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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-11-02 Transcription #2 Page 1 ITEM 2 PROCLAMATION a. Alpha Phi Omega National Service Week - November 1-7, 2004 Lehman: (reads proclamation) Karr: Here to accept the proclamation is Kathryn Bailey, Chairperson of the National Service Fraternity. (applause) Bailey: I would just like to say thank you from the members of my fraternity for proclaiming this as National Service Week. Thank you. Lehman: Thank you. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council meeting of November 2, 2004. #4 Page 2 ITEM 4 COMMUNITY COMMENT Lehman: This is the time reserved on the agenda for folks to address the Council on items that do not otherwise appear on the agenda. If you wish to address the Council, please sign in, give your name, and limit your comments to five minutes or less. Bums: My name is Bob Bums. I'm an architect from Iowa City, 319 E. Washington Street. I'd like to talk about an item which was on the work session agenda last evening, where we were not able to speak because of City Council policy, and so we're here to address some of those issues that came up last evening, and that item was a request to amend the FY05 Home Allocation to Blooming Garden IHA Limited Partnership, and to do that, I'd like to have you follow along the outline of my presentation about Whispering Garden IRA Limited Partnership, which was an FY04 Home Funded project by the city. Whispering Garden, we applied for sixteen units, eight duplexes, with attached garages. The city awarded funds for only five units, which are not large, which is not a large enough project to attract tax credit investors. You had awarded $144,000 of a $480,000 request. What we would like you to consider, is taking the Blooming Garden funds, which was an amount of$200,000, which was awarded in 05 to make up the shortfall. That would allow us to do a sixteen unit application for tax credits. That gives you a little bit of the background. I'd like to now address the ownership, which is a revision from the original application. We are proposing that the Greater Iowa City Housing Fellowship will become the general partner, or have 100% managing responsibility for the partnership. Bums and Bums would be the developer, and guide the fellowship through the tax credit process. They have not been through that process before, and they are in need of assistance, and that would be our role. The fellowship would be the long- term manager and the long-term owner ofthe property. Thirdly, I'd like to focus on the tenant profile. These eight duplexes will be designed for large families, three and four bedroom units, which has received the highest priority under the City Steps plan, but in addition to that, we're designating the project, when I say we I mean us and the fellowship, as a service-enriched project, which there would be a minimum of 25%, or four units, that would be set aside for persons with disabilities. There could be greater number than 25%, but there would be at least 25% set aside. Also as part of this ownership transition, there will be a program for eventual tenant ownership. It would be a rent to own program that the tenants would participate in, receive counseling on home ownership, and at the end of the fifteen-year term of the low-income housing tax credit, the tenants would purchase the units. A little bit about the location. The lots that we would be purchasing with the Blooming Garden funds are the last remaining duplex lots in the Whispering Meadows Part 2 addition. So, this would limit the addition of any additional units in this subdivision. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council meeting of November 2, 2004. #4 Page 3 Please keep in mind that as of a check yesterday by Mike Bails, which is attached in an email copy to you, there are no other duplex or zero-lot line lots for sale in the MLS in Iowa City. Why is that important? Because of timing. Our tax credit applications are due to the Iowa Finance Authority on November 22. Ifwe do not proceed with a tax credit application at this time, we would become out of compliance with the City's Home Regulations. You say that we must apply for the next available round of tax credits, so we have to apply November 22. These are the only lots that are available that will work for our project. I would urge you to consider directing the staff to approve using Blooming Garden funds for the Whispering Garden project to make up the shortfall, and as you do that, I'd like you to consider the Affirmative Fair Housing issues that would be surrounding this project. We'd like to know if a denial by the City to acquire the lots in Whispering Meadows subdivision goes forward, how does this comply with the City's home requirements under the federal program? Under CFR 92.202 Affirmative Fair Housing, is the City in full compliance with the Fair Housing Act? And in number two, does the City promote greater choice of housing opportunities by denying the use of these lots for this project? We think the Wood Elementary neighborhood is preparing for our new units. The City has awarded Home Funds for a new family resource center for low-income families that will be built at the Grant Wood Elementary School. This would be in close proximity to the proposed project, and would be a valuable asset to our tenants. So, we would ask you to reconsider, or to consider, awarding the Blooming Garden funds for purchasing of these additional Whispering Meadows lots. Thank you very much. Lehman: Thank you, Bob. Karr: Move to accept correspondence. Vanderhoef: So moved. Champion: Second. Lehman: Motion and a second to accept correspondence. All in favor? Opposed? Motion carries. Eastham: Mr. Mayor, and Council members, my name is Charles Eastham. I'm the President of Greater Iowa City Fellowship, and I'd like to follow up on Bob's comments about this proposed project, and I mostly would like to focus on the rental to ownership aspects ofthe proposal that we're asking your agreement for. As Bob said, these units will be part of a renter to ownership program that's called, it goes by the acronym of ROSE. This is a relatively new program for the state ofIowa. It's modeled after a program that's been in existence in Nebraska for some time, and as I This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council meeting of November 2, 2004. #4 Page 4 understand it, it has been quite successful there. I'd like to just let you know, that within the last six months, three tenants or three families who are renting housing from Greater Iowa City Housing Fellowship, have left their rental units because they've been able to buy their own homes. I know home ownership is something for lower income households, it's something we strive mightily to achieve, and we're very glad for those three families. What we believe, and the housing fellowship does, that there are many people who rent houses from us and many people who want to rent houses from us, who very much desire to buy their own homes, and with some assistance, will be able to do so, very much like the Iowa City Housing Authority's rental to ownership programs that have assisted many families to acquire and purchase their own home. We think this program will be a useful and additional resource as we all work to provide home ownership to these families. The ROSE program has a couple features that I think are very useful. One, up to $600 a year is set aside for each participating household, from the rent that the family is paying, there is no additional rent. The owner, the Housing Fellowship, has structured the program so that we can afford to set aside that $600 a year for up to five years, and after that period or even during that five year period when the family is ready to attempt to acquire a home, that money is provided to the family for various uses, including down payment assistance, closing cost assistance, paying off some remaining bills that might be necessary to improve their credit rating. Tenants also receive a good deal of assistance from the Housing Fellowship. There's a housing counselor that's designated to help folks prepare for home ownership. There are classes that are required, and there are a number of milestones that home renters agree to meet over the course of their occupancy, and it is the responsibility of the Housing Fellowship to help them to meet those milestones, including helping them find housing that's within their budget, for them to eventually purchase. As Bob said, all of these houses will eventually be available for purchase by qualified tenants, and it does not mean that people have to stay in the houses fifteen years before they're eligible to buy them. They're actually kind of only have to participate in the program for up to a five year period and then they're eligible to try to buy some house outside of these particular units. I want to say something also, so I think this is an excellent opportunity for us to work together with lower income families to help them realize their home ownership dreams and inspirations. I want to say something about the location. The Housing Fellowship, as you know, also owns eight, four duplexes, eight two and three-bedroom rental units also in Whispering Meadows. We've owned and operated those units since 1994. They are in the Wood Elementary School attendance area. Those units are some ofthe most attractive, desirable units we've ever built. We have as much demand for those units in that location, as for anything else we rent throughout the city. We think the Whispering Meadows, in my opinion, is an excellent location for this particular project with this particular set of aspirations on This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council meeting of November 2, 2004. #4 Page 5 the part of the folks that are going to be living there. We think people will want to live there. I also think because the ROSE program asks us to screen tenants, and make these units available to people who desire and have the willingness to purchase a home, that the impact, as it's called, upon the Wood Elementary School, simply because some of these folks are going to have somewhat lower incomes, will not be significant. I think most of these families are going to want to live there because they want to buy a home, and their children, they want to do well in school, and their children will do well in school. Going to Wood or any other school, they'll do just fine. So with all those things in mind, I hope you will give serious consideration to supporting this project. Thanks. Lehman: Thank you, Charlie. Wilburn: If the Council is going to discuss this, I'll need to withdraw myself from discussion because this involves Home Community Development Block Grant Funds. Dilkes: Well, I think if the Council does want to reconsider the direction it provided to Staff last night, you need to notice up the issue and have a discussion about it at a meeting. Vanderhoef: I just want to ask a question, if I might. That I didn't understand the $600 per year for five years, you mentioned in the ROSE program. Now, where.. . Dilkes: Excuse me, Ross you can stay there. Eastham: I'm sorry, Dee. The $600 is actually taken, deducted from the rent the tenants pay. It's an expense to the owners, the Housing Fellowship. So, it's just like we have to pay property taxes on these units because they're part of a private limited partnership, so we take property taxes out of the rental income, and we'll take the $600 out of the rental income. That obviously means that we probably will borrow less private debt for this project than we would before and will have a little bit more public subsidy part of it, as part of our overall financing. Does that help, Dee, or am I just making it... Vanderhoef: I'm still a little confused. So, you're saying that the rent that they pay to the Fellowship includes property tax? Eastham: Yes, it would include property taxes. Property taxes, normal operating expenses.. .I'm sorry, the rent doesn't include that. They pay rent and then we use that rent to pay property taxes, normal operating expenses, debt service, and we set aside the $600 a year towards their eventual home ownership acquisition needs. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council meeting of November 2, 2004. #4 Page 6 Vanderhoef: So it's like an escrow account for the family who lives there, but they pay it monthly. Eastham: Right, $50 a month, right. Vanderhoef: So it works out.. . okay, thank you very much. Lehman: Thank you, Charlie. Lehman: Is there any other public discussion? Laney: Yeah, Daniel Laney. Resident ofIowa City. Okay, we have problems on the highway. Police officers, they don't want to enforce the no passing zones on large trucks. What's that supposed to do? They're supposed to be going single-file all the way from Des Moines to Bettendorf. Well, you can't join the Armed Forces when you're over thirty-five, and you can't drive a motor vehicle in Florida when you're over seventy-five. (can't understand) There are adjustments and cuts that need to be made. Laws, okay.. .laws make nations unfree nations. Just go back to Germany in 1961. Kennedy made a great speech. You come to Germany, and you come to (can't understand) East Berlin. Well, there were travel restrictions in Germany for twenty-nine years. I mean, German citizens could not leave the borders of their own nation, Germany. Laws make nations unfree nations, in a diplomatic country like the United States. And opportunities...all adult citizens of the United States have the same opportunities as every other adult, sixty, seventy, eighty years ago, to the adults of the twenty-first century. They don't have the same opportunities that other adults did. They need to have the same opportunities. You can't take those opportunities in employment and college away from adults. Lehman: You need to wrap it up for us, Dan, please. Laney: Yeah. You know, it's the opportunities for adults should be fair. They should have open opportunities. Laws make nations unfree in the diplomatic societies, and the kindest nations of the world, Korea, China, Germany was kindness, east Germany was kindness, the 1960's and the 1980's, the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, but you still got two other kindest nations across the Pacific, North Korea and China. Unfree nations, diplomatic nations of the United States affects residents ofIowa City. The laws ofthe United States do. You can't take those opportunities away from them. Lehman: Thank you, Dan. Any other public discussions? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council meeting of November 2, 2004. #5 Page 7 ITEM 5 PLANNING AND ZONING MATTERS b. CHANGING THE ZONING DESIGNATION FROM 1-1, GENERAL INDUSTRIAL, TO CC-2, COMMUNITY COMMERCIAL, FOR 0.33 ACRES OF PROPERTY LOCATED AT 611 HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD (REZ04-00022) Lehman: Public hearing is open. Franklin: Good evening. This is the City initiated application and I had a conversation with the property owner today, and we would like to withdraw this rezoning. Lehman: Okay. Now, madam attorney, what is the appropriate procedure? Di1kes: Well, if nobody else wants to speak, you can close the public hearing, and then we'll be done. Lehman: There would be no. . .. Dilkes: No, no action. Lehman: Thank you very much. Would anybody else like to speak? Karr: Can we accept correspondence? Lehman: For this non-issue... Vanderhoef: So moved. Bailey: Second. Lehman: . . .have a motion and a second to accept correspondence. All in favor? Opposed? Motion carries. Public hearing is closed. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council meeting of November 2,2004. #6 Page 8 ITEM 6 CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE 5, "BUSINESS AND LICENSE REGULATIONS," CHAPTER 2, "VEHICLES FOR HIRE," SECTION 5-2-8 "VEHICLE FOR HIRE REQUIREMENTS," OF THE CITY CODE BY DELETING (B) "DISTINCTIVE COLOR SCHEME REQUIRED" AND REPLACING IT WITH A NEW (B) "DISTINCTIVE COLOR SCHEME REQUIRED" TO CLARIFY LANGUAGE (FIRST CONSIDERATION) Bailey: Move first consideration. Lehman: Moved by Bailey. O'Donnell: Second. Lehman: Seconded by O'Donnell. Discussion? Champion: Can we collapse the readings into one? Lehman: I don't think, welL.. Dilkes: It's not our practice. (laughter) Lehman: I like the way... Dilkes: How about if we do it next time? (laughter) Lehman: Roll call. Motion carried. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council meeting of November 2, 2004. #11 Page 9 ITEM 11 CONSIDER A RESOLUTION TO ADOPT AMENDED STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES AND GUIDELINES FOR THE lOW A CITY POLICE CITIZENS REVIEW BOARD BY AMENDING SECTION I RELATING TO COMPLAINT PROCESS, AND NON-SUBSTANTIVE CHANGES AND FORMATTING ISSUES, AND REPEALING RESOLUTION 00-355. Vanderhoef: Move the resolution. Champion: Second. Lehman: Moved by Vanderhoef; seconded by Champion. Discussion? Roll call. Motion carried. For the information of some of the folks in the audience, we have discussed these issues before. We're not reading these things as fast as we can and voting on them without first having studied them. So, for those of you who think we just read them, no, these are not new to us. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council meeting of November 2, 2004. #15 Page 10 ITEM 15 CITY COUNCIL INFORMATION Vanderhoef: Just one thing for Council, the Iowa League of Cities and the organization of county supervisors, the ISAC group, have put together a proposal on property tax reform for this next legislative session, is what I'm trying to say, for them to respond to as a possibility of some changes that would be beneficial for, we think, all the parties, the state, the cities, and the counties. There will be a League Legislative Advocacy program on the 18th of November in West Des Moines. I have all the particulars, or you can read them in your Cityscape, but for this Council to get involved with legislation, I think, is terribly important. We talked a bit about it last night, and looking how to move forward with some alcohol issues that we thought perhaps the State should take up, and I would really, really encourage as many of you as possible to go to Des Moines on the 18th and learn about this joint proposal with ISAC and Iowa Leagues, and also the other league issues for this legislative session. I'm going to be unable to go. I have a conflict with another meeting, and I have been following these issues since last June, so I feel like I'm fairly well informed at this point, but I certainly would hope some of you would go. Lehman: Anybody who is interested, I think that is important if we have folks who can make that meeting. Wilburn: I'd just like to personally thank the staff at the Iowa Foot and Ankle Clinic, and Mercy Hospital, for their excellent outpatient.. .(can't hear) Bailey: The Women's Resource and Action Center asked me to announce that they are hosting an election night party. So, free alcohol, in the Wheel Room, started an hour ago and everyone is welcome. There will be prizes and watching the returns, and if you don't like to watch the returns alone, it would be a great place to hang out tonight, at the Wheel Room at the Memorial Union. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council meeting of November 2, 2004. #16 Page 11 ITEM 16 REPORT ON ITEMS FROM CITY STAFF Lehman: Mr. Steve? Eleanor? Marian? Do we have a motion to adjourn? O'Donnell: So moved. Elliott: Second. Lehman: We have a motion and a second to adjourn. All in favor? Opposed? Okay, we are adjourned. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council meeting of November 2, 2004.