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City of Albany Report of the Housing Affordability Task Force November 14, 2016 Kathy M. Sheehan Mayor Prepared by the City of Albany Housing Affordability Task Force for City of Albany Mayor Kathy M. Sheehan and the City of Albany Common Council. ---PAGE BREAK--- Table of Contents 1. Summary 1 a. Task Force 1 b. Task Force History 2 c. Task Force Activities 2 2. Discussion of Research 5 a. Census Data 5 b. ReZone Albany Housing Study 6 c. Albany Housing Authority Data 7 d. Albany County Department of Social Services Data 8 3. Public Forums Report 8 4. Future Activities 10 5. Conclusion 10 Housing Affordability Task Force A-1 May 9, 2016 Meeting Minutes A-1 June 6, 2016 Meeting Minutes A-4 July 12, 2016 Meeting Minutes A-7 August 2, 2016 Meeting Minutes A-10 September 12, 2016 Meeting A-12 October 17, 2016 Meeting Minutes A-15 Public Workshop 1- September 22, 2016 Table Report Back Transcript A-18 ---PAGE BREAK--- 1 1. Summary The City of Albany Housing Affordability Task Force was convened by Mayor Kathy M. Sheehan on April 20, 2016. Made up of landlords, tenants, community and government leaders, the Task Force’s goal is to study the issue of affordable housing in the City of Albany, assess the demand for and supply of it, and explore ways the City of Albany can protect existing opportunities for quality, stable, and affordable housing for city residents and extend those opportunities to underserved communities. This is a preliminary report on the Housing Affordability Task Force’s initial activities, research, and future plans. While we cannot offer recommendations at this time, we hope this report gives the Mayor and Common Council an idea of what the Task Force has accomplished so far and what it plans to accomplish in the coming months. a. Task Force Members Members of the City of Albany Housing Affordability Task Force represent a diverse cross-section of individuals representing tenants, landlords, and community stakeholders and leaders in the area of housing. Task Force members were selected so as to create a task force of individuals who represent not only the most knowledgeable members of our community but who represent our entire City and the diversity of perspectives and experiences contained within it. Below is a full list of Task Force Members: Faye Andrews Alicia Borns Director, Albany Community Development Agency Tenant and Bureau Director, NYS Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence Kory Hogan Konstandin Kacani Fair Housing Coordinator, City of Albany Landlord, Capital District Association of Rental Property Owners ---PAGE BREAK--- 2 Steven T. Longo Robert Magee Executive Director, Albany Housing Authority Director, City of Albany Department of Buildings & Regulatory Compliance Donna Maylath Lillian M. Moy Director, Division of Temporary Assistance, Albany County Department of Social Services Executive Director, Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York Nelia Quezada Sarah Reginelli Tenant and SUNY Albany Center for Women in Government & Civil Society 2016 Fellow President, Capitalize Albany Christine Schudde Erin Reale Executive Director, Habitat for Humanity Executive Director, United Tenants of Albany b. Task Force History The Housing Affordability Task Force was formally appointed on April 20, 2016. The Task Force met for the first time on May 9, 2016 and has met on a basis since then. Annexed to this report are meeting minutes from each of those meetings. These meetings have provided an opportunity for Task Force members to discuss their experiences with affordable housing in the City and to formulate the Task Force’s strategy to accomplish its mission: to produce an informative and useful report on the state of and need for housing affordability in the City of Albany for the Mayor and the Common Council. c. Task Force Activities i. Research The initial conclusion reached was that information about the availability of and need for affordable housing in the City of Albany is lacking. Therefore, the Task Force’s first mission is to gather what data is available while investigating what other municipalities have done to address affordable housing needs within their own borders. A review of available resources ---PAGE BREAK--- 3 found that available information was often incomplete. In particular, there are substantial gaps in the record of the availability of subsidized housing, whether by the state or federal government. Even determining what is “affordable” for city residents is made difficult by our substantial student population who, while counted in most population and income surveys as “low-income”, typically have access to substantial capital. The City of Albany’s senior population is also increasing as a percentage of the total. As with students, seniors will often appear as low-income in census and housing study reports, even though they may have retirement savings accounts or other savings which they can draw on. Filling in these gaps as best we can is the Task Force’s chief obstacle to providing the Mayor and the Common Council with an insightful and report and recommendations. In order to fulfill overcome this obstacle, the Task Force will rely on and data gathered by various sources wherever available. In many instances, the members themselves were able to generate useful data through their affiliated organizations. Donna Maylath, for example, is able to provide the task force with the average number of households receiving emergency housing assistance through the Albany County Department of Social Services. Steven Longo is able to provide the number of households receiving assistance through the Albany Housing Authority and the number of households on the Albany Housing Authority’s waiting list. The Task Force was also able to find data from outside sources such as the Census Bureau and data gleaned as part of the ReZone Albany initiative. The Task Force is continuing to work with community members and groups to collect the data needed to adequately assess the need for and supply of affordable housing in the City and we expect to gain more information as our efforts continue. ---PAGE BREAK--- 4 ii. Public Forums Mayor Sheehan wanted to ensure the Task Force checked in with the community and provided an opportunity for public input. With that in mind, the Mayor asked that the Task Force hold public workshops throughout the City so that different neighborhoods could provide their insight and perspective to the Task Force. The Task Force decided that the goal of the workshops should be to develop a common understanding of City resident’s feeling’s on 1) what exactly is “affordable housing”, 2) what are the biggest challenges in creating or maintaining affordable housing, and 3) how these challenges could be overcome. This insight would provide guidance to the Task Force as it researched the relevant issues and moved forward in crafting its recommendations. In order to maximize the opportunity for participation, the Task Force opted to use a breakout and report back format wherein workshop members would break into small groups facilitated by task force members, discuss the issues, and report back to the larger group. This format has proven effective at other community meetings members participated in and was used very successfully at our first public forum. iii. Surveys The Task Force also developed surveys for both tenants and landlords. The surveys are available in paper and online and can be returned to any Task Force member or the City of Albany Department of Buildings & Regulatory Compliance for processing. The purpose of the survey is two-fold: 1) to gather information not captured in the data sources we have found thus far and 2) provide an opportunity to comment for people who may not be able to attend our public workshops to participate in the conversation the Task Force is promoting. The surveys ---PAGE BREAK--- 5 may be refined as our work continues, but we hope that the surveys will be an ongoing source of information and insight for Task Force members. 2. Discussion of Research Uncovering reliable information on the cost of housing and whether or not it is affordable presents several challenges. The cost of rent depends on numerous factors such as dwelling size, location, and condition and there is no centralized area where rents are reported. Economic affordability also depends on several factors beyond mere income, such as a household’s size, expenses, and other resources. The City of Albany itself presents unique challenges in this respect in that we have a higher-than-average student population, growing senior population, and a greater percentage of renters overall. Still, there is data available which provides an idea as to the economic affordability of housing which the Task Force will continue to gather and process going forward. a. Census Data The chief source of raw data on housing in the City of Albany comes from the United States Census Bureau, which estimates the City of Albany’s population to be approximately 98,500.1 5.5% of the City population is under the age of 5, 17.9% is under the age of 18, and 11.1% are over the age of 65.2 The City has approximately 46,362 housing units, 61.9% of which are renter occupied.3 Median rent in the City of Albany is $862 and median household income was $41,099 in 2014.4 The Census Bureau’s data indicates, therefore, that the median rent accounts for roughly 25% of total income for households earning the median income. This would indicate that housing is 1 Census Bureau, Quick Facts, Albany City, New York http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/3601000 (visited 11/14/16) 2 Id. 3 Id. 4 Id. ---PAGE BREAK--- 6 affordable for City residents generally. However, the available Census Bureau data does not distinguish between household or housing unit size and it’s clear that the median rent would increase for larger households which need larger units. It is equally obvious that the City of Albany should aspire to creating quality housing opportunities for all residents, not just those in the vicinity of the median income range. The Census Bureau states that 45% of city residents who occupy rental units spend more than 35% of their income on rent. The Census Bureau does not, however, take into account whether those 45% of city residents rely on income (as opposed to student loans, government assistance, retirement savings, etc.) to pay rent. Thus, this figure is not determinative of the need for affordable housing in the City of Albany. b. ReZone Albany Housing Study Another valuable source of data the Task Force has been fortunate to access is a housing study of the City of Albany by BBC Research & Consulting in the Summer of 2016 as part of the ReZone Albany effort. The data generated in this report has the advantage over the Census Bureau data in that it is more nuanced and focused on the challenges presented by the City of Albany itself. The BBC study was not, however, commissioned to study affordability specifically but rather the City’s housing market generally. According to the BBC study, the average renter household consists of 2.07 people per housing unit and the median rent in the City of Albany is $896 per month.5 It would require an annual income of $36,000 for a household to be able to afford that level of rent.6 The BBC study 5 BBC Research & Consulting, Housing Market Review: City of Albany, June 12, 2016 at 2. 6 Id. at 2. This is based on the assumption that less than one third of a household’s income be spent on housing. ---PAGE BREAK--- 7 agrees with the Census Bureau that median income for the City is $41,099 but notes that the median household income of the City’s renting population is $29,172.7 According to this study, half of renters in Albany earn less than $25,000 per year.8 At this salary, a resident’s rent must be $625 a month or less in order to be “affordable” according to BBC’s definition.9 It is noteworthy that according to BBC, the median rent in the City has increased 60% since 2000, more than twice the rate at which the median income has grown.10 The BBC report also puts the City’s poverty rate at 25%.11 Using data from a 2014 study, the BBC report estimates that there is a deficit of 6,591 affordable units for households receiving less than $24,999 per year.12 On the other hand, the City of Albany has a surplus of 5,029 affordable units for households receiving between $25,000 and $34,999 per year and a surplus of 8,084 affordable units for households receiving between $35,000 and $49,999 per year.13 Again, the problem with these estimates is that they do not take into account subsidies, which would result in an overstatement of the deficit of affordable units for families below the poverty level. c. Albany Housing Authority Data Task Force member and Albany Housing Authority Executive Director Steven Longo reports that the Albany Housing Authority’s waitlist for a Section 8 voucher is five-thousand households long and that the waitlist for public housing is nine-thousand households long. Six- thousand of these waitlisted households are City of Albany residents. Additionally, the Albany Housing Authority’s waitlists are not routinely updated and may not reflect the current state of 7 Id. 8 Id. 9 Id. BBC defines “affordable housing” as housing which requires less than 30% of the resident’s income to maintain. 10 Id. 11 Id. at p. 2. 12 Id. at p. 1. 13 Id. ---PAGE BREAK--- 8 the need for subsidized housing among Albany residents. Certain households may also be represented on these waitlists more than once. d. Albany County Department of Social Services Data Donna Maylath, Director of the Albany County Department of Social Services Division of Temporary Assistance, reported to the Task Force that as of July 2016, there were 257 households living in emergency housing provided by the Albany County Department of Social Services. This number is in flux and it is difficult to determine the extent to which these residents were City of Albany residents as opposed to residents of outlying communities. Director Maylath also reports to the Task Force that the Albany County Department of Social Service saw a record number of emergency housing assistant applicants in September 2016. Though she has seen an increase in the number of individuals traveling into the City of Albany to receive services, the increase reveals a pronounced demand for stable and affordable housing. 3. Public Forums Report The Task Force’s first public workshop was held on the evening of September 22, 2016 in the South End Neighborhood at the Howe Branch of the Albany Public Library on 105 Schuyler St. Not including Task Force members, there were twenty-two community members in attendance. Attendance was comprised overwhelmingly of tenant stakeholders. After a brief introduction to the Housing Affordability Task Force and its mission and an explanation of the breakout and report back format, the attendees split into three groups to discuss what their definition of “affordable housing” was, the challenges they perceived in creating or maintaining it, and how those challenges could be overcome. Attendees were eager to share their thoughts and had a variety of takes on what “affordable housing” really is. It was clear that attendees agreed that affordable housing was not ---PAGE BREAK--- 9 just an economic calculation and that the “cost” of housing needed to take into account stability, appropriateness, and quality of life. The first breakout group defined affordable housing as housing where the “cost of rent (including utilities) would not exceed 35% of the household’s income, leaving funds remaining for other household essentials”. The second breakout group defined affordable housing as stable housing that was appropriate to the needs of tenants and which could be paid for by tenants without sacrificing their overall quality of life. The third breakout group defined affordable housing as “housing that does not exceed a reasonable percentage of a household’s income” which is well-constructed and provides a supportive system for tenants. After the breakout groups identified their working definition of “affordable housing” they identified the barriers to achieving affordable housing and the solutions that could overcome those barriers. Each table identified their top three barriers and their top three solutions and presented them to everyone in attendance. These were placed on a list that was posted at the front of the room. Attendees then voted on what they saw as the top challenge to creating and maintaining affordable housing and what they saw as the best solution to that challenge. The top challenge identified by attendees as a whole was a lack of funding, political will, and inclusionary zoning that would mandate the construction of affordable housing by developers. A close second was the need to change the formula used to determine income eligibility for government subsidized housing so that it better reflects the costs of maintaining a quality, stable household. The top solution identified by attendees as a whole was to increase funding for affordable housing. Other popular solutions were development of an inclusionary zoning program and laws requiring developers to build affordable housing as a condition of obtaining approval to build in the City. ---PAGE BREAK--- 10 The results of the forum provided the Task Force with essential guidance on what avenues to pursue in their ongoing research and consideration of the issue. 4. Future Activities The Task Force’s next public forum will be held in mid-December. The details are being worked out but will be made available on the Task Force’s website as soon as they have been finalized. While we cannot provide any final recommendations to the Mayor or the Common Council in this report, we hope to reach at least preliminary recommendations with the publication of our next report in six months. The Task Force will also be launching a page within the City’s website which will provide a portal for City residents to learn more about the Task Force and how they can get involved with the Task Force’s efforts. In the meantime we will continue to compile and analyze data, discover new sources of data where we can find it, and analyze how other cities approach the issue of housing affordability. More importantly, we will continue to work with the community through our public workshop and the distribution of our surveys so that we can better understand the issues surrounding housing affordability from the eyes of the consumers and providers most directly affected by it. 5. Conclusion The Affordable Housing Task Force’s work is far from complete. While it is easy to lament the perceived lack of affordable housing and prescribe generalized solutions, housing affordability is a complex issue and it must be fully understood before we can propose feasible plans to maintain and improve its availability. The Task Force will continue in its mission to ---PAGE BREAK--- 11 fully understand housing affordability in the City of Albany and looks forward to offerings its recommendations based on that understanding to the Mayor and Common Council. ---PAGE BREAK--- A-1 Appendix A Housing Affordability Task Force Housing Affordability Task Force May 9, 2016 Meeting Minutes 200 Henry Johnson Blvd Albany, NY 12210 Attendees: Donna Maylath, Christine Schudde, Lillian Moy, Steve Longo, Alicia Borns, Nelia Quezada, Erin Reale, Faye Andrews, Sara Reginelli, Konstandin (Dino) Kacani & Robert Magee Guests: Councilmember Kelly Kimborough Next Meeting: Thursday June 9 at 5PM at 200 Henry Johnson Blvd To Do List for Next Meeting: 1. Donna will collect data regarding the cost of housing stabilization (eviction prevention, rapid rehousing, etc.). 2. Steve will provide the data currently being compiled by the Albany Housing Authority regarding subsidized housing in the City of Albany. 3. Robert will draft and distribute a poll to narrow down options for public forum topics, research committee assignments, and general areas of focus and the Task Force will respond. 4. Dino will compile a survey of questions for CDARPO members and other landlords to assess market rate rents and the availability of housing. 5. Erin will investigate affordable housing models and assemble a survey for the task force’s consideration. 6. Sara will investigate the cost and feasibility of conducting a formal housing study. Minutes Introductions The meeting opened with an introduction of Affordable Housing Task Force members. Brain Storming & General The Task Force spent approximately 45 minutes discussing the most pressing issues and opportunities they perceive in the arena of affordable housing. Topics Discussed o Inclusionary Zoning o Municipal ordinances prohibiting landlord refusal to accept rent subsidies. ---PAGE BREAK--- A-2 o Difficulties for developers in providing affordable units, including the cost of rehabbing and renting unoccupied buildings. o Lack of quality housing, specifically, landlords who do as little maintenance and upkeep as possible in order to retain section 8 eligibility or maintain ROP eligibility. o Lack of understanding of the causes of housing stability. o There is a need for economic diversity to break the cycle of poverty. o A fear by landlords of working with DSS and/or Section 8 subsidized tenants. o Need to set a clearer, easier path from rental to homeownership. Including educating new or low income households moving into homeownership as to the advantages of maintaining a rental unit on their property. o There is a need to educate those facing chronic housing instability in the habits needed to achieve and maintain housing stability. o Improved infrastructure (ie. public transportation) can open up new areas for low income individuals who may not have access to private transportation to find housing. o The high demand for rental housing as compared to five years ago caused by a shift in population into urban areas generally and, specifically, an increased flow of individuals moving from New York City to upstate New York as a result of increasing costs of living in NYC. The Albany Housing Authority has a 13,000 household long waiting list for its vouchers and subsidized units. LLs now typically require a security deposit and first and last month’s rent before renting a unit which makes it hard to move into a new unit or move out of a substandard unit. LLs avoid leases so that they can be free to secure better rents from future tenants. o There are unique problems faced by individuals transitioning out of incarceration. Identification of Work Compiling Data - The Task Force came to a consensus that in order to provide a useful report, it will need data and that there is an acute lack of data on housing affordability, the rental market, and the needs of those unable to secure affordable housing in the City of Albany. o The Task Force identified the following data that is missing What are the average rents in the city? How many rental units are vacant? What constitutes “affordable”? ---PAGE BREAK--- A-3 What constitutes “low income”? How many individuals are unable to find housing due to a lack of affordable housing in the City? How long does it take to secure affordable housing? o Donna suggested that Albany County DSS could provide data on DSS’s expenditures on housing stabilization (subsidies and grants provided to stave off eviction and/or to secure new housing). o Steve related that the Albany Housing Authority had found it very difficult to compile data on the existence and availability of subsidized housing in Albany. o Dino suggested that he could poll CDARPO (Capital District Association of Rental Property Owners) for information on rent costs and the availability of rental units. o Sara related that many municipalities hire research firms to conduct housing studies to capture much of the data the Task Force needs to complete its mission. Public Forums – The Task Force came to a consensus that the Task Force’s public forums should be geared towards a particular, broad topic to ensure a useful exchange of ideas. o Several topics were suggested: Tenant challenges Workforce housing Subsidized housing Lack of quality housing Landlord challenges Barriers to landlord investment Costs of renovation Subsidized housing challenges for landlords Collaboration Strategies toward moving from rentals to homeownership Legislative best practices Section 8 from the tenant and landlord perspective Research Committees – The Task Force considered the use of research committees and determined that the Task Force would be better placed to develop a list of research tasks at the second Task Force meeting after members had an opportunity to review the data task force members will be putting together and to consider the issues discussed during the meeting. ---PAGE BREAK--- A-4 Housing Affordability Task Force June 6, 2016 Meeting Minutes 200 Henry Johnson Blvd Albany, NY 12210 Attendees: Donna Maylath, Christine Schudde, Lillian Moy, Steve Longo, Nelia Quezada, Faye Andrews, Sara Reginelli, Konstandin (Dino) Kacani, Kory Hogan & Robert Magee Next Meeting: Thursday July 12 at 5PM at 200 Henry Johnson Blvd To Do List for Next Meeting: 1. Lillian & Nelia will compile a survey for tenants and Robert & Dino will compile a survey for landlords. 2. Public meeting planning a. Sarah will develop a structure for the first public meeting. b. The forum will be structured around the general question of housing affordability and what can be done to meet the demand for it. c. Robert will confirm the Washington Ave Library Branch for our first public workshop to be held Thursday, August 18, 2016 from 5:30 to 7:30. d. Nelia will develop a flier. e. Everyone will distribute the flier among their circles ahead of the event. 3. Steve will work on his database of subsidized housing units in the City and will provide additional data regarding AHA’s waiting list numbers as compared with the waiting lists for other subsidized housing providers. Minutes Introductions The meeting opened with an introduction of Affordable Housing Task Force members. Announcements Michael Boots has resigned from the committee due to unanticipated professional commitments. Tasks Update Housing stabilization costs – ---PAGE BREAK--- A-5 o Donna provided a spreadsheet which broke down what Albany County DSS has spent since April 2015 on assisting individuals stabilize housing. o The data is broken up by month and type and, notably, includes the cost of restoring utilities or preventing utilities shutoffs which spike in March, when HEAP dries up. o The data establish that rent is not the only determining factor for the “affordability” of housing and that incidental housing costs play a role in housing stability. Current availability of subsidized housing – o Steve is continuing to compile this data. o He provided a rough breakdown of AHA’s waiting list. o There are about five-thousand households on the waiting list for Section 8 vouchers and nine-thousand on the waiting list for public housing. Of these, 6000 live in the City of Albany. o Other subsidized housing organizations also have substantial waiting lists but it is logical to assume that many households are on multiple lists. CDARPO survey questions – o The group discussed this survey and the consensus was that we should come up with a short, user-friendly survey designed to capture usable data to support the Task Force’s findings. o The survey would be best distributed online, but should also include a paper version that could be distributed at meetings, etc. o Dino and Robert will formulate the questions and form of the survey, Lillian and Nelia will do the same for a tenant survey. o Suggested questions Cost of apartments by size. Percentage of apartments at each range. Turnover times Vacancy rates Demand What subsidies do you accept? General question on recommendations. Survey results – o We folded discussion of the survey results into our discussion of the public meeting. Cost/feasibility of formal housing study. – ---PAGE BREAK--- A-6 o Sarah looked into this and the price of such a survey. o Depending on the scope, would cost between $15,000 and $60,000. o Funding for this could be secured though a variety of sources. o It may be, however, that the data compiled by Clarion Associates as part of the ReZone effort may have captured a lot of what we need. o If we move forward with the formal housing study, we will next ask for examples of other surveys’ scopes. Public Forum Planning We determined that we will hold a general forum featuring breakout groups of eight or so individuals grouped according to their status as either landlords or tenants so as to encourage participation and ensure a productive conversation. o We will use the information we obtain at the forum to formulate more precise forum topics. The first forum will be held August 18 from 5:30PM to 7:30PM. We will host it at the Washington Avenue Library. We should anticipate about 30 attendees for the first meeting. The task force will strive to hold public meetings in different parts of the City so as to make them as accessible as possible to as many individuals as possible. Misc We discussed Donna Maylath’s observation that utility costs were a major contributing factor to housing instability in the region. o There are “carriers” who solicit individuals leaving DSS to switch utility service providers in return for a $25 gift card. The carriers then impose exorbitant fees for their services which exacerbate the problem. DSS has about 330 emergency shelter placements in the city. DSS assists about 2300 families, 200 of which receive restricted shelter payments. We determined that we will re-visit the creation of research committees after the public meeting and based on information we gather going forward. ---PAGE BREAK--- A-7 Housing Affordability Task Force July 12, 2016 Meeting Minutes 200 Henry Johnson Blvd Albany, NY 12210 Attendees: Donna Maylath, Nelia Quezada, Konstandin (Dino) Kacani, Kory Hogan, Erin Reale, Alicia Borns & Robert Magee Next Meeting: Tuesday August 2 at 5PM at 255 Orange Street at 5PM in the 2d Floor conference room. To Do List for Next Meeting: 1. Surveys a. Nelia & Lillian will revise the tenant survey. b. Dino & Rob will revise the landlord survey. 2. Public Forum a. Nelia will provide a new South End location (most likely the Howe Library) and date in early to mid-September. 3. Affordable Housing Models – Erin will report back on her research regarding affordable housing models used in other municipalities. 4. Subsidized Housing Availability – Steve will report back on his efforts to catalog the availability of subsidized housing across the City. 5. Event description – Robert will draft an event description to be sent with promotional materials for the event. 6. Public Forum format – RM will distribute the plan discussed at the June 9 meeting. Minutes Introductions The meeting opened with an introduction of Affordable Housing Task Force members. Surveys Landlord Survey – o An additional $500-$718 column will be added to the affordability matrix, o The question “What housing subsidies do you accept” will be changed to “What payments do you accept on behalf of tenants for their rent” and will become a ---PAGE BREAK--- A-8 multiple choice question enumerating, among others, Section 8 Vouchers, Shelter Plus Care, Restricted Shelter Payments from DSS, Veteran Grants, Rehab Support Services Grants, Family Member assistance as options. o The question “Under what circumstances would you lower the cost of rent” will also be changed to a multiple choice question enumerating, among other options, better tenant education, better relationship with DSS, more shelter payments. o An additional question will be added: “What payments do you require before a tenant may move in?” o The survey will be so revised and circulated among the group by July 20. Tenant Survey o The tenant survey will be re-written so as to be easier to understand. o A question regarding interest in tenant training will be added. o We did not have much time to review the tenant survey so further comments can be submitted by email. Both surveys will be revised and sent to the group shortly. They will be inputted into survey monkey for online distribution. The surveys will be distributed at the public forum and among our various circles within the City. Public Forum Planning It was determined that the public forum will not be held on August 18. Instead Nelia will provide a location in the South End, most likely at the Howe Library, for the first forum so that the meeting is more accessible to the community. The date will be confirmed, but will occur in mid to late September. It was decided that we will provide refreshments at the public forum. Misc We discussed the need for better communication between landlords and DSS because many landlords feel it is too difficult to deal with DSS and/or have had bad experiences with, among other things, being notified too late that a tenant’s grant has been suspended, that the tenant has a bad history in other residential living situations. We discussed the possibility of a tenant training program to inform tenants of their rights and responsibilities and using that as a way to, for lack of a better word, certify good tenants to help wary landlords. We discussed the possibility of expanding current landlord training programs to target larger scale and more experienced landlords, who do not typically attend existing trainings. This would be particularly useful in connecting people with resourced and grants that may be available for people rehabbing buildings for the purpose of providing affordable housing. ---PAGE BREAK--- A-9 Donna related her experiences working with tenants whose behaviors were their chief difficulty in maintaining stable, affordable housing. She relates that there are 257 City of Albany resident households currently in emergency housing. Dino related that one of the difficulties landlords face to developing affordable housing is the cost of having to only those plumbers and electricians who are licensed by the City who are more expensive and who are often overloaded with work and take too long to complete projects. We discussed security deposits and addition up front expenses as being a barrier to affordable housing. ---PAGE BREAK--- A-10 Housing Affordability Task Force August 2, 2016 Meeting Minutes 255 Orange St Albany, NY 12210 Attendees: Nelia Quezada, Konstandin (Dino) Kacani, Lillian Moy, Kory Hogan, Erin Reale, Alicia Borns, Robert Magee, Donna Maylath, & Sarah Reginelli Next Meeting: TBD, 200 Henry Johnson Blvd, Albany, NY 12210 To Do List for Next Meeting: 1. Surveys a. Dino & Rob will put landlord survey into online format. b. Nelia & Lillian will revise the tenant survey. 2. Public Forum a. Rob will reserve a room for second public forum at Albany Public Library Washington Ave Branch for November 17 from 5:30PM to 7:30PM b. Nelia will revise the flier based on the group’s suggestions. Minutes Surveys Tenant Survey – o The segment regarding the tenant training will include a description of what the training involves. o The income question will be converted into a multiple choice question similar to that on the response card included with Sarah’s workshop format so as to garner more responses. o The question about whether the tenant’s landlord is AHA or other will be changed to a question asking if the tenant receives a subsidy with a list of choices similar to the question on the landlord survey. o The questions concerning tenant history will be clarified to ask about tenants in Albany. o The questions regarding move in costs will be changed to one open question asking what the tenant had to pay to move into their current apartment. Landlord Survey ---PAGE BREAK--- A-11 o The landlord survey was accepted and will be entered into survey monkey or another online platform designed to be easy to use. Public Forum Planning The new date and location for the first forum is September 22, 2016 from 5:30PM to 7:30PM at the Howe Library at 105 Schuyler St, Albany, NY 12202. The room at the Howe Library holds 50 people and so we’ll also schedule and begin promoting the second forum to be held at the Albany Public Library Washington Ave Branch on November 17, 2016 (availability permitting) There are tables available at the library that can seat between 5 and 10 people. Sarah reviewed the forum format discussed at the June 9, 2016 meeting and it was adopted by the task force as a way to allow as much, quality participation as possible. Public Forum Promotion It was decided that the forum should be billed as a “workshop”. The task force members will post about the forum at their various offices and distribute them to their various mailing lists, facebook pages, etc. The flier will be changed to include a reference to the City of Albany Affordable Housing Task Force and to include the City of Albany Logo. ---PAGE BREAK--- A-12 Housing Affordability Task Force September 12, 2016 Meeting 255 Orange St Albany, NY 12210 Attendees: Nelia Quezada, Konstandin (Dino) Kacani, Lillian Moy, Erin Reale, Robert Magee, Faye Andrews, Stephen Longo & Sarah Reginelli Next Meeting: October 17, 2016, 200 Henry Johnson Blvd, Albany, NY 12210 at 4:30PM. Next Event: Public Forum September 22, 2016 from 5:30PM to 7:30PM at the Howe Library at 105 Schuyler St, Albany, NY 12202. To Do List for Next Meeting: 1. Rob will put tenant survey and workshop into online format 2. Nelia will confirm available AV equipment at Howe Library for September 22 workshop. 3. Rob will flesh out draft report outline and resubmit Minutes Surveys The tenant survey is approved as submitted. o Rob will put online and at QR code to physical form The online version of the landlord survey is approved as submitted. Public Forum Planning Sarah went over the format of the public forum, which is set out in the attached format description. o At least one member will be assigned to manage each breakout group. o The breakout groups should be between 5 and 10 people. o The goal is to listen to the community, determine what they perceive with respect to the affordability of housing in the city of Albany, and identify actionable research goals based off of that perception. We will meet at 5PM on September 22 to organize the room and review breakout group management and the public meeting format. ---PAGE BREAK--- A-13 o Nelia reserved the room from 5PM to 8PM The public forum comment card was approved as submitted and will be put online. Rob will provide an introduction to the task force and its goals at the meeting using a brief power point presentation. We will need the following materials for the meeting: o Office supplies – Faye will provide Markers Flipboards with sticky paper Stickers/Dots with which people can vote. o Refreshments Steve will order pizza Rob will provide drinks and misc refreshments (including some health options) o AV equipment Nelia will determine whether Howe library will have materials needed for power point, but if they don’t AV materials may need to be provided. The next public forum will happen on November 17, 2016 from 5:30 to 7:30 at the Albany Public Library Washington Avenue Branch at 161 Washington Ave. Report Planning The draft outline was tentatively approved with the members introduction section to be reduced to a list of members and their affiliation. Rob will have a rough draft ready for the next meeting. Announcements Steve relates that AHA is commissioning a housing survey of subsidized units in the City of Albany through CARES, Inc. o A scope for the study will be decided upon soon. ---PAGE BREAK--- A-14 o The survey will identify subsidized units in the city and identify what is and is not affordable. o It will both inventory and classify subsidized housing in this way ---PAGE BREAK--- A-15 Housing Affordability Task Force October 17, 2016 Meeting Minutes 200 Henry Johnson Blvd Albany, NY 12210 Attendees: Nelia Quezada, Konstandin (Dino) Kacani, Lillian Moy (by phone), Erin Reale (by phone),, Robert Magee, Stephen Longo, Kory Hogan, Donna Maylath Next Meeting: TBD Next Event: To Do List for Next Meeting: 1. Rob will send out a poll to determine when the next meeting and next public workshop will be held. 2. Rob will reserve a new room and the new date and time for the next public workshop. 3. Nelia will create a new flier with the new date and time, once it is established. 4. Rob will resend links to online polls. 5. Rob will circulate the rough draft of the report to task force members. Minutes Announcements Steve reports that AHA is working with CARES to draft a scope for a housing study to assess the availability of affordable housing, particularly subsidized housing units, in the City. AHA and CARES are currently working on developing a partnership with Siena to conduct the study through their own academic program. Donna reports an uptick in applicants seeking emergency housing at Albany County DSS o Albany County DSS is seeing more individuals coming to Albany from outlying areas seeking assistance and an increase in hospitals discharging individuals directly to DSS. These individuals are often elderly. o Albany County DSS expects that this will increase with the opening of the casino in Schenectady. o There are currently 380 individuals and 89 families in shelter through Albany County DSS. Families have included as many as 8 individuals and are difficult to house as a single unit. ---PAGE BREAK--- A-16 First Public Workshop Reflection Overall, the members all agree that the workshop went well and that participants were engaged and offered useful feedback. The facilitators were overwhelmed at times o More effort will be put into ensuring the groups are small. o Non-facilitating task force members will assist in writing things down and managing the groups. o One group will be devoted to late comers to ensure that group sizes remain manageable, and so on-time groups aren’t sidetracked explaining the procedure to late comers. Task force members who were not facilitating were unsure of what they should be doing so we will be clearer about roles and duties ahead of time. The breakout group format worked well. Attendance was good, but there’s worry about maintaining that level of involvement. The task force members will make a more concerted effort to promote the next forum. o In particular, we need more landlord attendees to ensure a diversity of perspectives in our discussion of the problem. The recording of group responses, which was to take pictures of each group’s posters and reducing them to a transcript, was good. The food was good but we should have had a better way to distribute the pizza after it arrived, by either making an announcement to the room or going to each table and having them go up one by one. The workshop didn’t generate any survey responses so we’ll need to push those at the workshop. The barriers and solutions part of the format was particularly useful because it helped attendees connect the dots between existing problems and potential solutions. Next Forum Due to a scheduling conflict with another event hosted by the Albany Barn, we will no longer have our next public workshop on November 17. A new date near to November 17 will be agreed upon via a poll. ---PAGE BREAK--- A-17 Steve and AHA will provide pizza again, BRC will provide water and vegetable, Donna and Albany County DSS will provide snacks. The group considered using different questions, but ultimately decided to stick with the existing questions and gathering more information before taking a more targeted approach. Surveys We have received very few survey responses so the members will do more to promote them. We confirmed that the process for taking in surveys would be to return them to a given task force member who could then forward them to Rob to be saved and documented. Website The task force will work to set up a website where we’ll post meeting minutes, announcements, etc. Importantly we will also post links to the online versions of the surveys and contact information for the task force. Report Rob is close to finalizing a rough draft of the report and will circulate it to the group once it is complete. Members will provide any comments or edits to the report by email and those changes will get incorporated into a second draft which will be re-circulated ahead of the next meeting. ---PAGE BREAK--- A-18 City of Albany Housing Affordability Task Force Public Workshop 1- September 22, 2016: Understanding the Issues Albany Public Library Bach Branch 105 Schuyler St, Albany, NY Table Report Back Transcript Barriers Lack of funding, political will, inc zoning (8 votes) Developers need: Financing = Profit (2 votes) Lack of support for existing affordable housing programs (no votes) Need better formula for determining eligibility for subsidized housing (3 votes) Lack of funding (3 votes) Lack of incentives (no votes) Lack of habitable housing & expensive rehab costs (1 vote) Difficulty preserving affordable housing w/o incentives (1 vote) Perceptions about low-income housing tenants (no votes) Solutions Increase funding (6 votes) Inclusionary zoning (3 votes) Support for other models (co-ops, micro, etc.) (2 votes) Net income instead of gross income to determine eligibility (no votes) Provide more spend downs (no votes) Require developers to build afford housing to obtain bldg. permit (3 votes) Simplify applications for obtaining housing funding. (1 vote) Table 2 Table 2 Task 1 Quality Stable, appropriate housing w/o compromising the quality of life Task 2 Lack of stability Better formula for determining eligibility for subsidized housing Lack of funding Lack of incentives Accessibility for disabled tenants Need more funding to maintain existing housing Task 3 ---PAGE BREAK--- A-19 Use net income instead of gross income in determining eligibility Provide more spend downs City should require developers to build affordable housing in order to obtain a building permit Simplify application process for obtaining housing funding Table 3 Table 3 Task 1 Quality Decent Safe System for housing/community % of income based on how you define income Varies by family size Housing that does not exceed a reasonable percentage of a household income & provides quality, decent and safe supportive system Task 2 Not enough habitable housing stock Lack of affordable rental How to preserve affordability (long term) Physical maintenance (increase in costs) Subsidies Expense of rehabing vacant stock Desirability – neighborhoods, crime, schools, surrounding neighborhoods, areas, made more affordable housing Difficulties in maintaining units w/o many incentives – expenses for landlords, water sewage, garbage removal Market value developers to build higher income units Task 3 Incentives for developers for market rate housing to include % of affordable rate units Equalizing tax rates throughout neighborhoods, areas, region Utilize a % of IDA application fees to go toward affordable housing Perceptions about low-income/housing tenants subsidy Lack of habitable housing & expensive rehab costs Difficulty preserving affordable housing w/o market incentives Perceptions about low-income housing subsidy tenants Bonus Request more funding from state for more affordable housing ---PAGE BREAK--- A-20 Table 4 Table 4 Task 1 Buzz Words – income based rents, 30%-35% of HH income, rent control cost of rent (including utilities) would not exceed 35% of the HH income leaving funds remaining for other HH essentials Task 2 Lack of funding and political will to require the development of affordable units Developers need to make a certain amount of funding to get approved by financial institutions investors want to have need a profit People don’t want “certain people” living in their neighborhood Support to local programs that get vacant buildings back on the market Lack of adequate transportation b/c NIMBY Lack of inclusionary zoning State/regional issue everyone needs to be on board Top 3 Barriers o Lack of funding corp or gov’t political will/lack of inclusionary zoning o Developers needing funding from financial institutions – profit o Lack of support for programs, NIMBY Task 3 Incentives for developers to include a set of affordable units in their projects (inclusionary zoning) Better transport to a larger mkt or a better job Develop affoard. Housing to transportation together (housing units around transit centers) Increase funding Looking at other models of housing – co-op housing Support (non- profit) redevelopment groups don’t reinvent wheel Inclusionary zoning in our codes requirement from state reg. Top 2 Solutions o Increase funding o Inclusionary zoning o Other models, co-op housing ---PAGE BREAK--- A-21 Top 3 Barriers Lack of funding corp or gov’t political will/lack of inclusionary zoning Developers needing funding from financial institutions – profit Lack of support for programs NIMBY