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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-15-2004 Housing & Community Development CommissionAGENDA HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION THE RACK BARBEQUE, 1911 BROADWAY STREET, IOWA CITY THURSDAY, JULY 15, 2004 6:00 P.M. 1. Call Meeting to Order 2. Approval of the Minutes from June 17, 2004 3. Public Comment of Items Not on the Agenda 4. New Business • Selection of Projects to Monitor in FY05 5. Old Business Burns & Burns L.C. — Garden Prairie - Discussion of FY03 HOME Funds 6. Monitoring Reports • City of Iowa City — Economic Development Fund (Edwards) 7. Adjournment City of Iowa City MEMORANDUM TO: Housing and Community Development Commission FROM: Tracy Hightshoe, Associate Planner DATE: July 7, 2004 RE: July 15th HCDC Meeting I hope that you all are enjoying the summer. The July meeting will be held following the Community Development Celebration at the Rack Barbeque, 1911 Broadway Street. The following is a short description of the July agenda items. If you have any questions about the agenda, or are unable to attend the meeting, please contact me at 356-5244 or at tracy-hightshoe@iowa-city.org. New Business The list of FY05 projects and carryover projects that will be monitored in FY05 is attached. Commission members are being asked to select which projects they wish to monitor at the upcoming meeting. Please select 3 to 4 projects of interest to you. Old Business Update on the Prairie Garden Project — At the May HCDC meeting, the commission voted to allow Burns & Burns 60 days from May 20 to come up with an alternative development plan. The proposed plan can not rely on Low Income Housing Tax Credits to develop the land purchased with FY03 HOME funds. Staff will request Burns & Burns to submit a plan for commission review for the July meeting or have a representative present to discuss the future plans of this project. As a reminder, if Burns & Burns submit a request that is considered a substantial change according to CITY STEPS, a plan amendment is required. This involves a public comment period and approval by the City Council. If no redevelopment plans are presented, HCDC will be considering a recommendation to the Council to recapture these funds. Monitoring Reports • City of Iowa City — Economic Development Fund (Edwards) REMINDER: Meeting will be held at the Rack Barbeque immediately following the CD Celebration (approximately 6:00 PM) 1911 Broadway Street, Pepperwood Place, Iowa City We look forward to seeing you there. MINUTES PRELIMINARY HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION JUNE 17, 2004 — 6:30 P.M. LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM, CITY HALL Members Present: Erin Barnes (arrived at 6:45 PM), Lori Bears, John Death, William Greazel, Matthew Hayek, Jayne Sandler Members Absent: Jerry Anthony, Mark Edwards Staff Present: Tracy Hightshoe, Stephen Long Public Present: Maryann Dennis, Charlie Eastham CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Hayek called the meeting to order at 6:35 PM CONSIDERATION OF THE MINUTES OF THE MAY 20, 2004 MEETING In regards to the May 20, 2004 minutes, Hightshoe asked for clarification regarding Sandler's motion to allow Burns & Burns up to 60 days to pursue other alternatives to low-income tax credits for affordable home "ownership." Hightshoe stated the original motion was for affordable "housing," not just home ownership. Sandler agreed but was uncertain how she worded the original motion. She also commented that in between the time of her motion and the time of adjournment, someone left the meeting and that this should be reflected in the minutes. It was noted that Anthony left the meeting about 8:00 PM prior to the monitoring reports. Motion: Sandler moved to approve the minutes with two corrections 1) change the aforementioned motion to "affordable rental and/or affordable home ownerhip;" and 2) reflect when Anthony left the meeting; Bears seconded. All in favor; motion passed 5-0. PUBLIC/MEMBER COMMENT OF ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA Hightshoe stated that at the Tuesday night Council Meeting, Chairperson Hayek, Bears and Brian Richmond were appointed to the Commission. Long commented that an audit by HUD has been ongoing since Monday. Staff will update the Commission about any concerns at the next HCDC meeting in July. Chairperson Hayek reminded everyone that the Scattered Site Housing Task Force continues to meet on the first and third Mondays of every month (though the schedule may be revised at times, as in early July) at 5:00 PM. All are welcome to attend. Agendas are posted on the internet. OLD BUSINESS Update of Prairie Garden LP Project — No one from Burns & Burns was present. Long reported that Bob Burns is out of town until June 28, but he spoke to Jessie Burns, who said they attended a bond conference two weeks ago and will send the Commission a written update when he returns. Burns & Burns have 60 days from May 20 to come up with an alternative development plan. Community and Economic Development Celebration Update — Hightshoe reported that postcard invitations were ordered from the National Community Development Association. Staff put stickers on the back to advertise the event and will be mailing out the invitations. The celebration will be held on Thursday, July 15, 2004 from 4:30 — 6 PM at the Rack Barbeque. Lane Plugge will be this year's speaker. Various awards will be presented. Staff will contact Southgate to see if they will present elevations of all their proposed improvements at Pepperwood. NEW BUSINESS Discussion of the Iowa Finance Authority's Qualified Allocation Plan for the administration of Federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Program — Chairperson Hayek stated that Burns & Burns requested this item be added to June's agenda, but they do not have a representative present. Eastham and Dennis, from the Greater Iowa City Housing Fellowship, were present to discuss the issue. Eastham handed out a table regarding the distribution of Low -Income Housing Tax Credit projects across the state over the last 13 - 14 years, as well as comments about the QAP. The table shows the distribution of low-income housing projects by city and county between the years 1989 — 2003 for cities Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes June 17, 2004 Page 2 and 1989 — 2004 for counties and shows that the distribution of projects is not even. Des Moines averages 2.6 projects per 10,000 population, compared to only 1.1 projects per 10,000 population in Iowa City. Eastham stated that he does not want to see the imbalance between the number of projects received by Iowa City and Des Moines continue over the next ten years. He attributes this trend to the constantly changing allocation plans, as well as the number of developers available and inadvertent program design that results in an uneven distribution. Dennis stated that another cause of this trend is the QAP's minimum threshold requirement that the site be under control prior to the application for tax credits. In scattered site acquisition and rehab, she said you cannot buy scattered site units off the market, because the seller will not give you a year and a half to obtain the tax credits. Hightshoe observed, based on the table submitted, that the four counties that receive the fewest projects include Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Davenport, and Iowa City. Hightshoe asked Eastham if they knew why these cities were not awarded LIHTC at the rate cities/counties in western Iowa received the credits based on their findings. Eastham replied that the problem is not just the QAP. He said the Iowa Department of Economic Development distributes HOME Funds to almost every tax credit project, resulting in a different distribution pattern across the state than the one for LIHTC projects. But he believes the current problem with the QAP is its emphasis on different zones that do not exist in Johnson County. Greazel asked Eastham what he wanted the Board to do. Eastham said the Commission should get involved in the issue, but Hayek expressed hesitation at becoming involved because the Commission does not oversee those particular funds. Dennis stated, however, that the Commission oversees the HOME Funds, which are a large part of tax credit financing. Eastham reiterated that the Commission should insist on a better distribution that includes Johnson County and Iowa City. Dennis said it might be helpful if a more impartial party became involved that does not have a clear motive with a project in the works. Greazel commented that the process did not appear to be meeting the demand and is somehow being skewed away from where the need is to where the need is not as great. He said that one complaint stemming from the Lay Assessor's Tax Section 42 is that many Section 42 units are only half -full because they were built in places where there was not a demand for the housing. Greazel expressed concern that units are being built in places that meet the requirements of a QAP, but may not address the demand. Barnes asked what Eastham specifically wanted the Commission to do. Eastham requested they ask the Staff to draft a letter to the director of the IFA expressing their concerns regarding the process. Long said he would like to see the breakdown of these projects for elderly/family units. Hayek requested that Eastham submit the breakdown by unit as well. He said he does not understand why this is still happening because some of the cities in our geographic area are completely different from Iowa City in terms of the landscape of the community. He cited Cedar Rapids and Waterloo as examples of more industrial cities than Iowa City that are not doing well either. Eastham stated that the problem is not just the way the QAP has been erected in the recent past but goes back to the conception of the program. He believes that the lack of qualified non-profit developers in the area could also be an issue. Eastham believes the IFA would be open to suggestions to change the criteria so all areas would be on a more equal footing. Hayek said, however, more information is needed prior to the Commission submitting any recommendation to the City Council. Hightshoe said she will e-mail fellow entitlement communities in the area to see if they have any additional information on this issue. Sandler thought that was a good idea as a letter coming from only one community would not carry much weight. Long added that communities often band together to develop letters in order to make a greater impact. Sandler said it may not change the QAP much immediately but will create a greater awareness about the situation and affect how the process is viewed. Hayek asked if the Greater Iowa City Housing Fellowship communicates with comparable organizations in Davenport, Cedar Rapids or other cities that share the same concerns. Dennis offered to help the Staff gather information to bring back to the Commission. However, it was generally agreed that it was too late to make a difference for this QAP. Hayek stated that the Commission needed more information in order to ascertain if there is a problem, what may be causing it, and what the possible solutions are and requested that the Staff gather this information with the help of Greater Iowa City and other interested parties, such as Burns & Burns. Long stated that they will be meeting with the Eastern Iowa Entitlement Communities next week and can bring this issue up at that meeting. Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes June 17, 2004 Page 3 MONITORING REPORTS Habitat for Humanity — Affordable Homeownership — Habitat has purchased three lots. Greazel reported that Habitat is still trying to purchase one more lot between $24,000 — $25,000, but it has become a challenge to find one because there are so many problems with the lots Habitat looked at so far and economic conditions are tough. Many of the existing lots have covenants that exclude a unit like Habitat for Humanity. Habitat has been speaking with a developer on the east side of town, but the developers can sell any lot in the area and do not think they can help Habitat develop because the homes there are larger and range from $125,000 — $250,000. It is a challenge in Iowa City to find good locations because vacant lots sell so quickly. However, things may change if the interest rates go up. Greazel stated that the situation is bleak at this point. He said Habitat has spoken to Burns as well as Greater Iowa City and has heard the same complaint that it is too expensive to put up units. Because of the demand for these lots, non-profit organizations cannot compete with aggressive developers. City of Iowa City - Economic Development Fund — Edwards was not present to report. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Sandler made a motion to adjourn; Bears seconded. All in favor; motion carries 6-0. The meeting adjourned at 7:40 PM. data on cityni/pcd/minutes/hcdc12004/hcdc06-17-04.doc List of FY05 Projects for Monitoring FY05 CDBG/HOME PROJECTS FUNDED AMOUNT MONITOR MONTH Planning - NCJC $5,931 October Operational Expenses - Wheels to Work $8,000 October Facility Rehab. - Hannah's Blessing Child Care $6,000 November Operational Expenses - Compeer Facility Rehab. - Free Lunch Program $3,434 $3,000 November November Affordable Rental Units - Blooming Garden $200,000 December Facility Rehab. - Old Brick $30,000 December Security Camera - DVIP $4,478 December Case Management - Free Medical Clinic $16,500 January Shelter Coordinator - Shelter House Aid to Agencies- MECCA, UAY, ESI Affordable Home Ownership - Habitat for Humanity $16,500 $105,000 $184,207 - January —-- _January___ January Facility Rehab. - NCJC $6,000 i Aril Facility Rehab. - 4Cs Child Care i $32,000 April Deposit Assistance Program - Shelter House $5,000 _aril Affordable Rental - GICHF (Longfellow) $190,000 Aril Transitional Housing - HACAP $148,000 May Facility Rehab. - United Action for Youth $30,000 May Housing Rehab. - City of Iowa City $200,000 May Operational Expenses - Eagles Flight Youth Program $3,635 June Wood Resource Center - ICCSD $325,000 June Economic Development Fund - City of Iowa City $145,000 June CARRYOVER PROJECTS Land Acquistion - Shelter House FY04 $230,000 Se tember Small Repair Program - Elder Services Inc. FY04 I $27,000 September Affordable Rental - Whispering Garden FY04 $144,303 October Affordable Rental Units Peninsula- GICHF 02 $623,467 October Affordable Rental Units - Garden Prairie 03 $301,200 November Longfellow Manor - GICHF 03 $220,000 November Affordable Home Ownership- GICHF 03 $102 000 December Page 13A i on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 Iowa City Press Citizen Rob Bignell, editorial page editor Phone: 337-3181 E-mail: opinion@press-citizen.com Equality must involve housing Besides being in the busi- ness of helping families find a home to fulfill that basic need, Realtors have a re- sponsibility to make the comforts of home owner- ship available to everyone. Closing the gap between white and minority home- ownership is key to any community's success. Nat- ionally, more than 70percent of white families own homes, but that rate falls to less than 50 percent among African American and His panic families. Indeed, the federal Fair Housing Act declares a national policy of f hous- ing throughout tha 13tt ted States. The law maizA Illegal any discrindi atioh in the sale, lease or rental of hour- ing, or making housing oth- erwise unavailable; :'because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin. Iowa City additionally prohibits dis- crimination because of age, creed, disability, gender identity, marital status, sexu- al orientation, presence or absence of dependents or public assistance source of income. But our agents' responsi- Deanna Miller Guest Opinion bility goes beyond simply meeting federal law. Be- cause of this, local Realtors have formed the Fair Housing Ambassadors. Ded- icated to equal opportunity, the mission statement is, "to increase awareness of hous- ing opportunities for a di- verse population by educat- ing our community and our peers." issues Some of the local issues The Fair Housing Ambas- sadors plan to address in - elude education of the asso- ciation's membership to bet- ter serve our minority clients, education of the pub- lic in minority home owner- ship issues and fighting ster- eotypes and assumptions regarding all protected class- es. In general, we hope to be a resource for our entire community in matters con- cerning fair housing Bring- ing Charles McMillan, a national expert on fair hous- ing, to Iowa City later this month is an outreach effort and opportunity for anyone, whether an individual, a company or a neighborhood, to gather information to develop their own strategic plan for diversity. Housing discrimination, after all, is not only wrong for its unequal treatment of people. It also negatively effects the growth of our entire community and its economy. This translates to issues beyond home owner- ship. Consider the many corn cerns about areas in our commumity where the per- ception of higher crime or lower home values cmtm- ues to be propagated by many esteemed sources The association has addressed past concerns of neighbor- hood groups who worry about getting "a bad rap" Recognizing that every neighborhood brings its share of value to a communi- ty is important, however: If we understand its history and values, we are better prepared to appreciate,the contributions. Overcoming the 'assumptions and stereo - Fair housing is Who: Charles MdNilan, national expert on fair housing issues ■ When: June 28; 10 a.m. In No Sheraton Inn, Iowa City; reception and food to follow at Iowa City Area Association of Realtors education center. types through education and information is an important part of this. Let's hypothetically take Neighborhood A. lbo often someone new to our com- munity has been given ad- vice not to bury a home in Neighborhood A, though it may provide the most af- fordable housing in our com- munity. What facts have been presented to support .their statements? Assump- tions and perceptions. Fads over assumptions Tbo often we do not give the facts a chance to com- pete with the assumptions. What if, statistically, Neigh- borhood A has continually and consistently seen an appreciation in home val- ues?.There may be a strong neighborhood association in place. Owners may love their neighborhood. Those are facts that need to be exam- ined as well. How the housing industry can provide increase oppor- tunities for homeownership and address these issues arising from it are among the topics that McMillan hopes to address when he speaks in Iowa City on June 28. The Fair Housing Am- bassadors encourage every neighborhood association, every human resource or equity director, every private citizen, as well as every Realtor, to join us on that day. The public is welcome as well for the one -hour keynote address and for the diversity strategic planning session to follow at the asso- ciatioes education center. With all of us working together, we can make this community a wonderful place to live for everyone. Reach Deanna Miller, an Iowa City area Realtor and member of the Iowa City Area Association of Realtors' Fair Housing Ambassa- dors, at cherA icaar org. CITY OF IOWA CITY MEMORANDUM Date: June 29, 2004 To: Steve Atkins From: Steven J. Rackis, Iowa City Housing Authority Re: Pheasant Ridge The Iowa City Housing Authority has no connection with the management and operations at Pheasant Ridge. The U.S. Department Housing and Urban Development (HUD) created the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program with the intent of increasing affordable housing choices for low- income families, the elderly, and persons with disabilities. More commonly referred to as Section 8 Rental Assistance, there are 2 components to the HCV program — Project Based Vouchers and Tenant Based Vouchers. The recent articles in the Des Moines Register and Iowa City Press -Citizen refer to Project Based Voucher assistance. In the case of Pheasant Ridge, Mark IV Investors of Chicago, Illinois, have a direct contract with HUD. Their local representatives are responsible for filling vacancies and complying with HUD guidelines. In a Project Based Voucher program, the rental assistance is tied to the unit, and a family who moves from the project -based unit does not have any right to continued housing assistance. Maximum rent for a unit is determined through a calculation based on HUD payment standards and family income. Generally, participants pay 30% of their monthly income toward their rent. The Iowa City Housing Authority operates a Tenant -Based Voucher program. Families with a HCV voucher choose and lease safe, decent, and affordable privately owned rental housing. All participants must be income eligible and have no incidents of violent or drug related criminal activity for the past five- (5) years. It is the responsibility of a family to find a unit that meets their needs. If the family finds a unit that meets the housing quality standards, the rent is reasonable, and the unit meets other program requirements, the Iowa City Housing Authority executes a Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) contract with the property owner. This contract authorizes the ICHA to make subsidy payments on behalf of the family. If the family moves out of the unit, the contract with the owner ends and the family can move with continued assistance to another unit. Maximum rent for a unit is determined through a calculation based on HUD payment standards and family income. Generally, participants pay 30% of their monthly income toward their rent. The Iowa City Housing Authority selects families for participation based on the following preferences: • Displaced: Individuals or families displaced by government action or whose dwelling has been extensively damaged or destroyed as a result of a disaster declared or otherwise formally recognized pursuant to federal disaster relief laws. June 29, 2004 Page 2 • Families with children 18 and under or elderly or disabled families. Because of our preferences, single individuals (including students) would not become eligible for admission to our HCV program until all families with preferences were served. Our current waiting list contains 1,695 families with an estimated wait for assistance of up to 2-years. Of these families, 1,527 (90%) are families in our preference categories (families with children under 18, or elderly or disabled). HUD does not require Housing Authorities to track college students; however, by our estimation, 172 members (total family members = 2,697) of our participating families are attending the University of Iowa, Kirkwood Community College, and Hamilton Business College. Anecdotally, these are non-traditional students; female heads of households; family members who also report income from employment, or participation in Work -Study programs. Currently, 421 private market owners/landlords participate in the Iowa City Housing Authority Tenant -Based Voucher program. This includes the Project Based Units at Ecumenical Towers, Capitol House Apartments, Coral Village, East Park Village and Pheasant Ridge Apartments. Currently, there are 1,222 families participating in the program. The family characteristics of the combined HCV and Public Housing programs operated by the Iowa City Housing Authority are: 1. Family Characteristics (Head of Household) a. Families receiving an income = 99% b. Disabled/elderly Head of Household = 53% c. Families with children = 47% 2. Income Sources (All Family Members) a. Employment = 31 % b. Social Security (SS) = 20% c. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) = 16% d. Family Investment Program (FIP)(Welfare) =10% e. Other Non -Wages Sources (e.g., Student Loans) = 9% f. Child Support = 7% g. Pensions = 3% h. Income from self-employment = 2% i. Unemployment Insurance (UI) = 1 % j. No Income Source = 1 % NOTE: The total Heads of Household in the Housing Choice Voucher and Public Housing programs is 1,314. There are 698 families where the Head of Household is disabled/elderly. There are 616 families where the head of Household is able-bodied and under the age of 62. Of these 616 families, 455 (74%) of the Heads of Household are receiving income from employment.