Housing Commission

MINUTES HOUSING COMMISSION PURPOSE OF MEETING: The five-member Commission is appointed by the City Council for three-year terms. The Housing Commission maintains awareness of housing needs and opportunities, including affordable housing; proposes housing policy initiatives and changes; investigates fair housing complaints and conciliates these complaints; mediates conflicts relating to the Virginia Residential Landlord & Tenant Act and offers reconciliatory services in conflicts relating to other housing laws. DATE OF MEETING: March 13, 2018 PLACE OF MEETING: Winter Hill Apartments – Board Room MEETING CALLED TO ORDER BY: Chairman Idrobo at 6:35 p.m. THOSE PRESENT: Commission Members Staff Julio Idrobo, Chair _x__ __ Dana Lewis __x_ Tori McKinney, Vice Chair __ _x__ Council Liaison M.T. Gutmanis __ ___ Letty Hardi – __ x_ _ Don Brobst __x_ _ Planning Commission Liaison Brenda Heffernan __x ___ Lindy Hockenberry __ _ FCHC Liaison _ Student Liaison Thom Vaccaro__ _x __ Katherine O’Neil ___x_ Visitors Joshua Shokoor __x___ Jordan Hicks ___x___ The meeting was facilitated by Chair Julio Idrobo. This is his last meeting as Chair as he is moving out of the City. There will now be four members and a vacancy. Approval of Minutes The minutes for the March 13, 2018 meeting were approved. Sprague Champion Award for Affordable Housing Advocacy - Planning for FY 2018 Award – Chair Idrobo The group stated that the next award presentation will also take place in February 2019 and the Commission will think about who to present this summer. Housing Articles Progress – Staff Lewis shared that there was actually a bonus article in that Christopher Fay’s article on homelessness ran last month after near the Award reception. Next month the article on Far Housing will run for CDBG and Fair Housing Month. Tori McKinney’s article on Homeownership is being edited and will run soon. As a reminder all articles should be 800 words. Future articles include: 1. Millennials and Housing – Don Brobst  2. Senior Housing- Thom Vaccaro 3. Importance of Affordable Housing and Conclusion - Julio Idrobo The group also talked about how our public education on affordable housing seems to be paying off. Liaisons shared that the budget meeting on the upcoming Sunday would be a good time for commissioners to come make comments. The group discussed that McKinney, Heffernan, Idrobo and Shokoor would all make comments based on their housing articles. Each person will speak for about 3 minutes and focus on a different area of affordable housing. The goal is to show a spectrum of housing needs. In the meeting the suggested items to ask for were the following; • preservation of the Fields when tax credits run out • tax abatement for affordable housing/nonprofit housing development • gap financing/housing fund for non-profit housing developers • Additional ADUS in market rate mixed use developments • Reinstitute the Down payment and closing Cost Assistance Program. The group talked about how it would make the most impact to have only two priority items. The top priority was the Fields and the second priority was adding to the Affordable Housing Fund. Both of these actually go together. Affordable Housing Policy Update Next Steps – Staff Lewis & Vice Chair McKinney shared that the first meeting of the Affordable Housing Policy Work group will be on April 3, 2018 followed by three additional meetings on 4-17, 5-15 and the final meeting on 5-22. The goal is to have a draft to be finalized in May and this will be followed by 30 days of public comment and a possible community forum. The Chair will be Craig Cheney and the Vice-Chair will be Tori. The group membership is being finalized. Brenda Heffernan will represent the Housing Commission. Housing Commission Annual Report This still needs to be completed. The Fields Tax Credit Expiration 2026 – Paul Brown, Wesley Housing Wesley was unable to attend the meeting but will hopefully attend next month’s meeting. Affordable Dwelling Unit Meet and Greet – Debrief – Staff Lewis Housing representatives from all of the localities in the DMV came to the HHS sponsored meeting held at the Falls Church on March 1, 2018. All of the information captured on how the jurisdictions negotiate with developers for proffers will be captured in a google doc. Reflections on Julio Idrobo Chair – All Commissioners All Commissioners went around and shared how our Chair has impacted them and how much he will be missed as he moves out of the City and departs as Chair. The group adjourned at 8:00 pm and convened at Panjshir restaurant to celebrate our departing chair. Signature of recorder: Dana Lewis The City of Falls Church is committed to the letter and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act. To request a reasonable accommodation for any type of disability, call 703 248-5005, (TTY 711).