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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-08-15 Planning Board - Minutes City Planning Board Tuesday, September 8, 2015 6:00pm, City Commission Chamber – 121 N. Rouse Ave. A. 06:03:00 PM Call meeting to order Mayor - Jeff Krauss: Present Council Member - Erik Garberg: Present Board Member - Paul Neubauer: Present Board Member - Julien Morice: Absent Board Member - George Thompson: Present Board Member - Gerald Pape Jr.: Present Board Chair - Trever McSpadden: Present Board Member - Laura Dornberger: Absent Board Member - Brett Potter: Present Board Member - Sharla Rae Stuber: Absent Board Member - Justin Aliport: Absent Board Member – Jordan Zignego: Present B. 06:04:01 PM Changes to the Agenda C. 06:04:04 PM Public Comment – Please state your name and address in an audible tone of voice for the record. This is the time for individuals to comment on matters falling within the purview of the Committee. There will also be an opportunity in conjunction with each action item for comments pertaining to that item. Please limit your comments to three minutes. D. 06:04:15 PM Action Items 1. 06:04:22 PM 15-357 and 15-359 West Winds Phase 5 Major Subdivision Pre- application and PUD Concept Plan (Saunders) An application to consider further subdivision of two lots into 54 lots with relaxations for alternate street sections and widths, non-standard lot sizes, and use modifications to the existing planning unit. 06:04:35 PM Mr. Saunders gives a presentation on the West Winds Project. This is a pre-application and does not require a motion, but the applicant would like feedback from the board. 06:16:40 PM Opens question for staff. 06:16:40 PM George Thompson questions with regards to the narrower streets, if it would be beneficial to make some normal width to accommodate overflow parking and others more narrow? Mr. Saunders acknowledges that it could be an option. 06:17:53 PM Mr. Thompson questions what difficulties are involved when you reduce the size of a lot. Mr. Saunders responds with some of the concerns involved. 06:19:00 PM Mayor Krauss questions why they abandoned a particular street design where pedestrian and parking is separated from roadway. Mr. Saunders responds with some of the consequences of adjusting street set up. Discussion continues regarding alternative street designs. 06:21:17 PM Erik Garberg questions whether there will be parking pull outs built in. Mr. Saunders responds that there will not be parking pullouts, but there will be parking on one side of the street. 06:22:35 PM Applicant comment begins. (technical difficulties – delay in comment) 06:26:48 PM Julien Morice begins applicant presentation. 06:39:54 PM Erik Garberg asks for clarification on which streets would have the narrowed section. Applicant responds. 06:42:06 PM Paul Neubauer asks for clarification on the how the roads will line up. Applicant responds. Mr. Neubauer and the applicant discuss the road lay out further. 06:46:07 PM Mayor Krauss questions the corner lots being larger – if it is the result of the double-front setbacks. Discussion continues between Mayor Krauss and applicant regarding lot sizes and how lot size impacts parking in drive ways. 06:51:15 PM Mayor Krauss questions if any of the lots would be marked affordable housing – as that might allow for more tradeoffs with relaxations. Applicant responded that the units will list for about $195,000 to $250,000 – which can fall within the affordable housing range. 06:53:35 PM George Thompson questions the SID’s for these homes. Applicant informed him that he’s not sure about the cost for those, but he said these homes would be run largely like a condo in that landscaping, etc would all be maintained by one company. The home owners association will pay into that, but it also falls on the home owners – but it is typically a manageable price. 06:56:26 PM Mr. Saunders adds that home owners are required to maintain the private, non-standard streets. Mr. Thompson then asks if the homeowners get a rebate on their city street services. Mr. Saunders replied that currently, no they do not. 06:56:58 PM Brett Potter questions how many lots would be lost if they did not receive relaxations on the street and lot sizes. Applicant responds that at a minimum you would essentially lose a whole block in this phase. That would equate to approximately 8 lots. Discussion continued about the impact the smaller lots have on making the homes more affordable. If the lots have to be larger, there would be a loss of about $400,000 that would be recaptured among all the lots making the homes less affordable. Applicant continued discussion how he came to this lay out based on street demands and affordability. He also said that if we’re trying to achieve infill, this is what it looks like. 07:01:31 PM Mr. Potter comments that he likes the design and the goals and as long as parking is addressed for larger vehicles parking in the driveway and space for plowing snow into is provided, he thinks it’s a good plan. 07:02:04 PM George Thompson questions manhole spacing. Mr Saunders responds that it should no longer be a concern as that comment dates back to 2008, but has since been addressed. All utilities should be in compliance. 07:03:54 PM Paul Neubauer commented that he likes the plan and appreciates that with the relaxations, they are also trying maintain a certain price point, as in the past, they have tried to reduce lot size and still built higher priced homes, without a lot of incentives or interference. 07:05:02 PM Julien Morice appreciates the plan of the development. He supports the relaxations in lot sizes – since the alternative would be to create townhomes, which just means attaching at least a 5 foot section. In reality though, more people would prefer the single family home. He agrees that parking should be addressed and would like to see more on the vision triangle for corner lots. Applicant responds to vision concerns. Conversation between applicant and Mr. Morice regarding turned garages. Further commenting on reduced lot size, street size, congestion and vision triangle by the board. 07:09:56 PM Mr. Potter comments on mixing various home styles and sizes within the development. Applicant responds that the market could try to create that variety based on affordability and demand. 07:11:22 PM Jerry Pape comments that he thinks the plan in favorable. 07:12:44 PM Erik Garberg closes comment on this project. 2. 07:14:27 PM 15-358 Affordable Housing Program (Thomas) A text amendment to the Unified Development Code to create an Affordable Housing Program including definitions, incentives and requirements. Further amending the Unified Development Code to change existing references within the Bozeman Municipal Code from Chapter 10 Section 8 to Chapter 38 Section 43. Wendy Thomas gives presentation on the Affordable Housing Ordinance. She advises the board that she would like feedback from both Planning Board and Zoning Commission, but that only the Zoning Commission is required to make a recommendation. 07:36:33 PM Eric Garberg interrupts to clarify the incentive list. Wendy clarifies for the board. 07:37:29 PM Presentation continues for the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance. 07:45:20 PM Brett Potter interrupts to ask what the definition of a “home” is on the market and whether it includes townhomes. Mrs. Thomas clarifies that it is a dwelling unit. The focus of this program has been on ownership opportunities. It does not exclude condominiums, however, since the housing crisis, funding for condominiums may be difficult. So, focus is on fee simple ownership. 07:46:12 PM Brett Potter asks for clarification on how the income computes to home price. Mrs. Thomas responds that HUD recommends 30% of income towards home payment. She used HUD, so that individuals applying for the homes could also access those down payment assistant programs. Mrs. Thomas further explains how she estimated affordability and that it is a snap shot in time and can change from individual to individual. 07:49:45 PM Presentation continues for the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance. 07:52:02 PM Erik Garberg clarifies that if goals are met on their own, the trigger for the second phase – which makes the program mandatory – will never be reached and thus it will continue to be an incentive based program. Mr. Thompson comments in favor of the program. 07:53:26 PM Mrs. Thomas continues the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance. 07:54:13 PM Presentation on the Ordinance ends. Questions for City Staff begins. 07:54:29 PM Brett Potter questions if there is a way to allow the incentives ahead of the ordinance to see how it performs on the market on its own. Mrs. Thomas responds that it was available for Norton Ranch. 07:56:04 PM Mayor Krauss questions the goal number of units. Mrs. Thomas clarifies the goals and that they are based on an average percentage of homes built with a 5 year period, which is where the 54 years came from. 07:57:27 PM Mayor Krauss questions if a $125,000 home is attainable – with the current code requirements and with the incentives. Mrs. Thomas responds that it would be challenging and that is why the 70% AMI goals are low. 07:59:24 PM Mayor Kraus further question the disparity between pricing on various home and income levels. Mrs. Thomas responds that the income varies tremendously – about $1,000 per month. Board discusses where the difference may have come from. 08:01:31 PM Paul Neubauer questions the city’s current restricted size lots and capped square footage (page 4 of the staff report) unintended consequences. Wendy responds that as families grow and they want to put additions on the home, they need to amend the plat because of restrictions on the home. He agrees that is a problem – especially when people apply for relaxations and they still build larger homes. 08:03:17 PM Paul Neubauer questions the qualifications of the buyers for moderate priced homes. Mrs. Thomas advises him that the lower level homes will require qualifications, while the moderate priced homes will just be available on the market. 08:04:15 PM Jerry Pape questions the ability to refinance and asks Mrs. Thomas to clarify what happens when the home is refinanced. Wendy explains that the cash subsidy used to help purchase the home would need to be paid off. She explained that it could be adjusted so that it only applies to cash-out refinance. Mr. Pape discusses the issues associated with the home owner not being able to expand the home. Mrs. Thomas explains that under this ordinance, they would not be limited on expansion. 08:09:22 PM Eric Garberg interrupts the conversation, since the board was moving away from questions of staff and into discussion. He would prefer to open it up to public comment first. 08:09:45 PM Open to Public Comment 08:09:59 PM Anders Lewendal commented that we all agree that we need affordable housing. He agrees that we need to do that as a community. He feels the incentives can be helpful – specifically the fiscal incentives. He feels that we need more funding to make the incentives program more successful. He feels that if the incentives are not successful that inclusionary zoning will kick in and it will further raise the cost of homes in the community. He feels that there is not enough community involvement in the program – as the people in attendance are SWMBIA, lawyers and builders. Mayor Krauss comments that those individuals are members of the public. 08:13:54 PM Close public comment 08:14:05 PM Open to board discussion. Clarified how the vote will take place with the planning and zoning boards meeting together. 08:15:25 PM Jerry Pape moves for the Planning Board “Having reviewed the staff report, considered public comment, and considered all of the information presented, I hereby adopt the findings presented in the staff report for application Z-15358 and move to recommend approval of Ordinance 1922, creating an Inclusionary Housing Zoning Program – also including all public comment heard here tonight”. 08:16:29 PM Mr. Pape discusses his motion. He feels that the ordinance is great and better than what has been presented in the past. He feels a single family detached is not necessarily what we should be looking at. He thinks we should consider the fee simple townhome a little more. He feels we should offer incentives for building townhomes (example: curb cut discounts). 08:20:29 PM Paul Neubauer comments that he thinks it’s great that so many people collaborated on this project – but he feels the consumer was not included enough. He’s concerned this program is geared towards first time home buyers and they may not qualify for lower interest rates and will be hindered from refinancing later because they’d have to cash out to the city. Without removing that piece, he feels that he wouldn’t encourage it. He also feels that t should not be exclusive to first time homebuyers. He is concerned about the asset calculation – used an example of an individual who is an excavator and owns materials worth $25,000 but doesn’t bring in much income. Wendy Thomas clarifies that assets are calculated by banks and traditionally and many people are not excluded. Mrs. Thomas also explains where the first time home buyer portion came from. Many times, first time homebuyers are a considerable portion of the market. 08:25:27 PM Mr. Neubauer comments on getting additional funding for the program. He also expressed concern regarding the SID’s for some large neighborhoods and that perhaps there could be a 5 or 10 year moratorium for those areas so that those neighborhoods are not hit with this large cost shortly after building. 08:26:39 PM Erik Garberg questions if Mr. Neubauer would like to propose an amended motion. Mr. Neubauer says he would not. He would like to keep the motion as it stands. 08:26:59 PM George Thompson comments that he likes the innovative housing approach to make homes more affordable. He states that he went to an open house recent for a $200,000 home, only to find out that it was a condo. Mr. Thompson states he was there for about 30 minutes and no one else showed up, so questions where the buyers are. Mr. Thompson discusses the option of ADU’s – since he came from a background where he could only afford the home if he was renting out a room or the basement, it could be a great option for these individuals. 08:29:23 PM Mr. Thompson questions the portion of the ordinance where 3% down is waived in the event of the death of a spouse. He said it con become a logistical nightmare. It could be a burden on the developer. Mrs. Thompson said that part of the program would be to have someone to qualify individuals, it would just fall on the builder to make sure a qualified family is getting in the home. Mr. Thompson said that if it gets too difficult for builders to comply with the program, they could go elsewhere to build. 08:32:27 PM Mr. Thompson expresses concern regarding repayment of cash-in-lieu fees. If he were a builder, he’s not sure he would want to put himself at risk for that. He thinks that with a program that is so complex, the City should not necessarily attach the Inclusionary Zoning portion without exploring how the program works. Getting builders comfortable with the incentives should be the first step. 08:34:51 PM Brett Potter questions how the ordinance would help West Winds. Wendy responds that the more affordable housing they provide or the deeper they go with affordable housing (hitting the 70% AMI), that the more time and money they could save through the program. 08:36:33 PM Mr. Potter comments on building in the city versus building in the county and how that affects cost. He feels there needs to be more subsidizing to hit the price points within the city. 08:38:34 PM Julien Morice expresses that it’s a very detailed program and he’s worried that there may be places where people could take advantage of it and where the shortcomings may be. He’s worried about reducing the price of a few homes and how that may raise the price in the other properties. He’s concerned it may push more people to build out of town. He expressed concerns with the city managing the program instead of letting the market do it – he sees the presentation earlier as a sign that the market is trying to meet the affordable housing demands. He is just worried there are a lot of potential problems – some he can see coming and some he may not. He’s concerned the money going into the program may not end up going to the people it’s intended to. 08:42:16 PM Jerry Pape discusses who’s responsibility it is to insure the purchaser will actually be residing in the home. 08:45:15 PM Mayor Krauss comments that he is not in favor of inclusionary zoning. He recognizes the difference between building in the county and the city – mostly because of time. Mayor Krauss thinks he would much rather see what the previous applicant presented with regards to innovative housing before going to inclusionary zoning. He also feels the focus should not be on detached homes if we’re looking for affordable housing. Townhomes appear the best – in addition to condos. He also feels the innovative building – with less money into the infrastructure. We would also reduce the cost of people commuting into the city. He just cannot agree with the inclusionary zoning. In addition, there are some pieces that are being left to the UDC rewrite that he would prefer to see up front instead of waiting for the rewrite. He thinks incorporating the innovation first would be best, before we incorporate the regulatory side. 08:52:49 PM Jordan Zignego questions why innovation and inclusionary zoning have to be mutually exclusive. He supports inclusionary zoning and believes that it creates a vibrant community. He doesn’t see how this will be successful without inclusionary zoning. 08:54:04 PM Mr. Thompson says his concern is that the people regulating and deciphering the document will not be the community and board. He agrees that multi-level incomes in a community is nice and creates a vibrant community, but the larger, more expensive homes will dictate the size of the affordable home that will need to be built in that community. He believes the community would be frustrated that they are building large, expensive homes and subsidizing for similar homes that will sell for a fraction of the price. Mrs. Thomas explains that is not the case. The structures have to have similar number of rooms (3 bed, 2 bath), not that the square footage has to be equal. Mrs. Thomas explains that she is there for the feedback, and would like the board to shoot holes in the document so they can improve. Mr. Thompson explains he’s concerned because he has to either approve or disapprove the document as it stands. 08:58:50 PM He likes the idea of a variety of homes all near each other, but if you have a pricey home, most people want to be near another pricey home. He believes there’s a chance to do this the right way, but he’s not sure how. 09:00:43 PM Jerry Pape states that we should encompass condos in the goals, because sometimes affordability of single family homes can vary tremendously with interest rates. He also states that with the focus on single family homes, we should redirect our thinking, in some cases; detached homes might as well be attached because they are building them so close together. He is also concerned about reducing home size too much, because then families - and their stuff – is just too much for the house and flowing into the yard. 09:04:17 PM Mr. Neubauer questions when the innovative housing ordinance will go into effect. Mrs. Thomas responds that the goal for the first portion of the UDC update is 4 months. She said realistically, it will likely be 6 months. Mr. Neubauer appreciates that the ordinance will give the program 2 years before the ordinance kicks in. He is still concerned about the refinancing side of it, but he will leave it to the commission to evaluate that. He also feels that the homes should come with sufficient infrastructure to avoid being hit with SID’s within a few years. He thinks that a moratorium on these affordable homes with regards to SID’s would be beneficial, if we are already going to be subsidizing homes. 09:06:06 PM Mr. Potter comments that he likes the idea of various levels of income living together on one street as well, however, he’s not sure if this document will get the city there. He feels that if he was given the task of creating this program, he would give everyone the option to enter into this voluntarily – and the incentives would be so that people would want to. 09:07:58 PM Mr. Garberg commented that they created an affordable housing ordinance when he was in White Fish, that they saw a need for homes for teachers, etc when they created those programs. However, those individuals live in his neighborhood now, so he’s not sure of the urgency at this moment. He states that the program he created was 100% voluntary. He thinks that by mandating it, people can buy in voluntarily. Any unintended consequences fall on the builders. He is also concerned because it may push more people to the county. Vote on the motion: In favor: Jerry Pape and Paul Neubauer Opposed: Mayor Krauss, Brett Potter, Eric Garberg, George Thompson, Julien Morice Motion Fails Zoning Board Motion: George Thompson moves: “Having reviewed the staff report, considered public comment, and considered all of the information presented, I hereby adopt the findings presented in the staff report for application Z-15358 and move to recommend approval of Ordinance 1922, creating an Inclusionary Housing Zoning Program – also including all public comment heard here tonight.” Julien Morice seconds the motion. Voting on the motion: Motion Fails Unanimously E. 09:12:19 PM FYI/Discussion – No discussion. F. 09:12:26 PM Adjournment For more information please contact Alicia Kennedy at akennedy@bozeman.net This board generally meets the first and third Tuesday of the month at 7:00pm Committee meetings are open to all members of the public. 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