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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 02-06-1995 - X-A z 2 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Action Agenda Xz A . ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: February 6, 1995 SUBJECT: Emergency Family Shelter and Support Task Force Report ------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT: Human Rights & Relations PUBLIC HEARING:_Yes XNo ------------------------------------------------------------- ATTACHMENT(S) : INFORMATION CONTACT: Lucy Lewis, ext 2251 TELEPHONE NUMBER: Hillsborough - 732-8181 Chapel Hill - 968-4501 Durham - 688-7331 Mebane - 227-2031 ------------------------------------------------------------- PURPOSE: To receive a report from the Emergency Family Support and Shelter Task Force (EFSSTF) ; a decision will be required from the Board by the February 21 meeting. BACKGROUND: The Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) gave conditional approval to the Inter-Faith Council grant application for $1,783, 162 in Supportive Housing Program funds for Project Home Start Supportive Transitional Housing for Homeless Families and Victims of Domestic Violence in December, 1994. This project is 1 of 4 in North Carolina, and 271 nationally, that received conditional approval for initiatives focused on assisting the homeless. The HUD grant is conditional on the Inter-Faith Council (IFC) acquiring site control of the necessary acreage within 60 days after final notification is received (this is expected within days) . IFC, Coalition for Battered Women and County representatives will meet with HUD as soon as possible to determine if there is any flexibility in this framework; however, the timetable that the Task Force is dealing with is imposed by HUD and not one that the Task Force created, or expected. The Task Force has considered several parcels of land for this project and has conducted preliminary discussions regarding leasing land with some of the County Commissioners and the town of Chapel Hill. Any leasing arrangement would include the stipulation that the property would be used only 2 for the transitional family housing initiative. The Task Force believes that the best site for this project would be 3 acres of the county-owned land on Homestead Road because of its current zoning, proximity to county services, and accessibility to buslines. This grant application was developed concurrently with the meetings of the EFSSTF, and is based on the model proposed by the Task Force. The Task Force, initiated by the Board of Commissioners in January, 1994 , was charged with studying the issues related to emergency family support and shelter, and developing a proposal to address this need. The County Commissioners appointed representatives from the Inter-Faith Council (IFC) , the Orange-Durham Coalition for Battered Women, Commission for Women, Day Care Services Association, Department of Social Services, North State Legal Services, Orange-Person-Chatham Mental Health Center, United Way, the Women's Center, and representatives from the towns of Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Hillsborough and Orange County. The Task Force presented a feasibility study to the County Commissioners on 10/1/94. The Task Force concluded that there is a critical need for housing for homeless families and battered women in Orange County. The Task Force recommendation, incorporated in the Project Home Start grant, is for a transitional residential facility, which would provide the greatest chance for the desired outcomes of appropriate services for children and self-sufficiency for the residents. It would: • Be operated as a collaborative project between the IFC and the Orange-Durham Coalition for Battered Women. • Provide shelter and support services to 12-15 families at any one time and allow families to stay up to 3-12 months as they develop a plan to meet their continuing needs. • Be constructed in 3 individual housing units servicing 4-5 families within each unit. The units would be linked by shared space for service delivery and a play area for the children. • Require approximately 3-5 acres of land. • Be sited on a bus line. • Need regular countywide transportation services for residential families. • Necessitate the cooperation of community public and private nonprofit agencies in the development and delivery of a comprehensive array of human services. • Require ongoing operational funding that could be secured from a combination of federal, state, and local governmental units and the contributions of private individuals and funding agencies. Projected development costs (excluding land) are $802,500. $400, 000 would come from HUD funds, 3 $153, 000 of the necessary $400, 000 in matching funds has already been raised ($100, 000 from the NC Housing Finance Agency, $40, 000 in county CIP funds, and $13,000 in donations) . Projected operating costs for the first 3 years are $1,522, 112 . $432, 000 (75%) would come from HUD for the first year, $450, 848 (75%) would come from HUD for the second year, and $415, 401 (50%) would come from HUD for the third year. RECOMMENDATION(S) : The Manager recommends that the Board receive the report and the attached addenda as information. Addendum I is a copy of pages 27-29 of the Application for Federal Assistance submitted by IFC to HUD in August, which describes the site options identified by the Task Force for locating the Transitional Housing. Addendum II contains a map of the Green Tract, the property owned by the towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro and Orange County, another potential site for this housing. The narrative describes the current status of this site's zoning and the preliminary uses as reported by the Northwest Small Area Planning Work Group to the Chapel Hill Town Council on January 23 . The second page of the addendum:depicts the conceptual/and use plan (including the Green Tract) for this Northwest area. From the perspective of meeting the 60-day limit established by HUD for Site Control, the county's property on Homestead Road is the most viable choice. While a Special Use Application and Permitting Process would still be required of the IFC/Task Force, the property is already appropriately zoned. As the BOCC deliberates upon this report and request, the Manager recommends the following: (1) that any conveyance of county property be by long-term lease and for the specific purpose of transitional family housing; (2) a preliminary long-range plan for generating the revenue required of the projected 1.5 million operating expenditures beyond FY 1997-1998 be provided to the BOCC. ADDENDUM 1 4 • Although congregate living is more cost effective for our purposes, we will strive to imitate a normal residential atmosphere where each family's privacy is safeguarded. It is especially important for children to be in an environment which encourages their normal development and interests. The Inter-Faith Council has worked with local non-profit housing developer Orange Community Housing Corporation (OCHC) to identify site options, maps of which appear in Appendix I of this application. OCHC will also act as the developer in the construction of the congregate units. The main site-related issue is the Town's development review process. Town staff is continuing to work with IFC and OCHC to specify the zoning and special use permit process needed for Project Home Start, which currently does not fit into any of the local zoning classifications: Project Home Start will be built in a single-family residential style, but could also be considered a shelter or congregate facility, so special consideration from the Town will be needed. We are considering two types of sites: (1) more expensive sites that are zoned for higher density development but may offer a simpler approval process, and (2) sites that are zoned for lower-density development, which are less expensive and would provide a single family setting for Project Home Start but may have a more complex approval process. The Town staff is very supportive of Project Home Start and is working with IFC and OCHC to determine the process that would be the simplest and most appropriate for us. The site options are summarized as follows: a) Homestead Road: This 10-acre site is considered a more desirable location, due to its excellent access to a planned county human services center slated to house the Department of Social Services, Health Department, and other essential county agencies. OCHC has this property under option. However, the parcel is larger than needed for Project Home Start, and depends on the success of additional applications for a Section 202 elderly project and a tax credit apartment project for families to use the balance of the site. In addition, the seller's desired price for this parcel, $62,500 per acre, is not supportable in the local real estate market and we are currently negotiating to lower the 27 5 price to a range we can both afford and justify with an appraisal. This site is zoned R-4, for multifamily development at 10 units per acre. b) Legion Road: This site is currently owned by the Town of Chapel Hill, and we have discussed donation of a portion of the property with Town staff. Town Council does not meet during the summer months, so a firm commitment from the Council will be requested in the fall. The location has better access to employment, shopping, and public transportation than the Homestead Road site, but is not as close to human service agencies. The current budget assumes the use of this donated land, and the applicant will request additional funds from the Town of Chapel Hill if we instead purchase land from a private seller. The site is currently zoned R-2, single family residential with a minimum 10,000-square-foot lot size. c) County-owned land on Homestead Road: The County is developing a Southern Human Services Center on land adjacent to the Homestead Road site discussed above. The County owns approximately 35 acres, but is only developing a small portion of the site for the services center. OCHC and IFC have requested that the County donate 2 acres of land on that site for the development of Project Home Start. The site has some difficult topography, and the County has not completed their master plan for the site, so the staff cannot determine quickly if land will be available and where it would be on the site. However, we have asked that the County include Project Home Start in their list of possible uses for the remaining land, which is planned for discussion and decisions this fall. 'Phis site would have the same benefits as the Homestead Road site under private ownership, and has been rezoned to R-5, a high-density residential zone. d) Smith Level Road: This 10-acre site is under option to a local church, United Church of Chapel Hill, which has applied for a Section 202 grant to construct apartments for elderly persons on 5 acres of the site. If their application is approved, the UCC minister has discussed with OCHC using the remaining 5 acres for this project or others. If the UCC Section 202 application is not approved, OCHC may pursue development of the parcel independently, which could include Project Home Start. The location is less desirable, 28 6 farther from services and employment opportunities; however, it is in a developing part of Town and has access to public transit. This site is also zoned R-2, single family residential. ii) Supportive Apartment Program: Families unable to locate affordable permanent housing after 3 to 9 months'in the congregate housing will have the option of moving into one of 10 scattered-site leased units. To be accepted into the Supportive Apartment stage, families must have at least one stable income of $4.85/hour or more, making the $250 rent affordable. Inter-Faith Council will lease 7 two bedroom and 3 three bedroom apartments from area landlords, paying up to the HUD fair market rent for each unit. Tenants will, in turn, sign a sub-lease agreement with IFC on a month-to-month basis. The goal for every family will be entry into permanent housing within 6 months, with 6 month extensions provided if families must wait for Section 8 certificates, public housing openings, or further savings that will allow private market entry. The supportive apartment program will be managed by a housing coordinator who has property management experience. b,c) Services Description and Process for Developing an lndividual=d Housing and Supportive Services Plan: The case management and services aspect of Project Home Start will fall into three stages: i) Initial Evaluation and Preparation; ii) Congregate Living Stage; iii) Follow-up Stage. Each stage is outlined below- i) Initial Evsloatioa and Preparation: To ensure that families are ready for the transitional process of Project Home Start, homeless families will undergo an initial stay of 1 to 3 weeks at Community House, where the following will be accomplished before entering. (Domestic violence victims who are not active substance abusers will be referred directly to Project Home Start, where the following will be accomplished in the first weeks of their stay): 29 7 ADDENDUM II The Greene tract is currently zoned RT Rural Transition. Transitional family housing could be allowed through approval of a Special Use Permit. Proposed land uses on the Greene tract in the recommended Northwest Area Small Area Plan include a village center, residential densities ranging from two to ten dwelling units per acre, and a park site. The Northwest Area Small Area Plan is scheduled for public hearing on March 1, 1995, and its adoption could occur in June. 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