Thread by @shayshinecastle

OK, moving onto the Ponderosa annexation. Here's the staff presentation: www-static.bouldercolorado.gov/docs/2B_4475_B…

Some history: Built sometime in 1950s
68 units today
Operated on well and septic system until 1970s
Connected to city water in 1978; city sewer in 1984
City first began looking to buy the park in 1990-1992
Made first offer in 1994 for $944,000
Upgrades estimated at $1M in 1996

Owner in April 1996: Not interested; city withdrew offer
2000: Owner began exploring annexation again but without city ownership
Withdrawn in 2002
2004: Sold mobile home park and adjacent two-acre parcel, which became 1000 Rosewood (18 units; 16 SF and duplex; 9 perm affordable)

New owner in 2013 applied to upgrade existing water lines
Due to out-of-city utility agreement, work couldn’t be done without annexation
2013 flood happened (only one home damaged) but Boulder got a community development block grant for disaster recovery that included Ponderosa

City purchased in 2017 for $4.2M

(These are my notes from the last time council discussed this, Sept. 17. I may have tweeted them at that time, so I'm plagiarizing myself.)

6.298 acre property
Will be zoned RM-2, land use Medium Density Residential
Currently land use is mobile home park (no zoning bc it’s an enclave)

Planning Board OK’d annexation

Council did not call up the site review on Sept. 17 for a vote; tonight is just about annexation, land use and zoning changes.

Proposal after annexation:
73 units
─ Mobile homes
─ Fixed foundation homes
─ Single‐family, duplexes, carriage houses, tri‐pexes, four‐plexes
─ Permanently Affordable
─ Off‐site prefabricated construction

City will transfer ownership to a nonprofit or similar, but will own the land until the infrastructure upgrades are complete.

Habitat For Humanity will build the fixed-foundation homes and help with financing for residents to buy them.

Forgot to say this, but Boulder got a community development block grant after the floods which helped it to buy Ponderosa to make infrastructure upgrades

Might want to define enclave for you as well: An enclave is an area that isn't technically part of the city but is surrounded by city land; Boulder generally has a strategy of bringing these pieces into city limits and under city control, through a process called annexation.

You can always @ me to ask for definitions. One of these days, I'll do a city gov't glossary.

I don't think this annexation will be complete in time for residents to vote in the upcoming election. I overheard a resident saying as much earlier to council candidate Adam Swetlik, who is here, as always.

Gala Orba making an appearance, too.

The city's goal throughout the Ponderosa process has been 0 displacement. No one has to leave their trailer and accept a newly built fixed-foundation home (which will be priced according to residents' incomes).

Nonetheless, residents and staff have testified that ~10 families have moved out. Residents say the work has restricted their ability to sell their mobile homes, since the city is not permitting any new pad leases at this time to ppl not currently living there.

That's to prevent displacement, the city has said: As ppl move out, they're not being replaced so that the city can use that spot to do infrastructure work and build new homes.

We might hear from some residents tonight, as this is a public hearing.

Q from Jones: How would permanent affordability be passed down to subsequent owners when they resell?

re-sell?

Kurt Firnhaber coming up for a presentation and to answer that and other council qs.

Director of Housing and Human Services Kurt Firnhaber, to be clear.

Here are his slides: www-static.bouldercolorado.gov/docs/2B_Ponder…

One of the reasons the city needs/wants to replace homes is that currently, the manufactured housing units aren't meeting fire safety standards with how close together they are, etc. About 2/3 of the site is not compliant, Firnhaber says.

"Creating an updated mobile home park is very difficult and will end up reducing the number of units we could have on this site," Firnhaber says. With fixed foundation homes, the city is gaining 5 units.

The homes will also be bigger on average. 900 sq ft today; will be 1,200 with fixed foundation. (bc they're two stories, they can get more in a smaller footprint)

V interesting from a community survey:
21% of mobile homes have 5 residents in them
21% have 2 residents
15% have 4 residents
15% have 1 resident
15% have 3 residents
9% have 6 residents

Good chart here on home costs. Here's a screenshot from the presentation:

Median value of mobile homes in Ponderosa now: $25,000

That's nearly one-third of the citywide average of $72,000 for mobile homes.

Avg. resident currently spends $775/mo on housing costs in Ponderosa, per the survey

New residents moving in "will need a slightly higher income," Firnhaber says.

Avg. monthly costs for the fixed foundation homes will be $785.
For subsequent buyers of the homes, $1,241

Weaver asks a q we've already addressed: Boulder will not continue to own the land. They will sell it to Boulder Housing Partners.

Weaver: If BHP owns Ponderosa, they won't be able to sell it off?
Firnhaber: That's correct. There will be covenants on the property.

Brockett q: The silent second mortgage on the property, is that a city subsidy?

Firnhaber: Yes. It could be paid back when they sell the homes in the future.

Reminder: The homeowners won't own the land under it, which is their situation now. They own the mobile homes but not the land.

Firnhaber: There will be appreciation on the house that will be shared between city and owner (bc of the second mortgage taken out by the city to keep the cost down for buyers)

That $$ will be paid back to the city, and go back into the affordable housing program, when the homes are sold.

"Vast majority" of homes will be for 30-40% AMI, but for subsequent buyers, it will be middle-income: 80-150% AMI.

I *think* I got that right. They're moving fast and I can't hear very well (ear infections).

Weaver: I thought you said the second mortgage would be Habitat For Humanity? They're the borrower and lender for the funds?
Firnhaber: Yes. We'll have an agreement with them. Some ppl won't need a silent second mortgage.

Firnhaber: The idea is that the lowest price homes will be priced at 60% AMI, but we'll make it affordable for lower-income earners using these other mechanisms (silent second mortgages, etc.)

"Over time, the ppl who live in these homes will be in the 60-120% AMI range."

Morzel asks about a resident-owned community. Was it considered here?
Firnhaber: Yes, but the land lease model allows BHP to manage and residents don't have to pay property taxes on the land; just the house.

Weaver: What if the owner gets foreclosed on? What programs do we have?
Firnhaber: Typically as soon as we know there's a challenge, we offer financial counseling. Habitat also has processes.

"However, with home ownership, there is that risk."

3(ish) foreclosures int he city's affordable housing program each year, he says. City typically buys the house and then re-sells it.

Weaver: Any plan to do education on mortgages as ppl transition from mobile homes to a fixed-foundation home?
Firnhaber: Yes. Habitat does training; so does Boulder County. "Some ppl might need a couple years of preparedness" before they're ready to own a fixed-foundation home.

Going over the types of housing ppl can have. Single-story (so ppl can age in place, or for accessibility) carriage homes (basically that but over top of covered parking) and then 1 and 2-story detached or attached homes.

There are 11 vacant homes currently in Ponderosa.

Several homes are "unlivable," Firnhaber says: No heat, broken windows, etc.

From a survey of residents:
60% of households desire a Habitat home
75% want the option to stay in their mobile home

(Apparently some ppl want both. I know my math is bad, but I'm pretty sure 60 + 75 is more than 100%)

"It's been a difficult process and a long process," Firnhaber says. "We want to thank the community for going along with a process they didn't ask for."

Young asking about homes Firnhaber referenced about homes in poor condition; as ppl move out, the city is shifting them to homes in better shape.

I missed what her actual q was, but I think it's about a resident who wants to stay in a home even that's not livable.

County has a program for that, Firnhaber says.

To make repairs.

3 homes have to be moved to make way for flood detention ponds. 1 person already moved.

OK we're moving to public hearing. 10 ppl signed up. Yay public participation!

Cam Netherland. "The city has promised that residents who want to say won't be priced out. I think as long as affordable housing rates are still controlled by Area Median Income, I don't think that will be true."

AMI went up by 10.8% last year, he notes, though on average it increases 2% annually (over the past decade).

Tying rents to AMI "assumes as the city gets wealthier, so do working people." But they don't.

He is a CU Student and I think he said he works in the free/reduced law clinic there.

He has some suggestions for how else to set rents: tied to poverty level or min wage; using a community AMI rather than a citywide one; as a % of household wages.

Weaver: "Those are all thought-provoking and you're right AMI has some issues." But isn't the poverty level partially derived from AMI?

Yes, Netherland says. I'm not suggesting that be the way we do this. But it's worth considering bc it factors wages rather than the area AMI.

Charissa Poteet talking about the low values given to the Ponderosa mobile homes. As Firnahaber said, $25K on average, despite the much-higher city average of $72K.

I've met with Habitat twice, she says. They don't know much about how much $$ future home payments will be for a fixed foundation.

$1,200 a month is not low-income housing, she says.

I might not be able to retire if I get locked into a mortgage based on what I earn today.

"We might have moved if we could all see into the future," she says. "Now we can't sell our trailers to the highest bidder. The city does not intend on listening to us."

"We are the working poor. Who will compensate us for our wasted time?"

Victor Jemus Vargeis, here speaking "for the Latino community" at Ponderosa, which supports the city plans. "We've spent a lot of time" on this, with the city.

"The only problem (we) have is that many Latinos will not qualify" for new homes, and "will have to rent as they always have."

"Many ppl have become wealthy bc of the Latino struggles."

(He's using a translator, so I'm quoting her translation of his words.)

Asks that the city, residents and Habitat work together so that Latinos qualify.

"Our kids will ask us later, 'What did you do with all the $$?' We'll have to say we spent it on rent."

"If you really want to help, we should all have the possibility of buying and not renting a home."

Carlos Valdez, also using a translator, says Latinos "have been supporting this project." But he hopes that the new homes built in Ponderosa can be purchased by Latinos.

"Most of us have been renting for over 15 years. We contribute to the local economy and some of us work two jobs. What we ask is that we're given an option to buy and not rent."

Tina Boguhn. The people who have worked on this project (from the city) have done a good job, but this is a difficult process. City is basically buying our places and re-selling them to us for more.

"It really makes me and other residents feel we're not valued. We drive buses, we're nannies, we work 14 hour days. And this is what we get. We're getting pushed out of our homes."

I wish I had an answer on how to keep people there who want to stay and giving people new homes that want them. Many can't qualify. People being moved for flood detention but "this property has functioned through floods for the last 500 years. No homes damaged" in 2013.

Clearly we're going to move forward, she says. "Keep listening to us."

Kathy Schlereth: "I'm really feeling defeated through this process."

The city and consultant said they want to hear what we had to say, but they stuck to the plan they made "before they had anything to do with us."

Powerful testimony from these residents tonight.

Susan Lythgoe, from Habitat, is speaking. They've met with 25 families. Will provide up to 20% second mortgages to help low-income buyers. They should be able to help ppl making as low as $17K per year.

"No one's housing cost will exceed 40% of monthly income."

Will be rental options for ppl who don't qualify based on federal mortgage laws.

But Habitat will provide a 10-year contract so that if someone in the renter's family become eligible to buy within 10 years, they will be given "some consideration" for the rent they've already paid toward a mortgage.

Brockett: Would they be building equity, then?
Lythgoe: Our attorney advised against doing rent-to-own leases, but we are providing second contracts that will address how much of their rent can go toward the mortgage. Details still need worked out.

Young: Why 10 years?
Lythgoe: We can't make it indefinite. But these households might have a child that graduates or is documented. We're looking at a reasonable amount of time; it's not cast in stone, but I don't see us doing a significantly longer contract.

Young: And $17K income is as low as you can go?
Lythgoe: With our standard program. But we're working with Firnhaber on ways to supplement that.

"I see us being able to work with everyone there."

Of 25 families we've met with, only 1 family doesn't qualify bc they're not documented.

Ok, rich ppl of Boulder: Someone buy that family a house.

Jones: How are you going to work with undocumented families?
Lythgoe: We're trying to work that out. "I really don't know," but given numbers so far... it's just one family.

Jones: With all due respect, there's 2/3 of families we don't know about and they might be the ones who are undocumented and so aren't coming forward.

Lythgoe: They do have options to get a mortgage, but it's tricky and not being used.

She's having difficulty getting a "gauge" on how many families might be undocumented.

Lythgoe: We've met with more Latino than non-Latino families. "There's only so much legally I can do on the home ownership side. The broadest I can do is this rent with an option to purchase" idea.

Brockett: Someone said they couldn't get an estimate.
Lythgoe: We have the numbers. We didn't have them a few months ago.

Charissa Poteet speaks from the audience saying she met with Habitat last week.

Lythgoe: We have the formula. So when we start meeting with ppl in January, we'll be able to provide what I think someone will qualify for, and the minimum or maximum price of home.

Also running into issues with self-reported income. "Nobody knows what they make," she says, and it's often less than they think they're making.

Brockett: So in other words, in a few months you'll be able to pin these numbers down?
Lythgoe: Yes.

Morzel: It's somewhat disconcerting, pushing ppl out and knowing that the AMI of this community, in order for it to work, is going to have to increase over time. The ppl who can afford to live there today won't be able to live there in 10 yrs or so.

Lythgoe: They'll have a 30-year fixed mortgage.
Morzel: If they have a mortgage. Ppl who don't qualify will be subject to rent.

Firnhaber going to address that later.

Lythgoe: My covenant with Habitat requires me to work within the AMI requirements of HUD. Habitat International tells me what I can do. I can't work with 200% AMI family.

Morzel: My point is we have ppl with less than 30% AMI. I'm wondering what their future is.
Lythgoe: They can be in a home ownership situation. $17/yr is a pretty low AMI.

Maria Felicia Lopez, using a translator, "I've been l living in Ponderosa for a long time and I'm very happy there. I'm not a good speaker like everybody else, but I want to say thank you for everything. Hopefully everything you're promising, we can achieve."

Paul Morzak, a local carpenter and 23-year Ponderosa resident: "I think for the most part the intentions are good. I think a lot of ppl will have a lot of great things out of the plan if we continue to ask the same questions everyone is asking here."

Has made additions on his 1959 mobile home. "It might not pass inspections," but it has a new furnace, insulation, etc. "Conservation is what I'm concerned about. Conserving the resources that are there already."

"There's a lot of ppl like me who've lived there for years and years and upgraded and kept up their houses. This is the first meeting where I've heard (about) programs for upgrading" existing homes.

Asks that the program "steer more in that direction."

Ok, that wraps the public hearing. Now more qs of Kurt. I think we might be running behind schedule but I'm not sure.

Jones: "Obvs there's a lot of concern about how this is going to play out for ppl who live there." Can you speak to that?

Firnhaber: There are concerns about AMI, but mortgages aren't tied to that. It will be an impact on the second purchaser of the homes.

Brockett: What about renters? That's based on AMI, right?
Firnhaber: Yes.

Brockett: So rent will go up based on AMI?
Firnhaber: Yes. Pad rents have gone up at all the mobile home parks in the city, even more than AMI

(Slightly more than 4% annually, according to city survey)

Actually faster than rents citywide, if you'll remember from earlier this year. boulderbeat.news/2019/02/24/mob…

We're talking a bit about AMI. Last year, city partners increased rents on average by 3.5%. But there was a year recently when AMI didn't increase, so rents couldn't go up. It doesn't force landlords to raise the rents; it just allows them to do so.

BHP, for example, tries to keep increases to 3% or inflation. But when ppl move out, they often raise the rent to the highest allowable. So it does decrease affordability over time.

Brockett: Any mechanism we can use to ensure that even if AMI goes up by 20%, we won't raise rents at Ponderosa?
Firnhaber: We don't like to have different rules for different projects, but we can bring them into the city's affordable rental program.

All of these AMI and rent limits are tied to affordable housing tax credits. So there's not much control the city has, Firnhaber says.

Boulder USED to have a broad 3% (I think) cap on affordable rent increases per year, but they changed to tie it to AMI.

Which, given average AMI increase of 2.1% per year over the past decade, is a better deal in the long-term. But it gets tricky in big-jump years for AMI.

Carlisle asks about Ponderosa residents who say they won't be able to afford a new home. Firnhaber says he disagrees with that. Some ppl who earn higher incomes, yes, their mortgage price will be higher than current rent.

Charissa Poteet speaking from the audience again. Draws a (gentle) rebuke from Jones.

Nagle jumping in; "It's hard up here as a decision maker. I believe what (Firnhaber) is saying; I believe what (Poteet) is saying. What are we missing?"

She's asking a resident to come up and answer that question.

Firnhaber: This is documented in an annexation agreement, which is what we're here to talk about tonight. These things are documented.
Nagle: It seems like there's a disconnect. I just want to understand what we haven't answered yet and see if we can get an answer.

I also feel there is a bit of disconnect. This is a story I've wanted to chase but haven't had time. I might dig in a bit more now.

Tina Boguhn taking this for the residents: We've been told if no one in Ponderosa wants the Habitat home, they're still going to fill them. So if I wait 5-10 years, all the houses might be gone.

Nagle: But you'd be allowed to stay in your mobile home?
Boguhn: Right. But most of these homes are pre-HUD (built before 1976, under different rules). If I want to put a new roof on, I need a permit. They might start flagging things that need changed, etc.

"We've also been told you can stay in your mobile home but you can't keep fixing it and if we see you doing that," we'll stop you, Boguhn says.

Carlisle asks about Boguhn's earlier reference to Western Slope cities and mobile homes. She says Steamboat Springs bought the park, found the $$ for infrastructure upgrades, and then sold it back to residents.

Nagle seems satisfied. Jones asks Firnhaber to address Boghun's claims about fixing homes.

"The situation now is no different than it was in the county: you need to get a permit" for work.

Jones: What about additional hoops? Mobile homes will be nonconforming after we do land use and zoning changes.

Firnhaber: When you go into get a permit for a roof, there's no prior inspection. They do it at the time but they don't go into the home. But they note health and safety issues as they do with any building in the city, and how it is currently handled in the county.

Morzel asking about pre-1976 homes (which are often barred from parks and therefore can't be moved, often). I kinda missed the specific q, but Firnhaber saying 3 homes will be displaced by roads/infrastructure.

OK, here's the question, after the answer: If you need someone's lot but they don't want to sell or move, what are you going to do?
Firnhaber: We only have 3 homes that might be in the way.

Not really an answer but we're moving on.

Roughly half the residents of Ponderosa are Latino. Of 25 families that have been met with so far, they all qualify financially. The only one is the undocumented family that doesn't qualify for that reason.

Again I say to the rich ppl of Boulder: Buy this family a home.

Jones asked about the rest of the families that haven't met with Habitat.

We don't really know yet, Firnhaber says. But we're going to meet with them.

RE: Undocumented persons. Most families have someone in the house over 18 that can qualify for a mortgage. Or, if they don't, they will within the 10-year lease-then-own period Habitat explained.

Firnhaber addressing why the city isn't going the Steamboat route of buying the community, fixing it up and then re-selling it.

Bc of how close they all are, we'd have to move out 20 or so homes to make the fixes we need, he said.

This is why the city chose this approach: So it can keep the number of homes the same. (Increase them, actually.)

But in Steamboat, the housing authority owns the land, he says; not the residents. Similar to what Boulder will do by transferring the land to BHP.

Firnhaber addressing the ROC (Resident Owned Community) model, which a community in Longmont just did.

"Essentially, this is the same thing. It's really about what creates affordability."

Weaver: What will the resident leadership look like? In a ROC, the residents use an HOA-type model where they pay in and then govern as a board.
Firnhaber: What we heard from residents is that they didn't want an HOA, which is one reason we went this direction.

Weaver: It's been good engagement so far. How will that continue under BHP?
Firnhaber: I don't want to speak for them, but they have many programs at other communities they manage.

"We've actually started some of those benefits at Ponderosa."

Nagle asking about Boguhn's concern that all the Habitat homes will be taken if she wants to stay in her mobile home for 10 or 15 years.
Jones: You can turn in your mobile home for a fixed-foundation home to be built, right?
Firnhaber: Yes.

"We wanted a process where ppl didn't have to move more than once."

(That was Firnhaber.) "I think it's unlikely, giving the staging process, that every lot is going to be built until the very end." There will always be vacant homes.

Brockett: There will be opportunities to build the fixed foundation homes gradually over time. You might not be able to do it right away, but you'll have the opportunity when you want it, within a year or two.

Jones: "Let's just say it gets muddy. Who do they go to if they feel they're not being heard?"

It falls on the city to address concerns, Firnhaber says. So "the buck stops with council if something goes awry," Jones says.

OK, we're moving to the vote, I believe. But first, some love for the residents and process from Weaver (and, likely, other members of council).

It's an "audacious" plan to let residents stay in their homes, "even if it delays part of the project for many years. It's something we came to realize was the only way to build trust."

"I know this has caused some fear. I believe we're going to be really sincere in trying to address (concerns)."

Weaver makes the motion.

Young is addressing the crowd in Spanish. "This project has been a long one, and it's required your trust and faith in this process."

"We lost your trust at some points. But I hope that also bc of the hard work (we've done) we can gain it back. If you're still not there with the trust piece, please continue to reach out."

"This is the best we can do."

Brockett: I was moved by a lot of the testimony of residents, particularly the Latino residents who want to own homes. We can help with that; let's pull in whatever outside resources we can to make that work.

Jones: There's a lot of change out in the world. The comparison isn't, 'Hey let's keep it how it is.' A lot of change is going to happen if we don't do anything.

"I know this is hard. But the doors are open" to keep coming and talking to us.

Morzel: "I want to make sure that Latinos feel like they have an opportunity for home ownership."

Unanimous vote to annex the property and change land use/zoning.

@threadreaderapp please unroll. Thank you!