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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAHAB Minutes 12-09-2015Community Affordable Housing Advisory Board Wednesday, December 9, 2015, 8:00am, City Commission Chamber – 121 N. Rouse Ave. A. 08:04:43 AM Call meeting to order Anders Lewendal – Present Kevin Thane – Present Sharon Southard – Present David Magistrelli – Present Brian LaMeres – Present Hattie Baker – Present Carson Taylor - Present B. 08:04:59 AM Changes to the Agenda – No Changes to the Agenda C. 08:05:31 AM Public Comment - No 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. 08:05:43 AM Approval of Minutes from November 23rd, 2015 – Minutes were not distributed – need to be sent out and voted on at next meeting E. 08:06:16 AM FYI/Discussion 1. 08:06:54 AM Montana Board of Housing Scoring Wendy Thomas does introduction for Kevin Thane regarding scoring. 08:07:55 AM Kevin Thane begins introduction on scoring. The goal is to make projects targeted at low income individuals more capable of achieving their points. He has presented changes to the scoring process to make it easier for these projects to qualify. Mr. Thane explains in detail how the process works and proposed changes he would like to see. He would like these changes to take place in 2017. 08:17:25 AM He suggests changing the point structure to allow for new and possibly more creative development teams to be involved. 08:19:01 AM He suggests changing the sliding scale for how long the unit will remain in “low-income” status – going above 30 years would give you additional points. 08:20:43 AM Mr. Thane suggests receiving additional points if you’re located close to a bus route. 08:21:04 AM Mr. Thane suggests getting additional points for projects that provide additional amenities. He has added additional amenities to the list to make it easier for a project to qualify. He also suggested not limiting the number of amenities you can receive points for. 08:22:48 AM He suggested prioritizing points for affordable housing for individuals from the community – not those moving into the area. 08:23:52 AM Mr. Thane proposes getting points for green energy, well insulated buildings, LED lighting, etc. This can create efficiency of operation, lowering cost for home owners. 08:26:08 AM Mr. Thane suggested that the board has more input on the project up front. 08:27:50 AM He closes his statement by saying he would like the board to support – or throw darts at his suggestions. 08:28:10 AM Mr. Lameres questions the amenities portion of the standard. Clarification from Mrs. Thomas and Mr. Thane. Mr. Lameres questions what net zero is for energy. Mr. Thane clarifies that it would mean your energy would be zero annually. 08:29:32 AM Carson Taylor questions some of the overlapping amenities – whether you can double up points for those. Mr. Thane clarifies it would be one or the other. 08:30:11 AM Mr. Taylor questions how we will calculate net zero and points out that we would be encouraging smaller units because larger projects could not reach that net zero with larger buildings. He suggests a sliding scale to allow for different projects. 08:31:30 AM Sharon Southard questions the maintenance on solar panels. Mr. Thane states that the primary cost is up front and that maintenance is fairly low cost. Discussion continues regarding how solar panels work and maintenance required for them. 08:33:17 AM Mr. Taylor questioned if the board had attempted to cost out a project with this point system. Mr. Thane responds that he has not, but that it is a pick and chose program, so they are not required to do any of these items. He feels he has incorporated enough options to not make it easy to 08:34:52 AM Hattie Baker questions what the goal of this document is. Mr. Thane responds that every year the Montana Board of Housing asks for feedback and he would like to take these suggestions back to them for the 2017 year point scale. 08:35:48 AM Hattie Baker questions how many projects have been approved in the last few years. Wendy Thomas responds that two units have been approved – we are specifically referring to multifamily units. Mr. Thane clarifies that these units would qualify for affordable housing. 08:36:48 AM Wendy Thomas gives a brief explanation of what the board is doing with regards to affordable housing to Hattie Baker whom is new to the board. 08:38:24 AM Hattie Baker comments that she has Solar Panels, LED lighting and Geothermal heating and is still not at net zero. 08:38:55 AM Anders Lewendal commented that he appreciates the effort that Kevin has made, but states that net zero will be hard to reach for energy. 08:40:02 AM Carson Taylor questions if Anders Lewendal would remove certain amenity items or leave them in. Mr. Lewendal responds that he would like to keep it in, but that it would be hard to supply. He would instead support additional insulation to save more over time. He just feels it would be more cost effective than encouraging solar panels. 08:41:49 AM Hattie Baker clarifies that net zero is not only achieved through solar panels. Board continues the discussion regarding making housing costs affordable. Anders Lewendal points out that the builder could balance the numbers to create something that works based on points available. 08:44:33 AM Brian LaMeres states that Mr. Thane can take the feedback and polish his suggestions and the board can make a motion in January. 2. 08:45:40 AM Inclusionary Housing update Wendy Thomas begins presentation on the Inclusionary Housing Program. She highlights that at this point it is a voluntary program, but it will become mandatory if goals are not met. She mentions that at the next Commission Meeting, there will be a vote regarding creating an affordable housing manual. The manual will be approved by the Commission – any changes to the manual will need to be approved by the commission. Mrs. Thomas discusses the timeline for creating the manual and the program being officially set into place. Mrs. Thomas discusses that on December 14th, the commission will approve any clean up that needs to take place in the code regarding removing the old workforce housing ordinance and replacing it with the 08:50:29 AM Mr. Lewendal questions the price of the manual through Werwath. Mrs. Thomas responds that the cost is $7,500 and additional cost for them to come to the City to present the manual to the Commission. Mr. Lewendal comments that he thinks that there may be a conflict of interest and that we should perhaps look into other individuals to do this for us. Mrs. Thomas responds that due to the time crunch, it would be hard to recruit a new team. 08:52:43 AM Mr. Thane questions if the public will be able to provide public input. Wendy Thomas responds that we will open it to the public for comment. She is not sure though, if it will be complete in time for the board to discuss it prior to the presentation to the Commission. Mr. Thane said he would appreciate it being distributed to the board for comment. 08:54:21 AM Wendy Thomas clarifies that the move from voluntary to mandatory will not necessarily go to the Commission. There is a 30 day grace period if the incentives are not met where the Commission can decide if they would like to add it to their agenda and discuss. 08:54:58 AM Mr Lewendal asks to clarify the target time and number of affordable housing units is. Mrs. Thomas responds. 08:55:57 AM Mr. Taylor suggests that the board call a special meeting of CAHAB to discuss the manual prior to it going to the commission. Board discusses the logistics of meeting a second time in January and when the manual will be available to review. 09:02:08 AM Mr. Lewendal brings up discussion making sure there are adequate funds available to create the affordable units. Mrs. Thomas indicates that there is currently enough money in the fund to provide for the goals. 09:05:49 AM Mr. Lewendal clarifies that there is not money available for homes above 80% AMI. Wendy Thomas confirms that is accurate. The incentives are still in place for those homes though. Kevin Thane clarifies that we are the last resort for funding. Those homeowners could get assistance though other avenues. 3. 09:08:02 AM Marketing ideas for Inclusionary Housing Units 09:08:22 AM Mr. Taylor requests readdressing item #1 again. He suggests that we should suggest that the Montana Board of Housing creates standards for what is approved – not some other trivial approval process. Mr. Thane responds that he agrees. He feels that we should suggest these items and then in subsequent years suggest more solidarity in approval. 09:11:08 AM Mr. Lewendal begins discussion on how to bring people into the program to make the program successful. He feels we need to come up with ideas, providing money is only one part of it. 09:12:26 AM Mr. Thane states that it would work best if individuals who are prequalified for a loan and then qualified through the city to then reach out to builders. 09:13:58 AM Wendy suggests that Heather from HRDC present steps they plan to take and are already taking. 09:14:37 AM Heather begins discussing steps they are taking. She mentioned that a builder has already reached out to her for a list of qualified individuals. 09:16:47 AM Mr. Lewendal states that just because the home is low income, doesn’t mean that on some level it’s not custom. He needs to know what these buyers will want to start building. Getting an architect to design some homes would be helpful. 09:19:13 AM Mr. Taylor states that maybe we should begin marketing directly to school teachers and other professionals. Providing them information as they enter the community on programs that are available. 09:20:51 AM Hattie Baker comments that we should make it available to everyone, not just targeting certain areas of the community. Mr. Taylor comments he’s not making a preference for certain individuals, he’s instead just marketing individuals. 09:21:53 AM Mrs. Southard commented that we should also work with the lenders and let them know what is available. 09:22:27 AM Mr. Lewendal commented that we need to find ways to use the existing stock and lots, since it can take up to two years to work from scratch on some of these projects. 09:23:40 AM Mr. LaMeres questions if we should put together an action plan for marketing. 09:23:58 AM Mr. Taylor comments that yes, we should put together a plan and questions what should be put on paper and what is the timing for that. He also comments that any homes sold starting from the time the ordinance was approved would count. We need to decide what counts – homes in process, built, occupied, etc? 09:26:20 AM Mr. Lewendal comments that we should have homes ready for the next building season, which is in March. 09:27:12 AM Ms. Thomas comments that individuals are aware of the program and that it’s just a matter of orchestrating all of the branches. She states that we have lenders, real estate, builders, etc on the board and it is their responsibility, as well, to spread information. This is a community effort to make it successful. 09:30:05 AM Mr. Thane comments not to forget that the board took a trip to White Hall and could reach out to them to get a set of their prints. 09:30:55 AM Mr. Lewendal comments that we all need to work together to come up with a plan. 09:32:16 AM Brian Lameres questions if there is somewhere community members can got o learn more. Wendy Thomas directed him to the Community Development’s affordable housing page. 09:34:54 AM Carson Taylor thanks the board for their work and for making this successful. Bozeman only works with the help of the volunteers. 09:35:50 AM Kevin Thane comments that he would like to add to the agenda a discussion regarding the land that the city owns – he states that the city owns land that they’re not doing anything with presently, where we could put homes. Perhaps the City could dedicate a chunk of the land to affordable housing. It has been identified that land is the most expensive part of the project. 09:37:39 AM Mr. Thane comments that we should have a standard agenda item tied to brainstorming to create ideas we can move forward with. Discussion regarding which properties are vacant and that could possibly be utilized. G. 09:39:21 AM Adjournment For more information please contact Alicia Kennedy at akennedy@bozeman.net This board generally meets the second Wednesday of the month at 8:00am Committee meetings are open to all members of the public. If you have a disability and require assistance, please contact our ADA coordinator, Chuck Winn at 582-2307 (TDD 582-2301).