04-26-1999 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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COUNCIL MEETINQ APR 2 6 1999 Y Uh OHOl^U REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION DATE; April 22, 1999 ITEM NO: Department Approval: Name RonMoorsc Title City Administrator Administrator Reviewed:Agenda Section: City Administrator’s Report Item Description: Lake Area Housing Workshop As the City of Orono updates the housing element of its Comprehensive Plan, it will be making decisions about housing types and densities, and the housing needs it wants to address. Although meeting the needs of those who want single family homes in new rural subdivisions is relatively easy, there are many types of housing needs that are much more difficult to address, particularly with the limited resources available to the individual cities in the lake area. These needs include preserving the current stock of affordable housing through rehabilitation, the future need to rehabilitate existing multi-family housing to keep it viable and livable, and keeping up-to-date on regulations regarding the financing of various housing types, (i.e. senior housing) to ensure these housing types can be provided in the lake area as cost effectively and as affordably as possible. All of the lake area cities are trying to determine how best to address their housing needs and achieve their housing plans. As the lake area City Managers, City Administrators, and City Plaimers have discussed their individual housing issues, it became clear that there were common issues and common needs that could potentially be addressed more effectively through cooperation and coordination among the lake area cities rather than each city working independently. Out of these discussions grew the idea of a housing workshop involving the City Councils and Planning Commissions of all of the lake area cities. The purpose of this workshop is to provide a substantial amount of information about housing in the lake area, to hear from experts regarding preserving and providing life cycle and affordable housing, and to set a direction for cooperative efforts among the lake area cities toward meeting the housing needs of the lake area. One example of cooperative efforts among the cities would be the sharing of a housing coordinator who would be familiar with the funding options and requirements related to various types of housing. As the City has learned recently in relation to senior housing, funding options and funding requirements are constantly changing. Although developers of housing may be up to speed, the cities need a resource person who can work effectively with developers and who can ensure the cities' interests are protected in relation to any city involvement. The Housing Workshop will be held at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 20 at the South Shore Community Center in Shorewood. A continental breakfast will be served at 7:15 a.m. It is important that at least a majority of the City Council attend the workshop because there will be substantial discussion regarding the potential for cooperative efforts among the lake area cities in the area of housing. It is important a majority of the Council members attend to participate in this discussion and to have a voice, both for the City and for the lake area, regarding cooperative efforts toward meeting the housing needs of the lake area. COUNCIL ACTION REQUESTED; No action requested other than attendance at the Housing Workshop.