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BCC Minutes 05/03/2005 W (Affordable Housing) May 3, 2005 COLLIER COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AFFORDABLE HOUSING WORKSHOP Naples, Florida, May 3, 2005 LET IT BE REMEMBERED, that the Board of County Commissioners in and for the County of Collier, having conducted business herein, met on this date at 9:00 AM in WORKSHOP SESSION in Building "F" of the Government Complex, East Naples, Florida, and with the following members present: CHAIRMAN: Fred. W. Coyle, Chairman, District 4 Frank Halas, Vice Chairman, District 2 Donna Fiala, Commissioner, District I Tom Henning, Commissioner, District 3 Jim Coletta, Commissioner, District 5 ALSO PRESENT: Jim Mudd, Collier County Manager Leo Ochs, Deputy County Manager Cormac Giblin - Housing and Grants Manager Joe Schmitt - Administrator, Community Dev. & Environmental Services Joe Foster - President of Collier County Housing Development Corporation Dr. Sam Durso - President of Habitat for Humanity of Collier County, Inc. Mark White - White & Smith, LLC Planning and Law Group Wight Gregor - Sr. Technical Advisor with the Board of Housing Coalition Page 1 ."-"-,...,,--"-_..~~-- rr-'"." 70" ; " ~-" - .. " ,... ',.. ..,.,-,,* COLLIER COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS Affordable Housing Workshop May 3, 2005 Agenda 9:00-9:05 1. Welcome and Pledge of Allegiance Backpround: 9:05 - 9:20 2. Tab #1 Overview of Current State of Affordable Housing in Collier County- Definition, Current Availability and Shortage with Introduction Video (staff) 9:20 - 9:35 3. Tab #2 The Economics of Building Affordable Housing in Collier County (Russ Weyer, Fishkind and Associates) 9:35 - 9:55 4. Tab #3 Update on the Collier County Housing Development Corporation- (Joe Foster, President CCHDC) 9:55 -10:15 Tab #4 5. Creating Inclusive Communities in Florida - An Overview of Florida Trends (Wight Gregor, Senior Technical Advisor-Florida Housing Coalition) 10:15 - 10:30 Break Solutions: 10:30 -11:00 Tab #5 6. County-Wide Impact Fee Deferral Program (outside counsel Tyson Smith) 11 :00 - 11 :45 Tab #6 7. Commissioner Requested Topics (staff) A. Density Issues - Tab#7 1. Density Bonuses 2. Income & Rent limits 3. Enforcement & Restrictions 4. Coastal High Hazard Area 5. Concurrency 6. Density by Right Zoning 7. Balanced Housing 8. Moderately Priced Housing B. Land Trust Tab#8 c. Interlocal Agreements Tab #9 11:45-12:30 8. Public Speakers Tab #10 12:30-1 :00 9. Board Direction- Action Items 10. Adjourn Co1N"~T County ------~ - May 3,2005 Meeting was called to order by Chairman Fred Coyle at 9 o'clock 1. Welcome and Pledge of Allegiance 2. Overview of Current State of Affordable Housing in Collier County - Definition, Current Availability and Shortage with Introduction Video Mr. Giblin- (Introductions of those attending) (Video Presentation) (Power Point Presentation) Mr. Coyle- The presentation slide shows statistics on how many BCC employees work outside the County, it should be the amount of County Manager Employees. The County Manager pays a median wage of$41,000.00. 3. The Economics of Building Affordable Housing in Collier County - (Russ Weyer, Fishkind and Associates) Russ Weyer, Senior Associate with Fishkind and Associates of Orlando and Naples, and Chairman of the Southwest Florida District Counsel of the Overland Institute - (Power Point Presentation Spreadsheet) Mr. Henning- Please email this spreadsheet program to me. 4. Update on the Collier County Housing Development Corporation - (Joe Foster, President CCHDC) Joe Foster- Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you. I am an attorney but I come to you in a volunteer capacity as the President of Collier County Housing Development. We exist to ensure all residents of Collier County have a decent affordable home in a safe neighborhood. We have three target areas of action (reference to packet presentation). Weare a non-profit organization, with a nine member board. At least 1/3 of the board has to be low income and no more than 1/3 of the board can be public figures. In the fall of 2003 we hired on the first executive director. We recently opened our first office. Your staff here has been very helpful to get us up and running. We have created hurdles, making it easier for developers to come in and build bigger homes, and harder to build for the working people. There is one incentive for an affordable housing developer, which is the density bonus. To get this bonus they have to jump through a lot of hoops which has a high cost. Developers who want to build large homes have little risk and little delay. We need to make it easier for developers to built affordable housing. We need to give developers density bonuses by right or creating zoning classifications. There needs do be a serious look at impact fee wavers and creating a land bank or land trusts. For every $1,000.00 decrease in the price of a home 311 more people can afford to purchase a home. You should begin to identify in fill areas for targeted redevelopment for affordable housing for the workforce. This would work as existing properties come available. Another option is to identify and rezone specific non-conforming surplus or leaned lots. Could we all agree to shift to call it workforce housing or affordable housing? Mr. Henning- There has to be a distinction, as to the price points. Page 2 May 3, 2005 Dr. Durso- It is all called work force housing with a distinction of those making 50%-80% median income, and those making less than 50%. Nationally they can not believe that we have the distinction of defini tions. Mr. Coyle- One recommendation made that is not on the agenda that should be is special zoning. If we can get the land zoned then there won't be any surprises for those living in the area. 5. Creating Inclusive Communities in Florida - An Overview of Florida Trends - (Wight Gregor, Senior Technical Advisor-Florida Housing Coalition) Wight Gregor- Thank you for inviting me today. Our mission is to do technical assistance and training to local governments and their profit and non-profit partners to address affordable housing needs. There are a couple of newly implemented programs, such as linkage fees. They are designed to recognize the link between commercial development, and the employment it generates along with the need for housing. Winter Park implements this by charging $.15 per square foot to commercial and market rate residential developers. Another program being implemented is all inc1usionary housing. This recognizes that there is a need for affordable housing along with market rate housing. There are incentives, along with a payment in-lieu. There needs to be a mechanism in place that puts a cap on the appreciation. Community Land Trust is a 501 C3 organization that develops or causes to be developed. They hold the land in a 99 year lease hold agreement in perpetuity. A 99 year lease hold is considered ownership in the state of Florida, so when the owner sells the property the Community Land Trust has the first right of refusal. The intent is to arrange resale to another income eligible buyer. The seller will not walk away with 100% of the equity and appreciation. This is what makes it so viable to promote long term affordability and keep your affordable housing inventory. The "Save our Homes" cap does apply. Ms. Fiala- Does it have to involve subsidy funds? Ms. Gregor- It does not have to; it is more of a practical matter. Ms. Fiala- If you have inc1usionary zoning and the developer had to set aside land to build affordable homes, would that land be part of the land trust? Ms. Gregor- Absolutely, that would be a win, win for everyone. 10:10 Break 10:22 Return 6. County-Wide Impact Fee Deferral Program Mr. Giblin- (Power Point Presentation) Mr. Halas- What is the land price increase in comparison to the impact fee increase? Mr. Giblin- It depends on what area ofthe County you look at, but as the price ofland increased the availability of affordable homes decreased. Page 3 May 3, 2005 Mr. White- I would like to commend the County Commission and staff on your leadership. The attendance here today speaks volumes about the community. I am an attorney, but also a professional city planner. Looking at the legality at exempting impact fees from affordable housing projects my conclusion fifteen years ago along with updating my research my conclusion remains the same; it is beneficial. There are three potential ways to challenged, one under your statutory authority, second would be some sort of equal protection challenge, and third the rational nexus test. Mr. Coyle- You just told us that if we do not charge impact fees for affordable housing that the infrastructure requirements can not be covered by other developers by raising impact fee. Does that mean we can not also apply linkage fees for commercial development to compensate for that? Mr. White- That is a completely different issue. Mr. Coyle- So your deferral is confined to impact fees, so we can require the payment of other fees to offset the cost of the impact fee exemption fee program. Mr. Henning- Where do you get the money to assist the programs until the impact fees are paid? Mr. Schmitt- We just defer the collection of the money until the time when it can be paid. Mr. Giblin- On average our homes turn over every fours years. Weare comfortable with the fees coming back generally in four years. Mr. Coyle- Ifwe build 30,000 homes this year we will still need more homes the next year, we won't be able to catch up since we are bringing in more low income earning persons everyday. Until we get higher paying jobs in Collier County this problem is not going to go away. Mr. Halas- Maybe the whole community has to get behind this effort and we have to come up with a real-estate transfer fee. Mr. Coletta- That has to go through State Legislation; we met resistance with that before. Mr. Coyle- If an employer hires an employee at a low wage he does a job for a customer, then he who can't afford to buy a house; whose responsibility is that? The employers, the customer's, the builder, the land owner, or the government? There is no single answer to that. Mr. Giblin- (Reference to the Power Point presentation) 7. Commissioner Requested Topics A. Density Issues- Mr. Giblin- (Power Point Presentation) Mr. Coletta- Where are we in the process of affordable housing and what is the next step? Page 4 -"----- ~~-,",,~.,,'...-.---~~,~"""'"""._-".~ '.'-"-"'~-~' May 3, 2005 Mr. Schmitt- We are preparing what we call the Ear Based Amendments, you will be seeing those sometime this fall. They will then go to transmittal hearing to come back for adoption. This will go through four public hearings. Mr. Coletta- How many habitat homes were destroyed by the hurricanes? Dr. Durso- They have been built to hurricane standards, none were destroyed. Mr. Coletta- Since hurricanes fall in the off season for tourism, what would be the impacts on our roads for evacuation in the high hazard area for the percentage of affordable housing? Mr. Feder- We still have a high volume of traffic in the off season now. You are not likely to evacuate any long distance; you need to be looking at shelters. Mr. Giblin- (Continued with Power Point Presentation) Ms. Fiala- I would like to include mixed use; placing residential in commercial. Mr. Coletta- I think it is good for the board to look at all ofthe PUDs that come before us. I don't want to see another PUD unless there is affordable housing in it. B. Zoning Mr. Giblin- This would entail getting a map of the County to identify areas that would be advantages to contain affordable housing. Mr. Coyle- This would allow everyone to know what the land is going to be zoned. We need to tell people how the land is going to be used. Mr. Halas- Our biggest challenge is going to be acquiring the land at a reasonable price. Mr. Coletta- We are going to take on specific areas of the County; I can't say I support this process. Dr. Durso- Habitat for Humanity owns $15 million of raw land, enough for 1,500 homes, with plenty of volunteers to build them. I am hoping that none ofthem will speak during public speaking. What we need is the Counties help in letting us do our job. We have the ability to do a lot more. C. Land Trust- Mr. Giblin- (Power Point Presentation) D. Interlocal Agreements- Mr. Giblin- (Power Point Presentation) Mr. Coletta- I question the logistics behind this. Page 5 -- .~.~-~-".'"-"".._~._-_.__.._".- May 3, 2005 Mr. Coyle- The majority of Collier County workers don't live in these principalities. Mr. Henning- I apologize, I need to leave in about 15 minutes. I am in favor of any tools that we can grab to deal with this issue. It is important that we and the community leaders educate the public on what it costs the community. 8. Board of Direction - Action Items Ms. Fiala- (Read from personal hand-out) V otes- Deferral of Impact Fees- All in favor Density Bonuses- All in favor Linkage Fees- All in favor Land Acquisition- All in favor Density by Right- All in favor Zoning Overlay- 3 in favor, 2 against (Mr. Henning left at 11 :43) Increase of Business License Fee- 2 in favor, 2 against Realstate Transfer Tax- 2 in favor, 2 against Diversification of Economics, Incentives for higher paying jobs- All in favor Mr. Schmitt- Affordable housing is not a requirement, it is a bonus program. David Weeks- Sorry, I can not clarify that to be true or not. In the rural fringe it is an option, they will get a bonus. Mr. Coyle- That is in direct contradiction to what I have been provided in writing by staff. If that is true I would like to get a modification of that on the agenda. 9. Public Speakers Dwight Nadeau, San Marino Joint Venture- (Presentation packet dispersed) (Power Point Presentation) Reed Jarvi, San Marino Joint Venture- (Continuation of Power Point Presentation) Page 6 May 3,2005 Dwight Nadeau, San Marino Joint Venture- (Conclusion of Power Point Presentation) Bruce Anderson- I am here on behalf of my client who is about to file for a multi family rezone which will include an affordable housing component. To make this plan a reality you are going to need to approve a density bonus and this property may be in the Coastal High area. Before my client pays the rezone filing fee and incurs all the other costs; I want to know if you can't vote to approve this project with the extra density needed in order to have an affordable housing component? Jim Mudd- I am sure all of your questions were rhetorical because this is a zoning issue, for which you can talk to the board. Mr. Schmitt- We do have a pre-application process for $500.00. You can also make an appointment to discuss viability. Becky Stark, Friends of Developmentally Disables- Affordable housing is a huge concern to us and our loved ones. We wanted to let you know we are here. Marie Irwin, CCPS Human Resources- We spend tens ofthousands of dollars on recruiting the best teachers in the country. We had a teacher we wanted to bring on but there was no way he could move from Michigan to Collier County. Our teachers do not fall into that low income, or the high income category. Mike Reagen, Greater Naples Chamber- (Hand out dispersed) We held a forum on affordable housing, we have since been flooded with calls [rom businesses. The Chamber of Commerce wishes to be at the table as we struggle through the issues. Larry Mullins- In the passed I served on the Governors Study Commission on Affordable Housing. There is a sense of urgency. Affordable housing is part ofthe infrastructure. I recommend this item be on your agenda every meeting, if nothing else just to have a report given. Mr. Coletta- I think it is a wonderful idea to have this placed on the agenda. George K. Rasley Jr. - (Hand out dispersed) The hardest part is going to be those who do not qualify for tax payer housing subsidy. I look forward to working with all of you on this. Jeffrey Fredkin, Greater Naples Chamber- We all believe this is the top priority issue right now. I want to pledge to you that we will be at the table to advance this agenda. We have committed to making this the best place to live and work. Frank Rodriquez, 5/3 Bank- I would also like to talk to you on behalf of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Collier County. The bank I work for along with other banks in Collier County provide conventional and non-conventional mortgage programs that are flexible to meet the needs of the workforce if the price of the home is in line with their incomes. You can count on us for assistance. Ken Drum- The history of government suggest when they get involved in market forces, generally bad things happen. I encourage the County to go slow and think about unintended consequences. This Page 7 May 3,2005 problem is never going to be solved because it is too massive. What kind of County are we going to have when we are finished? The County needs to be an advocate for this group. Barb Cacchione, Empowerment Alliance- I represent the Immokalee Community. I would caution differentiating our workforce; they are all needed. Density by right can be done in your comprehensive plan. You need a County wide source of funding. I suggest you look at property taxes, sales tax, or the real state transfer fee. The first time I proposed inclusionary zoning was in 1989. Greg Smith, Chief of Administration Collier County Sheriff's Office- I would like to thank the Commission. Being one of the largest County employers we need a sustainable force by which to select our members. We have had difficulty in filling positions, which is attributable to not being able to establish in this area. Out of the 1,250 members of the agency 180 live outside our County. This affects our ability to recall in case of an emergency along with other things. We are committed to working with you. Brian Mansour, Woodfield Builders- As a private developer there are a few things that need to be done to accomplish affordable housing. Some of these things are fast tracking permitting, waiver on concurrency issues, and density. We had an April 21 st deadline for review by the County and still do not have those issues resolved. Without the density bonus that we are looking to receive we couldn't do this type ofproject. Mr. Coyle- We had overlooked rezoning current surplus and non-conforming lots for affordable housing. I think that is a good idea, we need to do something with them. Mr. Giblin- The County owns an inventory of land, some of which has been deemed surplus. Mr. Schmitt- I would like to correct the record. I did confirm, our future land use element density bonus for rural fringe is an option, but in the land development code it is mandatory. The land development code trumps. Mr. Coyle- We need developers, bankers, land owners, and all those who are involved in this market driven process. We did take on the real estate transfer tax once before, without much support. Collier County doesn't control the cost ofland and the cost of construction. We don't control the level of impact fees; they are controlled by the cost of land and the cost of construction. This is a market driven issue. There is one question I have never been able to get an answer to, which is, why people will come to Collier County with its high cost of living, and take such low paying jobs? Is it a personal choice? Is it economically driven? We need to understand the dynamics. 10. Adjourn ***** There being no further business for the good of the County, the meeting was adjourned by order of the Chair at 12:45 PM. Page 8 ATTEST: ",..;- '~\C~1 . [; ~__~ " DW¡Ç4íTE:;BROCK, CLERK '~...-" c ~ ". u;~\ 0,(. May 3, 2005 COlJje~o:. o~ommiSSioners Chairman, Fred Coyle These minutes approved by the Board on 5-0-4...... ð~ ..---- , as presented Page 9 ~r as corrected