TOWN OF EASTON, MARYLAND
Workshop
Impact Fees, Affordable Housing and RTC Park Study
January 26, 2004
Councilmember Maureen Scott-Taylor Councilmember Moonyene Jackson-Amis
Also in attendance were Town Attorney Chris Kehoe, Town Planner Mr. Tom Hamilton, Parks and Recreation Director Mike Morse and Town Clerk Mr. Robert Karge.
At 6:00 p.m., the President of the Council called the meeting to order.
IMPACT FEES
The President of the Council Mr. Ford stated that there are two immediate questions to answer and that is there is a potential consultant, Tischler & Associates who is initially involved with Easton and heavily involved with Talbot County in an impact study. Mr. Ford asked if Mr. Tischler should be hired to conduct the impact fee study for the Town of Easton and is there funding for such a study.
Ms. Jackson-Amis stated that she would like to see another resource and another point of view. She asked if we could not look at the results obtained so far and go from where we are with the results that Tischler & Associates have give the Town and County so far.
Mr. Jensen stated that the universal consensus was that Tischler was the person to perform the study. Mr. Jensen asked if the county had a preliminary figure.
Mayor Willey stated that outside of the Town of Easton, the building permit fee would be approximately $5,800. But if it the construction took place inside the Town of Easton, the fee would be about $3,800. Mayor Willey discussed Easton Utilities’ capital water sewer charge per house. He stated that the Town of Easton fee could be as high as $10,000 or $11,000. Mayor Willey stated that the County is also looking at an excise tax in addition to an impact fee or a combination due to the excise tax being much easier to levy on many more items than what can be done with an impact fee which is mainly for new construction.
The Town Attorney, Mr. Kehoe stated that the legislation which authorized the county to impose excise tax restricted the use to which the county could use the funds and essentially directed them to capital projects generated by new growth so it functions much like an impact fee. Mr. Kehoe stated that the proposed impact fee compared to other areas in Maryland is not a lot of money.
Mr. Ford stated that he is making some assumptions regarding an impact study report and that is that the result of the report would give the Town of Easton the legal parameters within which to establish an impact fee. He stated that the Town needs the information yesterday. Mr. Ford stated that the coordination between the towns and county could be extremely critical and possibly contentious due to it being a finite source of revenue. Mr. Ford stated that the Town needs to now the parameters in which to negotiate.
Mr. Jensen questioned if it is a good idea to impose an impact fee and if not, why spend the money on a study.
Ms. Jackson-Amis stated that her concern is what Tischler will give in his study.
Mr. Ford discussed the capital improvements plan.
Mrs. Scott-Taylor asked if there is any understanding with the county regarding impact fees.
Mayor Willey stated that we will be trying to catch up. Mr. Ford stated that hopefully, they will be willing to wait for us.
The Town Attorney stated that the Council needs to decide what capital improvements are necessary over the next five years then Tischler says that of that, a certain percentage can be attributed to new growth and this is what you can recover. He stated that the impact fee is a mechanism to shift some of the cost of new capital projects from one funding source; mainly taxpayers, mainly developers. He stated that if the Council decides that impact fees are too much trouble to have, you still need to have someone like Tischler or Tischler to give the breakdown to see what the financial implications for the town are.
Mr. Wendowski arrived at 6:14 p.m.
The President of the Council asked if anyone does not think it is a good idea to have an impact study.
Mr. Jensen made a motion to have an impact study done seconded by Mrs. Scott-Taylor and carried unanimously.
The Town Attorney discussed funding. He discussed Easton Utilities ability to perform an analysis. Mr. Kehoe discussed Utilities’ capital connection charge.
Mr. Ford asked for the Council’s consensus on engaging Tischler & Associates for the impact fee study.
Mr. Jensen stated that he thought the council should.
Mr. Wendowski stated that he thinks an outside representative should perform the study and tie into what the county is doing.
Mr. Wendowski made a motion to have Mayor Willey hire Tischler & Associates to perform an impact fee study for the Town of Easton seconded by Mr. Jensen and carried unanimously.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Mr. Wendowski made a motion to authorize Mayor Willey hire Tischler and Associates to perform an impact fee study seconded by Mr. Jensen and carried unanimously.
Mr. Ford stated that there is no available funding although there have been some promised funds coming to the town specifically from Elm Street and Cooke’s Hope and potentially from Locust Commons for the Easton Housing Trust. Mr. Ford discussed Mayor Willey’s discussions with Mid Shore Community Foundation regarding managing that trust.
The Town Attorney stated that the Community Foundation is willing to administer the Trust Fund, invest them and tell the Town and advisory board how much money there is to distribute. He discussed IRS regulations regarding minimum distribution. He stated that what they do not want to do is get into the position of deciding on applications.
Mayor Willey suggested that Mr. Mike Rouse speak to the Council regarding the Mid Shore Community Foundations’ functions.
Mr. Jensen asked what the general decision would be on how the money is distributed.
The Town Attorney stated that his thoughts are that there should be an advisory board consisting of members of the community. He discussed possible makeup of a board.
Mr. Ford discussed a memo outlining from Mr. Kehoe based on conversations he and the Mayor had with members of the Community Development Administration.
Ms. Jackson-Amis discussed the current study being performed by Ms. Priscilla Morris and Ms. Ginger Howell. She stated that they are doing an identification of property needs and assessments in the town. Ms. Jackson-Amis stated that from that study, we should be able to tell where the houses need to be rehabilitated or where there is vacant land that can be used for housing. Ms. Jackson-Amis stated that the problem she has with using existing institutions like the Department of Social Services and the Health Department, is that it seems to her that there should be some fresh eyes that don’t come with their own set of needs to identify or develop some type of lottery system on how some people would apply for housing. She stated that she does not want the same institution selecting who would go into the housing. Ms. Jackson-Amis stated that in Ward 4 there are people who have been living there for some time who are now being displaced without given consideration for any new housing or improved living circumstances. She stated that there should be something built-in so that these families can have a shot at an improved opportunity in their environment that they have lived in.
Mr. Ford stated that this is two separate things. The establishment of criteria within which to administer these funds and the other thing would be a community advisory board which will decide among qualified candidates that meet certain criteria where the money can go.
Ms. Jackson-Amis stated that she thought the Council was going to use the CDC mechanism for utilizing the funds and having some input.
Mr. Kehoe stated if there is someone in a certain organization that is good at what the do, it might be someone to consider.
Mrs. Scott-Taylor stated that there is already a housing coalition. She stated that this is a very active group and a member should be considered from that organization.
Mr. Wendowski stated that there will not be a lot of money to start and suggested beginning with refurbishing projects.
Ms. Jackson-Amis discussed the Elm Street agreement. She stated that there are only a few houses on Port and West Street that actually qualify due to having to be owner occupied. She stated that they will only qualify for refurbishing if the families have lived there a certain number of years. She stated that if another methodology is considered, she believes that Elm Street should be exempt from that be cause those terms have been negotiated.
Mr. Jensen stated that he would feel comfortable with this group administering the Elm Street funds in the spirit of the agreement. He suggested getting this going.
Ms. Jackson-Amis stated that they should have people apply or submit names for the trust fund to Mayor Willey.
Mr. Jensen asked if seven participants would be suitable. Mayor Willey stated that he had considered eleven names because he wanted to make sure every group is represented.
Mr. Ford asked if a requirement should be that the board members are residents of the town.
Mrs. Scott-Taylor stated that this would be her recommendation.
The Town Attorney stated that he thinks it is more important to make a decision that the money be spent in Easton.
Mayor Willey stated that he would be a little uncomfortable putting someone on the committee that does not reside in the Town of Easton and secondly, he thinks the funds should be spent on projects in the Town of Easton unless there is a partnership with the County Council.
The Town Attorney stated that the most cost effective solutions to the affordable housing solutions within the town may not necessarily lie within the town.
Mayor Willey stated that one of the functions of this group would be to help first-time homebuyers.
Mr. Jensen made a motion to authorize Mayor Willey to pick the proper number of members.
The Town Attorney suggested listening to everyone’s thoughts then coming back to the Council with a program.
Mr. Jensen asked who would make the criteria.
Ms. Jackson-Amis stated that any ideas could be communicated.
Mr. Ford stated that some entity is going to have to administer the funding portion of the program; the Mid Shore Community Foundation is going to manage the money once it is there, the Community Advisory Board is going to make selections based on the available finances to fund certain projects or improvements. He stated that there has to be an entity that actually does the nuts and bolts of that program such as processing that application, follow-up on the expenditures and make sure the criteria is being met.
The Town Attorney discussed a previous consultant and a previous situation, which he did not think was an effective use of the town’s staff resources.
Ms. Jackson-Amis stated that she is not suggesting that we use the employed staff but find a way to pay someone to do this.
Discussion occurred regarding Dover Court.
The Town Clerk discussed the previous scenario.
Mr. Jensen asked the Town Planner if this is something he thinks his office could perform.
The Town Planner stated that he would not recommend that the Planning office take on this function.
The Town Attorney stated that this function should be outsourced.
Mr. Wendowski suggested finding out how other people are doing this.
Mr. Al Bond, Economic Development Coordinator arrived at 7:13 p.m.
Discussion occurred regarding Montgomery County’s administration of funds such as this.
Discussion occurred regarding monitoring the program.
The Town Planner stated that Montgomery County has made a presentation to the Housing Coalition and they may be able to meet with the Council.
Mayor Willey discussed engaging Mike Rouse to speak with the Town also.
General discussion occurred regarding impact fees and how they function.
Mr. Jensen stated that he believes that infill development should be affordable.
Mr. Ford stated that he would like examples of how other municipalities or communities set their waivers for impact fees and what those parameters are.
Mr. Ford stated that we are going to create a formula to impose on new development that will subsidize our needs for affordable housing should there be developments in the town that are either wholly or partially exempt from that formula.
Mrs. Scott-Taylor asked if the Town of Easton can legally say to a developer if you build on certain parcels; there is no affordable housing component. The Town Attorney stated that it could be successfully challenged in court.
The Town Attorney discussed asking developers to contribute per unit to the Easton Affordable Housing Trust. He stated that this is done now for PUDs where the people are getting something in return. Mr. Kehoe stated that if the Council is going to impose a fee on all development for affordable housing, you are probably going to end up speaking to Mr. Tischler or someone like Tischler to handle that as that is an impact fee just like any other impact fee.
Mrs. Scott-Taylor asked if it wouldn’t make more sense to have Mr. Tischler perform that now. The Town Attorney answered yes.
Ms. Jackson-Amis asked why the Council was getting away from talking about impact fees for infill development because they use the same services within the town as anyone else.
Discussion occurred on impact fees for redevelopment projects. The Town Attorney discussed the Town paying impact fees for projects.
Mrs. Scott-Taylor stated that just because it is infill development does not mean the impact fee should be waived.
Mr. Ford stated that information regarding what other entities use for their definition of affordable housing would be useful. He stated that this council needs to decide on what they will use.
Ms. Jackson-Amis stated that there are different levels of affordable housing and she believes that each one should be listed, i.e.; low income affordable, middle income affordable.
The Town Attorney stated that the formulas are different for low and middle income.
Mayor Willey stated that the Town of Easton needs to decide how much affordable housing the Town of Easton wants because we can’t take the whole county’s problem and bring it into the Town.
Mr. Ford discussed the Comprehensive Plan and the creation of mixed neighborhoods.
The Town Attorney discussed finding a few years ago, the percentage of dwelling units in Easton that are rented in the Town of Easton versus the percentage in Talbot County that is rented versus the state average. He stated that a few years ago, Easton was well above the state average for rentals and the county was far below the state average.
The President of the Council stated that there a couple major things to decide. The President of the Council stated that Mayor Willey has a number of names that have been submitted for the group that is going to work in short term with Mr. Chris Delaporte. Mr. Ford suggested that Mayor Willey forward those names to the Council for approval.
Mayor Willey stated that he has eight names to submit.
Ms. Jackson-Amis asked if any were from Ward IV. Mayor Willey stated that he has a total of eight names that came in but he can only use seven as one was from out of town.
The President of the Council asked the Council what do we want this group to do. Mr. Ford stated that there is about 1/3 of the contractual obligation left with Mr. Delaporte. He stated that we have received a preliminary general report. Mr. Ford asked if he works with this group, what would we like to see.
Mr. Jensen stated that there should be some input what is going to happen on the RTC property.
Discussion occurred on the RTC property and the Delaporte contract.
Ms. Jackson-Amis stated that she would like the committee to review the suggestions the Council made.
Mr. Ford stated that Mr. Delaporte intends to sit down with the committee then produce a final report after discussions with this group. Mr. Ford stated that he would like to get to the final report stage.
Mr. Jensen stated that he agrees that we should get the report done and continue the direction that he is working towards.
Mrs. Scott-Taylor suggested having Mike Morse, Director of Parks and Recreation submit the plan to the task force.
Ms. Jackson-Amis suggested asking the committee to work on this to review this plan and be conversant with the ideas the Council suggested, hash the plan and suggestions around and come back to the Council. At that time, if the Council wants Delaporte to consider the information developed by this group as a final outcome, then he could be given that opportunity.
Mrs. Scott-Taylor stated that she wants everyone to understand where the RTC property is.
The Town Attorney suggested that the committee, with the Parks and Recreation Director, walk the property to familiarize themselves. Mr. Kehoe stated that there are two conflicting views in Mr. Delaporte’s report on what to do what that property. The first is that it be used as a regional park or central park to serve the town as a whole. The second view is that the land be integrated into the surrounding developments to enhance those developments that would result in only a smaller portion being set aside for traditional park purposes. He suggested giving Mr. Delaporte guidance on what the Council wants. The Town Attorney suggested seeing the product from the advisory board before it goes to Delaporte to make sure that their recommendations are consistent what the Council thinks is an appropriate use of the property.
Ms. Jackson-Amis asked how the advisory board will test their determination with the rest of the town. Mr. Kehoe stated that through the Town’s elected representatives.
Ms. Jackson-Amis discussed her desire to see a museum.
Mrs. Scott-Taylor stated that she had a desire to see an outdoor amphitheater but Mr. Delaporte had discussed parking issues.
The Town Attorney stated that if the Council can come out of this process with a consensus and a clear policy as to what the town wants to see with that land five to ten years in future, then the Town can move on and start to realize those goals but at this point, specific proposals have always ended on the notion that we haven’t decided what we are going to do with the property so we have to put this off.
Mr. Jensen stated that Mr. Delaporte had advised that a park of that size would almost be too big for a regional park for Easton. The Town Attorney stated that 1/3 of the park will end up as wetlands.
Mr. Ford stated that one of the fundamental recommendations we need to begin with is to what extent is that property park and what extent is it development. He stated that one of the issues the Council promised to tackle is Chapel Farms as they have a vested interest in finishing what they feel is an incomplete community.
Mr. Wendowski stated that the committee should review what Mr. Delaporte has presented as well as some of the Council’s concepts. He suggested letting Mr. Morse review the report, take the committee through the property and bring Mr. Delaporte in to present ideas.
Mr. Bond discussed the scale of the park and what it should be.
Mr. Hamilton discussed the history of the RTC property.
The Town Clerk stated that the Council hired Mr. Delaporte to make a recommendation; not to tell them what they wanted to hear. He discussed the outline of Mr. Delaporte’s contract.
It was the consensus of the Council to have the committee look at the property; have everyone talk about it, look at Mr. Delaporte’s report then meet with Mr. Delaporte and have him use their insight and report back to the Council.
Mrs. Scott-Taylor suggested the Town Engineer, Mayor Willey and the Town Planner also be involved.
Mr. Morse reviewed the proposed steps with the Council.
At 7:40 p.m., upon motion by Mrs. Scott-Taylor seconded by Mr. Wendowski and carried unanimously following a roll call vote, the President of the Council convened into Executive Session.
ADJOURNMENT
Upon unanimous consensus; the President of the Council adjourned the council workshop at 8:58 p.m.
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Town Clerk