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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Commission - 07/23/2001 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE COMMUNITY PLANNING BOARD WORKSHOP MONDAY,JULY 23, 2001 6:00 P.M., CITY CENTER Heritage Rooms I & II 8080 Mitchell Road BOARD MEMBERS: Ken Brooks, Frantz Corneille, Randy Foote, Vicki Koenig, Kathy Nelson, Fred Seymour, Paul Sodt, Susan Stock, Ray Stoelting STAFF MEMBERS: Mike Franzen, City Planner Scott Kipp, Senior Planner Alan Gray, City Engineer BOARD MEMBERS: Ken Brooks, Frantz Corneille, Randy Foote, Vicki Koenig, Kathy Nelson, Paul Sodt, Fred Seymour, Susan Stock, Ray Stoelting STAFF MEMBERS: Stu Fox, Manager of Parks and Natural Resources Mike Franzen, City Planner Alan Gray, City Engineer Scott Kipp, Senior Planner David Lindahl, HRA Manager Leslie Stovring, Environmental Coordinator I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chair Corneille called the meeting to order at 6:20 p.m. Present: Commissioners Corneille, Seymour, Stoelting, Sodt, Koenig. Absent: Brooks, Nelson, Foote, and Stock. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Motion by Stoelting, second by Sodt to approve the workshop agenda. Motion carried, 5-0. III. HOUSING Franzen provided a summary of the July 91h workshop, which involved a discussion of remaining vacant land, its zoning and possible and planned land uses. David Lindahl noted the City's housing concept is supported historically by several documents: the 1968 Comprehensive Plan, 1971 Housing Task Force Report, 1977 Housing Report, 1993 Housing Study Report, and the 1996 Livable Communities Act. The current inventory reflects efforts to provide a variety of housing choices, with 55% single family and 45% multi-family. The breakdown of multi-family is 10% townhomes, Community Planning Board Workshop Minutes July 23, 2001 Page 2 10% condos, 3% duplexes, and 22% apartments. 45% may be high for multi-family compared to other communities; the mix is broken down and well integrated. Cluster housing has also been utilized to preserve site features. Not all multi-family units are affordable housing. The Livable Communities Act was adopted by the legislature in 1995. Participation is voluntary, it requires cities to develop affordable and life cycle housing goals to meet by 2010. Eden Prairie has been enrolled in the program since its inception. An action plan including the program goals,policies, and implementation strategies was adopted in 1996. Key Housing Goals for the City are: Goal 1 — 1,575 new ownership units with initial values below affordability threshold (currently$134,250),representing 30% of all new ownership units (5,250) expected to be built. Thus far 438 new ownership units have been built at this value. Goal 2—350 new rental units affordable to persons with incomes below 50% of the median income for the metro area, or 20% of the total 1,750 rental units expected. 146 - 175 have been built. Goal 3 —Each year, the City must spend a certain amount of local funding to meet its housing goals. This funding, Affordable and Life Cycle Housing Opportunities Amount, is determined by the Met Council. Through TIF and Community Development Block Grant(CDBG), $3,749,826 funding has been provided. The goal was $1,096,908. Goal 4—Maintain current rental housing mix (25% of total housing). Currently 25% is expected to be met. Goal 5 —Maintain a"Life-Cycle Housing Mix". Multiple family housing should represent 43% of the total housing. 54% of all units approved were multifamily. Goal 6—Maintain average housing densities of 2 units/acre for single family and 10 units per acre for multi family projects. 2.29 units/acre for single family and 17.8 units/acre multifamily is the current average. Housing preservation programs are also available in Eden Prairie, including the Housing Rehabilitation Loan Program, Housing& Outside Maintenance for Elderly, Minnesota Fix-Up Funds, and Hennepin County Rental Rehab. Sodt stated there were attempts at affordable housing but developers and the market force a certain price. He supports preserving or remodeling older homes so that there is affordable housing. He inquired whether there was a program to hold prices at affordable levels though the market was going up. Lindahl said land trusts are tool used in some cities to help maintain affordable ownership housing. The program involves the purchase of existing homes by a city or non-profit and selling at a discount to a lower income buyer. When the buyer sells they can only take 30% of the equity; the rest stays with the property to keep it affordable. The initial challenge is coming up with the money to purchase the first home. Another option is first-time homebuyer program, which the City currently participates in. Sodt asked how these programs are publicized. Lindahl stated local newspapers, City newsletter and web site, and local realtors to name a few. He reviewed a graph showing all of the affordable rental housing in Eden Prairie. Purgatory Creek used TIF, CDBG, federal tax credits, a$300,000 Met Council grant, and a$200,000 grant from the Minneapolis Housing Fund. Koenig inquired about a nearby assisted living units for Alzheimer's patients. Community Planning Board Workshop Minutes July 23, 2001 Page 3 Lindahl stated it was a market rate care facility or special needs housing but was not considered affordable. There are opportunities for higher density housing. These will likely happen in the golden triangle or City's Marketcenter area. The city is selling a property between Bachmann's and Brunswick Bowl to a developer proposing a mixed-use project similar to Lincoln Parc—with about 200 apartment units and two restaurants. Koenig asked whether building height was considered. Lindahl stated the plan was very conceptual at this point but height would be considered through the planning process. Franzen asked Lindahl to review the new compared to old goals. Lindahl stated section 2 Goals have not changed much and that the focus over the last five years is on implementing the Livable Communities Goals. Stoelting inquired about total planned rental units. He asked whether more would be added,in accordance with the goal. Lindahl stated the 356 was a goal in 1996. The City is over half way in meeting its total rental goal. Goal#1 may be difficult to achieve unless the affordability threshold is raised, since market values continue to escalate rapidly. Stoelting stated on the rental side there were programs that helped control pricing; on the ownership side there does not seem to be as many programs. Lindahl stated TIF financing could be used for ownership, but that the eligibility requirements are difficult for developers to meet. Lindahl cited the Rottlund proposal for TIF financed housing on the Ryan site east of the Eden Prairie Center as an example. Other than TIF and CDBG, there are not many other tools. Franzen stated most townhomes were completed by density transfer. Now land is expensive and density is maximized. Corneille asked what would happen if the affordability goal could not be accomplished. Lindahl stated if it became an issue they would meet with the Met Council and revise the goals downward. Corneille asked about the future market for large single family homes. Lindahl said it is possible that in the future there is not a market to support large expensive homes, that they could be subdivided into apartment similar to what happened to homes in Minneapolis around Lake of the Isles. Stoelting asked whether Livable Community was a designation the City would lose if it did not meet this goal. Community Planning Board Workshop Minutes July 23, 2001 Page 4 Lindahl stated the only obligation under the act were goals, which may need to be amended if they cannot be achieved. Koenig asked about Real Life; as a co-op, costs are supposed to be stable. Lindahl said it doesn't qualify as affordable per the Met Council but helped meet the goals under housing mix and density. Sodt stated he heard there was a demand for affordable housing;he inquired where the demand was coming from. Lindahl said there were over 50,000 jobs available in Eden Prairie; many were manufacturing, foods, and retail service jobs. People desire to live in Eden Prairie for many reasons, including for the schools,parks, and housing. Waiting lists at section 8 communities have been 3-5 years. The demographic profiles at these sites have changed in recent years. Prairie Meadows is occupied predominately by Somali families, where a few years ago it was a mix of Russian immigrants and single household families. Sodt stated he would like to hear more on ways to obtain affordable housing from existing housing. Lindahl stated perhaps a subcommittee could be formed. Perhaps Eden Prairie could participate in a new land trust established in Minnetonka . Council approval would be needed in any event. Sodt said he would like investigation of land trust possibility to be included as a goal. Lindahl stated that the Board could recommend that as an additional goal. Stoelting inquired about the Housing Rehabilitation Loan Program. Lindahl stated that was for existing homeowners at certain income levels. The City once provided second mortgages using CDGB funds and appraised lots—second mortgages were used to cover the gap. A$10,000 cap was put on. Then the first time homebuyer credit came along. IV. ADJOURN Motion by Stoelting, second by Sodt to adjourn the workshop. Motion carried,5-0. The workshop adjourned at 7:25 p.m.