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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/28/2016 Work Session City of Springfield Work Session Meeting MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY NOVEMBER 28,2016 The City of Springfield Council met in a work session in the Jesse Maine Meeting Room,225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday November 28,2016 at 5:30 p.m.,with Mayor Lundberg presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Lundberg and Councilors VanGordon,Moore,Ralston,Woodrow and Pishioneri. Also present were City Manager Gino Grimaldi,City Attorney Mary Bridget Smith,City Recorder Amy Sowa and members of the staff. Councilor Wylie was absent(excused). 1. Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee Interviews. Emma Newman, Senior Planner,presented the staff report on this item. The City is seeking to appoint at least four(4)or as many as ten(10)new committee members to fulfill quorum requirements for the BPAC due to attrition and members' terms ending. The Springfield Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC)currently has seven(7)voting members.One(1)of the seven current members is completing their term duration at the end of December 2016. The other six(6)current voting members have terms that do not expire until the end of 2017.The other members who were appointed in December 2015 to fulfill the final year of the two- year term seats that were vacant have resigned from the committee due to a variety of personal reasons since their appointments. The committee bylaws state,"Applications shall be reviewed and evaluated by City Staff and the City Council. Committee positions shall be appointed by the City Council." The bylaws also state,"Membership of the Committee shall consist of 10-16 voting members." Since there will only be six remaining voting members as of the end of December 2016,the City is seeking to appoint enough voting committee members(at least 4)to fulfill quorum,as well as possibly appoint a couple of additional voting members so that if resignations occur,additional mid-year recruitment would not be required. The Council could appoint all six(6)applicants if the Council wishes to do so. Appointments are scheduled for the December S, 2016 regular session. The Mayor and Council introduced themselves to the following applicants. • Ian-Huei Yau • Matthew Auxier • Sheila Thomas • Steven Acker • Terilyn Jacobs City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes November 28,2016 Page 2 Zach Golik did not attend the interviews. Council asked the following questions of each applicant: 1. Why are you interested in serving on the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC)?(Mayor Lundberg) 2. Have you attended a BPAC meeting?if so,what were your impressions?(Councilor Ralston.) 3. What is it about pedestrian and bicycle issues that interests you most?(Councilor Pishioneri) 4. Describe your experience as it relates to your desire to become a BPAC member.(Councilor Woodrow) 5. What initiatives are you interested in working on if you are appointed as a BPAC member? (Councilor VanGordon) 6. Describe your familiarity with the City's walking and biking infrastructure and amenities. (Councilor Moore) The Council discussed the applicants,their qualifications and any concerns.They chose to appoint Ian-Huei Yau, Matthew Auxier, Sheila Thomas,Steven Acker, and Terilyn Jacobs to the BPAC during the December 5,2016 Council meeting. Mayor Lundberg said as they look into the future,they need to consider walking accessibility for all in our neighborhoods and throughout the City. She noted a recent meeting with AARP where they discussed Age Friendly Communities which includes good walking paths and accessibility. Councilor Woodrow suggested recruiting more people that are walkers,rather than just bicyclists. Ms.Newman said she has reached out to walking groups,and will reach out to Carmel Snyder of AARP as suggested by the Mayor. Mayor Lundberg said she envisioned someday having maps showing one and a half mile walking loops throughout the City. Council agreed to appoint the five applicants that were interviewed. 2. Developing and Affordable Housing Strategy. Sandy Belson,Comprehensive Planning Manager,presented the staff report on this item. She noted that the funding for the Myrtle Wood low-income housing credits was awarded to St.Vincent DePaul by Oregon Housing and Community Services.The HOME Consortium had already allocated funds for that project.The project will move.forward in the Spring of 2017.Nine of those units will serve disabled residents. The City recognizes that there is an affordable housing issue within the community. At the work session on October 10,the Council discussed staff's analysis of the current situation to better understand the extent of the problem. The key findings pointed to a shortage of housing and the expense of housing relative to household incomes. More than half of the renters and more than one third of the owners in Springfield are cost-burdened,meaning they pay more than 30%of their income on housing and basic utilities. Female-headed households,children,those on fixed incomes,and people with special needs are disproportionately affected. Previously, staff analyzed the various City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes November 28,2016 Page 3 aspects of the housing problems and presented what the City has already done to address these problems. But,there is still a need to increase the quantity and affordability of housing. To prepare for a second work session, staff responded to Council questions. Staff is now seeking direction as to what outcomes the City wants to achieve in further developing an affordable housing strategy. The financial impact of these decisions will depend on what Council ultimately includes in the affordable housing strategy. Once Council has agreed on some affordable housing objectives, staff will return in a future work session with potential strategies to meet those objectives using various tools available. Council can then explore what resources could be utilized to foster housing choice and affordability in the short and long term,thereby achieving its desired outcomes. By setting priorities,the City can focus its efforts to improve housing affordability in the community. Ms. Belson referred to the Council Briefing Memorandum attached to the agenda packet which answered the questions raised by Council during their last work session on this topic. 1. How does the Data Analysis discussed at the Council Work Session on October IOt'' compare with the Springfield Residential Land and Housing Needs Analysis adopted in June 2011? Z How much land is needed to build a 50-unit apartment complex,or a I00-unit apartment complex? 3. Is there land available to develop multi family housing? The Council Briefing Memorandum provided in the agenda packet included responses to those questions. She provided data in terms of acreage that is still vacant by plan designation for residential uses. Regarding how big of a property is needed to build apartments depends on the number of units, etc. Examples were provided in the memo. The final question of whether or not we have land ready to go for multi-family housing is also addressed in the memo. Information about discussion staff had with some developers to find out why they weren't developing and what would incentive them to ' develop was also included in the memo. She referred to a previous question from Council Moore about accessory dwelling units(ADU)and distributed a brochure describing the Code requirements for accessory dwelling units. Springfield does allow single room occupancies and treat that like multi- family housing,which is allowed in medium or high density housing districts,as well as mixed-use districts. She spoke regarding rooming douses and the definition on the Code about family. She described it further. Councilor Pishioneri asked for more information about the definition of family and this allowance. Ms.Belson said there are definitions for boarding houses and rooming houses in the Code which are different than just renting out a house.Low density districts allow one or two bedrooms rented out,but if there are more rooms rented out than that, it must be on a collector or arterial street. Councilor Moore asked for further clarification on the number of rooms to rent out. She noted that rooming houses used to be quite prevalent in cities,but due to Code changes have disappeared.Many low-income people lived in those types of dwellings. She asked about opening up our Code to allow certain types of housing. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes November 28,2016 Page 4 Ms. Belson said there may be some tweaks to the Code that could remove some of the impediments, but in general all housing types are allowed in Springfield's Code. Councilor Moore said she did notice there are some restrictions related to parking,yet many renters don't have cars. Councilor VanGordon asked if the Code was clear that these other uses are allowable. Ms. Belson said it is not easy to understand. The accessory dwelling handout is a way to address that issue. Citizens are welcome to come to the counter to get more information. Councilor VanGordon said the issue is finding a way to make it understandable for the average person and clarify the language.As they move to a more self-serve culture, it is important to have our Code understandable. Mayor Lundberg referred to the brochure and said there was still a lot that was not clear. It may be that Code changes are made to make it clearer. It should be self-explanatory if we are trying to encourage these uses. Ms.Belson said in looking at the housing continuum,there needs to be adequate housing options in each area of the continuum. Staff looked at the different income segments within Springfield and what would be affordable and not cost burdened. They then identified potential objectives of how we could meet the needs from that perspective. One approach in addressing affordable housing is by determining what is affordable at various income levels and then identifying ways to address the housing needs of that population. To focus the discussion, staff limited the list of potential objectives to those already mentioned by Council or that staff believes would be effective within the Springfield context. Ms. Belson distributed a chart showing Potential Objectives in Affordable Housing. She described the figures in the chart and the potential objectives for each area median income. Councilor Ralston asked if most mobile home parks were for senior citizens. Ms.Belson said many are,but not all. Councilor Moore said part of encouraging alternate housing options could include Code changes. She is wondering how we are going to increase the supply because the City doesn't have a lot of money. Ms. Belson said some is regulatory and some is through outreach and education. The City could use Community Development Building Grant(CDBG)fiends specifically for low-income rental housing. Ms.Fifield said there are ways CDBG funding could also be used for land banking. Councilor Woodrow asked how subsidizing could happen. Ms.Fifield said the cost of development was prohibitive. Subsidizing could include lowering the development costs which could translate to lower rent. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes November 28,2016 Page S Councilor Woodrow said she is fine considering something like that. Her concern is that Section 8 housing only goes so far.If we were to re-create a similar type of housing specific to Springfield,we would also run out eventually. She would like to look at a way to encourage people to stay where they are in the continuum without creating a program that would run out of funds or sustenance. She is not sure of the answer. Councilor VanGordon said there is a lot of information here.He asked if the City currently had enough residential developable land. Ms.Belson said it depends on who you ask.From her personal perspective in looking at the information.,there is a more vacant low density land than high density land. It used to be the other way around so the City looked at adding high density land in the Glenwood Refinement Plan.Development is not reaching the target densities.There have been people telling us that they weren't able to get these projects to pencil out. Councilor VanGordon said he is willing to look at how to make those work. He said he felt there was something besides reducing system development charges(SDCs)that the City could do. Ms. Belson said SDCs and public facilities are things the City can control. Tl�e other option would be land banking. Councilor VanGordon said the bigger driver is economic growth. He is interested in land banking to drive us towards more affordable housing. He would also like to look at a non-profit or someone interested in a tiny house program and getting a pilot program started. Ms. Belson said they would need to know if it would be transitional or permanent housing. Councilor VanGordon said he would like to hear what the professionals have to say about whether or not it should be transitional or permanent. He referred to the options in the Council Briefing Memo and said he isn't interested in rent control or putting City funds into projects unless they are funds specific for development or CDBG funds. Ms.Fifield clarified what was meant by rent control(90 days and dollar amounts). Councilor VanGordon said they need to consider what they would like to ask the State legislature for regarding affordable housing.He noted that our population growth was very low.There is a lot more to consider such as partnerships,looking at our Code and other alternatives. Councilor Woodrow said in addition to making the brochure more understandable,we need to be sure we are not discouraging developers. The 90-day notices are discouraging to property owners so she is not in favor of that option. She would like to focus on property owners and developers and encouraging those strategies. Councilor Moore said the City should help tenants through education. She asked about the State requirements for evictions and rent increases. Ms. Fifield said it was 30 days' notice. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes November 28,2016 Page 6 Councilor Moore said she believes the City has a responsibility to renters who don't have advocates to provide education to both renters and landowners regarding fair housing. She doesn't like the idea of changing zoning and land designation to allow different housing, but feels the Code should be reviewed. It is very cost prohibitive for her to develop her extra.lot.She appreciates the list and the options. She agrees that land banking is a good option. She would also like to look at the Housing Policy Board because it kept the City informed.It was a place for developers and non-profits met. Ms. Fifield said staff does attend occasionally. Councilor Pishioneri asked where we came up with 300 square foot minimum for the accessory building. It is very restrictive if they are looking for more options. He noted his question at the last meeting about ADU's that have a place for an axle and frame,but were not permitted. Ms.Belson said the City doesn't allow vehicles as part of the dwelling. It would depend on how it was constructed whether or not it would be allowed once the axle was removed. Councilor Pishioneri said if we are trying to provide more options and using the frame model of a trailer to build a structurally sound home and meets other requirements,he doesn't see why it couldn't be allowed.He also noted the 9' x 18' driveway requirement. He referred to the bicycle lanes on Daisy and how it eliminates the ability for those homes with a single car garage to add a second driveway. If there is parking available, it shouldn't matter whether or not they choose to park on the street. He referred to the section that states that"if a separate entrance to the ADU is proposed,a hard surface walkway a minimum of 3 ft.wide shall be required . . .".He felt it should say"the walkway must be ADA compliant".He doesn't agree with proposing a 90 day minimum for eviction, or proposing a 90- day minimum for rent increase.The State laws are very clear and known by everyone. If they want that changed at the State level,they need to address it with the legislature. Councilor VanGordon said he would like to pursue a SDG waiver for low-income high-density residential development,and perhaps a tax abatement for targeted situations. Mayor Lundberg said communities around us are building and growing and Springfield hasn't done a lot of development since 2008, Our population isn't growing and housing is not growing,which affects rent. She is more concerned that they figure out how to encourage people being able to build. The City has always had home ownership as a higher priority than rentals, so our Codes have been geared around home ownership. She would be interested in looking at any variable such as making ADU's easier,land banking, incentives, SDCs, etc.We need more housing and we need to increase options to make development affordable. These tools could help make rentals more affordable through non-profits and private development. Some could be for senior living. We need to open the door better to get development.We seem to have enough property, so we need to find a way to help people pencil it out.Council needs to set the priority to focus on housing and affordable housing for all, and the Community Development Advisory Committee(CDAC)needs to know that when looking at allocations. They also need to work on partnerships. She noted that AARP was planning a middle- housing summit for developers and others in February. They are a partner the City can work with. Councilor Pishioneri asked if the situation with the lots in the Thurston Hills in the 1980's was similar to land banking. Mr. Grimaldi said the City funded infrastructure for developers in that area. The City no longer does that. When the recession hit, it caused the City to acquire thousands of lots that have since been sold. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes November 28,2016 Page 7 In that situation,money was loaned with the plan of getting a return on the development.In land banking they expect no return. Councilor Moore referred to the brochure and asked why ADU's were only allowed in low density residential. She lives in a medium density district. Mayor Lundberg asked what would be the quickest to tackle. Ms. Belson said providing incentives in the SDCs and prioritizing CDBG funds for housing through the action planning process. Ms. Fifield said the Myrtle Wood development just received their funding and tax credits and hope to develop late next year.New development takes time. Ms. Belson said land banking could also be started soon. Mayor Lundberg asked if staff knew of any duplexes or fourplexes that need repair or are foreclosed on that a non-profit might want to rehabilitate using incentives from the City. Ms.Fifield said there was an option to buy a single family home or duplex. Rehabilitation was not part of that conversation,but there was a struggle per federal regulations to find something in the price range.The question is whether or not there is a way to do thing ongoing as opposed to having money available as homes become available. Mayor Lundberg said she would like to encourage someone, either a non-profit or private developer, to take on that type of project. Councilor Moore asked who HACSA was selling their renting housing to, or if they might be available. Ms. Fifield said they had been working with NEDCO about purchasing those for the purpose of low- income home ownership. Mayor Lundberg asked if we would be out of compliance if we focused our HOME funds towards rentals instead of home ownership. Ms.Fifield said there is room to make that adjustment. Ms. Belson said the City has a program allowing people to live in vehicles on church or industrial sites as part of emergency housing. There is an option to try to expand that program and provide more sites in the near future. Mayor Lundberg said last time it was difficult to get the industrial sites and churches to participate in the program. It will take more of an effort by someone and perhaps having a business approach another business would be the best way. Council would be very supportive of expanding that program. Mayor Lundberg said they could look at incentives(SDC reductions),CDBG funds,and emergency housing now,and look at Code changes in the future. City of Springfield Council.Work Session Minutes November 28,2016 Page 8 Ms.Belson said she could outline the steps involved.There would be a process for building Code changes, etc. Mr. Grimaldi said staff will take the direction Council has given and bring it back to see if it is right. They can then modify if needed. It will take a couple more conversations to get to a strategy. Councilor Pishioneri said he wants to make sure changes are well thought out and consideration is taken of how those changes could affect other things. ADJOURN NT The meeting was adjourned at 7:20 p.m. Minutes Recorder--Amy Sawa Christine L.Lundberg Mayor Attest: Amy Sow City Recorder