Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda_HAB_05.14.2015Notice of Meeting for the Housing Advisory Board of the City of Georgetown May 14, 2015 at 3:30 PM at Williamson Room, Georgetown Municipal Complex, 300-1 Industrial Ave., Georgetown, Texas 78626 The City of Georgetown is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If you require assistance in participating at a public meeting due to a disability, as defined under the ADA, reasonable assistance, adaptations, or accommodations will be provided upon request. Please contact the City at least four (4) days prior to the scheduled meeting date, at (512) 930-3652 or City Hall at 113 East 8th Street for additional information; TTY users route through Relay Texas at 711. Legislative Regular Agenda A Consideration and possible action to approve minutes from the April 16, 2015 meeting. B Consideration and possible action to elect a Vice-Chair for the 2015-16 term. C Update and additional information on the affordable housing tour by HousingWorks in Austin on June 11, 2015. --Monica Martin, Board member D Consideration and possible action to recommend crafting a strategic plan to build sustainable and affordable communities in collaboration with stakeholders and public-private partnerships, using housing as the medium, for households with incomes from $30,000 - $60,000. --Walt Doering, Board Chair E Reminder of the next regular meeting date of June 18, 2015. Adjournment CERTIFICATE OF POSTING I, Jessica Brettle, City Secretary for the City of Georgetown, Texas, do hereby certify that this Notice of Meeting was posted at City Hall, 113 E. 8th Street, a place readily accessible to the general public at all times, on the ______ day of __________________, 2015, at __________, and remained so posted for at least 72 continuous hours preceding the scheduled time of said meeting. ____________________________________ Jessica Brettle, City Secretary Page 1 of 15 City of Georgetown, Texas Housing Advisory Board May 14, 2015 SUBJECT: Consideration and possible action to approve minutes from the April 16, 2015 meeting. ITEM SUMMARY: FINANCIAL IMPACT: None. SUBMITTED BY: ATTACHMENTS: Description Type Draft Housing Advisory Board Minutes_April 16, 2015 Cover Memo Page 2 of 15 Housing Advisory Board Minutes, March 18, 2015 1 City of Georgetown Housing Advisory Board Minutes April 16, 2015 at 3:30 p.m. Williamson Room, Georgetown Municipal Complex, 300-1 Industrial Ave., Georgetown, Texas 78626 Members present: Brenda Baxter, Walt Doering; Chair, Richard Glasco, Jim Mann, Monica Martin; Secretary, Joe Ruiz Members absent: None. Staff present: Jennifer C. Bills, Housing Coordinator, Laurie Brewer, Assistant City Manager; Jordan Maddox, Long-Range Principal Planner Tammy Glanville, 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 3:31 by Walt Doering. Agenda A. Welcome to guests B. Consideration and possible action to approve minutes from the March 18, 2015 meeting. Motion by Board Member Baxter to approve the minutes from the March 18, 2015 Housing Advisory Board meeting. Second by Board Member Glasco. Approved. (5-0). (Joe Ruiz absent at the time of vote). C. Introduction of board members Jim Mann and Joe Ruiz. Chair Doering welcomed and introduced new board members Jim Mann Nelson to the 2015-2016 Housing Advisory Board. D. Introduction of city staff: Laurie Brewer, Assistant City Manager and Jordan Maddox, Principal Planner. City staff gave brief presentations on their jobs and rolls with the Housing Advisory Board. (Joe Ruiz entered the meeting). E. Discussion and possible action to determine a day and time for an affordable housing tour by HousingWorks in Austin. --Monica Martin, Board member The board decided to schedule a tour on June 11, 2015, leaving from St. Helen’s Catholic Church at 9:00 a.m. Page 3 of 15 Housing Advisory Board Minutes, March 18, 2015 2 F. Presentation and discussion on a Brief History of Comprehensive Planning in Georgetown. Discussion was held on the history and process of the comprehensive planning process. G. Discussion on the 2030 Comprehensive Plan: Housing Element to answer questions with board members.--Jennifer C. Bills, Housing Coordinator This item was postponed until all members had complete copies of the 2040 Comprehensive Plan Housing Element. H. Presentation and discussion on workforce data from the 2011 and 2013 American Community Survey.--Jennifer C. Bills, Housing Coordinator. Staff presented workforce housing data and discussed possible trends I. Discussion and possible action on establishing benchmarks for rental and housing sales.- -Jennifer C. Bills, Housing Coordinator Board and staff discussed placing a key on the Apartment Inventory table explaining and defining specific terms. Motion by Board Member Mann to use 149 home sales as of January 1, 2015 as the benchmark for Single-Family housing availability and to use 2,748 units as the benchmark for affordable rental units available as of January 1, 2015. Second by Board Member Baxter. Approved. (6-0). J. Mini-Series Presentation: The Community Development Block Grant Program.--Jennifer C. Bills, Housing Coordinator Staff presented information on the Community Development Block Grant Program and its availability uses of funds in Georgetown. K. Presentation: What can you expect from your leader?--Walt Doering, Board Chair The board chair opened the floor for discussion on the item and no members had any questions or comments. L. Discussion Updates: • Update on Fair Housing disparate impact information from Legal Department. Staff reported that the Legal Department is still working on a response. • Implementation of the Workforce Housing Development Incentives and the Workforce Housing Locations map. Staff reported that language for workforce housing incentives is being drafted for consideration by the Unified Development Code Advisory Committee at their May meeting, with possible adoption at City Council planned for the end of August 2015. The workforce Housing Locations map will be considered during the Land Use Element amendment process in the fall of 2015. Page 4 of 15 Housing Advisory Board Minutes, March 18, 2015 3 M. Next Mini-Series Topic: Texas HOME Investment Partnership Program. No discussion. N. Reminder of the next regular meeting date of May 21, 2015 – Tammy Glanville, Recording Secretary. No discussion. O. Adjournment. Motion by Board Member Mann to adjourn. Second by Board Member Glasco. Approved. (6-0). Adjourned at 5:45 __________________________________ _______________________________________ Approved, Walt Doering, Chair Attest, Monica Martin, Secretary Page 5 of 15 City of Georgetown, Texas Housing Advisory Board May 14, 2015 SUBJECT: Consideration and possible action to elect a Vice-Chair for the 2015-16 term. ITEM SUMMARY: Per the Housing Advisory Board Bylaws Section 3.1. Officers. The Board Officers are Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Secretary. The Chairman is appointed by the City Council during the annual appointment process. The other Board Officers are elected by a majority vote of the Members at the first meeting after the annual appointment process. Section 3.2. Terms of Office for Board Officers. Board Officers serve for a term of one year. In the event of vacancy in the office of Chairman, the Vice-Chairman shall serve as Chairman until the City Council appoints a replacement Chairman. A vacancy in the other offices shall be elected by majority vote of the Members at the next regularly scheduled meeting, or as soon as reasonably practical for the unexpired term. If possible, a Board Officer shall continue to serve until the vacancy is filled. Section 3.3. Duties. a. The Chairman presides at Board meetings. The Chairman shall generally manage the business of the Board. The Chairman shall perform the duties delegated to the Chairman by the Board. b. The Vice-Chairman shall perform the duties delegated to the Vice-Chairman by the Board. The Vice-Chairman presides at Board meetings in the Chairman’s absence. The Vice-Chairman shall perform the duties of the Chairman in the Chairman’s absence or disability. c. The Secretary shall perform the duties delegated to the Secretary by the Board. FINANCIAL IMPACT: None. SUBMITTED BY: Jennifer C. Bills, Housing Coordinator Page 6 of 15 City of Georgetown, Texas Housing Advisory Board May 14, 2015 SUBJECT: Update and additional information on the affordable housing tour by HousingWorks in Austin on June 11, 2015. --Monica Martin, Board member ITEM SUMMARY: Board member Monica Martin will update the board on the scheduled tour. FINANCIAL IMPACT: None. SUBMITTED BY: Jennifer C. Bills, Housing Coordinator Page 7 of 15 City of Georgetown, Texas Housing Advisory Board May 14, 2015 SUBJECT: Consideration and possible action to recommend crafting a strategic plan to build sustainable and affordable communities in collaboration with stakeholders and public-private partnerships, using housing as the medium, for households with incomes from $30,000 - $60,000. --Walt Doering, Board Chair ITEM SUMMARY: See attached report. FINANCIAL IMPACT: Staff will request funds during the budget process for Fiscal Year 2015-16. SUBMITTED BY: Jennifer C. Bills, Housing Coordinator ATTACHMENTS: Description Type A Proposal for Creating a Strategic Plan to Address Affordable Housing Deficit Cover Memo Operational Principles Backup Material Page 8 of 15 A Proposal for Creating a Strategic Plan to Address Affordable Housing Deficit Georgetown Housing Advisory Board (HAB) Suggested Focus for 2015 – 2017 Purpose of Board: Ensure that the City has affordable housing for residents at all economic levels. Duty of Members: Be innovative and creative, and freely sharing the skills and knowledge which prompted their appointment. +++++++++++++++++++++++++ Recommendation Craft a strategic plan to build sustainable and affordable communities in collaboration with stakeholders and public-private partnerships, using housing as the medium, for households with incomes from $30,000 - $60,000. Support Goals + Accelerate the building of diverse housing to meet the needs of workers, millennials, and seniors changing lifestyles. + Expedite infill developments, where appropriate, that retain a neighborhood's character and add value to the community. + Maintain current inventory of affordable housing, where feasible. ++++++++++++++++++++++++ Introduction This proposal is for crafting a strategic plan. It's not the plan itself. The proposal offers a framework for developing a strategic plan, which, upon approval by the Council and implementation by Planning, would enable our City to reduce our housing affordability deficit significantly. It suggests goals for shaping a plan. These goals represent key initiatives for addressing our housing deficit. They're vital to attaining the recommendation. They're essential. They're in use today. But their use for addressing our deficit needs to be accelerated. Page 9 of 15 Page 2 It suggests key steps and benchmarks, too, for accelerating and resolving the problem. It recommends a process for gathering key data from the target population: workers, millennials, and seniors changing lifestyles. Such data would be used to address the needs of households w ith incomes from $30,000 to $60,000. Information also would be obtained from stakeholders and citizens at large to address their needs and obtain their support for this initiative. Upon completion of Phase 1, the data would enable HAB and Planning to share key findings and a strategic direction to Council for a “go/no go” response. If a “go,” a strategic plan would be developed and submitted to Council. Upon approval, implementation of a quality plan would hasten the building of multiple communities to meet the housing demand whether owner-occupied or rental. It would improve the quality of life for the target population. It would make life better for all in Georgetown. Note! This proposal is consistent with our City's long-held value on comprehensive planning, the Board's purpose and duty of its members. It's grounded in the 2030 Comprehensive Plan and the 2030 Comprehensive Plan: Housing Element, two highly professional, substantive and qualitative documents. Both plans have played key roles in guiding our City to smart growth and in shaping the quality of life for our residents. It's these documents that drive this proposal. It builds on that work. And it seeks to enhance the footprint of these plans, and more, on Georgetown by accelerating the development of affordable housing. How? By crafting a strategic plan that, when implemented proactively, would expedite the pace of building to meet the demand. Need In 2014, the number of available homes for sale, less than $200,000, were not sufficient to meet the needs of household incomes from $30,000 to $60,000. Nor were the number of available apartments. By 2017, we'll need 1,069 workforce rental units. With 500 new service workers working at the Rivery in 2016 and rental prices continuing to increase faster than wages, demand will continue to outpace supply. The problem will become more acute. Servers, cashiers, retail salespersons, food prep workers, and construction laborers will remain cost burdened to their harm and ours. Doing what we've been doing will not solve the problem. Such strategy is insufficient. It's limited in resources. It's limited in its impact. We need to be more innovative. We need to be more creative in our approach. We need more resources that are effective and focus directly on closing the gap between demand and supply. That can be done by building on prior work. That can be done by crafting a strategic plan Page 10 of 15 Page 3 that's substantive, contains key steps and fiscal components, both old and new, and is driven by a proactive approach. Such strategy can resolve the problem. At the same time, it will contribute to smart growth. But it can't be done on the cheap. Process The suggested process is highly collaborative and participatory. It's also inclusive. It's designed to engage our citizens in a community-wide conversation to obtain their input and support for accelerating the creation of small, affordable housing. It involves two phases: + Phase 1 is designed to identify the needs and concerns of our target population, stakeholders and citizens at large plus educate the public. + Phase 2 is designed to develop a comprehensive strategic plan for households with incomes from $30,000 - $60,000. When completed, and fully implemented by the Housing Coordinator and Planning, such plan would enable us to reduce our housing deficit significantly. Such housing would be safe, durable, cost-effective and energy-efficient, offering options of living space from 500 to 1200 square feet. Such housing would foster community and be both exceptional and attractive, The results of such implementation would provide workers the option to live, work, shop and play here, the same option you and I enjoy. It would offer them the choice to live in neighborhoods that are walkable, bikeable, and within easy access to key businesses. It would provide support services and educational opportunities that promote self-sufficiency. It would help seniors, changing lifestyles, the opportunity to remain in Georgetown, too. The outcome of this process would have a positive impact on our City's economy, businesses, builders and citizens as we meet the demand for affordable housing. It would result in a win-win strategy for all, befitting Georgetown, a City that values excellence in everything we do. Phase 1: Data Gathering and Public Education 1. Establish structure for creating a strategic plan involving development teams (e.g. design and construction, finance, sustainability, communications and research), as needed. Such teams would consist of resource persons from Planning, HAB and citizens, both specialists and non-specialists. Page 11 of 15 Page 4 2. Define roles and responsibilities of teams. Share expectations with members. Provide model agenda for generating creative solutions. Obtain teams' input and recommendations for crafting a quality product. 3. Have Planning review, with teams, what's been done and what it plans to do to address the deficit. Discuss how we'll work together and collaborate with others to ensure our “City has affordable housing for residents at all economic levels.” 4. Evaluate use of professional resources needed to develop a quality plan. Discuss needs for additional Planning staff, if any, required to make this initiative successful. Recommend appropriate resources for acquisition. 5. Craft plan for general presentations to workers, millenials, seniors, stakeholders and public. Focus on the why, what, and how of this initiative and their role in this process. Prepare message. Develop photos or video of what quality, affordable housing may look like within sustainable communities. 6. Implement general presentation. Obtain input on the needs of participants. Gather information on what they like and what they'd like to see different relative to communities with affordable housing. Embrace the resistances. 7. Prepare process for gathering specific data from workers, millennials and seniors changing lifestyles. Ensure methods capture specific information to build housing and communities that meet their needs, and demonstrate to developers and investors that a vital market exists in our City for building affordable housing. 8. Implement survey to target population using a variety of strategies. Obtain key data for crafting a strategic plan which results in success. 9. Analyze data gathered from general presentations including the specific data acquired from target population. Identify key themes and resistances. Assess findings. Frame responses and strategies for managing resistances. Craft initial strategic direction. 10. Develop and implement feedback presentations. Provide response to participants relative to their input and concerns. Share findings and modifications, if any, for building affordable housing. Address the resistances. Solicit feedback for enhancing the development of the strategic plan. Describe next steps. Page 12 of 15 Page 5 11. Finalize strategic direction. Prepare presentation and recommendations to Council on key findings and proposed strategic direction. Include reasonable and responsible financial components that are critical for meeting the demand, plus data on the economic impact of having target population live in Georgetown. Present to Council for a “go/no go” decision. Phase 2: Craft a Comprehensive Strategic Plan 1. Develop specific action steps, time frames, benchmarks, resources, etc. necessary to create the plan and achieve the desired results. 2. Present Strategic Plan to Council for approval. 3. Implement immediately upon Council's approval. Evaluate and monitor progress frequently. Keep Council updated quarterly on what's working and what's not working. Where necessary, make adjustments to ensure plan's effectiveness and outcomes are delivered and met as specified. Product This suggested process for creating a plan would contain our best advice, judgment, and recommendations for City Council. It would provide sufficient resources for the Housing Coordinator, Planning Department, and GHAB to be more proactive in partnering with builders to expedite the pace of housing. It would meet the demand for affordable housing, including affordable rental units, while maintaining our current inventory. It would make housing available within our City for workers, millennials and seniors changing lifestyles. It would reduce residents' transportation costs, thus providing these households with more resources for food, clothing, child and medical care. It would help us grow and sustain our quality workforce. It would enable our businesses to blossom. It would ensure we continue to enjoy Georgetown's quality of life, a life made possible by the services our businesses and workers provide us daily. And it would help us attract more 21st century businesses so our City may continue to flourish as we enlarge our tax base. Also, this process would result in using taxpayers' dollars wisely, and contribute to the vitality of our new neighborhoods. It would create enduring communities with small town atmospheres, congruent with Georgetown's heritage and character. Yes, this win-win proposal would indeed make life better for all. -- Rev. 5/2/15 Page 13 of 15 Operational Principles Below are suggested operational principles. They are the “how to” performance behaviors for crafting a substantive strategic plan that results in high achievement and success. 1. Listen carefully. Act as servants of the people. Focus on the needs of others, not just your own interests. Seek to understand others' values and concerns. Pursue common ground. Make decisions and recommendations that are informed by data, infused with compassion and truly resolve the problem. Make Georgetown a better place for all. 2. Integrate recommendations from the 2030 Comprehensive Plan: Housing Element into the strategic plan. Generate new and creative financial ways to address the issue. Select key financial components and strategies which will reduce our deficit significantly and make neighborhoods great places to live. 3. Collaborate with for-profit and non-profit builders and developers, including other members of the housing industry, plus the Georgetown Housing Authority and Habitat for Humanity to accelerate recommendations. Work with the Chamber to select key businesses to support sustainability. Engage with GISD, The Georgetown Project, The Caring Place, the arts community and other service organizations to provide residents with opportunities to become more self- sufficient. 4. Gather input from the target population, stakeholders and citizens at large to meet their needs relative to safe, small, affordable housing. Ensure workers, millennials and seniors have the option to shape their futures within healthy, inter-generational communities based on their input. 5. Be proactive in accelerating the building of diverse communities where residents love to live and interact with their neighbors. 6. Provide mixed use housing, through private-public partnerships, with units of 500 to 1200 square feet. Insure lifelong communities are well designed, durable and attractive. Make effective and efficient use of energy, light and space within homes and apartments. 7. Be good stewards of the water, land, energy, materials, and other resources that have been entrusted to us. Maintain Georgetown's quality of life for current residents and future generations. Page 14 of 15 Page 2 8. Preserve and enhance our current housing inventory, while maintaining price stability, to reduce homelessness and sustain housing affordability in our City. 9. Design communities so shops, schools, employment, parks and transportation are easily accessible and promote healthy and walkable communities. 10. Request modifications to the Unified Development Code, as appropriate, based on feedback from stakeholders to enhance residential designs. 11. Preserve neighborhoods between homes of residents with moderate to low- incomes with those of residents with high-priced homes. Ensure balance and manage gentrification. _______________________ --Rev. 5/20/15 Page 15 of 15