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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 10-06-1997 - 10e i 1 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Action Agenda Item No. ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: October 6, 1997 SUBJECT: United Church of Christ(UCC)Living Centers, Inc. Request for School Impact Fee Reimbursement DEPARTMENT: County Manager PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) j` BUDGET AMENDMENT: (Y/N) ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: UCC Living Center letter John M. Link,Jr. Excerpt from Budget Message TELEPHONE NUMBERS: --ext. 2300 Affordable Housing Project Ordinance Hillsborough 732-8181 Affordable Housing Policy Chapel Hill 968-4501 Durham 688-7331 Mebane 227-2031 PURPOSE: As indicated by the attached letter, UCC Living Centers, Inc. is requesting reimbursement from Orange County for School Facilities Impact Fees. BACKGROUND: The present BOCC policy on reimbursement of impact fees is enclosed for review. This policy was last revised on April 1, 1997. The present policy does not provide for reimbursement of non-profit organizations developing rental housing. A point of discussion was investigating the pros and cons for adding rental housing to the policy. This point is being examined by staff and the County Attorney. With respect to funds available for reimbursement,there is an amount of $66,400 in the 1997-98 budget. (Please see Attachment 2, pages 1-3 and 7-58 of the 1997-98 Budget document.) These funds have been budgeted for needs expressed by Habitat for Humanity, Carolina Springs, and Orange Community Housing Corporation during the 1997-98 fiscal year. (Attachment 3,Project Ordinance) RECOMMENDATION(S): That the Board of County Commissioners receive this report of UCC Living Centers, Inc.'s request. Attachment 1 2 UCC Living Center A partnership of New Covenant Christian, 205 Wilson street United Chumh of Clupel Hill and Chapel Hill, NC 2 7516 _ United Church Retirement Hornes 942-3540 Sponsors of Covenant PI", supportive housing fiasnced by HUD skepkwj 1101so, an assisted living residential facility wma,of Smith Leval and CAreth Rands C64,om, NC September S. 1947 John Lmk, County Manager Orange County Manager's Office 208 S. Cameron St. Hillsborough,NC 27278 Dear Mr. Link: UCC Living Centers,Inc: which is sponsoring Co►+oenaW Plane, 40 units of supportive housing, at the corner of Smith Level and Culbreth Roads,is requesting reimbursement from Orange County for the impact fee. This is not unlike the requests you have received and granted for Habitat for Humanity houses. Funding for Covenant Place is through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development(HUD). HUD provides a grant in exchange for a 40 year agreement that these units will serve seniors with low mcomes. Monies from the HUD 202 program will not only build the units but will provide subsidies such that qualified residents will not pay more than 30'/0 of their adjusted income on rent. Qualifications include having an income of less than$18,000 annually for a single person and being 62 years of age and older. Due to these qualifications, few, if any, of the people moving into the Covenant Place apardnents will be selling 003tmg homes for others to occupy and thus avoid the impact The on new construction. This is a wonderful service for senior citizens with low incomes. Adelaide Walters apartments in Chapel Hill is an example of a 202 program. UCC Living Centers, Inc. is a local,non-profit organization comprised of members from two area congregations: New Covenant Christian UCC and United Church of Chapel kill,UCC. Our third partner is the United Church Retirement Homes, Inc. UCC is the acronym for our denomination the United Church of Christ. As a non-profit we have no fimds other than the Rmds supplied by HUD. Local citizens serving on the board of directors of UCC Living Centers have given countless hours to generating a proposal for HUD,achieving HUD approval, interviewing and selecting an architect and builder, meeting with municipal governments for planning and zoning, overseeing building, planning Programs and nurturing an on-going conumurity. »»OVER>>> 3 As a local organisation we have been instrumental in bringing 40 units of supportive housing for senior citizens with low incomes. This represents an investment by HUD in Orange County of approximately$3 million in affordable housing. We are not asking for reimbursement as a means of avoiding a fee that we could pay. We do not have the money. If these apartments are going to come into existence and serve senior citizens with low incomes, it will be with your assistance. I hope the commissioners will embrace this as an opportunity to be partners in providing housing for seniors with low incomes. Clearly we should have approached this in a manner different from the way we did. The question we have now is what is our next step. We would appreciate any advice and counsel you can offer. Thank you. Peace, Richard Edens cc: Orange County Coa>m�issionera Attachment 2 4 Manager's Message - continued Sales Tax ' The half cent sales tax revenue which is earmarked for capital projects and debt service continues to grow at a healthy rate of between 6 and 7 percent. We are projecting this revenue source to increase by 5 percent next Change in Sales Tax Revenue year, based on information t5% 12.23% com carx we have received from the 10.94% 01n Cant North Carolina Association to% 887% 06% 7 ;} 6.05% 7.67% 7,48x, of County Commissioners. _ 4 6 5.04% .,= 5% ra z 3. At the December :996 w planning retreat we alerted 90-91 91 92 92.93 93-94 94-95 9596 L247• 97.98 the Board to a possible 5% -2.75% shortfall in revenue from the one cent local option sales ,.05% tax. As you see in this chart, we are anticipating receiving less revenue from the one cent in 1996-97 than we received during 1995-96. Information we received from the Department of Revenue regarding reimbursements to non-profit agencies and State and local governments supports our theory that 1996-97 is abnormal and that this decline in -revenue is not expected to continue. For 1997-98 we are anticipating growth of 3 percent over the 1996-97 estimated revenue. _ The Board has asked Staff to recommend as part of this budget a funding source for reimbursing local non-profit agencies for impact fees paid for affordable housing projects. We are suggesting that the Board consider earmarking one half of the yearly growth in the one cent sales tax. This amount for 1997-98 is anticipated to be $66,000. We are recommending that the Board adopt this earmarking for a three year period, which in the year 2000 would be reviewed to determine what adjustments, if any, need to be made. 1997-98 funding will begin to address the commitment the Board has made to the Carolina Springs affordable housing project, and other eligible projects. Intergovernmental Social Services - The impact of Work First is increasing the funds we receive for daycare by $1.1 million over the 1996-97 original budget_ This increase in daycare is driving the major increases in the 1997-98 expenditure budget of Social Services. Federal and State funding for daycare is a critical component in the success of welfare reform. The County must remain vigilant in retaining and seeking resources for daycare, transportation, and skill development if Work First(welfare reform) is to succeed. Human Rights and Relations - When the Board of Commissioners adopted the Civil Rights Ordinance and created the Human Rights and Relations Department, we had anticipated federal revenue of $150,000 per year for three years for capacity building. Under revised federal guidelines, this revenue stream has been changed. We now anticipate receiving $131,900 for the Page 1 - 3 Housing and Community Development - continued 5 Outcomes 4DY • Reduce the number of substandard housing occupied by low and moderate income families by repairing seventeen (17) existing dwelling units in accordance with HUD's Housing Quality Standards and local Minimum Housing Codes. • Facilitate new or rehabilitated housing options for nineteen (19) first-time home buyer families who are below 80 percent of the area median income. Budget highlights • This budget reflects continuation of the present level of service with federal and state funding levels remaining fairly consistent with prior years. • For 1997-98, Housing and Urban Development has waived the local match for the Home program due to the devastating impact on the community of Hurricane Fran. The local match is usually required to be paid by the towns of Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough and the County. The County's match for 1996-97 was $47,250. • This budget includes $66,400 for impact fee reimbursement for affordable housing projects planned in the upcoming year by Habitat for Humanity, Carolina Springs and Orange Community Housing. The source of this funding is one half of the estimated growth in the one cent local option sales tax. 7 - 58 Attachment 3 6 Affordable Housing Community Development Project Ordinance Project Number 19-801 Be it ordained by the Orange County Board of County Commissioners that pursuant to Section 13.2 of Chapter 159 of the General Statutes of North Carolina, the following grant project is hereby adopted. Section 1. The project authorized is the Affordable Housing Project authorized to provide reimbursement of impact fees for affordable housing projects and to provide other assistance to Affordable Housing projects on a request basis. Section 2. The officers of the County are hereby directed to proceed with the project within the budget contained herein. Section 3. The following revenue is anticipated to be available to complete this project: Miscellaneous Revenue - Sale of Real Property $14,080 Fund Balance Appropriated $13,966 Transfer from the General Fund(1996-97) $9,704 Transfer from the General Fund(1997-98) $ 400 Total $104,150 Section 4. The following amount is appropriated for this project: Habitat for Humanity $13,000 Impact Fee Reimbursement $91,150 Total ,5104,150 Section 5. This ordinance supersedes all previous "Affordable Housing Grant Project Ordinances". Section 6. This ordinance, originally adopted on March 8, 1995, shall be in effect from the date of adoption through June 30, 1998. Adopted this 30th day of June, 1997. 4 Attachment 4 ` 11►ADAI'`T CCC QC111AQ1 ICC17=I►4CAIT 1201 IhV (AFFORDABLE HOUSING POLICY 7 Eligibility Criteria: Any 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization which develops single family housing for first-time homebuyers with incomes at or below 80% of the HUD published area median income for the Raleigh/Durham MSA. Procedure: 1. Written request should be submitted to the Orange County Housing and Community Development Department not more than sixty (60) days prior to anticipated date the building permit will be obtained. The request should include a description of the anticipated beneficiary (homeowner), a detailed individual house construction budget and an estimated completion date. All organizations must anticipate reimbursement needs for a given riscal year and submit a request for fee reimbursement at the time for submission of the County's non-departmental funding requests. If funding is unavailable in the current fiscal year budget, the Housing and Community Development Director will notify the non-profit organization at this time and no further review will take place until funds are identified for this purpose. 2. Requests will be reviewed within 15 working days and the Housing and Community Development Director will make a recommendation to the County Manager for his/(her)review and approval. 3. The final decision will be conveyed to the applicant in writing by the Manager within 15 working days after the recommendation is received. 4. If the recommendation is favorable, funds will be distributed to the non-profit organization after the impact fee has been paid by the requesting agency. 5. The Housing and Community Development Director will communicate the decision to the Planning Department and the Finance Department. 6. The non-profit organization is responsible for providing written documentation of impact fee payment to the Housing and Community Development Department. After notification, the Finance Department will be asked within five working days to prepare a check for the organization. 7. All funding recommendations will be good for a period of six months from the date of approval. If the building permit is not obtained within that time period, the organization must reapply for funding. 8. All organizations requesting impact fee reimbursement must certify in writing that the housing will remain affordable to the anticipated beneficiary or beneficiaries for a period of at least a minimum of twenty (20) years or at least as long as required by applicable HUD policy. Evidence must be provided that agency and/or program guidelines are in place to assure compliance. Effective: July 1, 1995 Approved: November 1, 1995 Revised: April 1, 1997 *Revision in bold