HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Affordable Housing Committee - 06/06/2017Approved June 20, 2017
AFFORDABLE HOUSING COMMITTEE
June 6, 2017, 4:00 PM, City Hall
Members Attending: Tom Bailey, Leslie Black-Plumeau, Sandy Dooley, Michael Simoneau, John Simson
(Chair)
Others Present: Todd Rawlings (4:30), SoBu resident; Regina Mahoney (4:45), CCCPRC; Michael Monte
(4:50), Champlain Housing Trust; Kevin Dorn (5:30), City Manager
AGENDA
1. Call to order
2. Agenda Review: Additions, deletions or changes in order of agenda items
3. Comments and questions from the public not related to the agenda
4. Committee members report on “homework”
5. Review and approval of minutes from the May 24, 2017, Committee meeting.
6. Identify areas on SoBu zoning map meeting “smart growth” criteria for development of
affordable housing.
7. Update from Regina Mahoney and Michael Monte regarding Building Homes Together Initiative
and discussion with them of methods municipalities use to incentivize development of affordable
housing
8. Other business
9. Adjourn
1. Call to Order: John called the meeting to order at 4:02 p.m.
2. Agenda review: John sent agenda to Celine Ingalls but it did not get published. Committee agreed
to John’s proposed agenda.
3. Comments, etc.: There were no comments from the public.
4. Committee members report on “homework”
John reported on his follow-up with Andrew Bolduc regarding adding the homes included in “closed”
Airport Improvement Plans to the exemption provision in the draft Housing Preservation LDR relating
to the homes in “open” AIPs, as requested in the motion made at the May 24, 2017, committee
meeting (copied below). According to City and airport staff there is some confusion relating to these
contracts making it impossible provide the new language by this date. They committed to having this
confusion resolved and the amended language prepared by John’s presentation to the Planning
Commission on June 13.
“Sandy moved and Leslie seconded that the committee request that the chair (John) request that City
Attorney Andrew Bolduc review the “closed” AIPs and identify the addresses of the not-yet-purchased
homes and provide the committee with proposed new LDR language that would exempt these
homes. Committee approved the motion unanimously.”
John also reported on his contact with Ken Belliveau, Town of Williston Planning Director, about the
recently announced development to be built in Williston. It will include affordable housing. Williston
has a cap on approval on new residential units due to limited additional sewage system capacity.
However, when a development includes a designated percentage of affordable units, it gets moved up
on the waiting list for development consideration and approval.
John prepared Affordable Housing article and submitted it to The Other Paper for publication (also
shared article with committee members).
John also cited Sandy’s sending committee members the language in the Part 150 program that
makes clear that Part 150 noise designations do not alter municipalities’ authority to determine
allowable uses for land within their boundaries. Committee members found the articles Sandy shared
useful. These articles are as follows:
(1) The first article is about a Massachusetts law that encourages the use of overlay districts to promote
affordable housing.
(2) The second is an article discussing how traditional residential zoning gets in the way of developing
affordable housing.
http://www.mass.gov/envir/smart_growth_toolkit/pages/mod-40R.html
https://www.mercatus.org/publication/how-land-use-regulation-undermines-affordable-housing
Tom reported that Governor Scott is scheduled, on Thursday (June 8), to sign a bill that will modify the
definition of “Priority Housing” that qualifies for an exemption from Act 250 review. Leslie indicated
that the “Priority Housing” income maximum for owner-occupied housing is being raised to 120
percent of AMI; income maximum for rental housing (80 percent AMI) remains the same. Tom added
that the 275-unit limit on development size is being removed.
Mike obtained information about the density of the housing developed behind the Shaw’s shopping
center on Shelburne Road and also obtained a City Zoning Map for the committee’s use.
5. Review and approval of draft minutes of May 24, 2017, committee meeting:
Tom moved and Mike seconded approval of the minutes as drafted. Motion approved
unanimously.
6. Identify areas on SoBu zoning map meeting “smart growth:” criteria for development of
affordable housing.
The committee focused on:
(a) zoning districts that allow mixed use (i.e. including residential housing) and also meet “Smart
Growth” criteria,
(b) the University Mall property,
(c) the land to the North of the Holiday Inn, and
(d) the Commercial 1/Residential 12 district to the North of the Sheraton Hotel/Conference Center. A
question the Committee wants to answer is: who owns this property? Probable owner: University of
Vermont.
7. Update from Regina Mahoney and Michael Monte regarding Building Homes Together (BHT)
initiative
and discussion with them of methods municipalities use to incentivize development of affordable
housing
Regina provided background data that led to launching this initiative:
CCRPC’s completion of a “white paper” titled Supporting the STEM Cluster and Young Professionals
in Chittenden County (link below).
http://www.ccrpcvt.org/wp-
content/uploads/2016/01/STEMandYoungProfessionals_FinalDraft_20160620.pdf (June 2016)
Review of demographics in Chittenden County (time period, approximately 2010 to 2015/6):
Average production of new housing units: 400 units per year
Average population growth: 1,000 people per year
Shrinking household size
Building Homes Together initiated in June 2016. Goals for next five years:
700 new housing units per year (3,500 total)
140 (20 percent) of these units to be affordable (700 total)
Recent history:
2014 & 2015 about 600 units per year
2016 over 700 housing units
Michael Monte mentioned economic conditions during last five years (since 2008 crash) affecting
housing market:
lower interest rates but, at same time, more stringent conditions to purchase. Before crash housing
development focused on owner-occupied; since crash virtually all rentals. Strategy for achieving BHT
goal re affordable housing depends on major use of 4% Tax Credits (requires that units financed with
these tax credits be rented to households whose income does not exceed 65% of area AMI).
Challenge is to raise capital for balance (55%) of cost of the affordable housing.
What follows is listing of strategies discussed relating to development of affordable housing—without
attribution (too difficult for minute-taker):
● Municipally issued bonds; does SoBu have authority to issue bonds for housing? Example:
Seattle; City of Burlington’s Finance Board created the Burlington Community Development
Corporation (BCDC), which has issued bonds.
● Public/Private Partnerships – example: Cathedral Square and CHT partnerships with Eric Farrell
● Might the private sector fund Shared Equity Housing? Challenge is finding capital to fund gap
between appraised value and reduced purchase price required to make housing affordable to lower
income households.
● Something about South Village and Dousevitz?
● Reduced impact fees (example: Milton)
● Density Bonus (example: Essex Town Center, if designated percentage of affordable units
included, developer allowed three additional units for each affordable unit)
● Regional approach/collaboration to development of more affordable housing, municipal planning
staff meet and share on regular basis (organized/facilitated by CCRPC)
● Apply Inclusionary Zoning requirement in non-smart growth areas of municipalities and allow
payment of fee to Housing Trust Fund in lieu of including affordable housing units in development.
CCRPC’s development and regular updating of an Affordable Housing Clearinghouse on its website.
● VHFA provides rent, purchase price, and income tables related to affordability on the Vermont
Housing Data website.
● Organization of a consortium of local Affordable Housing Committees that would meet once or twice
per year (places with Affordable Housing Committees: Burlington, Hinesburg, Shelburne, South
Burlington, and Williston). CCRPC to organize these meetings.
● Resources: Burlington’s Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) website, Grounded Solutions Network, Vermont
Housing Data website, “Toolbox”
● Shared Equity Home Ownership and IZ
● IZ is an incentive for public/private partnerships
● Building Homes Together focuses on need for more housing generally, including affordable housing
as an economic issue
● CHT has analyzed what a housing bond could do for the economy. The analysis shows how a $70
million bond for affordable housing could bring $258 million to Vermont. State also developed a
similar analysis for a state-wide bond.
● Higher density in LDRs; plus, have LDRs require minimum densities in LDRs (remove DRB
authority to set the density allowed).
● Lower impact fees for affordable housing (information: SoBu fees for Beacon Place were $7 per
square foot)
● Municipality provides land for development (land is major cost driver); municipality provides
infrastructure (roads, sidewalks, sewer, water, power)
● On-the-record review (understanding that Essex Junction does on-the-record review in some
zoning districts)
8. Other business
● Next meeting: June 20, 4:00 p.m.
● Need to fill committee vacancies: Kevin Dorn shared that City Council has endorsed Committees
doing outreach and encouraging promising candidates to apply for appointment to City Committee.
Committee encouraged Todd Rawlings to apply. Committee also discussed ongoing effort to identify a
private developer that lives in South Burlington and encourage him/her to check out committee and
consider applying.
● Committee hats: John indicated that, in time, once the committee has completed some of its major
tasks, the committee members will receive baseball-type caps of equivalent or higher quality that the
hats given to Parks and Recreation Committee members.
● Availability of micro-sized rental housing in new development: Sandy shared that some of the
units in rehabbed Burlington College building (Eric Farrell is developer) are as small as 280 square
feet.
● Committee members encouraged to attend June 13 Planning Commission meeting at which John
will present Committee’s draft Housing Preservation LDR.
9. Adjourn – Tom moved and Leslie seconded that the meeting be adjourned. Committee
approved motion unanimously at 6:00 p.m.
Minutes by Sandy Dooley