[Memo] [Anticipated Prioirities] [Study Session Packet.pdf]

CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION

AGENDA

Wednesday, September 3, 2003 at 12:00 p.m.
Council Chambers, 1175 East Main Street

1.  Housing Program Priorities and Possible Unspent CDGB Fund Reallocation.

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance to participate in this meeting, please contact the City Administrator's office at (541) 488-6002 (TTY phone number 1-800-735-2900). Notification 72 hours prior to the meeting will enable the City to make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility to the meeting (28 CFR 35.102-35.104 ADA Title I).

DATE:  September 2, 2003
TO:  Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM:  John McLaughlin, Director of Community Development
RE:  Council Study Session - Housing Program Priorities and Possible Unspent CDBG Fund Reallocation

Staff will discuss with the Council the Housing Program Priorities (outline attached) as well as options for unspent CDBG funds, and possible reallocation of this funds in the upcoming CDBG award process.

Back to Top

Anticipated Housing Commission Priorities for the Year

The adopted "Affordable Housing Action Plan" sets forth six broad strategies to facilitate the development and preservation of affordable housing in Ashland:

Strategy 1: Provide Funding for Affordable Housing

Strategy 2: Reduce Development and Operating Costs

Strategy 3: Adopt Land Use Regulations to Promote Affordable Housing

Strategy 4: Preserve Existing and Create New Affordable Housing

Strategy 5: Develop Organizational Capacity for Affordable Housing

Strategy 6: Build Understanding and Support for Affordable Housing

The Housing Commission members and staff have used these strategies, along with Action Plan and staff recommendations for achieving them, to establish priorities. To date, the Housing Commission has focused its efforts on Strategies 1, 2, 3, and 6. Strategy 5 is generally accomplished.

Staff has attempted to focus the Commission's efforts on Strategy recommendations that will serve to facilitate the greatest amount of affordable housing development given Ashland's existing resource limitations and development constraints (multifamily land supply, zoning policies).

Staff believes the greatest opportunity currently available to facilitate the development of significant amounts of affordable housing lies with the City's zoning and land use policies and practices. In particular, staff believes the City should modify its land use policies to create adequate incentives and site opportunities for the development of rental housing by nonprofit and for-profit developers.

Staff also believes it's important that immediate steps are taken to establish a stable and continuous source of funding for the proposed trust fund. Without a stable source of local funding, the City will be unable to provide development subsidies or leverage State and Federal funding resources available for housing development, improvement, and preservation activities.

Short of these two actions, staff believes the City will largely fail to make progress in meeting existing and future housing needs.

It is therefore anticipated that the Commission's priorities for the year will include the following:

• Locate and zone land for high-density (by Ashland standards) multifamily rental housing. It's anticipated that densities approximating 40 units per acre will be required to create incentives (make it profitable) for non-profit or for-profit developers to build rental housing and reserve some of the units at affordable rent levels. (Given the owner's apparent interest in proceeding with development, the Croman property presents a promising opportunity to facilitate affordable rental housing development),

• Establish an urban renewal area, increase local property taxes, or divert revenue from other sources (e.g., hotel taxes) to create a stable and ongoing source of revenue for the housing trust fund.

• Prohibit or establish minimum densities to prevent further single-family housing development in multifamily zones.

• Inventory all vacant and underused City-owned land and, where appropriate, market its availability for affordable housing development--or sell the land and use the proceeds to assemble other sites for development.

• Encourage and provide incentives for the development of affordable multifamily housing over surface parking lots in the downtown and other commercial areas, at local churches, and at the university.

• Launch an educational campaign to: (1) generate awareness of Ashland's housing problems and needs and how they jeopardize the community's character; and (2) encourage community and interest group support for proposed land use and funding strategies.

Study_Session_Packet.pdf (203.8KB)

The above document(s) are Adobe® Acrobat® PDF files and may be viewed using the free Adobe® Acrobat® Reader™. Most newer web browsers already contain the Adobe® Acrobat® Reader™ plug-in. However, if you need it, click on the "Get Acrobat® Reader™" icon to download it now.