12/14/2021 - Affordable Housing Advisory Committee Affordable Housing Advisory Meeting Minutes December 14, 2021
Committee
City of Clearwater
Main Library- Council Chambers
100 N. Osceola Avenue
Clearwater, FL 33755
m
s
Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, December 14, 2021
9:00 AM
Main Library - Council Chambers
Affordable Housing Advisory Committee
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City of Clearwater
Affordable Housing Advisory Meeting Minutes December 14, 2021
Committee
Roll Call
Present:11 - Chair Camille Hebting, Committee Member Kathleen Beckman,
Committee Member Michael Boutzoukas, Committee Member Gaby
Camacho, Committee Member Kevin Chinault, Committee Member
Pierre Cournoyer, Committee Member Lindsay Dicus-Harrison,
Committee Member Linda Kemp, Committee Member Jacqueline
Rivera, Committee Member Carmen Santiago and Committee Member
Peter Scalia
Also Present - Denise Sanderson — Economic Development & Housing Director, Chuck
Lane — Economic Development & Housing Assistant Director, Patricia
O. Sullivan — Board Reporter
1. Call To Order
The Chair called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. at the Main Library.
To provide continuity for research, items are in agenda order although not necessarily
discussed in that order.
2. Approval of Minutes
2.1 Approve the November 9, 2021 AHAC meeting minutes
Member Scalia moved to approve minutes of the November 9, 2021
Affordable Housing Advisory Committee meeting as submitted in
written summation. The motion was duly seconded and carried
unanimously.
3. New Business
3.1 Approve the 2021 Local Housing Incentive Strategy (LHIS) Report developed by the
Affordable Housing Advisory Committee (AHAC)
Florida Statute Section 420.9076 states that counties and cities receiving
State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) program funds are required to
appoint an eleven-member Affordable Housing Advisory Committee (AHAC).
The statute further provides that the committee be made up of members
from a specific industry or a specific group as identified in the statute. The
requirement was largely met through the use of the City's existing
seven-member Neighborhood and Affordable Housing Advisory Board
(NAHAB). City staff recommended Council appointment of four additional
committee members. The City Council adopted Resolution 21-30 that
created and appointed the 2021 AHAC.
The duties of the AHAC included reviewing policies and procedures,
ordinances, land development regulations and the City's adopted
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City of Clearwater
Affordable Housing Advisory Meeting Minutes December 14, 2021
Committee
comprehensive plan and recommending specific actions or initiatives to
encourage or facilitate affordable housing.
Per state statute, at a minimum, the AHAC reviewed and made
recommendations on the following:
(a) The processing of approvals of development orders or permits, as
defined in F.S.163.3164 (7) and (8), for affordable housing
projects is expedited to a greater degree than other projects.
(b) The modification of impact-fee requirements, including reduction
or waiver of fees and alternative methods of fee payment for
affordable housing.
(c) The allowance of flexibility in densities for affordable housing.
(d) The reservation of infrastructure capacity or housing for very low-
income persons, low-income persons, and moderate-income persons.
(e) The allowance of affordable accessory residential units in
residential zoning districts.
(f) The reduction of parking and setback requirements for affordable
housing.
(g) The allowance of flexible lot configurations, including zero-lot-line
configurations for affordable housing.
(h) The modification of street requirements for affordable housing.
(i) The establishment of a process by which a local government
considers, before adoption, policies, procedures, ordinances,
regulations, or plan provisions that increase the cost of housing.
(j) The preparation of a printed inventory of locally owned public
lands suitable for affordable housing.
(k) The support of development near transportation hubs and major
employment centers and mixed-use developments.
Throughout the fall of 2021, Economic Development and Housing
Department staff, through coordination with Planning and Development
Department staff, facilitated discussion at three meetings of the AHAC. The
meetings centered around reviewing the 2020 LHIS to discuss whether any
changes should be made as well as to consider new strategies to incentivize
development of affordable housing. The LHIS encompasses the definition,
vision, strategic focus areas and incentive recommendations in order to
facilitate the development and preservation of affordable housing in the City.
The AHAC convened on three separate occasions to develop and identify
the value of affordable housing, identify the principles for Clearwater's
affordable housing and develop/confirm a vision statement to be included as
part of the LHIS.
The AHAC members focused on the values that affordable housing brings to
the City of Clearwater. The AHAC recommended the continuation, with slight
modifications in some cases, of recommendations made by prior AHAC
committees. The committee focused particularly on two areas of revised and
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City of Clearwater
Affordable Housing Advisory Meeting Minutes December 14, 2021
Committee
new strategies aimed at encouraging development of affordable housing:
Revised Strategies:
The processing of approvals of development orders or permits, as
defined in F.S.163.3164 (7) and (8), for affordable housing projects is
expedited to a greater degree than other projects.
o Continue to use the "Request for Expedited Permit Processing
for Affordable Housing Activity" form to fast-track affordable
housing projects. Projects submitted with this form will receive
first priority during the permit review process. Continue to strive
to complete reviews of single-family permit reviews within four
days of the initial submittal and within three days of all
subsequent submittals.
o Encourage affordable housing developers of single-family
homes to submit frequently used template plans for
pre-screening by the Building Official to further expedite the
staff permit review process.
The modification of impact-fee requirements, including reduction or waiver
of fees and alternative methods of fee payment for affordable housing
o Continue to assess the financial, legal, and administrative
feasibility of reducing, refunding, or redefining (by unit size) the
costs of impact fees and/or permitting fees related to the
development of affordable housing.
o The Planning & Development Department will recommend
amending the Schedule of Fees Rates and Charges ordinance
to provide for a reduction in the Plan Review and Permit Fees
for single-family homes.
o Coordinate with the Parks and Recreation Department in the
development of a new Parks & Recreation impact fee structure
to identify opportunities to reduce or waive impact fees for
affordable housing.
o The Economic Development & Housing Department will
develop a policy to assist with the payment of Plan Review and
Permit Fees and impact fees utilizing state and federal funds
designated for affordable housing.
New Strategies:
Develop a new policy/procedure for disposition of city owned lots.
Consider including energy efficient items into the scoring matrix in
order to support environmentally friendly development consistent
with Greenprint 2.0.
Evaluate the feasibility of reducing/paying code violation liens on city
owned lots to make them available for affordable housing development.
The LHIS report has been due every three years on December 31st of the
year preceding the submission of the Local Housing Assistance Plan
(LHAP). Changes to Florida Statute now require the AHAC to convene, and
the LHIS report to be updated annually. The report must be submitted to the
Florida Housing Finance Corporation by December 31, 2021.
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Affordable Housing Advisory Meeting Minutes December 14, 2021
Committee
Economic Development & Housing Assistant Director Chuck Lane reviewed
the report. The AHAC will sunset following today's meeting and reconvene
next fall. He thanked the Committee for their great work.
It was recommended NAHAB (Neighborhood &Affordable Housing Advisory
Board) support effective case management. Discussion ensued. with
comments re necessary City actions: 1) aggressive affordable housing
development competitive with surrounding municipalities; 2) business and
church engagement to sponsor families or help locate housing options as
businesses were losing employees with no access to affordable housing, 3)
permanent supportive housing for disabled community, 4) end chronic
homelessness, and 5) encourage mentorship.
Mr. Lane said he would seek opportunities to make additional funds
available to support partners. He hoped the Countywide compact will
encourage nearby municipalities to expand affordable housing efforts. He
thanked the Committee for its commitment to increase the availability of
affordable housing.
Committee Member Santiago moved to approve the 2021 Local
Housing Incentive Strategy Report. The motion was duly seconded and
carried unanimously.
2022 Legislative Session
Members were encouraged to reach out to their legislators in support of the
Governor's $355-million budget for affordable housing.
Member Linda Kemp
Mr. Lane thanked Member Linda Kemp for her service. NAHAB and AHAC
have benefited from her guidance and expertise since 2009.
Members joined Mr. Lane in thanking Member Kemp.
4. Citizens to be heard regarding items not on the agenda: None.
5. Adjourn
The meeting adjourned at 9:30 a.m.
The City Council will sunset the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee
following this meeting.
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City of Clearwater