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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-18-2006 Housing & Community Development Commission AGENDA HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM, CITY HALL THURSDAY, MAY 18, 2006 6:30 P.M. 1. Call Meeting to Order 2. Approval of the April 20, 2006 Minutes 3. Public Comment of Items Not on the Agenda 4. New Business . Community Land Trust Presentation - The Housing Fellowship . Review of Allocation Process - Creation of Subcommittee . Discuss Summer Schedule . Discuss Inclusionary Zoning . Announce Upcoming HCDC Vacancies 5. Old Business . Discuss National Community Development Week Celebration 6. Monitoring Reports . City of Iowa City - Economic Development Fund (Greazel) . Goodwill Industries - Facility Rehabilitation (MeHecker) . Planned Parenthood - Facility Rehabilitation (Mellecker) . City of Iowa City - Housing Rehabilitation (Mellecker) . City of Iowa City - Downpayment Assistance (Mellecker) 7. Adjournment ,~ .l -~= -~... ~~W~~ ~ ~_.~ ...~ CITY OF IOWA CITY MEMORANDUM Date: May 12, 2006 From: Housing and Community Development Commission Community Development Staff HCDC Meeting on May 18, 2006 To: Re: As you may already know, on May 2 the City Council approved the FY07 Annual Action Plan as recommended by HCDC. A copy of the approved FY07 Action Plan budget is included in the packet for your information. The following is a short description of the May agenda items. If you have any questions about the agenda, or are unable to attend the meeting, please contact Tracy Hightshoe at 356-5244 or by email at tracy-hightshoe@iowa-city.org. New Business Community Land Trust Presentation - The Housing Fellowship Maryann Dennis, Director of The Housing Fellowship, will present information on community land trusts and will discuss how The Housing Fellowship has worked with land trusts to ensure permanent affordability for owner-occupied homes. Review of the Allocation Process With the FY07 allocation process fresh in your mind, staff is interested in hearing your suggestions for next year. Last year a subcommittee was created to review the process and recommend changes to the allocation process. There were some substantial changes made to the process this year, such as separate applications and ranking systems for different funding categories. The committee may decide to appoint a subcommittee for further review or simply offer suggestions for next year. Discuss Summer Schedule Typically, the commission does not meet one month during the summer. We will need to discuss summer plans and our meeting schedule over the upcoming months. Please bring your date books. Discuss Inclusionary Zoning The commission will discuss the process of reviewing inclusionary zoning. At the May meeting the commission will discuss a process, timeline, and information necessary to formulate a recommendation to City Council. Upon consideration of inclusionary zoning, the commission may decide to recommend, not recommend or to make no recommendation to City Council. The June agenda will include the discussion of design guidelines and inclusionary zoning. There will be an August or September agenda item regarding the financial investment policy. Upcoming HCDC Vacancies Bill Greazel and Michael Shaw's terms expire September 1, 2006. If interested in reapplying, please submit your application to the City Clerk before July 26, 2006. May 12, 2006 Page 2 Old Business National Community Development Celebration The Community Development Celebration committee will meet to discuss proposed dates and location for the celebration before the May 18 meeting. The committee will provide an update at the May meeting. Monitoring Reports . City of Iowa City - Economic Development Fund (Greazel) Contact Tracy Hightshoe at 356.5244 . Goodwill Industries - Facility Rehabilitation (Mellecker) Contact Mike Townsend at 337.4158 . Planned Parenthood - Facility Rehabilitation (Mellecker) Contact Krista Noah at 354.2044 . City of Iowa City - Housing Rehabilitation (Mellecker) Contact David Powers or Jeff VanaUer at 356.5230 . City of Iowa City - Downpayment Assistance (Mellecker) Contact Steve Long at 356.5250 MINUTES HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION THURSDAY, APRIL 20,2006,6:30 P.M. EMMA J. HARVAT HALL, CITY HALL PRELIMINARY Members Present: Jerry Anthony, William Greazel, Matthew Hayek, Kelly Mellecker, Thomas Niblock, Brian Richman, Michael Shaw Staff Present: Tracy Hightshoe, Steve Long Public Present: Bob Burns, Dan Garrett (Iowa Equity Fund), Krista Noah (Planned Parenthood) Call Meetina to Order Anthony called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Approval of the March 9. March 23. and March 29. 2006 Meetina Minutes MOTION: Hayek moved to approve the minutes as submitted. Mellecker seconded, and the motion carried on a vote of 6-0. Greazel arrived at this point. Public Comment of Items not on the Aaenda Richman asked if the commission should reconsider allocations in light of the recent tornado. Long asked if he had suggestions. Richman said he did not have any particular suggestions, and he has not heard any assessment of damages to public facilities. He said his question centers on whether there are other priorities now. Long said people are still trying to assess the damage, so very little is known at this point and funding gaps are unknown. He said the city is working with The Housing Fellowship with their damages, since CDBG funds were involved in some of their projects. Greazel noted the funds which were held back during allocations are still available, and the commission could consider future applications. Long said the city is still waiting to hear from the federal government on whether the area will be declared a disaster zone. If so, some requirements for applications are waived and money could be shifted around more easily. Otherwise, projects need to go through the normal application. Anthony asked what the timeline is for the disaster area designation. Long said it could be up to 30 days. He said the city has not heard from non-profits regarding desired funding or if they received any damages. Hayek said he had heard several of the rental houses on Iowa Avenue were underinsured, so there may be gaps in that area. Anthony said there is a request to have the Iowa Equity Fund presentation before discussion of the annual action plan. He asked if there were any objections from commission members. There were no objections. Presentation bv the Iowa Eauitv Fund Reaardina Low Income Housina Tax Credits Garrett introduced himself as a representative from the Iowa Equity Fund. The Fund is a non-profit tax credit syndicate that buys tax credits on affordable housing projects. The Fund is part of a larger company called Midlands Housing Equity Group, based in Omaha, Nebraska. Garrett said the state awards the tax credits for low-income projects, and the required compliance period in Iowa is15 years, though an extended period is an option. The Fund is designed to help those with low to moderate incomes. It actually consists of four funds with four offices. Iowa Equity has two funds, and his area, called Fund Two, is handling about $20 million this year. They have syndicated projects all over the state for both historic and adaptive rehabilitation, and assisted living. They have just completed their second assisted living project and plan to do four smaller ones this year. Garrett said tax credits are very competitive, so the Fund would like to get in on the ground floor. The Fund's greatest offering is that it is local. The national syndicators are aggressive, and there is more money available. He said the Iowa Equity Fund is trying to work with people who might need the services and get in on the ground floor. Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes April 20, 2006 Page 2 Garrett said the Fund is asked by an investor to help non-profits with existing stock turn them into tax credit projects. What happens is that a limited partnership is created, with the syndicate holding 99.99 . percent ownership. The non-profit sells the project to the limited partnership, and holds .01 percent ownership. The resultant tax credit equity helps with rehab done on the unit, and builds a reserve. Also, tax-exempt properties become taxable. There is a formula for calculating affordable housing tax credits based on state code, so it is not the same as becoming 100 percent commercial. Garrett said the tax credit money, which covers typically 60 percent of the project costs, is not public money. It is investor money, such as with Wells Fargo, Bank of the West, and Fannie Mae. They get dollar for dollar tax credits on their returns. Hayek asked how much money comes back to the investors per tax credit dollar. Garrett said when he started five years ago they were at about 72 cents for every dollar. Burns said it was approximately 42 cents on the dollar in the late 1980s, but investors wanted higher returns. Garrett said he is now doing about 92 cents, which is lower than the national average because the company is very conservative. He added it is possible to get over a dollar in some areas. Hayek asked what happens to the property after 15 years. Garrett said the affordability period is at least 15 years. At the end of that period, the property can be sold back to the non-profit organization for the balance of the outstanding debt. At that point they could be put back into the tax credit program. Richman asked if the unit would need to apply for additional dollars for rehab after 15 years. Garrett said it is a possibility. Greazel noted that projects presented to the commission usually have an affordability period of 30 or 40 years.. Garrett said the limited partners are only interested in the first 15 years, but there is an option to extend affordability. The investors only get tax credit up through year 10. The syndicate is done after 15 years. Greazel asked who keeps track of affordability after 15 years. Garrett said the Iowa Finance Authority is the agency that awards tax credits. If the property goes back to the non-profit, they would be responsible for keeping up the affordability. Otherwise, the unit can be sold with an easement kept to retain affordability. Richman asked if the city could require a longer period of affordability. Garrett said yes, but the affordability requirements are already stringent, and they are monitored closely because there is a lot at stake. Garrett said his syndicate has placed $300 million of funding since its beginning. Though that might seem like a lot, there are national companies that have done well over a billion. There is a lot riding on keeping up with the requirements and keeping the books straight. Files are audited every year. Long asked for an explanation of the local commitment. Garrett said the Finance Authority requires a local commitment to indicate the local entity is behind the project, either in the form of a direct placement of money or tax abatement. Then the city also has to give a written resolution and letter of support. The local contribution has to be a certain percentage of the project cost. Long asked if the local monetary support could be from the county if the project is in the city. Burns said the city needs to support the project to get the application points, but the funds can come from the county. Garrett said more projects are funded at four percent credit level because there is so much competition at the nine percent level. Hayek asked what participation is needed at the municipal level other than supporting the project. Garrett said it depends on the entity. Some have given direct contributions or tax abatements. One good thing about moving forward with it at this point is having the opportunity to think through all these decisions rather than when putting together the materials in August. Applications are due in November. Dennis asked for explanation of what investors want to see in terms of development project numbers for Iowa Finance Authority applications. Garrett said the Iowa Finance Authority is the one charged with overseeing the program and awarding the credits. A certain amount of money should be put aside per unit per year for the reserve. However, his syndicate requires a higher amount to be kept in reserve than the Finance Authority, and the amount depends on the project. The Finance Authority releases reserves after seven years, but the Fund does not. The Fund is very conservative, and the investors expect care to be taken to look for good projects in good markets at good rents. Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes April 20, 2006 Page 3 Dennis asked for clarification on individual items on the budget. Garrett said usually 60 percent are hard construction costs, while 40 percent are soft costs such as accounting, attorneys, and reserves. The whole process is very complicated, and a lot is involved. At the same time, in similar projects, 60 percent of the costs are covered by tax credits, which isa wonderful way to assist projects and keep them viable. Greazel asked if 60 percent is paid when the project opens. Garrett said not necessarily. They try to make projects as viable as possible. Greazel asked what average percentage debt is normal. Garrett said there are no average projects because of the wide variability. The Fund requires a certain debt coverage ratio. The Finance Authority requires that debt coverage ratio be met consistently throughout the 15 years. Greazel asked what the acceptable vacancy rate is. Garrett said perhaps five to seven percent. He added that vacancy always depends on price in his opinion. Richman asked whether the Fund participates in scattered site projects, small units, or package deals. Garrett said yes, they are comfortable with that. Shaw asked for clarification where the Fund figures into the tax credit funding operation and how much competition there is among the syndicates. Garrett said the non-profit applies for tax credits, which the Fund then buys. Then the Fund gives the credits to investors. The syndicate does have control over the project, and will assert that if necessary. However, generally the project is left for the organization to run. The Fund has to make sure the project will work because they cannot afford to have a project go bad, so will assert requirements if things are not proceeding well. There is a huge amount of competition in this area. All the companies are good at what they do, so what it comes down to is what the developer can do and the developer's performance record. Garrett added that they are very concerned with keeping projects within compliance, and they are able to enforce if necessary. Dennis noted that if the project is out of compliance, the investor stands to lose credits for every year of the project, and have to pay back the money. The investor does have a strong interest in keeping the project viable and in compliance. Richman asked if there is a difference in price with scattered site projects. Garrett said no, it depends on the developer. There is a certain economy of scale, but that can be balanced by other costs or savings. There is no difference in their price. Anthony asked who primarily invests with the Fund. Garrett said corporate entities. Hayek asked if anyone with state taxes could invest. Garrett said it is based on federal tax. Both C and S corps could get involved, but there is not much benefit to S corps. Anthony said the tax credit program is the largest producer of affordable housing. It is a huge industry, which increases money for affordable housing. Unfortunately, Iowa City has not received many tax credits in the past. Consideration of a Letter of Support for the Use of General Obliaation Bonds MOTION: Greazel moved to approve submitting a letter of support and Shaw seconded. Hayek asked what the significance is of using General Obligation Bond (GOB) funding for a project like this; that is, why use the GOB versus some other means. He also asked for clarification of whether the letter of support refers to this project specifically or the concept of using these funds as a whole. Richman said GOBs are supported by a property tax levy on all taxable property in the city. They are authorized by voters, and then the property tax levy pays back the bonds. It is a low risk venture from an investor standpoint, and the money raised can be used for various purposes. Eastman said up to $700K can be issued without voter approval in Iowa City, and the proceeds can be used widely. Shaw asked if $700K could be raised per year. Eastham said per instance. He noted this is not the first time the city has used these funds for affordable housing, and that the Fellowship did not request funding through the bonds. The City Manager suggested this route. Richman asked if the Peninsula loan was through a GOB. Eastham said yes, the same structure was requested for that project as the bond issue. Richman confirmed there was some risk to the city with the Housing and Comm.unity Development Commission Minutes April 20, 2006 Page 4 Peninsula project, whether the rents would be high enough to pay back the loan. Eastham said the city manager was satisfied that the risk was acceptable. Hayek asked if this would be the third project using these types of funds. Dennis said the Peninsula project was a partnership, with the funds issued through a bond that was split between the Housing Fellowship and the City of Iowa City Housing Authority. That was one bond, so this would be the second one. She said the Fellowship did not ask for General Obligation Bond funding. The Fellowship asked for suggestions on how to fund their project apart from using CDBG funds, and Steve Atkins said the GOB was a good way to go. Hayek asked if the Finance Department approved this funding. Long said yes. Hayek noted he also would like confirmation whether this letter of support is for the general concept of using General Obligation Bonds for this type of project, or if it would support this project in particular. Greazel asked for clarification of what would happen to the funds. Eastham said they would be paid back. Dennis said the bond would be issued to a limited partnership rather than directly to the Fellowship. They would then pay back the bond, private financing, and all of the other hard debt. Debt is repaid from renting those units. This partnership would be for this project alone. Eastham said there is no bank financing proposed on the project at this point. Hayek asked if there is a reason this sort of project is suited for these funds, rather than supporting new acquisition. Long said funds are dwindling, so this is a way to find alternative funding. Hayek asked if this would be a way to find additional funds for multiple projects every year. Hightshoe said it is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. These units are nearing the end of their periods of affordability, so this is a way to extend their affordability. Garrett said using these funds would be a good way to do the project. State HOME funding is too competitive. Hightshoe said GOBs have been used for various affordable housing projects in the past such as D&K properties (Successful Living) and the peninsula project. Eastham said this is a way to lower rents, and the units also contribute property tax. VOTE: The motion carried on a vote of 6-0, with Richman abstaining. Richman said he did not abstain because of concerns with this particular project, but because he is not fully aware of other projects the city needs to finance that could be covered by General Obligation Bond funding. Review the FY07 Annual Action Plan Long distributed summaries of the allocations approved at the March 23 meeting. Summaries of the projects need to be submitted to HUD. He gave an overview of the parts of the packet, and asked the commission members to review the information. Shaw asked for clarification on what the shaded versus unshaded portions of the map signified. Long noted there was no key. Hightshoe said the areas with the small dots are those areas outside the city's corporate limits. Census tracts do not always follow the city's corporate limits. Niblock asked what the turnaround is with HUD. Long said the application must be submitted to HUD by May 15 and the funding is available July 1. Anthony asked if it would be a line of credit or actual money deposited into the bank. Long said it is a line of credit. The recipient must expend funds, the City reimburses the eligible expense, and then draw downs the funds from HUD. Anthony asked on page 28 under Geographic Distribution of Resources, if having a scattered site policy invalidated one of the statements. Shaw said the entire project is community-wide projects, not just housing, so it qualifies. Long agreed. Long said a recommendation is needed for the council. MOTION: Niblock moved to recommend the Annual Action Plan as summarized. Greazel seconded, and the motion passed on a vote of 7-0. Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes April 20, 2006 Page 5 Long noted that some organizations are lobbying the council to receive the funding that was held back during allocation. Discussion of the Community DeveloDment Celebration Hightshoe said this is an annual event recognizing each organization that will be receiving CDBG/HOME funding in the upcoming fiscal year. It is also an opportunity to highlight prior CDBG/HOME funding in our community. She suggested having the celebration at the new Grant Wood School facility. Hayek agreed that is a good idea. Hightshoe asked for volunteers for a planning committee. The committee members would decide where and when to have it, who to honor, and other details. City staff would then make the arrangements. Anthony, Mellecker, and Shaw volunteered. Discussion of FY07 Potential Aaenda Items Anthony said there are three pieces of information that will probably be discussed at the next meeting. He asked city staff to discuss the design guidelines. Hightshoe said the guidelines have been discussed in the past. The city's interest is to have some reference document to use when discussing requirements for new housing construction. City staff request HCDC approved criteria when reviewing housing plans assisted with CDBG/HOME funds. The document would serve as a simple guideline in hopes that new housing will fit into the neighborhood where it is built. Design guidelines would help to reduce NIMBYism as the resulting house would not be easily recognized as subsidized and may reduce fears about what type of housing will be placed into someone's neighborhood. Long said that all agreements with housing providers require that city staff review building designs. However, there are no criteria established, so changes are difficult to justify. Hightshoe said some guidelines from other communities can be reviewed such as those from the Springfield, MO (included in this month's packet for review). Staff's intent is to develop generalized guidelines so that assisted housing fits into the neighborhood where it is built, with some basic requirements such as each single family home must have access from the street, utility hookups must be on the side or back of the home, etc. Shaw asked for confirmation that staff would like to have guidelines and the recommendation would be to give them that guidance. Hightshoe said yes, some established criteria for FY08, since it may be too late for FY07 projects. Staff would like to have some consistency in how projects are reviewed. Anthony said the other items are inclusionary zoning and housing. He asked that the commission members read the enclosed information on inclusionary zoning for the next meeting. Also, hopefully some developers could be invited to give their viewpoints on inclusionary zoning to add to the discussion. Shaw asked whether time should be specified and set aside for each issue ahead of time. Anthony suggested inclusionary zoning should have its own meeting, because there are a lot of people who have opinions about the matter, both pro and con. Richman asked if there are other stakeholders besides affordable housing developers that the commission should hear from. Anthony said private market developers and landowners. Richman suggested also neighborhood groups. Anthony said there is a lot of literature written about inclusionary zoning, both in support and against it. Richman asked how to reach out to the other stakeholders. Hightshoe said invitations can be extended. City staff could work with the commission to determine who to invite. Shaw asked whether the commission should spend time just to have a discussion about items, or if the commission should focus on what types of recommendations should be made to the council and discuss only those. Anthony said the commission should have a discussion about the issues, and if the members agree that a recommendation to the council is needed, then go ahead and make it. Anthony suggested taking up as many of the issues over the summer as is feasible, including members of the community, then making a recommendation to the council if the commission feels it is warranted. Shaw asked for clarification on the timeline to finish the discussion phase and move back into funding. Anthony said the funding cycle starts up in November, reviewing score sheets and application. CITY STEPS needs to be reviewed in late summer/early fall, which does not take too long, so the commission has time to discuss through November. Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes April 20, 2006 Page 6 Hightshoe said it would be good to have all recommendations be made together, so they are consistent. Anthony noted the recommendations should be given to council early enough that they can act upon them before applications are sent out. In that case, discussion should be finished in September or October. Hayek said this is a big undertaking, and time goes quickly. Shaw agreed, saying that is why he would like to consider the timeline before starting. Mellecker asked how specific the recommendations on design guidelines would be. Anthony said that would have to be decided during the discussion. Hayek said the commission could discuss and decide that design guidelines are a good idea, and then ask staff to come up with something for the commission to review. However, there are also policy issues that are related that need to be discussed. Anthony agreed that looking at the policy level would allow the discussion to move faster. Greazel said the two things go hand in hand. Hayek said there are people who would have a problem with both policies. Shaw said he would like to have some ideas about the scope of the discussion, to help with staying focused. Hightshoe asked what would be placed on the fiscal year 2007 agendas. Anthony asked whether there are any items anticipated besides what the commission was reviewing. Hightshoe said no. Anthony said he would put together agenda information and send it out. Greazel said he would like to have a review of what the commission did for the past few months. Also, there was some discussion of focusing on certain issues. Richman said it would be good to talk about potential priorities for the next funding round. Shaw suggested talking about that first, since those decisions might help guide future discussions. Anthony said the review should happen at the next meeting, and compare to previous years. Discussion of goals could happen at the next meeting or after CITY STEPS is reviewed in August. Richman said having it later is not ideal. Priorities need to be established, and that should happen sooner rather than later. Anthony said CITY STEPS has not changed very much in recent years. He said that those two items, along with a process discussion about inclusionary zoning, would be on the next meeting agenda. Then the actual discussion about inclusionary zoning would occur in June, which would give time to notify interested parties. Discussion of FY06 Proiects that have not Performed oer the Unsuccessful or Delaved Proiects Policv Hightshoe said council policy states that CDBG projects are encouraged to spend at least 50 percent of their funds by March 15. CDBG is evaluated based on timeliness, so the city would like CDBG recipients to complete their projects by the end of the fiscal year. All of the agencies on the list have been contacted for updates. Noah said she is with Planned Parenthood, and director of securing facilities. She reported they are on track per their original request to start paving the parking lot, but they are trying to find the best bid. After the paving is complete, then the entrance will be moved and the other interior improvements will be done. She said they are confident that this will start by May 1 and be done by June 30. Shaw asked whether a recommendation should be made before Noah leaves. Hightshoe asked whether anyone would like to make a recommendation to recapture funding from Planned Parenthood. No recommendations were made by the commission members. Long said Goodwill recently completed their paperwork, so a check went out today. Hightshoe said sometimes there is a difference between the project being completed and the request for reimbursement being submitted. Hightshoe said Old Brick spent half their funds. The restoration contractor expects to be done by May 15. Hightshoe said the fire suppression system for Free Lunch was being installed today. That should be done tomorrow. The flooring asbestos contractor came in, and the floor should be done this week. Free Lunch is being held at other churches this week, so the floor needs to be done quickly. Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes April 20, 2006 Page 7 Greazel asked why the fire suppression system took so many months to do. Long said the whole lunch program needed to be moved to another site, so they were timing it with Free Medical Clinic's move and the floor replacement so they could get it all done at the same time. Long said Hillel's project will start Monday. They had planned to be done by Passover, but hit a snag so they held off so the door would not be out of commission during the holiday. Hightshoe said staff is withholding funds to Compeer until a monitoring visit is completed. Staffs needs to ensure Compeer is meeting the mandatory income reporting requirements. They are spending the money, but they have to keep adequate time records and have to get client intake information. The client can refuse to give income information, but that has to be documented. Due to the nature of the clientele served, staff doesn't have a concern that the clientele served does not qualify as low-to-moderate income, just that they must meet all accounting and client intake requirements. Hightshoe said Extend the Dream says money has been spent and will submit a reimbursement shortly. Monitorina Reports Hayek said his information on Hillel is as Long reported. They did not want to tie things up during Passover, and they expect to be done by May 1: The project involved a power door in the rear of the building and upgrades to the bathrooms. Hayek said Extend the Dream says the money has been spent. They hired a work-study for 15 hours a week last year, and the salary was paid in part with this funding. That person coordinated e-commerce training programs at the new facilities. Also, all is well with the rental housing. Long noted one person runs everything with the organization, and he is swamped. Hightshoe added they have spent their money based on a call to their Director, but they had not sent in a request for reimbursement until today. Staff has not reviewed it yet. Long said the Iowa City Down Payment Assistance has not spent any money. Hills Bank is the lender in charge of this project, and they say most lenders will now do 100 percent financing through two mortgages, with the down payment essentially a second mortgage on the house. Greazel asked if they anticipate not needing the money. Richman said it does not seem the program is being marketed. Richman asked what happens if the money is not spent by June 30. Hightshoe said that is the question for the commission. Long said that no projects are overspending, so contingency funds are not needed. The commission could give it until June 30 and ask them to step up marketing or the city could recapture the funds for another project(s). Richman said if there is no need for it in the community, there are probably other projects that could use the money and the funds should be recaptured. Long said if there is a national declaration of a disaster area, this is one pot of money that could be reallocated. He added that the bank said increasing the award amount to $10K might make it more attractive. Shaw asked if there is a reason that lenders would stop financing 100 percent in the next few months. Richman said the advent of 100 percent financing is recent. Greazel said he has also seen more repossessions by financial institutions in the past year than in the previous 20 years. Previously, if someone was having financial problems, they would sell the house themselves and take what equity they could get before it was repossessed. Now, people are so far behind that they are not bothering. The lenders are being very aggressive, even though the market is very loose right now. Richman suggested considering whether to recapture the funds at a later meeting. MOTION: Richman moved to extend the compliance period for all projects to June 1 and reconsider recapturing funds from the Iowa City Down Payment Assistance program at the June meeting. Hayek seconded and the motion carried on a vote of 7-0. Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes April 20, 2006 Page 8 Richman reported all work on the Neighborhood Centers has been completed. They installed countertop style desks with cabinets in the offices, which has really helped with their office space a lot. All money is expended. Adiournment MOTION: Hayek moved to adjourn. Mellecker seconded, and the motion carried on a vote of 7-0. The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m. s:lpcd/minules/HCDCI2006/04-20-06.doc FY07 CDBG & HOME FUNDING BUDGET ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS Economic Development Fund - City of Iowa City* Subtotal HOUSING PROJECTS Affordable Homeownership - Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity Tenant Based Rent Assistance - Iowa City Housing Authority Housing Rehabilitation - City of Iowa City* HOME Funds Not AI/ocated Subtotal PUBUC FACILmES PROJECTS Facility Rehabilitation - The Arc of Johnson County Facility Rehabilitation - Community Mental Health Center Facility Rehabilitation - Domestic Violence Intervention Program New Construction - Four Oaks Playground Improvements - Grant Wood Elementary Facility Rehabilitation - MECCA Subtotal PUBIC SERVICE PROJECTS Operational Expenses - Compeer Operational Expenses - Extend the Dream Foundation Case Management - Iowa City Free Medical Clinic Outreach Coordinator - Shelter House Operational Expenses - Visiting Nurse Association Aid to Agencies* Subtotal ADMINISTRATION AND PLANNING HOME Program Administration CDBG Program Administration and Planning Subtotal TOTAL Request Council Approved 5/2/2006 $141,000 $141,000 $141,000 $141,000 $220,000 $368,064 $279,021 $220,000 $200,000 $279,021 $89,409 $788,430 $867,085 $2,852 $18,280 $6,400 $200,000 $56,437 $22,000 $305,969 $2,852 $18,280 $6,400 $200,000 $56,437 $22,000 $305,969 $2,584 $2,250 $21,000 $10,000 $10,000 $105,000 $150,834 $1,000 $1,000 $4,900 $4,900 $2,500 $105,000 $119,300 $63,722 $159,050 $222,772 $1,577,471 SOURCES OF FUNDS FY07 CDBG Entitlement FY07 CDBG Estimated Program Income Unexpended CDBG Funds (from contingency, projects, & unallocated PI) TOTALCDBG FY07 HOME Allocation FY07 HOME Estimated Program Income TOTAL HOME FY07 TOTAL $680,249 $115,000 $50,000 $845,249 $637,222 $95,000 $732,222 $1,577,471 CCOfY COMMISSIONERS: Jerry Anthony Chairperson September 2002-2008 Brian Richman Vice-Chair September 2004-2007 William Greazel September 2003-2006 Matthew Hayek September 2002-2007 Kelly Mellecker September 2005-2008 Thomas Niblock September 2005-2008 Michael Shaw September 2005-2006 STAFF: Steve Long Communiry Development Coordinator Tracy Hightshoe AssoCiate Planner City of Iowa City Housing and Community Development Commission 410 E. Washington Street Iowa City, Iowa 52240 April 25, 2006 Dear Mayor Wilburn and Members of the City Council: I am pleased to write and inform you that the Housing and Community Development Commission at its meeting on April 20, 2006 passed a resolution , of support for the issuance of a General Obligation Bond to The Housing Fellowship. The amount is anticipated to be $250,000. The bond financing will fulfill the local commitment requirement for an application from The Housing Fellowship to the Iowa Finance Authority for a reservation of Low Income Housing Tax Credits to preserve affordable rental housing. Sixteen scattered site rental single family and duplex homes owned by The Hous~ng Fellowship for over ten years are eligible for the Preservation of Affordable Rental Housing. The Housing Fellowship is partnering with The Iowa Equity Fund for technical assistance to prepare the application, secure investors and meet all compliance requirements. The rental homes will be placed back on the property tax rolls, rents will be lower and the homes will undergo significant rehabilitation. The General Obligation Bond will be repaid with rental income. The Housing Fellowship has proven to be the leading provider of permanent affordable housing in our community. We applaud them for their efforts and hope you will support this project. Si = QJ. N '.- ~ .- I ~\I:J. ~rl'\ u".J. ~QJ s~ ~ Our View Consensus of the Press-Citizen editorial board Homelessness talks can enter the next phase No one denies the fact that there is a shortage of shelter space for the more than 1,200 homeless people in Johnson County. Decisions on whether to give more money for the short-term sheltering of these people , are relatively straightforward. They depend upon the availability of funds and on the priorities of councilors. Addressing the root causes of homelessness and pro- viding comprehensive solu- tions, however, becomes a much more complex and interactive undertaking. Duringa recent forum on homelessness, more than 650 Johnson County resi- dents demonstrated that they understand this issue is complex (UCommunity meeting on homelessness draws '650," May 1). We were simply amazed at how well the Johnson County ConsUltation of Religious Communities was able to preach . beyond the choir and to attract so many of their elected officials, public What do you think? servants and fellow citizens~ ill terms of practical, concre~ suggestions, the forum called for annual support of the Shelter House, a one-time donation to help secure a federal matching grant, the comple- tion of a transit route study by the end of 2006 and the implementation of new zon: ing ordinances that would limittlw rent on one out of .... .' ,'.., five newly. constructed units to be what low-income families coUld actually afford. The completion of a transit route study would seeut the,least controversial of the proposals. Iowa City currently offers no public transit for people who have to wor:k the late-nightiearly-morningshifts. Although we argued against a recent plan to start a 1ate-night bus seIVicein the downtown area, we would be willing to consider a plan that was geared for those individuals who depend upon such seIVice for their livelihood. It's the fourth component - caIling for inclusion- az:y zoning ordinances - in which we have to part ways with.this well-meaning group. The uCoveilant with Johnson County" calls for both Iowa CitY and Coralville to pass identical ordinances so that 20 per- cent of all new construction of5 units or larger would have to be designated as affordable housing. The exact wording and specifics would be' crafted by the Iowa City Housing and Community Development Commission and would depend upon input from gov- ernment agencies and developers. , Although we strongly encourage dialogue between developers, city officials 3Ild advoctltes for the home- less - as well as with actual homeless. people - we have a. hard time imagining a proposal. that would meet the needs of an these groups. The inclusionaz:y zoning proposal demonstrates the ambitious and com- prehensive objectives of this group, but advocates for the proposal will have to be very flexible if they expect to see any movement on this front. We congratulate the organizers of this event for ini- tiating the next phase of discussion, and we look for- ward to being part of that discussion. The issue . More than 650 local residents recently attended a forum on homelessness. We suggest . The amazing turnout demon.strates the community's inter- est In addressing this issue, but advocates for . the homeless will need to be flexible in their, request for inclusionary zoning; . What do our lead- ers need to do to trans- form this local interest into local action? . Send comments to oplnion@press-citi- zen.com.