September 16, 2024

CITY OF TITUSVILLE

AFFORDABLE HOUSING ADVISORY COMMITTEE

MINUTES

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 16, 2024

4:30 P. M.

The Affordable Housing Advisory Committee meeting was held at the Harry T. Moore Social Service Center, 725 S. DeLeon Avenue.

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The members present were Council Member Joe C. Robinson, Member Gary, and Member Manning. City Staff present were Tracy Davis, Neighborhood Services Grants & Contracts Compliance Manager, Sheila Martin, Neighborhood Services Special Projects Coordinator, Eddy Galindo, Principal Planner. The members of the public present were S. Elizabeth Adams, Steven Hisler, and Elizebeth Ross.

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I.          Meeting was called to order at 4:33 p.m.

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II.         Roll Call

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III.       Quorum established by roll call.

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IV.       APPROVAL OF MINUTES FOR SEPTEMBER 9, 2024

Motion to accepts minutes as is made by Member Gary; seconded by Vice Chairperson Manning. 

Motion passed by unanimous voice vote of yes.

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V.        OLD BUSINESS

A.  Incentive A: Expedited Permitting

Eddy Galindo explained to the Committee that the City expedites the permit process for affordable housing projects by moving these projects to the top of the tasks lists for all of the City’s reviewers and site development review team, and that there are no proposed changes to this process as it seems to be working fine. Chairman Robinson asked is there any recommendations by the state to expedite the permitting process for all projects, to which Eddy Galindo answered that there is not currently a way, aside from onboarding additional staff, to expedite permits for all projects, or to make the process any faster, as staff is already working at capacity. Vice Chairperson Manning asked if there is any member of the city planning staff that is dedicated solely to affordable housing projects, to which Eddy Galindo answered no. Vice Chairperson Manning asked if affordable housing projects are still being expedited once they reach the Fire Department for the fire inspection aspect of review, because this part of the review process seems to take the longest. Eddy Galindo responded that the fire inspection site review should not take an exceedingly long time, but there has been a change in the staffing so it is possible this could be influencing the time length of the review, and he has not been made aware that this is an issue, but he would investigate it. Eddy Galindo then spoke to the Committee about how the review process works, specifically that a deadline is assigned to a project, which applies to all aspects/departments involved in the review.

Motion to accept Incentive A as is made by Member Gary; seconded by Vice Chairperson Manning. Motion passed by a unanimous voice vote of yes.

B.  Incentive B: Modification of Impact Fee Requirements

Eddy Galindo explained to the Committee that impact fees are charged for new developments to hook up to existing services, and the monies received are used to pay for other City Services provided such as fire and parks, and that there are not currently any proposed changes to the impact fees, except for any changes that may result from the Public Works Study which is intended to ensure that the impact fees being charged are adequate to offset the impact to the city services provided. Vice Chairperson Manning spoke about how other municipalities, such as Polk County, are recommending fee waivers for affordable housing projects pursuant to AMI percentage being served and the number of affordable units that are set aside. Tracy Davis stated that last year the AHAC was informed that impact fees could not be waived or modified due to the local restrictions and regulations, and no further action could be taken for Incentive B. Chairman Robinson stated that the AHAC has been trying for years to recommend that impact fees be modified for affordable housing projects. Eddy Galindo suggested that staff could research this issue, specifically which communities offer the waiver of impact fees and how the process that they use for modifying.

Vice Chairman Manning motioned to accept Incentive B as is, with the recommendation that staff research the fee waiver programs being offered by other communities so that in the future, if possible, an impact fee waiver process could be implemented within the City of Titusville. Seconded by Member Gary. Motion passed by a unanimous voice vote of yes.

C.  Incentive D: Reservation of Infrastructure Capacity for Affordable Housing

Eddy Galindo explained to the Committee that the City is required by Florida Statute to maintain a concurrency system that tracks the capacity of public facilities, like water and sewer, for development and that no project will be approved if the infrastructure capacity is not available, and the infrastructure capacity is only reserved for a project once the development permit has been issued. Further, Eddy Galindo stated that is not a currently policy in place that would allow for the reservation of infrastructure capacity for affordable housing projects prior to the issuance of the development permit. Member Gary asked if the current city-wide plan of inspecting copper pipes is part of the reservation of infrastructure, to which Eddy Galido answered yes. 

Motion to accept Incentive D as is made by Member Gary; seconded by Vice Chairperson Manning. Motion passed by a unanimous voice vote of yes.

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VI.       NEW BUSINESS

Chairman Robinson discussed with Committee the specifications that are involved with what type of structure constitutes an accessory dwelling unit, also known as an ADU. The Committee discussed the lot size and parking requirements for ADUs. Chairman Robinson asked if the required additional parking space for an ADU could be satisfied by off-street parking. Eddy Galindo answered that off-street parking cannot typically satisfy the parking requirement for an ADU because an off-street parking spot is not a dedicated parking spot for that structure and there would be no guarantee that the off-street parking spot would be consistently available. Chairman Robinson inquired as to the current demand or interest in ADUs due to the shortage of affordable housing and Eddy Galindo responded that surprisingly, there have been very few requests for ADUs. Member Gary asked if the City had any current policy in place regarding the construction of tiny homes, and if so, what was the policy. Eddy Galindo responded that, as it pertains to the City Code, there is a difference between a tiny home and a tiny home that is on wheels, specifically that tiny homes are built on a foundation and are required to be built in a cottage development.

Motion to accept Incentive E as is made by Member Gary; seconded by Vice Chairperson Manning. Motion passed by a unanimous voice vote of yes.

Tracy Davis provided the Committee with an overview of last year’s recommendation for Incentive F, which was to accept Incentive F as is, with improvements regarding the reduction, size, and quantity of parking spaces similar to the requirements of the low impact development ordinance. Eddy Galindo stated that this incentive is beneficial because it provides developers with flexibility that helps to prevent the need for a variance, which can be time consuming. Eddy Galindo further stated that the low impact development incentives have been very successful, and affordable housing developers could take advantage of those incentives by following the requirements of the low impact development ordinance, or the same flexibilities of the low impact development incentive could be made applicable to affordable housing projects as well. 

Motion to table Incentive F until further research can be conducted made by Vice Chairperson Manning; seconded by Member Gary. Motion passed by a unanimous voice vote of yes.

Chairman Robinson stated that there is not much more that can be done regarding this incentive. Tracy Davis provided the Committee with an overview of last year’s recommendation for Incentive G, which was the incentive was implemented, working effectively, considered successful, and no further action was needed at the time. Tracy Davis also provided the Committee with an explanation about flexible lot configurations in that is allows more affordable units to be constructed on oddly shaped plots, such as those properties on the City’s Surplus Property List. 

Motion to accept Incentive G as is made by Member Gary; seconded by Vice Chairperson Manning. Motion passed by a unanimous voice vote of yes.

Tracy Davis provided the Committee with last year’s recommendation which was that public works should be consulted regarding additional improvements for Incentive because of the integral role of on-street parking in affordable housing developments. Vice Chairperson Manning spoke to the Committee about how in many instances, residents of affordable housing developments don’t always have a vehicle and lower parking requirements are acceptable for affordable housing projects when they are located close to public transit and/or within walking distance to amenities, and that when off-street parking requirements are reduced, more of the lot can be utilized for building affordable residential units. 

Motion to accept Incentive H as is, but to monitor for any relevant changes or adjustments needed, made by Vice Chairperson Manning; Seconded by Member Gary. Motion passed by a unanimous voice vote of yes.

Vice Chairperson Manning provided the Committee with the Florida Housing Coalition’s overview of Incentive I. Eddy Galindo stated that Florida Legislature recently enacted a rule that before a City can adopt a new ordinance, it must publish the impact that the ordinance would have on the effected businesses, and in Titusville, before any new ordinance is passed, the staff who drafted the ordinance must publish to the City’s website, the Business Impact Estimate which provides a quantifiable estimate of how the requirements of the ordinance will financially impact the local businesses, that this only applies to businesses. Eddy Galindo further stated that it could be possible consider having similar requirements in place for residential ordinances passed, however, which could potentially increase the workload on staff and slow processes for other planning functions. Vice Chairman Manning reviewed last year’s recommendations, which were to avoid recommending any action which could potentially increase the costs of affordable housing development which could thereby be passed on to residents in the form of higher housing costs and to mandate that a staff member of the City Planning Department be on the AHAC as a liaison. Member Gary stated that before any ordinance is approved, there are several public hearings that provide for the opportunity of any concerns to be raised, so there is already a process that allows for concerns to be expressed. Vice Chairperson Manning expressed that in keeping Incentive I as is, the P & Z Committee could provide the AHAC with any recommendations that are made for proposed ordinances the have a cost impact on affordable housing and that the AHAC could raise its concerns at Council meetings. Tracy Davis commented that as a member of City staff and the AHAC, she consistently listens to and watches the City Council meetings, monitoring for any proposed changes that would impact affordable housing and Chairman Robinson commented that a member of City Council is required to serve on the AHAC, all of which keep the AHAC informed of any proposed changes to ordinances that could impact the costs of affordable housing. Vice Chairman Manning stated that she would feel more comfortable accepting Incentive I if a member of P & Z was on the AHAC.

Motion to table Incentive I until more information can be provided regarding a member of the planning and zoning committee being on the AHAC made by Vice Chairperson Manning; seconded by Member Gary. Motion passed with a unanimous voice vote of yes.

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VII.      PETITIONS AND REQUESTS FROM THE PUBLIC PRESENT (OPEN FORUM)

None.

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VIII.     REPORTS

Chairman Robinson stated that there are a total of six (6) incentives remaining to review at the next meeting, which is Monday, September 23, 2024, at 4:30PM.

None.

None.

IX.       ADJOURNMENT

            With no further business and discussions, Chairperson Robinson adjourned the meeting at 5:37 p.m.