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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRDA Min 2001-10-22 9-24-01 / 10-22-01 .1 Seal Beach, California October 22, 2001 The Redevelopment Agency of the City of Seal Beach met in regular session at 6:45 p.m. with Chairman Yost calling the meeting to order. ROLL CALL Present: Chairman Yost Agencymembers Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Larson Absent: None Also present: Mr. Bahorski, Executive Director Mr. Barrow, City Attorney Ms. Yeo, City Clerk I APPROVAL OF AGENDA Larson moved, second by Doane, to approve the order of the agenda as presented. AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried I IJ PUBLIC COMMENTS Chairman Yost declared the Public Comment period to be open. Mr. Paul Jeffers, Cottonwood Lane, noted that a town hall meeting was recently held at the Trailer Park, Chairman Yost in attendance, a topic of discussion being the preparation of a cooperative agreement for the Park, primarily long term leases as was promised when Linc Housing bought the Trailer Park, also the issue of the turn over of the Park to the residents once the bonds, etc. are paid, these issues are not all that clear. Mr. Jeffers said he pointed out that the problem seems to be with the bond issue and the tax free status of the bonds, possibly certain language could be changed, it would seem that there should be discussion with bond counsel to get a clear definition of what would interfere with the tax free status. He mentioned he has requested of Chairman Yost that bond counsel review the draft document for the most appropriate language and clarification of both of the issues and without interfering with the bond financing and the low interest loan. He said this has gone on for some time and the issues seem to lie with the bond counsel, his suggestion too was that if the Agency could not finance such review possibly some of the residents could try to do so if there was an estimate of cost, maybe make contact with the IRS as well. Mr. Jeffers said the cooperation of the Agency would be appreciated, it would be good to have these issues resolved for the residents, people would then know if they could obtain a low interest loan to buy in, it 10-22-01 would help too if a date certain is known when the property would revert to the Park tenants, this should be cleared up before the cooperative agreement is finalized. There being no further comments, Chairman Yost declared Public Comments closed. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Boyd moved, second by Campbell, to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of September 24, 2001. I AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried PRESENTATION - MERCY HOUSE - LOW/MODERATE HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES The Executive Director stated that Mercy House was requested to make a presentation on how they might assist in addressing the low/moderate housing problem in Seal Beach, staff is seeking consent to work with Mercy House to develop a low/moderate income housing project, there is currently no such housing opportunities in this community however it is believed there may be opportunities on the horizon. It is known that the Agency has funds available that must be used for low income housing, the Trailer Park provided only a temporary respite for compliance with the housing requirements of the Agency, to that staff has been working to find a means to fulfill the requirements for expenditures of these low and moderate income funds, although not yet successful, to partner with a group that could move forward would be a consideration. I Mr. Larry Haynes introduced himself as the Executive Director of Mercy House and an original staff member, said he would support the staff recommendation to partner with Mercy House to provide permanent, affordable housing, housing that is needed by many families yet also works well with the surrounding community. Mr. Haynes introduced Mr. Mike Hennessey, development manager, and Mr. Paul Giles who lives in the vicinity of three shelters and the walk-in center. Mr. Haynes explained that Mercy House is a non-profit, non- sectarian organization that has been providing services, shelter, counseling, etc., to a variety of the homeless population for twelve years, an integrated continuum of care to individuals and families that find themselves trapped in poverty, they provide emergency assistance, operate four transitional shelters, and now in the process of developing the ultimate solution of permanent housing. Mr. Haynes said although their motivation is to be as compassionate as possible and provide as many needs as they can, one of their standing principles in terms of services provided is self- sufficiency because ultimately no matter how much one tries to provide for someone true freedom is not going to come out of constantly living on the dole, eventually freedom and independence is going to come from doing for ones self, that is what all of the Mercy House programs are geared to do. He said their quest now focuses on their most stable services which is permanent housing, this is a stable, non-transient population, households that have lived successfully in the transitional shelters for up to a year, with some there has been a long term relationship, some that are set up for success in a permanent housing situation and in fact are ready to move on. Mr. Haynes said there are a variety of characteristics to Mercy House projects, three of which are that all of their projects are felt to be attractive, it is r 10-22-01 J understood that Council had been provided photographs of some of their facilities yet the photos do not do the projects due justice, to which he invited members of the Council to visit their facilities, it is felt their properties are the nicest on any block, they always beautify and make better their surroundings, they take pride in that, another characteristic is that they are well integrated with the surrounding community, they can not advocate so hard for the persons they want to serve that they in turn cause disruption in other sectors of the community, their actions must do all possible to support good governance, prosperous business, and harmony in the homes and neighborhoods, their projects are thought do that, and likely most important in all of the Mercy House projects is their management, first of all long term, they own and operate all of their facilities, they provide intensive management, someone lives on-site at each of their properties therefore the local community has immediate redress if in fact there is a problem, that is felt to be important. All of this effort is unprecedented in this County which is neighborhood support, nimbyism is often mentioned, not in my backyard, with responses such as love what you do, think it is important, but not next to me, however unusual as a nonprofit is that there are residential neighborhoods that actually want Mercy House to build in their neighborhood. J Mr. Paul Giles stated that he serves as President of the Board of Directors for the Historic French Park Neighborhood Association, he came to French Park about three years ago, there are a number of urban stories of that neighborhood, one of the first he heard was about Mercy House and the way they interact with the neighborhood and the neighbors, mention was made of the nimbyism syndrome, that does not exist with Mercy House in French Park, they have been good neighbors to all, have been responsive to concerns and have worked closely with the neighbors in developing their project, the French Park Board is proud of their association with Mercy House, and are happy to encourage Seal Beach to support them as they seek to expand their programs. Chairman Yost inquired as to the neighborhood before and after Mercy House came in. Mr. Giles explained that French Park is a neighborhood in transition, the oldest neighborhood of Santa Ana with structures dating to the late 1880's, there was a downturn in the quality of life in the mid-1970's where a number of houses were destroyed and replaced with less than desirable apartment buildings which are characterized by overcrowding and high density, Mercy House moved into French Park just as the area was returning to its quality of life, it is felt they were very helpful in that process, their properties are well maintained, clean, attractive, well painted, freshly landscaped, it is felt they have lifted the surroundings, a good influence to the neighborhood as residents try to bring it back to life. ] Mr. Haynes said he is a 'support of people' person, he is not a developer, has no relationships, his commitment to whatever they do is to have something that not only fits people that they are impassioned about but something that works well within a neighborhood, and upon explaining the desires of his father while he was growing up, stated that people like himself have no business coming into cities or neighborhoods where they do anything to harm the quality of life, people have worked too hard for their investment and he honors that investment. 10-22-01 Mr. Mike Hennessey introduced himself as the owner of Hennessey Group Real Estate Development and Consulting, commercial and residential real estate developers having clients of both public and private agencies. Mr. Hennessey stated he has worked with Mercy House since almost their inception and on three of their projects, work that he is proud of, in his business he has learned that every project is a collaboration, no one gets a real estate development done on their own, that is no clearer than with a Mercy House project, a collaboration with a public agency, a partnership with stakeholders in the community, nearby residents, builders and contractors that donate their time and efforts to reduce costs to make a project happen, as well as public agency grants and private donations. He explained that the first hallmark of a Mercy House project is community involvement and consensus, because there are so many partners in each project they can not move forward without the community being pleased with it and enthusiastically pushing the public process forward, that is critical to success, the second hallmark is long term quality, not just how a project looks when it is built but how the project lasts and is maintained over time, that serves the purpose of repeat business, this being one of the few agencies that experiences having a city ask them back to do a second project, Santa Ana in fact approached Mercy House to develop a second project on a vacant lot, the long term quality also gives a subtle message that speaks of the people who live there, about the change to their lives and how they intend to live from here forward, a phrase that is often used is to 'foster an atmosphere of dignity and responsibility', that is the way they view the long term quality of their projects. Mr. Hennessey said what they would like to do in cooperation with the Agency is to assist in site selection, prepare a design concept, and develop a financial program that will lead to a feasible project. I I Councilman Yost inquired if Mercy House projects usually go into existing neighborhoods. Mr. Hennessey responded that all of their projects are in existing neighborhoods, that a much more difficult task than going to an edge of city to build a project, there will always be interaction with the people around a project, that can take place now or at the podium, the advice is that they be brought into the process up front, explain exactly what is proposed, what it will look like, solicit their input from the beginning so that the end result is in fact a consensus. Agencymember Campbell reported that she and the City Manager visited a Mercy House project, it was very nice, Supervisor Silva made a visit as well after which determined that the County wants to become involved. This is something that needs to be done, the Agency has funds that need to be used otherwise will be lost, the County is willing to provide funds, Mercy House will provide the project management, what else could be asked, and encouraged the other members of the Agency to visit their facilities. r Agencymember Campbell moved to approve the request of staff to work with Mercy House to develop low to moderate housing projects. Chairman Yost asked what sites would be considered, and where in the City. To that Agencymember Campbell responded that would depend on what sites would become available, there are few in coastal cities, it could be anywhere in the community, with the Executive Director adding that a location within the Redevelopment project Area would be preferred. Agencymember Boyd seconded the motion. 10-22-01 J Councilman Boyd asked how Mercy House was chosen. The Executive Director offered that a tour was taken of their facilities, after seeing what they have done and their project successes it appeared to be worthwhile to have them make a presentation to the Agency, staff has not gone through a selection process with other firms as Mercy House seemed to be a good fit with other projects, they do partner with John Lange Homes, the product is outstanding inside and out, and he too encouraged the other members of the Agency to visit their facilities. Councilman Boyd inquired if the requested authorization is for a specific time frame, the staff report cites about $1.2 million that needs to be utilized in the near future. The Executive Director stated that no time specific would be preferred as it depends on the availability of sites, one site was in mind then fell out, however there is somewhat of a time frame to utilize the low income affordable monies of the Agency, that dependent too on the MPROP loan coming back to the City, the time frame is uncertain, preparation of the 1290 plan is somewhat behind schedule, the State is looking to see the Plan soon in that the Department of Housing and Community Development has inquired relative to the Housing Element as to what progress has been made and how will it be made, and confirmed that that equates to about one hundred ten units within four years. AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried ,1 AGENCY COMMENTS Chairman Yost said in reference to the comments of Mr. Jeffers he had asked the City Attorney to render an opinion, the Trailer Park bond counsel felt that a member of the City Attorney's firm could do so, that would be at taxpayer expense, however it likely will not be complete by the Park board meeting on Tuesday. The City Attorney responded that the transcript has been received, there will be communication with the bond counsel that dealt with the issuance as they will have information that will be helpful, their opinion may also be sought, it is hoped this can be done in about a week or as quickly as possible. Chairman Yost noted that the Park was purchased with tax exempt bonds, there is a desire to make certain the bonds are protected with whatever changes some park residents are considering to make, the opinion is important to that, however may be complicated. Agencymember Campbell interjected that the Trailer Park bonds have been sold, that is over, the issue is will these changes impact the tax exempt status, if that were to occur the people who bought those municipal bonds would lose their tax exempt status and have no reason to hold them, they then try to sell them, if that occurs then it would be necessary to go back on the market, that is not wanted, explaining that the existing cooperation agreement specifies that the residents assume the Park when the bonds are paid. with regard to the low and moderate income housing monies of the Agency, Chairman Yost suggested that a blighted parcel' of property at 4t~ and Marina Drive be looked at. J CLOSED SESSION No Closed Session was held. ADJOURNMENT It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Agency, to adjourn the meeting at 7:16 p.m. 10-22-01 / 11-26-01 / 12-24-01 / 1-28-02 chai~nlf- i ~ Clerk/Secretary [ Seal Beach, California November 26, 2001 The Redevelopment Agency regular meeting was canceled by direction of the City Council. Seal Beach, California December 24, 2001 ,- The Redevelopment Agency regular meeting was canceled by direction of the City Council. Seal Beach, California January 28, 2002 The Redevelopment Agency of the City of Seal Beach met in regular session at 6:48 p.m. with Chairman Yost calling the meeting to order. I ROLL CALL Present: Chairman Yost Agencymembers Boyd, Doane, Yost Absent: Agencymembers Campbell, Larson Agencymembers Campbell and Larson were present in the Conference Room awaiting the Closed Session.