[bouldercouncilhotline] Hotline: Housing advisory board proposal

[cmosupport at bouldercolorado.gov]

Sender: Morzel, Lisa

Tonight on our work plan is the consideration of forming a housing advisory board. This an idea i have raised for some time and raised again at our retreat in January. I've received some input and have modified my proposal i distributed in January. 

Housing advisory board proposal

Housing advisory board:

The City and this council have stated that affordable housing is a major goal.  This proposal is to expand the duties of the current Technical Advisory Group (TAG).  This group's function is not intended to slow down any of our current processes, nor to duplicate the functions of the Planning Board.

Mission/purpose:

1.  Evaluate applications for the city's cash-in-lieu (CIL) funds and advise on their distribution.  Possibly include distribution of  Private Activity Bonds
Currently applications for CIL funds are evaluated by a city-manager-appointed technical advisory group (TAG) who then advises the city manager on their distribution.  Until recently, neither the majority of council nor the public was informed of the existence of this group nor advised of their distributions. The amount of CIL funds each year is in the millions of dollar range (currently the city has ~$6M CIL funds;  in recent years the City has distributed $12M in a single year).
Like the current members of TAG, the housing advisory board/group would have specific skills regarding housing finance, government programs, grants, lending, real estate, etc that are all related to housing.   

2. Evaluate various options for housing policy that increases the supply of affordable and middle-income housing and take public input/comment. 
See PB annual letter p. 2. 
Examples of housing types:
Accessory dwelling units (adu's and oau's), Boarding houses, Duplexes and conversions, Occupancy, Large lots and options, Manufactured options (including mfc'd apartment buildings and homes), Changes in housing stock (eg., Eastpointe), Co-housing, Consider more options for the developer to build all housing on site  
These would be the types of subjects that the Housing Advisory Board would consider, refine, and suggest to Council.

3.  Evaluate the city's inventory of properties and advise which ones might be feasible to consider for housing--(eg., Spruce and Broadway parking lot).  Consider that on the subject of City buildings--could some of these be redirected in use and used for housing?
Consider using some of the Airport and city-owned properties, buildings, and parking lots within area 1 for housing. The city has done this inventory in years past but an update would be helpful. 

4.  Consider what other Colorado cities (Lakewood, Denver)  have done locally with construction defects ordinances to encourage development of condominiums. 

5.  Other housing issues that may arise over time
i) This could include adding looking into better aligning city development review with LIHTC application processes.
ii) consider the issue of individuals who qualified and bought an affordable unit but no longer would qualify given their incomes have increased substantially.  How do we ensure that housing intended for income-restricted individuals remains in the hands of people who need and qualify for it?
iii)  wait lists and prioritization

I assume the board would be staffed by Kurt, Jay, Crystal, ~1 staff support. 

The rate at which Council and Planning Board can evaluate housing types/changes associated with housing policy  interspersed with transportation, muni, climate, public is very slow.  At this pace, we will never get in front of achievable housing.  There is no silver bullet. It needs to be a combination of types, allowances. My sense is to let this side board take in comment and advise PB and council of their findings. 

In 2016, we focused the majority of our efforts on a housing policy that improved the housing situation for a very small segment of our community.  If our intent is to create a community with more housing options and a greater spectrum of housing opportunities, in 2017 we need a board to focus solely on housing and associated issues. This is not going to happen at the City Council or Planning Board levels due to other requirements of our relative positions. 

 The Housing Advisory Board's mission would be to actually help advance and quicken our housing discussion and actions in a more focused way than either the Planning Board or City Council is able to do. Members of the proposed housing board would have similar skills as the current TAG and knowledge regarding housing in general and in depth (types of housing, affordable housing, funding models, federal, state, local programs/opportunities, process, land use, etc).

As it turns out, many communities have some type of housing advisory board with a range of missions, responsibilities, areas of focus.

The following is just a quick sampling of communities thate have Housing Advisory Boards including Charlotte NC,Washington DC, Georgetown DC, Brookline MA, Atlanta GA, Ft Myers FL, Eureka CA, Loudoun County VA, Charlotte County FL, Charlottesville VA, New Castle County DE, Lawrence KS, and many more.  It is not an unusual concept or practice these days. 

I've attached a link to the affordable housing board in Lawrence, KS

https://lawrenceks.org/boards/affordable-housing/





Lisa 

720-530-4080 c
303-938-8520 h

"Politics is what we create by what we do, what we hope for, and what we dare to imagine."  Paul Wellstone 1944-2002