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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.20000711Special Meeting Aspen City Council July 11, 2000 Jackie Kasabach, Chairperson, called the Special Joint meeting to order at 8:00 p.m. with Council Rachel Richards, Terry Paulson, Jim Markalunas, Tom McCabe and Tony Hershey present; Shellie Roy Harper, Leslie Lamont and Mick Ireland were present representing the Board of County Commissioners. Also present were and Steve Barwick, City Manager; and Suzanne Konchan, County Manager. Jackie Kasabach, Tim Semrau, George Burson, Patrick Sagal and Steve Elliott were present representing the Housing Board. Staff members present were Mary Roberts, Executive Director; and Cindy Christensen, Operations Manager. John Ely, County Attorney; John Worcester, City Attorney; and Tom Smith, legal counsel for the Housing Authority were also present. The July 11, 2000 Special Meeting was held in City Council Chambers, City Hall. Ireland moved for the BOCC to go into Executive Session to discuss potential litigation on the advice from legal counsel; Lamont seconded the motion. All were in favor. McCabe moved for the City Council to go into Executive Session to discuss potential litigation on the advice from legal counsel; Hershey seconded the motion. All were in favor. Semrau moved to go into Executive Session to discuss potential litigation on the advice from legal counsel; Burson seconded the motion. All were in favor. There was a motion from each entity to come out of Executive Session and it was seconded. The BOCC, City Council and Housing Board came out of Executive Session at 8:35 p.m. ORDINANCE #29, SERIES OF 2000 - Housing Guidelines Mary Roberts, housing director, stated that the community has modified the Guidelines for easier understanding and use. There are three major sections: Rental, Sales and Development. Roberts stated that she will only be discussing the items where there is a change in policy. The first is on page 4 and relates to the maximum incomes for rental units. Some individuals that two adults, making a decent wage, could not live together in a two-bedroom unit had approached the Housing Board. The Board is recommending that the incomes be increased for rental 1 Special Meeting Aspen City Council July 11, 2000 units only. The increase related to the housing survey that was done last year. This did not affect how the rental rates would be charged for the units. The BOCC and City Council had no problem with this request. The next major policy change revolved around short-term rentals to non-profit groups; i.e., MAA faculty, Aspen Center for Physics. This change would allow an owner of a unit to take a short leave of absence and rent their unit out to an individual associated with a non-profit group. The owner would have to obtain approval by their Homeowners’ Association and the rent that can be charged would still be limited as to what has always been stated in the Guidelines. The BOCC and City Council supported this change. The next major change related to the selling of the RO units. Due to the possibility of “under the table” deals, the Board is recommending that all future RO sales be done through the Housing Office by the lottery system. Harper stated that she does not agree with this change. This is one product that someone can get without going through the lottery process. Kasabach stated that when the Board discussed this issue, they felt that it was better to be consistent on how the Category and RO units are handled. Harper stated that the RO units do not require a subsidy. Kasabach stated that they do receive a subsidy – a growth subsidy. Harper stated that this would be in violation of the anti-trust law that the Housing Office would handle all the sales of deed- restricted housing. Richards stated that when City Council and the BOCC were first talking about the RO program, the original intent was that the RO units would be available through the lottery upon resale. Lamont agreed. Semrau stated that with the possibility of corruption on the resale of the units by doing under the table deals, the Board felt that this was the only way to go to eliminate any possibility of favoritism. Kasabach stated that there are loopholes in the RO program and this should eliminate some of those loopholes. The majority agreed to this change, with the direction that Staff ask legal counsel if this would be in violation of any anti-trust laws. Harper asked why the maximum cost of an RO unit is only $450,000. She suggested taking the cost of the land and using a specific square footage cost to come up with a maximum price. Semrau stated that the square footage cost would be too difficult because it changes as to the location of the project. Harper wanted some type of an incentive for people to build larger RO units. Semrau stated a developer couldn’t go smaller than a certain size and ask for the $450,000. The cap makes it easier to administer. 2 Special Meeting Aspen City Council July 11, 2000 Roberts noted the next policy change relates to the leave of absence policy. If someone wants to take a short-term leave, of less than three months, they could request such a leave from the Housing Office, get approval from their Homeowners’ Association, and rent their unit on a short-term basis to a non- profit group. Roberts pointed out the next issue relates to information and policy that was taken out of the City of Aspen Municipal Code. Staff will pursue reviewing pages 30 through 33 with the Community Development Department to see if some of this information should be incorporated back into the Land Use Code. The Housing Board has also recommended changing the length a dependent has to live with a parent from 183 days per year to 180 days per year. After a brief discussion, the Boards also decided that in order for a child to be counted as a dependent that child should be 18 years of age or under. Therefore, the days with a parent were decreased along with the age a child can be counted as a dependent. Roberts stated that these were the major policy changes being recommended by the Housing Board. Harper reiterated her concern over the recommended policy change for the resale of RO units. She feels that the program may lose some people and that this could be very destructive. Richards stated that essentially the change is taking out the possibility of a popularity contest. Semrau stated that RO product is getting scarcer and that there will be deals going on under the table. This is the only solution that worked in eliminating any type of fraud. Barwick stated that his concern is that the sales prices are not high enough. The inflation rates are too low on the sales and rental rates. Roberts stated that the rental rates and sales rates were adjusted incorrectly and will be corrected nd by the 2 reading. Ireland stated that in the free-market, lenders are utilizing a person’s income at a 33% rate where the housing program is using a 28% rate. Kasabach suggested studying inflation at length and how it relates to Aspen. Ireland stated that not everyone’s wages are moving up. Staff was directed to look at this issue in depth over the next year. Councilman Hershey moved to read Ordinance #29, Series of 2000; seconded by Councilman Paulson. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #29 3 Special Meeting Aspen City Council July 11, 2000 Series of 2000 AN ORDINANCE ADOPTING THE 2000 AFFORDABLE HOUSING GUIDELINES AS RECOMMENDED BY THE ASPEN/PITKIN COUNTY HOUSING AUTHORITY Councilman McCabe moved to approve Ordinance No. 29 (Series of 2000), Adopting the 2000 Affordable Housing Guidelines as Recommended by the Aspen/ Pitkin County Housing Authorit , with the recommended changes; y Councilman Hershey seconded the motion. Roll call vote; Councilmembers McCabe, yes; Markalunas, yes; Paulson , yes; Hershey, yes; Mayor Richards, yes. Motion passed. Ireland moved to approve Ordinance No. 68-2000, An Ordinance of the Board of County Commissioners of Pitkin County, Colorado, Adopting the Aspen/Pitkin County Housing Authority 2000 Guidelines, with the recommended changes; Lamont seconded the motion. Lamont, Ireland and Harper voted yes. Motion passed. There were motions to adjourn and they were seconded. The Joint Meeting adjourned its Special Meeting at 9:45 p.m. Kathryn S. Koch, City Clerk 4