Loading...
HousingPartnershipMinutes2015NORTHAMPTON HOUSING PARTNERSHIP Minutes January 5, 2015 Members Present: Chair Lynne Wallace, Jen Dieringer, Peter Frothingham, Toni Hochstadt, Tiya Isaza, Gordon Shaw. Also present, Peg Keller, staff. Call to Order Chair Wallace called the meeting to order at 5:35 p.m. No one was present for the public comment period. A motion to approve December's minutes was made by Member Dieringer, seconded by Member Hochstadt; the vote was unanimous. Project Updates Community Housing Support Services Project The Request for Proposals yielded three responses: Community Action, Casa Latina, Center for Human Development. The interviews are scheduled for January 15th. An hour will be devoted to each applicant. The sub-committee has reviewed the submissions and met prior to this meeting to devise questions for each. After the interviews a recommendation will be made to the full Partnership at the February meeting. The sub-committee meetings and interviews will be posted and open to the public. A presentation will then be made to the Community Preservation Committee at their first meeting in February. A condition of the award was to report to them on who the selec ea. vendor wTilbe, w�y they werechosen and wnafllie outcome measurement matrix will look like. Affordable Housing Project� Valley CDC Lumberyard: Peg reported on the community meeting held December 29th. This meeting was required by the CPC as a condition of the award. There were several City Councilors present and the Architect presented a r�vised design based on comments made during the Planning Board/Central Business Architecture Committee meeting. The City Council postponed voting on the CPC award for the project until this meeting took place. Northampton Lodging: The HAP project will be voted on by the City Council for the CPC funds this month. The CDBG funds will be activated at the time of closing for acquisition. HAP is unwilling to attach the affordable housing deed restriction now, for the purchase and sale phase and the City Solicitor ( as with the CPC award ) says the City's funds can't be put at risk if they are used at this point in the process. They will be used when all the other funding sources close and a deed restriction is attached. HAP says if the other funding is not secured and they need to sell the property, they don't want it to be encumbered with an affordability restriction. The City Solicitor says if the City money goes in now but the deal doesn't happen and the property gets sold for a price lower than what was originally negotiated, we might not get all our funds back. Expiring Use Update Peg reviewed some of the activity on the subsidized housing inventory. The State just issued an update in December. They have calculated the total for the City to be 12.07%. Hathaway Farms may be taken off if they don't maintain at least 25% of their units under some program. We may lose those 207 units. Peg is in touch with Spear Management. It appears that the King Street SRO, and the Maples SRO are not included, nor is the second phase of Village Hill. Christopher Heights is already on it and that project just broke ground, so Peg will research how projects get on without local action and work to rectify the discrepancies. Chair Wallace mentioned that a reporter from Mass Live/th� Republican will be calling for afford�ble housing data as they are doing an article on the Lumberyard Project. OP Ed Peg's draft is still circulating. Members agreed the publishing timing would be good relative to the two projects moving forward. Chair Wallace gave Peg some narrative HAP assembled addressing why costs are so high to construct affordable housing. Member Isaza offered to re-circulate the draft and members should make comments by January 20th. Member Shaw will contact Larry Parnass to follow up on the conversation they had prior about periodic op ed columns from the Partnership. Fair Housing Activities The list of recommendations from the Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing was reviewed. Member Frothingham reiterated the zoning concerns that could impede new \ construction. He also wondered about the issues of overcrowding in residences that house restaurant workers. Members discussed the complexities of tackling this and will take more time to strategize. Other suggested topics were landlord assistance and the unregulated status of air bed and breakfasts. Chair Wallace said that John Fisher would be willing to attend a meeting to discuss the new Fair Housing Laws and ideas for landlord outreach and workshops. Members expressed their interest and he will be 8:sked to attend the February �eeting. Member Shaw will also talk to Meris Bergquist, the Director of the Mass. Fair Housing Center about any plans they may have for Northampton activities. Member Isaza suggested that if air b and b' s were taxed, it could go into an affordable housing fund. She said there were many in the area. Peg noted that HUD is requiring not only an annual action plan but a five year plan for community and economic development activities. Fair Housing will be a large part of that planning process. Mr. Fisher will be invited for February, then after that overview, specific activities to undertake will be identified. Housing Plan Implementation Peg circulated a chart showing progress on the activities articulated in the Housing Plan. The OP Ed's will address the goal of community education. The topic of landlord assistance was revisited. The lack of a formal organization hinders outreach efforts, but it was suggested that we could develop our own mailing and outreach vehicle. Progress is being made in the majority of areas. The annual report to City Council is still needed. Community forums may address fair housing issues this year, rather than unit preservation or development as a focus. ·ElectionsChair Wallace was thanked for her service. Member Shaw was nominated to serve as Chair and Member Frothingham as Vice-Chair. There were no other nominations and the slate was approved unanimously.MembershipIt was agreed that each member would try to recruit a new member. Member Isaza said she would do some outreach to tenants in the New South Street apartments. She is also a tenant herself.Other Updates/Northampton Housing Authority/ Executive Director position has been posted in the Boston Globe, El Mundo, the Human Services Forum, NAHRO, the Republican and the Idealist. Responses are due Feb. 4th. Interviews will take place with the new candidate selected in March. Western Mass. Network to End Homelessness Chair Wallace reported that they got the earmark from DHCD and the vendor has been selected. A meeting will be held on January 6th to strategize spending the funds by June 30th. The funds will be used to align regional work with the Federal Open Doors Plan to end homelessness, by devising reporting systems, identifying and measuring outcomes and formalizing data collection across the region. Adjourn/ The meeting concluded at 7:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Peg Keller CITY OF NORTHAMPTON Community and Economic Development Office City Hall, 210 Main Street Northampton, MA 01060-3199 (413) 587-1286 Fax: (413) 587-1275 NORTHAMPTON HOUSING PARTNERSHIP Meeting Notice DATE: March 2, 2015 TIME: 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. PLACE: City Hall Hearing Room 18 210 Main Street Northampton AGENDA 1.) Public Comment Period 2.) Approval of Minutes 3.) Fair Housing Discussion Guest: John Fisher, HAP Housing •Revisions to the Fair Housing Law•Municipal Responsibilities•Landlord Assistance/ Workshop Ideas4.) Project Updates -.-community-Housing Support Services Vendor Selection ■Housing Plan Implementation Progress Update■Zoning Sub-Committee5.) Area Activity Updates ■ Northampton Housing Authority Report■Western Mass Network to End Homelessness Report■ Pioneer Valley Planning Commission Regional Housing Plan■ Fair Housing6.) Other Business (Items not anticipated at the time of posting) 7.) Adjourn Peg Keller Housing and Community Development Planner 587-1288 pkeller@northamptonma.gov NORTHAMPTON HOUSING PARTNERSHIP Minutes March 2, 2015 Members Present: Gordon Shaw, Chair; Peter Frothingham; Vice-Chair, Jen Dieringer, Lynne Wallace. Also present, John Fisher, Community Outreach/Fair Housing Educator from HAPHousing and Peg Keller, staff. Call to Order Chair Shaw called the meeting to order at 5:36 p.m. No one was present for the public comment period. Members introduced themselves to John Fisher, guest participant. Fair Housing Presentation/ Municipal Responsibilities under New Rule Chair Shaw explained how the Housing Partnership also has the responsibility to oversee fair housing affirmative action activities for the City. Mr. Fisher then gave a brief presentation, highlights included: •HAP works with the Mass. Commission Against Discrimination (statewide) and the Mass Fair Housing Center (locally based in Holyoke). HAP does education and outreach with HUD funding, when it is available (and continues to do that work when the funding is not available). The Fair Housing conference held regionally began 7 years ago with 70 people attending -that number now exceecls5UCf.Th1s yearrs conference wilTbe ApriI3�0 ancfMay 1. Workshops and conference speakers provide the most relevant information on fair housing issues locally and nationally. •He distributed 2 fact sheets on the Fair Housing Law •Regarding municipal responsibilities required statutorily, HUD is now looking for more. Rather than cities and towns simply referring people feeling they have been discriminated against to the relevant agencies, cities are charged with addressing disparate impacts and removing obstacles. •Language access is taking on increasing prominence in our region. Steps need to be taken to insure services are available for residents challenged by language to understand their rights and responsibilities relative to fair housing and services. 1 •Demographic data needs to be gathered and studied to identify increases in population segments that may have more issues with language than in the past •Interim Rule is still pending. It requires cities to do more in the way of analysis and looking for trends -and responding to trends with specific plans to address them. •There will be increased scrutiny from the Federal government. Emphasis is to be more proactive than reactive. •Looking for strategic planning processes that identify gaps in services, document actions being taken to resolve the issues and show results Chair Shaw noted that we used to get assistance from the Mass. Fair Housing Center but they are not currently contracted for services through our CDBG grant. He asked what other services were available. Discussion led to an acknowledgement of the difficulty with getting people to attend educational workshops, unless they have been negatively impacted. Mr. Fisher talked about a strategy that provides incentives to stay 11 out of trouble". For example, it is painful for landlords to have to delead their properties. The Get the Lead Out program is still operating but resources are limited. Education is needed around the Section 8 program, as landlords are discouraged after one bad experience. Holding a workshop for landlords will bring out a few but typically not the ones that need to attend. Vice-Chair Frothingham asked about the nature of the possible enticements. Mr. Fisher said landlord associations are great vehicles for positive collegial energy and dissemination of information. He noted Member Abuza' s efforts over the years and the value the HARP organization had. He said it would be great to reinvi _ orate that network. He said Gr_e_enfield,_Spnngfield and Westhampton have landlord associations, Hampshire County is the gap. He offered his help if we wanted to go in that direction. What role the Partnership should take was pondered. Member Dieringer felt landlords are business people and wasn't sure the Housing Partnership was the right group to do this work. Peg mentioned there is now a Hampshire County Chamber of Commerce entity forming, perhaps it could be a component of that organization. Chair Shaw said the most significant fair housing obstacle in Northampton is the lack of affordable housing. Mr. Fisher agreed it is a difficult scenario when property purchase prices are so high it results in high rents to pay the mortgages. A discussion of little II a" affordable ensued. Vice-Chair Frothingham talked about the potential with single family dwelling conversion to duplexes to create additional units and the zoning implications to make those types of things possible. 2 Chair Shaw said he sees limited value in workshops. Most people don't engage until they are in crisis. He wondered what innovative methods exist other than workshops. It was noted that some banks require multi-family property landlords to participate in landlord education workshops before they will finance a purchase. Mr. Fisher conducts those workshops and provides certificates that some banks require, just like first time homebuyers for single family home purchase. The internet, cable tv and outreach to local banks to require a certificate for first time multi-family property owners were suggestions. It was noted that the Mass. Fair Housing Center does have the HUD grant for that type of work in the region. Mr. Fisher updated members on the Fair Housing Sub-Committee that spun out of the Pioneer Valley Regional Housing Plan effort. They are meeting regularly. Members reiterated that they see the issue of affordability more of a problem in our area than discrimination/ which may be more of an issue in Hampden County. Mr. Fisher said he would gather a list of the banks that require the certificates and Vice-Chair Frothingham said mortgage companies should be included as well. Recruiting bankers for the Partnership was also noted. Mr. Fisher was thanked for his update and he departed. Minutes/ for the January meeting were approved. The February minutes were already approved. Community Housing Support Services Project Sub-Committee members reported that the Center for Human Development has been selected. There were three respondents, CHD, Casa Latina and Community Action. Community Action withdrew their response after the interview process. CHD has an internal rep-payee-program and the--housirrg-court and familystabtlizaflon experience the Committee was looking for. A unanimous vote was then taken in favor of selecting CHD and presenting that decision to the Community Preservation Committee and moving ahead. ServiceN et Access to Housing Initiative Peg explained ServiceNet was not accessing the second lump sum payment of $5,000 until they had more people participating in paying back sums from the first $5,000. Partnership members expressed their strong desire that the money be made available and that expending the funds was more important than a full repayment effort. They should make an effort, yes, but the far more successful indicator is to get people housed. Peg will communicate those sentiments to the ServiceNet program and fiscal managers. 3 Regional Updates Northampton Housing Authority Member Wallace reported receipt of 35 applications for the Executive Director position. They will interview 8. There will be a public meeting with the finalists. The NHA is working on their Annual Plan and doing a tenant satisfaction survey. Western Mass. Network to End Homelessness The work is underway related to the State line item earmark. The Point in Time count was undertaken locally and across the country. There was a youth count for the second time and results should be tallied and available for analysis soon. The Network legislative agenda includes requests for increases in RAFT, Homebase and the number one priority is increased funding for the regional housing consumer education centers which is where RAFT gets distributed and serves as the conduit for client services. The new Governor announced his program to address family homelessness today which includes 20 million dollars of additional resources and a requirement that EOHHS and DHCD work together on collaborative solutions. Adjourn/ The meeting concluded at 7:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Peg Keller 4 NORTHAMPTON HOUSING PARTNERSHIP Minutes May 4, 2015 Members Present: Gordon Shaw, Chair, Jen Dieringer, Peter Frothingham, Richard Abuza. Also present, members pending appointment; Michael Roy, Jim Reis, and Peg Keller, staff. Call to Order: Chair Shaw called the meeting to order at 5:35 p.m. Minutes from the March meeting were approved. There were no minutes from April as there was not a quorum. Introductions were made for those that hadn't met yet. Announcements Oak Street Tour -Members were reminded of the upcoming tour and public comment session for possible affordable housing development at a parcel located in Florence. Members were encouraged to attend and express their thoughts. The parcel is not ideal for development, but perhaps a Habitat duplex could be created. Orientation for New Members -due to the number of new members Peg will schedule a session for a separate meeting to provide context of the Partnership's work and answer questions. She will also locate a van for a "road trip" to see the affordable housing in the City. She noted an assignment for a representative from the Planning Board will be made at their May meeting. Project Updates Commum]yHousm0 Support Services Pro1ect Peg reported that CHD interviewed four candidates and have narrowed it down to 2. The final interviews will take place this week. So, hopefully the person will begin working mid-May. The Mayor's office will do a separate contract with the Center for Human Development, similar to a public services grantee and will receive quarterly reports. There is an annual report to the Community Preservation Committee. This way data and progress will be closely tracked and monitored. Peg noted she had a conversation with Judge Fields of the Housing Court, an early supporter of the project who offered to meet with the new person to relay his perspective on the services needed. He had made it clear in his support that the person should be in court to assist people. Member Shaw also offered his assistance to work with the person if legal technical assistance is necessary. Mr. Reis said a relationship with HAP is also 1 important, as they have case managers assisting families facing challenges as part of their work. ConPlan Data Analysis Peg reported that she is working on the Annual Action Plan and 5 Year Consolidated Plan for HUD, a requirement of being a Community Development Block Grant entitlement community. The submission template is pre-populated with data from various sources. The methodology of analyzing the data to determine high priority needs with resultant resource allocations, makes imminent sense(!). Peg will share what she is learning at subsequent meetings. Fair Housing Peg distributed the list of recommendations from the Analysis of Impediments. Discussion followed about ways to assist landlords, whether or not lead paint is an undocumented deterrent (sleeping giant?) for families inability to use Section 8 certificates and/or for landlords balking at renting to families in general. Peg noted the incidence rate for lead paint poisoning is very low and the Board of Health does not do much work in that area, although they are adequately certified to do so. We discussed "little a" affordability, which is market rate affordable costs without subsidies. Member Abuza noted that the demographics of landlords are changing. As property owners age and sell, new owners need to charge higher rates to cover mortgage and operating costs. He reiterated his point about messaging. In City communications to property owners about mandates that need to be met ( i.e. smoke detectors) the delivery should be supportive rather than punitive. The contents of the letter from the Mayor that was sent out with the annual multi-family property census form was reviewed. Peg will try to w-ateh-the-timing-of-this-nextfa-ll-to-make--sure--we-getit-in-on-tim-e. Althuugh-rro particular topic came to mind for the members that landlords could benefit from, (lack of resources to accomplish lead paint abatement) Member Abuza said we should be open to doing them and aware of things that may come up. A workshop for reasonable accommodation (�he fair housing issue that seems to get the highest number of legal cases) was held two years ago with the Mass. Fair Housing Center and Stavros. Although held at Northampton City Hall, it was attended by only a few Springfield property managers and Stavros staff. Peg reviewed the summary of prior discussions this year (January and March) noting: •lack of affordable housing being our biggest impediment•zoning issues that impede new construction•overcrowded residences that house restaurant workers•landlord assistance 2 •language access•cost burden•age of housing stock> lead paint?• More discussion followed about how difficult it is to get the smaller landlords out and the existence of landlord associations in Greenfield, Springfield and Westfield. It was noted they could be contacted to see who they serve and how. Member Dieringer revisited the reasonable accommodation topic and said maybe the service providers would attend a session because they are the ones that often end up dealing with the issues anyway. Refocusing the target population for workshops could be the answer. Landlords of course would be welcome, but at least the information would be getting out to the community through the providers, who then educate the clients. It was suggested to also contact CLPPP for more detailed information on the lead paint issue in Northampton. Member Roy talked about the lack of information and resources when he dealt with his own property. He suggested tax abatements as an incentive for abatement and keeping units affordable. A complicated topic but one worth investigating. Member Reis circulated an article about Amherst attempting to do that very thing. Peg will follow up. Member Dieringer wasn't sure the nexus between the lead paint issue and fair housing could be shown. In conclusion, members acknowledged our responsibility to identify tangible actions to affirmatively further fair housing, but have yet to establish specific events that will provide the most needed and relevant information. Peg will contact the Mass. Fair Housing Center to see if they are still gathering data on the number and nature of complaints received from Northampton, and if they are doing any workshops in Hampaen-Geanty that-they-eeuld-alse>-d-o in Hampshire Eounty: EhairShaw-refated th-e Fair Housing recommendations to the Housing Implementation Plan. Housing Authority Report Peg reported that the search for the Executive Director was re-opened for the month of April. Evidently, the Selection Committee could not agree on 2 candidates to move to the final round. Adjourn The meeting concluded at 7:10 p.m. The next meeting will be held June 1st. Respectfully submitted, Peg Keller 3 NORTHAMPTON HOUSING PARTNERSHIP Minutes June 1, 2015 Members Present: Gordon Shaw, Chair, Peter Frothingham, Vice-Chair, Lynne Wallace, Jim Reis, Alan Verson, Richard Abuza, Michael Roy. Also present, Peg Keller, staff. Call to Order: Chair Shaw called the meeting to order at 5:35 p.m. The minutes of the May meeting were approved with a motion from Member Frothingham, a second by Member Abuza and an abstention from Member Wallace. Alan Verson was welcomed as the newly appointed Planrung Board representative to the Housing Partnership. Community Housing Support Services Project Update Peg reported that the person hired by the Center for Human Development was "un­ hired" at the end of the first week. CHD staff determined it was not going to be a good fit so they are in discussions with the other final candidate. Hopefully that person will accept the job and this project can move forward. Oak Street Parcel Development Peg attended the community input session for the land along the bike path north of Bardwell in Florence. There were about 30 neighbors. Wayne made a presentation and said there is no agenda or time table but he wanted to get a sense from the neighbors if the site could and should accommodate more usage. There were several people from the BMX bike riding community who have built trails there. They expressed interest in efforts to solidify that presence in environmentally respectful ways. Affordable housing was mentioned by the Director of Habitat for Humanity Megan McDonough and Dylan Sussman, a Planner at Pioneer Valley Planrung Commission who served on the Zoning Revision Committee. Ms. McDonough asked if the neighbors could envision a duplex on the parcel and Dylan suggested a row of cottage style bungalows only accessible by bicycle along the bike path. There was definite interest in clearing out some of the invasive plants and co-existing with the bike riders, but no further discussion on the housing aspect. City Councilor Alisa Klein offered to add interested people to her ward listserv and schedule another meeting. Partnership members expressed interest in taking another tour as no one was able to make it that day. Peg did not take the tour either and is interested in seeing where the trails are and how suitable it would be for housing development. She will contact 1 Councilor Klein and we will schedule another time for a tour. This is one of the few remaining. larger in-fill parcels for possible development, so the Partnership is interested in weighing in on its potential. Zoning Committee Peg reported she has not had time to work on investigating the items on the list. She and :Member Frothingharn will schedule a Lime to meet. !v1embers described the items on the list and told Member Verson that the NHP would do some research and be in communication with Planning Department staff. The NHP focus is on any obstacles that the Zoning Ordinance presents for the creation or preservation of affordable housing. Currently the list includes inclusionary zoning, dimensional and review regulations and the action Amherst is taking to offer tax incentives to affordable housing developers. Mr. Verson' s role of reporting between the Planning Board and the Housing Partnership is important and we welcome that communication flow. Fair Housing Discussion was held about how to assist landlords, and the lead paint issue. Member Wallace said it is important to carve out tasks according to what is most doable. The reasonable accommodation issue around service animals was noted as a topic that would bring landlords out to a workshop. Inviting service providers and property managers is important. Member Roy mentioned there is a lending group doing a session with banks and landlords. He will find out more about what was on the agenda and who is participating. Doing a workshop with other towns was also mentioned. Combining efforts with Amherst and Easthampton could increase participation. After citing some of the other work tasks Peg is currently undertaking, she asked members to take some assignments. Member Roy offered to research the tax program Amherst is considering, Member Reis agreed to attend a Fair Housing Workshop being offered in Franklin County to determine its relevance here. Peg is meeting with Meris Bergquist, the Director of the Mass. Fair Housing Center to see what activities they can conduct in Northampton. Regional Updates Northampton Housing Authority-Member Wallace reported that the Board of Commissioners will make a decision on the New NHA Director later this week. Network to End Homelessness -Member Wallace said a western Mass. plan to end homelessness has been completed and is available for review. This ties local activity to 2 the Federal Plan. The Network awaits word on a State budget earmark to fully fund continued operation. A local training with the National Alliance to End Homelessness is planned for next week to assess progress in the four counties of Western Mass. The Network is now five years old. Initially there were 10 networks established across the State, 3 remain and ours is the most active. Membership Member Abuza asked that the Partnership send a specific letter to former member Dieringer thanking her for her service. She is resigning as of this month. Next Meeting will be held July 6th at 5:30 p.m. Respectfully, Peg Keller 3 NORTHAMPTON HOUSING PARTNERSHIP Minutes July 6, 2015 Members Present: Gordon Shaw, Chair, Peter Frothingham, Vice-Chair, Richard Abuza, Jim Reis, Lynne Wallace. Also present, Peg Keller, staff. Call To Order: Chair Shaw called the meeting to order at 5: 40 p.m. Member Wallace made a motion to approve the minutes from the June meeting, seconded by Member Reis. The vote in favor was unanimous. Strategic Planning Session Dates were discussed for this session. The intent is to have as many members present as possible. It was determined to postpone it until October as some folks would be unavailable in September. Small Area Fair Market Rents -HUD Action Members discussed how it has always been difficult to utilize a Section 8 housing voucher in Northampton due to the high market rate rents. Landlords are not willing to accept them when they can get higher rates from the general market. Peg reported that the Inclusive Communities Advisory Group, a sub-committee of the Pioneer Valley Regional Planning Commission's Housing Plan Implementation Committee reviewed a proposal from HUD to create different fair market rent rates for high cost communities. Th@-lGAG-was-l00ki.ng-f-er-aFea-acl-v0eat-es-to-eo-sign-the-e0mmenHetter-to-HBD. The letter was circulated and the NHP agreed to participate (motion made by Member Frothingham, seconded by Member Abuza; vote unanimous). Peg will follow the progress to see if anything gets implemented. It could begin as a pilot project and the letter offered to HUD that the Pioneer Valley would be an appropriate geography in which to test a program. Project Updates Community Housing Support Services Project Peg reported that Linda Driscoll Sbar has been hired by the Center for Human Development and is getting oriented. A meeting will be held with Partnership members (former NHP members Hochstadt and Dieringer and Chair Shaw) to relay our hopes for 1 the project. Ms. Driscoll has been working in tenancy preservation for many years and has a deep understanding of the issues facing families with multiple challenges. Fair Housing Action Plan Member Reis relayed the results of his research on possible activities for the Housing Partnership. He did attend the workshop conducted by HAP and the Mass. Fair Housing Center in Franklin County. He said there were about 40 people in attendance (!). John Fisher (HAP) is willing to do one here also, for either service providers, landlords or property managers. Mr. Fisher agreed that reasonable accommodation related to medical marijuana and service animals would be relevant new topics. He also provided Member Reis with links to landlord associations in the area (Springfield/ W.Springfield, Worcester) and NHP members reviewed the materials. Mr. Fisher continues to stress the value that a Hampshire County Landlord association could have to further fair housing related issues. Member Abuza said the prior group did not last because property owners did what they were supposed to do and other than when big issues came to the forefront, such as condo conversions and rent control, they went about their business independently. Members discussed strategy. It was noted that most of the property owners own buildings with 2-4 units. Those that own 6-12 are more business oriented than the traditional "mom and pop" landlords. Member Abuza said we could organize a mailing to any of those categories of owners. Inserting information about the workshops could go out in the annual census mailings. A separate session for service providers could be held this fall. It was concluded that if our goal is to remove impediments to fair housing, we need to target the smaller landlords and de-concentrate lo_cations_o.Ltenants who are members of protected classes. Member Reis agreed to work with Peg to flesh out these suggestions. They will meet before the next meeting. Zoning Committee The sub-committee has not met but will review the PATH grant that the Planning Department is implementing, related to identifying obstacles to housing development. Rural Housing Report Review Vice-Chair Frothingham briefly relayed his impressions of the report and offered to summarize his comments in writing. Those will be available for the next meeting. He said it had some limited value, but the sections seemed repetitive. He was thanked for his efforts. More discussion will follow. 2 Amherst Tax Incentive Program Member Roy agreed to investigate this, so we will wait for his return. Regional Updates Northampton Housing Authority -Member Wallace reported that the new Executive Director has been hired. Her name is Cara Clifford and it was suggested that she be invited to attend the December meeting. Member Wallace said she was rated highly by the tenants and staff during the selection process. NHP agreed to send her a letter welcoming her and expressing our desire to work closely with her to support the critical relationship her agency has with the community. WMN etwork to End Homelessness -Member Wallace distributed copies of the newly completed Western Mass Open Doors Plan which localizes the goals of the Federal Plan. She noted that the plan to end homelessness has been revised to reflect the following: that homelessness will be rare, brief and non-recurring. The plan is data driven and collaborative. The Network is still awaiting word on the status of the State line item earmark for the new program year ($125,000). If it does not come through, staffing capacity will need to be altered. Adjourn The meeting concluded at 6:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Peg Keller 3 NORTHAMPTON HOUSING PARTNERSHIP Minutes September 9, 2015 Members Present: Gordon Shaw, Chair, Peter Frothingham, Vice-Chair, Lynne Wallace, Richard Abuza, Alyx Akers, Jim Reis. Also present, Peg Keller, staff. CALL TO ORDER: Chair Shaw called the meeting to order at 5:35 p.m. The minutes of the July meeting were approved as presented. No one was present for the public comment period. PROJECT UPDATES Affordable Housing Projects: Both the Lumberyard and Northampton Lodging projects are waiting for funding award announcements from the State (should be made any moment!). Soldier On has broken ground on their 16 transitional housing units for women Veterans and their children and on the 44 permanent housing units for older male individuals at the Leeds Campus. Those 60 units should be completed by spring of 2016. Peg reminded members of the ribbon cutting and apartment tour scheduled for September 25th at 10:30 a.m. for the Parsons Village family rental units developed by Valley CDC in Easthampton. They will be managed by HAPHousing. Units are at 60% and 30% of area median income; 38 studios, ones, two and three bedroom units. Families are moving in now. Christopher Heights will also be ready for occupancy this fall. Comm11nity.-Housing Suppo.rt-SerV-ices:-Linda-D-r-isool1--Sba.r-has-bggnn-w0r-k-nnde-r-the-­ CPC grant. Toni Hochstadt and Peg met with Linda and two other supervisors from the Center for Human Development to go over the Housing Partnership's program expectations. Linda worked for the Tenancy Preservation Program for years and has a keen understanding of challenges families with low incomes can face. She has met with Hathaway Farms, Meadowbrook, the Survival Center and Housing Authority staff, as well as attended Housing court sessions and met with Judge Fields. She will be invited to a future meeting so NHP members can meet her and hear her observations, reactions and accomplishments thus far. Peg said through the quarterly reporting that must accompany payment invoices, she will regularly see if the work is on track. Oak Street Parcel: Peg reported that she contacted City Councilor Klein to see if any neighborhood meetings had been scheduled as follow up to the initial session. The response was no and Ms. Klein asked if we wanted to take the lead. I said the NHP 1 members still wanted to schedule a tour and would be willing to advocate for housing development if the neighborhood was willing to consider it. Peg will send out a doodle poll to try to determine a time for members to walk the site and determine feasibility for housing development. Zoning Committee: Peg reported on the PATH grant secured by Planning Director Feiden and the preliminary analysis submitted by the consultant, Agora Associates. Peg said the draft had been relayed to Vice-Chair Frothingham for input from the NHP Zoning Committee. Mr. Frothingham reviewed the draft and submitte� observations that were forwarded to Mr. Feiden. It is our hope those comments can be incorporated into the final report. It was heartening to see some of the same challenges to the development of affordable housing Mr. Frothingham has identified be validated by the consultant. The full draft report will be circulated to the other NHP members as well as Mr. Frothingham' s comments. Further discussion will occur on the content when we conduct the strategic planning session in November. Peg will circulate the final report from Agora when it is available. Vice-Chair Frothingham was thanked for his efforts. Rural Housing Initiative / White Paper: Peg circulated Vice-Chair Frothingham' s summary of the report prepared by the Mass. Housing Partnership on rural housing issues. We will refer back to this during our strategic planning session in November. He was thanked for reading and digesting the report and presenting it back in a usable form. Assuredly, it is a valuable tool to advocate for specialized programming at the State level as it articulates obstacles related to transportation, infrastructure and ill fitting funding sources. Member Wallace added that the new DHCD Undersecretary has toured the western Mass. area to better understand rural issues and is moving ahead with one of the recommendations which is to establish a Rural Policy Comm1ss1on. Amherst Tax Program: (future update to be provided by Member Roy upon his return). Peg noted that she saw in the paper it appears Amherst is moving forward on a tax abatement program for developers that include affordable units. Letter to Landlords in Annual Census Mailing: Peg reported that City Clerk Wendy Mazza is taking our request to her board on September 15th so we will hear after that if we can send something to landlords. Fair Housing Activity Member Reis and Peg reported on their sub-committee meeting. They had concluded that if a letter could go out in late December to landlords, that an invitation to a workshop could be included in that for a February or March session. A separate session 2 for service providers and property managers could still be held in November or December. The list of topics covered by John Fisher of HAPHousing for landlord workshops was circulated for feedback. Members concluded that reasonable accommodation and new issues such as use of medical marijuana and service animals could generate interest and attendance. Member Reis and Peg will meet with Mr. Fisher to develop an agenda, pick the date and venue and develop an outreach strategy. Member Reis was thanked for his efforts. Community Preservation Committee Annual Plan Members reviewed the community housing section of the draft annual plan of the Community Preservation Committee. Edits will be referred to their staff person for inclusion. Tour/Meeting Dates Work will be done to schedule the Oak Street tour and the general affordable housing tour. It was decided to leave the regular meeting date for the Partnership of Oct. 5th, even though Member Abuza and Chair Shaw cannot attend. Regional Updates Northampton Housing Authority: Member Wallace reported on the hiring of Ms. Clifford. It was decided that the NHP would invite her to attend our meeting in December. It was mentioned that inviting Linda Driscoll to the same meeting could facilitate collaboration between entities around the support for Community Housing Support Services project. Western Mass. Network to End Homelessness M-e-mb-erWallace reported-fh:arth:e Network di-receive lie Sfa e me 1 em earmar o $125,000 to further implementation of the Western Mass. Open Doors plan and fund staffing and data collection. Pioneer Valley Planning Commission's Regional Housing Plan Implementation The Committee is scheduled to meet September 23rd, so there will be a report next month. In Memoriam/ Member Abuza noted the passing of former Partnership member Nola Reinhardt and acknowledged her contributions to our work and in other realms. Adjourn/ The meeting concluded at 6:55 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Peg Keller 3 NORTHAMPTON HOUSING PARTNERSHIP Minutes December 7, 2015 Members Present: Gordon Shaw, Chair, Peter Frothingham, Vice-Chair, Michael Roy, Richard Abuza, Todd Weir, Jim Reis, Alan Verson. Absent, Lynne Wallace, Alyx Akers. Also present, Peg Keller, staff and Linda Driscoll-Sbar, Center for Human Development. Call to Order: Chair Shaw called the meeting to order at 5: 32 p.m. Members welcomed their guest and introduced themselves. There were no minutes to approve. Community Housing Support Services Project Update Linda Driscoll-Sbar, the Coordinator for project, was welcomed. Chair Shaw gave the background on the project for new Partnership members. The project was formulated by the Housing Partnership to address a recognized need in the community -housing stabilization to prevent homelessness. The NHP (members Jen Dieringer, Toni Hochstadt and Chair Shaw) completed and submitted the application to the Community Preservation Committee. Three years of funding was awarded ($195,000) and Ms. Driscoll-Sbar was hired in July of 2015. She was invited to provide a report on her activities to date. Highlights of her presentation follow: •She worked previously for the Tenancy Preservation Project thru the MentalHealth Association for 13 years; very knowledgeable about tenant issues•She worked for 12 years in Hampshire County and 1 year in Hampden, so isfamiliar with Meadowbrook, Hathaway Farms and other Northampton rentalpr-0perties -•She currently shares office space with the SRO Outreach Program (bothadministered by the Center for Human Development) housed in the FirstChurches basement.•She has accompanied the SRO Outreach Coordinator to the SRO' s to becomefamiliar with the individual population•She has met with Judge Fields (Housing Court) Community Legal Aid, the City(P. Keller and Housing Partnership members) Meadowbrook Property managerand resident services coordinator and Dept. of Mental Health caseworkers.•She created a referral form and started accepting clients in July. First case was areferral from Hampshire Heights, a family in need of food. There were non­payment issues which is a priority for her casework. She was able to secureentitlements, part time day care and food stamps for that family.1 •In the 1st quarter, she opened 10 cases; 6 families and 4 individuals. As of October she opened 7 more/ all have payment issues. She described some cases.•RAFT is the major source of funding but applying can be an arduous process. She worked with Com. Legal Aid to have HAP come to Northampton to take applications. She now has a slide show on her computer for easier access for clients to complete application requirements.•Northampton Housing Authority and Meadowbrook are now telling clients to call her for assistance -early-pre-eviction. Connections are being made. No formal rep payee agreements have been necessary yet. Workshops were discussed. Ms. Driscoll-Sbar said people are reluctant to meet in groups to share challenges. One on one educational sessions seem to work better. Mr. Reis noted that Tony Bator (HAP) has created materials in English and Spanish on budgeting. Chair Shaw noted it is a problem for case work when clients have no paper records. They (Community Legal Aid) disperse rent journals so folks can keep track of what they paid and when. Mr. Roy offered potential financial resources (from Easthampton Savings Bank) to support workshops. Discussion followed regarding the rep payee program. Ms. Driscoll-Sbar said that if this is a three year grant and ends after that time, is the Center for Human Development able to maintain rep payee relationships into the future. She said it is an internal discussion currently underway. Relative to that, they are defining what a case closure would look like. The life of a payment plan mandated by the Court is a component in that discussion. Peg K. noted that RAFT funds are now going to be available for individuals as well as families. Ms. Driscoll-Sbar was thanked for her time and commended her on her efforts to date. She is required to submit an annual report to the CPC to document evictions prevented and she-submits-quarterlyreports-to-the-eommunityDevelupm-ent-offtce-tn-proc::e-sslhe invoices. Strategic Planning/ Task Review Peg distributed a list of action plan tasks gleaned from the prior strategic planning discussions. She asked members to review it and comment. She said it could be vetted further at the January meeting to establish ad hoc committees and deadlines to insure the tasks are completed. Peg wanted to add the list from Mr. Reis and have more discussion on Mr. Frothingham's suggested items for possible incorporation. Zoning Update Peg has circulated the completed Agora Report. A meeting will be held later this week with the development community at which the authors will present the report. Later 2 that evening (Dec. 10) a joint meeting with the Housing Partnership and the Planning Board would be held to discuss the report. Housing Partnership members were invited to attend the afternoon session, but strongly encouraged to attend the evening session. At the January Housing Partnership meeting, members will discuss how to proceed based on the outcome of those sessions. Amherst Tax Abatement Program Mr. Roy has been in contact with officials from the Town of Amherst. He distributed materials describing their program. He learned that the density bonuses in their zoning by-law had not produced units, primarily due to lack of space downtown. The Town worked with a consultant and Kopleman and Page (law firm) to investigate an abatement program for developers of affordable units to utilize. The program has now been officially adopted. He will set up a time for Gordon and Peg to meet with their Finance Director to discuss this further. He was thanked for his efforts on this. Landlord Letter The letter from the Mayor to property owners in the community was reviewed. It will be included in the annual census letter from the City Clerk going out the end of this month. It invites all who receive it to attend the Fair Housing Workshop scheduled for February 11th. It includes an updated list of resources. January Meeting Peg noted that Joanne Campbell, Director of the Valley Community Development Corporation, will attend the January meeting. She will provide an update on the Lumberyard project and speak to the Community Investment Tax Credit program. Adjourn The meeting concluded at 7:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Peg Keller 3 NORTHAMPTON HOUSING PARTNERSHIP Minutes September 9, 2015 Members Present: Gordon Shaw, Chair, Peter Frothingham, Vice-Chair, Lynne Wallace, Richard Abuza, Alyx Akers, Jim Reis. Also present, Peg Keller, staff. CALL TO ORDER: Chair Shaw called the meeting to order at 5:35 p.m. The minutes of the July meeting were approved as presented. No one was present for the public comment period. PROJECT UPDATES Affordable Housing Projects: Both the Lumberyard and Northampton Lodging projects are waiting for funding award announcements from the State (should be made any moment!). Soldier On has broken ground on their 16 transitional housing_units forwomen Veterans and their children and on the 44 permanent housing units for older male individuals at the Leeds Campus. Those 60 units should be completed by spring of 2016. Peg reminded members of the ribbon cutting and apartment tour scheduled for September 25th at 10:30 a.m. for the Parsons Village family rental units developed by Valley CDC in Easthampton. They will be managed by HAPHousing. Units are at 60% and 30% of area median income; 38 studios, ones, two and three bedroom units. Families are moving in now. Christopher Heights will also be ready for occupancy this fall. Gemm-rmity-fl-ou-s-in-g-Sttppert-Serviees:-f::inda-Driscotl=Sbar has-begun work-antler the CPC grant. Toni Hochstadt and Peg met with Linda and two other supervisors from the Center for Human Development to go over the Housing Partnership's program expectations. Linda worked for the Tenancy Preservation Program for years and has a keen understanding of challenges families with low incomes can face. She has met with Hathaway Farms, Meadowbrook, the Survival Center and Housing Authority staff, as well as attended Housing court sessions and met with Judge Fields. She will be invited to a future meeting so NHP members can meet her and hear her observations, reactions and accomplishments thus far. Peg said through the quarterly reporting that must accompany payment invoices, she will regularly see if the work is on track. Oak Street Parcel: Peg reported that she contacted City Councilor Klein to see if any neighborhood meetings had been scheduled as follow up to the initial session. The response was no and Ms. Klein asked if we wanted to take the lead. I said the NHP 1 members still wanted to schedule a tour and would be willing to advocate for housing development if the neighborhood was willing to consider it. Peg will send out a doodle poll to try to determine a time for members to walk the site and determine feasibility for housing development. Zoning Committee: Peg reported on the PATH grant secured by Planning Director Feiden and the preliminary analysis submitted by the consultant, Agora Associates. Peg said the draft had been relayed to Vice-Chair Frothingham for input from the NHP Zoning Committee. Mr. Frothingham reviewed the draft and submitted observations that were forwarded to Mr. Feiden. It is our hope those comments can be incorporated into the final report. It was heartening to see some of the same challenges to the development of affordable housing Mr. Frothingham has identified be validated by the consultant. The full draft report will be circulated to the other NHP members as well as Mr. Frothingham's comments. Further discussion will occur on the content when we conduct the strategic planning session in November. Peg will circulate the final report from Agora when it is available. Vice-Chair Frothingham was thanked for his efforts. Rural Housing Initiative / White Paper: Peg circulated Vice-Chair Frothingham' s summary of the report prepared by the Mass. Housing Partnership on rural housing issues. We will refer back to this during our strategic planning session in November. He was thanked for reading and digesting the report and presenting it back in a usable form. Assuredly, it is a valuable tool to advocate for specialized programming at the State level as it articulates obstacles related to transportation, infrastructure and ill fitting funding sources. Member Wallace added that the new DHCD Undersecretary has toured the western Mass. area to better understand rural issues and is moving ahead with one of the recommendations which is to establish a Rural Polic Commission. Amherst Tax Program: (future update to be provided by Member Roy upon his return). Peg noted that she saw in the paper it appears Amherst is moving forward on a tax abatement program for developers that include affordable units. Letter to Landlords in Annual Census Mailing: Peg reported that City Clerk Wendy Mazza is taking our request to her board on September 15th so we will hear after that if we can send something to landlords. Fair Housing Activity Member Reis and Peg reported on their sub-committee meeting. They had concluded that if a letter could go out in late December to landlords, that an invitation to a workshop could be included in that for a February or March session. A separate session 2 for service providers and property managers could still be held in November or December. The list of topics covered by John Fisher of HAPHousing for landlord workshops was circulated for feedback. Members concluded that reasonable accommodation and new issues such as use of medical marijuana and service animals could generate interest and attendance. Member Reis and Peg will meet with Mr. Fisher to develop an agenda, pick the date and venue and develop an outreach strategy. Member Reis was thanked for his efforts. Community Preservation Committee Annual Plan Members reviewed the community housing section of the draft annual plan of the Community Preservation Committee. Edits will be referred to their staff person for inclusion. Tour/Meeting Dates Work will be done to schedule the Oak Street tour and the general affordable housing tour. It was decided to leave the regular meeting date for the Partnership of Oct. 5th, even though Member Abuza and Chair Shaw cannot attend. Regional Updates Northampton Housing Authority: Member Wallace reported on the hiring of Ms. ·Clifford. It was decided that the NHP would invite her to attend our meeting inDecember. It was mentioned that inviting Linda Driscoll to the same meeting couldfacilitate collaboration between entities around the support for Community HousingSupport Services project.Western Mass. Network to End HomelessnessMember Wallace reported that the Network did receive the State line item earmark of$125,000 to further implementation of the Western Mass. Open Doors plan and fundstaffing and data collection.Pioneer Vallev Planning Commission's Regional Housing Plan ImplementationThe Committee is scheduled to meet September 23rd, so there will be a report nextmonth.In Memoriam/ Member Abuza noted the passing of former Partnership member NolaReinhardt and acknowledged her contributions to our work and in other realms.Adjourn/ The meeting concluded at 6:55 p.m.Respectfully submitted, Peg Keller 3