HomeMy WebLinkAboutagenda.council.worksession.20250428AGENDA
CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION
April 28, 2025
4:00 PM, City Council Chambers
427 Rio Grande Place, Aspen
I.Work Session
I.A APCHA Board Representative Update
I.B Council Member Discussion / Pre-Retreat Meeting:
- Share Topics of Specific Interest for the Community
- Prioritization of Upcoming Work Sessions
- Working Agreements / Resource Guide
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APCHA Board Representatives Update Memo for April 28 2025 City Council Work
Session.docx
Memo.RegulationChanges.2025.04a.docx
RegulationsPresentation.pptx
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MEMORANDUM
TO:City Council
FROM:Diane Foster, Deputy City Manager
THROUGH:Pete Strecker, Interim City Manager
MEMO DATE:April 21, 2025
MEETING DATE:April 28, 2025
RE:APCHA Board Representative Update
_____________________________________________________________________
REQUEST OF COUNCIL:
Staff asks City Council members the following:
In advance of the April 28 work session, send to the APCHA Board
Representatives any questions they would like to discuss at the work session;
and then
At the April 28 work session, provide the APCHA Board Representatives with
feedback on recent proposed policy changes.
SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND:
Over the past two years, quarterly APCHA Board Update work sessions have been
scheduled whose purpose is to:
1. Provide the City Council with a more in-depth update on APCHA issues than
would normally be done during the City Council’s “Board Updates” section of the
agenda; and
2. For the APCHA Board Representatives to gather feedback from the full City
Council on policy questions before the APCHA Board.
These work session items are led by the APCHA Board Representatives.
APCHA and City staff will be available to answer questions, however the majority of the
discussion is intended to be between the City Council members themselves.
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DISCUSSION:
During the April 16 APCHA Board Meeting APCHA staff presented a number of proposed
regulation changes. Many of these regulation changes were presented at the request of
the APCHA Board, while other changes, such as elimination of some fees and a
recommendation to remove retirement assets from a prospective owner or renter’s Asset
Calculation, were proposed by staff, based on community feedback or experience.
City Council members may want to review the following materials prior to this April 28
work session discussion:
Video of the April 16 APCHA Board Meeting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bILOu-0L_ek
APCHA Policy Memo from the April 16 APCHA Board Meeting (attached)
Slides from the April 16 APCHA Board Meeting (attached)
CITY MANAGER COMMENTS:
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MEMORANDUM
TO:APCHA Board of Directors
FROM: Cindy Christensen and Bethany Spitz
DATE OF MEETING:April 16, 2025
SUBJECT:First Reading Regulation Amendments
Discussion:
The APCHA Regulations have been edited and amended for clarity and transparency. This has been done
to both provide ease of use to our customers and to comply with Colorado ADA requirements.
The Regulations have been redlined to account for the following changes:
1. Removal of Retirement Assets from Asset Calculation
APCHA consistently hears from applicants that we are discouraging people to save for retirement.
Removal of retirement accounts towards the asset calculation will encourage people to save for
retirement. APCHA would not consider the following accounts based on IRS guidelines as to what
qualifies as a retirement account:
401K
IRA
403B
457
This section has been amended to the following:
Retirement Account Assets: All assets must be reported to APCHA, but retirement assets held in an
account specified by the IRS for retirement funds (e.g., 401K, 457, defined benefit, etc.) are not
counted in Net Asset calculation by APCHA. Any income distribution, and/or withdrawal from
retirement accounts will be included.
2. Tax Returns & W2s
Ownership applicants are currently required to provide W2s/1099s after January 31st, and tax returns
after April 15th on top of the normal packet that is required. The administrative burden associated with
this ask issignificant on both the applicant and Staff. Staff spends a significant amount of time reviewing
entire packets multiple times a year. Staff is proposing that a packet is valid for one year. If an applicant
would like to update, they can submit an entirely new qualification packet and pay the $50.00 for that
review. In lieu of updated documents provided after the IRS deadlines, Staff is proposing to require the
most recent paystub if they have won the lottery.
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The section below has been removed:
“Each Qualification Application, after approved by APCHA, will be valid for up to one year and will need
to be updated with new information. Updated tax information is requested after January 31st and April
15th.”
This section has been amended to the following:
Each Qualification Application, once approved by APCHA, will be valid for up to one (1) year and must
be updated by the Applicant with any new information. APCHA will review Qualification Applications
once a year and will only accept a new application prior to the next review if there is a change in the
Household or if the Applicant chooses to submit an application, which includes providing
documentation and applicable fees.
3. Bid Price Fee Removal
Eliminate the $5.00 bid price fee. This would eliminate a barrier to the system. This would reduce
APCHA’s money collected by roughly $6,000 a year.
This line item has been removed from the fee schedule.
4. Capital Improvement Fee Removal
Eliminate the $50.00 bid price fee. This would eliminate a barrier to the system.
This line item has been removed from the fee schedule.
5. Rightsizing – Remove Category Requirements
Allow swaps regardless of category to continue to encourage movement in the system.
This section has been amended to the following:
Unit Categories: Applicant may qualify for any category unit.
6. Capital Improvement Amendments
Allow 10% allowable cap every ten years; change approved capital improvements to allow more items.
This should allow owners who own their units for a long time to continue making improvements while
also getting more back for the expenses they put into their units.
Edits included in the Regulations.
7. Lottery Chances
Staff is proposing adjusting the lottery chances so that every individual with four years or more of work
history in Pitkin County has one chance in the lottery. The current number of chances allocated to each
bidder increases with length of work history in Pitkin County. This system rewards longer work histories
by providing more chances. Lottery winners from the last five years averaged 16 years of work history.
When lotteries were modelled with one chance for everyone who has four years or more work history
in Pitkin County, the average years’ work experience for winners decreased by five years (1611).
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Additionally, the winners average age decreased by five years (42 37). That new average age also
aligns with the national average age for first time homebuyers.
Edits included in the Regulations.
8. Qualified Disabled Employee Requirement
This section has been edited to align with the qualified retiree. Historically, the length prior to point
of disability or retirement has always aligned. Two years ago they became out of alignment. Staff
is requesting that a person must have worked continuously for ten years in Pitkin County prior to
the determination of disability in order to maintain the APCHA Deed Restricted Unit.
This section has been amended to the following:
The person must have worked continuously for ten (10) years in Pitkin County prior to the
determination of disability and leased or owned a deed-restricted unit for a minimum of four (4)
consecutive years immediately preceding the disability.
9. Removal of 6 Month Leave of Absence for Retirees
Remove the Leave of Absence (LOA) allowance for retirees that allows them to take 6 months of leave
every year. They would be eligible for the same LOA as all owners, which is a maximum of 2 LOAs
totaling no more than 24 months in a ten-year period.
This section has been amended to the following:
An approved Qualified Retiree must continue to reside in the unit at least nine (9) months of the year
as their sole and exclusive primary residence and not own any other developed residential property in
the OEZ. (See also Part II, Section 2 (B)(2)(d))
10. Work Requirements for ACI
Allow for individuals at least 55 years old to work at least 1000 hours to qualify for Aspen Country Inn.
This would hopefully reduce barriers to entry and fill units quicker. We have nine vacant units that
individuals have not been able to qualify for due to income levels.
This section has been amended to the following:
Senior Applicant
A Qualified Senior is aged 65 years old or older and working full-time, at least 1,000 hours per calendar
year, in Pitkin County and approved by APCHA according to all other Qualification Requirements. This
person will have first priority for senior-designated units in the Aspen County Inn property.
A Qualified Senior who is aged 55-64 years old and working full-time, at least 1,000 hours per calendar
year, in Pitkin County and approved by APCHA according to all other Qualification Requirements will
have second priority for senior-designated units in the Aspen County Inn property.
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11. Category Eligibility in Employer Owned Units
Staff is requesting that the category requirements for employer owned units be waived for employees
of that employer moving forward.
The regulations have been amended as follows:
Employer Owned Unit – For purposes of these Regulations an employee qualifying for an employer
owned unit, who is employed full-time in Pitkin County by that employer as defined by these
Regulations, does not have to qualify at the category of the unit. However, the rental rate charged by
the employer must be the rental rate required by the category as prescribed in the deed restriction
applicable to that unit. This does not apply to units that are rented on a seasonal basis.
RECOMMENDATION: Staff is asking the Board to make the following recommendation:
“I move to approve at First Reading, Resolution No. 2 (Series of 2025), A Resolution of the Aspen/Pitkin
County Housing Authority Adopting Amendments to the Aspen/Pitkin Employee Housing Regulations and
schedule Public Hearing on May 7, 2025.”
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APCHA Regulations
Amendments 2025
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Overview
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APCHA Regulations
in Compliance with
ADA Regulations
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Removal of Retirement
Assets from Asset
Calculation
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Qualification Packet
Valid for One Year
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Bid Price – Eliminate Barriers to the System
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Capital Improvements Price – Eliminate
Barriers to the System
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•Allowing swaps regardless of
category.
Rightsizing – Removing Category
Requirements
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Capital
Improvement
Amendments
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Lottery Chances
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Qualified Disabled
Employee
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Removal of 6 Month Leave of Absence for Retirees
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Work Requirements
for ACI
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Category Eligibility in Employer Owned Units
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