Affordable Housing Task Force

COLUMBIA AFFORDABLE HOUSING TASK FORCE MEETING AGENDA TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2021 The Columbia Affordable Housing Task Force will conduct a meeting on Tuesday, February 9, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. using Video Conferencing Technology. The meeting will be streamed online at www.columbiasc.gov. CALL TO ORDER APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approval of January 12, 2021 Meeting Minutes COMMITTEE DISCUSSION 2. Definition of Affordable Housing 3. Affordable Housing Unit Goal ANNOUNCEMENTS NEXT MEETING DATE March 9, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. ADJOURNMENT Page 1 of 1  1 MEETING DATE: February 9, 2021 DEPARTMENT: City Clerk FROM: Erika Hammond, City Clerk SUBJECT: Approval of January 12, 2021 Meeting Minutes FUNDING SOURCE & ORIGINAL BUDGET: ATTACHMENTS:  AHTF_MN_011221 (PDF) Updated: 2/4/2021 2:29 PM Page 1 Packet Pg. 2  1.a COLUMBIA AFFORDABLE HOUSING TASK FORCE MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2021 Attachment: AHTF_MN_011221 (6482 : Approval of January 12, 2021 Meeting Minutes) CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 11:03 a.m. by Chair Tameika Isaac Devine. Attendee Name Present Absent Late Arrived Tameika Isaac Devine    John Andoh    11:36 AM Jeff Armstrong    Julie Ann Avin    Reggie Barner    Sue Berkowitz    Brenna Bernadin    Bryan Grady    Dylan Gunnels    Tonya Isaac    Jeff Larimore    11:59 AM Ivory Matthews    Jennifer Moore    Mary Louise Resch    Shayla Riley    11:10 AM Lila Anna Sauls    Gregory Sprouse    Allison Terracio    Regina Williams    11:31 AM Lester Young    Jim Zieche    Chris Zimmer    APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approval of December 8, 2020 Meeting Minutes Upon a motion made by Lila Anna Sauls and seconded by Jim Zieche, the task force members voted unanimously to approve the December 8, 2020 Meeting Minutes. Page 1 of 5 Packet Pg. 3  1.a COLUMBIA AFFORDABLE HOUSING TASK FORCE MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2021 COMMITTEE DISCUSSION Attachment: AHTF_MN_011221 (6482 : Approval of January 12, 2021 Meeting Minutes) 2. Discussion of 2021 Goals A. Definition of Affordable Housing Councilwoman Devine, Chair said in order for us to provide robust recommendations to City Council, we must know where we are and where we want to go. I want us to focus on what affordable housing means to us in the Midlands. Based on that definition, we will set a goal for the number of affordable housing units we will recommend to City and County Councils over a specific period of time. We have a huge affordable housing deficit. HUD’s definition of affordable housing looks at 30% of your income. That doesn't capture the reality on the ground. What is affordability for housing here? Krista Hampton, City of Columbia Planning and Development Services Director said it comes down to having available housing at each level. We have a variety of sectors in our community that we need to address. Gloria Saeed, City of Columbia Community Development Director said the messaging doesn't need to focus on an income amount, but the people and what affordable housing is. Leigh DeForth, AICP, City of Columbia Comprehensive Planner said it is important to talk about the concept of cost burden and the concept of complete neighborhoods that have access to goods and services that make affordable housing a part of an affordable lifestyle. Ivory Matthews, Columbia Housing Authority added that it may be important to back into a definition by looking at the cost of what it means to rent and purchase a home that is affordable. Bryan Grady, PhD, SC State Housing Finance & Development Authority said affordable housing is what a household can afford. Step one is stabilizing those who are truly low income. There is a distinction between not being able to afford where you want to live and not being able to afford any housing, anywhere. Lila Anna Sauls, Homeless No More said we have to be cautious as we develop affordable housing so that it fits into existing neighborhoods. The messaging is mixed-use. We are not going to create pockets of poverty. Gloria Saeed, Community Development Director said the messaging should include evidence of where a diversity of quality housing has improved neighborhoods. Page 2 of 5 Packet Pg. 4  1.a COLUMBIA AFFORDABLE HOUSING TASK FORCE MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2021 Attachment: AHTF_MN_011221 (6482 : Approval of January 12, 2021 Meeting Minutes) Jennifer Moore, United Way of the Midlands said the Partnership and Public Education committees talked about not using some of the HUD language. I wrote down quality rental and homeownership opportunities for people at various income levels that build complete and thriving communities. It’s not just about housing, but also about economic opportunities. Brenna Bernadin, Fast Forward said we also discussed that affordable housing should be based on what a person or family can pay for while still having money left over for basic necessities like food, transportation, and health care. What we consider affordable depends on households not a set number and how we can translate that into a thriving community. Councilwoman Devine, Chair agreed to wordsmith and share Jennifer’s and Brenna’s information with the group in hopes of having a definition by the next meeting. Councilman Davis said it is about the total individual and the things they need to be a part of a community and to be perceived as being productive. It is important to know what the challenges are and then be willing to advocate for the people and the concept. Mary Louise Resch, Habitat for Humanity said in addition to infill builds within neighborhoods, we will work with homeowners who may not be able to afford to fix their homes. Julie Ann Avin, MIRCI said there are income concerns and accessibility issues for people with disabilities and the elderly. We need to be mindful of those needs in the construction and development phase. Councilwoman Devine, Chair agreed that the definition should include age, income, and ability. Lester Young, Just Leadership said affordable wages are hindering people from living in an affordable way. We have to consider the wage gap that is causing people to fall behind and how COVID has impacted this even more. Councilwoman Devine, Chair said as we advocate for our residents, it is important for us to understand and include what the living wage should be. Gregory Sprouse, Central Midlands Council of Governments said there is a lot of good data that quantifies transportation costs. Transportation costs can have a significant impact on what affordability means. Page 3 of 5 Packet Pg. 5  1.a COLUMBIA AFFORDABLE HOUSING TASK FORCE MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2021 Regina Williams, Booker T. Washington Heights Neighborhood said I would like us to consider Attachment: AHTF_MN_011221 (6482 : Approval of January 12, 2021 Meeting Minutes) aging in place housing and mobility freedom housing to keep people in the community. I shared information about a program in Atlanta that deals with code enforcement. Jeff Larimore, Midlands Housing Trust Fund said we are serving families in the service industry. We have to find effective messengers to go against the stigma of affordable housing. John Andoh, The COMET said we want to be mindful of how transportation costs can affect persons with low income as we continue to price the transit system and pursue grants to subsidize transit. Brenna Bernadin, Fast Forward added that it is hard to find a second apartment once you are evicted. We need to make sure we have affordable housing for people who have evictions. Councilwoman Devine, Chair asked the Legal and Zoning Committee to look at the laws around evictions. Councilman Davis said the NAACP is putting together a navigator program for people who are facing eviction. This will be an opportunity for this group to help in that venture. B. Affordable Housing Unit Goal Bryan Grady, PhD, SC State Housing Finance & Development Authority said Councilwoman Devine asked me to put together a potential estimate of the scale of affordable housing that would need to be produced to make a substantial amount of progress in terms of addressing the City’s and County’s affordable housing needs. The Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy dataset sorts people’s housing conditions by Area Median Income. Many sources of state and federal financing are attached to these AMI levels. There’s a real need to focus on the extremely low income population. For a single adult earning 30% of the AMI to get to the 30% threshold, that person has to be only paying $383 a month in rent and utilities. The tier one rental housing need includes those who are living in substandard housing and those whose economic situation is untenable. The tier two need includes people who are severely cost burdened with very low income and moderately cost burdened with extremely low income. The total housing need across the two tiers is 16,000 rental units in Richland County with 7,500 of those being in the City of Columbia. There needs to be a series of rent and income restrictions that ensure that this housing directly serves the identified populations. Page 4 of 5 Packet Pg. 6  1.a COLUMBIA AFFORDABLE HOUSING TASK FORCE MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2021 Discussion of the committee included affordable housing bonds, inclusionary housing statutes, Attachment: AHTF_MN_011221 (6482 : Approval of January 12, 2021 Meeting Minutes) cost of construction, short-term and long-term goals, actual units built annually, for-profit developers, a local trust fund, low wealth households, and development of dilapidated infill lots. The recommended goal is 10,000 units over 10 years. In preparation for the next meeting:  Krista Hampton was asked to pull 2018, 2019, and 2020 building permits.  Councilwoman Devine will pull the American Community Survey.  Assistant City Manager Gentry was asked to identify the number of vacant lots in the City of Columbia.  The task force members will continue to discuss the definition of affordable housing and the affordable housing unit goals at the next meeting. ANNOUNCEMENTS Councilwoman Devine, Chair announced that Session 3 of the Color of Law discussion is next Thursday, January 21, 2021 with the author Richard Rothstein. NEXT MEETING DATE February 9, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 12:32 p.m. Respectfully submitted by: Erika D. Moore Hammond, CMC City Clerk Page 5 of 5 Packet Pg. 7  2 MEETING DATE: February 9, 2021 DEPARTMENT: City Clerk FROM: Erika Hammond, City Clerk SUBJECT: Definition of Affordable Housing FUNDING SOURCE & ORIGINAL BUDGET: Updated: 2/4/2021 2:31 PM Page 1 Packet Pg. 8  3 MEETING DATE: February 9, 2021 DEPARTMENT: City Clerk FROM: Erika Hammond, City Clerk SUBJECT: Affordable Housing Unit Goal FUNDING SOURCE & ORIGINAL BUDGET: Updated: 2/4/2021 2:33 PM Page 1 Packet Pg. 9