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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHousing Task Force - 10/09/2019EDEN PRAIRIE HOUSING TASK FORCE MINUTES Weds Oct 9, 2019 HTF Members Chair Joan Howe-Pullis Vice Chair Lyndon Moquist Carol Bomben Pedro Curry Terry Farley Marlene Fischer Mohamed Nur Joan Palmquist Anne Peacock Ken Robinson Emily Seiple Staff Jonathan Stanley, Housing and Community Services Manager Amanda Pellowski, Community Development Administrative Assistant Guests Councilmember Mark Freiberg Kaha Mohamed, Columbine Townhomes Resident Abdul Kadir Warsame, Columbine Townhomes Resident Erin West, Tenant Rights Organizer, New American Development Center I. WELCOME AND RECAP FROM LAST SESSION Chair Howe-Pullis called the meeting to order at 5:34. Absent were Members Peacock, Curry and Nur. Howe-Pullis asked the group for impressions from the City Council workshop on September 17. Fischer was impressed by Councilmembers’ engagement. Farley said it was clear this is a serious topic for them. They seem supportive of the work the Task Force has done so far. Howe-Pullis felt questions the Councilmembers asked were aligned with questions the Task Force plans to address. Farley got the sense City Council prefers not to be an outlier. Bomben felt the dialog at the workshop will help guide and provide guardrails for the Task Force. Robinson asked when the Task Force will meet again with City Council. Councilmember Freiberg offered to advocate with City Council for a check-in after the Task Force’s next three meetings. Stanley will also check with City Manager Rick Getschow to get his thoughts on timing. Robinson felt it would be helpful to know the timeline they’re working from. Howe-Pullis suggested determining which topics to take to the Council. Seiple would like to make sure the connection between the inclusionary housing policy and Aspire 2040 are apparent, so if some parts of the policy seem like outliers it’s clear that the reason is to meet the goals set forth in Aspire. Stanley clarified the areas the Task Force should study a bit more based on Council feedback, such as one councilmember’s preference of 15 units instead of 10. The research he’s been asked to do comparing single family developments for the last five to ten years should help with insight into that. Another area to study is the sizing of in lieu payments and how to use them. Mayor Case asked Eden Prairie Housing Task Force October 9, 2019 Page 2 the Task Force to get developer feedback on perpetuity. Also, there wasn’t much discussion at the workshop on finding more “carrots” to incent developers. Perhaps a subgroup could work on that. Farley stated other topics that came up at the workshop were preservation of Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH) and tenant protection. Councilmember Freiberg referred to his comment during the workshop about taking small steps and explained he wants to find a balance between getting the point across that affordable housing is important but not letting it impede development. Farley pointed out every city seems to be looking to what other cities are doing. She hopes to have other cities look to Eden Prairie as their model. Palmquist suggested discussion should focus on the differences between cities and why those differences exist. Howe-Pullis stated there are gaps on the inclusionary housing recommendation that need to be worked on and suggested a small group meet separately for that. She solicited suggestions for developers to give feedback to the Task Force. Palmquist asked about NOAH reports. Stanley responded he’s made some calls and is waiting for responses. He also shared he’s attending a Federal Reserve learning session where he’ll learn how 20 local developers feel about inclusionary housing policies. Stanley will share his learnings with the Task Force. Seiple asked if the Council would like feedback from a developer who’s worked with Eden Prairie. Stanley responded there wasn’t a specific request. He has a developer in mind who would give balanced feedback. Palmquist asked how many developers should be sought. Farley suggested seeking a developer who tried to do business in Eden Prairie but couldn’t. Palmquist asked if they should consider developers that sell versus developers that stay. Stanley sought volunteers from the group who would like to work more on the inclusionary housing policy. Seiple and Howe-Pullis volunteered. Farley pointed out another aspect they should consider when getting developer feedback is rental versus single family homes. II. AFFORDABLE HOUSING PRESERVATION CHALLENGES Howe-Pullis had the guests from Columbine Townhomes and New American Development Center introduce themselves and explained that she invited them so the Task Force could learn about issues faced by tenants living in affordable housing in Eden Prairie. Last week Columbine tenants formed an association to collectively approach management about the problems they’re having. Mr. Warsame told the group he’s lived at Columbine for 10 years. He does not live in a reduced rent unit – he pays regular rent. Many residents are immigrants and don’t know their rights. The management doesn’t do maintenance and ignores issues. There’s too much turnover of management. Since living there Warsame has seen 15 managers come and go. There have been huge budget cuts and it seems like there’s only one maintenance person for many properties. Whenever someone asks to speak with a maintenance person, they’re told maintenance isn’t available because they’re at a different property. Critical complaints and emergencies are routinely ignored. Residents don’t know where to go for help. Many have left Columbine - and Eden Prairie - because of the experience. Ms. Mohamed stated those who live in affordable housing suffer a lot. They don’t receive the same level of service from management as those living in regular price units. Many tenants give up because they don’t know where to go for help. In her home, she’s been without a light in her kitchen for 4 months due to a leak in the ceiling. Management keeps telling her it’s fixed, but it’s not. Management won’t let residents move to a different unit when things in their unit need to be fixed. Eden Prairie Housing Task Force October 9, 2019 Page 3 Ms. West explained she’s an AmeriCorps Vista volunteer working for the New American Development Center, which used to be in Eden Prairie but is now located in South Minneapolis. She organizes tenants and helps them lead discussions and negotiations with landlords. Farley stated she’s aware of similar issues for seniors in low income housing in Eden Prairie who are having trouble getting management to maintain their units. She asked what the City’s policy is regarding housing inspections and whether residents are able to call a housing inspector. Councilmember Freiberg stated residents are welcome to call him or any of the City Council members. Palmquist asked if a resident can call and request a building inspection. Stanley replied his department, the Office of Housing and Community Services, tries to help with these types of situations. There are a couple ways to notify the city. Farley asked if a recommendation should be made to City Council around discriminatory issues and processes beyond inspections. Vice Chair Moquist joined the meeting at 6:13pm. Howe-Pullis clarified the Task Force is working on tenant protection ordinances, which might overlap a bit with the efforts of the guest speakers to form their tenant association. For example, the question of who residents can call for help would be a good thing for the Task Force to consider. Mr. Warsame agreed it’s important for residents with communication barriers to have a place to go for help. Ms. Mohamed shared that her garage remote didn’t work for 3 months. Management told her she would have to open the garage door manually because they weren’t going to fix her remote. When she said that was fine, but they’d have to do that for everyone, they finally fixed it. If you can stand up for yourself they will eventually fix it. If you can’t, they’ll ignore you until you go away. Seiple thanked the guests for taking time to educate the Task Force. Bomben stated owners, not property managers, need to be held accountable. At 6:23pm the guests and Councilmember Freiberg took their leave. Stanley suggested discussing Moquist’s email to City Council and Staff last month. Moquist explained he forwarded an article from the Star Tribune about the developer Doran Co. and how they’ll no longer build in the metro area because of inclusionary housing policies and how expensive it is to work in Minnesota. Moquist reached out to one of the executives at the company to ask if he would be willing speak with the Task Force. His goal with forwarding the article was to find solutions and to make sure the work of the Task Force isn’t counterproductive. Howe-Pullis suggested expressing concerns as a unified front going forward and asked Task Force members to keep in mind not all developers will choose to participate in a program for affordable housing. Some will opt out because they want more profitability and some will figure out a way to make it work. III. INTRODUCTION TO TPOS AND KEY QUESTIONS FOR CONSIDERING THEM IN EDEN PRAIRIE Stanley moved on to Tenant Protection Ordinances and clarified they’re different from what the guest speakers discussed in that TPOs are guidelines to be followed when there’s change in ownership of a rental property. Howe-Pullis reiterated Seiple’s point that there’s often a connection between properties not being maintained and a change in ownership. Stanley gave an overview of the ordinances that have been adopted in the metro area. Palmquist commented that the ordinances are all recent. Stanley stated St Louis Park has the most robust ordinance. However, no city has adopted a policy that applies to every building. Each policy is Eden Prairie Housing Task Force October 9, 2019 Page 4 written to only to apply to buildings with a percentage of units at or below a percentage of Average Median Income (AMI). Seiple asked if protections only apply until a lease is over, and what happens when the lease is over. Howe-Pullis answered that one of the policies being reviewed did address protection at end of a lease. Moquist said Minnesota law requires new owners to honor leases. Howe-Pullis pointed out people living in affordable units are often on a month-to-month lease, such as at the Broadmoor. Moquist asked if the policies being reviewed mainly cover NOAH properties. Stanley confirmed they do. Stanley continued with the comparison of ordinances. Some provide compensation for tenants or have penalties for violation. Palmquist stated one of the ordinances provides for the cost of movers & other moving expenses, which is very close to equaling three months rent. Stanley referred to a question from a previous meeting about whether an ordinance in Eden Prairie could be enforced. He clarified that he had since received information that if adopted, an ordinance in Eden Prairie can be enforced. Farley asked for clarification on whether other cities’ policies about payment only apply if the ordinance is violated. Howe-Pullis’ understanding was the payments are in effect if the ordinance is violated, but perhaps that needs further clarification. Howe-Pullis stated the situation at Arrive wouldn’t have triggered any violations in these ordinances. She acknowledged the Task Force can’t address all tenant/landlord issues, but there is something to be said for the rolling nature of how NOAH properties sometimes are not healthy spaces. It’s not right for owners who don’t maintain their properties to make a profit off the backs of residents who are depending on them to provide a safe place to live. Howe-Pullis asked if there’s a way to connect what the Task Force is doing with these sorts of problems and neglect of properties. Robinson asked if Arrive is considered affordable housing. Howe-Pullis responded it’s not NOAH, but it’s not a top market rental either. Moquist asked if all this began when the new owner of Arrive took over. Howe-Pullis responded it did, but the 90 day policy in the other cities’ ordinances wouldn’t have triggered any violations. Stanley agreed it’s interesting none of the other cities’ policies address that. Perhaps because other cities rely on building inspections. Moquist stated rental licensing should also address some of these issues. Stanley asked the Task Force which elements of the TPOs they felt are most critical, keeping in mind Councilmember Freiberg’s request to take small steps. Howe-Pullis suggested inviting someone from St Louis Park to discuss their ordinance. Palmquist pointed out the Task Force also used St Louis Park’s inclusionary housing policy as a benchmark, and that the Task Force should focus on the reasons other cities’ ordinances are different. Palmquist asked if other cities’ ordinances only apply to affordable units or to the whole property. Stanley stated in most NOAH properties it only applies to units affordable at a certain AMI level, which varies between cities but is often at or below 60%. Farley asked if the research PROP told them about in a previous meeting addresses tenant needs and if it’s possible to get a copy of their report or have them back to present. PROP might be a useful resource in figuring out how to educate tenants on a new policy if adopted by the City. Eden Prairie Housing Task Force October 9, 2019 Page 5 Howe-Pullis referred to the situation in lower-priced rentals where predatory towing is happening. Management doesn’t issue current parking stickers to residents and then has cars towed because their stickers are out of date. It costs the residents time, money, and possibly their job if they miss work. None of the TPOs address that sort of issue. Seiple suggested inviting someone to a Task Force meeting to educate them on rental inspections and licenses. Howe-Pullis asked if Stanley’s department tracks those sorts of issues. Stanley responded he’ll try to find out what the scope might be. Palmquist asked if abuses that make affordable housing not livable are in the Task Force’s scope. She suggested it might be helpful for the Task Force to have a charter. Farley stated Eden Prairie is a community with many kinds of housing, not just affordable housing, therefore the Task Force’s scope should extend beyond affordable housing. She asked if it’s possible to require properties to give residents a copy of their rights in the correct language. Moquist stated managers should want to know about maintenance issues right way before they get bigger. Perhaps some of the problem is communication. Fischer agreed it seems like communication is a key component, since both the guest speakers from Columbine said they had no one to call. Howe-Pullis paused to ask the group for their thoughts. Robinson said he’d like to know the Task Force’s goal. Should they focus on creating tenant protection policies for NOAH only, or do they have a broader scope. Stanley responded other cities are focusing on NOAH properties and vulnerable tenants. An increased scope would require making sure the Task Force doesn’t infringe on certain rights. Seiple asked if any policies apply to when a contract is expiring. Stanley responded he had a recent conversation with the NOAH preservation manager who said they’re starting to take a different look. They have the NOAH criteria and what affordability looks like, but they’re starting to expand that because they’re seeing investors purchase properties with several years of affordability restrictions left. The new owners sit on the properties, make minimal investments, wait out the contract, and then raise the rents as soon as the contract ends. They’re starting to look at how housing is threatened in that way, even though NOAH really means not subsidized. Howe-Pullis reiterated Robinson’s broader question of what affordability means. Although the Task Force only has a year together, how should it define what the slope towards NOAH looks like. Palmquist suggested having Ms. Lael Robinson, an advocate for tenant rights who was involved in writing the fair housing policy for Minneapolis, come and speak to the Task Force. Palmquist stated she also has questions about the scope of the Task Force. When the Task Force began, it did great work to get up to speed in order to make an inclusionary housing recommendation to City Council. Not enough was known in the first few meetings to draft a charter, but perhaps it makes sense now to write one. Moquist agreed zeroing in on affordability at first was important, but his understanding was it wasn’t the only issue the Task Force would work on. Howe- Pullis stated the charter would define which pieces of affordability the Task Force should address. Palmquist agreed. Moquist suggested using Elevate as the standard for the City, where affordable units are mixed in to make it viable. That should be used as an example to encourage all developers to look at including affordable housing. It’s a good business model for the future. Robinson asked what it would look like if the Task Force were to reverse engineer a policy from what was done with Elevate. Stanley stated Elevate had TIF funding, which requires 20% of the units to be affordable at 50% of AMI for 26 years. Seiple commented that it isn’t in perpetuity—a key aim of inclusionary recommendations. Howe-Pullis asked if Elevate did more than 20% affordable. Stanley replied they Eden Prairie Housing Task Force October 9, 2019 Page 6 did because they received support from Hennepin County, which required more affordability. The inclusionary policy may have lower percentages, but it applies regardless of city subsidy. Howe-Pullis added it’s also targeting more AMI levels. The benefit of our inclusionary policy is that it’s regardless of whether public subsidy is needed. Moquist raised his concern about perpetuity. He understands the reasoning but is concerned if no other cities use it, it will make Eden Prairie less attractive to developers. Farley believes having a developer join a meeting to give feedback will help in understanding that. Palmquist listed possible items to include in the charter: NOAH, issues related to homeownership, projections based on the current availability of land, section 8 and whether to require properties to include it, tenant rights and eviction policies, and creation of an in lieu fund. Farley agreed it makes sense to have an umbrella. Even having an outline would be helpful. Stanley stated it’s also helpful when discussing issues outside affordable housing to give specific examples. Moquist referenced the Aspire plan and Edinborough property as creative efforts. He’d like to bring in creative people with ideas to make Eden Prairie a fun destination city that will attract developers for multiple reasons. Howe-Pullis asked Palmquist to work on drafting a charter to present at the next meeting. Farley volunteered to help. Howe-Pullis will email the Task Force to ask which issues they’re most interested in to help form small work groups. IV. ADJOURN Howe-Pullis adjourned the meeting at 7:43pm.