Human Services Advisory Council

MINUTES Human Services Advisory Council City of Falls Church PURPOSE OF MEETING: To advise City Council on human services delivery to Falls Church citizens. DATE OF MEETING: April 18, 2018 PLACE OF MEETING: Oak Room, City Hall MEETING CALLED TO ORDER BY NICOLE NEWMAN: at 6:35 p.m. THOSE PRESENT: HSAC Members: Staff: Craig Cheney Nancy Vincent Alisa Macht City Council Liaison Nicole Newman (chair) Marybeth Connelly Anne Norloff Student Representative Debra Z. Roth Tahaseen Shaik APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The minutes from March 5, 2019 were approved. OLD BUSINESS:  Debrief on West End Economic Development presentation Comments from HSAC were sent to the City Council and the developer. See attached. NEW BUSINESS:  Senior Tax Relief Program Ms. Macht, Ms. Connelly, and Ms. Vincent participated in a Working Group to propose changes to the City Tax Relief program. Those changes will be considered by City Council. STAFF REPORT:  The staff in the temporary City Hall are moving into the newly renovated City Hall. Housing and Human Services will be moving in June.  A Mobile Pinwheel Garden is being hosted by several City businesses throughout the month to bring awareness to child abuse prevention.  The Planning Department will do a presentation at the May meeting on three draft chapters of the City’s Comprehensive Plan: Housing, Demographics, and Environment  The Housing Commission presented the Housing Champion Award last week to Julio Idrobo.  Aurora House staff completed training for Certificates on Human Trafficking.  Ms. Vincent is participating on a task force charged with making recommendations to the Virginia Housing Development Authority on how to best utilize $75M in funding to preserve affordable housing that is at risk due to the planned Amazon HQ2 in Arlington. March 27, 2019 Dear Members of the Falls Church City Council: Members of the Human Services Advisory Council (HSAC) reviewed documents submitted by Falls Church Gateway Partners and attended a briefing on March 5, 2019 regarding the West Falls Church Economic Development Project. We have the following comments.  We like the idea of micro units to create affordable homes.  This development should be a leader in affordable housing and go beyond the minimum by providing more than 6% of the homes as Affordable Dwelling Units (ADU) or provide ADUs at rents affordable to households at 40% of the Area Median Income. The ADUs should also be larger to accommodate families and should be permanent and run with the life of the property.  Use universal accessibility standards in design.  In planning, take into consideration wheelchair users, strollers, seniors, and caregivers. Everything should be accessible. Bicycles on sidewalks can make it difficult folks struggling with accessibility. Since this is a major project for the City, we would like it to exceed the letter of the law in ADA compliance.  Consider the number of children and seniors at the development and be sure there are sufficient crosswalks and traffic lights. Add more stop signs and have them flashing.  Will the parking garage have first floor parking for seniors? Parking needs to be accessible for the population including when events occur.  We are concerned about the volume of traffic being siphoned from Haycock.  Provide transportation, such as a shuttle, to and from the West Falls Church Metro station. The transportation option should make several stops on site, have covered stops, run regularly, and be accessible. Ideally, it will connect with other transportation within the City.  Please provide more detail about the senior residences.  Provide a credit for low‐income residents to be served at the assisted living facility.  There appears to be a lack of sufficient separation between the school and commercial property.   Since we expect the development to be fully open to service animals, we expect there to be provisions such as water available.  Diversity is key. We want a project that accommodates a diverse age span, diverse abilities, and diverse incomes. We are available to provide comment as the process moves forward. Sincerely, Human Services Advisory Council (HSAC) Craig Cheney Alisa Macht Nicole Newman (Chair) Anne Norloff Debra Z. Roth Tahaseen Shaik (Student Representative)   Staff will present a Proclamation to City Council on April 22 declaring May 9, 2019 to be Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day. ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 7:34 p.m. SIGNATURE OF RECORDER: Nancy Vincent The City of Falls Church is committed to the letter and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This document will be made available in an alternate format upon request. Call 703-248-5005 (TTY 711). March 27, 2019 Dear Members of the Falls Church City Council: Members of the Human Services Advisory Council (HSAC) reviewed documents submitted by Falls Church Gateway Partners and attended a briefing on March 5, 2019 regarding the West Falls Church Economic Development Project. We have the following comments.  We like the idea of micro units to create affordable homes.  This development should be a leader in affordable housing and go beyond the minimum by providing more than 6% of the homes as Affordable Dwelling Units (ADU) or provide ADUs at rents affordable to households at 40% of the Area Median Income. The ADUs should also be larger to accommodate families and should be permanent and run with the life of the property.  Use universal accessibility standards in design.  In planning, take into consideration wheelchair users, strollers, seniors, and caregivers. Everything should be accessible. Bicycles on sidewalks can make it difficult folks struggling with accessibility. Since this is a major project for the City, we would like it to exceed the letter of the law in ADA compliance.  Consider the number of children and seniors at the development and be sure there are sufficient crosswalks and traffic lights. Add more stop signs and have them flashing.  Will the parking garage have first floor parking for seniors? Parking needs to be accessible for the population including when events occur.  We are concerned about the volume of traffic being siphoned from Haycock.  Provide transportation, such as a shuttle, to and from the West Falls Church Metro station. The transportation option should make several stops on site, have covered stops, run regularly, and be accessible. Ideally, it will connect with other transportation within the City.  Please provide more detail about the senior residences.  Provide a credit for low‐income residents to be served at the assisted living facility.  There appears to be a lack of sufficient separation between the school and commercial property.  Since we expect the development to be fully open to service animals, we expect there to be provisions such as water available.   Diversity is key. We want a project that accommodates a diverse age span, diverse abilities, and diverse incomes. We are available to provide comment as the process moves forward. Sincerely, Human Services Advisory Council (HSAC) Craig Cheney Alisa Macht Nicole Newman (Chair) Anne Norloff Debra Z. Roth Tahaseen Shaik (Student Representative)