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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 02/18/2020 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP & OPEN PODIUM TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2020 CITY CENTER 5:00 – 6:25 PM, HERITAGE ROOMS 6:30 – 7:00 PM, COUNCIL CHAMBER CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Ron Case, Council Members Brad Aho, Kathy Nelson, Mark Freiberg, and PG Narayanan CITY STAFF: City Manager Rick Getschow, Police Chief Greg Weber, Fire Chief Scott Gerber, Public Works Director Robert Ellis, Community Development Director Janet Jeremiah, Parks and Recreation Director Jay Lotthammer, Administrative Services/HR Director Alecia Rose, Communications Manager Joyce Lorenz, City Attorney Maggie Neuville, and Recorder Katie O’Connor Workshop - Heritage Rooms I and II (5:30) I. HOUSING TASK FORCE Case stated the Council is determining what path to take in regards to affordable housing, and the Housing Task Force (HTF) is assisting in researching some of those options. Stanley provided an overview of areas of research, inclusionary housing policy recommendations, tenant protection ordinance findings, and next steps. Stanley noted the HTF has received presentations from many experts in the field. The HTF has researched inclusionary housing, naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH) preservation, tenant protection ordinances, affordable housing trust funds, and out of the box housing strategies and ideas. Out of the box housing strategies could include accessory dwelling units, granny flats, tiny houses, micro units, and single room occupancies. Nelson inquired whether a basement or sectioned off portion of the house can be rented out. Stanley responded those are typically identified as an accessory dwelling unit. Case inquired if this type of housing requires a permit. Jeremiah responded single family residential properties are allowed to have separate living areas, but they are not allowed to be completely barricaded and separated. This type of unit would require a renter’s license depending on the number of non-related occupants and the type of separating structure between units. Case added the City would need to make minor adjustments to the City Code to make some of these options a reality. Nelson inquired if zoning is only single family or multi-family. Jeremiah stated based on density, there are various levels of options. There is some attached housing in single-family densities approved by the Planned Unit Development (PUD). Nelson added Minneapolis has done away with single family, and there can be two or more units on a lot. She would like more information on what other cities have been doing in these regards. City Council Workshop Minutes February 18, 2020 Page 2 Stanley stated Columbine Townhomes tenants mentioned they are unaware of who to call in regards to issues they’re facing. This prompted the idea of creating renter-focused advocacy materials. The subcommittee focusing on out of the box ideas has also discussed building and maintaining relationships and partnerships with non-profits and community organizations. Stanley discussed the Inclusionary Housing Policy recommendations. It is recommended inclusionary housing is triggered b y request for PUD, zoning or Comprehensive Plan change, or City financial assistance. The developer would benefit from City financial assistance such as tax increment financing (TIF). This would reserve the right for the City to negotiate additional affordability. The HTF recently studied the type of affordable units the City is procuring, and there have commonly been units at 50 percent of average median income (AMI) in exchange for TIF. It would be beneficial to seek some variety in AMI levels. Aho inquired if the City is aware of the effectiveness of reduced rent and if there are metrics available on how many units are occupied. Stanley replied the City does receive statistics on income, AMI, and units being filled. Residents of these units have to qualify to live in the units. Narayanan asked if residents need to qualify annually. Stanley replied yes. Case inquired if they would have to move out of their unit if they no longer qualify. Jeremiah stated sometimes there is an overall total of units needing to be met in a development, and a different unit could be offered at that level of AMI. Freiberg inquired about the buyout of $100,000 per unit the City of Edina offers. Stanley replied there will be further discussions later in the presentation. Narayanan inquired how many residents qualify, then have an increase in income so they no longer qualify. Stanley responded this statistic is not typically measured. Jeremiah added the needs analysis done before Aspire 2040 provides information on how the City is doing meeting the needs of residents. The City is doing well with 50 percent AMI, but there are still needs for 30, 60, and 80 percent AMI. Another good indicator is retail, hotel, and service industry jobs are being filled because people can live close to their job. Palmquist added People Reaching Out to People (PROP) measures how many people utilize their services at the beginning and end of the year. Typically it is one third less utilizing their services by the end of the year. Nelson inquired if the strategies being used are helping young families move to the City. Jeremiah responded on TIF projects and inclusionary housing, the City has provided guidelines and specific reports for units in order to meet the needs of the market and residents. The guidelines determine the number of bedrooms or the type of unit that will be affordable. Some senior living has utilized State resources to help subsidize units. City subsidies have been mostly reserved for families. Stanley stated the HTF recommends the Inclusionary Housing Policy apply to all multi or single-family developments of 15 units or more. This is an increase from the draft policy. For multi-family, the developer would choose between five percent at 30 percent of AMI, 10 percent at 50 percent of AMI or 15 percent at 60 percent of AMI. This matches the Brooklyn Park policy and is similar to St. Louis Park. The policy would include restrictions in perpetuity, but the owner would have the option to buy out after a certain specified period. The change from the draft is due to developer feedback. Perpetuity is unique to the region. Narayanan clarified if the buyout would require negotiation with the City. Stanley replied yes. Fischer stated the in perpetuity discussion was the only item there was not complete City Council Workshop Minutes February 18, 2020 Page 3 consensus on between the HTF. Thoughts were it may deter development, but the alternative is to be back in a similar situation of lacking affordable housing in 20 years. Case inquired if recent projects such as Elevate includes inclusionary housing. Jeremiah responded Elevate was approved before the City began implementing inclusionary housing. There was a requirement for affordable units with TIF. A recent development, Paravel, had concerns with perpetuity. Staff asked developers to propose a new idea in exchange for the in perpetuity of the units. Staff also reminded the developer development agreements are amendable, so changes could be considered in the future. Case noted it would be helpful to provide a few alternatives to in perpetuity units for the Council to consider. Palmquist noted it is unlikely the City will achieve Metropolitan Council’s numbers for affordable units. Aho inquired if the City could ever achieve the numbers since they seem unattainable. Stanley added the Metropolitan Council negotiates with communities, and they acknowledge it would be a stretch to achieve the number of affordable units with available public resources. Fischer added it is difficult to say if those numbers could be attainable over the course of twenty or more years. Stanley added this has showcased the need for an inclusionary policy so developments are adding some level of affordability. Stanley stated the HTF also recommends inclusionary housing applies to rehab of multi- family properties if City assistance is involved. Nelson noted recently some affordable units were expiring for developments, and the City was able to retain those affordable units when they decided to rehab. Jeremiah stated in regards to housing revenue bonds, staff included conditions a few years ago stating they could not reject people with section eight vouchers. Staley stated for single-family, the developer chooses between building 10 percent at 120 percent of AMI or to pay a to-be-determined in lieu fee. The City will need to determine what an acceptable fee would be. The City also determines a package of cost offsets and incentives available to developers whose projects trigger the inclusionary requirements and demonstrate financial need. Aho added it is important to have a tool set to assist developers. The City also has to treat developers equally with policies. Case noted in Edina all of the developers have chosen payment-in-lieu. He inquired if it has been successful and if other communities are accepting payment-in-lieu. Getschow replied it is unlikely St. Louis Park or Edina have had any payments-in-lieu for single-family home developments. The payments have been for multi-family housing. Case added the City has potential for more single-family developments, so payment-in-lieu may be a useful tool. Nelson stated developers should consider building lower or mid-range priced homes. Case added it may not be possible to build a home in those price ranges in Eden Prairie due to land and building costs. Facts on this topic would be helpful to better inform the Council in answering questions about the housing stock and its capabilities. Fischer noted Habitat for Humanity has not been able to build a home in Eden Prairie in their price range due to cost of land, taxes, and overall build. Stanley provided a chart of comparisons between neighboring cities and the recommendations of the HTF. The recommendations are in line with what other cities are doing. Most of the cities have organized their ordinances to match their definition of NOAH properties. Consider applying this to all multi-family properties. Tenant protection City Council Workshop Minutes February 18, 2020 Page 4 recommendations would be for evictions without cause, material change in lease, rent increases, and rescreenings. Written notices would be required within 30 days, the tenant protection period would be 90 days, and three months rent would assist with relocation. Case inquired if there are limitations to increasing the rent if the multi-family dwelling is sold and renovated by the new owner. Aho noted if notice is given and the lease is ending this would be appropriate. Case inquired what protections would be in place if changes are not due to a sale. Stanley stated all the comparison cities are based on sale, but the HTF is reviewing how the policy could be inclusive. Nelson inquired about ongoing issues with maintenance in apartment buildings. Palmquist responded the HTF has not created recommendations around maintenance. They are still considering and addressing this issue as well as others. Jeremiah stated at the last capital improvement plan (CIP) meeting, money is now designated to a fund with potential to be used as an incentive for improvements. Aho stated it is important to consider the impact of policies being drafted so they are not creating unintended consequences of creating less development and affordable housing. Nelson added it is also important to make sure it is also quality affordable housing. Case noted it is important to have available housing. Stanley stated the one caveat of tenant protection ordinances as a Plan B statutory City is the City cannot enact anything construed as rent control. Neuville added there is no definition of rent control under state law, so there is risk of interpretation. Palmquist noted one thing to consider in regards to mixed-income housing, it may be better and easier for developers to have a small unit as all affordable housing. Open Podium - Council Chamber (6:30) II. OPEN PODIUM “Team Curiosity” Robotics team sponsored by Eden Prairie Education Center presented a project they have been working on. Team members Sravika Vadrevu, Spandan Datta, Shivanee Kartheesan, Adithya, and Janika Kannappuyanesh are Eden Prairie residents who developed a robot to roll a toilet cover over a portable restroom toilet. It would roll a closed sheet on top of the toilet seat, and the motion sensor would detect when to roll an open toilet seat cover. Case stated he was impressed with the hard work they have put into this project. Aho inquired if they intend to produce this product, and if so they should consider a patent. “Team Curiosity” responded they would like to install this in a few portable restrooms to show manufacturers its capabilities. III. ADJOURNMENT