Agenda - Planning Commission - 04/04/2013

Home

Planning Commission Housing Assistance Policy Sub - Committee Agenda for Meeting #1 Sub - Committee Purpose Statement The Planning Commission has established an ad -hoc sub - committee to complete a draft Housing Assistance Policy directed by the City Council. The Policy will be considered for adoption by the City Council upon completion of the draft. Background The City Council has directed City Staff to prepare a Housing Assistance Policy to proactively guide review of requests for assistance related to housing developments. The Policy is intended to provide a framework for review to ensure that proposals meet the City's goals and implementation strategies related housing and makes good use of the limited resources available to the City. These resources include, but are not limited to, grants, levies, tax increment financing (TIF), etc. Review of Current Plans, Policies, Goals, and Implementation Strategies Staff will present the current version of the Housing Action Plan adopted in 2007. This plan also serves as the Housing Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan. Establishment of an Interim Policy Statement As the City has been approached by multiple housing developers with requests for assistance, Staff would like to discuss the merits of an Interim Policy Statement as a baseline for review of these current projects. This Interim Policy Statement could specify programs, proposals, or funding types that the City is not willing to consider at this time. Establishment of Policy Framework Staff will review a potential framework for the Policy. Generally speaking, it is suggested that the framework include a two -step process: 1. Minimum Thresholds 2. Ranking Thresholds Minimum thresholds would be categories that all proposals would need to meet. It is suggested that the Goals and Implementation Strategies from the Housing Action Plan serve as the baseline for discussion for the minimum thresholds. As time has progressed and variables have changed, this is an appropriate time to review the effectiveness of these goals and strategies. This process can help guide the next update to the Housing Action Plan. Staff recommends that proposals must indicate how their development will help achieve one of the agreed upon implementation strategies referenced above. Ranking thresholds would be used to review quality of proposals as well as assist in prioritizing multiple requests. These thresholds could include a number of technical variables. These thresholds will be discussed in Meeting #2 of the Sub - Committee.