September 21, 2022

CITY OF TITUSVILLE

AFFORDABLE HOUSING ADVISORY COMMITTEE

MINUTES

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 21, 2022

3:00 P. M.

The Affordable Housing Advisory Committee meeting was held at the Harry T. Moore Social Service Center, 725 S. DeLeon Avenue.

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Members present were Committee Chairperson Joe C. Robinson, Vice-Chairman Sid Chehayeb, Member Bill Gary, and Member Joe Richardson.  City Staff present were Terrie Franklin, Neighborhood Services Director, Tracy Davis, Neighborhood Services Planner, Sheila Martin Neighborhood Services Special Projects & Administrative Coordinator, Brad Parrish Community Development Director, and Joshua Mesnick Community Development Planner.

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I.          Meeting was called to order at 3:05 p.m.

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II.        Roll Call

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III.       Quorum established by roll call.

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IV.       Approval of Minutes

August 17, 2022 Minutes:  Vice-Chairman Chehayeb moved to approve minutes; seconded by Member Richardson.   Motion carried by unanimous voice vote of yes.

September 7, 2022 Minutes:  Member Richardson moved to approve minutes; seconded by Member Gary.  Motion carried by unanimous voice vote of yes.

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V.        OLD BUSINESS

A.  AHAC and THA Joint Meeting October 4, 2022

Terrie Franklin provided the Committee with an overview of the Florida Housing Finance Corporation’s guidance regarding Incentive B, specifically that modifying local government fees can reduce the cost to build affordable housing and the savings can be passed on in the form of lower rents or lower sales prices, and that impact fees are the main type of fees that can be modified for affordable housing however, the modification or waiver of other local government fees should be assessed. These other local government fees can include informal review fees, site plan review fees, landscape plan, platting and subdivisions, building permits, variances, and concurrency compacity for income driven developments.

Chairman Robinson asked Brad Parrish if there was any fee charged by the City that could be waived or reduced.  Brad Parrish stated that it would be beneficial to research Brevard County’s Procedures regarding the reduction/waiver of fees and mimic these accordingly. Brad Parrish also stated that, regarding cost savings for developments, it could be beneficial to research implementing more flexibility in the required landscape buffers for affordable housing developments.

Member Richardson spoke to the Committee about the possibility of partnering with the THA to achieve affordable housing or affordable apartments and looking into incentives for such partnerships.

Vice-Chairman Chehayeb spoke to the Committee about the need for committed developers for affordable housing.

Chairman Robinson talked about how affordable housing in Titusville is confined to a specific target area and asked if it was possible to repurpose industrial areas in the City. Brad Parrish responded that it is important to be careful when assessing possible industrial areas for affordable housing due to the need for environmental justice.

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B. October 5, 2022 AHAC Meeting

Chairman Robinson stated that because the Committee is meeting with the THA on October 4, 2022, the October 5, 2022 AHAC meeting is redundant and suggested moving the 10/5/22 meeting to 10/12/2022. Vice-Chairman Chehayeb moved to approve moving the October 5, 2022 AHAC meeting to October 12, 2022 at 4:00PM; seconded by Member Richardson.  

Motion carried by unanimous voice vote of yes.

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C. Bylaws for AHAC

Adoption of bylaws tabled until the final AHAC meeting of 2022 to allow Committee adequate time to review.

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D. Incentive C: Increase Allowable Density Levels

Tabled until October 12, 2022 AHAC Meeting.

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VI.       NEW BUSINESS

Terrie Franklin provided the Committee with the Florida Housing Finance Corporation’s guidance on Incentive E, specifically “to allow accessory dwelling units as secondary units, typically on single-family lots, that are independent of the primary dwelling. Accessory dwellings are a means to increase the number of housing units in areas primarily comprised of single-family homes. The smaller housing options are ideal for smaller households, and for young adults or elderly individuals that wish to live in close proximity to a care taker. The accessory dwelling units creates affordable housing in two ways, the secondary dwelling as a rental unit that due to its relatively small size, will ordinarily rent at prices within the means of lower income persons, at the same time the rental income created by the accessory dwelling can render the primary resident more affordable by virtue of income.”

Terrie Franklin explained to the Committee that the City already has an accessory ordinance in place. Chairman Robinson asked if the City’s accessory dwelling ordinance is in alignment with the State’s guidance, specifically would the City approve accessory dwellings. Brad Parrish stated that the City has approved the building of accessory dwellings recently.

Member Richardson suggested looking into some creative way of converting larger home into smaller units, converting a single-family home to a multi-family home.

Committee agreed to leave Incentive E as is, but for research to be done for future consideration regarding amending the City’s ordinances to include flexibility for the conversion of larger homes into two units in single-family zoned areas.

Vice-Chairman Chehayeb motioned in favor to leave Incentive E AS IS with the condition of researching the conversion of large single-family zoned homes into two units for future consideration; seconded by Member Richardson.

Motion carried by unanimous voice vote of yes to leave Incentive E AS IS.

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Terrie Franklin provided the Committee with the Florida Housing Finance Corporation’s Guidance on Incentive F, specifically “study the existing parking requirements and identify areas where standards can be waived, for example, on street parking; requiring multiple spaces can be overly burdensome from an economic and functional standpoint. Allow a reduction in the setback requirements to allow more smaller units to be developed on a single parcel, or allow smaller lots to contain homes. This strategy can be beneficial for duplexes, triplexes, and missing middle housing types. Many local governments allow developers to seek a waiver of parking requirements to the Planned Unit Development, or other local process. Consider providing greater benefits for developments that produce affordable housing units.”

Member Gary asked the Committee what the current requirement is for parking spaces per unit, to which Brad Parrish answered two and half parking spaces is the current requirement, which is higher than any other city in the county.  

Chairman Robinson suggested that the Committee make a recommendation reduce parking to a more in alignment with other cities.   

Vice Chairman Chehayeb informed the Committee that it is best practice for parking spaces to be no smaller than 9 by 18 to allow for the opening of car doors to enter and exit vehicles, and suggested that the reduction of the size of number of parking spaces should be on a waiver basis, this allows for staff to review the specifics of the proposed parking plans. Vice Chairman Chehayeb also stated that the current fee for this type of waiver is $250.

Terrie Franklin suggested that this fee could be waived for affordable housing developments.

Member Richardson motioned in favor of amending Incentive F to include language regarding supporting the low-impact development process for affordable housing by waiver of the $250 parking reviewal fee; Member Gary seconded motion.

Motion carried by unanimous voice vote of yes.

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Terrie Franklin stated that at last year’s AHAC session, the Committee approved of the modifications that the City did at the last Incentive Plan, which was to implement new policies and regulations that allowed administrative waivers instead of having to obtain variances. Further, Terrie Franklin stated that last year, it was the consensus of the Committee agreed that Incentive G had been implemented successfully and was working effectively.

Vice-Chairman Chehayeb moved to leave Incentive G AS IS; seconded by Member Richardson.  Motion carried by unanimous voice vote of yes to leave Incentive G AS IS.

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Terrie Franklin provided the Committee with the Florida Housing Finance Corporation’s Guidance on Incentive H, specifically that the intention of Incentive H is to allow for affordable housing developments to plan for parking on only one side of the street, thereby reducing the width needed for the road, and address street modifications through administrative procedures, granted on a case by case basis by the planning or development services.

Chairman Robertson stated that reviewing this issue on a case by case basis is adequate because Titusville is not a large city, and that should an issue arise with in the next 12 months, Incentive H can be reviewed and added to accordingly.

Member Richardson moved to leave Incentive H AS IS; seconded by Vice-Chairman Chehayeb.  Motion carried by unanimous voice vote of yes to leave Incentive H AS IS.

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VII.     Petitions and Requests from the public

            No action

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VIII.    REPORTS

Chairman Robinson stated that he looked forward to seeing everyone at the 10/4/2022 meeting with THA.

Member Gary asked the Committee about the one-stop permitting liaison that the City once had, and are there now multiple people that work with developers in getting the permits that they need? Brad Parrish responded that there are 35 people in the City that work in permitting. Member Gary then inquired about who a developer would need to speak with regarding building a 50-unit affordable housing complex, and how would this developer go about getting all the permits needed. Brad Parrish explained that the stage in the development process dictates who a developer would need to speak with.

            C. Staff update

Terrie Franklin let the Committee know that the City has received 3 RFPs for the ARPA Grant for the City’s Proposal for affordable housing. The first RFP was for an affordable housing development called Forest Glen, which consists of 72-units for homeless, seniors, and workforce. The second RFP was from Jonesboro, for an 80-unit complex on Barna Ave., but this RFP did not meet the requirements because no units were allocated for workforce or seniors. The third RFP was from a general contractor to build tiny homes on Barna Ave. in the Sun Valley area, however the application within the RFP was incomplete. Therefore, the only eligible RFP was for the Forest Glen complex. Terrie Franklin asked the Committee about participating in the review of the Forest Glen RFP and in making the recommendation to City Council. With the exception of Chairman Robinson due to his seat on the City Council, the other Committee members unanimously agreed to participate in the review of the Forest Glen RFP.

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IX.       Adjournment

With no further business or discussions, Chairman Robinson adjourned the meeting at 4:22 p.m.