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Commission Memorandum
REPORT TO: Honorable Mayor and City Commission FROM: Valerie Sutton, Senior Planner Wendy Thomas, Director of Community Development
SUBJECT: Professional Services Agreement with Werwath Associates for
Evaluation of Regulations and Policies Related to Affordable Housing
MEETING DATE: March 2, 2015
AGENDA ITEM TYPE: Consent
RECOMMENDATION: Authorize the City Manager to execute Amendment No. 1 to the
Professional Services Agreement with Werwath Associates for an Evaluation of Regulations and Policies Related to Affordable Housing BACKGROUND: In November 2014 the City of Bozeman entered into an agreement with
Werwath Associates for professional services to conduct an evaluation of regulations and
policies related to affordable housing. The work performed under this agreement as specified in
the outline of services has been completed, with presentation of findings and recommendations given to the City Commission on February 9, 2015. Following public comment and discussion,
the Commission provided the following direction to staff:
• Step 1: Staff is to come back to the Commission with a draft ordinance that incorporates the
recommendations for incentives to support affordable housing development contained in the
January 30, 2015 report prepared by Werwath Associates. In addition, staff should
recommend financial resources currently available and needed to support the
recommendations for incentives i.e., payment of impact fees. A status report is to be
provided to the Commission in April 2015.
• Step 2: Staff is to sit down with the various members of the community (developers,
builders, non-profit organizations, etc.) to determine whether measurable targets for lower
priced and moderate priced housing can be achieved without inclusionary zoning
requirements. A facilitated workshop or charrette using a site to test alternatives is proposed
by staff as an efficient way to accomplish Step 2. Staff is to report on the outcome of Step 2
to the Commission within 90 days (May 2015).
• Step 3: Staff is to prepare an inclusionary zoning ordinance incorporating recommendations
from the Werwath report to be ready for vote within 180 days (first part of August 2015).
The overall direction is to further explore whether measurable affordable housing production
targets can be met using incentives, relaxations of certain code standards, offsets and/or financial
resources without needing to reinstate mandatory zoning requirements.
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The Commission expressed a strong desire for the community to collaborate in this effort and for
staff to report to them on the viability of an approach that will achieve the desired results in the
absence of stronger regulatory tools.
The attached amendment enlarges the original Professional Services Agreement with Werwath
Associates to add the specific tasks listed above as directed by the Commission. The amendment
would also extend the termination date of the original agreement from March 31, 2015 to
September 30, 2015. The consultant’s fee for performing the additional tasks described in the
attached amendment would be a fixed cost not to exceed $6,500. At the City’s option, the
consultant will travel to Bozeman to make presentations and/or participate in working sessions
with City staff and others, with labor and travel expenses to be compensated at fixed costs as
follows: $2,000 for one day or parts thereof on site; $3,000 for two days or parts thereof on site;
and $4,000 for three days or parts thereof on site.
ALTERNATIVES: As suggested by the City Commission. FISCAL EFFECTS: The added costs to the original contract amount of $18,000 specified in the amendment will be paid with funds from the Affordable Housing fund. The study was included in the approved FY 2015 budget for $50,000 as recommended by CAHAB.
Attachments: Professional Services Agreement for Evaluation of Regulations and Policies
Related to Affordable Housing
Report compiled on: February 18, 2015
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