Mayor's Affordable Housing Task Force - Action Plan

A Printable Version of the 2002 Mayor's Affordable Housing Task Force Action Plan is available.  For the printable version, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader.  If you do not have a current copy of this free software, you can download it now.

In the year Two Thousand Two………………………………………………………………
Resolved by the City Council of the City of Burlington, as follows:

That WHEREAS, a safe, decent place to live is one of life's basic necessities that enables families to meet other basic necessities and save for their future; and 

WHEREAS, an adequate stock of housing that is affordable to working families is not just necessary to maintain stable families and vibrant neighborhoods, it's also essential to the economic health of our city and region; and

WHEREAS, the National Low Income Housing Coalition's 2001 housing study found that Vermont is among the top ten least affordable states when median wages are compared with prevailing rents; and

WHEREAS, the vacancy rate for apartments in Chittenden County has been below 1% for the past six years, yet most housing experts consider 5% to represent a more balanced rental housing market; and

WHEREAS, many local employers report that they can't attract and retain good workers because there's no place the workers can afford to live on the wages prevailing in the marketplace; and

WHEREAS, the City of Burlington has been recognized as a national leader among cities for its innovative and successful housing programs; and

WHEREAS, in spite of the significant housing accomplishments that the City and its nonprofit and for-profit partners have made over the past two decades, the current housing market is clearly not meeting housing needs of working families; and

WHEREAS, in November of 2001, Mayor Clavelle appointed a politically diverse group of stakeholders representing housing developers, builders, lenders, tenant and landlord advocates, and planning and preservation professionals to serve on the "Mayor's Affordable Housing Task Force" (Task Force); and

WHEREAS, the Task Force was charged by the Mayor with developing a set of recommendations to the Mayor and City Council that further the following broad housing goals:

1. Produce new affordable housing

2. Preserve existing affordable housing

3. Protect vulnerable populations

4. Promote affordable homeownership; and

WHEREAS, the Task Force held 15 meetings, including two public hearings between November 2001 and June 2002 to gather public comments, assess Burlington's current housing conditions, review regulatory impediments to creating more housing and to explore changes needed at the local, regional, state and federal level to encourage more affordable housing development and preservation throughout the region; and

WHEREAS, the Task Force has issued a report, attached hereto and dated August 7, 2002, which includes sixty-seven individual recommendations that address the four housing goals identified above;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Mayor and the City Council charge appropriate City departments and request support from appropriate stakeholders with the following actions as described in the Affordable Housing Task Force Report and request that the following activities be priorities for Fiscal Year 2003:

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Goal 2:  Produce  Housing	Action Steps	Responsible Person/Organization	Target Date
2.1	Remove local barriers to housing production	Planning Commission, Attorney, Planning, City Council	2003-2004
2.2	Gather feedback from home builders and developers	CEDO, Homebuilders & Remodelers of Northern VT	Fall-Winter 2002
2.3	Implement recommendations of the 1990 Regulatory Review Task Force	Planning, DPW, Attorney	Winter-Spring 2003
2.4	Examine impact of City fees	CEDO, DPW, Planning, Treasurer	Winter 2003
2.5	Train regulatory review boards	Attorney, Planning	2002-2003
2.6	Conduct "on-the-record" hearing	Attorney, Planning	Fall-Winter 2002
2.7	Explore "anti-snob" zoning	Attorney, Planning, CEDO	Fall 2002
2.8	Insist that UVM create 400 beds by Fall 2003	Mayor, Attorney, CEDO, City Council	2003
2.9	Create database of housing development sites	CEDO, Planning	Fall 2002
2.10	Identify City-owned land for affordable housing	CEDO, City Council	Fall-Winter 2002
2.11	Evaluate Inclusionary Zoning ordinance	CEDO, Planning, Housing Trust Fund Committee	2003
2.12	Develop payment in lieu of creating Inclusionary units	CEDO, Planning	Fall 2002
2.13	CCRPC should deny plans lacking affordable housing component	CCRPC, DHCA	Ongoing
2.14	CCRPC should facilitate voluntary "core compact"	CCRPC, DHCA	Fall-Winter 2002
2.15	Inter-municipal cooperation on infrastructure capacity	CCRPC, Local Elected Officials Group	Ongoing
2.16	CCRPC should help update local zoning codes	CCRPC, Municipalities, DHCA	Ongoing
2.17	Continue and expand State funding for housing production	Governor's Office, Legislature	Ongoing
2.18	State prioritize capital funds for mixed income housing	Governor's Office, Legislature	Spring 2003
2.19	Identify state land for affordable housing	DHCA, Commissioner of Buildings	Spring 2003
2.20	Remove State barriers to housing production	DHCA, State Courts,  Legislature	2003 legislative session
2.21	State should discourage phasing	DHCA, Legislature	2003 legislative session
2.22	State should review housing element of municipal development plans	DHCA	Fall 2002
2.23	State should revise Chapter 117	DHCA, Legislature	2003 legislative session
2.24	Raise the standard for permit appeals	Attorney, Legislature	2003 legislative session
2.25	Congress should continue and expand funding for existing programs	Congressional delegation	Ongoing
2.26	New rental housing production program	Congressional delegation	2003 session of Congress
2.27	Federal incentives for homeownership	Congressional delegation	2003 session of Congress

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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Mayor and City Council wish to express their gratitude to members of the Task Force for their time, energy and commitment to improving the housing situation in Burlington; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Council instructs each of the above-named City departments and requests the above-named stakeholders to submit a written report to the Community and Economic Development Office by October 1, 2002 that

• explains any reasons that any of the above recommendations should not be implemented or cannot be implemented according to the target dates included in this resolution; and

• provides an estimate of the fiscal and human resources impact of implementing these recommendations; and

• describes if any departmental objectives will not get accomplished due to re-assigning staff; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that CEDO present a consolidated implementation plan based on the written reports submitted by City departments and stakeholders at the first City Council meeting in November 2002; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Mayor and City Council request that the above-named City departments and other stakeholders report on their activities quarterly beginning in January 2003 and continuing until January 2004; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk-Treasurer's Office send copies of this resolution to each of the above-named City departments and stakeholders.

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