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Home My WebLink AboutCDD Memo - Affordable Hsg TO: Deschutes County Board of Commissioners FROM: Nick Lelack, Planning Director DATE: February 25, 2009 MEETING: March 4, 2009 SUBJECT: Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) Affordable Housing Work Group SUMMARY I am serving on a State appointed affordable housing work group designed to encourage cities to provide sites dedicated to affordable housing. Based on the work group’s recommendations, the Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) has introduced HB 2225. Please find attached the legislative concept for HB 2225. This legislation would establish a Pilot Program to encourage up to five cities to provide “sites dedicated to affordable housing” within urban growth boundaries (UGBs). The concept would direct LCDC – in coordination with the Oregon Department of Housing and Community Services – to adopt rules for conducting the pilot project and selecting a limited number of local governments (up to five) to provide sites dedicated to affordable housing under some special provisions in the legislation and LCDC rules. The legislation would authorize pilot cities to designate sites dedicated to affordable housing through an expedited process for UGB expansion, or through other methods as may be specified in agency rules. The purpose of this work session is to briefly provide an overview of the work group and legislation, and how it might impact Deschutes County. OVERVIEW On March 20, 2008, the LCDC directed the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DCLD) to initiate an affordable housing administrative rulemaking project. The project is intended to encourage cities to provide sites dedicated to affordable housing and manufactured housing parks, as a “pilot project” limited to a few cities. LCDC appointed a work group to advise the department and the Commission (the list of work group members is provided at the end of this report). Based on input and recommendations from the workgroup, LCDC expected to adopt new administrative rules by the end of 2008. However, DLCD has found that the recommended rules cannot be adopted in a manner consistent with current State statutes. Therefore HB 2225 was introduced to obtain the minimum statute change necessary to authorize this pilot project to proceed. In considering new rules/laws to provide sites dedicated to affordable housing and manufactured housing parks, LCDC indicated the work group should consider the following: • If UGB amendments are one of the recommended tools for this concept, allow an added site to be exchanged for a site already in the UGB better located to serve those in need of affordable housing; • Require that new sites designated for this purpose be capable of being served by transportation facilities, sewer and water service and other public facilities necessary for affordable housing, in the near-term; • Define the term “sites dedicated to affordable housing,” taking into consideration regional factors, ownership and rental housing needs, government assisted housing, and the need to accommodate those displaced by mobile home park closures; • Propose safeguards to eliminate or minimize adverse impacts on farm and forest land protection and other key components of the statewide land use program; • Consider allowing a mix of affordable housing and market rate housing on a site dedicated to affordable housing; The work group continues to meet once or twice per month; our most recent meeting was Monday, February 23. The legislative concept for HB 2225 largely remains the same, however, it continues to evolve and several issues have yet to be addressed or defined. Please see the current version of HB 2225 attached. IMPACT ON DESCHUTES COUNTY Deschutes County will likely be home to one or more of the pilot program cities, and County owned property may be included in a Redmond pilot program. The cities of Redmond, Sisters and Bend have all indicated their interest to the DLCD work group regarding their interest in serving as one of the Pilot Program cities. While working for the City of Redmond, I indicated Redmond’s interest in serving as a pilot program. Redmond is a good candidate for inclusion in the program for the following reasons: • There is a need for affordable housing in Central Oregon, and Redmond is centrally located in the region; • Redmond adopted its first Affordable Housing Plan in November 2007, which included a policy to provide land supply for affordable housing; • Redmond has identified a potential 40-acre parcel owned by Deschutes County in the Redmond Urban Reserve Area (URA) primarily for the purposes of affordable housing. The property is located near jobs on the east side of the city; • The County owned property is identified for a mixed income neighborhood, including affordable housing, in the Redmond Eastside Framework Plan, adopted in December 2008; and, • While some cities may expand their UGBs to include prime farmland for affordable housing, a concern raised by the Oregon Farm Bureau, Redmond’s property is already included in its 50-year growth boundary (URA) and identified for future urban expansion. Based on my conversations with former Redmond City Counselor Joe Mansfield in 2008, the preliminary concept for the Redmond property consisted of the City purchasing the property from the County at a discounted rate. Then, Redmond would work with an affordable housing developer and/or provider (e.g., Housing Works) to develop a mixed income neighborhood. For example, there may be 60% market-rate housing and 40% affordable housing. It is important to note that HB 2225 would not require 100% of a site to be dedicated to affordable housing. Given the current economic conditions, Redmond may not be able to purchase the property for the foreseeable future. However, the County may still be able move forward with the same concept for the property (depending on the outcome of HB 2225) if Redmond is selected for the pilot program. The County could work with affordable housing developers/providers or donate a portion of the land for affordable housing, and then sell the remainder for market-rate housing. Redmond and its employers would still benefit from the provision of affordable housing in the community, and Deschutes County may be able to sell a small portion of its eastside Redmond property for market-rate housing. The City of Sisters has contacted DLCD about its interest in serving as a pilot program city as well. Sister’s Community Development Director Eric Porter sent the following email to DLCD on February 17, 2009: “The City of Sisters is interested in being considered as a candidate for the pilot program described in HB 2225 (attached). Sisters is unique in several key aspects that we believe help to make us an ideal candidate for this program; (1) Our City Council is supportive of efforts to stimulate local development, including affordable housing; (2) We have an incredibly successful Habitat for Humanity established in Sisters that is and has been dedicated to providing affordable ‘for purchase’ housing; (3) We are a ‘Severely Distressed’ community as identified by the State Department of Economic Development; (4) We are under 5000 population (presently at 1875); (5) We have historically had high land costs within the city that make providing affordable housing challenging, and (6) We are also in the geographical area served by HousingWorks, a provider of affordable rental units (they constructed Tamarack Village in Sisters, a low- income apartment complex). We have the ability on staff to provide the required findings to expand our UGB, and have just completed a Housing Needs Analysis to correlate with our Housing Plan update. We now need to know what we can do to be put on the radar for consideration into this program once this becomes a possibility. Any suggestions or feedback you might have for us would be greatly appreciated.” In addition, I understand affordable housing developers from Bend have contacted DLCD to indicate their interest in the program. However, I do not have any correspondence or information submitted on behalf of the City of Bend. All three Central Oregon communities may be uniquely qualified to serve as pilot program cities because of their significant differences in population. WORK GROUP MEMBERS John VanLandingham, LCDC (Chair), Lane County Legal Aid & Advocacy Center Janet Byrd, Housing Alliance/Neighborhood Partnership Fund Jon Chandler, Oregon Building Industry Association Shawn Cleave, Oregon Farm Bureau Bob Gillespie, Oregon Housing and Community Services Ann Glaze, Oregon Citizen Involvement Advisory Committee Jana Jarvis, Oregon Association of Realtors Al Johnson, Johnson & Sherton, P.C. Nick Lelack, Deschutes County/City of Redmond Mary Kyle McCurdy, 1000 Friends of Oregon Martha McLennan, Northwest Housing Alternatives Larry Medinger, Oregon Housing Council (Ashland-area homebuilder) John Miller, HOST Development Don Minor, Oregon Manufactured Housing Association Greg Mott, City of Springfield Linda Navarro, Oregon Bankers Association Jim Tierney, Columbia County Community Action Team Gregory Winterowd, Winterbrook Planning Bob Rindy, Gloria Gardiner, Bryan González, Department of Land Conservation and Development