HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_HOUAB_09.21.2011Housing Advisory Board Minutes, September 21, 2011 1
City of Georgetown
Housing Advisory Board
Minutes
September 21, 2011 at 3:30 p.m.
New Planning Conference Room —Georgetown Municipal Complex
300-1 Industrial Ave., Georgetown, Texas 78626
Members present: Tim Todd, Kyle Fisher, Gary Leissner, Lalena Parkhurst, Patsy Williams, Clay
Woodard, Morris Greenberg
Members absent: Brad Curlee, Ron Pergl
Staff present: Jennifer C. Bills, AICP, LEED AP, Housing Coordinator
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 Todd.
Agenda
1. Consideration and possible action to approve minutes from the July 20, 2011 meeting.
Motion by Greenberg to approve the minutes. Second by Parkhurst. 7 – 0.
2. Discussion and possible action on Chapters 2-10 of the draft Housing Element.
Bills presented a new layout for the plan, that would reduce the number of chapter from
11 to 5 and move most of the supporting demographics out of the main body of the
Element and into appendices for reference.
The board reviewed the progress made on revising the first four policy
recommendations and brainstormed the main “talking points” to clarify the importance
on workforce housing.
Notes:
“Recommendations” section changed to “Recommendation and Reasons” (opportunity to sell to City
Council)
Delete “Rental” from this section, leave generic as “Affordable Housing”
General Consensus to default to “Work Force Housing” when possible without getting too monotonous
Add a “Why” or “Reasons”
Available Affordable Housing is attractive to perspective employers
Supports Everyday Services
o City Staff
Housing Advisory Board Minutes, September 21, 2011 2
o Teaches
o Fire/Police
o Utility Workers
o Basic Service Employees (food staff, etc…)
Promotes a diverse community
Offers Reasonable Choices for:
o Disabled
o Disadvantaged
o Temporarily Disadvantaged
o Fixed Income
“How” or “Planning”
Recommendation is for City Planning Staff to Identify Parcels/Tracts capable of filling a portion of the
Work Force Housing Gap with High Density Residential Units
Criteria to be considered:
o Proximity to Employment Centers
o Infrastructure Costs
o Ease of Access/Transportation
o Less Detrimental to adjacent property values
Other Considerations
o Explore maximum density requirements
o Explore maximum height requirements
o Appearance (should not be distinguishable from market rate units)
Establish or Define Criteria for Acceptable Work Force Housing
Focus on % of a Project versus Entire Project
o Easier for Developer to Make Work
o WFH units become indistinguishable from Market Rate units
o No Visible difference from other units
Consider Tiered Incentive System for Projects to Include a % of Total Units as WFH Units
o Council free to establish all criteria
o Each project to be considered on it’s own merit against Cost/Benefit or Cost/Return Scale
o Leave to developer to present workable solution
o Designate a WFH Liason for Developers to assist developer in Cost/Benefit presen tation
o Projects under consideration to be reviewed by HAB for additional
comments/recommendations to council
3. Discussion and possible action to report to City Council on the Housing Element
progress.
Housing Advisory Board Minutes, September 21, 2011 3
Bills discussed the recent items and issues that have come before the City Council that
might make them less than receptive of the Housing Element. The Board discussed the
possible outcomes and decided that the best course of action is to update the plan,
improve the recommendations and take the completed plan back to City Council in
February 2012.
4. Discussion and possible action on future meeting dates.
The next regular Housing Advisory Board is scheduled for October 19, 2011.
5. Adjournment
Meeting adjourned at 4:59 p.m.
__________________________________ _______________________________________
Approved, Tim Todd, Chair Attest, Morris Greenberg, Vice-Chair