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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN 2001 1022 CC JNTMINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION Moorpark, California October 22, 2001 A Special Meeting of the City Council and the Planning Commission of the City of Moorpark was held on October 22, 2001, in the Council Chambers of said City located at 799 Moorpark Avenue, Moorpark, California. 1. CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Hunter called the City Council to order at 6:40 p.m. Chair Parvin called the Planning Commission to order at 6:40 p.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Commissioner Paul Haller led the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. ROLL CALL: City Council Present: Planning Commission Present: Councilmembers Harper Mikos, Millhouse, Wozniak and Mayor Hunter. Commissioners DiCecco, Haller, Landis, and Chair Parvin. Planning Commission Absent: Commissioner Otto Staff Present: Steven Kueny, City Manager; Hugh Riley, Assistant City Manager; Wayne Loftus, Community Development Director; Walter Brown, City Engineer; John Libiez, Planning Manager; Nancy Burns, Redevelopment Senior Management Analyst and Laura Stringer, Senior Management Analyst, Community Development. 4. PUBLIC COMMENT: None. 5. PRESENTATION /ACTION /DISCUSSION: A. Consider Affordable Housing Workshop on the Structure, Financinq, and Processes of Affordable Housina Protects. Minutes of the City Council and Planning Commission Moorpark, California Page 2 October 22, 2001 Staff Recommendation: Conduct workshop. (No agenda report.) Mr. Riley introduced the moderator for the workshop, Mr. Bob Burrow, Director of Community Development, City of Camarillo. Mr. Riley provided a summary of Mr. Burrow's planning background and affordable housing project experience. Mr. Burrow presented an overview of affordable housing issues in Ventura County, including: state mandated affordable housing goals, the challenge of integrating affordable housing into the limited areas left for development, re- designation of older undeveloped neighborhood commercial areas to residential, Air Pollution Control District requirements, Air Quality Management Plan limitations, providing a variety of affordable housing types, and redevelopment of older areas. Mr. Burrow introduced the first speaker, Mr. Steve Whyte, Pacific Housing Advisors, consultant to LT Development, a developer proposing a multi - family project in Moorpark, with approximately twenty percent (200) of the units to be affordable. Mr. Burrow announced Mr. Whyte's topic, "Current Trends in Affordable Housing Development." Ms. Burns distributed Mr. Whyte's written materials. Mr. Whyte began his presentation discussing the thought process of the affordable housing developer, while drawing attention to the distributed chart titled "Community Arms Apartments." Mr. Whyte provided an overview of organizational structure and partnership structure required for economic success of an affordable housing project. Mr. Whyte next called attention to the grid titled "The Developer's Role in a Typical Affordable Housing Project," stating that it provided information regarding the relationship between the various financial partners and developers and outlined the developer's responsibilities in the process. Mr. Whyte concluded his presentation referring to the outline titled "Development Trends in Affordable Housing." Mr. Whyte expanded on positive trends, negative trends, developer's perspective on current tax credit Minutes of the City Council and Planning Commission Moorpark, California Page 3 October 22, 2001 equity market and current financing market, closing with a summary of new development product type opportunities. Mr. Burrow next introduced Mr. Art May, Vice President and Director of Architecture, U.S.A. Properties Fund, an affordable housing development company currently seeking a general plan amendment and zone change to develop a senior housing project in the City of Moorpark. Mr. Burrow announced Mr. May's topic; "Top 10 Barriers to Affordable Housing." Ms. Burns distributed an outline of Mr. May's presentation. Mr. May discussed the top ten barriers to affordable housing and suggested remedies: 10. Crummy Sponsors 9. Unreceptive City 8. Zoning Constraints 7. Time 6. Conditions of Approval Mayor Hunter questioned what the off -site conditions might include. Mr. May responded that they could include offsite water, sewer and street improvements through areas that might be developed later. Mayor Hunter questioned whether it was the placement of these conditions on the project or the timing that was the issue. Mr. May responded that it was the placement of the conditions at issue. Mr. May continued his presentation with item number 5 from his outline: 5. Predevelopment Funds 4. Fees Minutes of the City Council and Planning Commission Moorpark, California Page 4 3. Financing 2. Financing Gap 1. Time Mr. Burrow introduced Mr. Pacific Communities, and development of single - family units and payment of in -lieu Mr. Chung's topic; "Welcome Affordable Housing." October 22, 2001 Nelson Chung, President, developer of a planned homes including affordable fees. Mr. Burrow announced Home to the Minefield of Ms. Burns distributed a copy of Mr. Chung's presentation materials. Mr. Chung provided a Power Point type presentation, citing the goal of affordable housing ownership, and some of the obstacles for affordable housing. Mr. Chung explained a spreadsheet analysis of maximum purchase prices for various levels of affordable units in San Diego. Mr. Chung further explained the assumptions used in the analysis including current interest rates. He provided information on the history of very high interest rates during the early 1980's and encouraged working as a team to capture the timing on the current low rates. He further cited examples of the impact of increased interest rates on monthly payment amounts. Mr. Chung continued, explaining the pro -forma included in the distributed materials, citing the data included and the conclusion of limited or no profit for certain scenarios of affordability. He discussed the difficulty of providing Very, Very Low and Very Low "for- sale" housing opportunities. Mr. Chung concluded, urging that working as a team could create affordable housing opportunities without cutting into city coffers. Mr. Burrow introduced Mr. Jon Goetz, Attorney, Stradling, Yocca, Carlson and Rauth, consultant to The Olson Company, a major developer of affordable housing opportunities. Mr. Burrow stated that he had worked with The Olson Company on several affordable projects in Camarillo. Mr. Burrow announced Mr. Goetz's topic; "Affordable Home Ownership Programs." Minutes of the City Council and Planning Commission Moorpark, California Page 5 October 22, 2001 Ms. Burns distributed several handouts provided by Mr. Goetz. Mr. Goetz discussed the affordable housing components for redevelopment, including low and moderate income housing funds, inclusionary housing and replacement housing. He further discussed the use of covenant requirements comparing the problems of resale restrictions to the more enforceable use of loan format /buyout with deeds of trust held by the Redevelopment Agency. Mr. Goetz stated that in addition to providing a way to monitor sales, the deed of trust also provides an opportunity for the agency to reinvest the proceeds of equity sharing sales. Mr. Goetz continued with a comparison of income limits for redevelopment agencies in Ventura County. Mr. Goetz further discussed the types of assistance that redevelopment agencies might provide for developers of affordable housing projects. These included land acquisition and resale, development loans and grants, second trust deed loans, and density bonus. Mr. Goetz concluded with a brief discussion of financing of single - family for -sale units. Mr. Burrow briefly summarized the presentations. Mr. Kueny stated that he had asked Mr. Whyte to provide clarification of tax credit financing. Ms. Burns distributed a financial model for a project in Santa Clarita. Mr. Whyte explained the process of developing the financial model, with emphasis on income restrictions and the Sources and Uses of Funds including the impact of the tax credit equity on project feasibility. He further stated that timing was critical because many activities were tied to bond financing approval. Mr. Burrow offered that the panel was open to questions. Mayor Hunter opened the discussion for questions from the City Council and the Planning Commission. Councilmember Millhouse questioned if limits for qualifying for affordable housing could be more restrictive than just income, like being a first time home buyer or current resident of the city. Minutes of the City Council and Planning Commission Moorpark, California Page 6 October 22, 2001 Mr. Goetz responded yes, that requirement for being a first time home buyer was a good suggestion, but cautioned that the city attorney review the legal requirements for restricting residency. Mr. Millhouse further questioned the issue of moderate affordability being in the $300,000 dollar range, and whether this type of affordable housing was providing a "windfall" opportunity. Mr. Burrow commented that Camarillo had restricted some affordable housing opportunities to residents or people who already work in the community. Mr. Chung commented that their program provided for -sale housing to Low and Moderate Income families while providing in -lieu fees for Very Low Income housing. He further encouraged priority to local residents and that the program allows first time buyers into the ownership market. He further stated that the second trust deed and equity sharing brought money back to the city. Mr. May commented that the difference between for -sale and rental units, stating that they were seeing "move - ups" due to savings generated by affordable housing. Councilmember Harper commented that higher -end projects were often reluctant to do inclusionary housing, and that in -lieu fees take time to implement actual housing. Mr. Goetz responded that inclusionary housing works better in very large developments. Mr. Chung commented that his recent experience was that high -end owners are more tolerant of inclusion of lower end housing in the same development. Councilmember Mikos requested a definition of an Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance. Mr. Goetz responded that an Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance would require a certain percentage of residential units in a development be restricted to an affordable level and that there is a provision for in -lieu fees. Councilmember Wozniak questioned the concept of land dedication to the city for development of affordable Minutes of the City Council and Planning Commission Moorpark, California Page 7 October 22, 2001 units and the pooling of developer efforts to achieve actual housing products. Mr. Burrow responded that many developers were not prepared to deal with small property developments. Commissioner Landis commented on his discussion with a representative from Habitat for Humanity and the opportunity for zero percent (0 %) loans. He further commented that there was often a fear of what affordable housing would look like, and suggested that there might be practical ways to assist with the purchase rather than diminishing the quality. Mr. Goetz responded that quality does not need to be compromised, and that rigorous economic analysis should be done. Mr. Chung cautioned against reducing the cost of construction, and suggested the use of financing programs. Mr. May commented on his experience with rental units, and that different levels of affordability can be made to appear the same. Commissioner DiCecco commented that it was the Commission's preference that the developer secure land for development of units rather than in -lieu fees. Mr. Burrow added that Housing Elements were required to identify vacant sites. Chair Parvin questioned covenant requirements regarding resale restrictions. Mr. Goetz responded by describing a project where a city actually forgot they had re -sale restrictions and the issue was not brought forward until several sales had already occurred. He stated that his experience was that no one takes responsibility for policing this type of covenant, and recommended the deed of trust method. Mayor Hunter thanked the panel. Minutes of the City Council and Planning Commission Moorpark, California 6. ADJOURNMENT: ATTEST: Page 8 October 22, 2001 Mayor Hunter adjourned the City Council meeting at 8:50 p.m. Chair Parvin adjourned the an ing Commission meeting at 8:50 p.m. : / Deborah S. Traffenstedt City Clerk ick inter, Mayor jani e Parvin, Chair