Title
MOTION TO ACCEPT THE RECOMMENDATIONS WITHIN THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING ADVISORY COMMITTEE (AHAC) REPORT (2021) AND TRANSMIT THE REPORT TO THE FLORIDA HOUSING CORPORATION.
Summary Explanation and Background
1. As a recipient of State Housing Initiative Partnership (SHIP) funds, the City of Pembroke Pines established an Affordable Housing Advisory Committee (AHAC) in 2008 as required by the Florida Statutes, Sec. 420.9076. The AHAC is responsible for reviewing and evaluating local plans, policies, procedures, land development regulations, the Comprehensive Plan, and other aspects of Pembroke Pines housing activities that impact the production of affordable housing. The City has been convening this Board triennially up until 2018.
2. In 2020, the State of Florida approved HB 1339 which updated that the AHAC requirements to included the following changes of significance:
• AHAC to meet annually in order to create the AHAC report where previously the Board was required to meet every three years.
• AHAC membership to include an elected official.
3. The AHAC must be comprised of members with the following backgrounds:
(a) A citizen who is actively engaged in the residential home building industry in connection with affordable housing.
(b) A citizen who is actively engaged in the banking or mortgage banking industry in connection with affordable housing.
(c) A citizen who is a representative of those areas of labor actively engaged in home building in connection with affordable housing.
(d) A citizen who is actively engaged as an advocate for low-income persons in connection with affordable housing.
(e) A citizen who is actively engaged as a for-profit provider of affordable housing.
(f) A citizen who is actively engaged as a not-for-profit provider of affordable housing.
(g) A citizen who is actively engaged as a real estate professional in connection with affordable housing.
(h) A citizen who actively serves on the local planning agency is comprised of the governing board of the county or municipality, the governing board may appoint a designee who is knowledgeable in the local planning process.
(i) A citizen who resides within the jurisdiction of the local governing body making the appointments.
(j) A citizen who represents employers within the jurisdiction.
(k) A citizen who represents essential services personnel, as defined in the local housing assistance plan.
4. The City Commission at its May 19, 2021 meeting appointed the following members via Resolution 3744:
Board Member Category
Vice Mayor Thomas Good, Jr. Elected Official
Commissioner Iris Siple Elected Official (Alternate Member)
Chair - Nikita Shannon Home Building Industry
Vice-Chair - Jim Ryan Resident
Daniel Almaguer Essential Services Personnel
Paul Girello Local Planning Agency Representative
Keresia Lawes Real Estate Professional
Tiffany Pinto Resident
Ivan Saldias Real Estate Professional
Jay Shechter Advocate for Low Income Persons
6. The State AHAC report template includes the following affordable housing strategies to be reviewed by the Board:
- Processing Of Expedited Permits Or Development Orders To A Greater Degree Than Other Projects
- Modification of Impact-Fee Requirements
- Allowance of Flexibility in Densities
- Reservation of Infrastructure Capacity for Housing
- Allowance of Affordable Accessory Residential Units in Residential Zoning Districts
- Reduction of Parking and Setback Requirements
- Allowance of Flexible Lot Configurations
- Modification of Street Requirements
- Establishment of a Process by which a Local Government Considers, before Adoption, Policies, Procedures, Ordinances, Regulations, or Plan Provisions that Increase the Cost of Housing
- Preparation of a Printed Inventory of Locally Owned Public Lands Suitable for Affordable Housing
- Support of Development near Transportation Hubs and Major Employment Centers and Mixed-Use Development
7. The AHAC met on August 16, 2021 and held an organizational meeting to discuss an overview of affordable housing and the City's housing programs. The AHAC later met on October 4, 2021 to discuss the report and made recommendations for the affordable housing incentive strategies. On October 25, 2021, the AHAC held a public meeting to discuss and approve the report and its recommendations.
8. The following recommendations were made by the AHAC committee based on the strategies provided by the State:
A. Continue to maintain the current expedited permitting process for CDBG, SHIP and HOME projects in the City including an audit of existing process and compliance monitoring of application review time frames on an annual basis.
B. AHAC encourages staff to create a policy that would allow developers to request a modification of development related fees for providing affordable housing units to households in the extremely low, very low, and low income categories
C. The City to explore and identify functionally obsolescent and / or underutilized commercial and residential properties for potential development / redevelopment into future affordable housing. The City to support the allocation of flexibility units and / or land use plan amendment applications at these locations, where reasonable, for the development of affordable projects and increased residential density.
D. Continue to maintain adequate infrastructure level for sustaining existing and emerging affordable housing developments and prioritize infrastructure improvements and facilities benefiting low to moderate income families.
E. Continue to favorably support recommendations for parking and setback variances and /or modifications to parking and setback requirements within planned districts, where reasonable, for projects with affordable housing component.
F. The City to identify other zoning districts in the City suitable for accessory dwelling units and to support land development code amendment applications, where reasonable, to develop these structures.
G. Encourage the Planning and Zoning Board and City Commission to consider the granting of flexibility of lot design or create a process, where reasonable, for affordable housing projects.
H. Due to concerns with access for emergency vehicles, AHAC does not support the modification of street requirements for affordable housing projects at this time.
I. Continue to maintain an ongoing process to consider, before adoption, policies, procedures, ordinances, regulations, or plan provisions that increase the cost of affordable housing. The City will continue to conduct reviews of any financial impacts to affordable housing and continue to submit annual certifications to the Florida Housing Finance Corporation.
J. Continue to perform analysis of properties for potential affordable housing development along with updating the City’s vacant land map.
K. Continue to support implementation of projects with affordable housing component in close proximity to transit hubs, major employment centers and mixed-use developments. To support new bus routes west of I-75.
ADDITIONAL AHAC RECOMMENDATION 2021
Create a process where the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee could review affordable housing projects who wish to partner with developers who wish to use City affordable housing funds when these funds are available. Upon review of an affordable housing funding request, the AHAC would then be able to make recommendations as to the expenditure of these funds to City Commission.
9. The proposed AHAC report is required to be submitted to Florida Housing Finance Corporation by December 31, 2021 per State Statute. Failure to submit a report in a timely manner may impact future SHIP funding.
10. The Commission must accept or reject all or some of the recommendations contained within this report.
11. Administration recommends approval of the 2021 AHAC report and to transmit the report to the Florida Housing Corporation.
Financial Impact
FINANCIAL IMPACT DETAIL:
a) Initial Cost: None.
b) Amount budgeted for this item in Account No: Not Applicable.
c) Source of funding for difference, if not fully budgeted: Not Applicable.
d) 5 year projection of the operational cost of the project: Not Applicable.
e) Detail of additional staff requirements: Not Applicable.