HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_HOUAB_06.15.2011Housing Advisory Board Minutes, June 15, 2011 1
City of Georgetown
Housing Advisory Board
Minutes
June 15, 2011 at 3:30 p.m.
New Planning Conference Room —Georgetown Municipal Complex
300-1 Industrial Ave., Georgetown, Texas 78626
Members present: Kyle Fisher, Gary Leissner, Lalena Parkhurst, Ron Pergl, Patsy Williams, Clay
Woodard, Morris Greenberg, Brad Curlee
Members absent: Tim Todd
Staff present: Jennifer Bills, Housing Coordinator; Avery Craft, Recording Secretary
This is a regular meeting of the Housing Advisory Board of the City of Georgetown. The Board,
appointed by the Mayor and the City Council, makes recommendations to the City Council on
affordable housing matters.
Regular Session - To begin no earlier than 3:30 p.m.
The meeting was called to order at 3:33 by Morris Greenburg (Todd absent).
Agenda
1. Consideration and possible action to approve minutes from the May 18, 2011 meeting.
Motion to approve the minutes by Woodard. Second by Parkhurst. Approved 8 - 0
(Todd absent)
2. Discussion and possible action on policy recommendations and implementation plans
for the first four recommendations.
Treat nonprofit and for-profit affordable housing developers as a special class of
developer.—Lalena Parkhurst, Patsy Williams
Parkhurst and Williams recommended rewording the existing recommendation.
The current wording is as follows:
Whenever a development proposal is presented to City officials that involves an
affordable housing component, it should be identified as such and treated with
special care and attention. The City’s housing coordinator should be assigned as an
internal advocate to shepherd the project through the land use approval process.
The City’s review process for projects involving affordable housing should be
streamlined in a way that results in a fast track towards approval and permitting.
The City’s planning staff should be asked to identify an abbreviated critical path for
such projects to move through the approval process. Reducing the time period
required to obtain local land use approvals will significantly enhance the feasibility
Housing Advisory Board Minutes, June 15, 2011 2
of these special projects. Certain developers of affordable housing may not be
oriented to the rigors of the approval process. The City’s internal advocate will not
only speed the process, but make it more understandable and user friendly to non-
traditional developers who may be confused and overwhelmed by the complexity of
the process.
The proposed wording is as follows:
Create an affordable housing program with established guidelines for granting fee
waivers or reductions to developers of affordable housing units as well as providing
technical assistance to non-traditional or new developers of affordable housing. All
developers and non-profits would be welcome to submit proposed developments for
consideration in the program. Proposals would be evaluated to determine eligibility
for fee waivers or reductions based on the proposed units meeting building
standards and fit with current affordable housing needs in Georgetown. Non-
traditional or new developers who are not familiar with the land use approval
process may also request city staff to assist them with the technicalities of getting
their affordable housing project approved.
Treat affordable housing as a major policy issue in Georgetown.—Brad Curlee, Ron
Pergl
Curlee, states that Habitat for Humanity is struggling to find lots to build houses on.
Most homes that are going to be built through Habitat for Humanity are located in
Round Rock. There are plenty of families that are waiting for housing in Georgetown
but Habitat for Humanity can not provide them. It costs approximately $70,000 to
build a house and a lot in Georgetown costs approximately $20,000-30,000. This does
not leave sufficient funds for the construction of the house.
The Board discusses the idea of making foreclosure properties look more appealing
to possibly use as “affordable housing.”
Waive all municipal impact fees and development fees for housing units affordable
to 80% of the area median income and below.—Kyle Fisher, Murray Greenberg
Board discusses how they need to convince City Council that there will be a return
on investment if the impact and development fees are waived.
Increase the amount of land zoned specifically for multi-family housing
development.—Gary Leissner, Clay Woodard
Clay points out that there is a lot of land zoned C-1 and questions whether or not
this land can be rezoned for multi-family housing. Board takes a look at the Zoning
and Future Land Use maps of Georgetown to get an idea for potential desirable
areas for multi-family use.
3. Update on the most recent 2010 Census release.
Housing Advisory Board Minutes, June 15, 2011 3
Bills presented the most recent Census data release, which included the demographic
profile for the city limits. This included information such as population by age and
gender, average household size, and break down of occupancy status. Bills stated the
she still need the Census to release this information down to the block group level and
does not expect income information to be release for about 6 months, which she needs to
do a comprehensive update to the draft Housing Element.
4. Discussion and possible action on future meeting dates.
Board will meet on the scheduled July 20, 2011 meeting date.
5. Adjournment.
Meeting adjourned at 5:01 pm.
__________________________________ _______________________________________
Approved, Tim Todd, Chair Attest, Morris Greenberg, Vice-Chair