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HomeMy WebLinkAboutR-86-0124f,t J-86-100 RESOLUTION NO 8 6- 1 2 4 A RESOLUTION APPROVINrr, IN P"i'Nt, I 1i,r,, THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A CITY rF MIAMI HOUSING CONSERVATION A"1I) DEVELOPMENT AGENCY, DIRECTING THE CT-Y ATTORNEY TO PREPARE THE NECESSA'?Y ENABELING LEGISLATION, AND DIRE�TT NG THE CITY MANAGER TO PREPARE A WORK PROGRAM AND OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE CITY COMMISSION'S CONSIDERATION. WHEREAS, there exists a critical shortage of standard housing in the City of Miami affordable to families and individuals of low and moderate income; and WHEREAS, the shortage of standard housing affordable to the City's low and moderate income families has an adverse affect on the overall :social and economic stability of the City; and WHEREAS, the resolution of the shortage of standard housing affordable to the City's low and moderate residents will require the development of new housing resources as well as continuing efforts to conserve the existing housing inventory; and itude oI' the City's housing shortage 'r1t-:FREAS, the magn dictates the need for a unified conservation and development strategy bringing to bear all available federal, state, and local government resources as well as private sector financial resources; and WHEREAS, such a unified housing conservation and development strategy can best be served through the establishment of a single agency responsible for all aspects of the strategy; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COMMISSION OF THE CIT': OF MIAMI, FLORIDA: Section 1. The establishment of a City of Miami Hous:nF Conservation and Development Agency is hereby appr.ova-9, principle. Section 2. The City Attorney is hereby directed to FIevelo- the necessary legislation to establish a City of Miami Housing. Conservation and Development APencv for the City Commission's consideration. CITY COMMISSI014 I4FETINC op FEB 13 198e iUt r,S A 4 j ���,ctlon The City Manager i„ hereby 11rtee t;r) prep.,3.re r proposed work program and operatinw budPet f'or a City of Miami Housinf* Cori. -I rvat 1on and Developmr?nt; AI,en(,y for the city Comrais,91_on's consideration. PASSED AND ADOPTPD this, 13thdr3.y of FEBRUARY Xpteier T,. ryuar. "layo r ATTEST: (04&- 4Aeog- �—. ;� ty irai City Clerk Prepared and. Approved: 1985 - CITY OF MIAM1, FLORIDA INTER OFFICE MEMORANDUM 51 TO Honorable Mayor and DATE: FF9 6 1986 FILE: Xembers of the City Commission SUBJECT. city T?o�.lsin Conservation and Development Agency City Commission Agenda. FROMCesax H. Odio REFERENCES i t em City Manager February 13, 1986 ENCLOSURES. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THE CITY COMMISSION ADOPT THE ATTACHED RESOLUTION APPROVING, IN PRINCIPLE, THE. ESTABLISHMENT OF A CITY OF MIAMI HOUSING CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT AGENCY. Miami has a critical shortage of standard housing affordable to families and individuals of low and moderate income. The ever increasing need for affordable housing resources requires that the City of Miami make a concerted effort to stimulate the production of new housing using all available public and private financing vehicles as well as continuing and expanded efforts to conserve the existing housing inventory. At the present time, at least five City and County Agencies and Departments are involved in the conservation and production of affordable housing in the City of Miami. Needless to say, the current situation not only presents opportunities for duplication of effort, but also presents great difficulties in the City's efforts to mobilize limited resources in its goal of providing standard housing for its ' low and moderate income residents. The City's housing conservation and development objectives can best be served through the establishment of one agency with responsibility for all aspects of low and moderate income housing conservation and development. An agency structure is deemed most appropriate from the organizational standpoint. A separate agency for housing would be viewed by the private sector, upon which much of the financing for new housing a production will depend, as having a separate identity and f purpose from the traditional functions performed by local J A N 2 8 198b it L t l i t i. i` government. Additionally, federal and state -agencies wi11 he provided with a focus for the distribution of housing assistance dollars for °Miami .vhich is presently lac'King. 'Equally important, the citizens of Miami will be provided with a clearly visible and identifiable agency to serve their housing needs. Accompanying this memorandum is a discussion paper on the City housing agency concept. The establishment of a City Housing Agency is deemed to be the most cost effective and productive method for meeting the City's housing challenge. It is recommended that the City Commission approve, in principle, the establishment of a City of Miami housing conservation and development agency and that the City Attorney be directed to prepare the enabeling legislation necessary to the establishment of such an agency for the City Commission's consideration. CO/JG/mc ,a k i 7 '4 `i 2 DISCUSSION PAPER: CITY OF MIAMI HOUSING CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT AGENCY INTRODUCTION One of the major problems confronting the City of Miami is the lack of availability of an adequate supply of standard housing affordable by families and individuals of low and moderate income. With the federal government's termination of most domestic housing assistance programs, the mainstay of both public and private sector housing development efforts and the task of meeting present and future housing needs will be difficult, at best. It is clear that any progress in meeting present and future housing needs will require direct involvement by the City to a far greater degree and in a different capacity than has previously been the case. Rather than serving as local administrator for federally regulated housing assistance programs, the City must assume the new role of promulgator of local housing development assistance programs. Where the actual production of needed housing resources can only be accomplished by the private housing industry, the City's role must be to provide an atmosphere conducive to the profitable 6$6~i�i F �3 } investment of capital by the private sector in housing through land assembly and cost write -down, tax-exempt project financing, and streamlining the process through which local building permits are obtained. Moreover, with scarce resources available to finance new housing, the City must place increasing emphasis on con- servation of the existing housing inventory, including a continuation of ongoing efforts to recycle deteriorating housing through low-cost financing and cyclical code enforcement to prevent the deterioration of now standard p housing units. THE NEED FOR A UNIFIED APPROACH IN HOUSING CONSERVATION AND PRODUCTION 5 The magnitude of the housing shortage in Miami, as illustrated by the fact that approximately 50,000 low-income families are now living in substandard or overcrowded housing or are paying excessive shelter costs, dictates the need for a q a unified response by the City if real progress is to be made in ameliorating the housing shortage. -2- At the present time, there are several agencies and departments with different but mutually supportive and interdependent roles involved in the conservation and production of housing in the City. These include Metropolitan Dade County's Department of Housing and Urban Development, the City's public and Section 8 housing administrative agency, which also serves as the City's housing land acquisition agent, and the county -wide agency for administering the Documentary Surtax program; Dade County's Office of Minimum Housing, responsible for enforcing the City's minimum housing code; the Southeast Overtown/Park West office, charged wi%h providing public sector assistance to the developers of low and moderate income housing in the Overtown/Park West redevelopment area; the City of Miami Building and Zoning Departments, each with regulatory responsibilities and powers; and the City's Department of Community Development, responsible for administering City- wide housing rehabilitation financing programs, providing technical assistance and funding direction to developers of non -luxury housing, and performing site reviews for public housing and privately developed federally subsidized housing, and administering the City's federal Housing Assistance Plan. -3- t t_ THE CASE FOR A CITY HOUSING CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT AGENCY While individually and combined, the above agencies and departments have contributed significantly to the reduction of Miami's housing shortage, the objective of providing housing for Miami's residents would be best served through the establishment of one agency with overall responsibility for housing conservation and new housing production. The advantages of establishing a City of Miami housing conservation and development agency are many. By centralizing the City's housing conservation and development activities and responsibilities under one office, the time- lags inherent in interdepartmental, interagency project approval processes, which have plagued many housing development efforts, would be eliminated, allowing needed housing projects to be built faster. The private housing industry, funding agencies, and the general public would be better served by eliminating the "who's in charge of what" syndrome that now exists. The responsibility -accountability structure would be improved through the establishment of one housing agency responsible directly to City government. -4- t86-124 THE ROLE OF THE HOUSING CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT AGENCY The City's housing conservation and development agency would be organized under the appropriate enabling legislation of the State of Florida and be responsible for all aspects of housing conservation and new housing production in the City of Miami. The agency would be charged with: 1) Administration of the City's single and multi -family residential rehabilitation financing programs. 2) Administration and enforcement of the minimum housing standards for rental housing. 3) Administration of all federal housing assistance programs, including the Section 8 Certificate and moderate rehabilitation programs (now administered by Metropolitan Dade County). 4) Land acquisition for housing development. 5) Administration of the City's "fair share" of documentary surtax revenues (now the responsibility of Dade County). 6) Securing tax exempt project financing for private developers on non -luxury housing. 7) Assisting private developers of non -luxury housing through the local permit system and providing general technical assistance to such developers. 8) Obtaining federal and state grants for the financing of low and moderate income housing. 9) Fair housing standards enforcement -5- 1186-124 10) Recommending local and state legislative actions to promote the development of low and moderate income housing. 11) Serving as "developer of last resort" for housing projects financially unattractive to the private sector. AGENCY FUNDING Operational and capital funding for a City housing conser- vation and development agency could be derived from the following sources: 1) Community Development Block Grant funds } 2) Code enforcement licensing and inspection fees 3) Section 8 administrative processing grants. 4) Investment income on General Obligation Housing Bond Y proceeds. c The above resources are deemed sufficient to place a City housing and conservation agency on a self-sustaining basis within a three year period, or less, depending on the timing of implementation of the various components of the recommended work program. A City of Miami Housing Conservation and Development Agency is deemed to be the cost effective and productive structure through which to achieve the City's stated housing goals. ID86w 124