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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAHTFMinutes_2016_03_10Brookings Affordable Housing Task Force March 10, 2016 Minutes A meeting of the Brookings Affordable Housing Task Force was held on Wednesday, March 10, 2016 at 1:00 p.m. in the Brookings City and County Government Center. Members present: Patty Bacon, Jacob Mills, Mary Jo Minor, Connie Bridges, Mike Lockrem, Al Heuton and Ryan Krogram (arrived at 1:45 pm). City staff present: Kevin Catlin, Assistant to the City Manager and Mike Struck, Community Development Director. Chair Bacon call the meeting to order at 1:05 p.m. A motion was made by Heuton, seconded by Mills, to approve the agenda. All present voted yes; motion carried. A motion was made by Minor, seconded by Bridges to approve the minutes. All present voted yes; motion carried. Next Scheduled Meeting. Wednesday, November 14, 2016 at 1:00 pm. Demographic Data Discussion. Dr. Weiwei Zhang, Director of the State Data Center, joined the task force via conference call. The task force was interested in obtaining data that can be of assistance as the task force moves ahead with their work/initiatives. Chair Bacon asked Dr. Zhang if she would be able to provide assistance in compiling data in the following subject areas: Income, Age Group, Family Type, Wage Data, Rent vs. Own, Percentage of Income for Housing Dr. Zhang said data can easily be compliled from 2000 to the present (most recent data available), but data prior to 2000 is archived. Trends can be determined from 2000 to the present. Bacon asked if annual cost of living in Brookings could be calculated or determined? Dr. Zhang was not sure at this time as she would need to see what historically data was utilized and if the sources would be consistent. It was a concensus of the members to look at data for the City of Brookings and Brookings County. Dr. Zhang stated data may not be available for all of the smaller communities in Brookings County due to population size. Dr. Zhang will provide a draft in the coming weeks with the data extracted and sent as an excel spreadsheet. Struck will distribute the data to the task force as it becomes available. Bacon asked if there will be costs associated with Dr. Zhang's efforts and at this time no fees will be charged. If additional information is requested by the task force, fees will be addressed at that time. Defining "Affordable" Housing. Questions asked related to: Is there any way to correlate between unemployment/employment and housing statistics for Brookings market? Is 30% of income appropriate for spending on housing in Brookings market? The task force reviewed the HUD definition shared with the task force. Bridges stated the financial industry utilizes (principal, interest, taxes, and insurance) for helping determine housing costs. Consensus of the group that housing should include total housing costs which includes principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and utilities. Heuton felt it was important to look at a sliding scale as the 30% may not be appropriate for different income levels and household sizes. Krogman felt it was important to determine a figure associated with Brookings to base the 30% off. Motion by Heuton, second by Minor to define BAHTF Affordable Housing definition as follows: "Families who pay more than 30 percent of their gross income for housing (principal/rent, interest, taxes, insurance, and utilities) are considered cost burdened and may have difficulty affording necessities such as food, clothing, transportation and medical care." Affordable Housing Issues. Struck asked for a brainstorming session on affordable housing issues in Brookings, whether they are real or perceived. The intent is to create a list of potential issues and allow the task force and staff to evaluate and determine if there is any merit to the idea and if so, the task force can create solutions to address these issues. The list of ideas suggested are:  Covenants and Restrictions increase housing costs by requiring certain square footage on main floor, exterior facade, garage size, etc.  Cost of undeveloped Land  Minimum Lot Sizes  Development Costs - carrying costs of developer (taxes, etc.)  Infrastructure Costs - curb, gutter, sidewalk, water, sewer, storm sewer  Brookings County Building Eligibility - 35 acre rule  Drainage Studies/Ponds  Street Widths  Front Yard Setbacks  Fronting Costs of Utility Extensions  Mark Up / Profits of Developer, Contractors, Subcontractors  Land Availability  Inventory of Existing Housing Stock  Homebuyer Standards  Availability of Homes  Construction Costs  Holding Costs of Developer  Buyer Mentality towards Townhomes/Condos  Lack of incentive from utility provider perspective to invest in infrastructure as compared to a "free market system"  Student Impact  Wages  Educational component for buyers of housing programs available. How do you find these programs?  Educated Housing Authority - local  Planning Commission Meeting Schedules - one per month during construction season (platting)  Lack of Skilled Labor in Trades Industry  Interest Rates - financing can by cyclical, rates are low, but what happens when they start going back up Future Agenda. Data Review from Dr. Zhang, Income vs. Housing Costs, Sustainability Poverty Report. Motion to Adjourn by Mills, second by Krogman at 3:00 pm.