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Home My WebLink About1992-08-18 Recommendations -. I ~. \./' " RECEIVED JUN 1 5 1992 /1'''''''\ , , ~. * ~ \ t '. t "~IfOE~l\P U,S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Des Moines Offi"" Region VII Federal 8ullding 210 Walnut Street, Room 239 Des Moines, Iowa 50309.2155 June 12, 1992 Mr. Ronald L. Henderson Housing Administrator Iowa City Housing Authority civic Center - 410 E. Washington St. Iowa City, IA 52240 Oear Mr. Henderson: SUBJECT: Family Self-Sufficiency Public Housing application, IA05-P022007, Iowa City Housing Authority, Iowa City, Iowa We have concluded our review of your application for Public Housing and find that it is unacceptable at this time. According to a review by our Legal Staff, "This application does not meet the requirements of 403A.28 because the public hearing has not yet been held." In addition, we would like to mention that the economist suggested that new construction would have been a bitter fit than acquisition. We regret that we were unable to act more favorably on your application this time. We thank you for your interest 'in providing housing for low-income families in your area. If you have any questions, please contact Tom Wisnousky at (515) 284-4840. ~ Harl M. Hamblin Director Public Dousing Division -,.,.,..............- ~.~..-~......,.,....-- /78to .. '~"t I :' I i I I I I i I , , i I I I I ! j'. -. ~ ,r "i- 1,,1.'.:. "'" IOWA CITY HOUSING AUTHOltlTY 410 E. Washington St. Iowa City, IA 52240.1820 I'hollO: 350.6.100 · FAX: 360.6000 · TDD: 360.6.10.1 June 19, 1992 U.S, DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING ANn UReAN DEVELOPMENT nES MOINES OFFICE, REGION VII FEDERAL BUILDING 210 WALNUT STREET, ROOM 239 DES MOINES, IOWA 50309-2155 ATTN. TOM WISNOUSKY Dear Mr. wianouaky: Thia letter ia a request for rec~naideration of the deciaion to deny the Family Self Sufficiency section 9 applicationa of the Iowa city 1I0llaing Authority. This requeat ia e combined appeal of the denial of t';e appli~ationa identified by your agency aa IA05-V022-012 and IA05- E022-01e. The Iowa' city 1I0using Authority applied for Section e aaaiatance under a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA), issued in the september 30, 1991 Federal Regiater. A aecondnotice waa printed in the January 3, 1992 Federal Regiater combining 1991 and 1992 funding. An invitation waa isaued by the Dsa Moines Office, Region VII of IIUD on January 16, 1992 identifying the amount of funding available for the metro areaa of Iowa. The deadline for application waa February 10, 1992. . The Iowa city 1I0uaing Authority was authorized to aubmit' an application to III1D on Decemher 10, 1991 at a regularly achedu1ed ,meeting of the city council of Iowa city, acting aa the Board of ,commissioners. The spplicstion was prspared and signed by the Mayor, acting as the chairperson of the eoard of commissionsrs on January 21, 1992. certificaticn of compliancs with ~03A.5 of the cads of Iowa was signsd on that date. A Public !learing was sst for flarch 3, 1992, which was a regularly acheduled meeting beyond the requtred minimum of fifteen daya, The Certificate of publication indicatea ,that the notice of the public hearing waa published on January 31, 1992. The application a for section 0 certificates and Vouchers were sent by certified mail to the Des Moinas, Region VII IIUD office on February 7, 1992. On June 4, 1992, a letter wae receiver! by the Iowa city 1I0using Authority from the Des Iioines, Region VII IIUD office that ototed the section 9 applicotiona were denied, The reooon givon wae that "Acoording to review by our legal otoff 'This opplication doe a not meet the requiremento of ~03A. 29 because the public hearing waa not held.'" @ IOUlllIOUlliU oppalllUNIIY /7'(P -------_.__._._--_._~._,- -- .. :' I "1 , ~ I> .. I I I I I I j ,I I I I " , -. ;.i:,;" .i. Page 2 Appeal'of Denial Iowa city 1I0ueing Authority The Iowa city 1I0ueing Authority believee that the concluBion of the Deo Moinee, Region VII IIUD legal etaff wae improper and unwarranted. The Iowa City 1I0uoing Authority aeeerto that such a denial ie contrary to proceoeeo and proceduree eotabliehed over a period of twenty yeare. That uotice wao not given that other etandards, interpretatione or criteria would be uoed that materially changed the eotabliehed mothods under which the Oeo Moineo, Region VII IIUD office and the Iowa city 1I0uoing Authority worked. And that the baoio for the denial io an unwarranted interpretation of the code of the state of Iowa. " " To eupport the pooition of the Iowa city,lIouoing Authority, a table of the awarde and contracted projecte ie attached, The listing containe all projecte for certificatee, vouchero and Public 1I0ueing, reforenced by project codeo. The eequence of the dateo of applicat'ion, public hearing and award establiehee a pattern of proceesee or procedureo that did not require the public hearing to be held prior to the filing of an application to IIUD. The predominant oequence confirme that ae late ae the beginning of Fiocal Yeor 1992, proceduree in uoe by the Dee 1I0ineo, Region VII office allowod application prior to the holding of a public hearing. Thia application reoulted in the awarding of Certificate project 016. There are no caeee in which the signing of tho Annual contributione contract occurred prior to the public hearing. Tho Iowo city 1I0using Authority maintains that ths recent interpretation of ths nes Moines, Region VII lsgal staff materially changsd the application procedureo without notice and that this action willfully prevontod the Iowa city 1I0using Authority from submitting an application that would meet the new criteria. The citation of Section 403A.28 as requiring the holding of a public hearing prior to application to IIUD is unwarranted. As onacted, chapter 403A gives broad and oweeping powera to the municipal houoing authoritieo. section 403A.4 containo permiseive language that encourageo houeing authoritieo to cooperate with. the federal gcvornment in oecuring houoing projects. Ao otated "It io the purpose and intent of thia chapter to authorize every municipality to do any and all thingo neceooary or deairable to eecure the financial aid or co- operation of the federal government . ..". The Iowa city 1I0uaing Authority believeo that the intent of thia aection ia to grant broad latitude to municipal authoritiea to meet federal requiremento DO that funding can be aecured. The new interpretation of the legal otaff of the Deo Moinea, Region VII IIUD office io counter to tlda intent of chapter 403A ao it uaeo Chapter 403A aD a reetriction to application a to the federal government. ,\' 171': ------- ... --....- .~l[ 1_ ._""'_. ~ ~ ~~-_.. ... ~ .. " -. 1,\. ...,," . Page J Appeal of Denial Iowa city lIousing Authority i I , i I i r I I' , i ! i i section 40JA.28 states that prior to undertaking a housing project a public hearing must be held. The Iowa city 1I0using Authority asserts that throughout chapter 40JA use of the word "undertake" must be construed as meaning work or to begin work, not to plan or prepare. section 40JA,2,9 defines "lIousing project" or "project" as "any work or undertaking.. .". only "ithin the second sentence is the statement "'housing project' or 'project' also may be applied to the planning..." found. section 40JA.28 mandates the public hearing prior to work but does not lend itself to the constricting interpretation placed upon it by the legal staff at the Des Moines Region VII IIUD office. eecause application' to IIUD is made ,for the purpose of capturing financial awards, the lack of financial support from IIUD dooms a project and prevents the project from being undertaken. The broad intent of sectlon 403A.28 Is to inform and allo\1 citizon input into those "projects" upon which the jurisdiction intends to begin work. The Iowa city 1I0using Authority believes that it was harmfully injured by the lack of notice of the reinterpretation of the Iowa Code by the Des Moines, Region VII IIUD office and, that the changing of the process and the procedures without notice is in effect a circumvention of HUD policies and procedures. with respect, the Iowa city lIousing Authority requests the denbl of the section 8 Family self Sufficiency, Application be reversed. please advise the Iowa city 1I0using Authority of the appropriateness of lodging this appeal with you and please notify this Authority of the time you will require to act upon this appeal. sincerely, Darrel G. courtney lIayor, city of Io"a city / 7 Vft; : .6ZI~-""" ____.._..._'_._IH.-...~~.~ 11_---'" - ""'1 -I ,,' ; " " ! :i. I : I -. ",.!":'.". . '.' , ' ',,~'.' ;,; Public llearlng Information Iowa City 1I0uslng Authority i J Dato af Doto of Dato of Doto of Doto 01 Dato of I ,lypo of Asslatonco IIDFA Deadline Application Public llearlng Aword ACCIContract , , , ~I I Cort (001) Conversion from Section 23 111/76 I Cort (002) Conversion from Section 23 711176 I Cort (003) Conversion from Section 23 711176 I Cort (001) Conversion from Section 23 7/1/77 Cort (006) 212Z178 3/29/78 711178 I Cort (007) 12/26178 311/79 ZI7I79 3/20/79 I/Z3/79 711179 i Cort (008) Z/Z7/81 3/31/81 3/11/81 ~17I81 5127/81 6126/81 I Cort (009) 6/8/83 7111183 6/21/83 715/83 8/31183 10/18/83 ! Cort (010) 7/31/M 9/30/81 8/17181 9/11/81 9121,/81 1IlI!85 Cart (011) 1118/81 1117/85 1/1/85 1115/85 9115/86 2101187 Cort (013) Ilone Ilone 7/Z1/90 10116/90 9/30/90 1/1191 Cort (016) 5/29/91 7129191 7!Z9191 8/20/91 9123/91 11/12/91 I Public 1I0uslng 003 3/2178 1111/78 117178 4/26178 6/23178 I Publlcllouslno 001 716/79 7/27/79 7/17/79 0/14/79 9/6/79 i Publl c 1I0us I no 005 6/5/81 7/31181 7131/84 11/27181 216185 I I Public 1I0uslng 006 3/29191 5/28/91 5123191 6/25/91 9191 11/31191 , Vouchor (001) 1118/84 1117/85 114/85 1115/85 517185 2/3/86 I : Vouchor (002) 719/86 6/17/86 418/88 5/1/88 ! Vouchor (003) 8/28/86 8/Z6/86 9/26186 111187 Vouchor (001) 3/11/87 117/87 ~/ZO/87 511187 Vouchor (DOS) 7IW87 9/30/87 7!Z1/87 8/11/07 7!ZOm 811/87 Vouchor (006) 7!ZOm 8/11187 8/5/87 8/5/87 Vouchor (007) 218/88 219/88 4/8/88 5/1188 Vouchor (008) 8/8/89 9/19/89 9/30/89 11/1189 /?~~ -. , .., , , .,' ;i: .. m:r.FI\I-~ '''I ~ 1992 u,s, Depj/lmenl of Housing Ind Urban Develapmenl Des Moines Office, Region VII Federal Building 210 Walnul Slreel, Room 239 Des Moines, Iowa 50309.2155 ;' . / I / , / ( . /.// ~:~rel G. Courtney Mayor of City of Iowa City 410 E. Washington St. Iowa City, Iowa 52240-1826 July 6, 1992 \" . ; i oi'''"'.) . \ ' , \,:~-t.,. Dear Mayor Courtney: SUBJECT: Project applications for IA05-V022-012, & IA05-E022-018 Thank you for your letter of June 19, 1992, in which you ,requested reconsideration of the Department's decieion to deny the Family Self Sufficiency Section 8 Applications of the Iowa City Dousing Authority. Since I am responsible for the legal reviewe, your letter was referred to me to reply.' In your ietter you stated that you disagreed with my interpretation that I.C.A. S403A.28 required a public hearing to be held prior, to the application for funding from the Department, of Housing and Urban Development '(HUD). You also indicated in your letter that you had followed this practice in the past , involving applications and they had been acceptable to the Department; that to change requirements without notification significantly handicapped the Housing Authority. I believe that the intent of the legislature when it included this section in the Housing Act wae to give the public an opportunity to comment on the proposed project and to voice their opinions, concerns and ideas at a time when the project is still malleable. I believe that the statute reinforces this interpretation by stating that the "agency shall advise the public of the name of the proposed project, its location, the number of living unite proposed and their approximate cost." Once the application ie submitted, it is evaluated on the basis of the proposed number of units, type of construction, need in the community, etc. It is very difficult to modify the proposal subeequently. . ~ ~~_........._,-~ ....-...~__...._,,__~.._...."'".,..."'"""".__..- 'J~ - .. I .__...._._.. 78/P I '. I I , ' " '" I , -, 'X. 2 , I can underetand that you would be upeet with what seems to " be a change of policy regarding the requirements of the public ' hearings. In fact, from your letter I eee that I hav~ reviewed and passed two of your applications since I assumed this position in October, 1990. I simply did not notice the dates during those reviews ,or I would have noted them. In order to solve this dilemma, I suggest that you request an Attorney General's opinion on the issue. As this involves state law, I would, of course, abide by that decision. If you do decide to seek an opinion, I would request that you aleo include the queetion of whether a public hearing is even required under the statutes for projects consisting of Section 8 Certificates and/or Vouchers. Traditionally it has been required, and I am continuing in that tradition because I believe that is a coneervative interpretation of the statute. However, since there is really no acquisition of intereste in land by the Housing Authority, I believe that it is logical to say that projects consisting of Certificates and/or Vouchers are excluded from under the statute~ However, in order to delete the ' requirement for a, public hearing in the applications, I would need an Attorney General's opinion to that effect. ' I look forward to hearing from you further on theee questions. , I I I I i I I Sincerely, / ~tkfi~i) Barbara E. Kirs~~ Chief Attorney /7 g" .___~"_..._....__..__~~-"" "'l~~~