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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1990 05-08 HCM MINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE HOUSING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER IN THE COUNTY OF HENNEPIN AND THE STATE OF MINNESOTA REGULAR SESSION MAY 8, 1990 CITY HALL CALL TO ORDER The Brooklyn Center housing commission was called to order at 7:30 p.m. ROLL CALL Commissioners Robert Torres, Ernie Erickson, Reynold Johnson, Pamela Frantum, Neal Nelson, and John Kalligher. Chairman Nicholas Eoloff and Commissioner Barb Jensen were absent and excused from the meeting. Also present were City Council liaison Phil Cohen, EDA Coordinator Brad Hoffman, and Assistant EDA Coordinator Tom Bublitz. Also in attendance at the meeting was Mr. Gene Ranieri, consultant for the Brooklyn Center Housing Implementation Plan. REVIEW OF HOUSING IMPLEMENTATION PLAN Mr. Gene Ranieri began his review of the implementation plan by discussing several programs and approaches for developing an overall housing strategy including financing through CDBG funds, tax increment financing, and bonding. A key element in many of the funding options is the use of funds to leverage City dollars. Mr. Ranieri then discussed elements of a long -term strategy for housing including the purchase of six to ten properties per year, doing two to three now and then increasing the amount to six to ten annually. He pointed out any housing strategy must recognize the loss of State housing programs. He continued discussion of financing options for the housing plan and pointed out the HRA cannot do a referendum levy and the EDA's levy is included in the overall City levy limit. Commissioner Kalligher suggested the use of nonprofit groups in the City's housing program. Councilmember Cohen noted nonprofit groups such as Westminster could offer a contract for service type arrangement with the City. Mr. Ranieri noted the nonprofits are presently doing many multifamily housing and they also charge fees for their programs. He noted only a few nonprofits are now operating in the suburbs and they are working mainly in southern Dakota County in new construction programs. Commissioner Kalligher noted local banks are doing some funding and cited the example of Norwest Bank that is providing some funding to a nonprofit agency. Mr. Ranieri pointed out the City could propose its own nonprofit structure or meet with the nonprofits to see if they are interested and perhaps send out an RFP. 5 8 9 0 -1- s The next issue discussed in the housing implementation plan was the issue of owner occupied single family homes going to rental housing. EDA Coordinator Hoffman noted this may be an opportune time for the City to deal with owners of rental property who would like to get out of the rental market. Mr. Ranieri commented the interest reduction program could be used in some instances where renters want to buy their units. Also, he pointed out in the interest reduction program buyers need not be first time homebuyers. He noted existing programs could be coordinated through the City such as the purchase plus program. He also observed that presently local banks are not active in housing programs. Mr. Ranieri also suggested meeting with the City of Minneapolis to consider accessing the Twin City Housing Trust Fund. He also suggested applying for the Can Do grant from the State which is a leadership program for citizens. Mr. Ranieri then discussed an issue which he considered a major issue in the housing implementation plan, that of multifamily housing. He suggested meeting with multifamily housing owners and the Minnesota Multifamily Housing Association to discuss the multifamily housing strategy. The next priority Mr. Ranieri discussed was the issue of infrastructure improvements and noted current law provides that improvements can be financed only through special assessments. He suggested seeking statutory authority to bond for infrastructure improvements and to use a combination of special assessments and bonding to accomplish the infrastructure improvements. Discussion ensued regarding financing of improvements, and Mr. Ranieri noted one option would be the use of some type of housing development fee as part of the property tax such as 1 /1000 of a percent of valuation. He noted this would require special legislation and pointed out a very small fee percentagewise would produce a significant amount in terms of funding for infrastructure improvements. EDA Coordinator Hoffman explained although Commissioner Jensen was unable to attend this evening's meeting, she had relayed her comments on the housing implementation plan by phone earlier in the day. He requested the recording secretary to review Commissioner Jensen's comments for the commission. Assistant EDA Coordinator Bublitz explained he would attempt to summarize the highlights of Commissioner Jensen's comments on the housing implementation plan. Assistant EDA Coordinator Bublitz relayed the following comments from Commissioner Jensen: 5 -2- Page 4 More information is needed on any truth in housing type ordinance before support could be given to that concept. Also the City should re- evaluate its existing ordinances regarding recombination of lots, regulations on unrelated adults living in a single household, allowances for mother -in -law apartments, and other nontraditional living arrangements including nontraditional architecture. Page 7 Acquisition is not a top priority. The number of homes acquired should be one to three homes per year, not ten homes per year. Page 10 Commissioner Jensen suggested several additions to the redevelopment /development review process form on pages 10 through 13. Page 13 The net financial effect of redevelopment on school, county, and other taxing jurisdictions should be shown. Page 15 The plan should include a statement to show a more proactive approach to housing maintenance enforcement and implementation strategies. Page 16 The time line of the report needs to be adjusted to reflect the present time line. Page 18 The plan should be more specific on the review of Chapter 12 of the City Ordinances and include specific items in Chapter 12. Also, information should be given on what other cities are doing and what is currently effective. Page 20 Both development of a building owner's alliance and in- service educational sessions for City staff are important items in the plan. Commissioner Jensen also recommended the plan reflect what existing City programs are doing in regard to some of the priorities listed in the plan. The plan should reflect the facts that neighborhood advisory commissions already are in existence and functioning and neighborhood watch and crime prevention programs are also in existence in the City. Page 21 Acquisition, especially of multifamily units, is not a priority. Also the plan should address how multifamily development on specific sites fits into the City's comprehensive land use plan. 5 -3- Page 22 Commissioner Jensen's observation of foundations and foundation grant money is that they are moving away from neighborhood type programs into funding target group type programs such as children's programs or chemical dependency programs where a specific group is targeted. Page 24 More information is needed on cooperatives regarding risks, costs, resale, and what the City's role is in a cooperative program. Page 31 More information should be provided regarding what State housing programs survived the last legislative session including the Minnesota Communities Program (MCP). Commissioner Jensen also had a number of specific comments on the use of existing programs for the City's housing strategy. She also commented that she would like to emphasize a grass roots approach to the strategy which would have people in the neighborhoods identifying their own problems, goals, etc. for their own neighborhood. Page 48 Prior to scheduling any meetings with outside agencies, the City needs to have a plan in place before we meet with local legislators, Metropolitan Council representatives, etc. Page 56 Can tax increment financing be used for special needs housing and rehabilitation, and what would the impact be on other taxing jurisdictions including School District No. 286. Assistant EDA Coordinator Bublitz noted he had attempted to relay the main points of Commissioner Jensen's comments and that she did have additional comments on specific items in the plan, but he believed the areas he reviewed were the major areas of comment. Councilmember Cohen stated the commission now needs an executive summary of the plan to clarify the issues in a concise way for such items as single family, multifamily, and subsidized housing. Financing options also need to be identified and the issue of neighborhood involvement needs to be addressed. He added the commission also needs to discuss issues related to housing code enforcement. He added future housing needs must be addressed in light of demographics, and as an example, he cited the need for elderly day care in the future as well as day care for children. He added a legislative package must also be developed. He noted all these items should be assembled in an executive summary and this would provide a more concise format for debate of the 5/8/90 -4 issues. He added that the existing housing implementation plan would serve as a reference document. Commission members agreed the existing housing implementation plan should serve as a reference document and not something that would be forwarded in total to the City Council as a final recommendation. Commissioner Erickson addressed the issue of where the priority for nonfinancial issues should be, such as code enforcement. EDA Coordinator Hoffman stated the staff time functions were given a high priority and would be specified in the document as presented to the City Council. Councilmember Cohen stated these issues would need to be set forth in an action program with a timetable. The commission then discussed issues related to community image which included a brief discussion of the activities of the Northern Mayors' Association. Generally, the commission agreed emphasis needs to be put on the north side of the metro area in general, and each city must address its own specific needs. Councilmember Cohen pointed out development in any one community on the north side is beneficial for all other communities. The commission agreed the next housing commission meeting would be a discussion of the executive summary of the housing implementation plan. The commission set Wednesday, May 23, 1990, at 7 :30 .m. for the next P housing commission meeting. The meeting will be held in the Council Chambers and planning commission members as well as City Council members would be notified of the meeting and would be sent executive summaries of the housing implementation plan. ADJOURNMENT There was a motion by Commissioner Johnson and seconded by Commissioner Nelson to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed. The Brooklyn Center housing commission adjourned at 9:15 p.m. Chairman 5 8 /90 -5-