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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Affordable Housing Committee - 11/15/2021November 15, 2021, SoBu Affordable Housing Committee Minutes – APPROVED Page 1 Approved on November 29, 2021 AFFORDABLE HOUSING COMMITTEE November 15, 2021 10:30am City Hall and online Members attending: Janet Bellavance, Leslie Black-Plumeau, Vince Bolduc, Ariel Jensen-Vargas, Darrilyn Peters, Chris Trombly; members absent: Sandy Dooley, Patrick O’Brien, Minelle Sarfo-Ado, John Simson Others attending: Jessie Baker, City Manager; Paul Connor, Director of Planning and Zoning; Kelsey Peterson, City Planner; Monica Ostby, PC Liaison to AHC; Tom Getz, CEO, and Zeke Davisson, COO of Summit Properties 1. Call to order, agenda review, approval of minutes of 10-18-21 meeting, announcements, public comments Call to order: Chris called the meeting to order at 10:32 am. Agenda Review: Vince moved and Leslie seconded motion to approve the agenda as presented. Motion approved 5-0-0. Approval of minutes: Vince moved and Janet seconded motion to approve the minutes of the 10-18-21 meeting as drafted. Motion approved 6-0-0, which occurred after a quorum was reached. Announcements: Chris stated that the Planning Commission had sent their proposed changes to the Land Development Regulations to the City Council on November 2. Public Comment: Chris invited Tom Getz, CEO of Summit Properties, to describe the proposal currently in final plat before the DRB for affordable housing within the Hillside at O’Brien Farm development. Chris indicated that this would be a summary of the proposal and that Tom will provide a full presentation of the project at our November 29th committee meeting. This project consists of two four-story multi-family residential buildings with a total of 94 units of which 79 would be affordable units. The City has applied for federal ARPA funding, but Tom indicated that he thinks a total ARPA request of $6 million for all 79 units would not be approved. Therefore, Summit is requesting $2 million for 47 affordable units in one of the two buildings and additional federal funding mechanisms for the affordable units in the other building. In response to a question from Janet, Tom stated that the total 94 units will consist of 24 two-bedroom units, 54 one-bedroom units, and 16 studios. Construction is slated to begin next summer. 2. City Manager Update City Council Goals: Jessie stated that the FY22 goals and strategies were selected during a special meeting of the City Council and the senior leadership of the city departments held on Saturday, October 30 which Chris and Darrilyn attended. All the strategies enumerated in the FY22 workplan of the Affordable Housing Committee stayed on the final list of City Council goals. The Council will revisit these priorities and strategies annually, about 6 weeks to two months after Town Meeting. In late Spring the budget for next year will be previewed and assessed for alignment with the adopted priorities and strategies. New City Planner: Jessie introduced Kelsey Peterson, recently hired City Planner, and asked Paul to describe the considerable skills she brings to the position. Kelsey holds both a law degree and an M.A. in Geography, specializing in sustainable development. She practiced law for six years in Concord, New Hampshire where she also volunteered on the Planning Board and the Conservation Commission. Kelsey commented that she is happy to be involved in planning at the city level. 3. Update Draft LDRs: Paul Connor stated that on November 2 the Planning Commission made some additional modifications to the draft document after their Public Hearing. He mentioned some areas where it had been difficult for the PC to reach unanimous agreement, but they ultimately voted unanimously 7-0-0 to advance the document to the City Council. On November 8, the City Council voted 4-0 (with one member absent) to warn the Proposed Changes to the LDRs for a public hearing on January 3, 2022. On November 11, November 15, 2021, SoBu Affordable Housing Committee Minutes – APPROVED Page 2 the City Council will discuss what items within this massive document they want Jessica and Paul to discuss when they make their formal presentation at the December 6th Council meeting. After their public hearing the Council will have the following options: 1) adopt as drafted; 2) make minor changes; and 3) make substantial changes which will require a warning for another public hearing on those changes. Vince asked if the Resolution sent to the Planning Commission by the Affordable Housing Committee would be included in the packet sent to the City Council. Paul responded that it would not, but there would be a document highlighting the areas that the Planning Commission found most challenging during their deliberations. Monica asked about the legal issues involved if the city holds the easement on a conservation PUD and would it require prior review by the City Attorney. Paul explained that there are a few items on which attorneys may need to weigh in, for he is not qualified to address them. Vince asked about the property tax implications if a Conservation PUD easement goes to an entity or the city, thinking that property taxes should decline. Paul declined to speculate on tax issues. Monica asked about items not addressed in this set of proposed changes and the need to address them in preparation for the next Comprehensive Plan. Leslie inquired about the percentage of land citywide and in the SEQ that would not be available for development if these changes are approved. Paul replied that he will provide those figures after the final changes are approved because it is a very time-consuming calculation and should not be make while additional changes are still possible. Chris asked if there is an itemization of the changes made by the Planning Commission after their public hearing and before the unanimous vote occurred. Paul said that he will prepare that document for the City Council. He noted that the major changes would include the following: 1) the area on the Hill Farm that had been identified in the Arrowwood Report as a significant habitat block has been changed back to its previous designation as NRP habitat block (which the owners claim constitutes a significant “taking”); 2) the minimum density for a conservation PUD has had the language updated to clarify the options of building all of the minimum lots and of planning to build them in the Master Plan; 3) Class III Wetlands will not be regulated by the City if it is less than 5,000 square feet. Paul said he would provide a complete list to the AHC when it is ready. Jessie commented that, as a newcomer to South Burlington hearings, she was very impressed with the respectful tone of all those who testified at the public hearing and by all the Commissioners. She noted that most of the speakers, even when objecting to a particular position of the Commission, thanked them for the enormous amount of work they had performed for the city. 4. Report from Redevelopment Subcommittee: Janet reported that the subcommittee had a good first meeting, discussing a long list of potential actions. Jessie provided the group with a map of city-owned property. They are in the process of inviting Paul to meet with them to discuss his ideas about buildings or areas that might be examined for possible redevelopment for affordable housing. Darrilyn noted that at the October 30 city priorities and strategies meeting one of the items that ranked high on positive responses was the idea to “update the University Mall.” Paul said he thought this would be an attractive property for the long term, especially with the expanded building heights and the inclusionary zoning requirement. It would be especially desirable for redevelopment if the City is successful with their recent application for a federal grant from the RAISE (Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity) Department of Transportation program to build a bridge over the interstate to improve traffic flow. At this point, Monica commented about the importance of making any areas with housing safe for children. She said that many built areas are not safe, noted the terrible bicycle accident with Joel Strout, and commented that children who reside on Market Street are not allowed to skateboard. Ariel noted that she had proposed to the subcommittee to look at the grant program in Battleboro that renovates older homes to retain their affordable housing and that promotes for ADUs. The November 15, 2021, SoBu Affordable Housing Committee Minutes – APPROVED Page 3 subcommittee also thought it would be useful to connect with the Parks and Rec about considering a housing component on any proposal to build a new rec center or indoor pool. Janet stated that the subcommittee would like to make a site visit to Winooski to discuss the Butternut Station development (even though it is built on city owned land). Janet also noted that Chris had wisely advised the subcommittee to select a few doable activities among their very long laundry list of possible strategies. Chris noted that after the subcommittee’s 11/29 meeting, he would like to get the full committee to prioritize among the many items the subcommittee mentioned. Vince commented that this redevelopment is important because the more compact we can make the city, the less greenhouse gas emissions, the smaller the carbon footprint, and the more responsible we are about the climate change crisis. Monica advised Janet to discuss with Paul during the meeting the Campus PUD idea (e.g. Google) briefly raised at a Planning Commission meeting. Chris asked the committee to consider: what is the subcommittee’s deliverable? To whom is it delivered? Ariel asked “What does AHC and the City want?” Jessie replied that Paul will try to answer that question as they move forward into their next phase. Planning and Zoning and the Planning Commission have devoted enormous time and labor to the LDR revisions and thus “the subcommittee is a bit ahead of the Planning Commission on this.” 5. Next Meeting and Adjourn: Jessie asked Chris if the AHC has a regular meeting schedule, such as the 1st and 3rd or 2nd and 4th Monday of the month. That is helpful in scheduling rooms and time. Chris replied that the next meeting is November 29. He will poll the committee regarding a regular schedule thereafter. At 12:25 Vince moved and Ariel seconded a motion to adjourn. Motion approved 6-0-0.