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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-04-13_AHTF_Minutes_Approved City of Newport Beach Affordable Housing Task Force Minutes Date: April 13, 2015 Location: Newport Beach Civic Center— 100 Civic Center Drive Crystal Cove Meeting Room (Bay 2D, Room 2115) Members Edward Selich, Mayor (Chair); Scott Peotter, Council Member Present: Members Absent: Kevin Muldoon Staff: Kimberly Brandt, Community Development Director; Brenda Wisneski, Deputy Community Development Director; James Campbell, Principal Planner; Jaime Murillo, Senior Planner; and Melinda Whelan, Assistant Planner I. CALL MEETING TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 3:30 pm. II. PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-AGENDIZED ITEMS Jim Mosher, a member of the public commented that the Task Force last met two (2) years ago and as it continues today, the members are different. He continued that two (2) years ago a letter was sent to the Irvine Company inquiring as to how the City has a fund that could be used to preserve existing affordable units that were expiring and wondered what came of that, as a former art commissioner had to move and resign from his position because of the change in affordability. Jaime Murillo, Senior Planner responded that the City sent a letter to the Irvine Company and confirmed that they were not interested in extending affordability for any of the units. June Mayer, member of the public, commented on the loss of units at existing mobile home parks within the City, including the one that she resides at, and the overall reduction in mobile home spaces available in the City. She explained that she had been offered the money to make a down payment on another mobile home in the area but said that it is difficult to find one and wondered if there was an option that would increase the number of spaces. She added that affordable units are really hard to get into, there are long waitlists for the existing units, and that this is driving residents out of town. III. CURRENT BUSINESS a. Discussion Regarding Request for Proposals for Use of the Affordable Housing Fund Community Kim Brandt, Community Development Director, explained that the City is now in a position to put in motion the process for spending the affordable housing fund and the City is interested to see what projects are possible. Affordable Housing Task Force April 13, 2015, Minutes Page 2 Mr. Murillo explained that direction was received at the previous Affordable Housing Task Force meeting to reach out to existing affordable housing units which has been done, but so far the property owners have all responded that they would prefer the units change to market rate; therefore, the draft RFP was prepared. Mr. Murillo continued to provide background, including the current balance, which is $4.2 million, and the history of the inclusionary housing requirement for certain housing development. Furthermore, he stated that the inclusionary housing requirement has been tabled as it was determined by City Council that it was no longer needed and that other tools are in place to develop housing for the need in the City, allowed use of the fund, past use of funds, etc. Mr. Murillo explained that the RFP is intended to be flexible in order to see what is out there as far as projects are concerned, that it will be released for a specified amount of time before proposals will be looked at and that top proposals will be chosen. From the list of top proposals, if the Task Force would like to pursue any, they will move forward to City Council for direction. Mr. Murillo briefly went over the review criteria found in the RFP. Council Member Scott Peotter inquired about timeframes, whether or not the City can reject proposals and if the City is obligated to choose a proposal. Mr. Murillo answered that the City can reject proposals that there is no time limit; however, if the Task Force is ready to release the RFP, staff is prepared to release it within the next month, and that the City will not be obligated to choose a proposal. Kim Brandt, Community Development Director, offered a timeline of thirty (30) to forty-five (45) days for the public review period of the RFP. Chair Ed Selich questioned the definition of "site control" and commented on the lack of sites available in Newport Beach. Community Development Director Brandt replied that a letter of intent to sell a subject property to the proposer could be sufficient but that there could also be properties that are not zoned for residential. Chair Selich inquired on how Bayview Landing was built. Mr. Murillo and Jim Campbell, Principal Planner, explained that the Bayview Landing property was identified in the Housing Element as property to be used for housing and the City helped finance the project as the Irvine Company land was already available to the City. Mr. Murillo added that the RFP recognizes that sites might not be appropriately zoned so it would be part of the proposal review. Evelyn Hart, member of the public, discussed the Newport Center Irvine Company project and their affordable housing implementation plan to convert existing market rate units into affordable units within the Baywood Apartments and how this affects the need for senior housing. Mr. Murillo explained that the City has a preference for senior housing as it is a need identified in the Housing Element and the review criteria in the RFP includes preferences for housing that meet the identified needs and affects how the projects are graded. Ms. Brandt added that staff will be able to clarify in terms of how we rank certain criteria if the Task Force has suggestions on what they would like to see ranked higher. Members of the public opined that they would like to know ahead of time if senior projects would get a higher score and requests that the Task Force give direction on what they prefer to see in projects. They added that they feel senior housing is in great need and with Affordable Housing Task Force April 13, 2015, Minutes Page 3 the wait times at current senior affordable housing projects, it is difficult for low-income seniors to find housing within the City. Chair Selich asked staff to comment on the need for senior units. Murillo replied that there is a greater need for seniors as according to Census Data, it is the fastest growing population within the City and continues to grow; however, lower income units are identified as a need as well. Murillo cited stats from the Census Data in the Housing Element and explained what a housing burden is. Community Development Director Brandt explained that we are asking for proposals that address low income and below and not in the moderate range. Murillo added that we made the RFP flexible and open to see what the community and market comes back with and what they show the needs are. Murillo explained there is another need to try to preserve and replace eleven (11) different projects that are set to expire between 2016 and 2023 which would result in more than half of the City's affordable housing stock. Chair Selich asked if we get credit from the State for Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) for preserving units and Ms. Brandt responded that unfortunately we do not. Mr. Murillo explained that there is a way to get partial credit but we would have to commit the units early, the timing is difficult and only a portion would count towards the RHNA. Ms. Brandt opined that the existing projects contain a small number of units and could be a good use of the funds. Chair Selich added that it is difficult to find new sites within the City as it is basically built out. Mr. Murillo explained that the City has caught up with past RHNA and now we have funds and RHNA is low. Mr. Campbell added that projects in the Airport Area could produce units in the future. Mr. Murillo continued by explaining that the State wants the City to show that we have adequate sites to accommodate RHNA as well as meeting the local need identified in the Housing Element. Chair Selich asked for additional comments from the public. Member of the public, Mr. Jim Mosher had the following corrections: he cited page 3 under "Past Examples" that Bayview Landing should have 95 low and 24 very low with one (1) manager unit; on page 10 "Exhibit XX" should be "Exhibit A;" page 10 refers to consultant representative and this is not a defined term; "Exhibit B" does not include all units such as mobile home parks. Mr. Mosher concluded that he feels it is important to concentrate on the preservation of existing units. Mr. Murillo responded that "Exhibit B" is provided only to demonstrate restricted rents per an existing agreement and that staff will clarify. Chair Selich explained that the problem with existing units is that it is difficult to extend contracts and asked Council Member Peotter if he had anything to add. Council Member Peotter replied that he is in favor of giving a higher priority to senior projects. Mr. Murillo commented that Habitat for Humanity has an existing program for home improvement for seniors that are low income. Evelyn Hart added that a good program would be to rehab existing senior homes that have a fixed low income and cannot afford to upgrade like the Seaview Lutheran project. Affordable Housing Task Force April 13, 2015, Minutes Page 4 Mr. Campbell commented on the administrative costs of a senior rehab program. A member of the public expressed the importance of preserving the units we have. Mr. Murillo explained that we do annual monitoring and we have been reaching out to property owners but have been unsuccessful because there is little interest to extend affordability. Melinda Whelan, Assistant Planner added that monitoring and outreach has taken place over the past year with no real interest except to request the entire fund for only a few units which would not be good use of the money. Chair Selich stated that the earliest possible change would be an extension of affordability on existing agreements. Mr. Murillo added that the funds could be used in conjunction with other or additional funding sources such as tax credits, non-profits, etc. The Task Force concluded to change the days for public review of the RFP to sixty (60). IV. PUBLIC COMMENT None. V. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 4:30 p.m. The agenda for the Affordable Housing Task Force was posted on April 07, 2015, at 12:30 p.m. in the Chambers binder and on the digital display board located inside the vestibule of the Council Chambers at 100 Civic Center Drive and on the City's website on April 07, 2015, at 12:50 p.m.