Pima County
Housing Commission
January 22,
2007 – 3:00 p.m.
Pima County
Kino Recreation Center
2805 E. Ajo
Way Room 104
Members
Present:
Members Absent: Staff
& Guests:
Scott
Place Tim Escobedo Betty Villegas
Frank
Moreno Henry Boice Gary Bachman
David
Greenberg Daniel Tylutki
Jon Miles Marcos
Ysmael
Kathleen
Buske Hank Atha
Ken
Anderson Margaret
Kish
Steve
Craddock Ana Durazo
Frank
Thomson Samantha Romero
Ed
Taczanowsky Terry Galligan
Peter
Trujillo
Mary
Hardin
Corky
Poster
Noemi
Navarro
Carlos
Carmona
Frank
Martinez
I.
Welcome & Call to Order
Commission
Chair Frank Moreno called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m.
II. Approval of Minutes from
November 20, 2006
Motion by Ken Anderson to approve the November 20, 2006 minutes
Seconded by David Greenberg.
Motion carried unanimously.
III.
General Obligation Bond Applications
§
Barrio
San Antonio Project
Pima County
staff Betty Villegas presented the Barrio San Antonio project. This project was brought forth by the
Drachman Design-Build Coalition, Inc. This is a new-construction, homeownership
project to be built in the Barrio San Antonio neighborhood located on the
corner of Fremont Ave. and 15th St, bordering east side of Aviation
Parkway. The project, with total development costs of $1,316,417.00 consists of
five, single-family detached units and features an ultra-high energy design.
The applicant requested $136,903.00 worth of bond funds to be used for off-site
utility improvements in the public right of way, which comes out to $27,380.60
per unit. The sub-committee voted to forward the application to the full
Commission for recommendation to fund in the amount not to exceed $136,903.00.
Commissioner
David Greenberg expressed concern over the high costs associated with this
project and asked how exactly that fit in with affordable housing. Commissioner
Frank Thomson stated that the project included an educational component and the
total cost of the project included all the subsidies and in-kind donations,
which is why the square footage cost was higher. He also explained that although the cost may be higher, the homebuyer
will only need to qualify for a mortgage in the amount of approximately
$109,000.00, certainly fitting the criteria for affordable housing.
Motion
made by Ed Taczanowsky to approve the Barrio San Antonio application.
Seconded
by Ken Anderson.
Motion
carried unanimously.
§
Tres
Pueblos
Commission
David Greenberg stated to the Commission that since this was his company’s
project, he would need to refrain from the discussion and vote.
Pima County
staff Betty Villegas presented the Tres Pueblos First-time Homebuyer
Collaboration project. This new-construction
project was brought forth from Old Pueblo Community Foundation and DR Horton.
Located in the Tres Pueblos subdivision on Drexel and Tucson Blvd., the homeownership
project is composed of 20 units of single-family paired homes, meaning that the
homes share a common wall, with total development costs of $3,440,000.00. The applicant requested $480,000.00, in bond
funds to be used for off-site utility improvements in the public right of way which
comes out to $24,000.00 per unit. The homebuyer will need to qualify for a
mortgage in the amount of approximately $115,000.00. These funds would be used
for off-site utility improvements in the public right of way. The sub-committee
voted to forward the application to the full Commission for recommendation to
fund in the amount not to exceed $480,000.00.
Motion
made by Frank Thomson
to approve the Tres Pueblos project.
Seconded
by Ed Taczanowsky.
Motion
carried unanimously.
§
The
Iowa Project
Pima County
staff Betty Villegas presented the Iowa Project. This new construction project for first-time Homebuyer
Collaboration project. This
new-construction project was brought forth by Chicanos Por La Causa. Located on
the northwest corner of Iowa and Liberty, the homeownership project is composed
of 6 single family detached home units, with a total development cost of
$1,065,566.00. The applicant requested $166,540.00 of bond funds to use for
off-site utility improvements in the public right of way, which comes out to $27,756.00
per unit. The homebuyer will need to
qualify for a mortgage in the amount of approximately $108,000.00. The
sub-committee voted to forward the application to the full Commission for
recommendation to fund in the amount not to exceed $166,540.00.
Motion
made by Jon Miles to
approve the Iowa Project.
Seconded
by Kathleen Buske.
Motion
carried unanimously.
IV.
Staff Report
§
Future 2007 Housing Commission
Meetings
Betty Villegas expressed concern over cancelled Housing Commission
meetings due to holidays that fall on meeting days. She suggested that when
this situation presents itself to either automatically have the meeting changed
the Tuesday after, or the following Monday. She commented that there is the
possibility to fall behind in the workload if meetings have to be cancelled.
Commissioner Kathleen Buske said she felt that it was not too much to ask to
meet once a month and that the Commission owed it to those who appointed them
to the commission and their constituents.
Motion made by Ken Anderson to change the meetings to the following Monday, when needed.
Seconded by Kathleen Buske.
Motion carried unanimously.
Frank Thomson requested the Commission consider identifying how staff
could work with other departments to assist applicants building affordable
housing projects with items such as rezoning, permits, etc. Betty Villegas
stated that this could be placed on a future agenda or discussion.
§
2008 Bond Proposal update
Betty Villegas passed out a report for the 1997 and 2004 bond funds and
explained to the Housing Commission that they needed to begin discussions
regarding a 2008 Bond Program She
stated that all of the funds from the 1997 housing bonds have been allocated,
though they had not all been spent. The Commission has recommended and the
Board has approved $3,747,096.00 in 2004 housing bond funds. The balance of $6,252,904.00 funds needs to
last until the next bond issue. Hank Atha addressed the Commission and informed
them that the Bond Commission tentatively scheduled a November 2008 bond
election, and staff had requested the amount of $30 million in bond funds for
affordable housing. He asked the Commission to begin considering a dollar
figure, and they may want to review the proposed $30 million package that staff
initially recommended. The Commission will
need to start solidifying their recommendations and review the staff proposal since
the Bond Committee will begin to review proposals beginning in early February.
Hank also stated that the Bond election was scheduled to take place at the same
time as the 2008 general election. There was discussion among the Commissioners
about staffs recommendation and concerns regarding an emphasis on homeownership
rather than rental. There was a discussion that although the Commission’s
emphasis has been homeownership, there shouldn’t be a ban on rental, as it is
an important facet of affordable housing.
Motion
made by Frank Thomson
that the Commission recommends $30 million or more as an appropriate level for
affordable housing bond funds. And that the Commission looks at emphasizing
homeownership but to discuss actual figures at a later meeting.
Seconded
by Kathleen Buske,
Motion
carried unanimously.
§
HTF Alternative Revenue Stream
Update
Hank Atha stated that a proposed piece of legislation is going to be sent
to the state legislature that would establish a real estate transfer tax to be
used as a source of funding for affordable housing.
§
New Contract Language Defining
“Substantial Change” for Future Bond Projects
Margaret Kish passed around a memo to the commission, and a draft of the
language crafted for substantial change. Regarding the memo, Margaret stated
that because of concerns brought up in the last meeting in regards to changes
made in the MLK project, there were questions as to what role the Commission
had once the project had been approved. She stated that up until a contract has
been fully executed, the Commission retains the ability to review a project and
ask questions regarding changes. Once the contract has been fully executed, substantial
changes would require a contract amendment.
Margaret Kish addressed the draft language for substantial change, which
was reviewed by the County Attorney, and stated that there may be initial problems
because they tried to include both Affordable Housing and Neighborhood
Reinvestment, and since they are two different processes which may need to be
addressed separately. The language states that the applicant would report
project changes to staff, which is something already done in monthly reports.
The staff would ask to review documentation and then determine whether that
change was substantial enough to bring it back to the Commission. At the time
it comes back to the Commission, the Commission would have the opportunity to
recommend and continue the approval to the Board or revoke the initial
recommendation. Once the Board has fully executed a contract or an IGA then it
would have to go through an amendment process.
The Commission discussed the language and suggested that there be clearer
guidelines for what constitutes substantial change.
V.
Call to the Audience
Mary Hardin
of the Drachman Design-Build Coalition expressed her gratitude toward the
Commission for supporting their project.
Noemi Navarro
of Chicanos Por La Causa also gave thanks to the Commission.
VI.
Adjournment
Motion
made by Steve Craddock to adjourn at 4:30 PM.
Seconded
by Kathleen Buske.
Motion
carried unanimously.