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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002/09/10-Minutes-HEDC City of Fort Worth City Council Economic and Community Development Committee Highlights of the Meeting Held September 10, 2002 Committee Members Present: Jeff Wentworth, Wendy Davis, Frank Moss, Clyde Picht Council Members and City Staff Present: Ralph McCloud, Jacqueline Bender, Brian Boerner, Charles Boswell, Mike Brennan, Dana Burghdoff, Teresa Carreon, Bette Chapman, Fernando Costa, Charles Cumby, Bea Cura, Deidra Emerson, Gloria Eurotas, Sarah Fullenwider, Cynthia Garcia, John Garfield, Pat Hale, Tom Higgins, Gary Jackson, Chun-I Lu, Christine Maguire, Vincent Mantero, Elizee Michel, Sandy Oliver, Marcella Olson, Reid Rector, Bob Riley, Robert Sturns, Peter Vaky, Jerome Walker, Ardina Washington, Barbara Wilson, Marcia Wiseman Call to Order: Chairman Jeff Wentworth called the meeting to order at 1:10 p.m. Approval of Minutes from the Meeting Held on August 13, 2002: Committee Member Wendy Davis moved to approve the minutes. The motion was seconded and carried. Discussion and Consideration of Adding a 2.5 Acre Residential Zoning Classification to the City of Fort Worth's Zoning Ordinance: Development Director Bob Riley made the presentation (attached). He explained the background of the request, saying that in recent discussions regarding possible annexations, it has been noted that some areas have single- family developments with lots larger than one acre, and that residents in these areas have expressed a desire to maintain the large lot character of these developments. Mr. Riley therefore asked the Committee to consider recommending the creation of an additional residential zoning district with a minimum lot size of 2.5 acres or to give staff further direction on the matter. He added that if the Committee approved the proposal, it would be forwarded to the Zoning Commission as a text amendment for their October 9 meeting and then would come before Council on November 12. Ms. Davis asked if the current one-acre lot size zoning classification was a minimum. Mr. Riley said that zoning classification A43 did require a minimum one-acre lot size. Ms. Davis and Mr. Wentworth said that the concern was that larger lots could be subdivided if the minimum lot size was one-acre. Mr. Riley concurred, saying that if the underlying zoning was one-acre, it would be difficult for the Planning Commission not to approve a request to subdivide larger lots into one-acre lots. Committee Member Clyde Picht said he felt landowners should be able to subdivide their land if they had a sufficiently large acreage. He further suggested that the problem could be solved by deed restrictions rather than zoning. Ms. Davis said deed restrictions would be extremely difficult and costly in many of these cases because most of these subdivisions were already built out. She then moved to accept the recommendation. The motion was seconded by Committee Member Frank Moss and carried. Mr. Wentworth asked staff to be sure the real estate community was aware that this would be on the Zoning Commission agenda for October 9, 2002. Page 1 44 Discussion and Consideration of Waiving the Zoning Application Fee for Single Family Residential Projects Located in the Central City: Development Director Bob Riley made the presentation (attached). He explained that the City receives all,numerous requests to waive zoning application fees for Central City properties and that these requests are currently considered on a case by case basis. He recommended waiving all zoning application fees in the Central City for cases where single-family zoning is being proposed because this would promote the strategic goal of revitalizing Central City neighborhoods. He estimated that the value of zoning application fees under this policy would not exceed $20,000. Mr. Riley then asked the Committee for direction on moving the proposal forward to full Council. Mr. Picht moved to forward the recommendation to the full Council. Mr. Moss seconded the motion. Mr. Moss asked if this applied to single-family residential projects or to individual lots. Mr. Riley said that this would apply to any proposal in the A series of zoning classification. Ms. Davis asked if this waiver would also be considered in the B2 zoning classification. Mr. Riley said that this proposal did not address B2 zoning, but staff would like to use this program as a pilot, and more areas might be added in the future. Ms. Davis said that she would like to consider a fee waiver for mixed-use zoning. Mr. Wentworth said the recommendation would be forwarded to the full Council as presented, and other options could be discussed at that time. Status Report on the Partnership Between TexasBank and the City of Fort Worth's Housing Department to Create Affordable Housing Opportunities: Gloria Eurotas, Assistant Director of Housing, made the presentation (attached), which was a report on how affordable housing opportunities in Fort Worth had been created by the partnership between TexasBank, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas, the Fort Worth Housing Corporation and the City of Fort Worth. Ms. Eurotas explained that between 1999 and 2001, forty first-time homebuyer households were assisted by the program, and that the program's total value was $2,391,691. She then introduced Cindi Pimentel of TexasBank, who said that she was very proud of the project, which had made a dream come true for many homeowners. Ms. Pimentel then introduced Yolanda Basey Tucker, one of the homeowners, who expressed her appreciation for the program. Finally, Ms. Eurotas introduced Sonya Brown from the Federal Home Loan Bank, who commended TexasBank and the City of Fort Worth Housing Department for their excellent application. Mr. Moss asked what happened to the City's investment in the event of a foreclosure. Ms. Eurotas replied that efforts are made to recoup the money at the time of the foreclosure, and that the grant was not assumable by another buyer. Ms. Eurotas added that everyone in the program has to participate in home ownership training and counseling, but in the event of foreclosure in either this program or other similar programs, it is not always possible to recoup the investment. Mr. Wentworth expressed appreciation to all those involved in the program. Discussion and Consideration of Allocating the Affordable Housing Development Fund (AHDF) and Fort Worth Housing Finance Corporation (FWHFC) Fund to Fort Worth South, Inc. for the Oleander Walk Project: Housing Director Jerome Walker made the presentation (attached). He said that the Housing Department recommends granting Fort Worth South, Inc. a loan of$500,000 at 2% interest, which is to be repaid by 2008. Mr. Walker explained that this loan would provide the initial seed funding to begin development of the Oleander Walk project, as well as the Magnolia Village. The loan will also match funding that is being provided by a line of credit from the J. P. Morgan/Chase Bank in the amount of$1,000,000. The funds will be used to build various types of residential units. Mr. Wentworth asked how much money was in the endowment account. Mr. Walker said that the interest account has $506,000, and the corpus has $5,000,000. Mr. Wentworth asked if there were any constraints in how the interest account could be used. Mr. Walker said there were no constraints, as long as the funds were 9used for housing purposes. Ms. Davis moved to approve the recommendation. Mr. Moss seconded the motion, which carried. Discussion and Consideration of Reallocating Funds for a Predevelopment Loan to the United Riverside Senior Housing Project: Housing Director Jerome Walker presented the request (presentation attached) from the United Riverside Rebuilding Corporation (URRC) for a cash-flow loan of $59,500 to cover predevelopment activities associated with the development of a 50-unit senior housing complex located in the United Riverside Model Blocks. He asked that the Committee recommend approval of the request to the full Council. Mr. Wentworth asked about the source of the funds. Mr. Walker said the money would come from the Housing Entitlement Grant that is received each year through the Federal Home Program. Mr. Walker further explained that this loan would be repaid over the life of the project, assuming cash flow allows for repayment. Ms. Davis moved to approve the recommendation. Mr. Picht seconded the motion, which carried. Discussion and Consideration of Amending the Contract with the Neighborhood Housing Services to Expand the Home Improvement Program: Housing Director Jerome Walker made the presentation (attached), which consisted of requests from Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS). Mr. Walker said that NHS is requesting consolidation of their three revolving loan funds into one multi-use revolving fund totaling $922,660.86 in CDBG funds. These funds would be used for home improvement, minor home repair and to improve accessibility for persons with disabilities. NHS is also requesting that they be allowed to use $50,000 from loan repayments and interest on an annual basis to cover marketing and other outreach activities. Finally, NHS is asking that their target areas be expanded to include additional model blocks, Neighborhood Empowerment Zones and other special target areas. He said that TexasBank has agreed to a dollar for dollar match for the funds that are a part of the loan pool. Mr. Walker asked the Committee to recommend the request to the full Council. Mr. Moss said that he would like to have some discussion with Housing about what they plan to do regarding expanding the service area before they move into his district. Mr. Picht asked how NHS was going to use the $50,000 to market the program. Mr. Walker said they would use the funds for such items as publication of materials to advertise the program in targeted areas. Mr. Picht asked how many housing programs there were in the City and if they were all coordinated through the Housing Department. Mr. Walker said that NHS is the only organization that has received City funding for housing rehabilitation activities for owner-occupied properties, but there are non-profit organizations that offer a range of housing activities. Mr. Wentworth asked staff to prepare a report on the NHS and what has been achieved in the targeted areas. He further requested that they meet with Mr. Moss to discuss his concerns. Ms. Davis moved to approve the recommendation. Mr. Picht seconded the motion, which carried. Pagc 3 of 4 Discussion and Consideration of Amending the City of Fort Worth's Zoning Ordinance to Address Issues Related to Transitional Shelters: Fernando Costa, Planning Director, made the presentation (attached). He said that the Near East Side Neighborhood Association is working with the City and Southeast Fort Worth, Inc. to improve the neighborhood. During this process, questions have arisen concerning how the Zoning Ordinance treats shelters since they are not specifically regulated by the ordinance. Mr. Costa presented the Zoning Ordinance's current definition of shelters and then reviewed background information and research on how other cities zone them. He explained that property owners on the Near East Side are attempting to rezone the area to MU2 high intensity mixed-use zoning because the Near East Side property owners and neighborhood leaders want a single classification of zoning for the whole neighborhood to ensure that everyone is treated fairly. However, under the current interpretation of the zoning regulations, shelters are not permitted under MU2 zoning. Thus, Mr. Costa explained, unless some appropriate amendment to the zoning ordinance is made, shelter providers would be discouraged from signing the petition seeking mixed-use zoning, which could imperil the rezoning process. In addition, unless appropriate changes to the Zoning Ordinance are made, some existing shelters and related uses would remain legal non-confirming, thus not being able to expand or rebuild in the future. Mr. Costa next presented a proposed definition for shelters and asked the Committee for direction concerning the options available in zoning shelters. He said that staff recommends the "permit by special exception" option because the Board of Adjustment analyzes these on a case by case basis, and since public notification and public hearings are required for special exception cases, this would allow an opportunity for public comment. Mr. Wentworth expressed concern over the special exceptions option, since Council would not have opportunity to express its opinion on the case because the item would go straight to the Board of Adjustment, and the only avenue for appeal was the District Court. Mr. Picht said he felt shelters have more impact on areas than other types of zoning, and he thought that Planned Development (PD) zoning was more appropriate. The other Committee Members concurred. Mr. Moss said he felt it was critical to get input from the neighborhood in which the facilities would be located, and the PD option would give the public more opportunity to comment. The Committee agreed to recommend a PD designation, with an exception for those already existing in the CF (Community Facilities) designation. Mr. Costa said he would report back to the Committee next month with a specific text amendment. Status Report on the Redevelopment Plan for the Montgomery Wards Warehouse Project: This item was moved to Executive Session. Executive Session: The Economic and Community Development Committee conducted a closed meeting to discuss and deliberate economic development negotiations, as authorized by Section 551.087 of the Texas Government Code. Requests for Future Agenda Items: There were no requests for future agenda items. Adjourn: The meeting adjourned at 2:34 pm. The next meeting is October 8, 2002. Page 4 of 4