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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCP 95 t _ = WTU M MDT MMOUEW . t oil POLICY PROPOSAL DATE FILE NUMBER SUBJECT PAGE-L-OF 4 5/25/82 CP-95 Public/Subsidized Housing PROPOSAL PROPOSED BY: CITY MANAGER'S REVIEW Councilman Louis Zapata Vernell Sturns, Asst. City Manager A group of citizens from the Diamond Hill and Jarvis Heights areas of :the City has requested that the City Council support their efforts to oppose location of an assisted-housing development in that area by adopting the following resolution: "The City of Fort Worth. supports the citizens of the Diamond Hill-Jarvis Heights areas in not overloading this area with subsidized and public housing, in order to aid this area in its revitalization efforts." I request the support of the City Council in this matter. Legality The City Attorney advises against the adoption of this resolution based on a number of factors: 1. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has allocated ninety-four units to the Fort Worth Housing Authority for scatte-_ed_site development, to which need the Diamond Hill-Jarvis Heights proposal responds. The Housing Authority of the City of Fort Worth is the responsible party for this project, which conforms, to the City's own HAP plan and addresses the allocation to the City by HUD pursuant to our HAP plan. Present indications are that this may be the last allocation for some time. The process for the Diamond Hill-Jarvis Heights project is far advanced, having been through planning, RFP and proposal stages. It is now at the decision stage, and the Board of the Housing Authority is the only body whose decision is required. The Housing Authority Board, which is independent of the City (it is set up by State law) , exercises independent judgment. The Housing Authority Board, not the City Council of the City of Fort Worth, will be .called upon to approve the development -plan and site, which must then be approved by HUD. The proper- forum for citizens concerned by this proposal, therefore, is the Housing Authority Board meeting or, in the event the plan is approved by the Board, then by making their opinions known to HUD. 2. The adoption of this resolution could have serious implications for the City. It is stated in a manner that might give the impression, if adopted, that the City may restrict housing to particular areas of the City, whereas, under Federal regulations and our commitment under the City's HAP plan, as LEGALITY FISCAL NOTE Q CITY MANAGER'S COMMENTS ® s POLICY PROPOSAL (cont'd) PAGE?OF 4 well as such other considerations as Block Grant special conditions the City has accepted, we cannot do so without risk of loss of funds and/or litigation. Because adoption of this resolution would have no effect on the selection process currently in progress and because the consequences,-o-f adopting it are consider- able, the City Attorney belives it would be very imprudent to adopt this resolution. He bases his decision on the following analysis. Federal regulations require that the City have a Housing Assistance Plan (HAP) setting out its goals and objectives and the manner in which it expects to attain them. The Plan is for three years, and is updated annually. The City presently is operating under the 1979-1982 HAP. The City's failure to reach its objectives for assisted-housing needs resulted in special conditions being placed on our Sixth Year Community Development Block Grant. These conditions, which were accepted by the City, were contained in a letter dated February 27, 1980, from Mr. Irving Statman, Area Manager of HUD: "Based on the City's failure to provide assisted family housing, a ' condition is attached to the Grant Agreement. This failure is demonstrated by the loss of 260 units in 1979 and the lack of support for the Ridglea project, and further raises serious policy concerns about the City's commitment to assure the provision of housing in a balanced manner. The condition precludes the use of twenty-five percent of this grant until the City obtains at least 100 units of assisted family rental housing through the options presented. These units must be located on sites acceptable to HUD, in areas which are -neither racially nor economically impacted. . ." The Seventh and Eighth Year Block Grants have continued these conditions. When the question of the City Council attempting to limit the locations of assisted housing was previously before the Council, the previous City Attorney, Mr. Paul sham, wrote a detailed memorandum to Council on the subject. The memo, which began lith a brief history of assisted housing programs in the United States and Federal laws and regulations, examined the leading cases concerning assisted housing and its location. Those cases, which have not been affected materially by subsequent decisions, indicate that there is a grave risk of litigation by private parties and loss of financing by HUD where projects do not conform to the City's HAP and to site selection criteria set out by HUD regulations. Federal site selection criteria are listed by Mr. Isham on Page 7 of his memo and are as follows: "1. The site must be adequate in size, exposure and contour to accommodate the number and type of units proposed. 2. The site and neighborhood must be suitable from the standpoint of facilitating and furthering full compliance with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Fair Housing Act. 3. The site must not be located in: N . a) an area of minority concentration; b) a racially mixed area if the project will cause CITY OF FORT WORTH PAGE—J-OF 4_ POLICY PROPOSAL (cont'd) a significant increase in the proportion of minority to non-minority residents in the area. c) the site must promote greater choice of housing opportunities and avoid undue concentration of assisted persons in areas containing a high proportion of low-income persons. 4. The site must be free from adverse environmental conditions. 5. The site must comply with the HAP. 6. The housing must be accessible to social, recreational, educational, commercial and health facilities and services and other municipal facilities. 7. The project may not be built in an area that has been identified by HUD as having special flood hazards. 8. Travel time and cost via public transportation or private automobile from the site to places of employment providing a range of jobs for lower- income workers must not be excessive. In summary, the City Attorney believes it would be inappropriate for the Council to support this resolution. The Housing Authority is the responsible party for this project, and no action by the City approving site or project is required or con- templated. The proposal was in response to a Request for Provosals which speci- fically incorporated the City's Housing Assistance Plan and Fair' Share _Hausing Allocation Plan. The Housing Authority will make its decision based on its determination that the developer has, or has not, adhered to the City of Fort Worth policy and Housing Assistance Plan, as well as applicable Federal regulations. Fiscal Note Unknown O'' City Manager's Comments The City of Fort Worth is concerned about the welfare of all its citizens. Through Capital Improvement Programs we provide public facilities, maintenance of streets, parks, and many other services to the citizens. Our General Fund budget provides for fire, police and civil defense protection, and other services such as libraries, parks and recreational opportunities. Historically, the primary assistance to housing and general neighborhood improvement has been from funds from the Community Development Block Grant program made available to the City based on our applications to the Federal government. To become and remain eligible for these block grant funds the City of Fort Worth has accepted certain responsibilities, one of which is providing assistance to those citizens in need of standard housing who do not have sufficient income to afford such shelter. CITY OF FORT WORTH POLICY PROPOSAL (cont'd) PAGE 4 OF 4 The City has assured the Federal government in each of the eight years of Community Development Block Grant participation that all available resources would be used to provide the needed assistance in housing. Funds for the units being proposed in the Diamond Hill-Jarvis Heights area have been made available to Fort Worth's Housing Authority, which has the primary responsibility for administering such programs. In CP-87, approved on August 27, 1981, the Council gave its full support to the Housing Authority 'in its efforts to provide additional public and assisted-housing in the City of Fort Worth. Therefore, based on these considerations and because of the many potential issues raised by the City Attorney, the staff cannot recommend passage of this resolution. i Louis Za at Co nciiman District 2 i CITY OF FORT WORTH