Housing Commission

11/22/2021 - Minutes I. Call to Order Members Present: Robert Millar, Anna Wageling, Jessica Bridge, Leslie Black-Plumeau, Jack Commo, Stevya Mukuzo City Staff Present: Heather Carrington Guests Present: Councilor Jim Duncan, Langley Smurthwaite, Hillary Gombar, Elizabeth Wood, Grace Pfeil Call to Order by: Robert Millar Meeting Start Time: 6:02 PM Minutes Recorded by: Anna Wageling II. Public Comment None III. Approve Previous Meeting Minutes Meeting minutes from 10/25/21 were approved. IV. Council Update City Council Liaison Jim Duncan updated the Housing Commission on the following: l The City Manager search has been extended. The City has hired an executive search firm to expand the search. Meanwhile, City Council has hired a professional Interim City Manager, Wendy Harrison. Wendy started work on October 19th. l All resident voting is ramping up with outreach l Airport commission update: Burlington International Airport has received sound mitigation funding for an additional ten homes for sound insulation to be distributed across South Burlington, Williston and Winooski V. City Updates Staff liaison Heather Carrington provided the following updates: l The draft Winooski Parking Inventory, Analysis and Management Plan has been posted by the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission for public comment through December 10th. The Housing Commission has had ongoing conversations about the impact of parking on housing affordability, and has made recommendations for changes to zoning parking requirements to the Planning Commission. The draft plan will inform future conversations at the Planning Commission. The Housing Commissioners were encouraged to review and comment on the document VI. Review Housing Goal Update 11/15 City Council Discussion City Council received the first housing goal update on the FY22 strategic housing priorities at  future conversations at the Planning Commission. The Housing Commissioners were encouraged to review and comment on the document VI. Review Housing Goal Update 11/15 City Council Discussion City Council received the first housing goal update on the FY22 strategic housing priorities at their meeting on November 15 th . The update memo was included in the Commission materials, and Housing Commission Chair, Robert Millar, and Council Liaison, Jim Duncan, attended and participated in the City Council discussion. Staff provided an overview of the Housing Update, and the robust conversation about housing issues in Winooski driven in large part by comments from the public. Public concerns reflected many of the issues recently and currently being discussed by the Commission. Specifically, residents were concerned about housing quality issues, the need for multi-bedroom housing for larger families, and the need for changes to zoning to remove arbitrary barriers to construction of much needed new housing. Robert Millar and Councilor Duncan also provided comments on the City Council discussion. Robert Millar clarified that the Housing Commission recommends policy change, but does not hold the authority to make the changes. That lies in the hands of the Planning Commission and City Council. Councilor Duncan reflected that tying these pieces together now is important and continuing to focus on the housing priorities is crucial to our ability to recommend where policy changes can be made. He recognizes that community housing issues continue to be acute, and points out that the comments we are receiving align with the Commission’s priority discussions, so our work appears to be on the right track. Members of the public expressed concerns about the City rental inspection program, and questioned whether the four year inspection cycle was frequent enough. A specific case recently covered by the media was discussed in depth and at length, and staff shared the timeline and expectations for the equity audit housing findings which will inform policy change in the coming months. Members of the public recommended a housing liaison role on staff, as well as staff training in listening and communication methods to mitigate some of the power differential between City staff and residents. VII. Housing Quality Discussion - Overview of Applicable Municipal Code and Residential Inspection Checklist The Housing Commission work plan for this year calls for the Commission to “Evaluate housing quality in Winooski.” Fire Chief and Director of Code Enforcement, John Audy, and Equity Director, Yas Gordon joined the Commission to kick off the discussion at the October meeting. As was discussed, the Equity Audit of Winooski will contain recommendations for improving housing equity in the city. With the audit projected to be complete in January, and an FY22 Council priority for staff to “Update Public Building Ordinance”, it will be important for the Housing Commission to be well prepared to participate in making recommendations for ordinance changes. Winooski Municipal Code Chapter 9 covers Housing and Chapter 17 covers the Public Building Registry. Both were included in the Commission packet. In addition, the Winooski Residential Inspection Checklist that Chief Audy referenced at our last meeting was included. Familiarity with these documents will assist the Housing Commission to be prepared to dive further into evaluating housing quality in Winooski, and make recommendations for potential change. At the next meeting the Commission plans to look at code violation reporting data and housing code and enforcement best practices nationally. VIII. Municipal ARPA Funding - HTF Discussion The Housing Commission FY22 work plan calls for the Housing Commission to “Identify Potential Funding Streams for the Housing Trust Fund.” The influx of federal funding from the American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) creates a moment of opportunity to address housing needs both at a municipal and a statewide level. As discussed at the October Housing Commission meeting, a portion of the municipal ARPA funds could be allocated to the Housing Trust Fund. The Commission expressed support for using ARPA funds for this purpose. ARPA allocated funds are required to be fully spent out by December 31st, 2026. In order to meet the deadline for fully spending the funds if allocated to the HTF, it will likely be necessary to develop  Potential Funding Streams for the Housing Trust Fund.” The influx of federal funding from the American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) creates a moment of opportunity to address housing needs both at a municipal and a statewide level. As discussed at the October Housing Commission meeting, a portion of the municipal ARPA funds could be allocated to the Housing Trust Fund. The Commission expressed support for using ARPA funds for this purpose. ARPA allocated funds are required to be fully spent out by December 31st, 2026. In order to meet the deadline for fully spending the funds if allocated to the HTF, it will likely be necessary to develop a discrete program to ensure the full spend. Based on discussions about housing equity and housing quality issues in Winooski, the Commission discussed the possibility of advocating for ARPA funds to be used as HTF grants to address housing equity and quality. One option that was discussed would be to create a grant program for sound mitigation. The urgency of sound mitigation has been a priority topic in our community, and the plan for federal sound mitigation funding is inadequate. A disproportionate number of Winooski homes are directly impacted by being in the Burlington International Airport flight path. However, Commission members expressed that the financial obligation for sound mitigation should not rest on the City. The possibility of simply creating grants that follow the Home Improvement Program eligibility guidelines under the Housing Trust Fund might be a better use of funds. The Commissioners will forward any ideas for ARPA fund uses to staff for consideration at the next meeting. IX. Scheduling Look Ahead – December & January Meetings The Commission discussed the next two meeting dates and agreed that the December meeting will be held on the regularly scheduled date on Monday, December 27th at 6 PM, while the January meeting will be adjusted to Thursday, January 20th at 6 PM. X. Adjourn Meeting End Time: 7:46 PM Motion: Leslie Second: Jack