General Information

Government Type

Municipality

Entity

Orem

Public Body

City Council

Notice Information

Add Notice to Calendar

Notice Title

September 13, 2016

Notice Tags

Zoning, Other

Notice Type(s)

Notice, Meeting, Hearing

Event Start Date & Time

September 13, 2016 06:00 PM

Event End Date & Time

September 13, 2016 09:00 PM

Description/Agenda

Items for this meeting--attached below--include: * public hearing notice(s) * agenda * minutes * electronically distributed items CITY OF OREM CITY COUNCIL MEETING 56 North State Street, Orem, Utah September 13, 2016 This meeting may be held electronically to allow a Councilmember to participate. 3:00 P.M. WORK SESSION - PUBLIC SAFETY TRAINING ROOM 1. DISCUSSION/Q&A - Impact Fees - Zions Bank Public Finance (45 min) Presenters: Brenn Bybee and Suzy Becker with Zions Bank Public Finance 2. DISCUSSION - CARE Survey Update (45 min) Presenters: Steven Downs and Kyrene Gibb with Y2 Analytics 3. DISCUSSION - Sober Living Facilities (30 min) Presenters: Steve Earl 5:00 P.M. STUDY SESSION - PUBLIC SAFETY TRAINING ROOM PREVIEW UPCOMING AGENDA ITEMS 4. Staff will present to the City Council a preview of upcoming agenda items. AGENDA REVIEW 5. The City Council will review the items on the agenda. CITY COUNCIL - NEW BUSINESS 6. This is an opportunity for members of the City Council to raise issues of information or concern. 6:00 P.M. REGULAR SESSION - COUNCIL CHAMBERS CALL TO ORDER INVOCATION/INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHT: By Invitation PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: By Invitation APPROVAL OF MINUTES 7. MINUTES of City Council Meeting - August 23, 2016 MAYOR'S REPORT/ITEMS REFERRED BY COUNCIL 8. UPCOMING EVENTS 9. APPOINTMENTS TO BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS 10. RECOGNITION OF NEW NEIGHBORHOODS IN ACTION OFFICERS CITY MANAGER'S APPOINTMENTS 11. APPOINTMENTS TO BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS Board of Building and Fire Code Appeals 1 vacancy PERSONAL APPEARANCES - 15 MINUTES 12. Time has been set aside for the public to express their ideas, concerns, and comments on items not on the Agenda. Those wishing to speak should have signed in before the beginning of the meeting. (Please limit your comments to 3 minutes or less.) CONSENT ITEMS 13. There are no Consent Items. SCHEDULED ITEMS 6:00 P.M. PUBLIC HEARING - Affordable Senior Housing Development Standards 14. ORDINANCE - Amending Section 22-12-7 of the Orem City Code pertaining to development standards in the Affordable Senior Housing (ASH) overlay zone PRESENTER: Jason Bench REQUEST: Development Services requests the City Council amend Section 22-12-7 of the Orem City Code pertaining to development standards in the Affordable Senior Housing (ASH) overlay zone. POTENTIALLY AFFECTED AREA: Citywide BACKGROUND: The Affordable Senior Housing (ASH) overlay zone was enacted by the City Council in 2012 to provide affordable housing for low income seniors. The ASH zone was applied to all residentially zoned property located within approximately one half mile of State Street. The ASH zone was designed to encourage the construction of affordable (low rent) units that the market would not otherwise provide. To encourage the construction of affordable units, the ASH zone allows the construction of up to four units on a single residential lot. It was hoped that allowing the construction of four units on a single residential lot (instead of the normal one unit) would lower the average cost per unit and allow a developer to charge a lower rent. Since the ASH overlay zone was adopted, two developments (12 units) have been constructed, one development (4 units) has been approved but not yet constructed, and an application for one additional development (4 units) has been received but not yet approved. The square footage and number of bedrooms for these projects are shown below: Location Number of Units Square Footage/unit Bedrooms 443 E. 400 S. 8 1,722 3+ 562 N. Main 4 1,736 3+ 621 N. 400 W. 4 720 1 420 W. 600 N. 4 962 3 Staff are concerned that in some cases, units have essentially been operated as market rate apartments instead of affordable units. A recent audit of rents being charged in eight ASH units revealed that the average monthly rent was $1,011 with several units being rented at $1,100/month. This suggests that some of the ASH projects appear to simply be competing with other market rate apartments in the City and are not meeting the need for low cost, affordable housing for the elderly. In the opinion of Staff, part of the reason for this is that the units that are being constructed are too large. This drives up rents in two ways. First, larger units cost more to build and therefore require higher rents to obtain an economic return. Second, the ASH ordinance bases rents on HUD's Fair Market Rents (FMRs) for Utah County. Under this standard, the maximum rent that can be charged increases with additional bedrooms in a unit. For example, the maximum rent for a one bedroom apartment is $639, the maximum for a two bedroom apartment is $763, the maximum for a three bedroom is $1,103, and for a four bedroom apartment the maximum is $1,351. These maximum rental rates will increase in 2017 to $697/1 BR, $818/2 BR, and $1191/3 BR. As can be seen, there is a substantial jump in the maximum rent when a third bedroom is added to a unit. This obviously provides an economic incentive for developers to build units with more bedrooms as they can then charge significantly higher rents. In the opinion of staff, units that can rent for $1,103 (and increasing to $1,191 in 2017 for a three bedroom apartment) do not serve the needs of low income seniors, but instead simply end up competing with the existing stock of market rate apartments in the City. For example, the website for the Italian Villages at 980 West 950 North, which is a newer and higher end apartment development, advertises three bedroom/two bathroom units with 1,320 square feet for $1,145-$1,185/month. Similarly, the website for Village Park Apartments on State Street advertises three bedroom /two bathroom units with 1,250 square feet for $1,030-$1,105/month. A search of apartment listings on KSL classifieds on September 1, 2016 showed three separate listings for 3-bedroom apartments renting for $900, $975 and $1,110 respectively. In order to encourage the development of residential units that are truly affordable for low income seniors, Staff recommend that the ASH zone be amended to limit the size of such units to no more than 900 square feet and to limit the number of bedrooms to two. This would then limit the maximum rent that could be charged to $763 (for a two bedroom apartment). This would provide a real and actual benefit to seniors as there is a very limited supply of apartments that rent for $763 or less, while, as noted above, there is already a very substantial supply of apartments that rent for between $900-$1,150. When this matter was considered by the Planning Commission, there was significant interest on the part of Planning Commission members and developers to allow units to be constructed with three bedrooms in order to allow tenants to have extra space for storage, an office, or an additional sleeping room. While the amenity of a third bedroom would undoubtedly be desirable for some seniors, Staff believe that there are already significant housing opportunities in the general market for seniors who want an apartment with three bedrooms. Staff believe that the ASH is not designed to provide housing for seniors who can afford the additional convenience of a third bedroom, as that need is already being met in the market. Instead, Staff believe that the ASH is intended to help those seniors who cannot afford the convenience of a third bedroom and the higher rent that goes along with it. As noted above, moving from a two bedroom unit to a three bedroom unit increases maximum rent by $340 which is an increase of almost 50%. In the opinion of Staff, the maximum rent that can be charged for three bedroom units will likely convert these units to market rate apartments that will not benefit the low income seniors that the ASH zone was created to help. The Housing Authority of Utah County (HAUC) has taken an approach similar to that proposed by Staff in HAUC's efforts to provide affordable housing for low income seniors. The HAUC does not provide three bedroom apartments and very few two bedroom apartments. According to Lynell Smith, the executive director of HAUC, 95% of the units they provide for low income seniors are one bedroom units with 650-700 square feet. Affordability is the goal and in her opinion, units with three bedrooms and up to 1,200 square feet defeat that purpose. In addition to the concerns about affordability, units with three bedrooms also provide a greater opportunity and incentive to have more tenants in a unit. More tenants may be needed so that the higher rents can be shared among more residents. Unfortunately, more residents also translates into more traffic and more parking demand. Staff have observed a disproportionately high number of vehicles parked on the street next to some of the larger ASH units that have been constructed. This potentially makes ASH units less compatible with the neighborhoods in which they are located. It was originally believed that since ASH units would be occupied by only one or two seniors, both traffic generation and parking demand would be very low and therefore, even allowing four units on a single residential lot would not negatively impact neighboring residential properties. However, because larger units with more bedrooms create a natural incentive to rent to more tenants, allowing larger units could result in a greater negative impact on surrounding residential properties. In addition to the proposal to limit ASH units to 900 square feet and two bedrooms, Staff also propose to add language clarifying that utilities (excluding telephone) must be included in the calculation of maximum rent and that the combined income of residents, for purposes of determining eligibility, include the combined income of all residents. These provisions are already a part of the existing law, but may not be commonly known among current and prospective owners of ASH units. Lastly, Staff have proposed modifications to the exterior finish requirements for ASH units. The proposed amendments to the ASH zone are shown below: F. Occupancy Requirements. 1. Age and Income Requirement. Affordable senior housing units may be occupied only by elderly persons who are sixty (60) years of age or older and whose combined income (the income of all persons who occupy the unit) is at or below eighty percent (80%) of the median income for the Provo-Orem Metropolitan Statistical Area as published by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. 2. Maximum Rent. The rent charged for affordable senior housing units may not exceed the standards and limits set forth in the current Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published Fair Market Rents (FMR) for Utah County. Pursuant to these standards, rent includes the cost of utilities (except telephone). For purposes of determining the maximum allowable rent, no unit shall be considered to have more than two bedrooms. The overall goal of the ASH overlay zone is to provide affordable housing to those that may not have ability otherwise to afford a place to live. The second change pertains to limiting the number of bedrooms, having a maximum square footage and the elimination of an optional basement. These changes should reduce overall construction costs for future ASH projects. This should provide an incentive to construct an ASH development that meets our goal of providing affordable senior housing units and not simply building market rate housing for seniors. O. Development Standards and Requirements. 3. Square Footage. The minimum square footage per dwelling unit shall be five hundred (500) square feet. The maximum square footage per dwelling unit shall be nine hundred (900) square feet. 34. Number of Bedrooms. The maximum number of bedrooms is two (2) per unit. 45. Floors Above Grade. The maximum number of floors above grade shall be one (1). Basements shall not be allowed. The last change does not deal directly with the ability to keep rent and occupancy at affordable levels. However, the proposed amendments help reduce the visual impact the development may have on adjacent residential uses. The current architectural standard requires certain materials but does not specify the percentage. The final change will require each elevation to have a minimum percentage of materials. Other materials used may be stucco or cement fiber board siding or combination of these materials. This increases the architectural standard of this type of project located adjacent to existing residential uses. 1314. Exterior Finishing Materials. The finish materials of all exterior walls shall consist of a minimum of 40% brick or stone. Up to 40% of the exterior finishing materials may also consist of brick, stone cement fiber board siding (Hardiboard), or stucco, or a combination thereof. Board, batten or shake material accents are permitted. Wood and vinyl siding is prohibited except for trim or soffits. The exterior finish of each exterior wall shall be substantially similar. Metal or vinyl soffits and trims are permitted and do not count in the percentages required. The Planning Commission reviewed the request and recommended the City Council consider allowing three (3) bedrooms per unit, up to 1,200 square feet per dwelling unit, add vinyl siding as a building material and reduce the building material of brick and stone from 40 percent to 20 percent. The ASH overlay zone was never intended to provide market rate housing. This is a special exception to allow up to a fourplex in a single family neighborhood. This should not be used as a tool to develop a fourplex based on market forces. This is a unique exception and should be limited in scope with the City setting the standards and not relying on the market to dictate what type of fourplex a developer should build to maximize market demands. This is a very small segment of citizens and this type of development should be used as a means to build an affordable fourplex to accommodate this unique segment of citizens and not be the means to allow a basic fourplex in neighborhoods when a basic fourplex not currently permitted. Allowing 1,200 square foot units with three bedrooms as recommended by the Planning Commission would not reduce or help mitigate the issues we are currently experiencing. RECOMMENDATION: The Planning Commission recommends the City Council to amend Section 22-12-7 of the Orem City Code pertaining to development standards in the Affordable Senior Housing (ASH) overlay zone with the recommendation that the City Council allow three (3) bedrooms per unit, up to 1,200 square feet per dwelling unit, add vinyl siding as a building material and reduce the building material of brick and stone from 40 percent to 20 percent. However, the Planning staff recommends the City Council approve the proposed amendments without modifications. 15. RESOLUTION - Authorizing the Mayor to sign the Interlocal Agreement between the City of Orem and the jurisdictions of Utah County, Provo City, Pleasant Grove City, American Fork City, Alpine City, Spanish Fork City, Santaquin City, Lehi City, Springville City, Payson City, Mapleton City, Salem City, Saratoga Springs City, Lindon City, Lone Peak Public Safety District, City of Cedar Hills, Highland City regarding the continued existence of the Utah County Major Crimes Task Force PRESENTER: Chief Gary Giles POTENTIALLY AFFECTED AREA: Citywide BACKGROUND: The Utah County Major Crimes Task Force was established by Interlocal agreement in 1997 in order to combat drug and violent crime problems throughout Utah County and in other areas when those crimes affect Utah County. Orem has always played a large part in the Task Force as we manage all of the financial accounts and one of our Police Department Lieutenants holds the position of Task Force Director. The Interlocal agreement is basically the same as previous agreements that have been signed by the City except that Section 15 requires that the Task Force Director review the agreement annually and permits him to submit updates and receive acknowledgements of updates as necessary. This agreement also extends the expiration date of the agreement from December 2020 to December 2026. By having the agreement updated and in place, the Task Force is eligible and able to submit for grants as well as receive forfeiture moneys from both the State and Federal government. RECOMMENDATION: The Chief of Police recommends that the City enter into the Interlocal Agreement between the City of Orem and jurisdictions of Utah County, Provo City, Pleasant Grove City, American Fork City, Alpine City, Spanish Fork City, Santaquin City, Lehi City, Springville City, Payson City, Mapleton City, Salem City, Saratoga Springs City, Lindon City, Lone Peak Public Safety District, City of Cedar Hills, Highland City regarding the continued existence of the Utah County Major Crimes Task Force. COMMUNICATION ITEMS 16. There are no Communication Items. CITY MANAGER INFORMATION ITEMS 17. This is an opportunity for the City Manager to provide information to the City Council. These items are for information and do not require action by the City Council. ADJOURNMENT

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Meeting Information

Meeting Location

56 North State
Orem, 84057
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Notice Posting Details

Notice Posted On

August 19, 2016 11:00 AM

Notice Last Edited On

November 18, 2016 02:31 PM

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