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4. EDA BUSINESS 4.01: Review Current Draft of Housing Assistance Policy and Provide Feedback Prior to Final Draft Form Development Services Manager Gladhill presented a draft Housing Assistance Policy for market rate and a draft Housing Assistance Policy for affordable housing and explained the City does not currently have housing assistance policies and staff is seeing an increase in assistance requests and the City Council directed staff to draft a policy. He pointed out the policies do not create new funding sources and will use existing City resources such as TIF, HRA levies, or grants. He indicated that a couple of projects this policy would apply to include Seasons of Ramsey and Residents at the COR, which both had some City involvement in the funding package and the policy will help frame staff's review to make sure a project meets the City's housing goals. He stated the policy outlines the City's housing priorities and includes thresholds and a scoring process to gauge quality based on housing type, adding that the policy will change over time based on shifting priorities. He reviewed the minimum thresholds and stated applicants will be required to explain how they are going to achieve one or more goals and noted that no particular project will reach 100% and is intended to gauge whether a project is going above the City's base standards, especially as it relates to architectural standards. He advised that a Planning Commission workgroup drafted the policy and there is broad support from the City Council for this policy. He stated staff is also working with Ehlers on the policy; in addition, the policy was reviewed with the Anoka County HRA and Washington County HRA to see how the policy meets with what they are doing and was approved by those agencies. Member Riley advised that the City Council felt it was important to review the document with the EDA, adding that this policy would only come into play if a developer were asking for a subsidy. He requested further information about how staff arrived at the $10,000 per unit figure. He also questioned the need for two separate policies and whether there could be one policy that has additional scoring criteria related to affordable housing. He also requested further information about the criteria related to nonsmoking units or a nonsmoking building. Development Services Manager Gladhill stated the $10,000 cap per unit is fairly common and was recommended by Ehlers. He stated that it is not a high priority to have two separate policies and agreed to further consider whether to have only one policy. He indicated the nonsmoking criteria shows up in a number of housing finance agency documents and is intended to show that the City is doing something to create a healthy environment in the community. Economic Development Manager LaFrance noted the policy states that the City's funding cannot exceed 15% of an entire project and this amount appears to be on par with other policies throughout the metro. He noted that the policy will be edited to require disclosure of year to date profit and loss information. Chairperson Steffen stated that the EDA will defer to the Planning Commission and City Council on the policy and expressed appreciation for keeping the EDA in the loop on this. Economic Development Authority/February 13, 2014 Page 2 of 7