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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-08-28 Housing PACKET Joint Housing Commission and Ad Hoc Steering Committee Meeting August 28, 2013 4:00 – 5:45pm Council Chambers-1175 East Main Street 1. (4:00) Approval of Minutes (5 min) July 24, 2013 2. (4:05) Public Forum (5 min) 3.(4:10)Liaison Reports discussion (15 min) Liaison Reports Council(Pam Marsh) Staff(Linda Reid) SOU (Andrew Ensslin) General Announcements 4.(4:25) HNA Update and Next Steps(10 min) Linda Reid, Housing Program Specialist 5.(4:35) Housing and Human Services Commission Timeline (10 min) Linda Reid, Housing Program Specialist 6. (4:45) Business License Registry/Short Term Rental Update (10 min) Linda Reid, Housing Program Specialist th 7.(4:55) September 25 2013 MeetingAgenda Items Commissioner items suggested(5 min) Quorum Check – Commissioners not available to attend upcoming regular meetings should declare their expected absence. 8.(4:55) Upcoming Events and Meetings Next Housing Commission Regular Meeting 4:00-5:45 PM; September 25, 2013-Council Chambers Next Homelessness Steering Committee Regular Meeting 4:00-6:00 PM; September 11, 2013-Ashland Library 9. (4:55) Adjournment and Showing of Fair Housing Documentary “Brick by Brick”. (60 Min) 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 DRAFT MINUTES July 24, 2013 CALL TO ORDER ChairRegina Ayars called the joint meeting between the Housing Commission and the Homelessness Steering Committee to order at 4:00 p.m. at Council Chambers located at 1175 East Main St. Ashland, OR 97520. Housing Commissioners Present: HSC Members Present: Council Liaison Regina Ayars, Chair Laura O’Bryon Pam Marsh Michael Gutman Graham Lewis Barb Barasa Sara Hopkins-Powell, Co-Chair SOU Liaison Gina DuQuenne Heidi Parker Andrew Ensslin Rich Rohde, Co-Chair Connie Saldana Staff Present: Paula Sohl Linda Reid, Housing Specialist Regina Ayars Carolyn Schwendener, Admin Clerk APPROVAL OF MINUTES DuQuenne/Gutman m/s to approve the minutes of the June 26, 2013 regular Housing Commission meeting. Voice Vote: All Ayes; minutes were approved as presented. Hopkins-Powell/Parker m/s to approve the minutes of the July 10, 2013 Ad-Hoc Homelessness Steering Committee with one correction. Voice Vote: All ayes; minutes were approved with correction. PUBLIC FORUM Abby Hogge/1700 Parker Street/Asked the Housing Commission to consider focusing on the affordability of the ownership market. According to the City website families earning a decent wage in our area still cannot afford to purchase homes here. By supporting local home owners by allowing them to host short term guests helps support the city, tourists and home owners alike, stated Hogge. Hogge strongly urges the Commission to support Short term rentals in residential zones. Michael Dawkins/646 E Main/is a ten year member of the Planning Commission. Dawkins suggested that like Aspen Colorado the affordability of homes in Ashland is slowly going away due to land values becoming so extreme. What used to be affordable has become unaffordable. Dawkins idea is when a house is removed on a property only the footprint of the house that existed can be utilized in rebuilding. The city has enough vacant lots to meet the desires of those who might like to move in to our community and build larger homes, said Dawkins. By capping the existing footprints this would help with the inventory of smaller more affordable homes. HOUSING AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION ORDINANCE Three drafts were presented to the Commissioners. Staff prepared the initial draft in May which was reviewed by a subcommittee consisting of two members of the Housing Commission and two members of the Homelessness Steering Committee. Their recommended changes were added and then a third draft was created in response to further input from the Community Development staff. The items of discussion were; membership total and better definition of what was meant by the term “Community Development”. Staff also added an additional power and duty “To evaluate, review, and recommend to the Planning Commission and City Council innovative land use strategies targeted at promoting a broad variety of housing types.” A discussion followed. Though most Commissions within the city have a membership of seven the Commissioners did not see the benefit of consistency to all Commissions with that number. Due to the amount of work the group would like to accomplish and the need for sub committees a larger amount of people to utilize would be beneficial. Due to the added duties and powers it was suggested to begin the Commission with nine members and then evaluate it in six months. In the past the Homelessness Steering Committee has not had trouble maintaining their membership at nine. The Commissioners agreed that they liked the additional powers and duties included in item “H” of the ordinance (To enhance cooperation between the public and private sectors by promoting integrated approaches that provide decent housing, a suitable living environment, and expanded economic opportunities for low and moderate income persons) and item “J” (To evaluate, review, and recommend to the Planning Commission and City Council innovative land use strategies targeted at promoting a broad variety of housing types) Housing Commission recommendation; Gutman/DeQuenne m/s to accept draft number three with the change of the membership back to nine. Voice Vote; All ayes motion passed unanimously. Homeless Steering Committee recommendation; Graham/Rohde m/s to accept draft number three with the exception of the change of membership from seven back to nine. Voice Vote; All ayes motion passed unanimously. Reid explained that currently this ordinance is in legal review. Reid will send forward the Commission’s suggestions to Legal which will then go to the City Council. The first reading before City Council will be August 20, 2013. The ordinance then goes back for Legal review and on to City Council on September 3, 2013 for second reading. It takes thirty days before an Ordinance goes into effect which would be October 3, 2013. A resolution will be going forward at the same time to dissolve the homelessness steering committee. This resolution dissolves the Housing Commission. The Commissioners agreed that it would be important for each of them to communicate to the Mayor the importance of appointing members so as possible so they do not lose momentum. Fair Housing Presentation Louise Dix is the Southern Oregon representative for the Fair Housing Council of Oregon. The Housing Commission is interested in making Student status a protected class under Ashland’s Fair Housing Ordinance and invited Louise Dix to give a presentation on Fair Housing. Attached is the presentation that Dix presented. Dix acknowledged that Bob Lohman from Corvallis is the one who handles issues regarding students. Dix suggested that they invite Mr. Lohman in for a discussion. We need to discuss with him what the pros and cons are. Currently no jurisdiction has students as a protected class though some do have age as a protected class which does partly address students. The Commissioners agreed it would be good to have communication with the different groups that would be impacted by this. The Commissioners thanked Dix for the great information she provided. LIAISON REPORTS DISCUSSION Marsh – Councilor Marsh was not present Staff – Reid mentioned that there was a good training at the Homeless task force meeting about mental health first aid. General Announcements – Ayars announced that there will be an open house tomorrow for the six affordable units at Hyde Park located at 2272 Dollarhide. The project was funded though the Community Development Block Grant funds. August 28, 2013 Meeting Agenda Items Quorum check; all members confirmed they will be here UPCOMING EVENTS AND MEETINGS Next Housing Commission Regular Meeting 4:00-5:45 PM; August 28, 2013 – Council Chambers – joint meeting Next Homelessness Steering Committee Regular Meeting 4:00-6:00 PM; August 14, 2013-Ashland Library ADJOURNMENT - The meeting was adjourned at 5:50 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Carolyn Schwendener Housing Commission Memo Title:Housing Commission/Homelessness Steering Committee Updates Date: August 28 2013 Submitted By: Linda Reid, Housing Program Specialist Housing Commission Items: Update on the Housing Needs Analysis/Next Steps on identified Potential Strategies th At the regular council meeting held on August 20, the City council approved first reading of an ordinance adopting the 2012 Housing Needs Analysis as a technical supporting document to the City of rd Ashland Comprehensive Plan. Second reading of the ordinance is scheduled for September 3 2013. Once adopted the potential strategies to alleviate some of the housing issues identified may be taken up as goals or priorities by the Planning Commission and City Council. The next steps for the Housing (or Housing and Human Services) Commission can prioritize which land use strategies the group would like to adopt in their annual goal setting meeting in advance of the Council’s goal setting. Students as a Protected Class: Strategies for getting feedback from property owners In speaking with Bob Loewen for the City of Corvallis, that City has used age criteria as a way to protect students from discrimination in rental housing transactions. Loewen stated that landlords can require a co-signer or require a larger deposit for anyone that does not meet their rental criteria; however the landlord must apply this policy to anyone that does not meet their criteria, not just students. Update on Short Term Rental The City Council on Monday night decided not to pursue municipal code changes that would allow these types of lodging facilities in R-2 and R-3 (high density) zones. Short-term home rentals are a type of lodging in which the owner or business manager of the property is not required to live on-site and the visitor rents the entire dwelling, typically for a few days. (Any rental over 30 days is considered a long- term rental under the Municipal Code and is not regulated by the City.) These types of lodging facilities are permitted in the City’s employment and commercial zones, although there aren’t a whole lot of houses that can be used for that purpose in those zones. The Council did express an interest in taking another look at this issue as it relates to R-1 (single family) zones and will likely do so in the near future. Changes to the Business License Ordinance th The Council did not come to a decision at their regular meeting held on July 16, consequently the item th has been moved, the first reading is now scheduled to take place on September 17regular meeting. Homelessness Steering Committee Items: Timeline for Council Review and Enactment of Housing and Human Services Ordinance The first and second reading of an Ordinance creating the Housing and Human Services Commission rdth has been rescheduled for the September 3 and September 17 regular council meetings. Upon council th approval of second reading the ordinance will become law by October 17. Barbara Christensen has sent our emails to each of you to see if you are interested in being considered for a seat on the new commission. Staff is unaware of whether current commission/committee members will have the ability to make recommendations regarding future members of the new commission. Housing Commission Memo Title:Housing Commission/Homelessness Steering Committee Updates Date: August 28, 2013 Submitted By: Linda Reid, Housing Program Specialist Staff has looked at other City’s Rental Registry applications and with the recommendations from the 2007 Rental Needs Analysis came up with a list of questions to include on an application for the City. What type of information do we want to collect? Street address of the rental unit(s) Number and types of rental units within the rental property Number of bedrooms per unit Maximum number of occupants/tenants permitted for each rental unit Rent amounts for each unit (inclusive or exclusive of utilities (water, gas, elec.) Age of unit(s) Vacancy period in the prior year Contact info:-Name, residence address, telephone number, e-mail address, mobile telephone number, and facsimile number of: All property owners of the rental unit(s) Property manager, agent, or on site manager