HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-18-2019 Housing and Community Development CommissionAgenda
Housing & Community Development
Commission (HCDC)
Thursday, April 18, 2019
6:30 P.M.
Senior Center, Room 202
28 S. Linn Street, Iowa City
Use the Washington Street entrance or
2nd floor skywalk via Tower Place parking garage
1. Call meeting to order
2. Approval of the March 14, 2019 minutes
3. Public comment of items not on the agenda
4. Discussion of projects that have not complied with the `Unsuccessful or Delayed
Projects Policy'
• FYI Little Creations Academy Daycare Rehab
• FY19 Aid to Agencies: Domestic Violence Intervention Program
• FY19 Arthur Street Healthy Life Center
• FY19 Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County Siding Improvement
• FY19 Prelude Transitional Housing Improvement
5. Begin Aid to Agencies process modifications discussion
6. Monitoring Report
• City of Iowa City
7. Review and consider recommendation to City Council on approval of FY20
Annual Action Plan — plan available online at http://www.icyov.ory/actionplan
8. Discussion of the Community Development Celebration
9. Staff/commission comment
10. Adjournment
If you will need disability -related accommodations to participate in this program or event, please
contact Kirk Lehmann at kirk-lehmarm(4dowa-city.org or 319-356-5230. Early requests are strongly
encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet your access needs.
r
=_•. -4 CITY OF I O WA CITYMEMORANDUM
Date: April 12, 2019
To: Housing and Community Development Commission (HCDC)
From: Neighborhood Service Staff
Re: April 18, 2019 meeting
The following is a short description of the agenda items. If you have any questions about the
agenda, or if you are unable to attend the meeting, please contact Kirk Lehmann at 319-356-
5247 or Kirk-Lehmann@Iowa-City.ore.
* Indicates Action Item
**Indicates Action Possible but not required
Item 1. Call Meeting to order
Item 2. Approval of the March 14, 2019 minutes*
Item 3. Public comment of items not on the agenda
Item 4. Discussion of projects that have not complied with the `Unsuccessful or
Delayed Projects Policy'**
For subrecipients that have not spent 50% of their awarded funding by March 15, the
`Unsuccessful or Delayed Projects Policy' allows HCDC to recommend recapturing unspent
funds or to allow them to retain project funds. The following projects are have not complied:
FYI Little Creations Academy Daycare Rehab
FY19 Aid to Agencies: Domestic Violence Intervention Program
FY19 Arthur Street Healthy Life Center
FY19 Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County Siding Improvement
FY19 Prelude Transitional Housing Improvement
Item 5. Begin Aid to Agencies (A2A) process modifications discussion
City Council approved changes to the A2A process for FY20. However, after HCDC provided
their funding recommendation, Council requested that HCDC again revisit the process. This
meeting will be the first of multiple discussions on the process for FY21 and beyond.
Item 6: Monitoring Reports
Staff will provide updates on CDBG and HOME projects undertaken by the City of Iowa City
Item 7: Review and consider recommendation to City Council on approval of FY20
Annual Action Plan* - plan available online at http://www.icgov.orgjactionplan
At their January 17 and March 14 meetings, HCDC approved City Fiscal Year 2020 (CFY20)
budget recommendations for Aid to Agencies and CDBG/HOME housing and public facilities
projects. Staff will provide an overview of the draft CFY20 (Federal FY19) Annual Action
Plan (AAP) which incorporates these recommendations for the upcoming fiscal year, followed
by discussion, proposed changes, and consideration of recommending the Plan to Council.
The AAP summarizes actions and resources to help address the needs and goals in the 2016-
2020 CITY STEPS for CFY20. The Plan includes the budget for CDBG and HOME funds, a
description of the projects to be funded, and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) -required information. Upon approval by Council, the Plan is submitted
to HUD for approval. Final CDBG and HOME entitlement amounts are currently unknown,
and the City cannot submit an AAP to HUD until the allocation is finalized. However, the
2
draft's allocations will be adjusted proportionally if the final allocation is within 20 percent
of estimated grant amounts, subject to federal caps/requirements and requested amounts.
A 30-day public comment period for the AAP will begin May 3 and run through June 4, 2019.
The City Council is scheduled to hold a public meeting and formally approve the Plan on
Tuesday, June 4, 2019. Public copies will be available at the Iowa City Public Library,
Neighborhood Services Department at City Hall, and online at www.icgov.org/actionplan.
Item 8: Discussion of the Community Development Week
Staff has planned a tour of certain CDBG and HOME -funded projects for HCDC during
Community Development Week, April 22-26.
Item 9: Staff/Commission Comment
Item 10: Adjournment*
MINUTES
HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
MARCH 14, 2019 — 6:30 PM
SENIOR CENTER, ROOM 202
PRELIMINARY
MEMBERS PRESENT: Megan Alter, Charlie Eastham, Vanessa Fixmer-Oraiz, Christine Harms,
John McKinstry, Maria Padron and Paula Vaughan
MEMBERS ABSENT: [vacant position], Mitch Brouse
STAFF PRESENT: Kirk Lehmann, Enka Kubly
OTHERS PRESENT: Ryan Hoist, Elias Ortiz, Craig Moser, Jake Kundert, Shirley Tramble,
Brenda Nogaj, Kan Wilken, Roger Lusala, Roger Goedken, Brianna
Wills, Heath Brewer, Ashley Gillette, Anthony Smith, Sara Barron, Michi
Lopez, Martha Norbeck
RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL:
By a vote of 5-0 (Eastham and Fixmer-Oraiz recused) the Commission recommends to City Council the
following allocation of FY20 Emerging Aid to Agencies funds: $9,000 to Grow Johnson County, $5,000 to
the Center for Worker Justice, and $5,000 to Successful Living.
By a vote of 7-0 the Commission recommends to City Council the following allocation of FY20
CDBG/HOME funds:
CDBG
HOME
Mayor's Youth Empowerment Program - Lot Acquisition/Rental
Construction
$176,000
Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity - Lot Acquisition/Homebuyer
Assistance
$50,000
Successful Living - Rental Acquisition
$164,000
The Housing Fellowship - Rental Rehabilitation
$70,000
Successful Living - Rental Rehab
$59,000
The Housing Fellowship - CHDO Operating
$21,000
Domestic Violence Intervention Program - Shelter Repair
$90,000
Old Brick—ADA/Structural Fortification Improvements
$10,000
In the event federal funds are higher or lower than budgeted by 20% or less, these amounts will be
prorated accordingly, subject to federal caps/requirements and requested amounts; in the event federal
funds are higher or lower than budgeted by more than 20%, another funding round will begin.
Housing and Community Development Commission
March 14, 2019
Page 2 of 11
CALL MEETING TO ORDER:
Vaughan called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM
APPROVAL OF THE FEBRUARY 21, 2019 MINUTES:
Eastham moved to approve the minutes of February 21, 2019 with corrections. Alter seconded. A vote
was taken and the motion passed 7-0-
PUBLIC COMMENT FOR TOPICS NOT ON THE AGENDA:
None.
RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL FOR FY2020 EMERGING AID TO AGENCIES
APPLICATIONS:
Eastham excused himself from this agenda item as he is on the Board of one of the applicants. Fixmer
Oraiz also recused herself as she is employed by one of the applicants.
Lehmann presented the Commission with a summary of the six applications and the requested funding
amounts and discussed clarifications about the Forest View Mobile Home Park application. The applicant,
Center for Worker Justice, is not able to be present at this evening's meeting but Lehmann can try to
answer any questions regarding the application.
Padron began by stating she recommended $9,500 for Unlimited Abilities and $9,500 for Grow Johnson
County.
Vaughan recommended $7,000 for Grow Johnson County.
Harms recommended $5,000 for Grow Johnson County.
McKinstry recommended $5,000 for Grow Johnson County and $5,000 for Successful Living and $9,000
for the mobile home park redevelopment.
Alter recommended $3,800 to all the applicants except for Little Creations Academy. Padron noted the
minimum allocation should be $5,000 so Alter reconfigured her allocations to $5,000 for Center for
Worker Justice, $5,000 for Johnson Clean Energy and $5,000 for Successful Living.
Lehmann added all recommendations into a spreadsheet and calculated the averages
McKinstry noted there is the most consensus for Grow Johnson County so that allocation should be at
least the minimum of $5,000. Given the total amount of funds the Commission has to allocate to emerging
agencies, they can only fund at most two other organizations.
Padron noted the next two top vote getters were Successful Living and Center for Worker Justice (Forest
View). If both those were awarded $5,000, the total allocated would be $15,000 which leaves $4,000.
Padron asked why McKinstry and Alter wanted to fund the mobile home association. McKinstry noted that
Forest View has a tremendous potential for affordable housing in the future. Lehmann clarified the
request was not for people to attend the meetings but rather Center for Worker Justice costs which
included helping the tenant association start by providing space for them to meet, occasional
transportation, some translation for public meetings and childcare. The applicant stated that the most
important of these functions is for meeting space rent so this association can meet. McKinstry noted this
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March 14, 2019
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is a true startup, it is an emerging organization. Vaughan said her concern was that the organization
seemed temporary, project based, and not an emerging agency. Padron noted they are funding the
Center for Worker Justice which is an agency, for their project of helping this neighborhood association.
However the Center for Worker Justice has been around for more than two years and has received
funding from the City so wouldn't they be excluded from this. Lehmann clarified the Centerfor Worker
Justice has not received Aid to Agencies funds which makes them eligible for this funding. Alter supports
this application because the Center for Worker Justice is lending aid to a group in community outreach
and is helping a neighborhood association.
Vaughan questioned the allocation to Successful Living which appeared to be an allocation to pay
employees but that would not be an ongoing payment, it would only be for one year. Her concern is if they
are having difficulty paying their employees then perhaps the model for their organization should be
reviewed. Harms agreed and noted all the agencies are having difficulty with payments from Medicaid
and not getting paid as much as they thought and this may start a trend of all agencies coming forward.
The change in Medicaid payment was known to the agencies and some likely prepared for it better than
others. Alter feels this application was a creative attempt at a solution to the problem at least for the year
and was thinking of the people who are impacted by the care from Successful Living but acknowledges
Harms' point that this is not a permanent solution.
Padron noted these funds are for emerging agencies and Successful Living has been around for 20 years
and some of the other applicants, like the energy project (Johnson Clean Energy), is very new and
interesting. Vaughan noted she would like to see more details on what Johnson Clean Energy will be
using the funding for and be able to target their ideas, they appear to have a lot of goals, which are all
great, but it is a lot to accomplished and they need to be more focused.
Padron suggested allocating $5,000 to Successful Living and $5,000 to Center for Worker Justice and the
remaining $9,000 to Grow Johnson County. Grow Johnson County has never been funded before and is
helping many people. Harms noted Grow Johnson County had come before the Commission before but
set aside their funding request when hearing another agencies needs and acknowledging that agency
needed the funding more.
Harms moved to recommend to City Council the following allocation of FY20 Emerging Aid to
Agencies funds: $9,000 to Grow Johnson County, $5,000 to the Center for Worker Justice, and
$5,000 to Successful Living. Alter seconded the motion, a vote was taken and motion passed 5.0
(Eastham and Fixmer-Oraiz recused).
RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL FOR FY2020 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK
GRANT (CDBG) AND HOME INVESTMENTS PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM (HOME) APPLICATIONS:
Lehmann shared a handout with the Commission that had the CDBG/HOME allocations ordered by
average score, projects with more than $50,000 should get first consideration and per the City's
Consolidated Plan they can only fund two public facilities projects. Additionally, there are staff comments,
one is Successful Living has unspent funds from the past fiscal year and if additional funds are allocated
they may have difficulty meeting their commitment deadlines, therefore staff recommends not funding
Successful Living until they spend down the current funding. Also for new organizations without a lot of
history, staff recommends starting with small funding amounts as there may be concerns with compliance
and the five year reversion of assets requirement. If a new organization does not last for five years, then
the City has to pay back those funds to the federal government and if the organization doesn't own their
facility they must be able to lease it for the five year compliance period. Lehmann said this may affect the
applications from Little Creation Academy and Old Brick. City Staff will monitor all CDBG/HOME funded
projects and work with agency staff to make sure they meet compliance.
Eastham asked about the Successful Living application and how much were they allocated and have left
unspent. Lehmann said they have approximately $30,000 from the FY18 rehab allocation unspent, forthe
FY19 acquisition they have spent around $60,000 and will spend approximately $75,000 shortly which
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March 14, 2019
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leaves approximately $60,000 in additional funds they have not spent. The rehab project is the one they
have had more delays on, not as much with acquisition projects. Lehmann noted this is a concern staff
wanted the Commission to be aware of as they award funds, the Commission can still allocate funds as
they see best and staff will work with those agencies to make sure there are no issues moving forward.
Eastham noted that the new Successful Living rehab project could get funded and move forward even
though the current rehab project is having issues.
Roger Goedken (Successful Living) stated with regards to the FY18 rehab project they anticipate the
work being done in April, weather has been some of the hold-up. With the home acquisition funds they
have purchased one home and have residents moving in, the other they just closed on and they
anticipate to spend those remaining funds by the end of the fiscal year as they are actively looking at
houses. He explained there were many issues with the rehab project including when federal agencies
shut down, rental moratorium, and issues with finding contractors. He added that even when they have
acquisition projects they sometimes have to do limited rehab to those houses to make them accessible
for their clients. Lehmann stated there were also some delays with the FY18 acquisition but staff had
amended the Annual Action Plan for it and it was completed a couple months back. Goedken said the
current application is for a kitchen/bathroom remodel and new HVAC on a house they purchased a few
years ago, they do have residents currently living there but the repairs are needed.
Lehmann stated regarding the HUD guidance forthe boiler issue for Little Creations Academy, HUD
requested additional clarification and Lehmann supplied it but has yet to hear back.
Vaughan began with the public facilities projects (CDBG) and noted they can fund no more than two
projects. Lehmann noted they have $100,000 to allocate and also that CDBG funds can be used for
housing projects but HOME funds cannot be used for public facility projects. Vaughan stated when
looking at the commissioner's allocations it appears everyone was in favor of funding Domestic Violence
Intervention Program - Shelter Repair and additionally the Old Brick—ADA/Structural Fortification
Improvements. Alter proposed allocating $90,000 to DVIP and $10,000 for Old Brick.
Eastham noted the DVIP application is strong in terms of the need to repair the shelter as well as the
need to repair the parking lot however he feels financing the repair to the parking lot could be done in
another way and the Commission's priority should be on the repairs to the shelter interior. He noted
Council has the ability to provide additional funds to these organizations and the Council should pay for
the parking lot repair. Alter agrees however noted that Council just funded a larger allocation in the Aid to
Agencies based on Commission recommendation and may point to the fact the Commission indeed has
funds to support this application in this case. McKinstry noted with the recent consolidation, DVIP now
has to cover a larger geographic area and that is stretching their already dwindling funds. If they had the
money to do these repairs, such as the parking lot, they would have done it— they do not have additional
funding to support this repair. Padron agreed with McKinstry and noted that what Eastham stated about
DVIP is how she feels about Old Brick, perhaps Old Brick could find funding elsewhere. Fixmer-Oraiz
agreed with Alter and noted if we send any of these applications to Council they may not fund anything.
She also agrees with Padron that Old Brick could have more avenues for funding. Harms feels the
Commission should support Old Brick and noted it is always hard for the Commission because there are
applications for historical preservation and others for necessary community services. For that reason she
feels comfortable with the allocation of $90,000 to DVIP and $10,000 to Old Brick.
Vaughan noted the Commission is to only review what is in the application before them, they are not here
to make recommendations on how other agencies might run their business, they are to look at the
applications and make recommendations based on the information in those applications.
Eastham noted he is fine with the allocation of $90,000 to DVIP and $10,000 to Old Brick but will keep
advocating for City Council to step up and help agencies, we should not solely rely on federal funding.
Lehmann noted that Old Brick is also applying for local and state historic preservation grants as well.
Vaughan next moved to housing applications, there are $540,000 in HOME funds to allocate. Looking at
the Commission's individual allocations it appears if they went with the averages for application they
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March 14, 2019
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would be slightly under their allocated amount.
Eastham noted he is uneasy allocating money to Habitat for new homes when there are other agencies
such as Successful Living and MYEP who have clients living in homes in need of repair. Padron agrees
Lehmann noted The Housing Fellowship - Rental Rehabilitation would need to be allocated $70,000
based on the estimated funding required for CHDO reserve funds.
Eastham stated Successful Living and MYEP had a clear plan and need for adding to their group homes,
they both have waiting lists, both run stellar group home programming for the residents, the rehab
amounts seemed reasonable. Eastham added he would be fine not allocating any CHDO operating funds
to The Housing Fellowship, he feels that organization would be fine without those funds and would prefer
giving MYEP and Successful Living amounts closer to what they applied for.
Vaughan noted her concern with Successful Living having challenges meeting timeframes and payroll
(since they requested paying employees from the emerging agencies grant). She is also concerned about
the future of Medicaid funding from the State and feels more local aid will be needed for these agencies.
McKinstry agrees with Eastham on the issue of need for affordable rental versus affordable ownership
and noted he did not allocate as much to Habitat for Humanity because the money could help more
individuals in rentals rather than ownership. He also values the need for affordable homeownership and it
addresses historic imbalances and therefore would want to see some homeownership in the mix which
should be supported by some public funds as well as private funds.
Fixmer-Oraiz was swayed by the presentation Habitat gave at the last meeting and learned about the
overall impact homeownership has on the community. She allocated the full amount but equally can see
the need for assisted living as well and will support those as well.
Alter noted that Habitat said they could purchase a lot and get started on a new home with a $50,000
allocation so that is what she feels they should be awarded. That will open up more monies for
Successful Living or MYEP. She does strongly support funding Habitat for the reasons McKinstry noted.
Eastham asked if there was any support from other commissioners to reduce The Housing Fund
allocation and therefore not fund their CHDO operating request. He stated he has seen their budget and
feels this amount requested is not a make or break amount in their overall budget. Those funds from the
CHDO operating request could better be served in Successful Living and MYEP to expand the number of
residents they could serve.
Fixmer-Oraiz did not agree and felt CHDO operating funds should be funded. Padron agreed and also
feels the Habitat allocation should be lowered to $50,000 and any additional funds be split amongst
Successful Living and MYEP.
The Commission discussed the reallocations and staff presented a new allocation table for the
Commission to vote on. They also discussed what to do in the event the federal funding was different
than what they based the allocations on. Lehmann said in the past, staff has prorated the allocations
among the agencies unless it was more or less than a 20% difference. Eastham suggested no positive
prorated amounts be added to The Housing Fellowship. Vaughan noted they could add if prorated up but
to make sure the allocation is not more than the asking amount.
McKinstry moved to recommend to City Council the following allocation of FY20 CDBG/HOME
funds:
CDBG HOME
Mayor's Youth Empowerment Program -Lot Acquisition/Rental Construction $176,000
Housing and Community Development Commission
March 14, 2019
Page 6 of 11
Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity -Lot Acqu is ition/Homebuyer Assistance
$50,000
Successful Living - Rental Acquisition
$164,000
The Housing Fellowship - Rental Rehabilitation
$70,000
Successful Living - Rental Rehab
$59,000
The Housing Fellowship - CHDO Operating
$21,000
Domestic Violence Intervention Program - Shelter Repair
$90,000
Old Brick —ADA/Structural Fortification Improvements
$10,000
In the event federal funds are higher or lower than budgeted by 20% or less, these amounts will be
prorated accordingly, subject to federal caps/requirements and requested amounts; in the event
federal funds are higher or lower than budgeted by more than 20%, another funding round will
begin. Fixmer-Oraiz seconded. Passed 7.0
PRESENTATION ON FAIR HOUSING STUDY:
Lehmann presented the Fair Housing Choice Study staff began working on some time ago, beginning
with introduction, public input received and initial observations.
Fair Housing Choice is the ability to choose housing free from unlawful discrimination, it applies to owners
and renters, and to people providing other housing services as well such as financing. There are many
protected classes based on Iowa City's Human Rights Ordinance including age, disability, color, class,
race, nation of origin, creed or religion, sex, gender or identity or sex orientation, marital/familial status,
presence or absence of dependents and most recently added public assistance as a source of income
including Housing Choice Vouchers. The City strives to furtherfair housing in everything it does, it is a
requirement of HUD funds but also applies to all the City's programs. This means the City tries to take
meaningful actions to overcome patterns of segregation, promote fair housing choice and ultimately to
foster inclusive communities. Lehmann pointed out that fair housing is different than affordable housing
although there is a lot of overlap because often affordability is a barrier to housing choice. However, fair
housing is the idea that housing is available to all residents of the community whereas affordable housing
is housing costs that match incomes. Often protected classes have lower incomes so providing affordable
housing is important to fair housing but it is not sufficient to affirmatively further fair housing.
The Fair Housing Choice study is being conducted by Neighborhood Services and the Office of Equity
and Human Rights. It includes both qualitative (getting narrative) and quantitative (looking at data)
components. In terms of public input so far (qualitative) City staff held a public meeting and six focus
groups of different representative groups (a total of 83 attendees), and then also did a public survey for
broader public perspectives, which got 234 responses. For the quantitative analysis they looked at
private and public data, most of which is from the census. The goal is to complete the study in May 2019
so it is ready for review when the Consolidated Plan is updated. Staff will share a copy of the study draft
with Commissioners in May.
For the survey, 234 individuals responded, skewing towards higher incomes. The survey was made
available online and hard copies were provided through the public library and social service agencies.
They received good feedback in terms of getting representation of protected classes. 70% of respondents
were females, 17% were nonwhite or Hispanic, 5%were foreign -born, 20% had a disability, 12% spoke
another language, 12% had a Housing Choice Voucher. One big thing that stuck out were only 43% of
respondents said they felt they understood their fair housing rights while 26%felt they experienced
discrimination. Somewhat shocking but not surprising, was only 3% of those filed a complaint. Most
stated they didn't know what good it would do (70% of respondents) while others were unfamiliar with
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March 14, 2019
Page 7 of 11
how to do it or afraid of retaliation. In terms of barriers cited, affordable housing was overwhelmingly
cited as the primary barrier to fair housing choice, including all for types of households (large families,
small families, persons with disabilities, etc.) and the most common source of discrimination people noted
was having a Housing Choice Voucher. In terms of public policies that were identified as barriers none
received a majority, but the top ones were City funding practices followed by zoning and housing codes.
At focus groups and the public meeting, the comments mirrored many results from the survey. Iowa City
was noted as an expensive housing market, and incomes don't necessary match the cost of the market
and it is especially problematic where there is not a diversity of housing choices within a neighborhood (if
it is all single family it can be challenging for different groups to find housing). This includes both City
assisted housing and privately affordable housing because it is just not City assisted housing that is
affordable. For the housing stock it was also mentioned that there are low quality rentals, especially near
downtown, which can be problematic for persons who are in protected classes as well as accessibility
challenges in older parts of the City with properties not built to visitability standards.
There were several public policy challenges raised, development codes can increase costs and limit
flexibility, especially where design review is involved. Policies need to better align with goals and funding
that is allocated should match up with the goals the City has (it doesn't always). The City should also
streamline processes wherever they can including rental permitting, and the City needs to make sure they
enforce their rental housing standards so there is quality housing. Coordination was also cited as an
issue, between the City and surrounding jurisdictions and also with other actors (tenants, builders,
landlords, etc.) or educational institutions such as the school district and university. Overall education is
generally needed for tenants and landlords to better understand what fair housing rights are, what the
responsibilities of different parties are in the housing market and to better information people on
neighborhoods (people can be informally or formally steered towards certain neighborhoods) and the
survey corroborated that.
In terms of data observations, Iowa City is a college town and has more young people, fewer families,
and fewer children especially near downtown. Generally, near downtown there are fewer persons with
disabilities because it is a younger population, it is more ethnically, racially and culturally diverse, a lot
due to immigration into Iowa City especially from Asian populations, but also black/African American
populations as well. There are some racial/ethnic concentrations across the City, specifically Black/
Hispanic groups south of Highway 6 and Asian groups concentrated on the west side. None of these
concentrations meet the standard HUD for being a racially and ethnically concentrated area of poverty
however. Those areas do tend to have lower incomes but the lowest income areas tend to be nearer to
the university where students are. There are large limited English proficiency populations, especially
Spanish (3100 speakers) and Mandarin (2400 speakers). Segregation by race or ethnicity is considered
low in Iowa City based on the dissimilarity index standards, but it has been increasing overtime. For the
economy, it is focused around education and healthcare, there is a high proportion of low-income
households due to student populations and that is increasing as well. Minority households tend to have
lower incomes in Iowa City, primarily outside downtown, and LMI (low moderate income) areas are
primarily to the south and west but there is a large LMI area downtown as well.
The majority of housing in Iowa City is rental, concentrated in around downtown and near the university.
Minority groups tend to have lower homeownership rates in Iowa City, which especially true for Black
households and households of two or more races. There has been a large increase in multifamily building
permits, peaking in 2016, much of it is downtown, and there are correspondingly higher vacancy rates
with that. That being noted, rents have increased faster than incomes or housing values. Housing values
have actually been closer to increases in income lately but rents increased more quickly. In terms of cost
burden (which means they are paying more than 30% of their income on housing), 16% of homeowners
and 64% of renters are cost burdened, a lot of whom are students based on non -familial status. Minority
households tend to experience housing issues at higher rates including housing cost burden and other
issues such as overcrowding and the quality of facilities.
Lehmann noted there is limited data on fair housing because things don't get reported, but of the data
they do have in Iowa City there tends to be around 10-12 fair housing complaints per year. Most of those
are based on discrimination by race, disability or sex. 1/3 tend to be outside the City's jurisdiction so they
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March 14, 2019
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get referred to the correct jurisdiction, 1/3 get closure at the City or withdrawn due to resolution and the
remaining 1/3 require further various levels of investigation. Data from the State or Federal level is even
more limited, most is based on Johnson County. Progress since the last plan, there were five findings and
while the City was making progress some of these findings have cropped up again. For example, racial
ethnic concentrations is still there, outreach and education is still an issue and a huge need.
Staff next looked at policies, public sector policies in addition to private sector policies and Lehmann
discussed those and where staff found impediments. For City development codes there is no reasonable
accommodation policy for persons with disabilities which is basically a streamlined approach for, say
someone in a wheelchair to put a ramp outside their house in a historic district where there are many
levels of complex policies to deal with. Staff is looking to adopt some sort of reasonable accommodation
policy to ensure people can be housed in older parts of the City without running into bureaucratic barriers.
Also staff is looking at generally increasing opportunities or choices for housing by allowing diverse
housing throughout the City. That will focus on increasing density because single family can be affordable
depending on construction but allowing more multifamily by right in residential areas would be good.
They are also looking at bedroom caps in multifamily as that can restrict large families and student living.
Finally looking at how permanent supportive housing is currently treated in the community because it is
treated as separate use only allowable in specific zones (essentially the Cross Park Place project where it
is long-term housing, more than a year lease). Housing Code has new requirements like rental permit
cap, increased inspections, which may affect protected classes, these changes are relatively new as of
2018 so it is hard to know the impact or results but it will be tracked.
Vaughan asked if those new requirements were federal requirements. Lehmann replied it was a State
requirement change where a city could not distinguish between nonfamily and family households in the
zoning code which was a way the City was trying to balance student housing downtown. When the State
made that change the City reviewed the process and put a cap on areas near the university and also
increased inspections for certain types of units.
For affordable housing assistance, Lehmann stated the City put more local funding towards affordable
housing initiatives but it doesn't have the same federal requirements, so staff has not been tracking
protected characteristics for beneficiaries. As such, impacts are difficult to ascertain for all City assistance
because more than half the units created aren't being tracked. With new funding comes new programs
and lots of requirements and staff is making sure administrative rules are well coordinated.
For site selection and neighborhood revitalization, Lehmann stated the Affordable Housing Location
Model and rental permit cap interact in complex ways; both affect certain types of housing in certain areas
at certain times. Staff is working to identify those affects for affordable housing and service providers, how
they impact choices for protected classes and seeing if there are ways to streamline some of these
programs as they come into play. Currently there are 1215 Housing Choice Vouchers, about 850 of which
are in Iowa City. Within Iowa City, Housing Choice Vouchers are still relatively concentrated in certain
neighborhoods, typically the more affordable neighborhoods thus the concentration. However based on
the survey there is also some evidence landlords may still be discriminating against Housing Choice
Voucher recipients. Therefore providing more information to Housing Choice Voucher recipients is
needed, further alerting them of their rights and encouraging them to live in other areas of the City is
something staff is recommending. Also The Housing Authority has a preference categories with families,
persons with disabilities, and elderly with residency in Iowa City as the first group to receive vouchers.
Staff recommends an equity analysis to make sure the policy is targeting the correct populations for
service as based on the CITY STEPS Consolidated Plan.
With regards to home lending, Lehmann noted the data showed Black and Hispanic households have
elevated rates of denials, however a study that was conducted a year ago showed there are
discrepancies in data entry and there are issues with a small sample size. Staff wants to follow up to
make sure this is not discrimination and will continue to monitor. Additionally they recommend additional
fair housing education for lenders and borrowers.
Alter asked if the City has anyone that works with lenders and people who are applying to help them
through the process. Lehmann stated the City does trainings for lenders but is unsure of how regularly it
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March 14, 2019
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is done. These trainings are also provided for the general public. Kubly added if a person is part of The
Housing Choice Voucher program they are assigned a case worker to help them navigate the process.
Eastham asked about impediments related to realtors. Lehmann said he had no data on it but based on
the focus groups it doesn't seem to be much of an issue, it seems the larger issues for steering people to
certain locations is word of mouth from others in the community. Eastham said he hears anecdotal
statements about realtors engaging in steering certain people to certain locations of town. McKinstry
noted when he has talked to realtors it appears everyone is super sensitive to steering and know it is
illegal and unethical and are hypervigilant in not steering people to certain locations of town. He was
startled to find there are four or five protected classes here in Iowa City more than in other areas of the
State or Nation. He stated that two woman in Missouri, this year, were denied the opportunity to live in a
retirement center because they were married to each other. Because of situations like that McKinstry is
so glad Iowa City has these additional protected classes.
Lehmann noted for the rental market there is a mismatch between the cost of rentals and incomes and
staff recommends more rentals in high demand areas, especially downtown, and considering ways to
reduce the cost of housing such as group living options. The also recommend more education on the
protections for renters and keeping landlords apprised of the protected classes and education of best
practices. Additionally staff needs to make sure all fair housing complaints are dealt with in a timely
manner and resolved quickly. Since there is a lack of metrics for policy impacts staff will need to make
sure they measure these fair housing impacts on protected classes. Lehmann noted staff does not do a
lot of testing in Iowa City but it is one of the better ways identify discrimination or steering.
Finally Lehmann talked about other observations worth noting. There are ethnical and racial
concentrations so encouraging a range of housing throughout the City while continuing to invest in
minority, LMI or protected class neighborhoods is important. Homeownership rates are lower for minority
groups so it is important to encouraging homebuyer programs in targeted areas for protected classes.
For elderly households and persons with disabilities, especially those with ambulatory issues who cannot
walk around easily, there is a need to focus on areas of town with accessibility barriers to help ensure
aging in place is possible. Student populations have the lowest incomes, so there is a need to ensure all,
especially those who are LMI or in protected classes, can afford to live in the community.
In terms of next steps, Lehmann stated staff is working on the internal review of the draft of the Fair
Housing Study, hoping to get a draft to stakeholders in April and start to let the document be public for
adoption process, there will be a public meeting with HCDC on May 16 and then go before Council either
May 21 or June 4 and have the document adopted prior to June 30.
Eastham stated he wanted to see the data behind this study for the HCDC review.
Harms noted that when someone has an issue, time constraints for resolving the issue is enormous,
especially for working individuals. Perhaps the City could increase hours of availability to help the public.
Fixmer-Oraiz noted a recurring theme in the Study is a need for education and outreach and there
definitely needs to be more for renters, landlords and potential homeowners. Eastham stated if the City is
going to put resources toward this education and outreach it should be for consumers, realtors and banks
already have some educational opportunities. Fixmer-Oraiz noted the university does a freshman intake
and perhaps the City can provide education on fair housing. Lehmann noted the university does a "Renter
101" event and Iowa City provides information at that. Vaughan suggested something otherthan just a
written brochure, it doesn't often speak to a lot of people, and is easily tossed. She noted it should be
written to speak to all individuals, regardless of the level of education.
Padron noted it is important to remember not every resident has a computer or internet and much of what
comes from the City is via email or directs one to a website. Harms noted with the elderly or others they
may not want to use a computer and the City needs to be cognizant of that. Lehmann noted they did
hand out hard copies of the survey in the senior living areas, agencies and also at the library for those
that did not want to use a computer. The surveys were provided in multiple languages.
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March 14, 2019
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Vaughan asked if there was educational pieces created do they have to be done by staff or can
volunteers assist. Lehmann said they would welcome volunteers and partners.
McKinstry is happy to see the interest in collecting data on housing in the City.
Fixmer-Oraiz asked if the City could partner with the school district and send information home in back
packs. Lehmann stated the school district has tightened up on allowing things to be handed out but
improved coordination between the City and schools is needed.
Any additional comments or questions can be directed to Lehmann-
STAFF/COMMISSION COMMENT:
Lehmann noted that Council has appointed Peter Nkumu to the Commission, he is the president of the
Congolese Community of Iowa and will be a great addition to the Commission.
Staff is interviewing consultants for the Consolidated Plan this month.
Staff, Padron and the head of the Human Rights Commission had a brief discussion on the ways to
revamp the Aid to Agencies process, conversations will continue in April.
The next HCDC meeting will be April 18 where we will discuss projects not conforming to the
unsuccessful delayed project policy which will include a report from The Arthur Street Healthy Living
Center. They will also have HCDC monitoring reports and begin Aid to Agency visioning process and also
a background information presentation on the Affordable Housing Model. Staff will present the Annual
Action Plan and continue the Fair Housing Study review.
Eastham noted he heard from an agency partner some agencies are having discussions with the City
Manager on Aid to Agency funds and what those agencies feel the City should be funding. Lehmann said
this will be part of the discussion at the next meeting.
Lehmann stated Community Development Week is April 22-26, there will be some type of proclamation
and Vaughan suggested doing some type of tour of projects that are complete, to see the impact.
Lehmann noted there is a new tenant education program that the local Homeless Coordination Board is
putting together, it is intended as a possible alternative to eviction for tenants. It will start April 9 in the
Iowa City Public Library and be held every Tuesday through May 14 for a total of six modules.
Fixmer-Oraiz had a question on monies from other sources and specifically The United Way who gives
out all kinds of money to agencies. Lehmann noted the application process does go through The United
Way along with Coralville, Johnson County and United Way.
ADJOURNMENT:
Fixmer-Oraiz moved to adjourn. Alter seconded. Passed 7-0
Housing and Community Development Commission
March 14, 2019
Page 11 of 11
Housing and Community
Development Commission
Attendance Record
Name
Terms Exp.
7/10
9/20
10/11
11/15
12/20
1/17
2/21
3/14
Alter, Megan
7/1/21
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Brouse, Mitch
7/1/21
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
O/E
Eastham, Charlie
7/1/20
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Fixmer-Oraiz, Vanessa
7/1/20
X
O/E
X
X
X
O/E
X
X
Harms, Christine
7/1/19
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Lamkins, Bob
7/1/19
O/E
O/E
X
O/E
O/E
,
McKinstry, John
7/1/17
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Padron, Maria
7/1/20
X
X
O/E
O/E
X
X
X
X
Vaughan, Paula
7/1/19
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
• Resigned from Commission
Key:
X = Present
O = Absent
O/E = Absent/Excused
--- = Vacant