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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-RHAC-1994 Rental Housing Advisory Commission Minutes—Tuesday,January 25, 1994 Members Present: Pearce Brown,John Efroymson, Robyn Jenks, Chuck Johns, Carl Kadlic, Dennis Merryfield,George Musser,Jane Schafrik, Shari Woodard,Charlie Woodcock Visitors: Joan Bailey,Pierre Clavel,Charles Jennings,Myra Malkin,Wendy Skinner,Mayor Nichols Chairing: John Efroymson Members of the Rental Housing Advisory Commission introduced themselves. Mayor Ben Nichols introduced the tasks of the Commission referring to the legislation that established it(Chapter 100 of the Code). He emphasized the problem of housing affordability in the City of Ithaca. He mentioned other groups involved in housing, such as Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services(INHS),the Building Department and its new Rental Housing Specialist,and the Planning Department,as well as the City's applications for Community Development Block Grants (CDBGs),which always include a housing component,and for an Economic Development Zone,which could include housing. John Efroymson gave the history of the previous Rental Housing Commission. While the small number of large landlords and property managers who account for 75-85% of the City's housing are well informed about their rights and responsibilities,the small landlords who own -20% of the City's housing and especially the tenants often know very little about this. The Commission compiled the Tenant-Landlord Resource Guide to alleviate this situation;the Guide would now need updating. He also pointed to legislation setting penalties for failure to return a security deposit or give reasons for withholding it. Also,affordability was added to the many criteria that may be considered in granting zoning variances. Several members of the public spoke from experience as members of or helpers to the previous Rental Housing Commission. Pierre Clavel,Professor of City and Regional Planning at Cornell, pointed out that there is a lot of research to be done and that student interns can help. Various suggestions for future work included: the need to look at what other cities do,the need for open communication,updating the guide,educating tenants,particularly about leases and problems of occupancy,using media,and input into the future fire alarm ordinance. Members of the commission raised their concerns: high land prices and shortage of space to build, an anomalous market with very high rents compared to other cities in the area,high property taxes, high turnover,distortions in the market,absentee landlords,the need for subsidized housing for low-income people,and crime. Future meetings will be the second Tuesday of each month at 7:00 pm. Topics will include: what the Building Department does,what the City is working on already,demographics(from Planning Department),Mutual Housing Association,vacancy rates. The next meeting is February 8. At the next meeting Jane Schafrik and Chuck John will talk about the given factors of the housing market and costs associated with providing housing. The Commission will set up working groups. (Working groups of the previous commission were Research,Policy, and Supply.) Robyn Jenks will chair the next meeting. Respectfully submitted,Theresa Alt Rental Housing Advisory Commission Minutes—Tuesday,February 8, 1994 Members Present: Pearce Brown,John Efroymson, Robyn Jenks, Chuck Johns,Dennis Merryfield,George Musser, Shari Woodard,Charlie Woodcock Members Absent: Jane Schafrik(excused),Carl Kadlic(subsequently excused) Visitors: Kathleen Decker,Rick Eckstrom,Grace Palazzolo,Michael Thomas,Evelyn Baker,Dan Collins, Sally Swiergos(press),Kristen Barlok(press),Daniel Krug, Brian Bell (press), Kevin Heubusch,Will Kone Chairing: Robyn Jenks Minutes of the meeting of January 25, 1994 were approved. No one from the public commented in their allotted time. Building Commissioner Rick Eckstrom explained the work of the Building Department. It enforces land use legislation(e.g. zoning). It directs builders to the appropriate agency when their plans require site plan review or review as landmarks or part of the Commons. The Building Department enforces the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code and the City's housing code through inspections. The enforcement strategy,whenever possible,is to educate people so that they know how to do what is required. The Building Department issues several types of certificates. A Certificate of Completion is issued when a project is finished;it certifies that the builder did what the building permit said would be done. A Certificate of Occupancy is a one-time statement that a building can be used for a specific purpose. A Certificate of Compliance,which is valid for three years for rental properties and for five years for owner-occupied properties,certifies that the building meets all codes. What code applies depends on the age of the building and its use. The City Housing Code is Chapter 210 of the City of Ithaca Code. It is more restrictive than the corresponding Section F of the State law. Are handicapped-accessible apartments a requirement? In buildings built since 1984,25% of units must be"adaptable,"and in those with elevators 100% must be adaptable. Therefore there are not many in the City,where the housing stock is old. These new codes also kick in when a building is converted. Kathleen Decker,Rental Housing Spmialist in the Building Department,suggested that members of the RHAC all get copies of the Housing Code[available from the Building Department for $9.50—TA]. She talked about her work. She and the other inspectors do inspections. They look at physical condition,use,maintenance,parking,zoning,and safety issues such as fire escapes and smoke detectors. Inspections usually turn up violations,but most properties become compliant within two months. When landlords resist,the Building Commissioner can order compliance,and if resistance continues,the issue goes to court. Tenants may request inspections. They rarely do so,except for heat complaints,which the Building Department tries to address the same day. (Indoor temperature must be at least 68°at all times,if it is below 50°outside.) Other % , , . .. , . . : • . . . : . . , .. . , . . , . . . , . , . , . . , • . . . . . . . . . , . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . • . • . . . . , . . . , . . , , , . . . . • . . . . ' . . . . . . . , . . , ., . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . , , , . , . . . , . . . . . . , . ' . . . , . . . . .. . . . . , . • . , , . , . , . . ;.., . . . . • , . . , . . . . . . , . • „ , , . . • , , . . . . • . . , . . . . . , , . . . ' . . . , , . . , . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . , . .. . ••.'• ... . • . ` "• • .- ,' ••• . . ' • . . , , , . . ., • . . . . . .., ,. . • . , • ,v - . .. •.., . - , , . . .., . . . , - ' . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . • • . • . . , . " . , . . . .. • . , . , .., .. , . . , . •• . . . ' - . . . . , - , . , . ' . , . . . . . . . , . . . . . . ' • , . - , • . . . . . , . . types of disputes may be referred to Cornell Legal Aid or in serious cases to Neighborhood Legal Services. Commission members raised a series of questions. Charlie Woodcock Are there particular compliance problems with lower-rent housing? Kathleen Decker: No,it usually meets minimum code standards. Tenants rarely complain. They may be afraid of losing their hard-to-find apartment. George Musser: Is there any way to make tenants feel more secure about complaining? John Efroymson: Organizing,complaining actually makes tenants more secure. Charlie Woodcock: Does the Building Department have any ideas about things the RHAC should be looking into? Rick Eckstrom said he would bring suggestions later. Pearce Brown: How will the RHAC find out about problems? Suggestions included records of the previous commission and task force,census data from the Planning Department,front office workers who deal with the public,holding a meeting for tenants. George Musser: Could we come along on inspections? Rick Eckstrom: Sure. Chuck Johns: The problems arise when suddenly the City discovers it erroneously certified some buildings long ago. Members of the public now spoke up. If a fire escape was unsafe for 40 years and the landlord collected his rents,he should be satisfied. If two landlords on the commission represent the landlord association,who represents the tenants? What is the purpose of the commission? The Building Department should target inspections to buildings where there were problems or complaints in the past. Cornell has a file of letters of complaint and praise about landlords. The Commission turned to its plans for the near future. A whole meeting will be devoted to education and outreach,but somewhat later. Charlie Woodcock suggested a tenants committee to discover what the issues are. Shari Woodard emphasized doing outreach to tenants,especially low-income ones,who won't come to the commission. At the next meeting the commission will set up subcommittees. (The previous Commission had three: Supply Side,Policy—responsible for the security deposit ordinance and the affordability provision in zoning,and Information.) Jane Schafrik and Chuck Johns will do their presentation on the current housing market. Robyn Jenks will again chair. Until then,members will talk to tenants(10 each is George Musser's suggestion),read the Tenant- Landlord Resource Guide,and possibly get more information from the Building Department. Respectfully submitted,Theresa Alt d. Rental Housing Advisory Commission Minutes—Tuesday,March 8, 1994 Members Present: Pearce Brown,John Efroymson, Robyn Jenks, Chuck Johns,Carl Kadlic, George Musser,Jane Schafrik,Shari Woodard,Charlie Woodcock Members Absent: Dennis Merryfield(excused) Visitors: Myra Malkin,Michael Thomas,Will Kone Chairing: Robyn Jenks Minutes of the meeting of February 8, 1994 were approved. Michael Thomas thanked the Commission for listening to the public during the previous meeting. There were no other comments from the public. Chuck Johns presented the basics of the rental housing market. He finds that rental housing is profitable but a lot of work;landlords don't have a free rein. He estimates that for a typical property school&property taxes = -19% of rent repairs&maintenance = -16% of rent gas&electric if heat included = -9% of rent insurance = -4% of rent water bills = -2% of rent total = -50% of rent If you hire a management company their fees are about 10% to 15% of rent. The mortgage accounts for about 50% of rent. Thus a landlord will break even or lose money until the mortgage is paid off;then the investment starts to bring in money. Jane Schafrik presented a sample sheet(see attachment)for a single-family and two-family house. She arrived at the price by taking the average price of homes under$70,000 for sale in the City now. She assumes that tenants pay for utilities. The sheet shows why you cannot rent a single- family house affordably in Ithaca On a two-family house you could make a profit. John Efroymson countered that the largest landlords in the City have been acquiring properties,so they must be making money. There was further discussion of the real estate market in Ithaca now that the"feeding frenzy"of 1985-86 is over. Real estate financing is very complex,since tax laws are complicated;the same property may have different income implications for different people. Schafrik suggested that there was a lack of space for housing in the City of Ithaca She relayed suggestions she had been asked to bring for getting Walmart to put housing on top of the new store or to use the Wallace Steel site. . • . „ , . . . '• • , . • • - • • . r. , , • . • , • • • c'• , • • . . . • . , . . . , . . . , . . . Shari Woodard turned the discussion to Mutual Housing and other sources of moderate-income housing. The City can buy land to promote affordable housing. Community Development Block Grant(CDBG) money has been used by Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services(INHS),Better Housing for Tompkins County,and developers like Weisburd. INHS has a loan program for homeowners to repair their homes. Unfortunately,people upgrade their property until it is no longer affordable,and it's the people at the low end who lose out. Meanwhile,according to Schafrik,landlords cannot get money to make repairs but keep rent affordable. With CDBG financing owner[Rick Cowles]is about to begin renovation of Landmark Square. Some people will be displaced,as the complex is going from about 68 to about 53 units. However,it is 65-70% vacant right now. The City has learned form past mistakes like Eddygate,where the low-income housing went to graduate students. Ithaca Housing Authority(IHA) is a non-City government agency that provides public housing. It is allowed to charge"fair market rents"as determined by HUD. Schafrik suggested that these HUD rates drive housing costs up. The student market is a separate market,but impacts the general housing market to some extent. There were questions about the Section 8 rent subsidy program. The next meeting will be devoted to it. Shari Woodard will arrange for presentations from people who administer Section 8 at the Economic Opportuntiy Corporation(EOC)and maybe IHA. We will ask Trish Norton to address the meeting after that about CDBGs. Key questions for the Commission are: What drives the housing market? What can the Commission do, seeing that it is against State law to regulate rents? John Efroymson will contact Pierre Clavel to see whether a student can work for the Commission during the summer. The Commission will begin work on updating the Tenant-Landlord Resource Guide. Each member will take one page of the Agency Listing and call the agencies on it to verify phone numbers and addresses and check whether information is up to date. The work was apportioned as follows: Woodard p. 1,Woodcock p. 2, Musser p. 3,Johns p. 4, Schafrik p. 5, Kadlic p. 6, Brown p. 7, Efroymson p. 8, Jenks pp. 9-10. Respectfully submitted,Theresa Alt StUYRES/CORNELL U TEL No .607-255-5907 Mar 8 ,94 15 :41 No .001 P .02 TO: Rental Housing Advisory Commission FROM: George Musser SUBJECT: Informal Review of Rental Housing Task Force and Commission Notes DATE: 8 March 1994 Judging from the minutes and correspondence of the Rental Housing Task Force and Rental Housing Commission,the present RHAC is on track. In their early meetings,our predecessors met with Building Department representatives;expressed similar concerns over rents,building conditions,and subsidies;and groped with existential questions about the commission itself. The papers of the earlier bodies are filled with worthwhile ideas. These include a system of security-deposit credit vouchers awarded to tenants based on responsible be- havior,a centralized Ithaca rental registry along the lines of the listings at Cornell,a Housing Trust Fund to provide loans to tenants and low-income homeowners, and a standardized model lease similar to "Rent Smart" lease.The RHC held a "Renters' Speak Out" in July 1991,and we should do the same once we gain confidence and ex- pertise. The subcommittees set up by our predecessors may guide us in our own division of labor. The RHTF had subcommittees on various topics,including: • zoning changes to encourage affordable housing, • tenants' rights and responsibilities, • security deposits, • relations with I.C. and Cornell, • sweat equity, • transportation, • housing for seniors. Each subcommittee brainstormed recommendations for the RHTF final report of 5 July 1989. For instance,the second task force suggested that landlords be required to post certificates of occupancy; the college task force suggested that the City ask the colleges to donate land for low-income housing. The major recommendation of the final report was the establishment of a standing RHC,which started to function in November 1989. The RHTF did receive criticism from'the Friendship Center for neglecting homelessness in its final report. The RHC established three working groups on policy,information,and supply-side incentives. The commission also adopted formal procedures regarding quorum (five members),meeting order, and minutes. Before dissolving in July 1992,the RHC undertook several surveys,which provide useful data and a model for future studies.These surveys include the Southside Rental Housing Survey(summarized below), a survey of landlords in Collegetown, and a SQUYRES/CORNELL U TEL No .607-255-5907 Mar 8 ,94 15 :41 No .001 P . 03 -f study by George Fratz of the rental housing ownership patterns. Several members of the RHC called on the city to conduct an annual housing census to provide firm statistics on housing supply,condition,and cost. The RHC fielded numerous complaints from tenants,such as: • landlords overcharged for damages, • tenants don't know where to go with problems, • the city places no statutory limit on late fees, • tenants find it difficult to pay their rent in full at beginning of the month, • tenants trade-off habitability (especially heating)for affordability, • one tenant told John Efroymson that his landlord forbade visits by African- American friends, • landlords misrepresented property in advertisements, • landlords increase rent arbitrarily, • one landlord created documents purporting to be a city/state order, • tenants are advised to deduct their costs from rent,but many wondered how much legal right they have to do so, • tenants are often unaware of lease provisions, • market forces don't operate properly because tenants are under stress to find housing. Landlord, too,had complaints.Numerous tenants have trashed the house or left town thinking their security deposit covered the last month's rent. Recommendations Based on my look at the RHTF and RHC records, and my discussions with tenants, I propose that among the subcommittees we form,we set up groups to: • establish and publicize an one-stop service to give tenants advice--a Tenant's Hotline,perhaps. The present hodgepodge of city,county, and private agencies offers a wide range of helpful services,but bewilders most tenants.There's no single,intuitively obvious place that tenants can call. Kathleen Decker's position as Rental Housing Specialist is a good start,but not a single tenant I've talked to knows of her position. A Tenant's Hotline could also be the repository for a rental registry. • conduct a systematic study of why rents are what they are. Many people have suggested various factors,but no one seems to have done a careful,quantitative analysis.Unless we know what drives the market, we cannot be sure what action the city should take, Trish Norton's Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy and Jane Schafrik's comments at our first meeting are a good start; for- mer commission member Pierre Clavel, a professor of city and regional planning at Cornell, might have ideas. Summary of Southside Rental Housing Survey Commission staff member Larry Kestenbaum completed the Southside Rental Housing Survey during the summer of 1990. Kestenbaum mailed questionnaires to : ,JYRES/C0RNELL U TEL No .607-255-5907 Mar 8 ,94 15 :41 No .001 P .04 landlords,telephoned tenants, and interviewed door-to-door for units that the other techniques had failed to reach.He managed to collect data on 155 of 221 rental units in the survey area,though the information for a third of those units in incomplete. Among the findings: • 55 of 56 tenants said they were satisfied or very satisfied. This high fraction, while encouraging,may be biased,since Kestenbaum reached only 56 of the 198 tenants he tried to contact. • 17 of the 56 tenants were unhappy with their level of rent. • 21 of the 155 units were vacant,a 13.5 percent vacancy rate. This rate greatly ex- ceeds the Southside housing vacancy rate of 5.4 percent given in the 1990 census. + The average rent was$437,essentially identical to the average rent on Southside given in the 1990 census. + Interestingly, the average rent did not depend on whether heat was included. Units where heat was included had an average rent of$433. Units where heat was separate had an average rent of$441. • Rent increased an average of 6.9 percent over the previous year. By comparison, the Consumer Price Index rose 5.4 percent in 1990. • Smaller and cheaper units had larger rent increases than larger and more expen- sive units. • Only 8 of 119 landlords required security deposits greater than one month's rent. INCOME PROPERTY ANALYSIS 5,,)G4 - p4, fiL y SALE PRICE 575:0,00- RENT ROLL ( INCOME) 9 20E7- EXPENSES: TAXES: SCHOOL C /1/ec CITY T & C (-- WATER 2 Do INSURANCE GAS & ELECTRIC 2-7/5.091273- P69-)/ MAINTENANCE: PAINTING LAWN MOWING PLUMBING GENERAL REPAIRS /Opi) EXc&PT y66' i)Ht 2 `8'�Ooo '` 6/2/1.-X, TOTAL EXPENSES a` 'S3- NET INCOME (INCOME LESS EXPENSES) y, y,5",_._. DEBT SERVICE ($ z/4,76---6 O 7% FOR ?p YEARS) y I% - DOLLAR INVESTED (DOWN PAYMENT) /') 7,1-6 - RETURN ON INVESTMENT ($) (%) / p ,S- . 0/ % EQUITY GAIN PER 1st YEAR DEPRECIATION PER YEAR 1 00 /b!giu t1 G6-til eti% AEG` /0o T /oC'G c/ W 7O 2,2.0 The figures and calculations set forth horeinabove are ESTIMATES ONLY and must not be relied upon as exact.The preparer of this form shall not be held responsible for any error or ommission contained herein.By accepting this form,the prospective purchaser(s)and/or sellers)agree(s)to hold the preparer harmless from any and all liability arising from the use of this form or the information contained therein. INCOME PROPERTY ANALYSIS 0,2 /94/f/L y �5e ,9-p �. SALE PRICE o s. 700 RENT ROLL ( INCOME) Lv yas x /Z /0, 0206 ✓ EXPENSES: TAXES: SCHOOL r P770 - CITY T & C WATER /-/OD INSURANCE GAS & ELECTRIC /UU do/0410,o MAINTENANCE: PAINTING LAWN MOWING PLUMBING GENERAL REPAIRS / 400 EXf! fat y2. Gf//fc l' �( boo f 6.0'&L TOTAL EXPENSES 3E ,067- z>&-z) 3, S9S.00 NET INCOME ( INCOME LESS EXPENSES) o, GO Ob DEBT SERVICE ($ 0-990 @ 32% FOR dC) YEARS) y/ �;20.OP DOLLAR INVESTED (DOWN PAYMENT) /9/ RETURN ON INVESTMENT ($) (%) 195 % EQUITY GAIN PER 1st YEAR DEPRECIATION PER YEAR T c E to go-7- /,ll C G u v v /OooZ The figures and calculations set forth hereinabove are ESTIMATES ONLY and must not be relied upon as exact.The preparer of this form shall not be held responsible for any error or ommission contained herein.By accepting this form,the prospective purchaserlsl and/or sellerlsl agree(s)to hold the preparer harmless from any and all liability arising from the use of this form or the information contained therein. Rental Housing Advisory Commission Minutes—Tuesday,April 12, 1994 Members Present: Pearce Brown,John Efroymson, Robyn Jenks,Chuck Johns, Carl Kadlic, George Musser,Jane Schafrik, Shari Woodard,Charlie Woodcock Member Absent: Dennis Merryfield(excused) Visitors: Myra Malkin, Larry Beck,Sharon Fiorille,Carol Mallison Chairing: Robyn Jenks Minutes of the meeting of March 8, 1994 were amended to reflect the fact that when Jane Schafrik mentioned putting housing on top of Walmart or on the Wallace Steel site,she was not stating her own opinion but passing on a suggestion at the request of another person. The minutes were approved as amended. Pearce Brown entered as public comment a complaint from a tenant who was being bothered by another noisy tenant whom she feared to approach. She had asked her landlord for help but was not helped. Commissioners noted that tenant-tenant disputes are not the usual concern of the RHAC. The tenant has every right to call the Police about a noisy neighbor; Ithaca has a Noise Ordinance. The Community Dispute Resolution Center can also help in such cases. Since the tenant apparently is a senior citizen,the Senior Citizens'Council might be able to help. Larry Beck spoke from the public. He hopes that the RHAC will look back at the work done by its predecessors,the Rental Housing Task Force and the Rental Housing Commission. He expressed concern about property owners getting ticketed for snow,messy yards,etc. In particular he complained about being penalized for the garbage of a tenant who does not put her garbage out. He feels that when the Building Department finds such a violation the inspector should go through the garbage to determine that it belongs to the tenant,so that the tenant rather than the landlord could be cited. Jane recalled an absentee landlord who discovered$100 in unpaid garbage citations that had to be paid before selling the house. Robyn suggested that the landlord association discuss the garbage problem. Myra Malkin thanked the commission for seeing poor people as individuals,not stereotypes. Sharon Fiorille,Executive Director, Ithaca Housing Authority(IHA),introduced her agency. It is a federally-funded not-for-profit that both owns housing and operates a Section 8 rent subsidy program. IHA has approximately 30 units in Southview, 10 units in Overlook on Hector Street,more in Northside,and 235 units in Titus Towers I and II;altogether 347 public housing units. All rents are based on income;tenants pay up to 30% of income. Eligible candidates are prioritized by various factors;e.g.a homeless family would get high priority. The average wait for public housing is approximately 6-8 months. Prospective tenants are screened. IHA will sometimes accept the security deposit on a payment plan in order to allow tenants to move in. The Section 8 program subsidizes rents for low-income people in private housing. IHA has 210 Section 8 certificates and 340 Section 8 vouchers,for a total of 550 Section 8 units. [The Economic Opportunity Corporation operates an additional Section 8 program.] Certificates are set as follows. HUD sets"fair market rents" for apartments by number of bedrooms for each county in the U.S. The certificate covers the difference between 30% of the tenants'income and the actual rent on the apartment;this rent may not exceed"fair market rent". Vouchers are somewhat more flexible;tenants may decide to spend more than 30% of income on rent,if IBA concludes that they will be able to do it. (In the future HUD will probably merge the certificate and voucher programs into something that has elements of both.) Eligibility guidelines and priorities are similar to those for public housing. There is more turnover but also greater demand in this program. The average wait is probably 1 1/2 years(there are about 1000 people on the waiting list). If you are single you might wait forever,because higher priority people would keep joining the list. A few people get certificates and do not use them,probably because they have not looked hard for housing. In general a person who has a Section 8 subsidy can find a place to use it;about 95% of landlords accept Section 8;only a few do not want the paperwork. IHA is not allowed to screen Section 8 tenants. It does inspect the housing but does not warn tenants of bad landlords,if the housing meets standards. Security deposits are usually limited to one month's rent. It is the tenant's responsibility,but DSS often assists. NA is also trying new programs. Out of reserve funds they are buying private homes,renting to Section 8 tenants,and seeing if the families can work toward ownership. IHA has bought two houses. This June the first family will buy its home through the Family Self-Sufficiency Program—much sooner than expected. IHA is also looking at the whole scope of family life with the Section 8 Family Self-Sufficiency Program/Resident Initiatives Program. Carol Mallison,Deputy Director,Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services,introduced INHS,a private non-profit,which started as a low-mod income home ownership program about 15 years ago,with help from national programs. INHS is larger than most similar programs. Typically INHS buys dilapidated housing,rehabs it,and sells it with a flexible lending program at interest far below the market rate,starting as low as 1%. INHS also may work in conjunction with banks. Their territory is now the whole of the flats as well as West Hill. They also run a mini-repair program for the elderly and have rental units. The Mutual Housing Association is a separate program for resident-managed housing. MHA owns its houses,but residents are involved in financing,design,and tenant selection. Fees are based on cost of maintenance but also help generate more housing. They are,e.g.$430 +utilities for 2-br,$485 +utilities for 3-br. The current MHA development near the Northside P&C cost $80,000/unit to build. Jane Schafrik notes that market rent would be$800/month. A hundred people expressed interest in living there; there were about 70 applications;the MHA selected 14 families who are highly involved in the community. Mayor Nichols reported on his plans to hire Colin Forth,a grad student in City and Regional Planning,as an intern this summer to explore how we can get more affordable housing. He would look into zoning issues,e.g.how zoning restricts the number of units in a building,cluster housing. He would also update information on rents and vacancy rates and look at other city prototypes. He starts in mid-May Jane Schafrik will provide a list of similar cities. Robyn Jenks announced that a tenants'association is being formed;Dennis Merryfield is involved. The next meeting will be Tuesday,May 10. Colin Forth will be invited to talk about his plans. Trish Norton will explain the work of the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency. The Commission will return to revising the Tenant-Landlord Resource Guide and setting up committees Respectfully submitted,Theresa Alt Rental Housing Advisory Commission Minutes—Tuesday,May 10, 1994 Members Present: Pearce Brown,John Efroymson,Robyn Jenks,Chuck Johns,George Musser, Jane Schafrik,Shari Woodard,Charlie Woodcock Member Absent: Carl Kadlic(unexcused),Dennis Merryfield(excused) Visitors: Myra Malkin Chairing: Robyn Jenks Minutes of the meeting of April 12 were approved. No one spoke from the public. Colin Forth,graduate student in the Department of City and Regional Planning,who will be working for the Commission as an intern this summer,introduced himself.He has an economics background and is studying affordable housing,the topic of his MA thesis. He is most interested in increasing the supply of affordable housing,also interested in tenants'needs. Commissioners wondered why the Mayor had emphasized zoning. Jane Schafrik thought zoning is important,as it limits the number of units in a building. It was not clear whether this is a major problem. There are few vacant properties in the City. Most of the vacancies are in upper floors of old buildings; State fire codes,not City zoning ordinances keep them from being used. Zoning, historic preservation,ADA and other ordinances all can make it hard to build and particularly hard to renovate old buildings. Since there was no consensus about what the most important problems are,George suggested picking a neighborhood and going building to building to raise all the issues and identify the major problems. Robyn Jenks suggested looking at other cities. John Efroymson suggested focussing on what Common Council can do. Trish Norton pointed out that incentive zoning is attractive because there are few other things a city can do for affordable housing without spending money. The rest of the discussion was deferred. Trish Norton,Deputy Director for Community Development for the City of Ithaca,introduced herself. She works for the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency(IURA)and is paid out of federal Housing and Urban Development(HUD) funds. She oversees the application process for HUD block grants,which involves trying to match local needs to HUD funding criteria. Ithaca is too small for entitlement funds and must compete with other small cities for block grants. In most years Ithaca has been successful. The grant limit was just raised from $600,000 to$900,000. Norton works with the Citizens'Advisory Comittee as well as with the IURA to put together the grant proposals. Most of the money goes for housing; some is for economic development. The IURA works with private developers,leveraging their larger fmancial resources(e.g.Fairfield Crossing). All housing so created goes to low or moderate-income people by Section 8 standards. Thus, for a family of four the top income is$33,000. There are formulas to determine what debt load is possible,what rents,a cap on profits. An affordable rent schedule is published every year. The Landmark Square rents will be $425 plus utilities for a 2 br cottage and$450 plus utilities for a 2 br townhouse. This is not much more than what people are charged now in the unrenovated apartments,not far below market rent,and less than the$608 maximum Fair Market Rent allowed by Section 8. The discussion turned to incentives for private developers to participate in the CDBG. Clearly Rick Cowles,builder of Fairfield Crossing,has learned how to make a profit while providing low- income housing. Continuing affordability is guaranteed,since the IURA could pull the loan. In the case of Landmark Square his incentive is the commercial development of the fronts on Meadow Street,which are not financed under the Block Grant. Hardly any other developers respond to the 25-30 annual contacts that Norton makes. People speculated why. Developers in the Ithaca area go for the high end of the market,where they can make more money. Some builders simply don't want to build in the City;they feel there are too many delays. Many won't build in the Town of Ithaca either. Property tax abatements would be an attraction,but would require action by County Assessment. Incentive zoning is something the City could do on its own. The real problem is that available subsidies are not sufficient to do housing for lowest-income people. It is encouraging that HUD is starting to open up and take a more comprehensive view of problems. Jane Schafrik listed college towns that are comparable to Ithaca and could be studied: Gainsville FL,Boulder CO,Corvallis OR,and Burlington VT,possibly Ames IA,Hanover NH or Athens GA. Updates to the Tenant-Landlord Resource Guide should be turned in to Theresa,who will type them up. The following subcommittees were formed(spokespersons underlined): Education and Hotline: Musser,Efroymson Summer Project, Law and Legislation: Jenks,Johns,Woodcock Lowest-Income Housing(below 50% of median): W_oo ad rd,Brown The next commission meeting will be Tuesday,June 14 at 7:00. It will be devoted to discussing the outlines that each subcommittee will bring in and planning the work of the subcommittees. Respectfully submitted,Theresa Alt Rental Housing Advisory Commission Approved Minutes—Tuesday,June 14, 1994 Members Present: John Efroymson,Robyn Jenks(Chair),Chuck Johns, George Musser,Jane Schafrik, Shari Woodard,Charlie Woodcock Member Absent: Pearce Brown(excused),Carl Kadlic(unexcused),Dennis Merryfield(excused) Visitors: Myra Malkin,Colin Forth Minutes of the meeting of May 10 were approved. No one spoke from the public. There have been two changes in subcommittees: Education and Hotline: Efroymson,Musser(spokesperson), Schafrik Summer Project,Law and Legislation: Jenks,Johns,Woodcock(spokesperson) Lowest-Income Housing(below 50% of median): Brown,Jenks,Woodard (spokesperson) Charlie Woodcock reported from the Law and Legislation Subcommittee,which met twice. They looked at the Southside survey of 1990 but found it was not very useful. They reviewed and analyzed 1990 census data They are asking how many rental units are available in the City? What are the average rents? What zoning problems are there? They plan to research other cities that have rent control. They will also examine the experience of land banks,where a city buys property and resells or helps renovate it,but puts a cap on the resale price to keep the housing affordable. Colin Forth reported on his summer project(see Tentative Agenda and two attached surveys). He has been trying to get a sense of the housing situation in Ithaca.The"Specific issues": cluster zoning, State regulations,conversion—elevators&fire codes,land trust,and performance standards will be covered in the final report. There is now an example of an urban land trust in Syracuse that is working well. "Performance standards" means making sure that the city actually gets what it wants out of development,be it quiet, sunlight,etc. John Efroymson said that a process needed to be identified for getting tenant as well as landlord input. There was discussion about whether the identified issues were appropriate for tenant input, whether it was the job of another subcommittee to involve tenants. Charlie Woodcock suggested that the planned report be called"Preliminary Report"rather than "Final Report". In the course of compiling the report,issues can be identified and a process for consulting tenants developed. The Subcommittee will look at proposed changes in State law regarding rehabilitation and possibly write a letter of support. All RHAC members should read the preliminary reports,identify questions and comments,and give them to Colin at 273-7944. Shari Woodard reported that the Subcommittee on Lowest-Income Housing had not met yet,but that she had met with Myra Malkin and would meet with Trish Norton, Carol Mallison,and Anne Clavel. She herself is on the Homeless Task Force. She raised key questions. How many people make up the lowest income population? Do people want what we envision providing,e.g., housing with support services? Has anyone done a study? Are efficiency apartments needed? George Musser reported from the Education Subcommittee. He and Jane Schafrik met once. They distributed a draft list of tenants'rights and responsibilities and solicited comment. Kathleen Decker,who now works full time Tuesdays and Thursdays as Rental Housing Officer,has been working on something similar. The subcommittee may work with her on it. Suggestions for distribution include asking the landlords'association to attach something like it to leases,getting the Ithaca Times and Ithaca Journal to include it as an insert,and distributing it through DSS. Suggestions for content include: adding the basics of recycling add getting garbage tags,taking into account that the system may be different in different buildings,suggesting checking with the landlord about damage before attempting repairs,and dropping the clause"If you want the landlord to respect your rights." Jane Schafrik suggest that the survey ask how many landlords of college students require a semester's rent or a year's rent in advance. When the Commission does outreach meetings there should be several—one in each neighborhood. - The next Commission meeting will be Tuesday,July 12 at 7:00. Subcommittees will report again Respectfully submitted,Theresa Alt Rental Rousing Advisory Commission Approved Minutes—Tuesday,July 12, 1994 Members Present: Pearce Brown ,John Efroymson(Council liaison),Chuck Johns,George Musser Members Absent: Robyn Jenks(Chair—excused),Dennis Merryfield(excused),Jane Schafrik (excused), Shari Woodard(excused),Charlie Woodcock(unexcused) Visitors: Colin Forth Chairing: George Musser As there was no quorum,no official action was taken. No one from the public was present to speak,but Myra Malkin sent a postcard from vacation to let the group know that she has not lost interest. Colin Forth reported on his ongoing work. He has sent letters to developers and started talking to them about problems they may have with regulations the City could change. He has talked with the Planning Department about Site Plan Review. He has sent out surveys to other comparable towns. He has drafted a resolution for the Commission on proposed changes in the State Building Code and will circulate it by mail in August. He has contacted the Fire Chief and is looking into the question of how many housing units have been lost to fire. He suspects that more have been lost than built in the last four years. Therefore, while the new smoke and heat detector code requirements add something to the cost of housing, they may actually promote affordable housing by preserving the supply.The ordinance is already in effect for new building. It is still being rewritten for already-existing housing. The committee working on it has been meeting weekly and will soon report. Housing built before 1984 is the biggest problem;since 1984 new State standards have been in force. Colin's emphasis has been shifting from regulatory issues into issues of process. Much existing process has simply evolved,but usually for a reason. Often citizens and boards want one thing, developers want another,and staff get caught in the middle. Dan Hoffman was suggested as a source for the history of many regulatory issues. Although so far much time has gone into setting up appointments,Colin will have his final report done by September. George Musser passed out a revised version of the tenants'rights and responsibilities leaflet. (Jane had said before the meeting that she would suggest more revisions.) Building Commissioner Rick Eckstrom and also the landlords'association had expressed concern that it not be seen as a document imposed by the City. The leaflet will go through more revisions. George also noted that Rick Eckstrom was enthusiastic about the tenants'hotline idea and will put it in the budget. Housing Solutions has an excellent database on City housing and could be a valuable resource. Pearce Brown reported that he and Shari Woodard met and talked about the lowest-income housing problems but had not yet accomplished much. The Commission needs two new members. Subcommittees may draw non-members into subcommittee work,and these people might then become candidates to be members. Colin will try to draw in two new City and Regional Planning students. It is unlikely that there will be a quorum in August,so there will be no August meeting unless someone phones Robyn or Theresa with urgent business. Subcommmittees will continue meeting through August. The next Commission meeting will be Tuesday, September 13 at 7:00. Subcommittees will have been meeting in the interim and will report again Respectfully submitted,Theresa Alt Rental Housing Advisory Commission Approved Minutcs Tuesday, September 13, 1994 Members Present: Colin Forth,Robyn Jenks (Chair), Chuck Johns,Jane Schafrik, Shari Woodard,Charlie Woodcock Members Absent: Pearce Brown (excused),John Efroymson(excused),Dennis Merryfield (excused) Visitors: Kathleen Decker,Myra Malkin Minutes of the meetings of June 14 and July 12 were approved. Myra Malkin spoke from the public. Neighborhood Legal Services is concerned about the proposed Nuisance Abatement Ordinance. They fear that landlords,fearing drugs in their buildings,will become overly suspicious and will discriminate against any potential tenants who appear even slightly weird,and against poor people in general. They also fear that landlords will shift from leases to month-to-month renting to make it easier to throw tenants out. Shari Woodard replied that she and Robyn Jenks as the Lowest-Income Housing Subcommittee had discussed the ordinance. Membership of the Commission is changing. George Musser and Carl Kadlic have left town. Dennis has not yet reappeared after the summer;Theresa will contact his department and find out how to reach him. Colin Forth is now a member,replacing George. At least one new member is needed to replace Carl;it must be someone from a non-profit housing-involved agency and a City resident. Suggestions included Paul Mozzarella,Kim Esterman,Kathleen Decker,Myra Malkin and a public recruiting announcement. Colin Forth presented his report with suggestions for changing the zoning code. He emphasized that it is still a preliminary draft; statistics are missing;much will have to be changed. It represents his own opinion. The report will be duplicated and distributed to all members of the Commission. Colin requests comments and corrections. Charlie Woodcock iported that the Law and Legislation subcommittee had met in June with Kathleen Decker to discuss the rehabilitation code. They met again in July and August and the night before with Colin about his report. They want Council to take a stand for changing the rehabilitation code. Shari Woodard reported that the Lowest-Income Housing subcommittee wants to suggest to Council that a needs assessment be performed. This should determine what the scope of the housing problem for lowest-income people is and how people are coping. There is anecdotal evidence of a problem. We have statistics on use of homeless shelters and there are waiting lists for Section 8. Kathleen Decker mentioned that DSS has monthly data. The CDBG for Landmark Square required data,but that project is not aimed at low-low income people,rather at low- moderate. Shari suggested hiring a consulting firm to pull together all the disparate pieces of data. Chuck and Jane expressed skepticism about consultants and suggested the Human Services Coalition as a possible source of information. The question is: How many people are so far below the poverty line that it is really hard for them to rent? Where are they now? Homeless,tripled with relatives, moving from friend to friend, living in substandard rooms,living just outside the City limits? Robyn will consult American Demographics. Colin will ask CRP professor Barclay Jones about how to approach the problem. The Commission discussed the proposed Nuisance Abatement Ordinance. There were many questions. Does it apply to one apartment or to a whole building? Will it only be applied to West State Street? What about a tenant's constitutional right to privacy? Jane and Shari complained that the ordinance turns landlords into police,judges and juries,.and that closing down buildings won't solve the drug problem. Jane suggested that when dealers were driven out of the VIP motel the problems started on West State Street. She commented that you can't legislate morality. Shari noted that the poor will suffer if we don't do it,but they will suffer if we do it. . It's born of frustration. Coln said that how the ordinance functions will be dependent on who the mayor's "designee" is. The RHAC may want to oppose this ordinance but needs to know more about it. Copies of the ordinance as revised by the Inter-Institutional Committee of Council on September 13 will be requested for all members of the RHAC. We will ask John Efroymson for the timeline. As the report of the Education Committee Jane passed out George Musser's latest version of the Tenants'Rights and Responsibilities leaflet. A draft was sent to Mark Goldfarb of the landlords' association. The leaflet still needs the number where tenants can call for trash tag information. We are still waiting for the Building Department's new hotline number. This requires a new card in the City phone system,which is expensive and will not happen for at least a few months. The pamphlet name will be changed to"Rental Rights and Responsibilities" so that the Building Department doesn't appear to take sides. The City seal will be on front. We will approach Council for funding to print the leaflet. At the next meeting on Tuesday,October 11 at 7:00 the Commission will take up questions about poverty income levels,the Nuisance Ordinance, new input on the brochure,and Colin's report. Respectfully submitted,Theresa Alt Rental Housing Advisory Commission Approved Minutes—Tuesday,October 11, 1994 Members Present: Pearce Brown ,John Efroymson ,Kim Esterman, Colin Forth,Robyn Jenks (Chair),Chuck Johns,Jane Schafrik,Shari Woodard,Charlie Woodcock Members Absent: Dennis Merryfield(unexcused) Visitors: Myra Malkin Minutes of the meeting of September 13 were approved. No one spoke from the public. Nuisance Abatement Ordinance John Efroymson asked the RHAC to help the Mayor's Task Force on Substance Abuse to compile a list of sources of alternative housing information for evicted people. Both Myra Malkin and Kim Esterman agreed that it would be best to give only one number,the Red Cross 24-hour phone. John reported on the discussion of the Nuisance Abatement Ordinance at the Inter-Institutional Committee earlier the same day. Many people spoke,most against its impacts. The intent of the law is to make landlords try to abate nuisance houses. "Seizure"in the proposed City ordinance refers to a drug or substance. There is already a state law[Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law§715]that neighbors within 200 feet and city agents can go to court to evict a nuisance tenant if the landlord won't do it(and the landlord gets fined). John laid out two questions. Is the law a good idea? If it is, then what needs to be fixed? Members of the Commission commented. Pearce Brown: If you move problem people from one house,they go to another and you have to do all the work over again. Probably drug dealers are short-term tenants anyway. Chuck Johns: The uncaring landlords you are aiming at can't be scared nor changed. But Mr. & Mrs.Jones who you never would close down get scared and start to discriminate. It can be very hard to get bad tenants out. Johns would prefer to help people buy duplexes with low-interest loans and the stipulation they live in them. He thinks INHS only supports single-family housing. Shari Woodard thinks the landlord reaction will be more screening of tenants and month-to-month tenancies. Also you will hit innocent tenants in the same building when you close it. She wondered whether tenants are allowed to attend the hearings,that is,whether they would be notified. Kim Esterman: Landlords have to show they are attempting to abate the the nuisance,but the law needs to be more specific about what they have to do to show good faith. Jane Schafrik shares Shari's and Kim's concerns and all others aired at the Inter-Institutional committee meeting. If landlords are seen as enforcers,they will be afraid to enter their buildings, as they could be in physical danger. Abatement becomes an issue of landlord veracity,and there will be discrimination against minority landlords. She fmds the state law interesting;if the Education Committee publicized it,that might solve the problem. Charlie Woodcock: The problem with the state law is that the neighbor has to hire a lawyer. Would the City do this? Colin Forth: You will lose affordable housing. Check the turnover rate. If it's very high,then the law is ineffective. This law is targeted at the poor. Would you shut down a frat for repeated alcohol sales to minors? When a building is reopened,will it be at higher rents? Especially after the landlord has lost income while it was closed. This law attacks a symptom. The State law too allows neighborhoods to select their targets proactively. This looks very arbitrary. John Efroymson: We drafted our law because we wanted landlords to care. You don't have to close down the whole building. In cities that have such laws few buildings get closed. Kim Esterman: That's where it's arbitrary. It is not clear when it will be the whole building. Charlie Woodcock: It may make life miserable enough for some landlords that they sell their property and leave. The intent is to hit problem landlords. John Efroymson: It won't be voted on in November;it will be back in committee in November for the third time. Jane moved that the RHAC state its opposition to the Nuisance Abatement Ordinance Draft 10 and urge the city to seriously consider enforcing the state law. Myra summarized the state law. It has the advantage that the decision is made in court rather than by the mayor or his designee,which politicizes it. John made a friendly amendment to omit reference to Draft 10 and oppose the ordinance in principle. The resolution was passed 7:0 with Chuck Johns abstaining. The Commission will issue a press release making the position public. Colin Forth's Report Colin's report was discussed briefly. John Efroymson is concerned about a low-interest loan pool to for-profit developers(p. 6); Colin replied that there would be provisions to keep such apartments affordable in return(p.25). Jane suggested that SUNYMAE or CDBG recaptures could be a model. Chuck wished there could be City funds to buy out crack houses and fix them up. Jane suggested that CDBG funds might be used. The City could have participated in the Better Housing for Tompkins County home ownership program but chose not to. Chuck thinks there are about 300 unrented empty apartments in the City now. We should find a way to house people in them,maybe through a fund for rent subsidies. He has not raised his rents in four years,but rents are too high. Colin requested that people call him with suggestions. The main discussion of the report will be at the next meeting. Everyone agreed that it would be a good idea to involve nonmembers in the subcommittees, provided the subcommittees report regularly to the Commission. At the next meeting on Tuesday,November 8 at 7:00 pm the Commission will hear reports from all the subcommittees but mainly will focus on Colin Forth's report. Respectfully submitted,Theresa Alt Rental Housing Advisory Commission Minutes—Tuesday,November 8, 1994 Members Present: Pearce Brown,Kim Esterman,Colin Forth,Robyn Jenks(Chair),Chuck Johns,Jane Schafrik, Shari Woodard Members Absent: John Efroymson (unexcused),Dennis Merryfield(unexcused),Charlie Woodcock(excused) Visitors: Myra Malkin Minutes of the meeting of October 11 were approved. No one spoke from the public. Nuisance Abatement Ordinance Draft#10 is still the latest one. Robyn reported that we had a notice of our resolution in the paper and got a lot of reactions. She stressed unintended consequences,landlord safety,and civil liberties when she commented to the press. The ordinance will be discussed again at the Inter- Institutional Committee on Tuesday,November 15 at 4:00. Robyn Jenks and Shari Woodard reported from the Lowest-Income Subcommittee. They think they have a method for coming up with the statistics on lowest-income residents. According to Census figures Tompkins County has: $0-$4999 annual income 2161 households 585 families $50(X)-$9999 annual income 3469 households 962 families Jane Schafrik noted that these figures approximately reflect the number of people the Salvation Army feeds at holidays-900 to 1200 families. Tompkins County has the highest poverty rate of any county in the state outside of New York City. Separating students out from the rest of these statistics is always difficult. Chuck Johns proposed that the City raise a large sum of money and buy housing. He thought that requesting$5 per student from Cornell,Ithaca College and off-campus landlords could bring in $75,000. Then by holding a lottery$200,000 to$300,000 could be raised. Jane Schafrik reported from the Education and Hotline Subcommittee. She received suggestions from Myra Malkin about additional wording about evictions that could add about three lines. A panel"About the Rental Housing Advisory Commission"still needs to be written;it can be based on the charge in the City Code. The rest of that panel can be devoted to emergency numbers. One panel will be left blank as a mailer. It was agreed that the pamphlet will be in plain black and white,typeset in-house on a laser printer. The first run will be small;500 copies for distribution with new January leases. Eventually 6,000 to 10,000 copies may be needed. Jane also noted for the Tenant-Landlord Resource Guide that HOST now has elder cottages and a reverse mortgage counselor. Colin Forth's Report Discussion touched on a number of specific points. Chuck Johns thought that a land trust is a good idea. Would changes in the zoning code actually lead to more affordable housing being built? Colin suggested that even if the zoning code allowed row houses and the Planning Department backed the concept,builders probably wouldn't build them,and the Planning Board would probably object on grounds of neighborhood character. In any case,it would take a long time before anything would be built. Colin suggested that changes in zoning are needed,but are not sufficient;the City would have to take other measures to actually get housing built. Jane Schafrik thought it would probably be more cost-efficient to convert already-available housing. In any case, she asserted,affordable housing would require government subsidy. Shari Woodard pointed out that the need is there;600 people are on Section 8 between EOC and IHA. The report did not find fault with the Building Department,but Chuck and Jane complained that the Building Department has not been informing people of the upcoming smoke detector ordinance requirements. Pearce Brown and others found the report hard to follow. Should conclusions and recommendations be highlighted? Conclusions are on page 19 in the 3rd section. Colin understood that he was not supposed to make recommendations. Colin will rewrite the report,and the new version will be mailed to the commission before the next meeting. Commission members will begin drafting recommendations. Both the report and recommendations will be discussed at the next meeting. Everyone should encourage interested people to become involved with subcommittees. Robyn will talk to Kim Estexman about what subcommittee she will be on. At the next meeting on Tuesday,December 13 at 7:00 pm the Commission will hear reports from all the subcommittees but mainly will focus on the new version of Colin Forth's report and on recommendations based on it. Respectfully submitted,Theresa Alt Rental Housing Advisory Commission Minutes—Tuesday,December 13, 1994 Members Present: Pearce Brown,John Efroymson,Kim Esterman(part of meeting),Colin Forth, Robyn Jenks(Chair),Chuck Johns,Jane Schafrik, Shari Woodard Members Absent: Charlie Woodcock(excused) Visitors: Rachel Hyman,Charlene Lee(part of meeting),Myra Malkin,Christine Marke Minutes of the meeting of November 8 were approved. Myra Malkin announced that Barbara Blanchard has been appointed to chair a County Housing Task Force. It will appoint committees. We can propose issues to it. The defeat of the Nuisance Abatement Ordinance was discussed. Report by Colin Forth: "Regulatory Issues and Affordable Housing in Ithaca." A section of the report was critical of the Planning Board. Colin has given that section to the Planning Board and has discussed it with Planning Board Chair David Kay and with Linda Tsang, who is in charge of Site Plan Review in the Planning Department. John Efroymson suggested that cluster zoning is worth looking at,especially for Southwest Park. The floating affordable housing zone is an interesting idea but may be too "new age"to be accepted. Colin pointed out that Paul Mazzarella drafted an early cluster zone proposal for Ithaca. It was greatly changed before being passed. We could go back to his original draft as a starting point,and he would still be willing to help. The work should probably start in a RHAC subcommittee,then go to the full RHAC and on to the Planning Committee of Council. (The Planning Committee already has a full year's work to do,and is not likely to take up new work soon.) John pointed out that likewise,if we want a land trust,we should work on it or it won't happen. Jane Schafrik moved that the report be sent to the Planning Committee,the Economic Development Committee, members of the Planning Department,the Planning Board,and the Mayor. The motion passed. Colin Forth listed four things he would like for the City to do: 1) Establish a goal of affordable units to create per year. A goal puts pressure on people to do it. 2) Establish a fund through 1% of property tax to be used to leverage UDAG funds. 3) Zoning changes. 4) A land trust. This would mean a lot of work. Law and Legislation Subcommittee Council has sent the Smoke Detector Ordinance back to committee to reconsider the issue of whether two-story,two-unit,owner-occupied buildings should be required to have hard-wired smoke alarms,or whether battery-operated is enough(a$400 difference). Chuck Johns complained that the Building Department makes mistakes that cost landlords money when they try to comply and then have to do something different a few years later. Jane Schafrik complained that Council makes changes in requirements. Colin moved that the RHAC urge Common Council to pass the smoke detector ordinance quickly. Jane amended the it to add that Council will get the information out in simple form to landlords. The amended resolution passed. John agreed to get a clean copy of the law to the Rental Housing Association. Now that the Nuisance Abatement Ordinance is gone,the Law and Legislation subcommittee may also want to consider whether locks on front doors and lighting should be required. Lowest-Income Housing Subcommittee Robyn Jenks and Colin Forth met with Myra Malkin and Mark Freedman to look for statistical evidence of the need for very-low-income housing. They decided they did not need extrapolations from the census. Rather they would take numbers.of those served by homeless shelters, Section 8 waiting lists(with the understanding that the waiting lists for Section 8 at EOC and IHA overlap), and people known to be camping out to arrive at their figures. Shari will compile the numbers.The RHAC decided that these figures will be attached to the report when it is passed on. John said that he would like for the Tompkins County Rental Housing Association to respond to the data, since some landlords had maintained that there is no housing affordability problem. Jane, who is now President of the Association,said that they would be happy to say that there is a problem. The Lowest-Income Subcommittee also talked about the Jubilee Housing Trust in Syracuse. Colin will get more information. Myra pointed to the Orange Co.NY RECAP program begun in 1990 that taps into Federal funds for emergency housing and puts the money into renovations that produce low-income housing. Robyn will follow up. John announced that the CDBG competition for funding is now open;the subcommittee should meet with Denise Balkas. Education and Hotline Subcommittee Wording of the Rental Rights and Responsibilities brochure will include the new section introducing the RHAC for the back,the number"274-6508"instead of"Hotline"at the top of the second column,and"Information Line"rather than"Information Hotline"at the bottom of the third column. Other than this,wording of the September 27 version is retained,at least for the first printing of 500 copies. Stronger wording on illegal evictions was deemed too confrontational. The wording passed,with Shari Woodard opposing. Subcommittee Memberships Law and Legislation: Colin Forth,Chuck Johns,Charlie Woodcock,occasionally Robyn Jenks Lowest-Income: Pearce Brown, Robyn Jenks,Shari Woodard Education&Hotline: Jane Schafrik Kim Esterman will be leaving the Friendship Center and therefore is not sure that she will continue on the Commission. Rachel Hyman was invited to join the Education subcommittee,but she said she wanted to see her next semester's schedule before making commitments. Charlene Lee offered to study census data on low-income population. There is one opening on the Commission,since Dennis Merryfield is no longer considered a member. Respectfully submitted,Theresa Alt