Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-02-10 Community Affordable Housing Advisory Board Minutes City of Bozeman Community Affordable Housing Advisory Board (CAHAB) Meeting Minutes December 2, 2010 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm HRDC Conference Room Attending: Brian LaMeres (City of Bozeman Finance Department), Kris Keller (Community Representative), Mary Martin (Community Representative), Dave Magistrelli (Community Representative), Daniel Simonich (Community Representative) Absent (excused): Jan Bergman (Community Representative), Carson Taylor (City Commissioner) Staff : Tracy Menuez (HRDC), Tim McHarg (City Planning Department) Public: None A.Call to Order Chairman LaMeres called the meeting to order at 12 pm. B.Changes to Agenda – Information was not provided by Meadow Creek Subdivision; item was pulled from action items C.Approval of Minutes, November 9, 2010 – Motion by Mary M. to approve, second by Dave M. Passed unanimously. D.Public Comment There was no public comment. E.Action Items removed 1.Update, possible action on Meadow Creek Workforce Housing Plan - F. Discussion of Workforce Housing Amendment process Tracy M. summarized the recent discussions regarding the workforce housing ordinance that are taking place with the planning board. Kris K. asked if there was an immediate need to review the ordinance and if this was the right environment. Daniel responded that the ordinance requires review every two years; has it been measured, and who has come through the process? Tim commented that the ordinance as written is really about providing a supply of homes, if these homes now exist, the ordinance should be amended to spur demand for existing homes. Daniel asked if triggers could be added to promote what we are looking for, be it supply or demand. Tim replied that ideally the ordinance would be amended to reflect the general policy, while an administrative manual would provide staff with the flexibility to promote supply or demand according to the current environment. Brian discussed the presentation given by Tim to the planning board. Tim discussed that the deed restriction is a barrier to implementation of the ordinance as written. A review of current sales prices demonstrates that the prices set forth in the ordinance are close to, and in the case of attached units, at market rates. In Tim’s experience, homes need to be at least 25% below market to make a deed restricted property marketable to customers. He would recommend that the requirements in the ordinance be scaled down to allow for land donation and fee-in-lieu, both of which are unworkable in the current ordinance. Brian asked what components of current housing policy need to be reconsidered. Kris commented that she does not see the urgency in making these changes. Mary replied that the urgency is that other boards are acting on these issues and it is important that we are prepared to respond. Tim added that the planning department is working with individual developers to help them comply through individualized programs and encourages the CAHAB to do the same. Dave asked what other communities are doing with their ordinances. He urged the board to get educated and then to be proactive in putting forth recommendations. Tracy responded that she could provide information regarding other communities; she also encouraged the board to remember that the WFH ordinance needs to be viewed as only a small piece of the CAHAB’s work in the affordable housing arena and that we need to view it as only one tool in the box. Tim advised the board to consider if this is a major or minor change. The larger the changes, the larger the process will need to be. If we need major revisions, we should nd acknowledge them while making suggestions for stopgap measures such as 2 mortgages, impact fee deferrals, rent to own programs, and anything that would spur demand. Mary recommended that we need to consider how we can accomplish the intent of the original ordinance without having such a complicated ordinance, we need to figure out how to amend the cash-in-lieu process, and we need to review the utility of RSLs. Daniel commented that RSLs, while not successful in providing affordable housing, have served to provide smaller, denser projects and may still serve a purpose. G.FYI/Discussion - none H.Adjourn Kris moved adjourn; Dave seconded the motion. Chairman LaMeres adjourned the meeting at 1:05 pm.