HomeMy WebLinkAboutStudy Session Agenda Packet 09-13-21 - SPECIALSPECIAL STUDY SESSION AGENDA
CITY COUNCIL
CITY OF WHEAT RIDGE, COLORADO 7500 W. 29th Ave. Wheat Ridge CO September 13, 2021
To commence at the conclusion of the Regular City Council Meeting
This meeting will be conducted as a virtual meeting and in person at 7500 West 29th Avenue, Municipal Building, if allowed to meet on that date per COVID-19 restrictions. Some members of the City Council or City staff will be physically present at the Municipal building for this meeting. The public may participate in these ways: 1. Provide comment in advance at www.wheatridgespeaks.org (comment by noon on September 13, 2021)
2. Virtually attend and participate in the meeting through a device or phone:
• Click here to join and provide public comment
• Or call +1-669-900-6833 with Access Code: 845 6856 6956
• Passcode: 944754 3. View the meeting live or later at www.wheatridgespeaks.org, Channel 8, or YouTube Live at https://www.ci.wheatridge.co.us/view
Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to participate in all public meetings sponsored by
the City of Wheat Ridge. Contact the Public Information Officer at 303-235-2877 or
wrpio@ci.wheatridge.co.us with as much notice as possible if you are interested in participating in a meeting and need inclusion assistance.
Public Comment on Agenda Items
1. Affordable Housing
2. Staff Report(s)
3. Elected Officials’ Report(s)
ADJOURNMENT
Memorandum
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Patrick Goff, City Manager DATE: September 8, 2021 (for September 13 Study Session)
SUBJECT: Affordable Housing
Councilmembers Hoppe and Nosler-Beck requested an agenda item concerning “affordable
housing” for a future study session. On September 13, the Mayor and City Council will receive a presentation regarding affordable housing from Susan Powers, President of Urban Ventures, LLC. Urban Ventures offers a variety of consulting services in real estate and community development. Urban Ventures focuses on healthy places, resilient communities, affordable
housing and adaptive reuse and is deeply committed to building quality projects that address the
rising demands of affordable housing. Affordable housing continues to be identified as an issue by Wheat Ridge residents. On the biennial Resident Survey, respondents were asked to rate the “availability of affordable quality
housing” in Wheat Ridge. Only 37% of respondents rated this characteristic of Wheat Ridge as
excellent or good in 2021, a significant decrease from 51% in 2012. In the Let’s Talk Resident Engagement Program, housing choice and affordability is one of the key issues emerging from the over 800 residents City staff has engaged with so far in the first
four of ten neighborhoods. Bel Aire and East Wheat Ridge residents recently ranked “broadening
housing options” as #2 of 9 possible City action items and Applewood and Leppla Manor residents are similarly raising housing choices as a key concern. The City has participated in several partnerships and implemented numerous programs and
services over the years to attempt to address housing affordability issues in Wheat Ridge.
Following are a few examples of such endeavors:
• Since their inception in 2001, the Wheat Ridge Housing Authority (WRHA) acquired, remodeled, and resold 49 dwelling units to income-qualified individuals. Over the years, this
included 32 condominium units, 6 duplex units, and 11 single-family homes.
• The City and WRHA collaborated on the sale and repurposing of Fruitdale School, which resulted in an additional 16 rental units for workforce housing, five of which are income
restricted.
• Wheat Ridge 2020 (now Localworks) purchased and rehabilitated 13 blighted homes across the community and resold them as affordable housing options to local homebuyers. Funds for
this program were provided through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program from both the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations.
• The Town Center and Town Center North projects at the southeast corner of 44th and Wadsworth was a partnership between the City, Renewal Wheat Ridge and a private developer using the competitive Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program to provide 138 units of income-restricted apartments for seniors.
• In partnership with other Jeffco municipalities and residents, the City participates in the distribution of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME funds. These funds support programs that provide services and housing to vulnerable populations,
including low- to moderate-income individuals, seniors, and veterans.
• Wheat Ridge is collaborating with Foothills Regional Housing to provide a living community designed to implement proven successful strategies around housing, education, employment,
health and other well-being indicators for over 300 families to keep these families from
slipping into poverty and becoming homeless.
• The City has also collaborated with Foothills Regional Housing by assigning over $5 million
of private activity bonds to Foothills for the Caesar Square project in Wheat Ridge and the
Allison Village project in Arvada to provide close to 200 affordable units for veterans, youth transitioning out of foster care, and other low-income residents.
• A county-wide homeless navigation model was launched in 2020, comprised of six
municipal and county-based homeless navigators who work directly with persons
experiencing homelessness or at imminent risk of homelessness. The role of the Homeless Navigator is to assist those experiencing a housing crisis find stable housing and obtain the services and resources needed to maintain that housing.
• The Housing Navigation Collaboration (HNC) is a group comprised of the governments of Jefferson County, City of Lakewood, City of Arvada, City of Westminster, City of Wheat Ridge, City of Golden and City of Edgewater. On behalf of the HNC, Jefferson County recently released a Request for Proposal for professional services for two Housing
Navigation Centers in Jefferson County. The Centers will provide housing navigation and
day resource centers to accommodate an approximate daily flow of 200 persons seeking resources; emergency short-term overnight beds to house up to 100 persons per night; and 80 units of permanent, affordable workforce housing and 70 units of permanent supportive housing for individuals who formerly experienced homelessness.
• City staff is requesting support from City Council to apply for a grant from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) Affordable Housing Strategies Planning Grant Program to complete a City of Wheat Ridge housing strategy. The DOLA program
recognizes that affordable housing is one of the biggest issues facing the state. If awarded the
grant, the funds would be used for a consultant-supported strategy that would likely include a housing market assessment, problem definition, articulation of the City’s housing policies and a market-based action plan in consultation with key stakeholders.