MAMMOTH LAKES HOUSING, INC.
Board of Directors Meeting
Monday, August 1, 2016
Study session at 5:30 p.m.
Regular meeting at 6:00 p.m.
Mammoth Lakes Housing Conference Room
587 Old Mammoth Rd.
Minutes
Members of the Board toured the Star Apartments at 1829 Old Mammoth Road from 5:30 – 6:00 PM.
I. Call to Order
II. Roll Call
Members present: Colin Fernie, Larry Johnston, Jiselle Kenny, Kirk Stapp, and Bill Taylor
Lindsay Barksdale called in from the following location:
1111 Highway 20Unit 27
Winthrop, WA 98862
Staff: Jennifer Halferty and Patricia Robertson
Public: Ruth Traxler, Town of Mammoth Lakes; Tom Hodges, Mammoth Mountain Ski Area; Rich Boccia, Mammoth Lakes Recreation; Cleland Hoff, Town Council; John Wentworth, Town Council; Abagael Giles, The Sheet
III. Public Comments
Colin Fernie announced that he and John Wentworth would attend a meeting of the group Mammoth Voices next Thursday to speak on various issues including housing. John Wentworth will report back to the Board on the discussion.
IV. Approval of Minutes from the June 22, 2016 regular BOD Meeting
Larry Johnston made a motion to approve the minutes. Kirk Stapp seconded the motion. The motion passed 6-0.
V. Approval of Minutes from the July 27, 2016 Stakeholders Summit Series – First Summit
Bill Taylor made a motion to approve the minutes. Larry Johnston seconded the motion. Jiselle Kenny and Lindsay Barksdale abstained. The motion passed 4-0.
VI. Accept the resignation of Colin Fernie and appoint John Wentworth to the Mammoth Lakes Housing, Inc. Board of Directors as the Town Council Representative for the Town of Mammoth Lakes
The Board thanked Colin Fernie for his service on the Board of Directors for Mammoth Lakes Housing for past two years. Kirk Stapp made a motion to accept the resignation of Colin Fernie and appoint John Wentworth to the Mammoth Lakes Housing Board of Directors as the Town Council Representative. Jiselle Kenny seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0.
VII. Board Member reports
There were no Board member reports.
VIII. MLH monthly status report
Jennifer Halferty noted that the September meeting will need to be rescheduled due to the Labor Day holiday. The Board chose to change the meeting to Thursday, September 15th.
Jennifer Halferty announced that a first-time home buyer closed on a unit in the Aspen Village Townhomes last week using BEGIN funds. BEGIN funds can help households earning up to 120% of the Area Median Income with down payment assistance up to 20% of the purchase price, in the following communities: Aspen Village Townhomes, Meridian Court, and San Joaquin Villas. This household has utilized the last of the funds until another household sells and MLH can recycle the funds. Another applicant is in escrow and scheduled to close soon using HOME funds. There is also a mobilehome in escrow which will utilize the CalHome funds awarded to MLH.
There has been a lot of activity around the first-time home buyer programs. Some of this has to do with the more than 6,800 post cards that were mailed out in southern Mono County and the City of Bishop advertising the programs.
Mammoth Lakes Housing received its Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) certification this month. This certification is good for 3 years and allows MLH to apply for HOME grant funding.
Jennifer Halferty reported that MLH has been trying to establish a baseline regarding the number of units that are legally renting nightly. Unfortunately, staff has been made aware that approximately 50% of the TOT/Business Tax Certificate data did not transfer to corresponding APNs during the conversion to the new finance software. It is unclear when the data will be available at this time.
IX. Update on the feasibility analysis for workforce housing on the affordable housing parcel/Shady Rest Parcel
Jennifer Halferty gave an overview of the history of the site and intention of the site, the purpose of analyzing the feasibility of affordable housing development on the site in accordance with some of the MLH deliverables outlined in the NGO Strategic Alignment documents, the timeline, as well as the Cap & Trade funding source.
She noted that the base density of the site is currently 12 units/acre; however, the State allows a 30% density bonus for affordable projects and the Town permits up to double density. From experience, MLH is sensitive to potential issues arising from going to double density (24 units/acre), including snow storage, parking, and other livability issues, because it has built projects at this density in the past.
She explained that the financial feasibility for Phase I includes 44 affordable workforce units, as well as a playground, and a 5,000 square foot neighborhood center, which includes approximately 1,500 square feet for child care. The proforma before the Board utilizes the appraised value of the land at the current zoning (RMF-1 with the Affordable Housing Overlay Zone).
The goal of the first application, which would include Phase I, would be to apply for funding for affordable rental housing (approximately $5.143M), infrastructure in support of housing (approximately $2.155M), and sustainable transportation (any amount of funding for qualifying infrastructure such as dry utilities, paths and sidewalks, traffic calming to get the total application close to $20M). Staff will have refined numbers regarding the infrastructure costs at the September meeting.
Staff has met with Steve Frisch, President of the Sierra Business Council, regarding the Phase I application. Steve Frisch has experience with the Cap & Trade application since he worked on the first-round application that awarded $8M to the Town of Truckee for the The Railyard project, an infill project for the eastern end of downtown Truckee. He also helped to develop the greenhouse gas reduction calculus for rural communities and said he is happy to work with MLH on this project.
The proforma currently shows a gap in funding of about $1.7M. This number could come down once final numbers on the cost of the infrastructure come in. Additionally, the Town could waive some DIF fees, utilize capital improvement funds, or even Measure 2002A. This contribution could leverage a lot of benefit.
John Wentworth asked about the issue of land tenure. Jennifer Halferty explained that she, Kirk Stapp, and Bill Taylor met with Mark Carney on Thursday, July 21, the day after the Hart Howerton meeting. She explained that the land owners are pursuing their vision to subdivide the property into different parcels (one for community amenity, one for market rate housing, one for affordable housing, etc.). They would then be willing to finance the land for the Town. Bill Taylor noted that if the Town decides to put the ice rink there, it will determine which portion of Shady Rest MLH could negotiate for.
Kirk Stapp acknowledged that the point of this exercise was to show the community that workforce housing is feasible on the Shady Rest parcel. The owners of the site will probably come forth with an application to change the zoning. If the Town decides to change the zoning of the site, what land elsewhere is the Town going to down-zone for affordable housing?
Colin Fernie asked if 44 units on approximately 2 acres was livable. Jennifer Halferty confirmed that in the experience of MLH, this density would be livable and provided more open, green space. Tom Hodges suggested adding height and increasing the density to 40 2-bedroom units per acre. He also suggested putting affordable housing on the Mammoth Creek Park West site. Bill Taylor reminded the group that that site was historically planned for affordable housing, but a potential development was defeated and a costly lawsuit followed.
Tom Hodges asked about the requirement for Cap & Trade to have at least 15 units/acre. Jennifer Halferty confirmed that all of the development phases outlined in the draft analysis will compete at this density or greater. Additionally, ownership units are eligible under Cap & Trade as well, up to 120% of the Area Median Income (similar to the BEGIN Program which the Town has utilized in the past).
Larry Johnston asked if the Town Council could reaffirm the zoning without an active application. Ruth Traxler noted that once an application was received staff would schedule a workshop with Town Council and the Planning Commission to discuss. Tom Hodges stated that if MLH and the land owners could get on the same page it would be an opportunity to fast track some affordable housing. Jiselle Kenny noted that currently the community does not have enough employees because everyone is leaving due to a lack of affordable housing, and the Town cannot currently support growth.
Lindsay Barksdale asked about what, if any, community involvement has been happening around the Hart Howerton plan. She asked for clarification on the 1996 initiative to change the zoning on the Shady Rest site. Jennifer Halferty clarified that a citizen’s initiative (The Heart of Mammoth) to change the zoning of the Shady Rest site to open space/park leaving only 8 acres for affordable housing failed by majority of votes.
John Wentworth noted that visitation this summer has been off the charts. He stated that the Town of Mammoth needs to be smart and aggressive to catch the curve. He will bring the issue of rezoning to the Town Manager to see what next steps can be pursued. Larry Johnston confirmed that MLH is operating under the current Town policy by analyzing how to develop the only site allocated for workforce housing.
Jennifer Halferty concluded that at the September meeting the Board will be able to review the updated concept plan of the phasing and a polished financial feasibility analysis to include the infrastructure for the entire site. This will be in preparation to take the analysis to the Town Council.
X. Discuss the Hart Howerton presentation made on Wednesday, July 20th to the Town Council
Jennifer Halferty explained that Hart Howerton, hired by Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, gave a 2.5 hour presentation to the community on their vision for the town. It included new visions for the mountain portals where MMSA plans to spend $100M. It also included recommendations to the Town in order to create a downtown for a premier resort community as well as strategies on how to attract the tech industry to bring 1,000 new tech jobs in 5 years.
Larry Johnston was wondering where in the plan it addressed where these tech employees will live.
Bill Taylor noted that the basic planning concepts used in the plan are pretty solid and that the Town could mix and match some of the aspects. It’s a not a take it or leave it document.
Kirk Stapp noted that the Town already has a vision which is articulated in the General Plan. He explained that there are both opportunities and challenges within the Hart Howerton visioning document. Opportunities include parking and conference facilities. A high priority within the community is to see The Village completed. Challenges include the redevelopment of Main Street and financing sources.
XI. Review and discussion of a first summit and upcoming summits on the Stakeholder Summit Series on affordable workforce housing
Jennifer Halferty explained that the first summit was held on July 27th from 1-3 in the Ellie Randol Room at the Mammoth Lakes Library. Key stakeholders/employers were invited to participate to discuss current workforce housing needs. The primary need of the stakeholders who answered the short survey was rental housing. 67% of respondents said that they provide some form of housing assistance to their employees. At the next meeting, August 17th, the stakeholders will discuss resources and potential solutions.
Larry Johnston noted that he was surprised by the discussion regarding increasing mobile home space rents, which are pricing residents out and preventing investment into newer manufactured homes. Bill Taylor noted that there was discussion amongst his break out group that if there were more quality rentals, there may be less of a need for ownership.
XII. Review of the MLH and SHA draft fourth quarter financial statements
Jennifer Halferty confirmed that the $160,000 for the Risk Reserve Fund now shows under “Other Expenses.” Additionally, the 17% for the Star Apartments maintenance reserve fund was moved at the end of the fiscal year.
XIII. Council Member recap for the Town Council meeting
1. The first Stakeholder Summit was held on 7/27 and addressed housing needs. The second summit will take place on 8/17 from 1-3 in the Ellie Randol Room at the Mammoth Lakes Library.
2. There was an issue with the data regarding TOT certificates and corresponding APNs during the transfer to the new Cassell system. Approximately 50% of the data did not transfer.
3. MLH is completing due diligence on the Shady Rest parcel which is zoned for affordable housing. Currently, they have a financial feasibility analysis which looks at Phase I of a potential workforce housing development.
4. The Board discussed the Hart Howerton vision and noted that there was not much of a discussion around workforce housing.
XIV. Adjourn