Planning Commission Meeting   1/8/2019

Ooh, you really never knew.

Oh, that's what I'm looking for, yeah.

Thank you all for being here impatient.

Thank you.

Okay.

Got a pretty big agenda.

Thanks for attending.

I'll call to order the Regular Schedule Planning Commission meeting for tonight, January 8th.

Is that mic broken?

Is it okay?

Okay, good.

Test test.

Okay, yeah.

Ms. Dowell?

I'd like to say Happy New Year, but other than that, I do not have anything to report at this time.

All right.

I attended a meeting of the Housing Advisory Committee in December.

where various goals were discussed about the numbers for projecting affordable housing needs.

I think Mr. Stoli-Yates is working on something for that, and I'll let him report momentarily on that.

Nothing to report.

Well, I'm not, I ain't got him yet.

Hang on one second.

You want me to go UVA?

I attended the HAC policy subcommittee meeting on 12-12, talked about a variety of issues, mainly regarding the coming joint meeting between the City Council and HAC, nothing I think substantive for us to discuss.

So that City Council HAC meeting is January 16th?

That sounds right.

Is that right?

Okay.

Thanks.

It's been quiet on grounds.

Fantastic.

I haven't had any subcommittee meetings as well because of the holidays.

So happy holidays and happy new year to everyone.

We did have a very robust planning commission meeting last Saturday about the comprehensive plan.

And we'll be talking a little bit more about that later.

Sure.

So Miss Neumayer has left.

She had her baby and mom and baby are doing well.

So we wish her lots of congratulations and luck out there in the first week of parenthood.

Little boy, little boy, little boy.

So we're down a planner and everyone's pinch hitting a bit.

A lot of people took vacation.

I wasn't one of them.

So we've continued to move through things.

We do have a work session scheduled for January 22nd, and on that agenda we have a preliminary discussion work session with Seminole Square redevelopment.

And that is the only item we currently have except for placeholders for comprehensive plans.

slowly gear up to the beginning of the year.

It's our regular Tuesday.

We meet the second Tuesday for a regular meeting and the fourth Tuesday for work sessions.

So, we're at the point of the agenda for matters to be presented by the public, not on the formal agenda.

We do have four public hearings tonight.

The capital improvement program for FY 2020 to 2024, an SP for River Road,

a comp plan discussion on Emmett Street streetscape and a comp plan discussion on the 5th Ridge McIntire multi-molded corridor.

Nancy Carpenter.

I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed the...

Enjoyed it.

It was very enlightening to hear a lot of what was going on.

But one of the things with the land use plan and the intensity and densities that are being discussed when it comes to wanting... And I've seen discussions about wanting to put density near transportation hubs in our city.

We have a problem with keeping routes the same.

If something is not right, they are immediately, well, they have a process where they are changed.

We have folks that are in the 10th and Page neighborhood who for the last three years have been struggling with the fact that a route was rerouted away from them and now our older residents in that area either have to walk up 10th Street or walk over to Washington Park.

to catch a bus.

And so I hope that, I don't know how much influence you all have as individual commissioners or as citizens of the city, but that if there is an adoption of nodes of residents and businesses

that we really make sure that those routes are tied down even as part of the multimodal plan because it does no good to have six-story buildings and whatever when the idea was to be able to walk out your door a block or two or right out the door and be able to take public transportation.

So I hope that that does become an important focus for the Commission and as well as City Council as they go through this process.

Thank you.

Is there anyone else that has matters by the public, not on the formal agenda, that would like to speak?

And I will close matters by public.

I only have one adjustment to that.

Can you identify what page?

It's okay.

Just search for the word click and just replace it with CLIHC.

Gotcha.

I have a motion.

Motion and a second by voice acclamation.

All those in favor?

Aye.

Opposed?

Motion passes.

We are at the point of our agenda where we have our joint meeting of commission and council.

And we are a little bit ahead of time.

So I will adjourn until exactly 6 p.m. And hopefully we have council quorum at that point.

We are very close to our quorum for council and I will let you all call into order when Wes gets down the hall.

He's just down the hall.

But I think we can go ahead and start with the item and have Ryan do his presentation.

The first item for tonight is Charlottesville Capital Improvement Program FY 2020-2024, consideration of the proposed five-year capital improvement program totaling $125,588 and

Okay so before I'm gonna have a brief PowerPoint but I just want to kind of go over the the procedures for tonight so what I'll do is I will go over the the PowerPoint kind of give an overview of the CIP then we will have clarification questions or questions from the Planning Commission and City Council and at that point I believe after that you will have your public hearing and then you will have your

Discussion over the CIP and what we're looking for today is a recommendation to move this forward with whatever recommendations this body may have for us.

With that, I will go ahead and start the presentation.

And there's a lot of information.

I know I have 10 minutes, so I'll do my best to get through it as best I can.

Good evening members of the Planning Commission, Council and the public.

Tonight we're going to discuss the FY20 proposed CIP, the CIP process for the City of Charlottesville and briefly touch on what we consider capital projects.

So what is a capital project?

It helps guide the city's long-term projects, helps us with maintenance and improvement of existing infrastructure, and it's used to identify the future financial and fiscal needs of the city with relation to our infrastructure.

These are the general rules that we use with the City of Charlottesville to identify what qualifies as a capital project.

There are always exceptions to these rules, for example, non-recurring exceptions, new sidewalks and street repair, those kind of things.

We're not repairing the same street, but it seems as though that might be recurring.

What does the CIP fund?

It funds everything from public safety equipment to playgrounds to schools, comp plan, transportation, streets, sidewalks, bridges, recreation facilities, whole gamut of things that we provide the citizens of the city of Charlottesville.

For the FY20-24 CIP request cycle, we reworked the process a little bit.

We had one round of submissions where we previously had multiple rounds.

We brought back more project evaluation criteria.

We asked departments to give priority rankings on all of their submissions within their department.

Two of the other things I really wanted to focus on was, one, the neighborhood CIP request process.

This was brand new this year.

It came from a suggestion from the neighborhood association leaders at one of their quarterly meetings with the city manager, and it came together late in the process.

So this was our first year of doing this, and staff did not have time to fully refine this process.

We're going to continue to refine this process, make improvements.

Suggestions that this body might have for that as well will be welcomed and hopefully we'll refine it and how it looks and how it's administered for the future and we'll make it an even better and more robust process on that side of it.

Another thing that changed is typically we haven't had any work sessions with City Council specifically on the CIP prior to presenting it to the Planning Commission.

This year we did have two.

We did not go into specific details on all of the projects with them, but we did

Give them a summary overview to make sure we were on the right track with what we were looking at proposing in the CIP.

Planning Commission priorities.

Due to the reworking of the process this year and the timing, we did not have our normal CIP discussion with the Planning Commission.

The Planning Commission was polled by email and the decision was made to continue with the priorities from the previous year, and this is a listing of those priorities, provide funding for affordable housing,

and funding for broader planning initiatives, for place-based initiatives, and there's specific listings on each of these, and for broader systematic initiatives.

And these are all, were the priorities for 1923 CIP and the 20 through 24 CIP.

If a department met one of these priorities, we were asked them to identify that and let us know, and so this is,

Moving on to comp plan alignment, this is the general

Alignment with the comp plan, all the categories within the comp plan, except for one, economic sustainability, had related projects with some funding.

Many of these projects could fall within multiple categories, so this represents what department said was the primary alignment with the comprehensive plan.

This is the 2013 comprehensive plan, not any of the revisions that are coming forward in the future.

So this was the general with the community facilities, which is our government facilities, school facilities, parks facilities.

as the top, followed by housing, transportation, and land use.

Going over our CIP timeline.

Initially, we sent out the request for departments in August.

In September, as I said, as we got into this, we sent out the neighborhood CIP request to the neighborhood associations.

Then in September, we had our first

of the work sessions with council on the CIP.

Received our request forms back in September and October.

Then we met with the budget development committee, which consists of the city manager, the budget staff, the assistant city manager, a member of the planning commission, which for this year was Chairman Green.

And we met and determined to make a recommendation to the city manager.

Had another work session with council in December.

In December and January we continue to put together the proposed CIP and the proposed budget and develop that budget.

This CIP represents our best estimate at this time of the city's financial picture for FY20.

As we get a clearer picture the CIP can and will change as we match it with the available revenues and the expenditure needs that we know coming forward.

and then in March we present everything to City Council and there's a series of work sessions in March and April and finally the first year only the first year of the CIP is adopted the rest is a projected plan and that's done in April.

Several of the strategies we used as we went into creating the CIP, we wanted to reprogram some existing balances to reduce what we needed in our bond amounts.

These were projects that were either completed or had been deferred and we looked at reusing those balances.

Reduced funding for projects also that had large balances to allow for the spend down of those fund balances.

and allow us to save money there.

We reallocated the Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund project amounts to assist in the funding of public housing redevelopment, reduce the inflationary factors in many areas.

Maintaining the funding for the maintenance, we felt it was important to make sure that we were taking care of what we already have, bridges, sidewalks, facilities, et cetera.

So we look to maintain that funding in the CIP wherever we can.

And then also as part of the FYI,

18 year end balance.

We programmed some of that fund balancing for affordable housing redevelopment.

Here is the general summary of our revenues for the projected FY20 CIP.

The general fund contribution is for those projects that are not bondable.

We have the bond issuance, the year end appropriation I referred to previously.

Total revenue of about $35.3 million for the CIP.

This is a summary of the proposed expenditures for the CIP, again totaling $35.3 million.

We'll go into these in more detail as we move into the future slide.

One thing I did want to point out is that

It should be noted this is an aggressive CIP plan and the CIP, like I said, includes 35 million and 20 and 125.5 million over the five-year period.

However, it does need to be pointed out there was still a substantial unfunded project list of over $108 million.

So while this is a very aggressive CIP, the needs within our city continue to grow.

So we're continuing to try to work in what we can the best we are able to when it comes to our capital needs throughout the city.

Starting off, housing projects, 10.3 million projected or proposed in FY20.

We had multiple work sessions on this topic in November with CRHA and PHA, and then we discussed again housing with council when we discussed the CIP in December.

The CIP, we reallocated portions of the affordable housing fund to assist with the funding of the public housing redevelopment as well as adding additional dollars specifically for those projects.

The remaining affordable housing fund dollars were split between the supplemental rent assistance, the voucher program that council had previously committed to funding,

and typically that requires a multi-year commitment not just one or two so we added we had that continue over the the five-year process and we have funding for other affordable housing needs such as housing rehabilitation and you know one element we felt that was important was to keep people in their homes and keep the homes affordable and so that these dollars could go towards that.

And all total over the five-year period, we're looking at over $32 million worth of funding towards affordable housing, which is a large increase over what had been in previous CIP recommendations.

City schools, here's a list of the projects that are there.

We have the priority improvement projects.

They're small cap for the large maintenance, but that was roughly $3.5 million in FY20.

There's a couple of public safety projects in here, only two projects really, the bypass fire station and the joint city county general district court facility and this represents, you know, part of these funds represent our commitment, our one year of our commitment towards that project with the county.

Oh, getting close.

All right, sorry.

I'll go through these.

I need two minutes.

I'll be good.

The facilities, about a million and a half dollars for that.

And these are the city facilities, including the energy performance contract audit that we'll be able to help inform future lump sum improvements.

Transportation and access, this is behind housing.

This is our largest item in the CIP, our largest category.

And that includes street repaving, undergrounding utilities, all the bicycle and pedestrian improvements, neighborhood improvements, West Main.

Parks and Recreation, here's a listing of those, a couple of joint city-county projects at Ivy Creek and Darden Tower, some of the largest as well as restrooms at Riverview Park.

Stormwater, this is a continuation of our split project that is a split between the city and the property owners.

for neighborhood drainage.

Public access, we have had a revenue item that matched the public access and we also have a citywide strategic infrastructure.

And then finally, our other governmental commitments, which includes city yard remediation, home energy conservation, and some partnership projects.

All this information is on our budget website and the budget development.

And with that, done.

Thank you for the presentation.

Can you help me better understand how the housing spending was selected?

Who was involved in that?

There was several meetings on this.

As I said, initially there was a work session on affordable housing with council and those groups I mentioned, the Housing Authority and PHA.

We also had discussions within our internal team.

I know this is a continuing and ongoing discussion and will continue to evolve as this process evolves.

It was a joint collaborative process and this was staff's best recommendation of how to move forward with those recommendations.

Again, we reallocated those dollars.

It looks like on the CIP, it looks like the housing fund was zeroed out.

It's really, I mean the housing, what's called housing rehabilitation, that $500,000 is essentially

and the $900,000 for the supplemental rental assistance was what was going to be left in there.

And we decided to specifically spell those out as opposed to saying, hey, we want $1.4 million to stay in the housing fund, knowing that $900,000 of that needed to go towards that supplemental rental assistance to carry on that commitment.

So that was kind of how we made those decisions.

A couple questions about things that were not in the budget, but it's alright.

Is that appropriate?

When one of the councilors, I believe it was Councilor Hill, was looking at the facilities chapter of the comp plan, she mentioned that there was no reference to the police department and upgrading the police department headquarters.

I can't speak to Council's interest in that, but that was a project.

They had submitted a facilities assessment project request that's on our unfunded list.

That is one where we want to look at, especially with the courts and all those changes, we need to do a facilities assessment first before we can say, oh, we want to start planning to build a new police station or anything like that.

There is funding.

We had initially had funding in there for entranceway improvements at the police station and general district court that was going to be funded in our facilities lump sum.

There's still funding for that should we need to do those improvements right now, but I think with the courts and everything going on there, that's kind of in flux with how that space is going to be used, and there needs to be a larger look and assessment of that space there.

Can I ask you guys to call yourself to order?

Correct.

And my question was less about that specific but more when I was reading the Comprehensive Plan understanding that if we aren't even having within the next five years for our next Comprehensive Plan any plans to fund such projects, are those really still visionary things that we should include in our Comprehensive Plan or are those things that we should

really recognize that we're not going to be doing those in the near future.

And that was more of a general question I had.

I used that example because I was like, I didn't even know we would have this on our radar, and I don't see it anywhere in our CIP, and I don't see it anywhere in our future.

And that was kind of where that feedback was coming from.

That isn't in the budget.

And just curious as to why I don't see it anywhere is parking in the East End McIntire Park.

And the reason I ask about that is because the new skate ring is going to, there are going to be events surrounding that.

And that's going to drive a need for parking.

And there's some other things that are under development in that part of the park that are going to drive the need for parking.

I know the Parks and Recreation Department did not submit anything specifically for parking related to that.

They did submit an additional request for funding for the McIntire Park Master Plan implementation, and I know parking was part of the consideration for that, but what it came down to is, as I said before,

It just was a balancing of the dollars and cents in the end because, as I said, this is a fairly aggressive CIP.

This is the largest CIP that we've put forward to the Planning Commission in the 14 years that I've been working for the city.

It's just an affordability issue because that was a large request, a large ask as well, so it just became a weighing of priorities and we put the priority on the affordable housing and maintaining our existing infrastructure as opposed to continuing on with that.

A major concern of mine has been whether any of this money can be moved around.

I mean, without having a specific project to say, can we delay this, this, or this, it'd be hard for me to make a blanket statement on that.

The one thing I will say is a lot of our capital projects are bonded projects, which are where we borrow money.

Delaying them versus putting them in there.

We do our bonds and borrow money on a spend rate basis.

So we plan for it to be spread out and allocated over years.

But we go out each year and ask the departments, how much are you realistically going to be able to spend within this year?

So delaying it may, I mean, there's a possibility we could do that in some projects.

Again, I can't make a blanket statement without seeing specific projects on that.

Anything can be moved around, but again, we would always have to look at the affordability, what it does to our debt percentages, what it does to our debt service contributions.

That's an operating impact that we have to look at each year.

So all those things play into whether or not it makes sense to delay some projects, whereas putting a big lump versus spreading it out.

Again, hard to say unless we get project specifics.

I'm interested in which projects can be delayed.

We can look into projects that can be delayed.

Well, I mean, I think it's important to understand, and I have been on the CIP for a long time, this is, and our role being representative on that CIP is to look at the priorities set forth by the Planning Commission.

So we have a list of priorities set forth by the Planning Commission.

And things happened this year that didn't get to change.

But affordable housing is definitely one.

are the top one, and we specifically moved things around.

At one point it was something that was not, no priority, but we specifically moved that to the top, not just to say, you know, just to show this is the top priority.

I think it's also important to understand that you could probably finance, you know, it's not my thing, but being on this committee, it's important to know that you may say let's move it around, move it around, but in order to get a bond, the project needs to be ready.

And so it's not like, if we said fine, 100 million dollars for affordable housing today, what project is ready for that?

What are we shovel ready to do?

Unbonding, not much at all, I'm afraid.

Right.

So some of these things are like when we put courts.

We've looked at courts every year and kind of said, okay, let's just move this, move this, because nothing was ready.

And so finally they're ready and it's just having it there.

That's what I know about finance.

There's my...

Yeah.

As I said, it's hard to make a blanket statement, and delaying projects

with relation to bonding.

Like I said, we do that spend rate, but we can't sell bonds.

We have a certain amount of time that we have to spend on those bonds.

So as Lisa said, if we said, we're going to put $100 million in FY20 and bond that, well, the problem is we don't have $100 million worth of projects that are shovel-ready, that we would need to draw down the money.

And therefore, we wouldn't be selling the bonds, so we'd be tying up our capacity to be able to do other things.

really affecting the affordability side because operationally, as our finance director likes to say, when the bills come, that's the first bill we have to pay.

We don't get a choice on anything else.

The first bill we have to pay is our debt service.

So as that goes up, we have no choice on when they say, this is what you owe us.

It's like the bank saying, this is what you owe on your mortgage.

You have no choice but to pay that.

We can look at delaying projects, but again, without knowing what we're looking to delay and what the end goal is to accomplish, it's hard to say what projects can and can't be delayed and what makes sense to delay them out because there's a lot of factors that go into the financing.

And again, like I said, without knowing what that end goal is, it's hard to pick and choose, well, we'll delay this project for three years.

Well, there's also issues like with

For example, if there's a transportation project, maybe there's some VDOT money tied up into that, and you can't delay that.

I think the best way to talk about that would be like the Belmont Bridge, right?

For God's sakes, we've been talking about that since Shep was a pup, right?

We had to have the funds in there to apply for the smart scale funding to get the funds to be able to leverage those funds from, you know, so it's kind of a chicken and egg situation.

The state money's been appropriated, or it's in their plan, but not all of it's been officially appropriated.

And that is, we want to do that so that the city's not holding the bill for all of that, especially since it's a transportation project and there's funds to be leveraged.

I mean, it's just smart.

Is that a good explanation?

The reason I'm struggling to come up with an answer is there's no simple two-sentence answer I can give you on that like we could probably sit here and talk ad nauseam about all right well that if we do this and that's gonna affect this percentage over here that we now have to account for and there's again there's partnerships that we have to account for there's all kinds of things that we have to look at and then you also have to factor in refinancing and interest rates and all of those things that play a factor when we're looking at our

our financing and our bond rating and how much cash is available.

Can we put more cash into something and bond less?

So all those factors and that's why we spend, I mean, really months developing this CIP and the financing and getting it to the point where we're within, you know, we have specific financial policies that we have to adhere to that were adopted by council as part of the budget.

And part of that is our debt percentages, our percentage of cash that goes into the CIP on an annual basis.

So all those play factors into this and so there's also you have to have all the cash on hand or all the financing on hand before we can legally sign a contract to move the project forward.

So it's not like, oh well the project's going to take five years to build, we'll put a million this year.

We have to have all the money up front.

in order to be able to sign this contract.

So there's all these things that play in and that's why it's difficult to give kind of a succinct answer to this particular question without knowing, as I said, what's the end goal?

We need to delay enough projects to get $100 million in housing.

Okay, that's an end goal that we can say, okay, we can look into that.

But without having that sort of end goal there,

I think you've correctly read my mind.

Are there any further questions and then we can open this to the public comment and then have some more discussion?

Ryan, you mentioned a little bit in the beginning about the neighborhood requests.

Sure.

I mean, so this year, as part of one of the neighborhood association leader meetings,

A suggestion came to allow the neighborhoods to be more involved in the CIP process earlier and allow them to submit projects and what they look like that were important to their particular neighborhood.

So we sent out a form with instructions to all the neighborhood leaders.

We received, I believe it was in the area of 17 submissions from various neighborhoods throughout the city.

We then sent those out to the departments, each of those requests to the various departments that would be responsible for those particular projects and had them look into those projects, examine it, make comments on them as to, well, this is actually an operational request we can handle through operational dollars.

This is already included within our parks lump sum project or within our new sidewalks lump sum project.

It's on our priority listing already.

At that point they provided the budget office with the feedback and then we instructed them to go out and contact the neighborhoods individually on each of the project submissions and let them know there was a specific on what the timing was, was it included, is it on, simply something that's been requested by the department separately already and is already under consideration.

All those things that I talked about earlier whether it's in lump sums or if it was just something that was going to go as unfunded which as I said there's a $108 million unfunded list and obviously council can move things from the unfunded list to the funded list as they see fit but that's

There's no one-stop shop to see where all those requests kind of fell in.

As part of the CIP information, when you click on our budget development site, there's all the CIP listings, and one of the items says neighborhood CIP requests, and that is a listing of all the requests we got from the neighborhoods with their projected amounts.

Now, as we've gone into it, some of those amounts have had to change and been adjusted because

Thank you.

Any other questions?

Mr. Davidson, thank you.

We might have maybe questions after the public hearing.

In fact, I'm counting on it.

So at this time, I'd like to open a public hearing for this

Capital Improvement Program, FY 2020.

I've got a sign-up sheet up here.

We'll get through this sign-up sheet and then we will, I will go ahead and ask for others who have not made it to the sign-up sheet.

I'd like to remind you that

We have three minutes for your comments.

Please stick to that.

We have a lot of people that want to speak tonight.

We haven't gotten into the deferral system, so please speak.

We'll let anybody speak.

There's not a hand-off system here.

Good evening Planning Commission and Council.

Thanks as always for having us and hearing our comments.

I'm Peter Krebs from the Piedmont Environmental Council.

For the last year, we've been working with city staff, county staff, university, and many, many people in the community to develop a regional bicycle pedestrian.

That's sort of a one community plan.

That plan is almost ready.

It's not quite there yet, so you won't be hearing from me tonight about specific projects.

There will be a glimpse at the Jefferson Area Bike Ped Plan on Monday at TJPDC 530.

That could have been a matter for the public, but I forgot.

Sorry.

So next steps will be getting that approved by the MPO and the Planning District and at that time either me or Chip would like to come and present to you guys and to City Council if that's okay.

We'll work with you about that.

As to the CIP, I think the best way to set ourselves up well to respond to the findings of the Jefferson Area Plan is going to be via having money available for matching.

State and Federal monies.

Last night, Council heard about a couple of situations where that happened.

Tonight, we're going to hear about another one and also a potential big opportunity for utilizing diverse funding sources.

Strategically, from a budget perspective, the way I would do it if I were sitting on that side of the table would be to up the amount in the new joint parkland and trails account.

It was smart to combine that and give yourselves more leeway.

So right now it sits about 250K.

I'm thinking more like probably 500 or 750.

Obviously, staff is going to do what they can with what's available, but this is leverageable money.

It's going to be multiplied and benefit the whole community.

Thank you.

and Angel Turner.

Price is right.

Yes.

Y'all hear me?

Hi.

Planning board, city.

So my name is Angel Turner, and I'm a homeowner here in Charlottesville.

And I just wanted to talk a little bit about the home ownership in Charlottesville, the fund that you guys are given for home ownership.

And I just want to say that I'm excited because I am a homeowner and I'm also a mom, but I also wanted to say that I feel like it's really important for you guys to consider giving more money towards home ownership because it gives families a chance to be able to raise their kids in good neighborhoods.

and having that communication, especially in mixed income neighborhoods, which is really important because you get kids from all over, from low income and high wealth families that get to come together and associate with each other and be able to play with each other in the same neighborhood without that whole, without the whole tension between backgrounds and things like that.

You've got two minutes.

Nothing else?

Any stoop?

Come on down.

She had two minutes left, but you don't get that.

Use it or lose it.

All right.

My name is Annie Stupp.

I'm speaking on behalf of the Charlottesville Low Income Housing Coalition, and I'm a resident of the city of Charlottesville.

So first off, thank you to city staff and council for your commitment to affordable housing in this budget.

especially for allocating funds toward public housing redevelopment, which we all know is overdue and is critical.

And we know this is early in the budget process and the capital improvement program budget will evolve.

But after reviewing the responses from last night's city council meeting, during which a few CLIC members and others made comments about the CIP budget, some concerns do remain.

So we look forward to more clarification about how the Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund will change from council's point of view.

We're concerned that the existing transparent process of working with the HAC, which represents a variety of practitioners and advocates, is not getting the continued support that will enable us to have an equity-focused comprehensive housing strategy.

Last night, some councilors noted that we need to reexamine how we allocate this funding

and make some changes, and this is definitely true, but we know that many existing nonprofit providers that receive these funds make significant impacts on the community and they address a spectrum of housing needs.

We need to prioritize public housing redevelopment, rental assistance, and the community-driven redevelopment of Friendship Court as the draft budget does, but we also need to meet the needs of those facing homelessness and those who need permanent supportive housing and also ensure that there are opportunities for wealth building

and preventing displacement through the creation and preservation of affordable home ownership.

All these needs are critical.

The city has the resources to meet all of these needs across the housing spectrum, not just a few, not one at the expense of the other.

We need to prioritize and allocate it properly and we need a lot more funds for all housing providers, not less and currently we don't see these reflected in the CIP.

Perhaps, as Kathy noted, a synthetic TIF is the way to do this or more bondable opportunities, but the housing fund should have a sustainable and permanent funding source and it should be substantial enough that it addresses every single housing need that our most vulnerable neighbors face.

Regarding the housing strategy and the comprehensive plan, the level of funding for public housing redevelopment is not sufficient to address CRHA's current plans.

Their planning effort has gained a lot of momentum and has extensive support from the community.

Crescent Halls and South First Street will improve the lives of hundreds of people in the next few years.

And these are absolutely critical.

We need to fund this fully and find the resources to do so.

So we hope that you'll reconsider the suggested allocations and increase your commitments.

to ensure the success of CRHA's redevelopment plans.

There is a current housing need of more than 3,000 affordable units and we know this need is going to grow significantly.

So your support for the Housing Authority is absolutely critical and an important tool in your toolbox.

And finally, we need to ensure that the housing fund and the CIP budgets are reflective of the housing strategy that's being developed in partnership with the HAC.

This needs to be supported by the comprehensive plan currently in development, by its land use map, its housing chapter, and every chapter in the plan.

The key to addressing historic, systemic, and intentional racism in Charlottesville

is to name it and to face it and undo it through zoning, planning, housing, transportation, and more.

Other cities are using racial equity toolkits, equitable development toolkits.

They're doing this.

We can do this too.

We have to.

Thank you.

Good evening.

Thank you for the opportunity to be here.

And my name is Emily Dreyfus, and I'm an organizer with the Legal Aid Justice Center, and I'm on the advisory council for the Public Housing Association of Residents.

I'd like to agree with Annie Stupp's comments on behalf of the Charlottesville Low Income Housing Coalition, and just to add a few things I'd like to emphasize.

My concerns also really focus on priority setting.

I hope that you'll provide yourselves with more time so that you can dive deeper into the priorities that

are within this proposal and ensure that you're really maximizing progress toward equity.

I think there are some things we heard about tonight that could be postponed or delayed and funds could be channeled toward projects that would really make much more of an impact on low income people's lives.

I'm encouraged very much by the funding toward public housing redevelopment, but the sum total actually does not correspond with where CRHA's planning is.

And I just wanted to give you a little more information about the housing authority's planning process because I serve on the Redevelopment Committee and I've been so encouraged.

It's resident led.

There's great participation.

FAR has facilitated input from residents throughout this process and

especially in Crescent Halls where people have been meeting weekly.

Lots of residents have been digging deeply into this.

And also at South First Street, we've been gearing up and there have been outreach events and lots of door knocking that's getting off the ground.

So we're hearing a lot of resident input and that goes

Straight to the Redevelopment Committee, which has been meeting weekly, only took off for Christmas and New Year's Day, and it really has been spending hours on figuring out how do we move forward with as much resident participation but speediness toward resolving the issues because the primary message we hear from residents is get it done.

People are really desperate to have better housing.

South First Street, the new construction on South First Street, Ball Field, which is currently unoccupied land and the rehabilitation of Crescent Halls could start within the next 12 to 16 months, are likely to start that way and I think that will depend on NDS to some degree and helping us through this process.

but the timeline is short so a five-year projection at the level it's at is actually not quite enough because once those two sites are done there is way more to be investing in.

I'm also concerned about the funding for the Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund and want to be sure that the organizations that are currently doing some very necessary work are continuing to be getting the resources that they need and would like to

I ask you also to take the time to really work with the Housing Advisory Committee because their work is based on the very recent housing needs assessment and I noticed RC Elko was mentioned there but the housing needs assessment is really a much more thorough and good look at what we need.

Thank you.

Good evening Chairman Green, members of the Planning Commission and City Council.

My name is Linda Seaman and I live at 1606 Sawgrass Court and I am president of the board of the McIntire Botanical Garden Incorporated.

The garden is to be located on the north end of McIntire Park East, that's at the intersection of the Warner Parkway and Melbourne Road.

and this was determined by council's adoption of the McIntyre Park East Master Plan in September of 2012.

In August of 2013, actually it was in September I believe, the city council passed a resolution creating a public-private partnership between the city and McIntyre Botanical Garden Incorporated.

McIntyre Botanical Garden is a 501c3 nonprofit organization with a board of directors, many of whom are here this evening.

The eight and a half acres designated to be the garden will be a public space of beauty, inspiration, learning, and healing.

and it will be free for everyone.

We have been moving forward to create this garden by raising funds from private donors.

With our funds, we engage the nationally recognized landscape design firm of McYoung Kim of Boston

and with a local partner, the landscape design firm of Water Street Studios who created a schematic design for the garden and you can see that on our website and the address of the website is listed on what I've just passed out.

As stewards of this property, on January 19th we are holding a work day at the garden site to begin the process of removing invasive plant species that choke this neglected piece of land.

This work is being done in cooperation with Bartlett Tree Service who are donating their time

equipment and expertise, as well as city parks and recreation staff.

We do this as a gift to the city and in preparation for all that this land can become to serve the people of this city.

Because we are working as a public-private partnership with the city, we have trusted that the city would fulfill its commitment.

The Parks and Recreation Department requested $3 million in its CIP budget this year and another $3 million for next year's CIP budget to build a parking lot that would serve all of the east side of McIntire Park, a bridge to the upper portions of the park, bathrooms, a picnic shelter, and other amenities to serve all of McIntire Park East.

This request was deleted by staff and does not appear in the budget that is before you.

McIntyre Botanical Garden depends on these improvements.

They've been long planned and anticipated for the garden.

We can't move forward without them.

In fact, we are stuck.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And could I just ask the members of our board and supporters to stand, please?

Thank you.

I thought that was just a 10-sheet start.

OK, good.

You're counted.

You're here.

I please ask that we stick to the three minutes.

Yes ma'am.

Nancy Carpenter again.

One of the things I wanted to say is that the CIP plan that I see this evening is not fully done.

It's not quite baked.

You might even say it's half baked.

OK?

I see a lot of omissions in this plan.

One of the things I want to comment on is that I was never followed up as the Rose Hill Neighborhood Association representative for anything in September and October.

So I think anything that is included as far as neighborhood requests, because we've made several transportation type requests of city council over the past year that neighbors have brought to my attention who feel very strongly about the issues that I was asked to address.

Number two, looking at the plan is supposed to be representative of the values that are reflected in our comprehensive plan and our zoning.

I don't see any updates to Washington Park.

I see a lot of things that say we, the staff, recommends the funding not be done.

I think Washington Park is one of the premier

and places in this city that represents the systemic racism that members of my community, and I mean the whole community, I'm just not talking where I live, have endured for 400 years.

And I have lots of my neighbors talking about they hate going to that park now because of the increase in population that we're experiencing.

There's a lot of dog crap.

People are dirty.

We are.

Look at what we're doing to our parks because of this shutdown that we're having to endure.

So Washington Park is being disrespected in lots of levels and for there not to be, you know, even money spent for screening or shading at the pool in the, you know, one of the few historically black parks that people, 50% of this population were allowed to live in or to utilize, I think that's just a smack in the face and very disrespectful and I think staff should go back.

and revisit that particular funding.

It might seem small, but it's important to a lot of people because they have a lot of memories growing up there and going to recreational activities they weren't allowed to participate in in other parts of this city.

Now as far as there not being any money for housing the homeless, what is up with that?

Who made the decision for that?

I mean, if it wasn't for the Charlottesville Housing Fund a few years ago, we wouldn't have had this program called Spring for Housing, which took quite a few people who were homeless off the streets.

And some of those people are still housed, and that's almost probably five years later, I would say, three to five years later.

You know, and there not to be anything to be able to address that situation.

I agree.

Thank you.

Is that a CIP?

No, I'm just kidding.

I'm joking.

Sorry.

I'm the director for Thomas Jefferson Area Coalition for the Homeless.

And I wanted to talk to you about the affordable housing investments, particularly from the CIP.

They're significant, and as far as I can tell, unprecedented.

And that's tremendous because it's the right thing to do.

So thank you.

I also want to speak to some of the points that Annie was also talking to that these investments are being made without the context of a housing strategy to really guide and ensure that all the housing needs across the spectrum are being met adequately from homelessness all the way through.

Sometimes special projects need to be addressed in order to meet those needs.

And the current proposal doesn't really show any room for how that could happen, especially without a housing strategy to guide it.

I'm worried that that's not going to be addressed at all.

An example of a special project is the crossings.

A 60-unit development in the city, half of the units are dedicated to formerly chronically homeless persons in our community.

Half the units were dedicated to just general affordable housing units.

It's a successful project, and it's a vital part of our community.

And it wouldn't have been made possible without investment from the Affordable Housing Fund.

Currently, we have great need for additional permanent supportive housing units in our community.

We can end chronic homelessness in Charlottesville.

We really can.

But we need investment in permanent supportive housing units.

We need to make sure that those needs are addressed.

And there are developers that are interested in doing just that.

But without the ability to invest in that from the Affordable Housing Fund, it really makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to do.

But that's just one example of a project across a whole spectrum of needs that there's not a lot of room for in this type of plan because it's without a housing strategy to guide it.

So a bit of a nuanced remark.

completely want to give all the props possible for investment in affordable housing.

At the same time, I think we need to think about how do we make all the needs really met in that type of context.

So I humbly request that you think about how we can do that and think about how to make that possible through a housing strategy and those needs be addressed.

Thank you.

Good evening, Planning Commission and City Council.

My name is Hollywood and my soon to be address is 506 Bennett Street here in Charlottesville.

My family and I are very excited to become homeowners here in Charlottesville.

And, sorry, I had wrote some things down.

I'm a little nervous.

It's the first time being here.

For us, being homeowners, the most important thing is the stability that it's going to provide for my family.

My children, they are most excited about the friendships and the bonds they're going to have in our new community.

I wanted to express my concern with you all this evening specifically for the lack of funds that is allocated for the affordable home ownership in the CIP.

I hope you all can take in consideration that home ownership is so important and it's important in our community and it allows for families like my own to have a forever home.

Thank you.

Christian Johnson.

Did I say that right?

Yeah.

It's like a boy.

I'm Christian Johnson.

And first, I would like to say that I am really excited about the funds that you guys are giving as far as to work on the project with, what is it?

Friendship Court and all those things.

I grew up there.

My mom had a place there.

I lived there.

I also lived in Hardy Drive.

I lived on First Street and I was grateful for those places to live and to be able to depend on affordable housing and, you know, low-income housing, if you will.

But then I graduated and

and I never thought that I would ever graduate.

And so I'm a homeowner now and I spent my first Thanksgiving in my house with my two daughters.

I'm getting teary-eyed, I'm sorry.

And Christmas and my family came over to my house.

And so like this is now the house to come to, which is so great.

And the feeling is great.

And people in affordable housing, they sometimes graduate.

and they make room for the people that really need it.

So it's very important to support homeownership because had I not been able to connect with Habitat or I would never graduate and I got to a point where I really didn't need it anymore.

And sometimes that happens in life, you know what I mean?

So I just ask you guys to consider and to think about how important it is to support that because people like me

who never thought that they would own anything and just continue the cycle that I see my mom, you know, just living in Gurne Square or, you know, now I'm able to show my daughters how it is to own something and I'm forever grateful for that so I just wanted to share that with you guys.

Hi, my name is Dan.

I'm here as a resident.

I'm also an economist at the University of Virginia's Darden School.

And I'm here tonight because I was made aware of two things.

One is there's a lot of money being allocated to supportive housing, which is fantastic.

And I have some impression that the decisions you guys are making tonight might be sort of long-term or long-lasting.

And so I just wanted to speak to that briefly because this is both an area of personal interest and something that my own research is related to.

My one kind of message is I think that a comprehensive plan is incredibly important and integration is important.

So when we think about housing, it's not just a comprehensive plan around housing and capital improvements, it's a comprehensive plan for the city.

When I read that New York Times article about educational disparities, it wasn't terribly surprising, but I think it really raises important issues in our community.

I live in R1.

My kids go to Venable.

We're very lucky.

We feel very fortunate, but I also feel that there are certain disparities across the city that we could resolve through housing policy, one of them being education.

And so one concern I have is sort of a Band-Aid approach.

And I understand Band-Aids are important.

People need housing right now.

But if that housing is all in one neighborhood or one area, we're just kind of perpetuating a problem.

We're kind of kicking a can down the road.

So there's short-term needs.

I completely respect that.

And I don't know the constraints that you guys face, but I do want to consider potential long-term consequences.

The fact that we're putting money into this, putting resources, gives us an opportunity to think a little bit more long-term.

and I would definitely encourage us to think about ways to incorporate housing with integrating the city with improving education and something that I also is very dear to my heart but maybe unrelated to what you guys address in your committee is I think we need to think about zoning.

I live in R1, I want more density, I want more mixed income housing in R1.

Thank you.

Okay.

I'm just going to butcher this, so I apologize.

Iglit Sanbanar?

I know.

Please.

I'll do it.

Okay.

To be fair, it was scribble writing.

Good evening.

My name is Ilgiz.

I'm a resident of Charlottesville, and I wanted to echo some of the Ilgiz, I-L-G-I-Z, and I wanted to echo...

I-L-G-I-Z.

And I've been in Charlottesville for the last five to six years.

I wanted to echo some of the concerns related to housing and affordable housing that have been expressed earlier.

And I'm very delighted to see continued support and priority for affordable housing that's part of the proposed plan and specifically the Friendship Court allocating a large amount.

However, I wanted to draw your attention to three things.

If I look at the information that was provided yesterday in the plan, the affordable housing line is only 3% increase for the next five years.

So I know the affordable housing has made a priority, but I think if we are to stay true to intentions to fight poverty and work on issues of justice, I think 3% is not enough.

Secondly, I wanted to draw your attention to that how the Christian story demonstrates that we need to support the entire spectrum of affordable housing and we can't leave the issues of rapid rehousing and housing homeless people out of streets and start from there and all the way to the affordable, to home ownership and I think given the details, very few details in the plan, those

Thank you.

Hi, my name is Erin Winston.

I'm a member of the Charlottesville Low Income Housing Coalition and I'm a resident of the city.

I'd like to echo a lot of the things that have been said already about the need for

a continuity of strategy across the housing spectrum.

That's one thing that's not fleshed out in this plan.

And I would like to just echo that we really need to look at all of these options.

Another thing I'd like to speak to is one of the major line items on the CIP is the infrastructure improvements on West Main Street.

It's clear that infrastructure needs have to be addressed there.

We know that safety and equity in transportation is very important, and environmental resilience and sustainability, these are all critical things.

We're glad that the city is leveraging money towards this, but we need to be clear about who's being served by these capital improvements.

If we're actually going to be looking at this through an equity lens,

That's going to be upper income folks and UVA students who are benefiting from these improvements.

So if we're going to actually be looking at ways we can move money around and prioritize funding from an equity lens, let's look at who benefits from these capital improvements.

Granted, sewers need to be rebuilt.

Pipes are in bad shape.

We're not arguing with that.

Deciding which streets get beautified and which don't and who gets to use those streets.

These are all conversations that we need to be having especially if this is happening in the context of a conversation about housing

and the fact that we all know that we need more money.

The 15 million that's allocated in this isn't enough to meet the needs of redevelopment for public housing.

So if we can get money from these different projects, I'd say let's look at who's going to benefit from these projects if we are going to reprioritize things and then look at how we can use that money to create and foster equity in this city.

If we're going to serve the citizens surrounding West Main like in 10th and Page and West Haven, we hope that you'd ensure that those communities also will be provided with the tools and resources to fully benefit from the upgrades that are being proposed to West Main.

And that the voices of the people in those communities shouldn't just be heard or included in the process, but they need to be uplifted and prioritized.

We need to be listening to them first in this process.

Thank you.

That is the end of our list, but I'm quite certain there's someone else that's got something to say, so now is your time if you'd like to speak to this.

Come on up, you'll have three minutes, and please limit that to three minutes, and we'll just continue this till everybody's done.

Not for you, Dan.

So anyway, I do think that it's a monumental investment and affordable...

I'm sorry, Dan Rosenzweig, 740 Lexington Avenue in the city.

I'm here representing the Housing Advisory Committee.

A few things that discouraged me about the CIP, the draft CIP that's in front of you.

The primary thing is that I think this is another example

All too prevalent of the left hand not knowing what the right hand's doing.

So just a little bit of history over the last couple of years.

Starting from NDS, it was an NDS priority to rework the way that funding is allocated through the housing fund to create a much more transparent and strategic way of allocating money.

So the money is put into the CIP in a lump sum through the housing fund.

Then there is a NOFA, a Notice of Funding Availability that's issued that states the city's goals for the year and longer term goals.

Then there's a request for proposals.

If proposals come in, there's an independent

subcommittee of people who do not accept or and will not accept funds from the city.

They make a recommendation to city council, city council votes on it.

There's a process that's transparent that has multiple touch points with the public and it has been circum, has been worked around in this process.

The other thing that's going on where the left hand doesn't know where the right hand, what's happening in the right hand is that

Responding to council requests, the Housing Advisory Committee has been working on a comprehensive spreadsheet, a tool basically that can align with the housing strategy that's based on data.

It's based on things like availability of land.

It's based on numerous conversations with, among the other housing providers, FAR, CRHA, PHA, AHIP, TJAC, CLIC, and private developers and Habitat, where we've done a yield analysis, we've looked at land that's available, we've looked at zoning.

We've looked at leverage.

We've looked at cost per unit.

We've looked at everything.

And we're putting together something that's actually based on data and not spaghetti thrown at a wall.

And to me what has happened here, and I don't think it's intentional because I think that there was a sense that the city staff was trying to come forward with something that was strategic, but it lacks strategy and it lacks data.

What you have is the hack working on a project

a comprehensive funding plan that can be tied to the housing strategy that should inform the CIP and that will inform the NOFA process that will allow people and projects like CRHA, Friendship Court, et cetera to come forward when they're ready for funding and for the right amounts of funding and the right amounts of leverage.

It's a fairly simple conceit and it's been worked around through this process.

So this is my ask of you.

is that you roll up the affordable housing funds back into the Charlottesville affordable housing fund.

You can do that tonight through a motion.

Make that recommendation to council.

Good evening.

Phil Duranzio, city resident, chair of the HAC.

I guess I'll tag in for Dan.

Good evening, city council commissioners.

First, thanks to staff for placing down a monumental marker of $30-odd million between bonded and non-bonded expenditures in affordable housing.

Follow up on the sort of recurring theme here, which has been one of a sense that this funding, though it is substantial, in some ways is inadequate.

It is not sort of carried across the spectrum in a strategic way.

And again, as Dr. Rosenzweig pointed out, the left hand and the right hand do not seem to be coordinated here.

and what we have got for the next year for example is a substantial investment but really no one here knows at this point what needs to go where.

It may very well be that the CRHA needs much more than $3 million next year or maybe they need much more the year after and not much of an infusion next year because they're not quite ready or the other way around.

The same for Friendship Court, which has got 19 moving parts, and they have not yet landed on exactly where they need to be.

So we have both a practical matter of allocation and also a matter of strategy and coordination.

I second Dan's interest in taking this money, rolling it into one line, and letting the process work itself out, particularly as we are sort of on the back foot for next year and we need to make these substantial investments.

We're just not quite sure where it's going to happen next year.

Tomorrow we're going to have our first deep, deep dive on this funding model in a subcommittee meeting, and it will be the major topic of conversation of a joint work session between

and City Council next Wednesday.

Hi everybody.

I'm Carolyn Ockenbach and I'm with the McIntire Botanical Garden Board.

I came unprepared to talk tonight and I'm a little nervous so bear with me.

But I wanted to add to what Linda has already said.

I want there to be a clear understanding that the botanical garden is not a garden with

Blue-haired ladies showing their begonias.

It's really a place, we think, for our community to come together.

If you go to other cities, you go to the Botanical Garden and you see people of all ages and races and you see families and you see teenage kids on dates, you see the whole community participating in nature and

Excuse me one second, could you hold that?

Hey guys, could I have you all take that offline so we can still listen to her please?

Thank you.

I'm sorry.

No problem.

But I think it's something that we think is something that could be very healing for our community and it's really something that we intend and we've had a lot of

Thank you for having me.

to provide this park would be private.

But before we can do any of that, we need for the city to honor its partnership with us that has already been established to do some of these infrastructure things so that we can have our donors come and help us and actually fund the garden itself.

Thank you.

My name is Bernie Davis.

I live on Burnett Street off Elliott Avenue and I'm a member of the board of the Ridge Street Neighborhood Association.

We applaud your commitment to affordable housing and putting most of the money into that and to the education programs, the city schools, and so on.

But one of the little items that didn't make the list, it's on your non-funded list, is the Elliott Street streetscape, it's a tongue twister, which is only a million dollars plus, but that's, I know, quite a lot of money given the other priorities that you have to meet.

We would really like to have that brought up into the proper part of the CIP.

And if you can't do that, what we would like to do even more is to encourage the commitment to putting a crosswalk at the corner of Burnett Street and Elliott.

with one of those flashing lights for pedestrian crossing.

The cars go whizzing down Elliott very quickly.

There are increasing number of kids that live in the neighborhood.

School buses stop there at that corner with the new development in the three Burnett Street developments.

There's a new development going in over near Hartman Mill and those people, some of them will be riding bikes and walking across Elliott to get downtown.

and it wouldn't be, I think, very much money for you to allocate some for crosswalk and safety concerns.

We don't want to wait till somebody gets run over on that corner and it becomes a whole different kind of crisis.

Thank you.

Hi, I'm Nicky, President of the Greenbrier Neighborhood Association and a member of the Rivanna Trails Foundation.

Following up on Peter Kreb's comments about the importance of greenway funding, I talked at length at the city council at their last work session about the social equity component of alternative transportation and how important that is, and so I'm not going to go into that in great detail, but obviously you all have tough choices to make.

There's a lot of important things out there, including housing, critically important.

But when you're thinking about what did the citizens of Charlottesville want beyond bridges and things that need to be done and critically important things like housing, an important source of information is scientific polls that have been done.

And so Parks and Recreation did scientific polls of what do the citizens of Charlottesville actually want.

Here's one from 2005.

This is a scientifically valid poll.

Parks and Recreation, what's the most important to respondents household facilities that are most important to respondents households?

The top one is walking and biking trails and that you probably can't see this but it's way out beyond the next

So that's 2005.

The third place thing is nature trails and walking centers.

Well, that was 2005.

So is there anything more recent?

Yeah, 2018 Parks and Rec did another scientifically valid survey of Charlottesville residents and asked, list the three items that you would be most willing to fund with their city tax dollars as percentages.

And the top one

If you combine the most important and second most important is preserve open spaces and natural areas.

The second one right behind that is expand, renovate walking, biking trails, and connect existing trails.

So that's the top two things that the citizens say in a scientifically valid survey.

Albemarle also did a similar survey.

The Parks and Rec Department says facilities that are most important to households.

This is 2017, and the top one by far is walking, biking,

Hiking and Equestrian Trails

On a more specific front, I would say that these plans have been in place for decades.

These are adopted by city council park plans, bike plans, and we don't have any connected greenways at this point.

As Mr. Krebs pointed out, if you get funding, you can get free money from the state, and right now there's not money in the CIP for

to ask to have in place to get this free money that's available from the state.

And for instance for the tunnel at the end of Greenbrier that's a critical link in the

Bike Plan, that is going to need money next year in the CIP to get this free money available for this multiplier for what the citizens say that they want.

In addition, there's no money in the current CIP to connect the residents on Mickey Drive on the long-planned multi-use trail there that would connect them so they could ride and walk safely to Greenbrier School and connect to jobs at Fashion Square Mall and downtown.

and so we'd ask you to increase the funding for Greenway funding and I think Mr. Krebs is right that putting it in a flexible way so that the Parks and Rec can use it for grants and get free money that's available out there or to move it around is the way to go but this is something that the citizens have for decades asked that they want is for decades City Council has approved it and plans and it's time to just get moving on and get it done.

Thank you.

Good evening members of the commission, city council, staff.

My name is Morgan Butler.

I'm a city resident.

I live on Jamestown Drive.

I just wanted to make one quick comment regarding the West Main Streetscape Project.

And that is that in the broader context of affordability, we have to remember that transportation is a very key piece of that puzzle.

If you live in a city where the car is king and if you don't have the money to buy a car, your options in terms of getting around, getting to jobs, getting to childcare, your options are limited and your quality of life is impacted.

Many of these streetscape projects at their core are about taking these important transportation corridors like West Main and making them safer and more accessible to those of us who prefer or even have to rely on bicycles or walking or transit to get around.

Thank you.

Anyone else?

Then I will close this public hearing and open this up for Commissioner discussion.

I'd like to remind us that our job here is to make a recommendation.

We are not voting up or down on the CIP.

It is to make a recommendation to Council based off of the information provided.

And if we have suggestions on moving or editing, that is our role in this process.

and that this process happens every year.

So if things are not ready, that could change within the next 11 months.

So this is not a five-year project where you don't see it again for five more years.

Let me ramble a little bit and maybe I'll get an idea out of this as I begin to ramble.

I am very geeked about the amount of money that's in this full redevelopment.

I actually worked on redevelopment for six years and got nowhere, and so you guys have done a lot to move the ball along in the last year or so.

But I also have gotten emails from many of you and I've heard what you've said about an overarching strategy for affordable housing.

And it seems to me that some sort of a central organization, some sort of core structure might be of value to put in place as it relates to housing.

It relates to affordable housing, but if we do that, if we vote to recommend that we do that, I just want to be certain that we protect the assets that are being dedicated to redevelopment.

and I think we'll learn a lot on the 16th when council and the HAC meet to talk about what this overall overarching strategy of the affordable housing fund would look like and when we get a better articulation of what rolling all the funds into that would look like.

On the surface, it seems to make a lot of sense.

It's pretty coherent.

I'd like to concur on the concern that funding made in the

Next year is not jeopardized by the reality that a campaign often takes longer than one budgetary cycle.

So I would really encourage a creative way to

roll the funds together on a two to three year campaign and then not just load it all up next year because it feels good but doesn't really get us where we want to go.

So the language around that can be found in the idea that you encourage council to put together a three year budget especially focused on the housing needs.

I'd really be curious just to… We don't know the numbers.

I'd like to…

Thank you.

I've been struggling with this for a long time.

Currently I feel like I don't have enough information to make a good decision here and it concerns me.

I see a lot of missing pieces, I see a lot of problems, and I don't feel like we have time to get it right.

I worry that we can't get it right tonight.

Let me ask a question then, and so maybe I'm missing something.

We've had a lot of communication, whether it be here, whether it be on email, that housing the homeless is not a line item in here, and homeownership.

Maybe I'm missing something.

I'm struggling trying to figure, it seems like there's been an oversight.

I mean, we've supported these things in the past and then all of a sudden we don't.

Okay, now I'll make that statement I've been thinking about for a while.

Of course the right hand and the left hand don't know what they're doing.

My God, you guys are hacks having a meeting on the 16th talking about a housing strategy that's going to correlate with our comprehensive plan, and we're hearing about it today.

I mean, I know you're our representative, but no, the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing.

No.

And then we've got Click working on a housing strategy, Thomas Jefferson working on a housing strategy, Hack working on a housing strategy.

We got a lot of hands.

It's like an octopus all in a candy jar.

And so, no.

You like that?

And so, we got to get this together so that we do have a right hand and a left hand and they're shaking hands and we get this together because

Otherwise, we're sitting here working in silos.

This is like a farm of silos sitting there all playing and we got to play in the same sandbox.

We got to get this together.

So what's the downside, the negatives for doing what has been suggested, putting the money into the affordable housing fund and then letting the committee report and council work out the strategy for how to allocate it through the application process?

Yeah, let's include that in the recommendation.

Does it have to be all or nothing?

Yes, let's do that.

Write it down so you can do that.

You're going to make a motion.

There you go.

So, but what are you looking at the line items?

I mean, looking at what's presented to us.

All right, let's just take this strategically so we can give Ryan some, so that, and so that we're all on the same page and not a seven-armed octopus up here working in different directions.

Are you looking at the, oh gosh.

Under bondable projects, no.

I just saw, oh there.

Under housing?

You can do this.

Well and I think what you're saying is right is it may not look like a lot right now but then 19 and 20 when we have a housing strategy then there's a line item for the housing strategy which is kind of a feeder for all of the strategy.

So we have an application process for funding.

These processes go through approvals by HAC, by account planning commission, other governmental bodies.

So I'll give it a shot that as we recommend the, what are we recommending?

Well, I think there's more to talk about than this list.

So are you insinuating that we should, from the bondable projects of the, sorry, hold on, just had to pull it up.

It's at the bottom of the page.

So under the bondable projects, the only thing I'm seeing is housing projects, public housing redevelopment.

And then under non-bondable projects, it says Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund.

Are you suggesting that we pull both of those funds into one?

I did this too.

Maybe, maybe not.

No, because if I'm looking at FY20, there's nothing.

Okay, let's do this.

What page are you on?

Three.

So in FY19, it all went to the Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund.

And through that mechanism, they went through the application process and awarded it to homeownership, to homeless, to other needy organizations.

They decided how it was going to be allocated.

Yes.

And that's the real problem.

We're not going to make a good decision because there's no agreement on what the numbers we're shooting are for.

So let's give ourselves

The only word I'm thinking of is escrowing until the time we ascertain we have good numbers.

But not to lose the funding if it's not spent next year.

Accountant.

Any funding that is appropriated into any of these projects, however that may wind up in the end, stays in that project until it's spent or council takes action to move it to another project.

The CIP dollars, because a lot of times it's larger multi-year projects, it doesn't go away at the end of the year, so with what you're saying as far as escrowing,

It's done that automatically just by the nature of the CIP.

So mostly what we're asking for from HAC is that if we don't agree on the numbers for what's to be spent on next year, the money's not going away.

Yes.

And we may not spend it all this year because we're not sure where to spend it.

But right now it's being proposed that it be allocated to specific programs and nothing going to the Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund, which is the funding mechanism for HAC.

Right.

The application process.

Phil, they're trying to tell you something.

I can't support that strategy.

That is the intention of that $500,000.

I mean, we put housing rehabilitation as a title, but that was, I mean, because we split that out from what was the Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund, but we were putting specific labels on those, but that was what that- So you don't feel like there'd be a need to attach that recommendation?

I'm not saying that.

And I guess the reason why I ask why people seem so shocked and hilarious is that programs do also have the opportunity through, maybe not through the CIP, but through those funds to get home ownership.

down payment assistance and other opportunities to become homeowners.

So it's not like it's just completely lost if it's not right here in the CIP.

So CRHA, are they, how is the $3 million over the next five years

Those figures were based upon the November 26 work session and presentations we had with CRHA.

They gave us a gap figure of what was needed at that time to be filled by government and or private donations, private solicitations.

based on already announced private donations from the, I believe it was Red Light, Dave Matthews, that group, Corn Capshaw.

And what we had in there that got us to the number and the uncertainty was whether it was going to be 4% on the LIHTC credits, 9% on the LIHTC credits.

That's where that uncertainty comes in.

I'd have to go back and double check exactly what this gap funded, if this was if we got

It's an ongoing discussion.

I know it's a continued ongoing discussion with them.

I don't know everyone that's been involved.

I know there's so many different people that are working on this.

But I would like to say yes, but I can't say for certain that everything has been vetted.

Let's get specific about moving some money around.

I've received an enormous amount of communication for spending needs.

I didn't get a single person saying, please, Darden Tao, $2 million, we need to do it.

I just didn't hear it.

Why?

Why NFY money?

That is a joint, this is one where it's a joint project with, done with the county.

We have an agreement with the county that we are both responsible for a certain portion of the funds related to the improvements of that park.

This is in the, the county has already designated the funds for these particular projects.

This would be the city share of those dollars and this is one

Okay.

This is also one of my like

I happen to have a little bit of inside knowledge on that.

In order to light those fields, it takes a special use permit, which there has yet to be an application for.

Not to mention they've just moved in another, I don't know, 3,000 people who are going to be extremely happy to see lights go up at Darden Tell.

That's a county project to light and the special use permit would have to go through the county.

There's not even a murmur of putting in an application for those lights at Darden Tow.

So I've continued to say the same thing.

Why are we doing this?

So for staff or council, what are the

I'll let Brian Daley, our Director of Parks and Rec speak to that.

Good evening.

Brian Daly, Director of Parks and Recreation here in the city.

Darden Tow Park, in case you aren't aware, is jointly owned with the city and the county.

There are 50-50 owners in that property.

The city and the county have an agreement regarding the management of the park and how funds are dispersed and shared for improvements at the park and the ongoing annual operating costs.

That agreement was reached by the Darden Tow Committee, which includes two members of the board of supervisors and two members of the city council.

The funding agreement calls for the city's share of the cost of operations to the park and any improvements in the park to be the percentage that is the city's percentage of the joint population between the city and the county.

So if we add the city and the county's population together, the percentage that is the city becomes the percentage of the cost that the city is required to bear for the annual operation of the park and any future improvements.

My last look at that was about, I think it's 31% is of the total population is the city, the remaining being the county.

And that fluctuates a percentage or two over the years, and we look at that annually as we develop our operating budgets.

The project in question here is the conversion of four rectangular athletic fields at Darden Town from natural grass to synthetic turf.

with lights.

This project has been talked about for a number of years.

We as staff have not supported pushing forward a project like this without lighting those fields.

It is in my mind a poor investment to provide the opportunity for year-round play and synthetic turf, and there is a need for that in the community without lighting those fields.

To your point, Chairman Green, about a special use permit, I'm sure there is no funding for the project yet, so I doubt that there's no design or anything done for the project at all, except for getting the funding first.

That is the project.

That's what is in question.

The funding agreement at Ivy Creek is a little different.

While you're here, if I may, would you say on your honors as a staff member of the city, this is the best use of funds for the citizens of Charlottesville?

That is not my position to say.

That's very helpful.

Thank you.

I repeat what I just said.

It's not my position to stay, to advocate one way or another.

I understand.

I will say this is a project.

This is what the community has indicated as a need.

So while you're up, can we talk a little bit about McIntire Park and talk a little bit about

What's happening on the east end of that park?

And the reason I'm asking is because I want to reiterate my interest in council thinking about allocating some funds for parking.

But what are we developing over there?

We're developing the skate park.

We're developing the garden.

The Vietnam vet memorial is there.

Sure, I can kind of recap what the

The master plan and the conceptual design for the east side of McIntire Park contains, and it contains a number of both recreational features and connectivity measures and trail connections.

After multiple years of community engagement and processes with the community, we arrived at both a master plan that was adopted by the council and a schematic design that was adopted by the council that has multiple components and they include

North-South trail connections that are accessible.

East-West trail connections that are accessible.

A pedestrian bridge that connects the east and west sides of the park over the Norfolk Southern Railroad.

The relocation of a new skate park, which was lost when the John Warner Parkway and the U.S. 250 interchange was constructed.

New trails that were part of that project, the Warner Parkway project, that connect north and south from the 250 bypass to Melbourne Road.

Also in the east side of the park is a node of activity closest to Melbourne Road and closest to the Charlottesville athletic, high school athletic complex which includes a parking area, a spray ground, picnic shelters, a area for a greeting area, kind of a

Plaza area that is the entryway to the McIntyre Botanical Garden.

And as the botanical garden folks have indicated, that is a relationship that was established by the council a number of years ago as a public-private partnership for the development of the garden, which they have committed to do.

Additionally, there are bridge opportunities on the north side of the park to bridge a tributary that goes into Shanks Branch.

We're working on that project now currently, as well as several other projects are moving almost to completion.

The skate park is about finished.

as well as the pedestrian bridge over the railroad tracks is about finished.

If you drive by, it looks done, but it's not.

So I'd encourage you to folks want to go in there.

The skate park is not open.

I'll repeat that for the public.

The skate park is not open.

We'd ask the folks to please honor the no trespassing signs that are there.

The project is not complete and we want that to open at the same time and we need the pedestrian bridge to be open before we can open the skate park.

That pedestrian bridge I have seen on a plan dating back to 1972.

So it's finally, it is happening, it's coming to fruition and it's very, very important.

There's a connection between the pedestrian bridge and the interchange between the 250 bypass and the John Warner Parkway.

That trail is under construction.

They began moving some stuff around today.

So those three components are active right now.

We've also created a trail system in the northern part of the park to get some folks to activate that section.

Mr. Daly, if you could, I don't really have a sense of what of the $3 million relates to the Botanical Garden.

The Botanical Garden effort is an entity unto itself.

If you look at the master plan for the park, the core area of the Botanical Garden was sort of left a bit blank in that there wasn't a lot of precision or concise design done at that time for the Botanical Garden itself.

The Botanical Garden board hasn't taken the opportunity to push that out and hire an architect and they produced

a schematic design for that area of the park that is quite nice and it will work very, very well.

And it integrates very well with the design work that we have already done, which is to provide an entryway to the north side of the park, a place for people to walk, bike, connect north and south, as well as a parking area and some other support facilities.

Thank you.

I'm going to go back to affordable housing.

It's much more than putting up new units.

It is a walk from being homeless to having a place to live to being educated about how to then move into home ownership.

It's a long program.

It needs support.

We have nonprofits.

Fortunately, we're blessed to have them that can help people with that and the strategy, the structure for getting those organizations money to do that hard work is through the

and the application process and through the Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund and your committee.

Housing Advisory Committee.

Thank you.

The Housing Advisory Committee as run by the Housing Advisory Committee.

I cannot

I feel like we have to put money into the Charlottesville affordable housing fund to maintain these programs and I'd like to see it as much go into it as was allocated last year and

Where that comes from out of the other housing programs or other housing line items, I don't know.

I feel silly sitting up here making that decision with just the tip of the iceberg knowledge that we've gotten from listening to several presentations.

I think this is a question I have too.

Because I've just been doing some math and you know I love that.

But so under the bondable page two, public housing redevelopment has 500,000 that's still allocated.

Right?

Correct.

FY20 moving forward.

Then you go to the un-bondable and Page 4, bottom of Page 4.

Last year, I know, which has moved to zero.

And then you've got supplemental rental assistance, housing, rehabilitation, friendship court.

I guess the other thing is, are there other monies somewhere?

I'm not exactly sure exactly where that five million, I know it was a corn capsule.

And where does that go?

And then Council just reallocated some money from somewhere to somewhere and I guess as much as we have all those arms and we're nobody, I don't know where all these pots of money are and how does this fit in with some, Mr. Murphy, look, I'm so glad you came.

I'm so glad.

Let me frame the CIP you see before you in a slightly different way.

Perfect.

And that's one that is strategic and does reflect prioritization.

and that says that there is still an affordable housing fund except it says from staff that maybe you should spend it in a certain way and that is to preserve the $900,000 that is started in the year that we're in for housing subsidies.

and that it is irresponsible to stop giving those subsidies because there is no best practice out there in the world that gives subsidies for less than 24 months.

Bottom line.

And that there's another $500,000 because part of the equation in affordable housing is you need to keep people in the houses that are affordable.

And if you don't continue to renovate houses and do rehabs, then you will have people move out of houses that are affordable and they'll get turned into places that aren't affordable any longer.

So I would argue that there is still $1.4 million in affordable housing.

We've told you how we think it ought to get spent.

If you think that's too prescriptive, you certainly are welcome to make a recommendation to council.

It's true that council did make some big changes in the Affordable Housing Fund over the last couple of years to get it to double where it was at $3.4 million.

I would point out that $1.4 million is about just a couple hundred thousand dollars less than what it was two years ago.

In addition, we did carve out $2 million to allocate over to the Housing Authority to add to our half million dollar investment and add another half million dollars every year so that there's $3 million or $15 million investment at the Housing Authority.

To say that the idea of this and earmarking it is not the way to go I have to disagree with after multiple work sessions and the amount of time and energy that it's taken for redevelopment to advance for the Housing Authority.

We are looking at a situation where both the Housing Authority and Friendship Court, which I'll talk about next, are applying for low-income housing tax credits.

And if there aren't any dollars committed by the local government, they will most certainly not be successful in obtaining those low-income housing tax credits.

in which case they'll have projects that will have even greater burden for where they're going to find either local or philanthropic dollars.

So is it strategic that those are the most ready projects that were in front of us in a time where affordable housing is the largest issue that's been talked about in this community?

I believe so.

And that's why there is an investment of not $20 million over five years, but $32.5 million over five years.

That's what the commitment of the staff was to change that picture over time.

So does that take away some process where the HAC advises staff about allocations that get made?

with input from later from the Planning Commission and Council.

Perhaps, but I do think that it's clear that these are the greatest priorities in housing.

I'm part of the reformation of the Homelessness System of Care, Mr. Lahendro, and if there was a credible project at the time when we put together the CIP,

for housing, then I certainly would have had it in this budget.

But in the absence of that, that is the purpose of the continuation of the housing subsidy at $900,000 a year is to get people into housing and off the street.

If there's a movement on a project that looks like another SRO, then I would certainly welcome the opportunity for the city to really think hard about how to fund that.

because I do think that the single greatest factor in making a difference with chronic homelessness in this city was the crossings at 4th.

So I'm certainly

Happy to answer a direct question should the planning commissioners have it, but I do think that earmarking the funds in the way we have was important and I do think that there are considerations, you know, creating the budget, the capital improvement program and demonstrating that we have the capacity either with cash

or with borrowing power to leverage a certain amount of dollars and let me tell you that it's my belief that we've gone up to the line of where we can do that responsibly and believe me when I say that interim or not like I don't want to be the city manager at the time when we lose our AAA bond rate and I'm not going to recommend a budget to you or the council where we go over our outside of our policies and we're right up against them.

So if you tell me that you don't want to put money into a park and that you want to spend more money on housing, that's a value judgment that can be made by commissioners and elected officials.

But that is where the wiggle room is.

It's not that we should spend another $20 million somewhere that's not in here yet today.

I would really discourage you, Council, or the public to think that there is all this additional capacity out there.

Mr. Murphy, thank you for coming down.

So I, up until, when did you take my place on HAC?

Six months?

Yeah, until about six, eight months ago, I attended the housing authority board meetings every month and there was, it was an agenda item every meeting about master planning and new development and how we're going forward and

and up to eight months ago,

There was no clear direction.

They were struggling.

I didn't see that they had a master plan and professionals who decided what places needed to be redeveloped, how many more additional units you could get, what's the strategy for this.

If I may, I would say that the first project that is certainly ready now or five years ago for the Housing Authority is to think differently about what the status of Crescent Halls is.

right and so it's not really something that we need a whole lot of planning if the plan is to modernize the facility which it is from the Redevelopment Committee and they've spent extensive amount of time with a private partner to look at how to do that in a three-towered approach because that's the construction of the building.

Do I think that there is still some additional planning that needs to happen with the Housing Authority in redevelopment to figure out the sequence?

Sure.

Do I know that they've put in a site plan for the South First Street ball field and I asked Miss Creasy and staff to provide those comments in an expedited way before the holidays in only nine days?

Yes.

So do I think that that's necessarily the highest and best purpose of that acreage?

I would say no, but I do think that they are making significant progress towards a plan.

I would also say that why the city is the agent that should be working with the Housing Authority rather than the HAC, particularly with CRHA, is this.

that saying that the money is there is one thing.

What are the conditions or what are the strings attached to the money is the next, right?

And the city has tools in the toolbox who are at their disposal as the funder and as the potential decider of what the governance is of the Housing Authority Board.

Thank you.

Mr. Murphy, I appreciate your insight on this.

I've been pushing for a sense of where there is slack in this budget.

I appreciate your point that we can't grow the budget even more.

I see some opportunity in Dardan Tau.

You've spent more time thinking about this than me.

What do you see?

Would I have started out with the budget as this being one of our top priorities?

No.

Do I think it's part of our partnership with Albemarle County when they have put this into their budget to have it come for your consideration?

Yes.

I appreciate that.

I'm not looking at a list right now, so I don't have the benefit of that.

But what I would say to you is that the changes should never come at the expense of paving roads or creating sidewalks or funding the Belmont Bridge at the very least.

you know I think that it is of great importance to consider what the leverage is in some cases of other dollars that come to the table and is the city a hundred percent funder in something or are we bringing in dollars from UVA or VDOT or other sources so I do think you know I'm not

I want to pick on my friend Mr. Daley, but you know I do think that it does come down to softer projects that are quality of life kind of projects where we have placed a high value on our park system, our trail system, our you know rec centers and

You know, there are still projects like that in there.

Do I think that they're important?

Do I think that they provide access?

If you think about equity, do they provide free and low-cost access to people?

They do.

And we've talked a lot about transportation.

You know, I'm learning from Mr. Krebs because he makes enough public comments for me to learn that, you know, I think that, you know, bike ped is certainly an equity issue too.

So is it easy to say this, not that?

Not easy.

I do think it gets down to a value judgment about what's most important in this time.

And I would say that for a city with a budget of our size and the ability to have a capital improvement budget of a certain size,

I would hope there might be at least a bit of recognition that this commitment is somewhat unprecedented.

It is of a scale and scope that is quite incredible for locality with our amount of resources.

Is it possible to shift it even further?

Sure.

Thank you.

I'm going to ask one more, Mr. Murphy.

I'll do my best.

So because there's no money in the affordable housing fund and in the past such things as the home ownership programs and homeless has been supported by housing fund money and there's none now, is that a judgment by staff that it's not necessary?

I think it was a judgment.

You remember this is a five-year plan but a one-year budget, right?

And we look at what was credible for FY21st of what was requested and necessary.

And I'm not presented with an opportunity in one of those categories that I think is

is more important than the funding that we allocated to the Housing Authority or Friendship Court or subsidies or rehab.

So is there a proposal that I was aware of that I think I would value above those?

Thank you.

Mr. Murphy, I have a question about the funding in the Housing Authority.

Do you have a sense of the percentage of those funds that are managed and distributed through city initiatives vis-a-vis the

If part of what you're asking is what non-profit funding is through the agency budget review team is or are you asking of low-income people what services?

So when you think about the agency budget review team process which is non-profits and then also some contractual obligations for

Quasi-Governmentals like Region 10, Health Department, etc.

That is additional investments of millions of dollars.

I'm not going to include in that things like $6 million a year for the jail because while the jail may be unfortunately our largest mental health provider,

I don't view that in the same lens as PHA or Boys and Girls Club or many of the other allocations that are non-profits ready kids.

We could go on and on.

I think we have about 45 non-profits roughly.

Yeah, I mean, the idea that that would increase as we meet the need and the will of the citizens to do more transparent and...

But is that here in the... No, it's just about how the... Is that managed by the government or NGOs?

I think there's a lot of work happening right now thinking about how those dollars get allocated.

They are certainly non-capital.

They are operational and annual in nature.

and I think the best way to think about why it's great to be in a place like Charlottesville where they decide to put money into nonprofits is that it extends the benefit beyond what the core services of government are into other domains.

I didn't do enough.

Ms. Green's grabbed her forehead.

No, it was, yes, helpful.

It's just, now what?

Because I scrolled through the unfunded project lesson.

I see from my notes last time we talked that there was an equity lens as part of this process.

Maybe my notes are wrong.

In which way?

Uh-oh.

I don't know that we had a specific equity lens that we viewed things throughout.

Are you referring to the project criteria?

Yes.

Okay.

Tag on.

I would say that equity is an emphasis in the city right now and we are studying the tools that are in other localities.

I've charged Kaki Demick and Charlene Green with some of that study.

We have created an organizational assessment because I think part of the business of city government is that we do a better job sometimes evaluating other folks than thinking about what we do and so I've started by having that tool created and every department is filling that tool out by the end of this month to start first with our own house and say what is it that we're doing in the way of equity

before we start to extend out.

I think I do have something actually.

which I was worried I wouldn't have.

Hopefully you can help me think it through.

I'm considering recommending this proposal with some amendments, pushing back Darden Tow and Riverview Restrooms.

I do love restrooms, just doesn't seem like a restroom crisis right now.

The one floated away in the flood, so just to let you know about that.

Did you get that back?

Sorry, I got it back.

And directing those funds to the CAF along with the other two

There we go.

Which, under bondable or non-bondable?

Non-bondable.

I'm sorry, I missed it, Lyle.

Moving.

Is it a little bit of a project?

Darden Tow is 900 and... Oh, that is a bondable.

Yes.

The housing fund dollars would have to be cash funded because that's not something that our bond agency would typically let us.

Working on that, it looks like...

Yes.

Alright, so those line items which would be under parks to the bondable projects on page 4 under housing and you're saying moving that to not CHF.

It's moving to the housing.

I move to accept this with the amendments as stated.

And I'm going to restate those just to make sure.

From Parks and Rec, $928,963.

plus the restrooms at 245,000.

Move that back, do you have a specific year?

Okay.

And then taking that amount and putting it in 22 CRHA.

It needs a second before we discuss, so hang tight.

That's a motion.

Do I have a second?

So we all have a second?

The reason I was unwilling to second this is because I am just uncomfortable after and it looks like there was an implicit commitment to the county.

that we were going to be on board with this thing at Darden Town.

It seems like this is a bit of a renege.

So, and I would concur with your logic,

If we're going to move forward, it has to be with the sense that what the staff has put before us and what we are, what the council is needing from us is our endorsement or belief that the funds put toward housing are adequate.

Well, adequate they are not, but what we have, they are.

It is what it is.

They're not adequate, but it's what we got.

I think we do need to honor our commitment if we went to an agreement with the county, but I also know from the bits and pieces we've got from these housing studies, strategies, whatever you want to call it, that affordable housing, that affordable housing, what we have been talking about forever,

comes from a mixed array of ways to achieve that.

And we know that home ownership not only changes this generation's affordability, but the generations after it.

So to say that we're not going to put any money in fiscal year 20.

which looks like for the next four or five years into that fund is just hard for me to move forward with.

No, and with all due respect to Mr. Murphy,

I believe that the boots on the ground for homeless and for home ownership, education, there's a lot of, those are the people who are working every day with the needs and that's why I trust Housing Advisory Committee who are made up of those organizations, representatives from some of those organizations.

to be able to allocate those funds in an appropriate place.

So I really want to find money to put back into the Affordable Housing Fund.

I'd like to see a million dollars go in there.

Well, could be.

I move that we recommend to City Council that a million dollars be put into the affordable housing fund reallocated from the other line items in the CIP draft budget.

They have to be non-bundable.

Is it seconded?

Yes.

I got it.

Now the question is, for the staff, is do you believe out of the funds that are airmarked towards housing needs in the city, can you find them to put in that line item where there is currently zero

with the belief that through the application process, through the HAC and the community efforts that the same amount of services will be provided merely funded.

Can you find that in the budget?

Exactly.

So I'm going to let them take that.

That's what I would say.

Let's just go with our recommendation.

It is not our job to fund that.

I would agree.

These are non-bundable dollars we're talking about now.

The investments that the council has made in the affordable housing fund have always been on the cash side, not bonded.

And they would need to continue to be.

I would say that I want to be clear so that we'll know what your motion means in operationalizing it with the council.

Is the motion that instead of the 900 and 500, which is 1.4 each year for all five of the years if you look across the span of the proposed CIP,

7 million dollars total.

Are you saying that that should be 8 million dollars because you want it to be 2.4 in 2020 and you'll revisit this with staff next year or do you want it to be

2.4 every year, which is adding $5 million, which means $12 million, which is a whole lot different cash.

And then of course, I would say to you, do I know where that money comes from?

I sure don't at this time.

And that it may mean talking about revenue sources.

which you know it is the intent at this point of the manager's office to present a budget without a tax increase and leave that to elected officials to determine that.

Well, can I be clear about my motion and I hope the second is the same?

My motion is to add a million dollars to the affordable housing fund, leaving the $900,000 and the $500,000

As that staff has already allocated.

Yes, sir.

In one year or in every one of five years?

In 2020.

Yes, sir.

I have a real headache about raising taxes because that also raises the non-affordability.

And that is the motion, one million dollars 2020 to the affordable housing fund

find it from somewhere.

Any further discussion?

Sure, and just as a reminder before we do this, this recommendation, it gets put in a memo format and it goes on the top of the CIP package that goes forward to council.

So I'll call the motion now.

Mr. Lahendro?

Aye.

Mr. Stolle-Yates?

Aye.

Miss Dowell?

Aye.

Mr. Mitchell?

Yes.

Aye.

Motion to recommend passes.

Thank you all for being here.

We still have three more public hearings, but it is pretty late in the hour.

I want us to take a ten minute break.

Can we do that?

I know y'all are going to go outside and get talking.

My eyes are burning, too.

The poor, poor, poor botanical gardens.

Heck yeah!

Thank you for your expedience.

Counselors, commissioners, counselors, commissioners, we have lost council quorum, which means Mr. Shimp, you get to do this again.

Sausage making is tough and ugly to watch, but we got through that.

I don't know how well, but we'll see what happens.

The next item on the agenda is SP 18-0001-901 River Road SUP Request.

Shimp Engineering, on behalf of Go Store It!

River LLC owner, has submitted an application seeking approval of a special use permit SUP request for the property located at 901 River Road with frontage on River Road and Bellevue Avenue.

The proposal request to allow for increased residential density as well as a self-storage company pursuant to city code section 34-480 where self-storage is allowed via a special use permit and density in excess of 21 dwelling units per acre, DUA, is

allowed up to 64 DUA via a special use permit if residential density is associated with a mixed use development as indicated in Section 34-458.

The proposal indicates a total of 54 residential units which equates to 25 DUA calculated with respect to entire development site, 2.203 acres.

as defined by Section 34-458.

The property is further identified on City Real Property Tax Map as 49 Tax Map 49 Parcel 98, the subject property.

The subject property is zoned Industrial Corridor District.

The site is approximately 2.203 acres or 95,963 square feet.

I will be staff.

Heather, this is one of the last things that she did before she left us is she finished up the reporting aspects for this project.

She has been with this project for all four iterations and the report I think does a really good job of taking you through each of the proposals that have come forward.

This proposal is slightly different than the previous and the uses that are being proposed at this point in time.

one being a four-story multifamily building with 54 residential units including a 1,500-foot retail space and this building would be closer to River Road and then a four-story self-storage building located at the rear of the site.

I'll hit a couple of the highlights and then I will assist with questions.

Please do

Excuse if I have to look things up a little bit more.

I'm not in the weeds as much on this one, but we will find the answers that we need to move forward.

I just gave a rundown of the specifics of the project itself.

There is information in here noting that there's potential for this, well,

There is conformance with the comprehensive plans intent for business and technology area in that a self-storage company is a commercial use that generates a smaller amount of traffic than other consumer-oriented commercial areas, so that's one of the considerations that Miss Neumeier put forth here.

She highlighted the different road typologies for River Road versus Bellevue and one of the items that has been a large discussion point throughout this process is the sidewalk project and how that's going to be coordinated in the parking on Bellevue so that has been outlined in the report.

Another consideration has been the environmental aspects of the site and how stormwater and how the different mitigating factors are going to take place on the site.

as well.

So we've received a number of public comments and that's been throughout the full process of this application.

There's been concern from the neighbors about traffic and buffering and consideration for crosswalks within the application.

and there's been concern about the use of a self-storage facility in this location.

I know we received a number of comments from the public today over email.

I'm guessing we probably have a few folks who are here from the public hearing standpoint as well.

to share their perspective.

So the recommendation for this at this point is that if the Commission decides to move for approval that there are a number of conditions that have been added onto the list.

The first one having to do with sidewalk improvements, making sure that those are done in accordance with the pedestrian plans that are already in place.

curb ramps on Bellevue and sidewalk improvements while I talked about those along Bellevue and then there's been quite a bit of discussion about handling the environmental factors water treatment on site and the reason I'm not going into as much depth on this and I can as we have questions is this has been an application that has been before you all in a couple of formats

recently.

So I didn't want to get too much into the weeds because you all are pretty familiar with the site and the different aspects of things that have come forward.

And I know that our applicant has a presentation that will provide some highlights as well, including how this iteration of the project is different for your clarity purposes.

I was just curious, especially looking on this Google view of the map, where are all the cars that are currently parked and housed right there?

Well, that's definitely a consideration.

This is the front page of, and you're looking at Google Maps, but this is the front page of their proposal, and you can see in here the cars that are there, and those are cars that are associated with the car repair place there.

And I want to say from past discussions that there was some agreement that had taken place

I have a question about the packet.

The comments, I guess these were comments sent to the applicant and I keep seeing something that in bold saying repeat comment, repeat comment, repeat comment.

So the comment papers that you're referring to are in reference to the site plan that's under a separate review.

and so the when it says repeat comment on there it means that that comment has been on previous iterations of the comment letters and it remains to be addressed in the site plan.

So it's yet to be addressed?

And in our pre-meeting there were some questions about one of the things that we do remember from this past couple of different iterations of this plan is the treatment of water on site because it is so close to the river and I didn't see where that had been addressed any differently in this plan as it had in the past.

I want to say it was maybe the second version where that was a consideration and then that changed from the third one and continues to change.

Any other questions?

Good evening, and my name is Justin Shimp.

I'm the engineer of this project.

I'll start with one thing you should know.

The comments come again today from the neighbors.

I actually haven't seen those, so you'll have to ask me about what those are and I can try to address them.

We've had numerous neighborhood meetings.

We've talked to folks.

We've tried to accommodate the major concerns in the neighborhood, but there may be a few

You've seen that I've never seen before, but we can deal with that after the presentation.

When it comes to the stormwater, that's wrapped up in that condition that the staff has proposed, which would require the onsite, and we're fine with that.

Let me interrupt you.

Does that work?

Does that resolve the issue that I've got?

So you're all familiar – well, many of you were on the Commission.

This came through previously as a storage-only project.

A few of you were not.

And so just to overview this, I think you're familiar from the satellite images, it's sort of just old cars piled up there in an unused building and it's not particularly useful or producing a lot of tax revenues right now or doing anything that productive.

There's the site, you've got the tractor supply, Larry's Auto, CrossFit, some of the commercial uses around it.

Mostly I think R2 and R1 neighborhoods to the backside of the property.

Future land use map, this has been sort of interesting in that

This is the current adopted one.

It has it as business and technology, which has been interpreted as more commercial, but then certainly recognizing the discussions that have gone on about the new comp plan, not necessarily applicable at this moment, but there was a desire stated from the Planning Commission to have more intensity of use of the site, which is unusual.

We normally hear the opposite, but in this particular case, what we heard was the storage alone really didn't do enough for the site, didn't do enough for the street, and that's why we kind of stepped back and thought of something different, which is this new proposal

which is quite a bit different.

We'll get to those details in a moment.

Just your walking shed or transit shed would say it is another side of the bypass but it's actually not inconvenient to downtown that you can go underneath the bridge there on the Greenway Trail at the 250 and get over on High Street and get up into town.

So it's got some reasonable accessibility.

Consisting conditions, as we've noted, are basically a gravel parking lot, some other parking areas, roads, bamboo, other invasive species, and some junk cars have been there for some period of time.

They were there predating our client's acquisition of it.

I think they've allowed those folks to kind of keep it there until they find somewhere else for them.

I don't know where that stands.

Graphic of the project history for those who didn't see these before.

We started off with on the far left there a storage only building which had a loop around and access onto Bellevue and there was some concerns about that and so we adjusted.

We moved the building over towards the corner.

We then proceeded to do that and sort of heard that it really wasn't intense enough, didn't do enough of the street.

We then looked at the storage option.

The third one is with the pink you'll see there.

It's storage with a retail component on River Road.

The idea was to have other than storage on the site.

That, I think, still was not perceived as or determined to be intense enough or doing enough for the streetscape as was the sort of matching the city's future plan.

So here is the current proposal.

On the right is the apartment building, which is four stories and 54 units.