Commissioner-Nikki Pons 6.(5:25)Homeless Liaison Revisited(15 min) 7.(5:40) Council Goal Review (15 min) 8. (6:00)Discussion: Annual Goal setting (20 min) th 9.(6:15)August 26 2010 MeetingAgenda Items (10 min) Commissioner items suggested(5 min) Quorum Check – Commissioners not available to attend upcoming regular meetings should declare their expected absence. 10.(6.25)Upcoming Events and Meetings (5 min) None Next Housing Commission Regular Meeting th 4:30-6:30 PM; Thursday August 26 2010 Community Development Building 11. (6:30) Adjournment In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance to participate in this meeting, please contact the Community Development office at 541-488-5305 (TTY phone is 1-800-735-2900). Notification 48 hours prior to the meeting will enable the City to make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility to the meeting(28 CFR 35.102-35.104 ADA Title 1). ASHLAND HOUSING COMMISSION MINUTES June 24, 2010 CALL TO ORDER Chair Steve Hauck called the meeting to order at 4:34 p.m. at the Community Development and Engineering Services Building located at 51 Winburn Way, Ashland, OR 97520. Commissioners Present:Council Liaison Nikki PonsEric Navickas, absent Nick Frost, arrived at 4:40 Regina Ayars Staff Present: Steve HauckLinda Reid, Housing Specialist Jody Waters Carolyn Schwendener, Account Clerk Commissioners Absent: Richard Billin APPROVAL OF MINUTES Ayars/Pons m/s to approve the minutes from the May 27, 2010 meeting. The minutes were approved as presented. PUBLIC FORUM No one was present to speak NEW MEMBER INTRODUCTION The Commissioners welcomed new member Jody Waters. Ms. Waters is a professor at SOU, has been involved with homelessness for several years and also volunteers at Peace House. Waters explained that the teaching assignments at SOU have been recalibrated for the Fall creating a conflict for her with the Housing Commission meetings. At this time Waters will continue her membership with the Commission and make a decision in the near future regarding whether she will be able to continue. REPORTS AND UPDATES Liaison Reports Council – No report Parks – No report School Board – No report Planning – No report SOU– Ayars asked Waters if she would be able to help with the recruitment of a new SOU liaison. Waters felt confident she could find some volunteers in the Fall when the students return and would be happy to assist with that. th Staff – Reid reminded the Commissioners that Project Homeless Connect is tomorrow, June 25 from 9:00 am to 4:00 p.m. at the Medford Armory. The City is sponsoring a Fair Housing Training for Home Owner Associations and Community Managers. It will take place at the City of Medford offices. HOUSING AUTHORITY OF JACKSON COUNTY CLAY STREET UPDATE Brandon Goldman, Senior Planner for the City of Ashland was invited to speak this evening in order to give some background on how this project came to be and how it came to have an affordable housing requirement. Goldman explained that part of the land use rules through an annexation is that projects are required to have affordable housing. Because it was mandated that affordable housing be provided and it is based on the density of the development purposed between fifteen and thirty-five percent of the units have to be affordable. The lower the income level that is targeted the fewer the units. Fifteen percent was required of this project when it originally was presented back in 2006. A private developer was going to be developing 117 units which dropped to 107. That original development was not constructed and HAJC stepped forward as a buyer and took over the original application amending it to modify the site review component of where the buildings would be along with other changes. The City of Ashland worked with the HAJC as a partner. The Planning Department in evaluating whether the conditions of the original annexation were met had to confirm that at least 17 of the units on the site were affordable. Currently all 60 units on the project are one hundred percent affordable and meet the criteria, comprehensive plan concept and zoning density for the affordable housing objective. Goldman explained that the first phase was known but the second phase using the remainder of the land has not yet been designed. Jason Elzy, the HAJC developer for the Snowberry Brook project introduced himself. Mr. Elzy explained that originally in February 2009 they were given an estimate of $55,000 for all building permit fees. Mr. Elzy acknowledged that this estimate was given before building permits were applied for making it difficult to arrive at an accurate number. Current System Development Charges and building permit fees that have been paid are $107,000 creating a $50,000 gap in their budget. Mr. Elzy stated that they feel it is an inequitable split because no where on the site plan approval did it state that the entire 17 units required to be affordable would be assets to the Snowberry Brook project. The HAJC would like to make an equitable split of the 17 units proposing a 9.52 split with the City. They are requesting a refund for the remaining $14,000 in fees. They are not asking for a wavier but asking the City Council to appeal this decision due to the conditions of the IGA and the financial hardship that this money is placing on the project. The HAJC is respectfully asking the Housing Commission members to support this request. The Commissioners discussed Mr. Elzy’s request. Pons/Ayars m/s to recommend the City Council to waive the entire amount of fees. Roll Call: Pons, Frost, Ayars, Waters voted yes, Hauck voted no. The motion passed. DISCUSSION: PROCESS FOR DEVELOPNG SUB-COMMITTEES The Commissioners discussed the process they would like to take in developing Ad Hoc and Special Committees. Frost made a motion that the Chair would appoint the members of the Ad Hoc Committees. Motion failed for lack of a second. Ayars/Pons m/s that the process for creating Ad Hoc Committees is done by group consensus with volunteers. Voice Vote: All ayes, motion passed. Judith Benjamin, Aaron Benjamin’s wife, contacted Reid to discuss setting up a memorial fund in Aaron’s name. People can donate to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund in Aaron’s name. That account has been set up through the finance department and it will be published in both the local newspaper as well as in New York where Aaron had lived before moving to the Rogue Valley. DISCUSSION: ANNUAL GOAL SETTING This retreat is to review the past year’s goals and to look at whether they were accomplished or still of interest as well as to discuss new ones for the coming year. Reid will send out an email with dates and times and arrive at a date that works for everyone. FAIR HOUSING: DRAFT ORDINANCE UPDATE AND DISCUSSION Reid informed the Commissioners that there has been quite a bit of media coverage recently about Student Fair Housing. She said it would be really hard for the City to include students as a protective class without having some kind of student involvement in the process. Reid said that when she discusses Fair Housing Laws with landlords, property owners or property mangers she tells them that these laws do not state that they have to rent to a student, families etc. landlords generally have objective criteria for screening perspective renters, such as rental history, criminal background, and credit checks. Fair Housing laws don’t change those criteria landlords just need to treat everyone in a clear and objective way. Hauck would like to see language that identifies students as a protected class included in the ordinances to review. Reid will move forward with the ordinance which still has to go through legal review but it will help clarify things and bring our code a little more inline with State and Federal. We can also move forward with doing some research and getting some student input, outreach and education and finding out what the community needs and seeing if there is some interest with the Council. Reid reviewed the Fair Housing Ordinance going over the changes. Some of the additions are from State and Federal 2 regulations. Most stem from Fair Housing Council’s recommendations offered in the analysis of impediments. JULY 22, 2010 MEETING AGENDA ITEMS Homeless Liaison Homeless Shelters Discussion regarding future meeting times taking into consideration Ms. Water’s scheduling needs UPCOMING EVENTS AND MEETINS Next Housing Commission Regular Meeting th 4:30-6:30 PM Thursday June 24, 2010 Community Development Building ADJOURNMENT - The meeting was adjourned at 6:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Carolyn Schwendener 3 2009-2010 CITY COUNCIL GOALS OVERVIEW The City Council has set goals for the next 12 to 24 months to continue Ashland’s history as a community that focuses on sustaining itself and its people. To us, sustainability means using, developing and protecting resources at a rate and in a manner that enables people to meet their current needs and also provides that future generations can meet their own needs. The City of Ashland has a responsibility towards sustainability in six primary areas: o Economy o Environment o Social Equity o Municipal Organization o Public Facilities o Partnerships ECONOMY Goal Proposed for Adoption Estimated Staff and Budget Next Steps/ Actions Develop and implement a compre-1 FTE Overall Plan estimated to be formally hensive economic development $150,000 presented to Council in March/ April strategy for the purpose of: Included in Budget 2010. Tentative discussion with o Diversifying the economic base of the Council about proposed work plan in community July 2009 o Supporting creation and growth of businesses that use and provide local and Outstanding Issues: regional products o Increasing the number of family-wage jobs - Enterprise Zones in the community - Urban Renewal o Leveraging the strengths of Ashland’s tourism and repeat visitors Complete Croman Mill Master Plan Work on Croman assigned to staff in Croman land use code adoption and develop an implementing strategy Planning and Administration estimated completion is Nov. 2009 for funding and infrastructure for Croman Funds included in Comm. Dev. Croman infrastructure/ Budget for consulting services as implementation discussion begins neededAugust 2009 - Developer financing options - Grant Availability - Urban Renewal Increase the clarity, responsiveness, Project includes all departments that Estimated kick off after water and certainty of the development take part in the development approval resource ordinance complete: First process.process (Comm. Dev., PW, Fire, and step is to form interdept team. Electric). This will require each Second step is to identify key points Department to allocate staff time in the development review (from pre- accordingly.app.to final inspection) to accomplish coordinated, responsive multi- department actions Goals for City Council Adoption – June 16, 2009 Page1 2009-2010 CITY COUNCIL GOALS ENVIRONMENT Goal Proposed for AdoptionEstimated Staff and Budget Next Steps/ Actions Develop an integrated land use and No additional staff. Consulting Waiting on Grant Award transportation plan to increase the resources will be needed. viability of transit, bicycles, walking Project begins after beginning of and other alternative modes of Budgeted project cost of $350,000 Fiscal Year. transportation; reduce per capita automobile vehicle miles traveled; Use Transportation Commission and Estimated timeline of two years. provide safe walking and bicycling Planning Commission routes to home, work, shopping and Includes rate/ financing study. Also schools; implement environmentally includes amendments to responsible design standards, and comprehensive plan and land use minimize new automobile-related code. infrastructure. Adopt an integrated Water Master No additional staff. Extensive Project begins after beginning of Plan that addresses long-term water consulting resources will be needed. fiscal year. supply including climate change issues, security and redundancy, Total Budget is $440,000. Estimated timeline of 2 years. watershed health, conservation and Approximately 25% covered by reuse, and stream health. grant.Includes rate/ financing study. Implement specific capital projects Project involves staff in Project begins this summer. First step and operational programs to ensure Conservation, Public Works, and includes collection of usage and cost that City facilities and operations are Administration. Work in first fiscal of electricity, natural gas, fuel, water, a model of efficient use of water, year estimated to take about 320 garbage and hazmat. energy, land, and other key resources hours or a total of 8 weeks of FTE nd time.In 2 step, City will obtain carbon- calculator software to evaluate most Specific projects will need to be cost-effective methods to address estimated and scheduled after carbon footprint. assessment. Third step is evaluating possible improvements. Projects to be incorporated into CIP. Adopt land use codes, building codes, Staffing provided by long range Sustainable Development Guidelines and fee structures that creates strong planning section of Community will be evaluated as part of Croman incentives for new development that Development. Building inspection Mill Site Redevelopment Plan, with is energy, water, and land efficient and conservation staff will also be possible citywide application. The and supports a multi-modal involved. guidelines will likely address: transportation system Conservation of natural water Professional services monies will systems likely be allocated to assist with Green surface parking systems illustrations associated with the Storm-water Run-off (greens development of green development streets and parking areas) guidelinesLow impact building design Low impact site development Review Architecture 2030 Reduction of construction waste Standards? Work with the Oregon Building Codes Divisions to make Green “Building Code” alternatives available. Existing examples of pre- engineered, locally approved (by the Building Official) design alternatives include: rain water infiltration, catchments and harvesting systems Develop a strategy to use Requires three times more Will be considered in FY 2011 conservation and local renewable conservation in Ashland than already budget. sources to meet Tier 2 power in place. demands by 2014 Staff will continue to work on Likely will require 1 to 2 additional conservation and alternative energy FTE for conservation, and a total generation projects. budget increase of between $400,000 and $450,000 per year. Up to 40% this may be off-set by federal dollars and other conservation incentives Goals for City Council Adoption – June 16, 2009 Page2 2009-2010 CITY COUNCIL GOALS SOCIAL EQUITY Goal Proposed for AdoptionEstimated Staff and Budget Next Steps/ Actions Complete the development of Primary staffing will include the Phase One – HAJC Project affordable housing on the Clay Street Housing Program Specialist (.25 Complete sub-recipient property FTE) and participation from current agreements and monitoring of the and long range staff (.2 FTE). road improvements as required by Additionally, some professional CDBG. services monies could be allocated to Time line – July 2009 – Dec. 2010 site plan development for phase II (the remainder of the property not Phase Two – Remainder of the associated with the Housing Property Authority project). Develop the RFP for the build out of the 1.25 or 5 acre remainder (depends on Parks ) Work with the Housing Commission to determine housing needs for the site Get RFP reviewed and approved by Council, Issue, review, selection - public hearings for disposition of public property Contract negotiation / Developer agreement. Time line – July 2009 – July 2010 Conduct a comprehensive study of UnknownDevelop cost estimate and budget Ashland’s homeless proposal Will be estimated prior to FY 2011 budget process Coordinate with 2010 U.S. Census ORGANIZATION Estimated Staff and Budget Next Steps/ Actions Goal Proposed for Adoption Develop plan for fiscal stability, Staff was added to assist 1.Establish FY 2010-2011 budget manage costs, prioritize services, and Administrative Services in FY 2009. with existing target ending fund insure key revenue streams for the balances (August 2009) City and Parks & Recreation. No consulting resources were added.2.Schedule a study session on If outside evaluations are needed, revised target EFBs, debt levels, they will need to be discussed in FY tax-rate-fee implications, service 2011 budget. level alternatives and timeline (October – November 2009) 3.Report to Council on progress (January 2010) 4.Adoption of targets for FY 2010- 2011 budget (March 2010) 5.Annual report and desired adjustments (January-February each year). Address issues the stability of the No new staff will be added. Classification part of study will create organization including employee fair, justifiable classification system, recruitment and retention; succession Classification/ Compensation Study is to attempt to resolve issues related to planning; and effective and increased underway at cost of $55,000. specific classifications and to step use of citizen volunteers. system. Financial resources have not been identified for other pieces such as Compensation study will help the leadership dev. training, employee City determine how our package recognition or a volunteer use compares to the market and provide expansion plan. Some work can be data to analyze Personnel costs. The done with cross training and with time-line for the Study is 3-4 expansion of existing programs. months. Staff will work with Other improvements will be Council on an implementation plan considered with FY 2011 budget. Goals for City Council Adoption – June 16, 2009 Page3 2009-2010 CITY COUNCIL GOALS PUBLIC FACILITIES Goal Proposed for AdoptionStaff/ Budget Next Steps/ Actions Develop a plan to replace Fire Station No new staffing needed Currently working to ensure all #2required planning steps to build Fire No funds are currently available. Station #2 have been met in order to respond to “shovel ready” requirements for Federal Stimulus funds (Estimate Fall 2009) Staff proposes to apply for funds through Department of Homeland Security when guidelines are published (expected in Summer 2009). Refine a long term strategy for the No new staffing proposed Convene Council Committee Ashland Fiber Network that improves discussed when AFN business plan its financial viability, provides high was adopted by Council (July/ August quality services to residents, and 2009) promotes healthy economic development. Apply for stimulus funds for Wi-Max and network expansion PARTNERSHIPS Goal Proposed for AdoptionEstimated Staff and Budget Next Steps/Actions Foster strong collaboration of the No additional Staff needed. local community, City, State and Federal leaders in efforts to improve Requires extensive Mayor/Council the health of the Ashland watershed involvement through reducing fire hazards and restoring forest health Restore rail service to and through No additional staff needed 1.Meet with other partner Ashlandgovernments Need cost estimate on technical and 2.Meeting with current service legal framework for any solution. providers, 3.Continue to establish partnerships Council has requested budget with regional jurisdictions in both information. California and Oregon, 4.Keep Oregon legislators informed 5.Seek State and Federal financial assistance. Goals for City Council Adoption – June 16, 2009 Page4 Housing in the NEWS Ashland Housing Commission Packet Thanks a Lot — Sightline Daily - Northwest News that MattersPage 1of 3 The Daily Score Thanks a Lot Posted by Roger Valdez 07/01/2010 05:00 PM Housing preference is tilting away from large, single-family lots. The Victoria Transport Policy Institute (VTPI) just published an exhaustive review of data about why people choose where they live. It’s interesting to me because I’ve long thought that decision makers get obsessed with very narrow concerns—like the cost of housing—when they consider policies that encourage people to choose dense, compact communities over living in more sprawling single family neighborhoods. It turns out, based on their review, that when faced with the option to choose, most people would prefer living in a dense neighborhood. Our exploration of alternative definitions of affordable housing was an effort to open up other considerations besides per unit price and monthly income when making housing policy. Not too surprisingly, VTPI found that when making choices for housing, it comes down to trade-offs between many different benefits—not just price—and increasingly people are choosing compact communities and smaller housing formats over the standard single family home. The review found that, in study after study, when people are asked “would you like to live in a large house, with a big yard in a city with the world’s best schools” the answer is invariably an enthusiastic “yes!” But when people are presented with various trade-offs between the ideal vision of single-family bliss and living in a compact community—commute time, proximity to amenities likes bookstores, bars, and transit—respondents often find themselves choosing the compact community. One survey completed by the Public Policy Institute of California, found that 86 percent of respondents prefer single-family homes, but 47 percent also prefer a walkable, mixed use neighborhood, and 49 percent would live in a smaller house \[link\] if it shortened their commute. Transit was a factor in housing choice as well, with 31 percent indicating that they’d pick density over single-family sprawl if the neighborhood had good transit options. And there are other things, like crime and policing, school quality, and the perceived prestige of a neighborhood, that come into play when people decide where to live. http://daily.sightline.org/daily_score/archive/2010/07/01/thanks-a-lot7/9/2010 Thanks a Lot — Sightline Daily - Northwest News that MattersPage 2of 3 This should put urbanists and affordable housing advocates on notice that some of the more narrow considerations to promote affordable compact communities—transit, housing price, design—are only part of what people consider when making housing choices. For example, the world’s coolest and most affordable transit-oriented development might fail if it is perceived as unsafe and serviced by terrible schools. But here is the punch line and good news, I think, in the VTPI review: Housing market demand analysis based on consumer preference surveys indicates that during the next two decades demand for large-lot housing will decline slightly, so current supply is sufficient to meet future needs, but demand for small lot and attached housing will approximately double. And here’s the chart to go with that: Policy makers should shift toward policies that allow for more diverse housing types in existing single family neighborhoods, zone for growth in existing mixed use hubs, and resist the urge to protect single family neighborhoods from growth. Currently the single family lobby in Seattle has filed an appeal to the City’s efforts to improve and expand multifamily options in the city. Seattle and all Northwest cities should resist such efforts to preserve single family neighborhoods. We know compact communities are better than sprawl. But dense, active, and walkable neighborhoods are also increasingly where people want to live. Share|| Email Post Efficiency Economy Opinion Research Policy Sprawl & Transportation Sustainable Living Oregon United States US Northwest Washington Permalink Comments http://daily.sightline.org/daily_score/archive/2010/07/01/thanks-a-lot7/9/2010 Thanks a Lot — Sightline Daily - Northwest News that MattersPage 3of 3 Posted by Jon Morgan 07/02/2010 12:27 AM One of the biggest things we need in the US is finance equity for education. Public ed. needs to be funded at the state level, not through cruelly unfair local property taxes.Canadian schools are funded at the provincial level, and school district barely registers as a factor in housing decisions there while it's a major one here. Finance equity removes a major variable now favoring suburbs. Add a Comment Name (required) Email (will not be published) (required) Website See a list of html tags you can use in your comment. Enter the word below (required) This check is used to prevent comments by spammers. \[audio\] Sightline Daily brought to you by Sightline Institute. 1402 Third Avenue, Suite 500 | Seattle, Washington 98101 | tel: +1.206.447.1880 | fax: +1.206.447.2270 http://daily.sightline.org/daily_score/archive/2010/07/01/thanks-a-lot7/9/2010