Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Rights and Diversity - 10/08/2020APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY COMMISSION THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2020 7:00 P.M., Eden Prairie Center Virtual Meeting via Webex COMMISSION MEMBERS: Greg Leeper (Chair), Shahram Missaghi, (Vice Chair), Katherine Lucht, Leslie Philmon, Sana Elassar, Philip Skeie, Asad Aliweyd, Tyler Aman, Anjali Limaye STUDENT MEMBERS: Ifrah Edow, Jillian Pearson, Nadiah Johnson, Rashmi Acharya, Sehan Adan, Serena Jain COMMISSION STAFF: Megan Yerks, Staff Liaison Julie Krull, Recording Secretary I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chair Leeper called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. Commission Members Aman and Philmon and Student Commissioners Jain and Johnson were absent. Lucht arrived during the Local Non-Profit Presentation. II. INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS Joan Howe-Pullis, of the Eden Prairie Housing Task Force, was the guest for the evening. III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Elassar moved, seconded by Skeie, to approve the agenda. Motion carried 6-0. IV. APPROVAL OF THE SEPTEMBER 10, 2020 MEETING MINUTES MOTION: Skeie moved, seconded by Missaghi, to approve the September 10, 2020 minutes. Motion carried 6-0. V. LOCAL NON-PROFIT PRESENTATION – JOAN HOWE-PULLIS, EDEN PRAIRIE HOUSING TASKFORCE Ms. Howe-Pullis shared with the Commission that she has been on the Housing Taskforce for the past 14 months. This taskforce was implemented by the Eden Prairie City Council. She stated she recently made a presentation to the City Council on October HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES October 8, 2020 Page 2 6th and took cues from the 2040 Aspire Plan and also what other communities were doing to add to her discussion. The following are discussion points that were brought up to the City Council during the presentation; creating a trust fund, affordable housing around transportation, senior housing, Inclusionary Housing Policy, and out of the box strategies. The goal of the Inclusionary Housing Policy is to achieve attainable and affordable housing options for lower income households so they can move and remain in Eden Prairie. The recommendation to achieving the goal is as follows: - The Taskforce strongly recommends adoption and enforcement of an Inclusionary Housing Policy. - The Taskforce strongly recommends that the City encourage multifamily development to be comprised of 100 percent affordable housing units. - Landlords are required to accept vouchers. - City requires developers to have a fair marketing plan that is available. The Housing Taskforce strongly recommends the creation of a Trust Fund and further suggests that the Fund documentation be general and flexible, allowing for the development and refinement of the goals and processes related to the Fund over time. The Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing Preservation Recommendations will identify and document the inventory of potential multifamily NOAH properties within Eden Prairie in anticipation of reaching out to multifamily owners to discuss possible opportunities and gain a sense of owner intent. The goal of Senior Housing is to promote opportunities that increase housing choices and enable seniors who chose to downsize their homes to age in their community. The Taskforce also strongly recommends that the City explore a partnership with Habitat for Humanity to participate in the Age Well at Home Program, which is designed to help seniors convert their living spaces to be senior-friendly. The Tenant Protection Ordinance recommendation is to incentivize attainable and affordable housing options for lower-income households so they can move and remain in Eden Prairie. It is also recommending that landlords in Eden Prairie provide each tenant a written notice of tenant’s rights at the time a lease is signed. The Task Force will encourage Eden Prairie to investigate and, if possible, leverage inspections of rental properties performed by other groups (if any) and to incorporate inspections with very short notice into its inspection process. There were additional strategies to consider for recommendation. They are as follows: 1. ADU Accessory Dwelling Unit – ex. A granny flat or garage addition; either attached or detached. 2. Home Share Program – this would be an internal home share. 3. Micro Homes 4. Land leases and land trust monies available for trust. HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES October 8, 2020 Page 3 5. Single Room Occupancy Housing – this is where you have your own space but also shared space in the home. 6. Units that support large families. 7. Zoning recommendations. The Task Force has recommendations for communication. When developers come to Eden Prairie it should be a welcoming place for them. The Task Force wants to develop a robust communication plan, such as neighborhood meetings. The next steps for the City would be to create subgroups with people that are passionate about those plans. Yerks said she has a full report from Ms. Howe-Pullis that she will send out to the Commission after the meeting. Missaghi asked what the feedback was from the City Council. Ms. Howe-Pullis said they accepted the report and they asked only a few questions, which was very positive. She stated it is in the City’s hands now to see what items they will discuss and act upon. Aliweyd commented that we as a Commission need to endorse and support this plan. Chair Leeper asked Ms. Howe-Pullis what the City Council did and what can the Commission do. He stated the Commission could write a letter in support of this. He asked Aliweyd to make a motion to move to support this work. Aliweyd made the motion and it was seconded by Elassar. Motion carried 7-0. VI. STAFF REPORT – MEGAN YERKS A. HRDC/Community Events Census 2020 Updates: Yerks stated the court ruled that the Census will go thru to the end of October, October 31st. B. OHCS Updates Staff Liaison for the Heritage Preservation Committee The Heritage Preservation Commission would like to learn more about the Somali community in Eden Prairie and they would like to do a joint meeting or workshop with the Human Rights and Diversity Commission. The target dates would be late winter or early spring. Chair Leeper asked how the workshop would be structured. Yerks believes it would be a learning experience with them. She said it could be done in two ways with Commissioners coming together or just a few members joining in. The leadership from both groups should connect with each other and discuss the best way to structure the workshop. VII. OLD BUSINESS There was no old business. HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES October 8, 2020 Page 2 VIII. NEW BUSINESS A. LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT STATEMENT: NEXT STEPS UPDATE Elassar said the guide is close to being done. The next step would be to have a conversation with the City Council or Mayor to see who would like to read it. Yerks stated the action steps discussed at the last meeting are as follows; preliminary approval for presenting this to the City Council. Rick Getschow said he will discuss this with the Council Members and also the Mayor. There was preliminary approval to discuss opportunities to have it publically displayed, such as at the light rail. B. EDEN PRAIRIE RACE EQUITY INITIATIVE 1. Consultant Update Chair Leeper said the interviews have started over the past week and a consultant would be selected in the next week or two. Yerks said there were five proposals submitted and four were chosen for interviews. They are the YWCA, YMCA, DeYoung Consulting and Culture Brokers. Next week will be the final interviews with an anticipated start date on November 1st. 2. Subcommittee Reports Chair Leeper said, “What are the requests and data for the City”, should be the next steps for the subcommittees. Yerks added the take away from the meetings with the three groups are as follows. Chair Leeper’s group will be focused on internal policies and the Human Resources Department. Skeie’s group will focus on information requests and best practices to set what would be a good fit for Eden Prairie. Elassar’s group will be centering on what the programs and facilities will look like. Skeie added that their initial request is to find out if the information submitted has the demographic background available. C. WORK PLAN 2021: INTRODUCTION AND DISCUSSION GUIDE Chair Leeper said this document is for goals and intentions for next year. It will be discussed over two months of meetings. Yerks said between the October and November meetings Commission Members should reflect on the past year. She will send out the Work Plan document to be filled out by everyone. The document includes: a review of the 2020 Work Plan, review the existing 2021 Commitment, potential endeavors for 2021, and other items to discuss. Chair Leeper said they will present the Work Plan to the City Council in January. Elassar pointed out November is Native American Heritage month and HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES October 8, 2020 Page 3 commented it would be nice if the Mayor would read the Land Acknowledgement Statement at one of the City Council meetings. She also said a few years ago the Commission talked about feminine hygiene products in the City facilities that would be free of charge. Yerks said she will follow up on that with the City. Elassar said it was the City Center and Community Center where they talked about making them available in all bathrooms free of charge. IX. UPCOMING MEETING A. NOVEMBER 12, 2020 X. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Skeie moved, seconded by Aliweyd, to adjourn the Human Rights & Diversity Commission meeting. Motion carried 7-0. The meeting was adjourned at 8:56 p.m.