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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009 01-21 HCM MINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE HOUSING COMNIISSION OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER IN THE COUNTY OF HENNEPIN AND STATE OF NIINNESOTA REGULAR SESSION JANUARY 21, 2009 COUNCII. CONIlVIISSION ROOM I CALL TO ORDER The Brooklyn Center Housing Commission was called to order by Chairperson Landis at 7:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Chair Steve Landis, Commissioners Kathie Amdahl, Gretchen Knutson, Kris Lawrence-Anderson, and Joshua Xiong. Also present were Council Liaison Tim Roche, Planning Consultant Dave Hagen and Community Development Specialist Tom Bublitz. Commissioner Thorbus was absent and excused from the meeting. APPROVAL OF AGENDA There was a motion by Commissioner Lawrence-Anderson and seconded by Chairperson Landis to approve the agenda as submitted. The motion passed. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OCTOBER 2l, 2008 Commissioner Lawrence Anderson requested a clarification on Paragraph 3 of Page 3 of the October 21, 2008 minutes noting that she wanted to clarify that the Commission's past discussion of parking issues is something tnat the Commission could again pursue but only if directed by the City Council. The clarification was noted and included in the amended minutes. There was a motion by Commissioner Knutson and seconded by Commissioner Lawrence- Anderson to approve the minutes of the October 21, 2008 Housing Commission meeting as amended. The motion passed. APPROVAL OF MINUTES NOVEMBER l8, 2008 There was a motion by Commissioner Lawrence-Anderson and seconded by Commissioner Knutson to approve the minutes of the November 18, 2008 Housing Commission meeting. The motion passed. CHAIRPERSONS REPORT Chairperson Landis noted that he would defer his report and move to the discussion of the 1 m Council Member Tim Roche as the new Council Liaison to Com rehensive Plan. He also we co ed P the Housing Commission. Page 1 1-21-09 COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT Council Member Roche reported on a program discussed by the Council which would provide down payment and closing costs assistance for people to purchase foreclosed properties. He also noted the program would provide down payment and closing cost assistance for persons using a 203K FHA mortgage. He also noted that in the marketing of the programs the issue of reasons for buyers to move to Brooklyn Center to take advantage of these programs is important. Commission members briefly discussed the program and Chairperson Landis noted that he would be interested in having someone speak at an upcoming meeting regarding these programs. Council Member Roche next discussed the NOMI Group active in the Camden neighborhood in Minneapolis and stated believes there is an opportunity for the Housing Commission to review this kind of marketing approach. Chairperson Landis emphasized that his goal is to become much more integrated with the City Council and Planning Commission in the course of this year: ANNUAL ELECTION OF CHAIRPERSON AND APPOINTMENT OF VICE CHAIR Commission Members briefly discussed the process to be used to nominate a Chair. Commissioner Knutson nominated Chairperson Landis to be Chair of the Housing Commission for 2009. Commissioner Lawrence-Anderson seconded the nomination. No other nominations were received from members of the Commission and the Commission elected Chairperson Landis to be Chair of the Housing Commission for 2009 by unanimous consent. Chairperson Landis noted his goal for 2009 is to play a vastly more important role in housing than in the past and to be more active participants than in the past. He also noted that he would like to see more interaction with the Planning Commission in 2009. Chairperson Landis appointed Commissioner Lawrence-Anderson to continue as Vice Chair for 2009. REVIEW AND DISCUSSED DRAFT 2030 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN DOCUMENT Chairperson Landis suggested that the Commission review the draft comp plan chapter by chapter beginning with the Community Profile. Chairperson Landis commented that the Commission should look at life cycle housing for the 55 to 64 year old age group. He also noted the poverty level described in Section 1-5 and indicated that this needs to be watched carefully because of the impact on the housing stock. He added that this could be a destabilizing factor in maintaining the city's housing stock. He also noted that the city may need to assess tools to help stabilize housing such as "point of sale" which may be a tool the Commission needs to evaluate. Commissioner Lawrence-Anderson stated she believes "point of sale" is worthy of consideration but believes we should seek City Council input before we pursue it. I Page 2 1-21-09 Commissioner Lawrence-Anderson pointed out on page 1-9 the reference to the decline of i Brookdale. Council Member Roche urged the Commission to think outside the box particularly as it relates to Brookdale. Commission Members continued the discussion of Brookdale and noted that they would like to look at the issue of Brookdale redevelopment further. The Commission Members next reviewed Chapter 2 and Commissioner Knutson suggested marketing the city's housing programs to colleges since this is a group that may be interested in �rst homes. After a discussion regarding the negative perception of living in Brooklyn Center, by those who do not live here, Commissioner Lawrence-Anderson suggested that the city could use video clips on the city website to highlight the positive aspects of living in Brooklyn Center including the convenient proximity to all major highways/freeways and to both downtown areas. Other video clips could show the assets of the city and people who live here, etc. including park and recreation opportunities, Earle Brown Heritage Center, library and civic center, etc.. Chairperson Landis next addressed Section 2.2 which discussed Brooklyn Boulevard and how the issue of traffic circulation and potential redevelopment of Brooklyn Boulevard would interact. Mr. Hagen suggested that the Commission should determine what they want to see on Brooklyn Boulevard such as a trafficway, greenway, etc. He reviewed the future land use map for the 2030 Comp Plan and added that we really need to address what we want Brooklyn Boulevard to be, how wide, how much green space, etc. and then determine the land use. I Chairperson Landis noted the Hwy 100 issue and the problem with not being able to easily move west when coming north on Hwy 100. He pointed out this is essentially a dead end and has an impact on traffic on Brooklyn Boulevard. He added that they need to study this issue more in terms of how to improve east/west circulation from Hwy 100 to 94. Mr. Hagen suggested that this issue could be added to the Comp Plan's transportation section. He also noted that we could do an origin and destination survey for Brooklyn Boulevard traffic. Chairperson Landis addressed the issue of Brookdale and noted that this area could be a nei hborhood rather than a retail center. Commission Members discussed this o tion includin the g P g issue of addressing life cycle housing and senior housing in the Brookdale area. Councilmember Roche also brou ht u the issue of da li htin of Shin le Creek which is bein g g P Y g g g promoted by Hennepin County. Mr. Hagen suggested that the Commission may want to look at a master planning for the Brookdale area. Page 3 1-21-09 Commission Members continued their discussion of Brookdale and included the Opportunity Site area. Chairperson Landis, in reviewing page 2-6, noted that we need to shift the paradigm for retail and emphasized the first "bullet" in Section 2-6. He inquired as to how we best forecast the use of the Opportunity Site given that it is his belief retail has changed forever. He added he believes we should be moving more towards offices and housing in the Opportunity Site and less retail. Commissioner Lawrence-Anderson stated that she believes the city needs more high quality housing in the Opportunity Site area and also along Shingle Creek. Mr. Hagen stated that his firm's conclusions also show that there is too much retail in the master plan for the Opportunity Site. Chairperson Landis inquired as to the references to the Ma�cfield Report and the Brooklyn Center 2000 Report. Mr. Hagen responded by noting that the 2000 Report is quite a bit dated. The Community Development Specialist explained that the M�field Report is also dated but some of the issues in it may still be relevant for planning purposes and indicated he would run copies of this report for Commission Members. Chairperson Landis commented on the age of housing in the city and noted the importance of maintaining the exteriors of homes that are now showing age. Mr. Hagen noted that ramblers are the predominant style of housing in the city. Chairperson Landis inquired as to how the city can embrace the rambler style since we seem to have so many of them. Chairperson Landis observed that on page 4-8, planning for affordable housing appears to be an important section. Mr. Hagen explained that the Met Council is trying to require cities to accept 30% of new housing as affordable. He added that the Met Council awards less points to cities that do not have a great deal of planned affordable housing and stated that be believes this could be challenged. Commissioner Xiong left the meeting at 9:10 p.m. In reviewing page 4-10, Chairperson Landis stated that the issue of "point of sale" with regard to single family homes needs to be discussed. Chairperson Landis requested a monthly update on vacant homes in the city for the Housing Commission. Chairperson Landis commented on the adverse impact of over concentration of low income housing noted on page 4-14. He noted that page 4-15 Section 2(second bullet), appears to be an incomplete sentence. Councilmember Roche next addressed the industrial zoning noted in the plan located at the edge of Page 4 1-21-09 Evergreen Park. He also noted the PRO (Parks Recreation and Open Space) identification east of Evergreen Park and added that if we add in Riverdale Park, we could make this a contiguous green area. He also addressed the open land designation near Twin Lake. Commissioner Lawrence-Anderson addressed the issue of a name change for the city which she understands has been discussed in the past. Chairperson Landis inquired if there was anything else that needed to be addressed before next week's meeting with the Planning Commission. Hearing no additional comments, he summarized several issues discussed by the Housing Commission, including: Heart of the City redevelopment Reasons why people should live in and move to Brooklyn Center Brookdale and Opportunity Site areas and how these areas may be used in the future and the change in emphasis and approach to traditional retail Issues related to Brooklyn Boulevard and Hwy 100 including the lack of (east-west) traffic circulation Make sure that parks remain an asset in the city including making Central Park more accessible and reducing park land in the Opportunity Site plan. He also noted changing of the designation of land from industrial to open or PRO. Potential name change for the city Addressed the desire for less affordable housing and assuring quality affordable housing Commissioners discussed the joint meeting with the Planning Commission with regards to the Housing Commission's recommendations for the meeting. OTHER BUSINESS There was no other business addressed by the Commission. ADJOURNMENT There was a motion by Commissioner Lawrence-Anderson and seconded by Commissioner Knutson to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed. The Brooklyn Center Housing Commission adjourned at 10:00 p.m. Chairman Page 5 1-21-09