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AHAC Minutes 07/18/2023July 18, 2023 1 MINUTES OF THE COLLIER COUNTY AFFORDABLE HOUSING ADVISORY COMMITTEE Naples, Florida, July 18, 2023 LET IT BE REMEMBERED, the Collier County Affordable Housing Advisory Committee, in and for the County of Collier, having conducted business herein, met on this date at 9 a.m. in REGULAR SESSION at the Collier County Growth Management Community Development Department Building, Conference Room #609/610, 2800 Horseshoe Drive N., Naples, Florida, with the following members present: Chairman: Steve Hruby Vice Chairman: Jennifer Faron Arol Buntzman Thomas Felke (via Zoom) Gary Hains Commissioner Chris Hall (Excused) Todd Lyon Hannah Roberts Paul Shea Andrew Terhune (via Zoom) Mary Waller County Staff Members Present: Ed Finn, Deputy County Manager Jamie French, Department Head, GMCD Cormac Giblin, Planning Manager, Development Review, GMCD Sarah Harrington, Interim Dir., Housing Policy & Economic Development,GMCD Mike Bosi, Director, Planning & Zoning, GMCD Derek Perry, Assistant County Attorney Jaime Cook, Director, Development Review, GMCD Julie Chardon, Ops Support Specialist II, GMCD Kevin Summers, Mgr., Technical Systems Ops, GMCD (via Zoom) Kristi Sonntag, Director, Community & Human Services Division, PSD Donald Luciano, Assistant Director, Community & Human Services Division, PSD July 18, 2023 2 Any persons in need of a verbatim record of the meeting may request a copy of the audio recording from the Collier County Growth Management Department. 1. CALL TO ORDER & PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Chairman Hruby called the meeting to order at 9 a.m. 2. ROLL CALL OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND STAFF Ms. Harrington called the roll call and said committee members Felke and Terhune are participating via Zoom. A quorum of eight was present in the boardroom; two joined via Zoom. [The pledge of allegiance was recited.] 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND MINUTES a. Approval of today’s agenda Chairman Hruby said he’d like to add an item to the agenda, an update from staff on the discussion the AHAC had at the last meeting, when the county manager provided background about the property disposition policy. He wants a discussion on the status and next steps. He’d like to add that as 4.d., an Update on Policy on Property Disposition. Ms. Waller made a motion to approve the agenda, as amended. The motion was seconded by Mr. Planning Commissioner Shea. The motion passed unanimously, 10-0. b. Approval of June 20, 2023, AHAC meeting minutes Ms. Waller made a motion to approve the June 20, 2023, meeting minutes. The motion was seconded by Vice Chair Faron. The motion passed unanimously, 10-0. c. Approval of April 7, 2023, Strategic Plan Subcommittee meeting minutes Chairman Hruby made a motion to approve the April 7, 2023, Strategic Plan Subcommittee meeting minutes. The motion was seconded by Vice Chair Faron. The motion passed unanimously, 10-0. Chairman Hruby announced that anyone who wishes to speak on any agenda item must register prior to speaking. They will get up to three minutes, unless the time is adjusted by the chair during discussion. Committee members may directly question speakers. Please wait to be recognized by the chair and state your name and affiliation for the record before speaking. If you have a disability and need accommodations to participate, you’re entitled to assistance at no cost and can contact the County Facilities Management Department. Assisted-listening devices for the hearing impaired are available at the County Commissioner’s Office. 4. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND PRESENTATION a. Styx Companies presentation (Ryan Hyler and David Tuttle) Mr. Hyler detailed a PowerPoint presentation: • We’re here to talk about the potential conversion of the Golden Gate Inn to workforce and attainable housing. We’ve had this property under contract for a week, so we’re very early on in our planning and development phases, but wanted to present our business July 18, 2023 3 model, overall concepts, why we were attracted to the property, and ask for your support. • We’ve had multiple meetings with county officials, the county manager and met with Commissioner Saunders because this is in his district. • What we typically look at in any market for workforce and attainable housing is the idea of a missing middle. In many situations, you have everything from homeless to emergency shelters on up to subsidized affordable housing, along with market rent and market home buying situation. But there always appears to be a gap in between the affordable and the market rate. We try to fill the void between those two areas. • We’ve done several similar hotel conversion projects in South Carolina and Florida. In Florida, most of our projects were in the greater Orlando area. • We focus on hotel conversions and converting the existing hotel-room footprint into studio apartments. Our typical rental units range from 250 square feet to about 450 square feet, the square footage for this building. • We completely renovated the property, everything from all new electrical, fire- suppression systems and any life-safety equipment that’s needed. • We use Class A finishes – granite countertops, stainless-steel appliances – and the only sacrifice is square footage compared to any project built from the ground up. We have professional onsite management and maintenance, pools, fitness center, yoga studio, dog parks and dog-washing stations. • In Orlando, we completed five buildings and demand has been through the roof. We’ve been 100% pre-leased by opening day. On our busiest Saturday, we had 57 move-ins. That shows there’s a huge need for folks who want to live on their own. They typically have a hard time finding something at an attainable price point without long commutes from where they work, or having to live in a group housing and roommate situation. We work to fill that void. • What we see in Collier County’s demographics is a need for small living units for people looking for independence. A huge benefit that we typically include is utilities, cable, internet, and a valet trash service. You put your trash can outside your door and they pick it up and take it away. All services are included, so there are fewer barriers to entry. You don’t have to do credit checks and security deposits for utilities. • People looking for an apartment of this type are typically relocating for a job or trying to get out of a living situation, so having reduced barriers to entry is very attractive to residents. • What we’ve seen with having smaller units in Collier County and other markets is that 77% of all owner-occupied housing is a one- or a two-person household and 60% of renter-occupied housing are one- or two-person households. There’s a disparity between rental units and the number of people living in those units, which limits affordability. • When you have to have roommates, you have to look for units that are much larger than you typically want or need. • Within 10 miles of the downtown Naples CRA, there are 17,000 rental units today. Only 299 are studios, so 2% of the rental market is a studio that would even come close to meeting the 80-120% AMI rental rate. For a one-bedroom, it’s 32%, so it’s slightly better, but 60% of the entire renter base is one- or two-person households, so you have a lack of inventory, a limited supply for people relocating to the county. • Where do hospital residents, traveling nurses and the essential workforce, from teachers to EMS, live? For people trying to transition to independence, whether moving out of their parent’s home or leaving after a bad breakup or a bad roommate situation, where do they go? There aren’t options here today. • A challenge we’ve identified is that new construction does not meet the bill. To develop this type of product and build on a smaller square footage, what you’re looking for is density to meet affordability. On a cost-per-square-foot basis, the denser you get, the July 18, 2023 4 more expensive it is to build. To build the same product from the ground-up, there’s no way it’s economically feasible without a public subsidy and still meet an attainable rental rate. • The taller you get, the more expensive it gets per square foot and the more expensive a unit is. Typically, when you see a new high-rise built, it’s the most expensive product in the market because it’s so expensive to build. • Other factors impacting affordability are impacts of regulation, including the costs of timing. From the time you go under contract to design, permitting and changes, it can be about 40% of the total development cost. By taking an existing building, that greatly increases the amount of time spent on the front end and helps bring down overall development costs, which then impacts affordable rental rates. • When we started looking at doing all studio projects, which we call micro units, we found a ULI study that surveyed renters in micro apartment studios and in traditional multifamily. It showed why people were choosing to live in this type of project: location, price and the ability to live alone. • When people are trying to transition to independence or relocate to a new job market, you need those options to fill a void, that middle market. • There are other market-based solutions, but they’re not ideal. You have situations where people are living in poor housing conditions or, as was done here, unpermitted renovations or that weren’t done to code, which creates significant life-safety issues. • You end up with people who have longer commute times than they want and their transportation cost goes up, making it more of a housing burden. Or they end up with roommates and a lack of independence. • We created an idea of affordability that does not sacrifice quality and provides the same amenities other projects have. • We go through the same screening process for residents, including income verification, credit checks, background checks, etc., so you know everyone has undergone the same screening process and it’s a safe place for everyone. • We do not allow any short-term rentals, Airbnb’s or sub-leases because we found the quality of the project and community quickly degrades. Mr. Tuttle detailed a PowerPoint presentation: • We purchased a Red Roof Inn in Kissimmee, about four miles from Disney World’s gates and at the time, you probably wouldn’t want to be there after dark. Even though there was brand new development nearby, this property was falling into disrepair and there wasn’t a market for it. • We transformed the old Red Roof Inn, with its dirty pool and dirty grounds. It’s been well received by the market, our residents and the government, which has held events there to highlight what can happen in Kissimmee. • Others have done conversions, but not to this level. Our philosophy is we’re place- makers and we want to create a community where people have a place they’re proud to live, can be safe and have everything a Class-A property offers, but it’s just a smaller unit that’s more affordable. • [He showed before-and-after photos of a rundown hotel room and the renovation.] We’ve got full-height cabinets, all stainless-steel appliances, a full-size dishwasher, a convection microwave oven and a two-burner range. Other projects just put in a hot plate in the kitchen. That was their answer to a range. • There are a lot of cabinets due to the kitchen layout. We learned people don’t necessarily use cabinets for kitchen items. Sometimes they store sweaters and other items there, so providing more cabinets has been a benefit. • We used a $450 Ikea wall unit that provides shelving and a desk. July 18, 2023 5 • Some people set up the unit with a bed, some with a fold-out sofa, others have a dining room suite, and one had a bed and a grand piano in 400 square feet. • We pride ourselves on creating a community and having events for our residents to really connect with them and make them proud of where they live. • We provided granite countertops, new plumbing, washers and dryers on site using an automated, cashless system using a card or a Smartphone. You can replenish your card or your phone account when you need to wash or dry clothes. We have cameras in the laundry room to make sure everything’s safe and more than an adequate number of washers and dryers to ensure everybody can do their laundry. • We offer full-workout fitness centers. This was once two units. We originally designed it with one and quickly realized it wouldn’t be the right size fitness room for our residents, so we converted the other room and combined them into a first-class fitness center. • We offer an office and clubhouse. Residents have access to this during normal operating hours. They can hang out, work on their computer, meet with friends, or we have community events there. Mr. Hyler and Mr. Tuttle continued detailing the PowerPoint presentation: • Even a working chef who also cooks at home said in an Apartment.com review that he appreciated the kitchen’s convenience. For someone accustomed to living in a single- family, three-bedroom house with a 1,200-square-foot kitchen, you may think this is small, but it’s good enough for a chef. • Nearly all our properties were 100% pre-leased by opening day due to demand. • On the day we had 57 move-ins, our team set up tents outside, handed out Chick-fil-A biscuits, checked in residents and they moved in. That’s quite a feat. • In Florida, we’ve identified several markets and are excited about the Golden Gate property, which is probably the best we had so far, especially with the interaction and what the county does. • Because this is early in the process, we don’t have an architectural rendering. • In a property in South Carolina with old architecture, we’re building a new pool and outdoor cabana area and tearing up part of the asphalt to create a dog park. • In many of our projects, we partner with local artists and incorporate murals, the Instagram-type thing. We find that it helps build a sense of pride for residents who live there. • We did a historic project and kept the original paint peeling off brick to give the unit character. During questioning by AHAC members, the following points were made: • Styx is underwriting between 80% of AMI up to about 100% of AMI, so rents at the Golden Gate property would be about $1,400 up to $1,560 per month. • They thought they’d have a younger target demographic but found at their properties that residents range from age 18 to 78. • ULI studies backed up that age range, saying that attracting a large demographic builds a stronger community. • Styx doesn’t target a specific group. We market our property and set affordable rental rates. People apply and whoever qualifies moves in. • Styx is trying to fill a gap and not focus on multi-family. We built a model around the smaller missing middle. There’s a huge gap here. Multiple gaps may need to be filled, but there’s a huge gap for a smaller product at a lower price point. • Turnover for multifamily units is about 50% yearly, but ours are a bit less. • A few options are available, and we include utilities, cable, internet, water and sewer, so residents don’t have to put down those deposits. July 18, 2023 6 • We ran into a problem with the power company and even though it’s not required by building code, they require you to have individual electric meters, so if we run into that here, electric may not be included. Vice Chair Faron said she has a conflict of interest with this project. She’s involved with an organization that also made an offer on the Golden Gate Inn, so she can’t make recommendations or vote. Her broader role here is to welcome new projects and she welcomes this one and has some questions. During questioning by AHAC members, the following points were made: • Styx found that due to the pandemic, many people prefer to live alone because they’re uncertain what a roommate has been doing outside the unit. • Affordability is important and ULI studies show people are willing to give up square footage if an apartment is close to work, affordable and they won’t have to share space with a roommate. • Styx has found no negative impacts from COVID, just benefits. • In Kissimmee, the apartments house many hospitality workers, police officers, EMS, firefighters and others who aren’t required to work from home or who don’t have that ability. • From the time of approval through construction of the first building, they expect a 12- to 14-month timeline, and they’d finish the whole project within 18-19 months. • They believe they’d have to seek a zoning amendment but are working with staff to determine what’s needed. Vice Chair Faron called it a beautiful project and congratulated them on what they’ve done so far. Planning Commissioner Shea asked if they need to make a change to go from hotel to multi-unit residential. Mr. Bosi said the current PUD only allows 98 individual units. They’re looking to convert 220- 230, so it’s a density issue, a PUD issue and a GMP issue. There are ongoing discussions with (attorney Rich) Yovanovich and after this meeting, he’s meeting with Rich and (Managing Assistant County Attorney) Heidi Ashton. Rich has a proposal he wants to discuss with us. We have no specifics now. Mr. Hyler said we’re in the overall fact-finding stage. A discussion ensued and the following points were made: • Federal Fair Housing Laws mandate that you can only limit occupancy to two heartbeats per bed. We’d allow two residents, what the county ordinance allows. • Two roommates can rent one unit, or a parent and child, or a couple. • Only about 12% of our units have more than one occupant. • Slightly over 20% of residents have pets. • Mr. Lyons noted that NCH has a program at the former Super 8 near Cracker Barrel that’s been attractive to staff, from clerical to frontline nurses, physicians, and bicoastal employees. This is typically what they can afford. They converted hotel rooms, have a shared kitchen and it’s desirable, including for couples. • Mr. Lyons said he’s excited to see this project. • Chairman Hruby called it a niche business model that’s needed, particularly for people like NCH or employees in the hospitality industry. He believed it would do well and called it a beautiful, first-class operation. • An investor looked at the Kissimmee property and called it seedy, but Mr. Tuttle told him July 18, 2023 7 that once they’re finished and he’d let his own daughter live there if she worked at Disney World. That’s our litmus test. Would we let our children live here? The answer is absolutely yes. • If an AHAC member wants to tour the Kissimmee property, they can arrange that. • Across Styx’s portfolio in every county and municipality, market rents for this square footage and product type fall between 80-100% AMI. • When you get to 120%, there are viable alternatives. That’s a limiting factor. • Collier County’s AMI is so high compared to the rest of the state. The market takes care of 120% AMI. Those rents wouldn’t be achievable for this product. • Ms. Waller called it a very nice project. Mr. Bosi said we’re trying to figure out whether this can move forward without or with a GMP amendment. We know we need a slight modification to the Code of Laws, which has a minimum housing standard of 250 square feet for the first and 200 for each additional. We will have to make an exception. We want to keep the standard, but we want to create an escape hatch, an exception that would allow this to move forward without attaining the 450 square feet. Chairman Hruby said they don’t want to change it across the board but make it geared to this type of one-bedroom studio apartments. Mr. Bosi said it would be very narrowly crafted. Chairman Hruby asked the AHAC if they want to sanction this and opened it up for discussion. Planning Commissioner Shea said we definitely need to go forward with it. Chairman Hruby said he’d entertain a motion to support this project. Vice Chair Faron said she’s recusing herself from the recommendation. Ms. Waller made a motion to recommend approving the Styx Companies’ renovation of the Golden Gate Inn into studio apartments. The motion was seconded by Mr. Buntzman. The motion passed unanimously, 9-0; Vice Chair Faron recused herself. Chairman Hruby told Mr. Tuttle and Mr. Hyler that they have AHAC’s support. Please come back and give us a progress report as you’re moving along. Mr. Hyler said they’d return when they have renderings and floor plans to show them. Chairman Hruby said he’d love to see the Kissimmee apartments. Thanks for all your work on affordability. Mr. Hyler asked Ms. Harrington if she could coordinate a trip to Kissimmee. Action Item: Staff was asked to coordinate a trip to allow an AHAC member to see The Teale - Kissimmee Studio Apartments. b. List of county-owned surplus land (S. Harrington) Ms. Harrington told the AHAC: • The county worked closely with the Real Property Division to bring this forward. • Attached are details and information about five surplus county-owned properties: Camp Keais ; the Hussey property; Port of the Island, also known as the old hotel property; Orchid Cove, which is part of Port of the Islands; and 17 acres near Bayshore. These are the five properties the county manager listed at the June 20th meeting. • Applicable notes and helpful information is included. A discussion ensued and the following points were made: • Financial considerations means that for the county’s portion of that property, what the county has spent on the property at this point in time. July 18, 2023 8 • If the county paid $388,444 for demolition of the old hotel and another $1,239.80 as part of the deed process, that’s the minimum amount of money that would have to be reimbursed to make the county whole for that six-acre property if the county wanted to sell that property. • Due diligence review for affordable housing includes evaluating a property to determine the potential for affordable housing there. By putting this information in AHAC’s hands, it would hopefully open the doors for developers to see this information and bring proposals forward for the properties. • The properties are visible to the public and developers. Changes to state law this year require that this list be brought to the Board of County Commissioners at least once yearly for review during a public hearing. It’s scheduled to go to the BCC this fall. The list is also required to be on the county website. • The county has brought the property forward to a few developers to make them aware and told them if they’re interested to contact us and let us know about a proposal. They’d then be invited to present to the AHAC. • Everything on this attachment is available for review on the county website. • Due diligence means the Camp Keais property was purchased by the county in 2021 for about $13.5 million for a variety of county uses. The county Facilities team is currently looking at that property to see if it makes sense for parks, the water plant, sewer plant, and housing. • A portion of that property and portions of all others on this list are available for affordable housing. Mr. Bosi told the AHAC: • He was on a Zoom call with Facilities and a planning firm that’s being retained to explore the market viability of industrial flex-space affordable housing and as a potential relocation for the county fairgrounds. • They’re going through the process of determining whether to retain that firm to conduct a market study to see if there is demand for those uses and if they’d be justified in the future. • They would then craft a Growth-Management Plan Amendment to lift the property out of the Rural Land Stewardship Area program and create a PUD that has that mix of land uses. • They’re actively taking steps and working through the environmental due-diligence process, which, as we’ve learned from the Golden Gate Golf course, is essential to have early on. During a discussion, the following points were made: • There are some environmentally sensitive areas in the 1,000 acres. It was an old farm field, so that’s why environmental due diligence is being conducted, but there are some wetlands and areas we’d have to set aside. However, there is a considerable yield in terms of what could be developed within that property. • The current County Fairgrounds property is 55-60 acres. They want 100 acres, only one- tenth of the property; the rest would be available for other uses. • The perspective is that development has grown and encompasses the fairgrounds. If it moved to the Camp Keal property, it’s more in line with the fairgrounds’ agrarian purpose and would be more isolated from existing Estates-owned lots, where the fair results in many compliance issues, such as noise violations. • The Sheriff’s Office expressed interest in the old hotel property in April 2022, but has since determined it wouldn’t serve their needs. It’s on this list to show you there were other entities looking at it. July 18, 2023 9 • The Port of the Islands old hotel property is ready for development proposals. The county has made developers aware, so if they’re interested and it would work for them, we’d be happy to listen. • Orchid Cove also is ready for proposals. • The process is that proposals are brought to the BCC and they will be asked which they’re interested in putting out to bid. It’s similar to what was done with the Bembridge property and the Golden Gate Golf Course. • The AHAC can send a recommendation to the BCC. These proposals usually go to the board in October and will come to the AHAC before that. • The Hussey property is located behind the county landfill. Ms. Roberts noted that transportation costs increase the farther we get people away from their jobs and then the strain on our infrastructure also is worse. Do we have access to that employment information? Mr. Giblin said the county took the employment data from the Census, which has a mapping tool that allows you to plug in a site and it will calculate the employment in certain areas, with a range and hourly wages. That’s available to the public. Mr. Bosi told the AHAC: • Staff is very aware of those concerns, the spatial relationship between where we’d be placing affordable housing and where employment opportunities are. • We know that must be tightened. We don’t want 30- to 45-minute commutes for residents who are challenged due to housing costs and availability. That only exasperates the problem. • That’s information we would provide as we move forward and detail the justification. We’d be able to identify employment opportunities within a three-, five- and seven-mile radius of any proposed location. Ms. Harrington said affordable housing ties in with economic development, taking into consideration where housing is placed operative to where employers are. A discussion ensued and the following points were made: • Growth is occurring closer to this property and there’s been concern about the placement of the property. As the county is growing, growth is occurring closer to the property, which would make it a more viable project. • There is still development going on in the east and in undeveloped areas in the future for housing, businesses and industries. We need to think 20-30 years ahead and make sure we don’t have the same problem 30 years from now by changing the regulations or growth management. The county is starting to do some of those things in the eastern part of the county. Mr. Bosi told the AHAC: • The Rural Lands Stewardship Program is the only provision within our Growth Management Plan that mandates inclusionary zoning. That means that every town and village that comes out of the planning process must set aside 2.5% of the gross acreage of that town or village and entitle it at a minimum of 10 units an acre. The county has the opportunity for the right of first refusal. • The language says it will be made to available to the county or other affordable housing providers in the county as a first opportunity to purchase those properties at a set fixed price and then we can put out RFPs and develop partnerships in terms of how we want to move forward. • The concept is that we’re going to be able to reserve in perpetuity, not 30 years. If the July 18, 2023 10 county controls it, we can have it in perpetuity and know that over time, it’s going to be valued. • As you see within the development of Ave Maria, it hits economy as it scales a wider range of goods and services, and economic opportunities are developed. Affordable housing is a necessary piece to be able to ensure there’s always linkage in housing attainability for folks that work within those areas. A discussion ensued and the following points were made: • It’s not solving getting somebody a house in the next year, but it’s keeping the county from having this problem for 20 years from now – and that’s a message that the AHAC needs to get out to the community – that the county is doing things for the long term and for our legacy for the future. • You probably couldn’t do that kind of inclusionary zoning anywhere else in the county, so it’s a huge initiative. • The 17 acres in Bayshore seems to have a lot of potential for an affordable housing opportunity. • There are many economic opportunities near the Bayshore property, but the CRA advisory board is not very supportive of affordable housing within the CRA. They’ve shied away from promoting it. Their stance is that they’re trying to improve the area and they feel affordable housing projects may take away from their overall mission. • Mr. Bosi doesn’t agree with that, but there’s another advisory board layer, what the Board of County Commissioners ultimately feels is appropriate for the property. The location is in the heart of urbanized Collier County. • The AHAC could try to influence that CRA decision. There’s value in terms of raising the awareness again to the Board of County Commissioners about the strategic location of the 17 acres and the value it could bring, having a mix of market rate and workforce housing. But it’s in a high-hazard area, the only disadvantage. • That’s an issue we need to address, whether it really is appropriate and whether it is really a problem. It’s a policy the county has had for decades, but given the conditions, we need to reevaluate that. • The county’s Growth Management Plan’s density rating system limits density within the Coastal High-Hazard Area. There’s normally a base of four units of eligibility, but it’s three in the Coastal High-Hazard Area. • In the past, the county made evaluations and found the daily need for affordable housing outweighs the concern for an event within that area, so our affordable-housing density bonus program is applicable and is allowed within the Coastal High-Hazard Area. • The county transmitted four GMP Amendments to the state and several had increased housing opportunities within the Coastal High-Hazard Area. The state said it won’t sign off on increasing density beyond what the current levels are in the Coastal High-Hazard Area. That’s given us a strong signal that they don’t support additional density within the Coastal High-Hazard Area, so that’s part of the discussion we’re going to have with the Board of County Commissioners. • We have to start lobbying outside the county to make that happen. c. Affordable Housing Monitoring Spreadsheet (S. Harrington) Ms. Harrington told the AHAC: • The completed, accurate monitoring spreadsheet will be brought to the AHAC for review in August. • We also will provide a map because the spreadsheet is massive, complicated and intricate, so it must be displayed in a visually decipherable format. • Over 85 properties are being examined to ensure they’re addressed. This will include the July 18, 2023 11 name, number of units, monitoring and other information. • It will be published on our website. • This is the 2018 list and map, but this is what the 2023 map will look like. • You will see commissioner districts and points for all developments with an affordable housing component. They will be provided on a monitoring spreadsheet. • Names frequently change, so we want to ensure that this map can stand alone and be accurate. • Updating the monitoring spreadsheet to reflect a name change would be significantly easier in maintaining this data than it would be to constantly regenerate the map to ensure it’s accurate for the AHAC. A discussion ensued and the following points were made: • The plan is to provide this on the county housing website. The plans are for it to be interactive. • If you go to the Collier County housing website, it shows developers where they can go to get information about certification for affordable housing and it redirects them to the Collier County Growth Management Community Development website. • The county is working with its IT and GIS teams to provide this information and is close to making it live. • This information can be combined with other departments’ information to provide more information. If you have questions, such as the locations of potential employers, CAT bus stops or schools, we can show you the distance. d. Update on Policy on County Property Disposition Chairman Hruby said County Manager Amy Patterson gave us a good foundation last month, so he wanted to open it up to see if there was any further discussion on whether we needed to do anything to move the agenda forward. Vice Chair Faron said that last month, Cormac said that departments purchase properties with a purpose, an intended use. At what point does the department say they don’t need it for that intended use and then it becomes part of a pool of properties? How does that work? Mr. Giblin responded: • The Real Property Division maintains a list, an ongoing inventory of county owned land, such as land bought for a sewer plant, a lift station or a park. • Plans change, such as the Bembridge PUD on Santa Barbara Boulevard. It was purchased to be the county’s new Emergency Operations Center. As plans went on, some neighbors across the street didn’t like the idea of a five- or six-story Emergency Operations Center across the street. The county decided to move it to Lely and make that surplus property because the use was no longer intended. • The county then made it available for affordable housing and we’ve got 82 units of affordable housing getting ready to CO in the next couple of months. • That’s an ongoing process the Real Property and Facilities divisions conduct yearly to look at plans and whether they’ve changed. • Park sites are a good example. The county may buy a property to build a park, but if the community doesn’t want a park there, they have to dispose of the property, which would then appear on your list. • It becomes the question that the County Manager talked about last month. If that land was bought with impact fees and now it’s no longer going to be a park, the impact fees must be paid back before the property can be used for something else. July 18, 2023 12 A discussion ensued and the following points were made: • The county has passed two resolutions, one in 2017 and another in 2018. The first says anytime there’s a piece of surplus property, it’s the policy for county commissioners to ask if it could be used for affordable housing or if it can be integrated into the use. It rises to a priority, whether we can put affordable housing there. • Developers have a misconception that the county has lots of surplus land that could be used for affordable housing. The county owns a lot of land, but it’s all spoken for except for the five properties on this list. • There are three options for disposing of surplus property for housing. It’s a BCC policy and decision: They can gift land to an affordable-housing developer; they can sell land with affordable-housing restrictions on it; or they can retain the land and lease it out, as the county did with the golf course and with Bembridge. • If it’s good for affordable housing, we’re not selling it at market value. We’d just reimburse the county for its costs. • One of the biggest policy decisions that the AHAC could recommend to the BCC is they should consider the method of disposing of this land. • The manatee property was purchased by the county, or donated to the county, in the 1970s for a park and it’s been on Parks & Rec’s books for for 50 years. If that property were to be repurposed, the county doesn’t have many costs, other than ongoing maintenance, especially if was donated. • If you were to ask the parks director, she might say we’re sitting on a $15 million piece of property in a prime Naples area ready for development. That’s where the policy and the County Manager’s Office come in. • If you want to sell property to a high-end apartment developer, you want to sell it at market rate. But if you’re trying to encourage affordable housing development, it doesn’t hurt the county to help developers fill the gap with a policy. • The AHAC should make a recommendation to ask the BCC to think about setting standards for disposing of property so they’re consistent and the development community understands what’s going to happen so they don’t have to negotiate in front of the dais to get approval. • It’s important to set a policy because there are significant pieces of property to dispose of. Mr. Giblin recommended that the AHAC discuss this and possibly formulate a new policy at a Strategic Work Plan Subcommittee meeting. Chairman Hruby said that would be the proper place and that’s a task for Jennifer to add that task to the worksheet and bring it back to the full AHAC with recommendations. He can attend the subcommittee meeting, if she wants. Action Item: Staff should schedule an AHAC Strategic Work Plan Subcommittee meeting to ask the BCC to set a policy for disposing of the five surplus properties. 5. PUBLIC COMMENT Daniel Zegarac said he wanted to follow up on their comments. Any recommendations by the AHAC are all healthy. If the AHAC wants to recommend something to the Board of County Commissioners or the Planning Commission, it’s healthy to do so, rather than just sit here and say six months ago, someone said this was the process. That’s good. It’s common sense. 6. DISCUSSION ITEMS July 18, 2023 13 a. AHAC Revised Work Plan Overview (S. Harrington) Ms. Harrington said at the last meeting, staff was asked to add the revisions the AHAC discussed during the meeting. The revisions were made and this is the final product for your review and approval. Under the “Promote” section, second column, where it says GMCD staff liaison, that was a change to include the Zoning Division and Housing Policy & Economic Development. “Next Steps” were to have AHAC members volunteer to participate in the NIMs meetings and then report back to the AHAC at the next meeting about that NIM’s meeting. Vice Chair Faron said we need a source of information about what meetings are being held and when so we can activate No. 1. Is there technology available within the CityView system that will allow us to look at that or can it be pulled from CityView? Mr. Bosi said the Planning and Zoning Division keeps a public hearing spreadsheet that includes a tab with all upcoming Neighborhood Information Meetings. We discussed sharing that with Sarah so she can provide it to the AHAC monthly. We can do that moving forward. A discussion ensued and the following points were made: • The AHAC needs information on upcoming NIMs involving affordable housing. • We want to be able to assign meetings on a calendar and not cross paths. • Upcoming NIMs could be a monthly attachment, a running tab to the agenda. • They could be listed as No. 1 under Next Steps on the Strategic Work Plan. • Staff will complete the updates and bring them forward at the August meeting so they can be finalized and approved. • Final revisions will be discussed at the November AHAC meeting before it’s brought forward to the next BCC meeting. [Ms. Harrington continued detailing revisions made to the spreadsheet.] Vice Chair Faron said the “current status” should be as of the date of the AHAC meeting that we’re talking about, which is July 18, and the same for the title page for the Current Status, which should be as of the day we’re meeting. Can we add the date that the state pushed back on the GMP Amendments? That’s the current status of the GMP Amendments. That’s out of our control. Mr. Bosi responded that: • “Next Steps” is we’ve coordinated with the state Department of Commerce, the former Department of Economic Opportunity and formerly the Department of Community Affairs. • We’re discussing how to mitigate those concerns in terms of limiting the density to the current allowed levels within the Coastal High-Hazard Area. • After that, it goes back to the Planning Commission and then it will go to the Board of County Commissioners. When we put that it was “adopted,” it wasn’t adopted, it was transmitted to the state. It’s a process. Once we work with the Department of Commerce to move forward and they find it satisfactory, we’ll take it back to the Planning Commission for a public hearing and then to the Board of Commissioners for final adoption. • The final adoption will marry up the LDC Amendments associated with those to implement the GMP Amendments that are being considered. A discussion ensued and the following points were made: • We need to say whether there’s a role for the AHAC in each, such as with the adoption of the revised changes. • We don’t have to document every word, just add highlights of the Next Steps. July 18, 2023 14 • We need to highlight what the AHAC can do so we can put it on our agenda as part of our discussion. [Ms. Harrington continued detailing revisions made to the spreadsheet.] A discussion ensued and the following points were made: • For Current Status and Timelines, we should add a couple of bullet points of what that means so we can track it. The goal is to track where we’re at and where we’re going, so we need a couple of sentences in those columns. • These could be items that can be completed and reviewed by the subcommittee. • The intent was to have the Current Status and Next Steps items completed as they happen and that’s not the subcommittee’s role because it doesn’t meet as often as the AHAC. It functions as a strategic plan committee for the AHAC. • Vice Chair Faron offered to add the revisions, but needs the content. • In the fall, the Strategic Plan Subcommittee can add items for the next year. • If Mike is taking something to the BCC in the next month, we need a few words to describe the status and what he’s doing. • Under Current Status for the GMP Amendments, we need to know that Mike started coordinating with the Department of Commerce regarding the Coastal High-Hazard Areas issues and what will happen in the next 30 days – the current status in about 10 words. • We need to add the county surplus lands disposition policy and the AHAC’s recommendation as No. 10. • It would be good to put a target/projected date on each and not leave that open. Action Item: Staff will provide Sarah Harrington with the upcoming Neighborhood Information Meetings that are listed in the Planning and Zoning Division’s public hearing spreadsheet NIMs tab. Action Item: Sarah Harrington will provide the AHAC with the upcoming Neighborhood Information Meetings in a calendar as part of a tab to the monthly agenda. Action Item: Staff will add the project’s current status as of each AHAC meeting to the Revised Workplan Overview spreadsheet or what’s being done in the next 30 days so that information can be updated and provided for monthly AHAC meetings. b. Eligible Properties (Commercial, Industrial, Mixed-Use) under the Live Local Act (M. Bosi) Mr. Bosi told the AHAC: • AHAC requested a map of properties eligible for the Live Local Act, which is all commercially zoned property, industrially zoned property and mixed-use zoned property, including commercial and industrial PUDs. • We provided the map and, as expected, the intersections of our collector and arterial roads are major activity centers where the majority of commercial and mixed-use projects are, or zoning is allocated. • We also have the leftover commercial strip along U.S. 41, Pine Ridge Road, Immokalee Road that’s been found consistent by policy and are also eligible for the Live Local Act. • It’s not encouraging. The feedback he received from several developers is that they find the Live Local Act yields a high-density allocation and allows generous height within certain parameters, but the shallowness of some commercial properties along collector and arterial roads make it very difficult to yield the number of units to make the pro formas July 18, 2023 15 work. • The pushback he’s receiving is developers are asking what the county is going to do to be more generous in terms of allowing code variances. It’s a difficult spot to be in. The Board of County Commissioners had its Home Rule exempted from them by the statute. The policy we put forward to the BCC is developers are entitled to the density and height as a matter of right and that doesn’t require a public hearing, but developers must satisfy Site Development Plan requirements. • We’re finding that developers aren’t able to satisfy all the water management, parking, landscape buffering and the various components that take up space and they’re asking if the county can be more flexible with Live Local Act proposals. • The only body that can provide that relief is the Board of County Commissioners, so it’s a conversation we’re going to have to have with the BCC. Staff won’t be the sole voice. Developers know the specifics of what’s holding up their SDP or their ability to close their pro forma, so we need some of the developers who are trying to utilize the Live Local Act to get together to discuss that among themselves and determine what they want to ask the Board of County Commissioners to do. • If they asked him, he doesn’t have the ability. He could say, “Here’s a variance application or a parking reduction application.” But when you have a process that’s meant to take NIMBYism out of the public hearing process, and you have to return to the public hearing process, it brings NIMBYism back into it. • If they have a variance because of setback relief, that variance doesn’t become “why the land can’t accommodate the development based upon the required setback,” it becomes “we don’t want an affordable housing project, so deny this variance.” Staff has difficulty with that. • Jeff Klatzkow was almost prophetic in June when he gave a Live Local Act overview to the BCC and said he didn’t think it’s going to have much of an effect on this county. He’s right and that’s because of the characteristics and the number of units they need to provide. • A rule of thumb is you need about two market-rate units to subsidize one affordable- housing unit. You’re at a 40-60 split and the pro formas aren’t working. • Not only are they asking for some relief from development standards, but they’re asking for some relief from the 40%. He told developers the only reason they’re getting the benefit of no public hearing is because they’re providing 40% affordable housing. A discussion ensued and the following points were made: • The county can’t provide a free pass if developers don’t provide 40% affordable housing. • The county could consider holding a housing forum between staff and developers to vet and discuss these problems. Then staff could create recommendations, a position paper to bring to the BCC. That would be more beneficial than speaking with developers one-on- one. • That would enable staff to raise the issue to the BCC and have a discussion. • An AHAC workshop could be used as a forum for staff and developers. It could be held within the next two months. • The county Housing Plan and ULI study said the county needed alternative affordable housing designs. The county held forums here and at Habitat for Humanity office and developers were able to complain. • The result was a new LDC section, 4.02.39, “Alternative Design for Housing That’s Affordable” that provides some relief on setbacks, landscape buffers, road elevation, an allowance of inversion ground, relief on sidewalks on both sides of the street. Developers have looked at it, but none have used it yet. This could be another constitution of that group under the Live Local Act. July 18, 2023 16 • The AHAC can hold a workshop and invite developers and staff to spend the morning or an afternoon communicating and brainstorming about what their limitations are and whether they have implications for us. Chairman Hruby asked staff to find when this conference room is available for a workshop and ask AHAC members about their availability over the next 60 days. Ms. Waller said there’s no time to put it together for August. September would be good. Action Item: Staff was asked to check the availability of the conference room and AHAC members’ schedules for an AHAC workshop on the Live Local Act. Staff also was asked to invite staff and developers who have tried to use the Live Local Act to the housing forum so their problems can be vetted and staff can create a position paper on Live Local Act development issues to present to the Board of County Commissioners. c. Update on ADU Pilot Program (M. Bosi) Mr. Bosi told the AHAC: • Staff will hold a public information meeting at North Carter Regional Park on September 13. • We’re developing a postcard to provide meeting information, links to the county website and the implications of renting out guest houses. • The postcard will include a QR Code that will go to a survey in which the county asks if residents would be interested in a program to rent out their guest house on a long-term basis, and would they be interested if there were income restrictions. • We think there’s value on both sides. If there’s a deficit within our supply and demand, there’s an imbalance, so adding more supply is positive. We also know that adding more supply for an income-restricted level is more beneficial. • We’re not sure how residents will respond. • We’re sending postcards to about 3,500 residents in the Urban Estates. • We’re also going to have an online survey that will ask questions so that information can be provided to the Board of County Commissioners. • The BCC would then make a decision on how to move forward. Chairman Hruby asked when the data would be compiled. Mr. Bosi said probably by November. 7. STAFF AND COMMITTEE GENERAL COMMUNICATIONS a. Surtax Update (S. Harrington) Ms. Harrington said the Surtax Subcommittee met on June 29. The BCC, AHAC Surtax Subcommittee and the AHAC approved evaluation criteria for surtax funds. The Surtax Committee had no questions and approved it. Ms. Waller said now let’s see it work. A discussion ensued and the following points were made: • $5.5 million of the $20 million is earmarked for the Golden Gate Golf Course project. • The Surtax Committee hasn’t looked at that. They only looked at evaluation criteria. • Nothing has been spent out of the $20 million, it’s just been earmarked, and nothing has been approved. 8. NEW BUSINESS 10. July 18, 2023 Vice Chair Faron asked for staffs thoughts on the rest of the Golden Gate GolfCourse now that BigShots Golf has pulled out of its lease. What oPPortunitie's are there for more workforce housing or is it intended to remain as a part ofa golfcourse? Mr. Giblin said that last month, the deputy county manager provided an update to the BCC on a reevaluation of bow all the pieces of the puzzle fit on the land now, between the afforclable housing piece, the golf course, the Veterans Nursing Home, and an educationaL/Vo-Tech pieoe. Ms. Cook said the Veterans Administration nursing home has been moved to the BigShos Golf parcel, I 8 acres just south of the hotel on Collier Boulevard. Ms. Sonntag told the AHAC: . The l-ocal Govemment Area of Opportunity ad will be released tomorrow. . A notice also will be published in the NaPles Daily News and it's on the CollierCountyHousing.com website. . Developers interested in applying for the LGAO have to apply by next month. o The instructions are available and scoring criteria has been developed by the policy division. It will be brought to the AHAC for consideration and recommendation to the couuty mfiager. Chairman Hruby asked for the time frame and when it would be brought to the AHAC. Ms. Sonnlrg said applications are due on August I lth and will be sent to our ofiic€. Chairman Hruby asked if it would go to the AHAC in September. Mr. Giblin said it would be presented at the AHAC'S August 15ft me€ting. He anticipates that developers who apply will be making a presentation. ADJOURN Ms, Waller made a morion to adioarrl Second by Vice Chair Faron The aotion passed unanimous$t, 9-0, NEXTMEETINGDATE 9 a,m. August 15' 2023 Conference Room 609/610 Growth Management Community DeYelopment D€partment There being no further business for th€ good ofth€ County, th€ meeting was rdJourned by the order of th€ chrirman at 10:47 a.m. COMMITTEE Steve 脇 1%壌 μ期寛写生傷猟鶴筋 17