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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-28-16 CAHAB MinutesCommunity Affordable Housing Advisory Board Thursday, January 28, 2016, 10:30am, Stiff building 2nd Floor Conference Room – 20 East Olive A. Call meeting to order – Brian Lameres calls meeting to order Sharon Southard – Present Kevin Thane – Present Anders Lewendal – Present Hattie Baker – Present Sean Maloney – Present Brian Lameres – Present David Magistrelli – Present Commissioner I-Ho Pomeroy - Present Welcome new member Sean Maloney. Board introduces themselves and provides background. B. Changes to the Agenda – No changes to the agenda C. Public Comment – Brian Guy from HRDC – He is here in place of Heather Greenier from HRDC who typically attends, but she is at a meeting. Luke Howard – works for SWMBA – will provide comment later during review of manual. D. Approval of Minutes from January 13th, 2016 – David Magistrelli moves to approve Kevin Thane seconds Discussion regarding to changes – Kevin Thane suggests to change the portion of the minutes about the LED lights should note that the builder should install them, not that the property owner should install them. Board unanimously approves minutes with changes. E. Action Items 1. Discuss Affordable Housing Manual Wendy Thomas begins discussion on the Affordable Housing Manual. They created the manual to make the affordable housing ordinance more flexible. She states that the copy the board has may have changed slightly, but they do have the version that legal has reviewed. She suggested that when the Commission Packet comes out, that they can review the changes that were made. Wendy Thomas mentions that yesterday Community Development received the first affordable housing application that will be utilizing the new ordinance to create 4 new homes. Anders Lewendal questions the start date for the affordable housing program. Wendy Thomas states that knowing the ordinance is beginning to go into effect; we can begin to count homes immediately. Board decides to review the manual one section at a time. Wendy Thomas states that if they do not get through the whole document, that she can take marked up copies of the manual and use them as public comment. Brian Lameres begins discussing the definitions. Kevin Thane clarifies the definition of “Affordable Housing” and what 33% of income includes. Board discusses consistency with Montana Board of Housing. Anders Lewendal questions why homes need to be newly constructed. Wendy Thomas states that the focus of the program was to construct homes. Anders Lewendal questions why they can’t just be newer homes that are only 6 months to a year old. Wendy Thomas states that she understands what he’s saying, but the goal was on new construction. Kevin Thane states that the program also excludes affordable rentals, but he feels they should include rentals as well. Kevin Thane questions a redundancy with how the lots are recorded. Wendy Thomas clarifies that it was to give options on how to record what lots are affordable housing. Kevin Thane questions the time line to accomplish all the steps in the manual. Wendy Thomas stated that aside from subdivision review, it is not a mandated process. Kevin Thane stated that it would be helpful to add an expected turn-around time from staff. Kevin Thane clarifies what is meant by “the agreement” in step 5. Wendy Thomas clarifies that it is the affordable housing plan. Suggestion to clarify the wording. Hattie Baker questions if the board should suggest a response time from city. Wendy Thomas stated that she’s not sure it will make it in the manual, but she would like some suggestions. Hattie Baker agreed with Wendy Thomas that the 5 day adequacy period that is in place for other applications sounds reasonable. Kevin Thane states that he thinks there should be a definition for the cost of home ownership. Board discusses whether or not to include a definition. David Magistrelli states that he supports a definition of ownership. David Magistrelli states that the manual only accounts for 70, 80 and 90%. He questions how that works for 40, 50 and 60% AMI. Kevin Thane suggests adding “70% and below” to the manual. Wendy Thomas clarifies that the ordinance goal was to focus on 65-100%, but that if you come in lower, the incentives still apply. Anders Lewendal questions if a 60% AMI home would qualify towards the number of homes that need to be built. Wendy clarifies that yes, it will count towards the count of homes created. David Magistrelli comments that the builders won’t be aiming lower, if all they have to do is reach 65%. Sharon Southard states that currently they are not building in the 65%-100%, so the fact that this will provide homes in that range is a start. Hattie Baker clarifies that the below 70% AMI is a group that needs to be addressed, but that is not what the ordinance was aimed at directly and the goal today was to focus on the manual which was part of the ordinance. Kevin Thane states that in the section when discussing mortgage affordability, that it doesn’t actually get to a total. Wendy Thomas states that it is highlighted in the manual because it is still a work in progress. Board moves on to the section regarding building upgrades. Anders Lewendal stated that there is a cost for builders to install upgrades and it would be helpful to clarify what is a standard upgrade mark up for the builder, so that builders get paid and buyers don’t get over charged. Anders Lewendal questions a stop work order applying to developers. Wendy Thomas clarifies that the stop work order would only apply to a specific building and the term “builders” refers to builders, developers, etc. Luke Howard states that other phases should not be held up because one phase is not in compliance. He states that he does not think it is very well clarified whether a project is out of compliance. He does not think that builders can easily tell what it will take to fall out of compliance. He thinks some sort of time line should be provided to the builder so he knows what he needs to do to stay in compliance. Anders Lewendal clarifies what the requirements are for a bedroom. Wendy Thomas states that if it’s not something people will buy, it will not count – so it will regulate itself. Wendy Thomas questions if Anders Lewendal would like to make a suggestion on the square footage. Anders Lewendal stated that he would like to keep it open. Board discusses the requirement for the project to sell to count toward the ordinance. There is a concern from some board members that the projects will be built, but not sell. Others clarify that there is a demand for homes in this price range. If they build them, people will buy them. Sean Maloney questions where the minimum heated square footage is derived. Wendy Thomas stated that it is derived from national best practices. Luke Howard states that he does not agree that the location of the homes should be dictated. The builder should be able to build clusters of affordable homes – or they should not be required to make the homes look a certain way if the city is telling them where to put them. Kevin Thane states he supported getting rid of the minimum square footage. Hattie Baker suggests suggesting to the commission to amend the wording of the ordinance to allow homes built count even if they don’t sell, because the builders have met their requirements. Kevin Thane states that “substantially similar” to other homes in the neighborhood is open to too much interpretation. Anders Lewendal states that he has rental that does not have a dishwasher – it should not be required in an effort to keep the home affordable. Sharon Southard stated that the landscaping should be required to fit with other homes in the community. Kevin Thane agrees with Anders Lewendal that dishwashers should not be required and that there should not be a requirement for a certain type of heating. Board discusses affordability of various types of heating. Anders Lewendal commented on the way in which Impact Fees are addressed. He doesn’t think it should fall on the builder. Wendy Thomas states that the lien transfers to the home owner at the time of sale. Kevin Thane comments on the design materials required that they need to state “meet or exceed” the standards to allow for upgrades. Sharon Southard commented that the HUD1 is now a “closing disclosure” and should be changed in the manual. Hattie Baker questions the closing cost verification and how that corresponds to non-disclosure laws. Wendy Thomas clarifies that information will be kept internal and redacted from public records. Kevin Thane suggests striking the portion about 4 or more unrelated individuals. Wendy Thomas states that it’s city code. Kevin Thane said it will be opening it up to 4 students coming together and buying a house – he does not think we should be marketing to that group. Hattie Baker questions if the properties will be on MLS. Wendy Thomas states that it will be listed, but we can also market to specific groups of individuals. Anders Lewendal clarifies that it should not be the responsibility of the seller’s agent of the builder to make sure the buyer understands the affordable housing contract. Sean Maloney questions if HRDC covers the disclosures. Sharon Southard states that the lender discusses disclosures at closing. Luke Howard states that if the sale falls through, it should not fall on the builder to absorb the cost. Anders Lewendal agrees that if the home doesn’t sell, that someone else should be responsible for the lien. Sharon Southard comments that 10 days should be 30 days on closing. Hattie Baker comments on step 6 – she questions if they can change 1 day to 3 days. Anders Lewendal states that the other homes in the area will increase to absorb the cost of the affordable home. It will not lower the cost of the other homes in the area. Board discusses the effect of affordability of other homes. Anders Lewendal feels that they do not need to comment in the manual. Board decides to keep the comment based on City research. Anders Lewendal states that we should adjust the ultimate price with the title company within two weeks. Luke Howard states that “extreme financial hardship” should be defined on page 34. He also thinks that “continuous tracts” should be defined, to avoid developers not meeting their quota. Anders Lewendal comments on the cash-in-lieu fee that builders should be able to provide cash-in-lieu up front. David Magistrelli comments that would not be effective at providing affordable housing. Wendy Thomas comments that the requirements for after the program becomes mandatory will be removed from this manual and a new manual will be made if it is made mandatory. As a result, there is no need to discuss that portion of the manual. Kevin Thane commented that the commission should know that written comments were submitted because of the short turn around required. David Magistrelli makes a motion: I move to approve the Affordable Housing Manual with changes as documented. Second by: Sean Maloney Board Unanimously agrees. F. FYI/Discussion Wendy Thomas commented that she will not be at the next meeting. G. Adjournment – Brian Lameres closes the meeting. 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, James Goehrung at 582-3232 (TDD 582-2301).