Agenda for June 24 Meeting

• Review of minutes
• Housing Planning Blog
• Continuation of Urban Housing & Development focus areas
• Affordable Housing/Housing That Is Affordable
• Adjourn

Recap from June 10 Meeting: Urban Living & Development Housing SWOT Analysis

Following are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats identified by the group at its June 10 meeting. The topic of the June 10 meeting was simply the Urban Living & Development component of the housing picture facing the community, so these points were made in that context only. We had only begun to identify preliminary action items to carry over for further discussion into what ultimately will serve as recommendations from the group for inclusion in the city's final strategic plan. That process will continue for the first part of our next meeting (scheduled for June 24). That meeting will then begin the process of conducting a SWOT analysis on the topic of affordable housing / housing affordability, with plans to conclude those discussions and recommendations at the group's July 8 meeting. Much will depend on our progress between now and then, so please remain flexible as we work toward efficient and productive conclusion of our work.

If you are a member of the Housing Committee, please use the comments field of this post to provide any input or hold online discussions of any of the identified issues.

Strengths

ü      Affordability

ü      Built environment, infrastructure, connectivity

ü      Diversity of housing types, styles, price ranges, etc.

ü      Proximity to cultural amenities

ü      Safe communities

ü      UNA & strong neighborhood associations

ü      Character of older housing stock

ü      Walkable neighborhoods

Weaknesses

ü      Lack of investment in maintenance & improvements

ü      Existing thoroughfares lack sidewalks & bike lanes

ü      Higher risk for infill development (price comps, etc)

ü      Lack of flexibility in regulation & planning, etc

ü      Renter & landlord education opportunities miss the most problematic renters & landlords

ü      Historically high number of foreclosures

ü      Again housing stock

ü      Inefficient to increase efficiency

ü      Garage capacity

Opportunities

ü      Potential domino effect with improvements

ü      Greatest opportunity for sustainability gains

·         Core services

·         Infrastructure

·         Energy consumption (improvements)

ü      Targeted neighborhoods specific revitalization plans

Threats

ü      Absentee owners

ü      Below average percentage of homeownership

ü      Property damage/abuse in many rentals (landlords & tenants)

ü      Strategic defaults

ü      Foreclosures & short sales

PRELIMINARY Action Items (Discussion begun, but to continue June 24)

•  Seek and expand incentives for efficiency improvements of the highest-consumption existing homes (State-Local Legislative Priority, etc)
•     Establish a voluntary scoring system for rental housing

·         Safety components

·         “Angie’s List” or equivalent

·         Utility history, etc.

Parked Items (held for discussion at a future meeting)

ü      Civic engagement (neighborhood meetings, etc)

ü      Sustainability/efficiency

ü      Affordable options for low income

PRELIMINARY Action Steps for Consideration to Recommend for inclusion in Strategic Plan (New Construction Only)

Following are the PRELIMINARY Action Items identified by the group to carry over for further discussion into what ultimately will serve as recommendations from the group for inclusion in the city's final strategic plan. These were identified by the group at its May 27 meeting. The previous post (seen below if you are viewing this on the blogspot page) highlighted the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats identified by the group, which led to these preliminary recommendations. The topic of the May 27 meeting was simply the New Construction component of the housing picture facing the community, so these points were made in that context only. The June 10 meeting will focus more directly on Urban Living and the Established Housing Stock. If you are a member of the Housing Committee, please use the comments field of this post to provide any input or hold online discussions of any of the identified issues / recommendations, or to discuss alternative recommendations not included here that should be considered.

PRELIMINARY ACTION ITEMS (NEW CONSTRUCTION):

• Initiate Meaningful Regulation / Certification Reform
• Open up zoning options to allow for greater "mix" of blended housing options
• Evaluate a process by which builders could qualify to pull permits (local license? proof of compliance with basic insurance requirement already required by law?)
• Other?
• Promote Consistency in Codes, Regulations, Enforcement
• Where possible, coordinate building code adoption and amendment between city, county, and other area entities
• Consolidate some building/development departments and/or functions within city government
• Consolidate some building/development departments and/or functions between city and county government (functional consolidation)
• Promote Diversity of Housing Types and Development Patterns
• Remove barriers to innovative design concepts
• Allow "trade-off" incentives for builders & developers with new concepts to make the new concepts financially feasible
• Promote a philosophy of enhancing and supporting existing market opportunities and market forces (rather than attempt to create ones that do not exist)
• Avoid temptation to "design from scratch" without regard to what the market is demanding
• Make true local market measures (buying patterns, demand trends, etc.) a meaningful part of master plans for future growth
• Establish an Awards Program for Innovation in Housing, Development & Residential Design
• Model Best Practices of Other, Comparable Communities

ISSUES RAISED AT THIS MEETING, BUT "PARKED" FOR DISCUSSION AT A FUTURE MEETING:

• Enhance existing housing options for urban lifestyles (parked for discussion May 27)
• Training from the private sector to P&Z, Council, & city staff re: the development process (parked for discussion during implementation / operations phase of recommendations)
• Affordability challenges at all levels of new construction (parked for continued discussion on June 10)

Recap from May 27 Meeting: New Construction Housing SWOT Analysis

Following are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats identified by the group at its May 27 meeting. The topic of the May 27 meeting was simply the New Construction component of the housing picture facing the community, so these points were made in that context only. The June 10 meeting will focus more directly on Urban Living and the Established Housing Stock. If you are a member of the Housing Committee, please use the comments field of this post to provide any input or hold online discussions of any of the identified issues. The next post will provide the Action Items identified by the group to carry over for further discussion into what ultimately will serve as recommendations from the group for inclusion in the city's final strategic plan.


Strengths

• Affordable compared to other markets
• Abundance of land
• Quality of construction
• No dominance of large scale builders/developers (national companies)
• Diversity of builders
• Diversity of housing types
• Greene County = best model for combo of market/regulatory environment

Weaknesses

• Lack of diversity of housing types
• Land development options
• Lack of flexibility/options from a regulatory standpoint
• Lack of creativity in patterns of housing (Innovation in Development Patterns)
• Lack of creativity /flexibility in Planning/Bldg. Regs. Dept.
• Less clarity between subcontractors (disparity in quality)
• Lack of Consistency between City & County and between departments and individuals within city government in the building & development process
• Segregated housing price points (lack true mixed use & interdeveloped housing types)
• Final decision-makers (P&Z Council members) don’t inspect sites for themselves
• Lack of builders license / standards for qualifying to pull a building permit
• Lack of reliable data on vacancy rates/absorption rates in for-sale and for-rent new housing

Opportunities

• Greater regulatory flexibility for mixed use & mixed housing types
• Seek more informed & better trained P & Z/Council members
• Provide training / orientation on the development process (from private sector perspective) to new members of council, P&Z, etc.
• Establish transit-oriented development patterns
• Rising fuel prices = rising density
• Appropriate/Affordable workforce housing = economic development

Threats

• NIMBY (Not in My Back Yard) and CAVE (Citizens Against Virtually Everything) attitudes from some in community impact political will to encourage/facilitate building & development
• Requirements that impact affordability at all levels
• Rising fuel prices