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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Affordable Housing Committee - 02/02/2021February 2, 2021, SoBu Affordable Housing Committee Minutes- APPROVED Page 1 Approved on February 16, 2021 AFFORDABLE HOUSING COMMITTEE February 2, 2021, 2020, 10:30 a.m., meeting held online Members attending (online): Leslie Black-Plumeau, Vince Bolduc, Sandy Dooley, Mike Simoneau, Patrick O’Brien John Simson, and Chris Trombly Others: Monica Ostby, PC liaison; John Burton, Sarah Dopp, and Michael Mittag, all SoBu residents; and Kevin Dorn, City Manager (very briefly) AGENDA 1. Call to order, agenda review, public comment, approval of minutes (01/19/21), announcements, chair’s comments 2. Update on book discussion group 3. Discussion and possible action on community engagement strategy 4. Discussion and possible action relating to amendment to PUD regulations to require inclusionary zoning citywide 5. Discussion and possible action relating to building types discussion with Planning and Zoning 6. Adjourn 1, Call to order, agenda review, public comment, approval of Minutes (01/19/21), announcements, Chair’s Comments Call to order: Chris called the meeting to order at 10:58 a.m. and briefly explained cause of delayed start. This happened because City staff did not open the electronic meeting portal necessary for committee members and interested members of the public to attend until shortly before 10:58. Agenda review: Sandy moved and Vince seconded motion to approve agenda. Motion approved: 6-0-0. Public Comments: There were no public comments. Minutes: Patrick requested that the minutes be modified to include that his support for Inclusionary Zoning citywide is conditioned on considering higher household income and rent/purchase price maximums in areas outside the current Inclusionary Zoning area, where appropriate. Everyone agreed to this amendment by consensus. Vince moved and Leslie seconded motion to approve the 01/19/21 meeting minutes as amended. Motion approved: 6-0-0. Michael asked why committee meetings were not recorded. Chris indicated his understanding that this decision was left to the discretion of the committee. He will explore this possibility with Kevin (City Manager) Announcements: Sandy shared that during the prior week she and John had participated in a webinar titled “Enabling Better Places.” Two City staff also participated as did about 100 people from across the State. John explained that this training was part of a nationwide initiative to encourage municipalities to reform their zoning rules, which in most places are “a relic of the 70s.” Reform proposals focused on downtowns, village centers, and neighborhoods; within these physical settings topics covered were Dimensional Requirements, Parking Standards, Allowable Uses, Street Standards, Accessory Dwelling Units, and Development Review Process with guidance on short- and mid-term fixes for each topic. South Burlington has already implemented several of the proposed fixes; for example, eliminating parking minimums and implementing form-based codes in the City Center District. Still, many additional fixes were outlined. Sandy stated that she would send committee members a link to the guide that formed the basis for the webinar. Chair’s Comments: Chris shared that Mike Simoneau has resigned from the committee but will continue to advocate for housing and affordable housing. He thanked Mike for his service to the committee. Chris also mentioned taking a look at SoBu houses listed on Zillow and found none affordable to households in the low, median, or moderate household income categories. His phone call to Evan and Andrew of O’Brien Bros. was productive, with results being their understanding the committee’s intent in its wording of motion regarding their new development proposal and their accepting Chris’s offer to have Sandy and him attend the DRB meeting where the proposal will be presented. On another subject, he followed up with Kevin and Helen about the current number of committee members and recruitment of applicants for appointment to committee. They want to wait until annual recruitment process for filling vacancies. He also learned that we need a majority of the committee’s February 2, 2021, SoBu Affordable Housing Committee Minutes- APPROVED Page 2 approved size for a quorum and taking action. This means a minimum of five for a quorum or five favorable votes to pass a motion. Regarding recruitment, Monica stressed the importance of having consumers of affordable housing as members of the committee. The need for younger residents to serve on the committee was mentioned. Members concurred in these views. Sandy said she would reach out to someone that lives in the CHT apartment building on Market Street. She also mentioned the future homeowners in the Habitat four-plex as prospects for committee membership. It is important to make sure interested residents understand how often the committee meets, expectations of members, etc. Chris then brought up the subject of housing preservation, which John explained that the committee has already addressed via a section in the LDRs. 2. Update on book discussion group: John reported that it is very well organized and it will include three breakout groups facilitated by Vince, Monica, and him. They expect 15-20 participants and he is looking forward to it (first meeting occurred that evening). Sandy mentioned that CVOEO’s Fair Housing Project has developed a fair housing training module for municipal officials. Once the book discussion groups are completed, the committee plans to propose that the City Council invite Fair Housing Project staff to present this training to City Council, Planning Commission, DRB, and perhaps other volunteer city committees. 3. Discussion and possible action on community engagement strategy: Scarcity of affordable housing and racial injustice are high-profile topics right now. Leslie: need to craft messages, identify venues, define a strategy, and have members be responsible for specific tasks. John: it is challenging to get people’s attention. Leslie: John and Sandy have created “evergreen nuggets”, need an FAQ, Vince: repetition and patience are essential, Chris: need to add approaches, methods to our toolbox; switch terms from affordable housing to housing affordability. Leslie suggested forming a subgroup to work on this and asked for volunteers. Sandy, Chris, and Monica will work with Leslie. At future meeting, Monica will give us tips on how to reach more people via social media. 4. Discussion and possible action relating to amendment to PUD regulations to require inclusionary zoning citywide: Members had reviewed draft memorandum from committee to Planning Commission that Sandy sent them on February 1st. Discussion included: need to distinguish between housing that is perpetually affordable with income test and price maximums; and housing that is affordably priced but anyone can rent or purchase, rent can be increased without limits, and may be sold for whatever the market allows. Committee considers affordable housing only those units that meet the former criteria. Suggestion: use “Inclusionary Housing” to refer to what committee considers affordable housing and use “Affordably Priced Housing” to refer to units currently offered at affordable prices but having none of the other protections. Vince brought to committee’s attention that the requirements/protections just described are supposed to apply to affordable units (would be Inclusionary Housing under committee’s terminology) at Dorset Farms are not being observed. He has direct knowledge of sales of ”affordable” units that are sold at market prices and no income test is applied to the purchaser. Patrick: something is amiss regarding what is supposed to be happening with affordable units at Dorset Farms. Returning to the memorandum, John stated he was ready to approve the memo as drafted. Patrick indicated he would like to see it modified to consider higher rents and sales prices and higher household income limits outside the Transit Overlay District (TOD) (meaning where Inclusionary Zoning currently applies, which differs slightly from TOD). Following discussion, members expressed support for this change in memorandum. Sandy indicated she would attempt to incorporate the “Inclusionary Housing” and “Affordable Priced Housing” concepts into the memo. John moved and Leslie seconded motion to approve the draft memo recommending that the Planning Commission include in the package of land development regulations they are preparing, the application of Inclusionary Zoning rules city-wide, as amended to include clarifying terminology and consideration of higher rent, purchase price and household income limits in some areas, as appropriate. Photos will be added to memo. Motion approved: 6-0-0. 5. Discussion and possible action relating to building types discussion with Planning and Zoning: item delayed to future meeting due to lack of time. Future meeting dates: Tuesday, February 16, 2021, 10:30 a.m. & Wednesday, March 3, 2021, 10:30 a.m. 6. Adjourn: At 12:45 p.m. Leslie moved and Vince seconded motion to adjourn. Motion approved: 6-0-0.