Affordable Housing Task Force

COLUMBIA AFFORDABLE HOUSING TASK FORCE MEETING AGENDA TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2021 The Columbia Affordable Housing Task Force will conduct an Advisory Committee Meeting on Tuesday, October 12, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. using video conferencing technology. The meeting will be streamed online at www.columbiasc.gov. For questions regarding the meeting, please contact the City Clerk at (803)545-3045 or cityclerk@columbiasc.gov. CALL TO ORDER APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approval of the September 14, 2021 Affordable Housing Task Force Meeting Minutes COMMITTEE DISCUSSION 2. Affordable Housing Trust Funds - Mr. Michael Anderson, Director of Housing Trust Funds for Community Change 3. Committee Reports  Public Education & Awareness Committee - Ms. Brenna Bernardin, Chair - Outreach Plan  Partnerships - Ms. Jennifer Moore, Chair  Legal & Zoning - Ms. Lila Anna Sauls, Co-Chair  Financing - Mr. Reggie Barner, Chair  Accessibility - Ms. Julie Ann Avin, Chair ANNOUNCEMENTS NEXT MEETING DATE Tuesday, November 9, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. ADJOURNMENT Page 1 of 1  1 MEETING DATE: October 12, 2021 DEPARTMENT: City Clerk FROM: Erika Hammond, City Clerk SUBJECT: Approval of the September 14, 2021 Affordable Housing Task Force Meeting Minutes FUNDING SOURCE & ORIGINAL BUDGET: ATTACHMENTS:  AHTF_MN_09142021 (PDF) Updated: 10/8/2021 3:33 PM Page 1 Packet Pg. 2  1.a Attachment: AHTF_MN_09142021 (6907 : Approval of the September 14, 2021 Affordable Housing Task Force Meeting Minutes) COLUMBIA AFFORDABLE HOUSING TASK FORCE MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 CALL TO ORDER Attendee Name Present Absent Late Arrived Jeff Armstrong    Julie Ann Avin    Reggie Barner    Sue Berkowitz    Brenna Bernardin    Pamela Bynoe-Reed    Tameika Isaac Devine    Bryan Grady    Dylan Gunnels    Tonya Isaac    Jeff Larimore    Ivory Mathews    Jennifer Moore    Mary Louise Resch    Shayla Riley    Lila Anna Sauls    Gregory Sprouse    Allison Terracio    Regina Williams    Lester Young    Jim Zieche    Chris Zimmer    Julie Ann Avin, MIRCI introduced Anita Floyd, Chief Operating Officer at MIRCI as a new task force member. Anita is one of the most respected advocates and planners of affordable housing in the Midlands. Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine introduced Brittani Richards, Director of Grants and Government Affairs at Habitat for Humanity as a new member serving as the replacement for Mary Louise Resch on the task force. Page 1 of 6 Packet Pg. 3  1.a Attachment: AHTF_MN_09142021 (6907 : Approval of the September 14, 2021 Affordable Housing Task Force Meeting Minutes) COLUMBIA AFFORDABLE HOUSING TASK FORCE MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approval of May 11, 2021 Affordable Housing Task Force Meeting Minutes - Approved 2. Approval of August 10, 2021 Affordable Housing Task Force Meeting Minutes - Approved Upon a single motion made by Jim Zieche and seconded by Ivory Mathews, taskforce members voted unanimously to approve the May 11, 2021 and August 10, 2021 Affordable Housing Task Force Meeting Minutes. COMMITTEE DISCUSSION 3. Committee Reports  Public Education & Awareness Committee - Ms. Brenna Bernardin, Chair  Partnerships - Ms. Jennifer Moore, Chair  Accessibility - Ms. Julie Ann Avin, Chair  Financing - Mr. Reggie Barner, Chair  Legal & Zoning - Ms. Sue Berkowitz and Ms. Lila Anna Sauls, Co-Chairs Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine said the bulk of today’s discussion will be committee reports and next steps. By December, we need to be recommending the amount of units we would like to see introduced into the market as a benchmark. Then we can make a presentation to city and county councils for next year. We also need a multi-year plan. Erika Hammond, City Clerk read an email update from Brenna Bernardin, Public Education and Awareness Committee Chair: The Public Education and Awareness Committee is ready to move forward once the new definition is adopted. Once the description is ready, we will meet again to review the 2-page Task Force fact sheet. For September, we are working with the Partnership Committee on a GoogleDoc with group suggestions for outreach, contact information, and who should make the first contact. We hope to have everything ready for October. If anyone has any ideas for outreach or how we should present the material, feel free to email me, and we will add it to our meeting. Bryan Grady, Ph.D., SC Housing said during the last meeting, there was a question of affordable versus attainable. I came up with three options: go with what we previously had subject to changing participate to engage; have the same definition subject to changing affordable to attainable; or decouple the words affordable and attainable and develop multiple definitions for other existing terms such as workforce housing and priority housing. Page 2 of 6 Packet Pg. 4  1.a Attachment: AHTF_MN_09142021 (6907 : Approval of the September 14, 2021 Affordable Housing Task Force Meeting Minutes) COLUMBIA AFFORDABLE HOUSING TASK FORCE MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 Upon a motion made by Julie Ann Avin and seconded by Pamela Bynoe-Reed, the task force members voted unanimously to approve the following definition of Affordable Housing: Affordable housing consists of inclusive, equitable, and safe places to live, for owners and renters, priced such that all Columbians can afford necessities of living and fully engage in our community. Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine said we should have workforce housing and priority housing spelled out in our documents. Cindy Herrera, Columbia Housing suggested that a percentage be used for all definitions. Jim Zieche, More Justice asked if the greatest need is in priority housing. Bryan Grady, Ph.D., SC Housing said there are existing resources that serve higher income levels. The National Housing Trust Fund is the only funding source exclusively for the extremely low income population. Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine said at some point we will have a document with our approved definition of affordable housing, our priorities, and a glossary of terms to include the definitions for priority housing and workforce housing. I will send this to Councilwoman Terracio and I will report out to City Council next week. Then we can move forward with this definition and Brenna and Jennifer can provide a public engagement plan. Melanie Huggins, Executive Director at the Richland County Public Library has asked how they can be supportive of our efforts. Our award winning PR department at the City of Columbia will be positioned to help us move forward with getting this information out. At the next meeting we will have a plan for public engagement. Please email your thoughts to Jennifer and Brenna. Julie Ann Avin, MIRCI, Accessibility Committee Chair said we are working to formalize a report. We continue to focus on universal design requirements for individuals with disabilities or for people to age in place; enhancing the federal fair housing minimums for ADA compliance; and working with landlords to make units accessible to individuals who were formerly incarcerated. Councilman Sam Davis said when I worked with the state we tried to intercept the construction process to get commitments from builders and owners to make sure they met the minimum federal set aside in terms of physical accommodations. This strategy can increase the numbers as units come online. Page 3 of 6 Packet Pg. 5  1.a Attachment: AHTF_MN_09142021 (6907 : Approval of the September 14, 2021 Affordable Housing Task Force Meeting Minutes) COLUMBIA AFFORDABLE HOUSING TASK FORCE MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine asked if there are models that we need to research regarding housing for those returning from incarceration. Sue Berkowitz, SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center, Legal & Zoning Committee Co- Chair said an application has been submitted to HUD through 180 Place and other providers for eviction legal assistance. We are waiting to see if the application has been approved. I have been working to help people access rental assistance around the state. ANNOUNCEMENTS Jim Zieche, More Justice announced that they are working with Richland County Council to form an affordable housing trust fund. We believe that ARP funds can be used for that purpose. Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine outlined the following next steps:  Julie Ann Avin will submit a report for the Accessibility Committee.  Reggie Barner will host a Financing Committee meeting and submit a report.  Lila Anna Sauls and Sue Berkowitz will host a Legal & Zoning Committee meeting and submit a report.  Jennifer Moore and Brenna Bernardin will develop a public education, awareness, and outreach plan.  We will establish goals and recommendations for 2022 in October.  We will draft a document for the councils to review prior to November. Ivory Mathews, Columbia Housing thanked all housing ambassadors for supporting and advocating for federal resources for housing during the month of August. Housing has been included in the reconciliation bill that is being considered by Congress. This week, we started the demolition of Allen Benedict Court. We are also partnering with the State Housing financing agency and Richland County to host a Housing Power Hour about emergency rental assistance programs on September 15, 2021. Click here to view “Calling all Landlords in SC!” Cindy Herrera, Columbia Housing reported that the local fund administered by the State Fiscal Accountability Authority will reach its bond cap and by the end of the year we will not be able to address several projects in our pipeline. Columbia Housing has three priority projects and there are twelve private sector projects. We need assistance with discussions on moving bond cap that’s sitting with SC Housing to the local fund and with advocating for these projects at the local level and for an increase in the per capita bond amount at the federal level. Page 4 of 6 Packet Pg. 6  1.a Attachment: AHTF_MN_09142021 (6907 : Approval of the September 14, 2021 Affordable Housing Task Force Meeting Minutes) COLUMBIA AFFORDABLE HOUSING TASK FORCE MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine asked City Manager Wilson to discuss this with city lobbyists. Teresa Wilson, City Manager added that the Turning Leaf Project is expanding to Columbia. It has been a great project for reducing recidivism in Charleston. They are having a grand opening on October 27, 2021. They have a significant strategy to ensure that individuals are able to acclimate to society with wraparound services when they have been formerly incarcerated. One of those services is identifying suitable housing after successfully completing the program. We had a productive conversation with them on yesterday. Dylan Gunnels said Haven Home is now official. I am available to meet with you, if you have questions about our methodology. We are raising funds to serve as a line of equity and we are on track to start purchasing properties by the beginning of 2022. The Haven Home Market will be held on Saturday, September 18, 2021 at 8:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. at Reformation Lutheran Church, 1118 Union Street, Columbia, SC 29201. Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine announced that Secretary Marcia Fudge of HUD recently visited Columbia. One takeaway was her passion for ensuring that HUD is a partner at the state and local levels. She spoke a lot about equity, upgrading facilities, and evictions. I am working to identify a magistrate in Richland County who can help us establish an eviction court. I’ll be in Washington, DC this weekend for HUD and congressional meetings. Please email me about the great things you are doing and I will include them in my report. Lastly, Ms. Shropshire, Executive Director of SC Housing agreed for Dr. Grady to assist us with a housing needs assessment. Bryan Grady, Ph.D., SC Housing said I have been the lead author of a statewide housing needs assessment, which puts all of the data on the table for policy makers and stakeholders to consider about the state of affordability, housing availability, the number of individuals unable to access affordable housing, challenges, demographics, and more. It helps to inform strategic planning and program design. Click here to learn more. NEXT MEETING DATE Tuesday, October 12, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 11:56 a.m. Page 5 of 6 Packet Pg. 7  1.a Attachment: AHTF_MN_09142021 (6907 : Approval of the September 14, 2021 Affordable Housing Task Force Meeting Minutes) COLUMBIA AFFORDABLE HOUSING TASK FORCE MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 Respectfully submitted: Erika D. Moore Hammond, CMC City Clerk Page 6 of 6 Packet Pg. 8  2 MEETING DATE: October 12, 2021 DEPARTMENT: City Clerk FROM: Erika Hammond, City Clerk SUBJECT: Affordable Housing Trust Funds - Mr. Michael Anderson, Director of Housing Trust Funds for Community Change FUNDING SOURCE & ORIGINAL BUDGET: Updated: 9/27/2021 9:19 AM Page 1 Packet Pg. 9  3 MEETING DATE: October 12, 2021 DEPARTMENT: City Clerk FROM: Erika Hammond, City Clerk SUBJECT: Committee Reports FUNDING SOURCE & ORIGINAL BUDGET: PURPOSE: Public Education & Awareness Committee - Ms. Brenna Bernardin, Chair - Outreach Plan Partnerships - Ms. Jennifer Moore, Chair Legal & Zoning - Ms. Lila Anna Sauls & Ms. Sue Berkowitz, Co-Chairs Financing - Mr. Reggie Barner, Chair Accessibility - Ms. Julie Ann Avin, Chair Updated: 10/8/2021 3:28 PM Page 1 Packet Pg. 10