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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023.05.16 HCMMINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE HOUSING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER IN THE COUNTY OF HENNEPIN AND STATE OF MINNESOTA REGULAR SESSION MAY 16, 2023 CALL TO ORDER The Brooklyn Center Housing Commission was called to order by Chairperson Enger at 7:15 p.m. MEETINGATTENDEES Chair Gretchen Enger - Present Vice Chair Michael Donnelly - Present Commissioner Laura Freund - Present Commissioner Jerry Gayflor - Present Commissioner Elizabeth Riel — Excused Commissioner Florence Williams —Absent City Staff present: Staff Liaison Jesse Anderson and City Council Liaison Kris Lawrence - Anderson. Also present: Latrecia Mayo WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION Staff Liaison Jesse Anderson introduced himself and the rest of the members present introduced themselves. APPROVAL OFAGENDA There was a motion by Commissioner Freund and seconded by Chair Enger to approve the agenda as submitted. The motion passed. NEWNEIGHBOR PROGRAM- OVERVIEW Staff Liaison Jesse Anderson gave an overview of the New Neighborhood Program. He showed the Commission the bags handed out and the included materials. The bags are usually delivered in the summer to a list of new residents. NEWNEIGHBOR PROGRAM— 2022 DELIVERYSTATUS Mr. Anderson pointed out there were issues with the 2022 deliveries as there weren't meetings for a while and the Commission was lacking a Chair for several months. He provided a list of highlighted areas that haven't received deliveries through the New Neighbor Program. Mr. Anderson asked for each Commissioner to send him a photo of themselves to put on an identification badge so the Commissioners can deliver the bags with some identification. Ultimately, it is up to the Housing Commission if they want to catch up on 2022 deliveries or start 5/ 16/23 -1- DRAFT fresh with 2023 deliveries. There are usually about 200-300 deliveries each year. It is up to the discretion of the Commission if they want to continue the program. Vice Chair Donnelly stated they could deliver the 2022 bags of the missed neighborhoods and all of the 2023 neighborhoods. Mr. Anderson confirmed he could generate a new list and combine the two. Chair Enger asked how many households were missed from the 5 neighborhoods. Mr. Anderson stated he only has a list of neighborhoods and not individual residences. City Council Liaison Lawrence -Anderson stated the program started when she was on the Housing Commission. It started because the City Council hadn't given any directives to the Housing Commission, and City Council Liaison Lawrence -Anderson stated she suggested the program to the Commission. Once she became a Councilmember, Staff took over the responsibility of generating a list. City Council Liaison Lawrence -Anderson suggested each Commissioner take home a bag and determine what is missing or what is outdated. Then they can discuss potential changes at the next meeting. Chair Enger asked if it is too late to deliver to the 2022 homes. City Council Liaison Lawrence - Anderson stated it is the decision of the Housing Commission. City Council Liaison Lawrence -Anderson stated there are materials on Three Rivers Park District, voting, local parks, local restaurants, and more. The Implementation Committee application can be removed. Other options could include garbage removal or contact information for Excel Energy. Commissioner Freund stated she likes the program and would like to continue it. Commissioner Gayflor asked if the bags should be sent out now or wait for material review. Chair Enger stated they should go through the bags and discuss the contents at the next meeting. Mr. Anderson stated the next meeting could be an opportunity to sort through the bag materials and review a newly generated list. After that meeting, he could gather updated materials and choose a time to assemble and distribute bags. City Council Liaison Lawrence -Anderson noted they used to team up in pairs to deliver the bags. One would be a driver and one would get out to deliver the bags. The deliveries usually occur from about 6:00 p.m. until dusk. There are notes the Commissioners can leave with the bag if no one answered the door. Chair Enger asked if the deliveries were made on the weekend or the weekdays. City Council Liaison Lawrence -Anderson stated she preferred to deliver on weekdays, but it is the decision of the Commission. 5/16/23 -2- DRAFT Mr. Anderson stated he would prepare a list that includes sales since April 2022. He asked if he should combine the sales with the outstanding 2022 deliveries. Chair Enger stated she wants to do the missed neighborhoods, but she doesn't want it to be awkward. City Council Liaison Lawrence -Anderson suggested the Commissioners explain they are new to their roles and are catching up on the backlog. Mr. Anderson confirmed he would generate the list of sales since April 2022 and combine it with the outstanding neighborhoods from the 2022 deliveries. Chair Enger asked how the neighborhoods have been divided. Mr. Anderson stated the Commissioners can claim the neighborhoods they want to do on their own time. Alternatively, the Commission can all complete their deliveries on the same night after dividing up the list. CITY COUNCIL LLAISONREPORT City Council Liaison Lawrence -Anderson asked what the Housing Commission wants her to report on and in how much detail. Staff Liaison Jesse Anderson noted there were surveys collected regarding the tenant protection ordinance that will be provided to Council at an upcoming meeting. Mr. Anderson stated the licenses for new construction rental properties that they discussed previously will be on the upcoming agenda. He just received an email from the attorney regarding the options brought up by the Housing Commission. City Council Liaison Lawrence -Anderson added the Council is looping to create a grant process policy to ensure the grants are in line with City strategies and priorities. Grants help to kickstart programs, pay for one-time projects, and ultimately offset taxpayer dollars. City Council Liaison Lawrence -Anderson stated the traffic enforcement ordinance will return to the Council shortly. It is a recommendation from the Implementation Committee that would restrict the option for law enforcement to pull over vehicles for certain reasons. It is a fairly controversial topic. The Implementation Committee is also working to implement an alternative response program. There are options to fund a Brooklyn Center program or to partner with Hennepin County to collaborate on the program. Vice Chair Donnelly asked for an update on Opportunity Site Phase I and Hwy 252. City Council Liaison Lawrence -Anderson stated the public comment period for Hwy 252 will be ending shortly. The Council has provided comments that reflect their distaste for the impact on local homeownership and the Brooklyn Center tax base. They requested alternative options be considered. Vice Chair Donnelly asked if the tax impact has been calculated. Mr. Anderson stated there have been calculations by Public Works about the loss of property value but not necessarily on the annual tax impact the City would see. 5/16/23 -3- DRAFT City Council Liaison Lawrence -Anderson pointed out the Hwy 252 Task Force has done an exceptional job educating the Council and the community on the impacts of potential projects. Vice Chair Donnelly noted the last update he heard about the Opportunity Site was that some of the residents would no longer be built. Mr. Anderson stated that decision happened back in October 2022 when the term sheet was approved. It is probably a couple of years out for the Council to consider additional development. The goal is still to break ground in 2023. Mr. Anderson stated two units were approved in October 2022 along with a convention center, entrepreneurial market, a daycare, and barber shop. The market became somewhat smaller over time as well. In early 2023, the investment strategy of the developer has had to change because of the high interest rates and the like. Staff showed the Council the potential for a bonding scenario related to tax increment funding. Mr. Anderson noted another change is the ownership of the entrepreneurial market. Alatus would retain ownership. The mission would stay the same, but bonding would decrease by $3 million and put less risk on the City. Mr. Anderson added the hope of the developer is to still break ground in 2023. He explained how Columbia Heights recently used TIF funding to build infrastructure and residences then gave a portion of the building to the City to be used as a City Hall. City Council Liaison Lawrence -Anderson explained the Opportunity Site has had a number of changes over the years, and she is hopeful the project will work out. The market -rate housing will appeal to a different demographic that likely has more discretionary income. Affordable units will be added to the Site down the line. Mr. Anderson added the plan is to have over 600 units that are considered affordable once all of the residential buildings are completed. It depends on if the developer can get additional funding. The first building with almost 300 market -rate units is a two-year build. The first couple of buildings are doing the heavy lifting for infrastructure for future development. Commissioner Gayflor noted St. Paul is still paying for road changes similar to the Hwy 252 project. City Council Liaison Lawrence -Anderson stated the Council is trying to avoid that exact same problem. Vice Chair Donnelly asked if the project can still move forward if both Brooklyn Center and Brooklyn Park reject the idea. City Council Liaison Lawrence -Anderson stated the Council has asked the same question, and the attorney is looking into options. The project wouldn't begin for a few years at the earliest. Commissioner Gayflor asked if MnDOT or the City has more power. Staff Liaison Anderson stated the Council doesn't have a clear answer on that yet. City Council Liaison Lawrence -Anderson pointed out anyone can provide comment to MnDOT regarding the Hwy 252 project while the public comment period is still open. It closes May 26, 5/16/23 -4- DRAFT 2023. Chair Enger asked what the timing is for Wangstad Commons. Mr. Anderson stated Wangstad Commons had a recent site and building plan approval. There will be a TIF agreement returning to the City Council in early June. The goal is to break ground by the end of summer. Vice Chair Donnelly asked if Wangstad Commons is the same site as the project for veterans. Mr. Anderson stated the veterans housing is a separate project. The Council has approved for the developer to seek out grants, so the funding has yet to be secured. Mr. Anderson noted Wangstad beat out Project for Pride in Living (PPL) for the LIHTC funding. Project for Pride in Living is planning to reapply for the funding. City Council Liaison Lawrence - Anderson stated the City has tried to maintain its commitment to PPL while supporting a veterans facility down the line. Chair Enger stated she would be interested in hearing from speaker with Sutterberg and MHA. She added she read through a packet that included short-, mid-, and long-term goals for the City. Mr. Anderson stated the recommendations had been presented to the Council, and he could request the same presenter to speak to the Housing Commission. Chair Enger asked if the recommendation of hiring a Housing Coordinator will happen. Mr. Anderson stated it was in the budget request but it did not make it into the final budget. Chair Enger noted some of the recommendations and resources would be beneficial to be posted on the City website. She asked for Mr. Anderson to forward the packet to all members of the Housing Commission. City Council Liaison Lawrence -Anderson explained the Urban Land Institute did an intensive look at Brooklyn Center, and there is a lot of valuable information within the document. The Housing Commission can dive into the information and make recommendations to the Council. Vice Chair asked if the City has any resources to promote home ownership. Mr. Anderson stated there is a down payment assistance program. The funding source was recently modified. He explained the program to the Commission. Mr. Anderson stated the survey results regarding the tenant protection ordinance will be presented to the Council at the next meeting. The submissions were anonymous and completed by landlords. There is an opportunity to survey tenants down the line as well. OTHER BUSINESS -FUTURE DISCUSSIONITEMS FOR HOUSING COMMISSION City Council Liaison Lawrence -Anderson stated there wasn't a motion to approve the previous minutes. Mr. Anderson stated both sets of minutes can be approved at the next meeting. Mr. Anderson noted the discussion in the future. fourteen -day notification evictions. State might adopt a tenant protection ordinance which may be up for Minneapolis has a seven-day notification period, St. Louis Park has a period, and Brooklyn Center has a thirty -day notification period for 5/16/23 -5- DRAFT Vice Chair Donnelly asked how many people are on the Commission. Mr. Anderson stated six of the seven spots are filled. Two people were absent, one of which was excused and another was unexcused. ADJOURNMENT There was a motion by Commissioner Freund and seconded by Vice Chair Donnelly to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed. The Brooklyn Center Housing Commission adjourned at 8:45 p.m. Chair Enge 5/16/23 -6- DRAFT