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HomeMy WebLinkAbout6.14.24 Workforce Needs Assessment Committee1 Low-Income (Workforce) Housing Needs Assessment Housing Fund Board’s Data and Needs Assessment Committee June 14th, 2024 Present: Viki Sonntag – facilitator; Julia Cochrane – scribe; Cheryl Weinstein, Dove House, Coordinated Entry Advisory Board; Kathy Morgan, Olympic Housing Trust; Debbie Steele, Community Build; Jamie Maciejewski, Habitat; Heather Dudley-Nolette, Bayside Housing Services; Tiffany Dunaway, Peninsula Housing Authority; Liz Revord, Housing Solutions Network OlyCAP’s recently hired Director of Housing and Community Development, Viola Ware, will attend future discussions. Summary Take-Aways • Addressing the low-income affordable housing shortage is critical to eliminating homelessness. An increasing number of households are at risk of being displaced, while there is nowhere to move to out of homelessness regardless of how prepared people are. • Eligibility limits present a significant barrier to accessing services households need to stabilize their housing, especially for over households over 30% AMI. • Additional operational funding is needed. Agencies reported critical sources of funding for existing programs are out of funds or frozen. • The time it takes to permit innovative solutions dilutes organizational capacity and increases development costs. • High mortgage rates are impacting Habitat’s model. USDA is out of mortgage lending money. • The absence of a low-income rental management option worsens the loss of affordable rental housing (19% drop in the last ten years). • Solutions need to be developed within the context of organizational capabilities. Round - Existing Conditions • Viki, Data Analysis: Higher-income households outcompete lower- income households for the same housing inventory, which excludes 2 those with the fewest resources from the housing market. (See attached data analysis powerpoint presentation.) o Rental households with below 50% AMI are at greatest risk for displacement from the housing shortage. o An estimated 1900 to 2200 housing units are needed to meet current low income household needs (< 80% AMI). • Cheryl, Dove House: Client households often do not qualify for subsidized housing given the 30% AMI limit. The most significant access gap is in the 30 to 50% AMI range. o From data analysis: Over 90% of households in 30 to 50% AMI range in Port Townsend are housing cost burdened. o The gap exasperates trauma [of being homeless]. • Kathy, Olympic Housing Trust: There is a lack of access across spectrum. There are no options for 30-50% AMI. o OHT is building 5 units in the fall on Hastings. How households qualify is continuing challenge. o Chimacum Commons. In collaboration w/Jefferson Land Trust OHT is building farm worker housing starting next year featuring a central unit with satellite bedrooms, houses, and a working farm surrounding it. In range of 10 to 15 dwellings, some rentals, some for sale. o Organizational capacity building takes time. • Debbie, Community Build: Implementing THOW model for very low income households for purchase or rental. Community relationships are critical resource in keeping costs down. o Building 192 sf (plus sleeping loft) Tiny Homes on Wheels (THOWs) for below 50% AMI households, selling at material cost of $35k. Purchasers must keep THOWS low income for 8 years. Rentals at ⅓ of 50% AMI, would equate to around $1071/mo including utilities. o First two THOWs bought with assistance of loans from LION. o Relationship with a certified builder kept development costs low. Normally costs $15k to certify new model not counting organizational certification. o 6 people on their wait list, 3 of whom want to buy for rental purposes. o Working with OCEAN and Chimacum School engaging kids with builds. 3 o Still looking for place to build. Fairground barn rental not assured under city zoning rules. • Jamie, Habitat: Working to build at higher volume and increased scale. Last Fall EJC Habitat celebrated 25 years. o Buyers getting mortgages is an increasing challenge because of interest rates. Habitat’s model is dependent on people getting mortgages.  USDA, their main mortgage lender is out of money in their direct loan program and will be out for 6 months to 3 years. Of the last 10 mortgages only 2 were USDA.  Mortgages are now coming through WA State Finance Commission at eligibility limit of 65% AMI and under.  Moving forward, people will have to have pre-approval before we accept them. They have pre-qualified people who are more at 80% AMI unable to obtain mortgages. o Habitat has been waiting for months for Feds to approve their land trust (permanently-affordable) model. o Habitat is also focusing on increasing density but is being slowed down by permitting.  Timelines for permitting and planning are very long because code changes take forever. Many projects still allow for the public to request hearings. o All homes in Mason Street development in Port Hadlock are attached which will require code changes so they don’t have to be condos. It will be a Zero lot line development. o Mason St. might include a 25 unit apartment building - looking for partners to operate it. Affordable up to 150% AMI. ● Tiffany, Peninsula Housing Authority: PHA provides rental subsidies, the majority for households under 50% AMI. ○ Alternative Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) eligibility limit is 80% AMI. 65% of households receiving TBRA assistance are elderly and/or disabled. Eligible households are referred to TBRA through local Coordinated Entry Systems. TBRA is generally a 24 month transitional program. Currently there is a freeze on taking referrals. ○ Landlords cannot deny a voucher but need to be inspected. Landlord gets paid directly by PHA. Landlord can tell PHA they are willing and go through a pre-inspection of the unit. 4 ○ Can use Section 8 vouchers for home ownership. There are about 40 home owners. ○ PHA does not do room rentals. ○ Vouchers are allotted through a lottery. The list opens every 12 to 18 months. Sign-up for lottery moving to on-line only through web site “Rent Cafe” and then people will get notified when lottery opens. Dove House, Olycap, Bayside help people apply. ● Liz, Housing Solutions Network: o HSN launched community/employer workforce housing survey. So far have received 600 responses, not including Mill, large employers and other entities. 24 employers will have their own surveys representing 569 full time employees, 194 part time and contract employees. Have consultants to help interpret data. Plan is to present data with personalized stories. o HSN is taking over the old Jefferson Community Foundation and offering space to Olympic Housing Trust and Community Build, and a conference room for housing meetings. o Between 80 to 120% AMI, there is a need to find opportunities for upward mobility. o Methow Housing Trust are implementing a Housing Conservation or deed restriction program to retain worker housing. HSN is keeping in close touch. The program is first in state. Its aim is conservation of affordability. ● Heather, Bayside: Focused on transitional housing and supportive housing for under 50% AMI. ○ Attended Urban Growth Area 3 day design charrette for Hadlock Urban Growth Area, managed by Brent Butler. ○ Senior looking at renting her home but would lose her low income senior real estate discount, so can’t. ○ Starrett House - Bayside purchased with bank loan with intention of doing low income workforce housing using a boarding house model. ■ Bayside partners with a for-profit to run as a B&B which helps with funding for shelter and transitional supportive programs. ■ Zoning is the primary barrier to use as boarding house. Bayside could house 4 people under current zoning. If 5 privately owned, could have up to 10 roommates. Two 2 bedroom apartments may be rented. ■ The city is saying to for a boarding house, Bayside would need to bring the house up to multi-family housing standards. The cost to do that is prohibitive. Barriers and Gaps and Actions to Address Barriers and Gaps Discussion points are cross-referenced to recommended actions from the December 2023 Ruckleshaus’ report Pathways to Housing Security, (https://ruckelshauscenter.wsu.edu/projects/current-projects/pathways-to- housing-security/). The report is the outcome of a series of facilitated discussions in 2023 with housing stakeholders statewide intended to inform desired principles, options, and recommendations for a state strategy towards housing security. Eligibility Limits Dove House is trying to up the eligibility limit from 30% to 40% or 50% by advocating with Commerce. Aligns with Ruckleshaus Report Recommendation 10, Holistic Eligibility: Reconfigure eligibility criteria using a cross-sector, multifactorial, periodic assessment designed to help people access the supports they need over time to synergistically stabilize their housing, health, behavioral health, and socioeconomic circumstances. Key actions include: Income Eligibility Gap: Supplement housing assistance eligibility beyond federal income limits to compensate for the locally disproportionate mismatch between household income and housing costs. Income Eligibility Cliff: Extend housing assistance eligibility to replace binary thresholds with a sliding scale to help people gradually transition to housing stability as their socioeconomic stability also gradually improves. Code and Comp Plan Changes Significant barrier remains with the time it takes to change and implement changes in Comp Plan and codes. While the agencies are trying to think outside the box, the county and the city are not keeping 6 up with zoning changes. Barrier is having to adhere to older codes that take forever to change. o The time it takes to permit innovative solutions affects organizational capacity, determining what housing can be built, using what land, and in what quantity. Action: Support efforts to streamline what is currently in Comp Plan. There is a recognition that much of what is in Comp Plan could be placed in code where it takes less time to change. o Planning effort to remove barriers of density and use restrictions from Comp Plan. o Example of allowing boarding houses of up to 10 or more in R II, which currently allows only 4, allowing for conversion of some of these large houses to cooperative housing in the future. Action: Take all the projects that we all have in the permitting process and see what is holding up the permits. We know what pieces of information they are asking of us. Lets see this all in one place and have the conversation with all the agencies and the city and county. That is what the County Commissioners and City Council needs to see. Operating Funds Aligns with Ruckleshaus Report Recommendation 5, Supply of Affordable Housing: Adopt strategies that align homelessness services and housing assistance with increasing the supply of affordable housing for rental and ownership. Allocate more funds to be used for operations and maintenance to preserve the current stock of subsidized and affordable housing. Rental Management Gap Habitat is in conversation with employers to create a rental management coalition. Employers would hold the lease. Housing Stability Support Aligns with Ruckleshaus Report Recommendation 12, Circumstances of Precarious Housing: Expand investments that stabilize individuals and households with circumstances of precarious housing. Key actions include: 7 Bridging Support: Provide bridging grants or loans for unanticipated expenses that may supersede making rent or mortgage payments on time.