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[Housing and Homelessness Solutions on March 21, 2023.]
IN THIS CALLING THE HOUSING AND HOMELESS SOLUTION COMMITTEE MEETING TO ORDER.I WANT TO WELCOME EVERYONE BACK.
HOPE EVERYONE HAD A GREAT SPRING BREAK.
FIRST ON OUR AGENDA IS THE APPROVAL OF THE FEBRUARY 27TH COMMITTEE MEETING.
IT'S BEEN A MOTION AND A SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE.
NOW GO INTO OUR BRIEFING ITEMS AND WE'LL START OFF WITH BRIEFING ITEM A.
>> GOOD MORNING. I'M THOR ERICKSON, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING.
THIS MORNING I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE DALLAS HOUSING RESOURCE CATALOG.
NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. I'LL GO THROUGH A SHORT BACKGROUND AND HISTORY OF WHAT THE CATALOG IS IN COMPARISON TO THE DALLAS HOUSING POLICY.
I'LL TALK ABOUT THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BOTH DOCUMENTS, HOW WE PLAN TO USE THIS CATALOG AND THE NEXT STEPS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
IT'S WORTH NOTING THAT THE EQUITY AUDIT AND THE NEW COMPREHENSIVE HOUSING POLICY OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS WAS A PIVOTAL MOMENT IN THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT.
THOSE 11 RECOMMENDATIONS HIGHLIGHTED A LOT OF DIFFERENCES OR BURDENS AND BENEFITS OF THE CURRENT COMPREHENSIVE HOUSING POLICY.
WELL, A LOT OF OUR FOCUS HAS BEEN ON DRAFTING THE NEW POLICY.
OUR PROGRAMS STILL NEED TO BE ACTIVE IN AND AROUND.
IF WE JUST CREATE A NEW POLICY, BUT IT DOESN'T HAVE THE PROGRAMS THEN WE HAVE TO WORK ON WHERE THOSE PROGRAMS LIVE AND THAT IS WHAT THE DALLAS HOUSING RESOURCE CATALOG IS.
IT IS THE CATALOG OF OUR PROGRAMS SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE OPERATIONS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
WE HAVE ESSENTIALLY REFORMATTED THE COMPREHENSIVE HOUSING POLICY TO CREATE THE DALLAS HOUSING RESOURCE CATALOG.
IN THE NEXT SLIDE, WE'LL SHOW SOME DIFFERENT THINGS, BUT IT WILL BE AN AMENDMENT OF THE COMPREHENSIVE HOUSING POLICY.
THIS WILL BE THE SECOND ITEM ON THE APRIL 12TH AGENDA ALONG WITH THE DALLAS HOUSING POLICY.
FIRST, WE WOULD APPROVE THE POLICY AND THEN THE CATALOG WHICH WOULD ALLOW THE PROGRAMS THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE TO STAY IN OPERATION. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
THE HOUSING POLICY WILL BE THE POLICY STATEMENTS, SO IT'S THE VISION OF THE DEPARTMENT.
IT'S HOW WE ENVISION CARRYING OUT OUR WORK. IT'S THE SEVEN PILLARS.
IT'S IDENTIFYING THOSE STRATEGY AREAS, IT'S THE EDUCATION, IT'S THE ENGAGEMENT, IT'S THE PRODUCTION, INFRASTRUCTURE, AND PRESERVATION GOALS.
HOW WE CARRY THAT WORKOUT IS THROUGH THE PROGRAMS AND INITIATIVES THAT WE HAVE IN THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT, AND THOSE WILL ALL BE LISTED IN THE CATALOG.
WELL, WHERE'S THE INFORMATION ON HIP, IT'D BE IN THE CATALOG, AS RIGHT NOW IT'S IN HOUSING POLICY.
THESE WOULD JUST BE TWO SEPARATE THINGS.
THE POLICY HAS ITS VISION STATEMENTS AND THE CATALOG IS ESSENTIALLY THE CATALOG OF EVERY PROGRAM THAT WE OFFER. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
WANTED TO SHOW YOU THE CHANGES TO THE COMPREHENSIVE HOUSING POLICY.
THE FIRST THING WE DID IS WE CHANGED THE NAME FROM COMPREHENSIVE HOUSING POLICY TO DALLAS HOUSING RESOURCE CATALOG.
THE BONES OF IT REMAIN THE SAME.
IT HAS ALL THOSE SAME PROGRAMS. IT'S JUST SOME OF THE PROGRAMS HAD A PROGRAM AND THEN AN APPENDIX AND I PUT THOSE TOGETHER SO THAT THE DETAILS OF THE PROGRAM AND THE PROGRAM WERE TOGETHER AND NOT ON PAGE 13 AND PAGE 99.
WE ADDED PROGRAMS THAT HAD BEEN CREATED, BUT WERE NOT ADDED TO THE COMPREHENSIVE HOUSING POLICY, LIKE THE SENIOR HOME REPAIR PROGRAM, THAT WAS THE STAND-ALONE PROGRAM WE CREATED AS A PILOT, BUT NOW IT'LL BE IN THE CATALOG BECAUSE IT'S A PROGRAM THAT WE OFFER, SO ALL OF OUR PROGRAMS ARE IN ONE PLACE.
ALSO THE RPA PROGRAM AND THE LEAD PROGRAM THAT WE OFFER.
THOSE AREN'T IN THE CURRENT HOUSING POLICY BECAUSE ANYTHING THAT HAS BEEN TREATED AS A ONETIME SOURCE OR ONETIME GRANT OR A PILOT WAS NOT A CHP AMENDMENT, IT WAS JUST A PROGRAM THAT WAS CREATED.
BUT THEY LIVE ALONE, AND THEN IT'S SOMETIMES HARD TO FIND THAT INFORMATION AND WE WANT TO BE MORE TRANSPARENT AND ACCESSIBLE WITH OUR PROGRAM, SO EVERYTHING WE OFFER WILL BE IN THE POLICY.
THE THINGS WE REMOVED FROM THE CHP ARE ALL OF THE STATEMENTS ABOUT THE POLICY LANGUAGE, MENTIONS OF THE CITY DALLAS PLANS, THE FUNDING SUPPORT THINGS, THE APPENDIXES THAT WERE JUST DEFINITIONS, THAT DON'T REALLY GIVE YOU A DIRECTION ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, BUT THEY JUST DEFINE SOMETHING THAT IS ALREADY IN A DEFINITION LEADS ON HUD'S WEBSITE OR SOMETHING THAT WE REGULARLY USE.
ALL THE STUFF THAT LOOK LIKE IT ADDED DETAIL TO IT THAT DIDN'T REALLY HELP US MOVE A PROGRAM OR INITIATIVE FORWARD WAS REMOVED.
THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE DON'T ABIDE BY THOSE DEFINITIONS.
IT JUST MEANS IT WAS DISTRACTING FROM THE ELEMENTS THAT WE'RE NOW IN THE HOUSING RESOURCE CATALOG.
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NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. IT'S WORTH NOTING THAT THE EXISTING PROGRAMS IN THE CHP WILL STILL BE ON OPERATION.EVERYTHING WE HAVE RIGHT NOW CONTINUES TO MOVE FORWARD EVEN WHEN THE HOUSING POLICY IS ADOPTED ON APRIL 12TH, THIS HOUSING RESOURCE CATALOG ALLOWS ALL OF THOSE PROGRAMS TO STILL BE ON OPERATION.
PROGRAMS MAY STILL NEED AMENDMENTS OR FINE TUNING.
FOR ANYTHING WHERE WE ARE SEEKING AMENDMENTS, WE GO THROUGH A MORE ROBUST ENGAGEMENT PLAN, WHICH MAY INCLUDE COMMITTEE BRIEFINGS, FRIDAY MEMOS, HOUSING POLICY TASK FORCE MEETINGS, AND ALL NEW PROGRAMS WOULD CONTINUE TO SEEK COUNSEL AUTHORITY AND TO BE ADDED TO THE HOUSING RESOURCE CATALOG.
NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THIS DIAGRAM TRIES TO SHOW THAT THE ORANGE CIRCLE IS THE POLICY, IT HAS THE SEVEN PILLARS, AND THE BLUE SIDE HAS THE ORGANIZING STRUCTURE OF THE CATALOG.
IT HAS OUR HOMEOWNER PROGRAMS, OUR DEVELOPER PROGRAMS, OUR CORPORATIONS.
THEN A LOT OF THE COMPLIANCE AND FUNDING RESOURCES WHERE WE WORKED WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS TO ACHIEVE SOME OF OUR WORK.
THE ALIGNMENT HAPPENS IS THAT EACH OF THE SEVEN PILLARS HAS A SMARTIE GOAL, IS A GOAL THAT'S A 10-YEAR GOAL OR A THREE-YEAR ACHIEVEMENT MARK, THOSE BENCHMARKS.
EACH PROGRAM OVER THE NEXT YEAR AS WE WORK ON OUR IMPLEMENTATION PLAN, WILL HAVE SMARTIE GOALS THAT ALIGN.
THE PRESERVATION GOALS THAT ARE 10-YEAR PRODUCTION GOALS, THE PROGRAM GOALS WE'LL LINK TO THAT.
THE REASON WHY YOU DON'T SEE THOSE SMARTIE GOALS RIGHT NOW IS THAT PILLAR NUMBER 1 IS THE EQUITY STRATEGY TARGET AREAS, IDENTIFYING AREAS WHERE WE NEED TO CONCENTRATE RESOURCES AND FOCUS, THEN WE HAVE CITY WIDE INITIATIVES.
FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN AFTER THE POLICY THAT WE TALKED ABOUT, IT'S REALLY WORKING ON ENGAGEMENT AND THE HOUSING POLICY TASKFORCE, THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PIECES TO REFINE WHAT THOSE GOALS SHOULD BE IN EACH PARTICULAR AREA.
WE WILL BE ADDING THEM THROUGH THE COURSE OF THE YEAR AND THAT WILL COME WITH OUR FUTURE BRIEFING WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THOSE STRATEGY AREAS AND HOW ALL THOSE GOALS ALIGN.
BUT THAT'S THE INTENT HERE IS TO SHOW THAT THERE'S A LINKAGE BETWEEN THE TWO, THAT OUR PROGRAMS ARE ALIGN WITH THE GOALS LAID OUT IN THE POLICY. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
AS WE IMPLEMENT THE POLICY, WE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT EFFICIENCY.
HOW DO WE RUN OUR PROGRAMS MORE EFFICIENT? THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES TO EXPLORE AND STREAMLINING PROCESSES.
FOR INSTANCE, A LOT OF OUR PROGRAMS USE ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS TO ENTER INTO CONTRACTS.
ALL OF THE HOME REPAIR AND HOMEBUYER ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS HAVE GIVEN AUTHORITY TO USE ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION FOR ALL OF THOSE CONTRACTS BECAUSE THEY'RE ONETIME DEALS UNDER $100,000 THAT ALLOW US TO MOVE THOSE CONTRACTS FOR WITHOUT BRINGING EACH OF THOSE TO CITY COUNCIL.
WE CAN SEE IT'S ADDING SOME FLEXIBILITY IN OUR PROGRAM STATEMENT THAT ALLOW US TO ADJUST SOME OF THE MARKET TERMS, THE FRONT-END RATIOS, OR THE AMOUNT OF GRANT ASSISTANCE, WITHOUT COMING TO THE COUNCIL FOR SOME CHANGES WITHIN A RANGE.
BUT IT'S WORTH NOTING THAT WE WOULD SEEK INPUT AND ENGAGEMENT AND UNDERSTAND WHETHER THERE'RE PROPER BALANCES AND BRING THAT BACK TO YOU ALL FOR CONSIDERATION.
ALSO WITH SMALLER PROJECTS, WITH LEGAL AGREEMENTS, THERE COULD BE A CERTAIN SIZE PROJECT, EITHER BUDGET OR UNIT SIZE, WHERE WE COULD OPERATE IN THE SAME WAY.
BUT THAT'S WHAT WE'RE EXPLORING RIGHT NOW WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, AS WELL AS JUST LOOKING AT OUR OPERATION MODEL. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
PILLAR 6 IS ENGAGEMENT IN THE POLICY.
WE REALLY BELIEVE THAT HAVING MORE FREQUENT MEETINGS WITH FOLKS IS A WAY TO BUILD BETTER RELATIONSHIPS, AWARENESS, AND TRANSPARENCY IN WHAT WE DO.
THE ENGAGEMENT PROCESS IS NOT A ONETIME EFFORT, BUT IT'S CONTINUAL.
ANYTIME WHEN WE'RE SEEKING TO MAKE CHANGES TO OUR WORK OR TO IDENTIFY THOSE AREAS WE KNOW IT'S GOING TO TAKE A LOT OF EFFORT THAT'S GOING TO INCLUDE DEDICATED OUTREACH STAFF, HAVING PEOPLE THAT THAT IS THEIR FULL-TIME JOB IS TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS AND HELP PEOPLE WITH APPLICATIONS.
IT WILL INVOLVE THAT NEW ROBUST HOUSING POLICY TASKFORCE.
IT'LL INVOLVE COMMITTEE AND COUNSEL BRIEFINGS.
IT WILL INCLUDE ALL OF YOUR EFFORTS TO TAP INTO YOUR CONSTITUENTS AND WORK WITH YOU ALL.
IT'LL BE COMMUNITY MEETINGS, SURVEYS, CANVASSING, AND SOMETIMES A COMBINATION OF EVERYTHING.
SOME OF OUR PROJECTS REQUIRE THE UTILIZATION OF MULTIPLE ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS AND NOT JUST A COUPLE OF COMMUNITY MEETINGS OR SOME SURVEYS.
DEPENDING ON THE LEVEL OF CHANGE AND COMPLEXITY, WE PLAN TO UTILIZE THIS.
CONVERSATIONS HAVE COME UP IN, WHAT HAPPENS IN DISAGREEMENTS? THAT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU WORK THROUGH, IF IT'S A ONETIME EFFORT AND YOU'RE LEAST LIKELY TO HAVE ANY ALIGNMENT BECAUSE IT WAS LITTLE EFFORT.
THE MORE OPPORTUNITIES WE HAVE TO DISCUSS THINGS AND TO DEBATE THINGS AND TO REALLY DIG IN THE MORE OPPORTUNITIES THERE ARE FOR SOME ALIGNMENT AND COMPROMISE.
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BUT IT'S WORTH NOTING THAT IT TAKES INVESTMENT OF STAFF AND PARTNERS AND YOU-ALL TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.THIS IS JUST A REITERATION OF THAT SMARTIE GOALS OR INTEGRAL TO SHOWCASE OUR BENCHMARKS AND WHAT WE PLAN TO ACHIEVE WITH THE NEW POLICY, AND THAT EVERYTHING IN THE HOUSING RESOURCE CATALOG WILL ALSO HAVE IT'S SMARTIE GOALS.
THAT IN ORDER TO DEFINE THESE, IT'LL BE BASED ON DATA AND ENGAGEMENT AND STAFF KNOWLEDGE TO MAKE SURE THAT WHAT WE'RE SAYING IS ACHIEVABLE WITH OUR STAFF SIZE AND THE SAME TIME CONTINUING TO BE AMBITIOUS AND PUSH THE GOALS AS FAR AS WE CAN.
THE NEXT SLIDE IS THE NEXT STEP WOULD BE THE RECOMMENDATION OF ADOPTION OF THE DALLAS HOUSING RESOURCE CATALOG ON APRIL 12TH AT THE NEXT CITY COUNCIL AGENDA MEETING.
WITH THAT, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS.
>> THANK YOU FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
WE'RE GOING TO START VIRTUALLY WITH OUR CHAIR, THOMAS, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
>> THANK YOU VICE CHAIR. GLAD TO SEE YOU IN CHARGE THIS MORNING.
NO, I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING AT THIS TIME.
I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING WHAT OUR COLLEAGUES HAVE TO SAY.
>> THANK YOU. CHAIRWOMAN, BLACKMON.
>> THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. MY FIRST QUESTION IS, CAN YOU EXPLAIN, MR. ERICKSON, WHY DO WE NEED TO ADOPT THIS? IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S AN ADMINISTRATIVE TOOL.
COULD YOU EXPLAIN WHY WE NEED TO ADOPT IT?
>> YES. RIGHT NOW WE HAVE THE COMPREHENSIVE HOUSING POLICY THAT HAS ALL OF OLD-ISH POLICY IN IT AND THE THINGS THAT WE DON'T NEED.
THE ADOPTION IS THE ADOPTION OF THE AMENDMENT TO THE COMPREHENSIVE HOUSING POLICY.
IT'S NOT NECESSARILY ADOPTING A NEW TOOL, IT'S ADOPTING THE CHANGE OF THE AMENDMENT TO THE POLICY.
TRADITIONALLY YOU'VE SEEN AMENDMENTS TO THE COMPREHENSIVE HOUSING POLICY BEING CHANGES TO THE PROGRAMS THEMSELVES, A PROGRAM TERM HERE AND THERE.
THIS IS ESSENTIALLY ADOPTING AN AMENDMENT TO THE REFORMATTING, REMOVAL, AND ADDITION OF THESE ITEMS.
>> LET ME SEE IF I UNDERSTAND IT.
IN OTHER WORDS, BECAUSE THE NEW POLICY HASN'T YET BEEN ADOPTED, WE HAVE TO DO THIS TO ALLOW THE CATALOG PROCESS TO MOVE FORWARD BEFORE WE ADOPT THE NEW POLICY. IS THAT CORRECT?
>> GOOD MORNING. DAVID NOGUEIRA, DIRECTOR OF HOUSING AND NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION.
TO BE CLEAR, THE CURRENT POLICY HAS POLICY AND PROGRAMS. THE NEW POLICY HAS ONLY POLICY.
IF THE COUNCIL ADOPTS THE NEW POLICY AND DOES AWAY WITH THE OLD ONE, IT LEAVES US HANGING WITH OUR PROGRAMS. BY ADOPTING BOTH THE POLICY AND THE RESOURCE CATALOG, IT MAKES SURE THAT WE HAVE A CONTINUATION OF OUR PROGRAMS AND OUR POLICY.
>> ON APRIL 12TH WE'LL BE ALSO ADOPTING THE POLICY.
THE OTHER QUESTION IS, YOU SHOW ON SLIDE 6, THE APPENDICES THAT WILL BE DROPPED FROM THE NEW CATALOG, WHERE WILL PEOPLE BE ABLE TO FIND ALL OF THAT MATERIAL THAT WILL NO LONGER BE PART OF THE CATALOG?
>> THOSE ARE MOSTLY JUST FEDERAL DEFINITIONS.
THEY CAN ALL BE FOUND ON THE HUD USER, BUT WE CAN MAKE A PLAN TO SHOW EVERYTHING WE'VE DELETED AND PUT IT ON OUR WEBSITE FOR OUR TIME PERIODS SO THAT IF ANYONE IS LOOKING FOR THESE APPENDIXES DIRECTLY, WE CAN MAKE THOSE ACCESSIBLE.
>> THANK YOU. BECAUSE AS A FEEDBACK SESSION THAT I THINK YOU'RE LOOKING FOR HERE, I WOULD SUGGEST A COUPLE OF THINGS.
ONE IS THAT THERE BE A TAB ON YOUR PAGE FOR RESOURCES SO THAT PEOPLE DON'T HAVE TO GO SEARCHING FOR WHETHER IT'S DEFINITIONS OR OTHER CITY OF DALLAS PLANS.
MANY OF THE THINGS THAT YOU'RE REMOVING, IF WE HAD A CENTRALIZED RESOURCE CENTER, THAT THEY CAN FIND THOSE THINGS, I THINK IT WOULD BE EXTREMELY HELPFUL TO THE PUBLIC.
THE OTHER THING THAT I WAS JUST GOING TO COMMENT ON JUST TO CLARIFY, NOT ALL THE PROGRAMS THAT YOU HAVE ARE DIRECTLY RELATED TO A PARTICULAR POLICY, OR YES, I GUESS AT SOME POINT THEY MUST BE.
IS THAT CORRECT? OR YOU WOULDN'T BE DOING THEM EVEN IF IT'S MORE OF A GENERICALLY STATED POLICY.
>> THERE'S NOT A ONE-TO-ONE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POLICY AND PROGRAM.
POLICY IS THE NORTH STAR, THE PROGRAMS ARE THE TOOLS THAT YOU USE TO GET THERE.
WHAT YOU'LL SEE WITH EACH PROGRAM IS ALIGNMENT WITH THE PILLARS.
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BUT IT COULD BE MULTIPLE PROGRAMS THAT HELP ACHIEVE A SINGLE POLICY.>> GOT YOU. IF I WERE JUST GOING TO DRAW THE MASSIVE PROGRAMS AT THE BOTTOM OF IT AND THEN COME THE PILLARS AND THEN THE POLICIES THAT ARE DRIVING THE PILLARS.
I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND.
I THINK THAT WE'RE GETTING SOME CONFUSION BECAUSE OF THE PILLARS AND THE POLICY.
>> THE PILLARS ARE THE POLICIES STATEMENTS.
>> IN OTHER WORDS, EVERY PROGRAM SOMEHOW FITS IN WITH A POLICY.
I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVEN THOUGH IT MAY BE SEVERAL POLICIES OR SEVERAL PROGRAMS.
>> YEAH. TO THAT POINT, WE ATTACHED THE DRAFT CATALOG TO THIS PRESENTATION.
IF YOU GO TO THE TABLE OF CONTENTS OF THAT, YOU'LL SEE THAT WE ADDED THE PILLARS THAT EACH PROGRAM ALIGNS TO.
I JUST WANT TO MAKE IT CLEAR FOR THE PUBLIC AS WELL THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S MULTIPLE WAYS TO GET THERE TO THOSE POLICIES AND THAT'S WHAT THESE PROGRAMS ARE DOING.
THE LAST THING IF I MAY, MR. CHAIR, IS THAT I KNOW THAT IN ANOTHER COMMITTEE, WE'RE WORKING VERY HARD ON THE ENGAGEMENT PIECE FOR CITY-WIDE.
WE ARE GOING TO BE WORKING ON STANDARDIZING THE ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES AND SKILLS THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
NOT THAT EVERY ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITY IS THE SAME, BUT THE APPROACH TO IT WILL HOPEFULLY BE STANDARDIZED AS WELL AS THE SKILLS THAT ARE NEEDED TO DO GOOD ENGAGEMENT WILL THEN GET EXPORTED THROUGHOUT ALL THE CITY DEPARTMENTS.
THE IDEA OF IT AND CHIEF TOLBERT, I GUESS COULD SPEAK TO THIS IS THE IDEA IS THAT ALL OF US WHEN WE DO ENGAGEMENT AS A CITY, THE PUBLIC HAS A CLEAR EXPECTATION OF WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, WHETHER IT'S HOUSING OR PUBLIC SAFETY, OR WHATEVER DEPARTMENT IT IS, AND THEY KNOW HOW THEY CAN ENGAGE AND THEY KNOW WHAT TO BE ABLE TO EXPECT FROM STAFF.
I JUST WANT TO PUT THAT OUT THERE BECAUSE EVERY PRESENTATION WE'RE GETTING NOW IS TALKING ABOUT MORE ROBUST ENGAGEMENT.
I HOPE THAT WE DON'T DO IT SO THAT EVERYBODY IS MAKING THEIR OWN WAY DOWN THAT PATH.
I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY THAT THAT IS THE INTENT OF MISS GAVINO'S EFFORTS.
>> THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. IT'S STILL UNCLEAR TO ME EXACTLY WHY WE'RE DOING THIS.
YOU SAY ON SLIDE 7, THE CATALOG IS A REFORMATTING AND NAME CHANGE OF THE CHP.
I'M UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THE CHANGE OF STATUS IMPLIED BY CHANGING SOMETHING THAT'S CALLED A POLICY INTO SOMETHING THAT'S LISTED AS A CATALOG, WHICH IMPLIES THAT THERE'S NO POLICY INVOLVED, IT'S JUST A LIST OF ITEMS. I'M LOOKING AT THE VENN DIAGRAM AND I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND IF WE HAVE A HOUSING POLICY NOW OR WE'RE GOING TO ADOPT ONE SOON, WHICH INCLUDES POLICIES AND IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAMS. WHY ARE WE SPLITTING THOSE INTO TWO SEPARATE DOCUMENTS?
>> PART OF THE PROBLEM THAT WE HAVE WITH THE CURRENT POLICY IS THAT THERE ISN'T MUCH POLICY THERE.
IT'S ABOUT 13 PROGRAMS AND SOME IDEAS ON SOME ASPIRATIONAL GOALS ON WHAT WE'D LIKE TO ACHIEVE.
WHAT WE'VE DONE WITH THE DALLAS HOUSING POLICY 2033 THAT'S BEEN INTRODUCED IS WE'VE DRILLED DOWN INTO WHAT ARE THOSE SPECIFIC THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO ACCOMPLISH FROM A HOUSING PERSPECTIVE.
IT'S NOT ENOUGH TO JUST SAY HERE'S WHAT WE WANT TO DO.
THIS RESOURCE CATALOG PROVIDES THE ENGINE ON HOW WE GET THERE.
THE RESOURCE CATALOG WILL BE ADDED TO AS WE FLUSH OUT COMPONENTS.
FOR EXAMPLE ONE OF THE KEY COMPONENTS IN THE DALLAS HOUSING POLICY IS AGREEMENTS WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS, AGREEMENTS WITH PRIVATE STAKEHOLDERS.
WELL, THAT'S NOT CURRENTLY IN THE RESOURCE CATALOG BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T DEVELOPED THEM YET, WE HAVEN'T NEGOTIATED THEM YET, BUT WHEN WE DO, THAT'S WHERE THEY'LL BE.
IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE A CATALOG DISPLAYING ALL OF THESE FOR TRANSPARENCY PURPOSES, SO THAT WHEN THE COMMUNITY IS LOOKING TO SEE, OR VARIOUS STAKEHOLDERS ARE LOOKING TO SEE, WELL, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? YOU HAVE THESE POLICIES, BUT HOW ARE THEY ANYTHING MORE THAN WORDS ON PAPER? WELL, THOSE AGREEMENTS ACTUALLY BRING THEM TO LIFE.
IT'S THE BALANCE BETWEEN POLICY AND IMPLEMENTATION.
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>> IS THE IDEA THAT WHILE THE POLICY REQUIRES CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL, THIS CATALOG WOULD BE SUBJECT TO ADMINISTRATIVE AMENDMENT OR CHANGES AS YOU DEVELOP IMPLEMENTATION PLANS THAT WOULD NOT HAVE COME BEFORE COUNCIL TO AMEND THE ENTIRE DOCUMENT.
THAT WAS THE INITIAL IDEA WHEN WE CAME TO YOU IN DECEMBER, SOME OF THE FEEDBACK WAS WELL, WE THE COUNCIL WANT TO BE MORE ENGAGED IN THIS.
THE BALANCE THAT WE'VE BEEN STRIKING IS THAT COUNCIL WILL CONTINUE TO ADOPT AND DESIGN THE PROGRAMS, BUT THERE ARE OTHER COMPONENTS IN THERE THAT COUNCIL DOESN'T REALLY NEED TO ADOPT, LIKE A HUD REGULATION OR THE FACT THAT WE HAVE A COOPERATION THAT CARRIES OUT A PARTICULAR SET OF TOOLS.
WE INCLUDE ALL OF THOSE COMPONENTS INTO THE CATALOG AGAIN, SO THAT THE PUBLIC CAN SEE HOW DO YOU DO YOUR WORK.
HOW DO YOU FUNCTION? BUT ALL ASPECTS OF IT DO NOT NEED TO BE ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL.
>> INDIVIDUAL PROGRAMS, AS THEY ARE DEVELOPED, WILL COME BEFORE COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL, AND THEN YOU WILL SIMPLY INSERT THEM INTO THE CATALOG.
BUT THE APPROVAL PROCESS WOULD BE PROGRAM-SPECIFIC RATHER THAN AS AN AMENDMENT TO THE CATALOG?
>> THANK YOU ALL FOR THE PRESENTATION OF A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS AND THEN WE'LL GET TO KARA, SHE GETS SITUATED AND THEN WE'LL GO TO OUR NON COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
FIRST I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I REALLY APPRECIATE THE STREAMLINING OF OUR PROGRAM AND RESOURCES TO MAKE IT MORE USER-FRIENDLY FOR OUR RESIDENTS.
I DO HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS ON THE ENGAGEMENT APPLICATION PROCESS AS WE'RE GOING INTO THE COMMUNITY, I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT WE'RE GOING TO WALK INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE APPLYING FOR THESE PROGRAMS THROUGH THE STEPS.
CAN YOU GIVE US A LITTLE VISION OF WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE AND ALSO HOW YOU IMPLEMENT PARTNERS WITH THAT? BELIEVE YOU CURRENTLY ARE WORKING WITH PARTNERS IN THE JUBILEE COMMUNITY TO HELP FOLKS THROUGH THOSE APPLICATIONS.
>> THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION.
WE CURRENTLY DO THAT IN A COUPLE OF WAYS.
WITH THE RPA PROGRAM, WE WERE ABLE TO HIRE COMMUNITY OUTREACH SPECIALIST AND THAT PERSON HAS BEEN ABLE TO GO TO THE PERSON'S HOUSE, GO TO COMMUNITY MEETINGS, HAVE OFFICE HOURS, BE MORE HANDS-ON.
WE ROLLED OUT A VERSION OF THAT IN THE SENIOR HOME REPAIR PROGRAM WITH OFFICE HOURS AT THE LIBRARIES TO BE MORE ACCESSIBLE JUST GENERALLY THROUGHOUT.
THE IDEA THAT PEOPLE NEED A LITTLE BIT MORE ASSISTANCE FILLING OUT APPLICATIONS IS REAL, AND SO WE NEED TO CONTINUE DOING THAT.
BUT THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND OUTREACH IS EVEN MORE THAN THAT.
IT'S ABOUT JUST BEING PRESENT TO SPEAK TO SOME OF THE OTHER ENGAGEMENT INITIATIVES IS ABOUT WHEN OTHER DEPARTMENTS HAVE MEETINGS.
IT'S ABOUT US BEING THERE TO BE ABLE TO TALK ABOUT THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE SO WE'RE NOT JUST DOING IT ON OUR OWN, WE DO IT TOGETHER.
ALL OF THESE THINGS TOGETHER ARE WAYS THAT WE CAN TEND TO JUST TO BUILD BETTER RELATIONSHIPS WITH FOLKS AND HAVE LESS BURNOUT AND COMMUNITIES WHEN IT'S NOT ONE AND ONE, IT'S TOGETHER.
>> TRULY, SINCERELY APPRECIATE THAT AND I THINK THAT'S THE BEST WAY.
WE'RE NOT GOING TO GET TO EVERYONE HOUSEHOLD.
IS THERE A OFFICE IS AT CITY HALL WHERE FOLKS COME TO TO GET THAT ASSISTANCE IF YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO REACH THEM?
>> THERE HAS BEEN BOTH. WE HAVE A WINDOW DOWNSTAIRS AT LEVEL 2 CAN, WHERE WE HAVE A COORDINATOR THERE EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK THAT CAN HELP FOLKS AND THEN WHEN WE HAVE APPLICATION PERIOD, WE'VE LITERALLY BEEN AT DIFFERENT LIBRARIES OR REC CENTERS AND WE ADVERTISE THAT WITHIN DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOODS TO SAY WE'RE GOING TO BE IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD THIS TIME, WE NEED HELP.
HERE'S A GOOD TIME. IF YOU CAN'T MAKE THAT EMAIL US, CALL US, WE'LL BE ABLE TO HELP YOU.
>> SURE. LASTLY, AGAIN, I APPRECIATE THE RECLASSIFICATION.
ALSO DEALING WITH OUR AUDIT FINDINGS AT THE END OF THE DAY IS AS WE HAVE NEW AMENDMENTS AND NEW PROGRAMS, I'M GOING TO ASK THAT RATHER THAN JUST SIMPLY FRIDAY MEMOS THAT THOSE DO COME BACK TO COUNCIL.
FOR PERIODIC UPDATES, REGULAR UPDATES ON REPORTS AND POLICY AND WITH THAT, I WILL GO TO COUNSEL MEMBER MENDELSOHN.
>> HI. GOOD MORNING. MY FIRST QUESTION FOR YOU IS ON PAGE SEVEN, YOU HAVE THE WORD MAY THAT YOU MAY SEND THIS BACK TO COMMITTEE OR MASON FRIDAY MEMOS AND I WOULD LIKE TO CHANGE THAT WORD TOO MUST.
YOU SEEM QUITE CONFIDENT ABOUT ENGAGING THE PUBLIC, BUT IT'S A MUST TO COME TO COUNCIL. WOULD YOU AGREE?
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>> I WOULD AGREE THAT THAT IS THE CASE FOR ALL OF OUR PROGRAMS BUT BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT THE CATALOG IS INCLUSIVE OF PROGRAMS, FUNDING TOOLS, COOPERATIONS OUR REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS, ALL ASPECTS OF THE RESOURCE CATALOG ARE NOT APPLICABLE, IF HUD CHANGES A RULE ON HOW WE SPEND CDBG DOLLARS OR HOME DOLLARS.
WE'VE GOT TO BE ABLE TO INTEGRATE THAT.
WE NEED TO REPORT BACK TO COUNCIL AND THE MECHANISM BY WHICH WE DO THAT MAY VARY.
>> ARE YOU SAYING THEN YOU WOULD NOT HAVE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN THAT SITUATION? THIS IS THE BULLET SAYS ALL SUGGESTED AMENDMENTS WILL INCLUDE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND MAY INCLUDE COMMUNITY BRIEFINGS AS WELL AS FRIDAY MEMOS TO INFORM CITY COUNCIL OF CHANGES TO PROGRAMS. AN INSTANCE WHERE YOU'RE DOING COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, WILL YOU FOR SURE, AS AN MUST ALSO BE ENGAGING WITH COUNCIL?
>> THE USE OF THE WORD MAY HERE DO NOT SAY IT WILL INCLUDE THESE THINGS LIKE MUST DO THIS AND THIS.
THERE WILL BE REPORT BACK TO CITY COUNCIL AND COMMUNITY BRIEFINGS.
THE MUST IS YES, WE WILL BE INFORMING CITY COUNCIL, BUT WE DID NOT LIST A TOTAL LIST OF ALL THE WAYS THAT WE COULD DO THAT OR TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL THREE OR ALL FOUR METHODS ARE ALWAYS USED.
>> [OVERLAPPING] PLACE FOR US TO FLUSH OUT BECAUSE THIS COULD BE SEMANTICS.
BUT IF YOU LOOK AT THE RESOLUTION, YOU'LL SEE EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE REFERRING TO.
WE'LL USE THE CORRECT TERMINOLOGY WHEN WE'RE REFERRING TO A PROGRAM OR WHEN WE'RE REFERRING TO SOMETHING THAT'S NOT A PROGRAM.
>> I GUESS I'M SAYING THAT IF THERE'S COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, I'M ALSO EXPECTING THERE TO BE COUNCIL ENGAGEMENT AND NOT JUST REPORTING TO US, BUT ACTUALLY ASKING US WHAT THAT SHOULD LOOK LIKE, WHERE THERE'S AN OPTION AS OPPOSED TO A REQUIREMENT BY.
ON PAGE 9 I JUST ACTUALLY WANT TO CALL OUT THE VERY LAST LINE, THE LAST BULLET, SO MANY PROGRAMS THAT ARE BEING ADMINISTERED WITH ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS INSTEAD OF COUNCIL ACTION AND I JUST DEFINITELY TOOK A DEEP BREATH WHEN I READ THAT INCREDIBLE LIST.
PAGE 10, I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE METRICS ARE FOR THIS ENGAGEMENT.
WE'VE HAD MANY PRESENTATIONS THAT COUNCIL, NOT FROM JUSTICE COMMITTEE, WHERE THERE'S A STATEMENT ABOUT HOW MUCH ENGAGEMENT HAS HAPPENED AND THEY'VE HAD COMMUNITY MEETINGS, WHATEVER AND THEN WE COME TO FIND OUT, WELL, THE COMMUNITY, MAYBE YOU REALLY ONLY HAVE THREE PEOPLE AT IT.
WHAT DOES IT ACTUALLY MEAN TO HAVE HAD A FOCUS GROUP? IS THAT A FOCUS GROUP OF RESIDENTS OF DALLAS? BECAUSE WE FIND OUT THAT SOMETIMES IT'S NOT.
IS IT STAKEHOLDERS WHO ALREADY HAVE THE SAME MINDSET? OR ARE YOU ACTUALLY LOOKING FOR PEOPLE WITH DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES FROM ALL OVER THE CITY? I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THIS WITH A LOT MORE DETAIL AND DEFINITIVE AMOUNTS OF ENGAGEMENT.
>> TWO THINGS. NUMBER 2, THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE IS FLUSHING OUT THE STRUCTURE BY WHICH ALL DEPARTMENTS FOLLOW SO THAT YOU HAVE SOME CONTINUITY ACROSS DEPARTMENTS.
IT'S NOT UNIQUE TO ANY ONE DEPARTMENT.
THAT IS SOMETHING WE'LL BE TAKING THE LEAD FROM THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE.
NUMBER 2, BUILDING THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT STRUCTURE IS PART OF THE IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS.
IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE ACHIEVE IN THE ADOPTION OF THE POLICY.
THE ADOPTION OF THE POLICY IS JUST SAYING, LOOK, THIS IS IMPORTANT TO US.
HOW WE DO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO ACTUALLY WORK WITH THE COMMUNITY TO FIGURE OUT.
IS IT FACE-TO-FACE MEETINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT? WHO SHOULD BE REPRESENTED AT THOSE MEETINGS? IS IT VIRTUAL MEETINGS? SHOULD THEY BE IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES? WHERE SHOULD THEY BE HELD? ALL THOSE [OVERLAPPING]
>> DAVID, WHO'S MAKING THESE DECISIONS? BECAUSE ACTUALLY I THINK YOU SHOULD BE ASKING US THAT.
I THINK YOU SHOULD BE ASKING THE COUNCIL, WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU, COUNCIL MEMBERS TO HAVE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT? HOW DO YOU THINK THAT YOUR RESIDENTS SHOULD BE HEARD? I DON'T HEAR US BEING ASKED THAT QUESTION.
[00:30:03]
>> WE'RE NOT AT THE AT THE IMPLEMENTATION STAGE YET. WE HAVEN'T [OVERLAPPING]
>> I DON'T WANT YOU TO BE AT THE IMPLEMENTATION STAGE TO TELL US.
I WANT YOU TO BE ASKING US AS IT'S BEING DEVELOPED.
THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THE PROBLEM IS.
I'M GLAD THAT THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE IS THINKING ABOUT THESE THINGS.
IT WOULD BE WRONG FOR THE CITY MANAGER TO COME UP ON THIS IDEA OF WHAT IS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WITHOUT HAVING ENGAGED THE COUNCIL MEMBERS SO THAT WE CAN SHARE WHAT IT MEANS FOR OUR RESIDENTS.
IT'S LITERALLY WHAT WE'RE HERE TO REPRESENT.
THERE'S A STEP MISSING HERE AND A VOICE THAT'S MISSING THAT I'M OBJECTING TO, AND I THINK ALL OF THESE ITEMS THAT I'VE TALKED ABOUT ARE VERY MUCH THE STAFF-DRIVEN IDEA OF WHAT IT MEANS TO ENGAGE WITH THE COMMUNITY INSTEAD OF TALKING TO THE PEOPLE WHO ARE LITERALLY HERE TO REPRESENT THE COMMUNITY. THANK YOU.
>> THANK YOU. GO AHEAD MRS. SOLES.
>> I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY ONE THING ABOUT ENGAGEMENT JUST BECAUSE I KNOW YOU CAME IN A LITTLE BIT LATE.
WHAT I WAS EXPLAINING IS THAT THE WORKFORCE COMMITTEE IS TAKING ON THE ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY THAT WILL COME TO COUNCIL, AND WE ARE ADDRESSING IT THROUGH COMMITTEE OF HOW ENGAGEMENT IT'S EXACTLY YOUR POINT.
IN OTHER WORDS, COUNCIL WILL BE WEIGHING IN ON THE ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY FOR THE CITY, FOR THE DEPARTMENT.
I JUST WANT YOU TO BE AWARE OF THAT.
>> BEFORE WE GO INTO ROUND 2, I'M GOING TO GO TO COUNCIL MEMBER WEST.
>> THANK YOU, CHAIR. JUST A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
ON SLIDE 6, YOU'VE REMOVED THE PROVISION ON CHODOS.
WHAT'S GOING TO REPLACE THE PROVISION GOVERNING THE CHODOS?
>> THE CHODO POLICY, THAT'S THE APPLICATION THAT'LL STILL BE STANDING.
IT WILL JUST NOT BE IN THE CATALOG.
THE APPLICATIONS FOR OTHER PROGRAMS ARE NOT IN HERE.
APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCESSIBLE ON OUR WEBSITE.
IT IS JUST A GENERAL STATEMENT.
WHAT'S THE PLAN IN TERMS OF TIMELINE TO STAND UP THE HOUSING POLICY TASKFORCE?
>> UPON ADOPTION OF THE HOUSING POLICY, WE'LL BE BRINGING FORWARD A CONTRACT TO WORK WITH AN OUTSIDE CONSULTANT THAT WILL HELP US IMPLEMENT THE VARIOUS PHASES OF THE POLICY, INCLUDING THE INCLUSIVE HOUSING TASK FORCE.
>> WITHIN THE FIRST 12 MONTHS.
>> I MEAN, I WOULD THINK THE TASK FORCE IN MY MIND IS VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE THAT'S WHO'S GOING TO HELP US GUIDE THE FUTURE OF THE POLICY.
I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE TO BE PART OF THEIR SCOPE OF WORK.
THE TASK FORCE WILL BE STOOD UP WITHIN 12 MONTHS.
WHAT IS THE TIMELINE FOR THE CONSULTANT?
>> WE'RE WORKING ON IT RIGHT NOW, WITH ANTICIPATION THAT COUNCIL WILL ADOPT THIS APRIL 12TH, AND WE'D LIKE TO BE BRINGING THAT FORWARD WITHIN A COUPLE OF MONTHS FOLLOWING THE ADOPTION OF THE POLICY.
>> I'M HOPING SOONER THAN THAT.
>> I'D LIKE TO GET TO IT BEFORE THE COUNCIL RECESS IN JULY.
>> I'LL JUST MAKE A REQUEST AND I'LL KEEP BRINGING THIS UP AS WELL, THAT WE GET THE TASKFORCE STOOD UP WELL BEFORE 12 MONTHS.
I THINK IT'S SUPER IMPORTANT THAT IT'S EARLY IN THE PROCESS.
WE SAW THE SUCCESS OF HAVING IT AS PART OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EDC STAND UP, AND I THINK IT SHOULD BE PART OF THIS BECAUSE THAT'S A PIECE OF ENGAGEMENT.
THOSE ARE THE KEY STAKEHOLDERS IN THE CITY THEORETICALLY.
THE NEXT PIECE IS ON REPORTING.
I AGREE WITH ALL OF MY COLLEAGUES WHO HAVE EXPRESSED CONCERNS ON GETTING REPORTS OF WHAT'S GOING ON.
I WOULD SAY, I'D LIKE TO SEE PERSONALLY AT LEAST QUARTERLY REPORTS AT THIS COMMITTEE ON EVERYTHING ON SLIDE 7 THAT WAS BROUGHT UP, WHICH IS THE POLICY ISSUES AND THEN IN ADDITION TO THAT, A SUMMARY IN YOUR FRONT AND FRIDAY MEMOS OF ALL THE ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS THAT WANTS THIS IS PAST ALL THIS STUFF THAT WE WOULD PREVIOUSLY HAVE TO APPROVE IT.
IT'D BE NICE TO KNOW, HERE'S ALL THE ADMIN ACTIONS THAT HAVE HAPPENED.
I THINK THAT'S JUST GOOD FOR TRANSPARENCY AND FOR US TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON.
THEN ON THE ENGAGEMENT, I DO AGREE WITH CHAIR MENDELSOHN THAT WE SHOULD BE WORKING ON COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT NOW.
I GUESS FROM MY COLLEAGUE, WHAT'S THE TIMELINE FOR YOUR COMMITTEE TO WORK ON THIS?
>> I WOULD HAVE THE INITIAL PRESENTATION FROM MRS. GAVINO AND SHE WAS PRESENTING THE OUTLINE.
IF YOU'D LIKE US TO SEND OUT THE OUTLINE OF HOW THEY ARE APPROACHING IT, I'M HAPPY TO DO THAT AND THEN SHE'S COMING BACK AS IT BEGINS TO BE FLESHED OUT.
IT SHOULD BE, I'M GUESSING WE'LL GET OUR NEXT PRESENTATION BEFORE WE BREAK FOR SUMMER.
[00:35:02]
>> THANK YOU. GOOD PRESENTATION.
>> ANYONE FOR ROUND 2? MRS. TOLBERT.
>> I JUST WANTED TO JUMP IN FOR JUST A SECOND.
GOOD MORNING, KIMBERLY BIZOR TOLBERT OR DEPUTY CITY MANAGER AND THANK YOU TO COUNCILMAN SCHULTZ FOR ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS AROUND ENGAGEMENT.
WE ARE DEFINITELY COUNSELMAN MENDELSOHN MAKING THIS A PRIORITY, AND THE WORK HAS BEGUN.
WE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT EXAMPLES OF OTHER CITIES HOW THEY'VE LOOKED AT ENGAGEMENT, AND SO WHEN WE ADDED THAT AS ONE OF OUR VALUES, WE DEFINITELY UNDERSTOOD THE IMPORTANCE OF MAKING SURE THAT WE WERE WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH THE CITY COUNCIL, AS WELL AS WITH ALL OF OUR OTHER COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS.
YOU WILL ACTUALLY GET AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET AN IN-DEPTH BRIEFING.
IN ADDITION TO THE INTRODUCTORY BRIEFING THAT GENESIS MADE LAST MONTH, THERE WILL BE ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO REALLY GET THIS RIGHT BEFORE A FINAL ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES AND POLICY IS ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL.
BUT THANK YOU FOR THE COMMENTS AND WE'RE DEFINITELY MAKING IT A PRIORITY THAT WILL BE COMING BACK VERY SOON.
>> THANK YOU. I BELIEVE STAFF HEARD OUR REQUEST ON ENGAGEMENT, BOTH FROM THE COMMUNITY AND COUNCIL LEVEL AND AS WELL AS STANDING UP THAT TASKFORCE, COUNSELMAN MENDELSOHN.
>> WELL, I WOULD JUST ASK MR. TOLBERT TO CONSIDER THAT.
IF YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT AN ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY THAT ACTUALLY ALL OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS NEED TO BE ENGAGED, AND IF WE ONLY ARE GETTING THAT FULL BRIEFING AS THE HERE'S THE OUTCOME, HERE'S A REPORT OF WHAT WE'RE DOING, THEN YOU'VE MISSED THAT STEP. THANK YOU.
>> POINT VERY WELL TAKEN. THANK YOU.
>> THANK YOU GUYS FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
NEXT, WE'LL MOVE ON TO BRIEFING ITEM B.
>> HI. GOOD MORNING. THE NEXT BRIEFING IS GOING TO BE THE USE OF THE MIXED INCOME HOUSING DEVELOPMENT BONUS, THE FIELD LU FEES THAT WE'VE RECEIVED TO DATE.
JESSICA MCKINNON, WHO IS OUR OPERATIONS RESEARCH ANALYST, IS GOING TO LEAD THIS PRESENTATION AND THEN WE'RE ALL AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS. JESSICA.
>> GOOD MORNING. I'M JESSICA MCKINNON OPERATIONS RESEARCH ANALYST WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION.
I'LL BE PRESENTING OUR RESEARCH BEHIND AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE USES OF THE MIHDB FUND.
I'D LIKE TO START BY QUICKLY DISCUSSING SOME BACKGROUND ON THE MIHDB PROGRAM AND THE MIHDB FUND, DIVE INTO WHAT WE LEARNED FROM OUR RESEARCH.
>> EXCUSE ME. CAN YOU MOVE A LITTLE CLOSER TO THE MIC, PLEASE? THANK YOU.
>> IS THAT BETTER? GREAT. THANK YOU.
I'LL DIVE INTO WHAT WE LEARNED FROM THE RESEARCH AND CONCLUDE WITH OUR RECOMMENDATIONS AND NEXT STEPS. NEXT SLIDE.
AS A QUICK REMINDER, MIHDB, OR THE MIXED-INCOME HOUSING DEVELOPMENT BONUS IS A PROGRAM THAT PROVIDES ZONING INCENTIVES LIKE ADDITIONAL STORIES, HIGH DENSITY, OR PARKING REDUCTION IN EXCHANGE FOR ON-SITE AFFORDABLE UNITS.
LAST YEAR, COUNCIL APPROVED AN OPTION FOR DEVELOPERS TO PAY A FEE IN LIEU INSTEAD OF PROVIDING THOSE AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS.
THIS HAS BEEN AN INCREDIBLY POPULAR PROGRAM.
THE CHART ON THIS SLIDE SHOWS THE CURRENT PIPELINE OF PROJECTS USING MIHDB, NOT INCLUDING THE MANY PROJECT WE'VE TRACKED THROUGH THEIR ZONING CASE, BUT NOT YET HAVING APPLIED FOR THE PROGRAM THROUGH HOUSING.
NEXT SLIDE. THE MIHDB FUND WAS ESTABLISHED ON MAY 11, 2022 AT THE SAME TIME AS THE FEE IN LIEU THE PURPOSE BEING TO ENSURE THAT THE FEES THAT WE COLLECT IN LIEU OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING ACTUALLY GO TO CREATING, PRESERVING, AND IMPROVING HOUSING IN DALLAS.
IT ENSURED THAT THE FUNDS DIDN'T SIMPLY MOVE INTO THE GENERAL FUND AND GO TO SOMETHING THAT WAS TOTALLY UNRELATED TO HOUSING.
THE FUND IS GUIDED BY DALLAS DEVELOPMENT CODE SECTION 20-33.
THE SLIDE CONTAINS THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE, BUT ESSENTIALLY, THE CITY CAN USE THIS FUND FOR PROGRAMS AUTHORIZED BY THE HOUSING POLICY, DATA, AND ANALYSIS AND SUPPORT OF THOSE HOUSING PROGRAMS, AND FOR STAFF EXPENSES FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF THE MIHDB PROGRAM AND THE FUND ITSELF.
NEXT SLIDE. THE MIHDB FUND RECEIVES ITS DOLLARS EXCLUSIVELY FROM THE MIHDB PROGRAM THROUGH THE FEE IN LIEU AND ALL PROGRAM-RELATED FEES.
WE'RE ESTIMATING THAT WE'LL RECEIVE AROUND $6 MILLION THIS YEAR AND SO FAR WE'VE COLLECTED 4.4 MILLION TO DATE ROUGHLY.
I ALSO WANT TO NOTE THAT WHILE WE'LL BE DISCUSSING HOUSING TRUST FUNDS A LITTLE LATER IN THE PRESENTATION, THAT THIS FUND, THOUGH IT WORKS A LITTLE SIMILARLY TO HOUSING TRUST FUNDS, IS TOTALLY SEPARATE FROM THE EXISTING HOUSING TRUST FUND.
NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. IN RESEARCHING HOW TO USE THESE DOLLARS, WE LOOKED AT FOUR POSSIBLE SOURCES.
THE DALLAS HOUSING POLICY 2033 IS OUR PRIMARY GUIDING SOURCE AS ONCE THAT'S ADOPTED, OUR FUNDS WILL BE FURTHERING AND FOLLOWING THIS POLICY.
[00:40:01]
WE SURVEYED THE HOUSING POLICY TASK FORCE AND PRESENTED OUR FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO THEM IN FEBRUARY FOR OUR LOCAL STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK.WE RESEARCHED HOUSING TRUST FUNDS IN 44 OTHER LOCATIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO SEE HOW CITIES ARE USING THEIR LOCAL DOLLARS.
WE SPOKE TO PROGRAM STAFF TO IDENTIFY GAPS AND ISSUES IN OUR PROGRAMS THAT COULD BE RELIEVED WITH LESS RESTRICTIVE FUNDING. NEXT SLIDE.
THE KEY TO THE DALLAS HOUSING POLICY IS ITS SEVEN PILLARS WHICH YOU'RE ALL FAMILIAR WITH.
THIS IS OUR PRIMARY GUIDANCE FOR THIS FUNDING SOURCE.
THE FIRST PILLAR, EQUITY STRATEGY AREAS FOCUSES ON IDENTIFYING INEQUITIES IN TARGETED AREAS AND APPLYING A SPECIFIC APPROACH TO ADDRESS THOSE INEQUITIES.
THE SECOND AND THIRD PILLAR FOCUS ON INCREASING THE PRODUCTION AND PRESERVATION OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND BETTER TARGETING TO MIXED INCOMES.
THE FOURTH FOCUSES ON IMPROVING INFRASTRUCTURE IN THOSE EQUITY STRATEGY TARGET AREAS.
THEN THE FIFTH, SIXTH, AND SEVENTH PILLARS ALL FOCUS ON BETTER COMMUNICATION, COORDINATION, ENGAGEMENT, AND EDUCATION WITH OUR STAKEHOLDERS, RESIDENTS, AND PARTNERS.
NEXT SLIDE. THE NEXT SOURCE WE LOOKED AT WAS A SURVEY WE PROVIDED TO THE HOUSING POLICY TASK FORCE.
BY CLOSING, WE'D RECEIVED 98 RESPONSES FROM MULTIPLE DIFFERENT GROUPS ACROSS THE CITY.
SO FIRST WE ASKED RESPONDENTS TO RANK A LIST OF HOUSING ISSUES BASED ON IMPORTANCE.
THESE WERE OUR RESPONSES FOR THAT.
THESE ARE THE AVERAGE RESPONSES, THE AVERAGE RANKINGS THAT THE RESPONDENTS REPLIED TO.
THE TOP RESPONSES WERE AFFORDABLE, HOMEOWNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES, DISPLACEMENT AND GENTRIFICATION, NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION, AND HOMELESSNESS.
THEN THROUGH THIS QUESTION AND MANY OTHERS, WE NOTICED THAT HOMEOWNERSHIP STABILITY AND STRONG COMMUNITIES WERE REALLY KEY IN THE TASK FORCES RESPONSES. NEXT SLIDE.
THE NEXT QUESTION ASKS RESPONDENTS TO RANK EXISTING HOUSING PROGRAMS BASED ON WHAT THEY WOULD WANT TO GIVE MORE FUNDING TO.
THE AVERAGE RANKINGS SHOW THAT NEW DEVELOPMENT SENIOR HOME REPAIR, HIPP, AND OUR DHAP HOMEBUYER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM WERE AT THE TOP, AGAIN SHOWING THOSE TRENDS OF HOMEOWNERSHIP AND STABILITY.
NEXT SLIDE. WE ASKED HOW THEY'D PRIORITIZE DEVELOPMENT BETWEEN RENTAL HOUSING AND HOME OWNERSHIP.
HOMEOWNERSHIP WON THE MAJORITY AS EXPECTED FROM THAT FIRST QUESTION, BUT THE RESULTS ARE STILL REALLY CLOSE.
ONE OF THESE DIDN'T REALLY SIGNIFICANTLY OVERPOWER THE OTHER.
NEXT SLIDE. WE ALSO ASKED THE TASK FORCE TO RANK DIFFERENT POPULATIONS FOR WHO THEY WOULD WANT US TO TARGET.
FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN, SENIORS, AND RESIDENTS EXPERIENCING ARE AT RISK OF HOMELESSNESS, WHERE THE HIGHEST PRIORITY WERE LOW-INCOME HOMEOWNERS AND THEN LOW-INCOME RENTERS FOLLOWING, AGAIN, SHOWING THAT TIE TO STRONG COMMUNITIES AND STABILITY.
NEXT SLIDE. THEN BEYOND THOSE RANKING QUESTIONS, WE RECEIVE FEEDBACK FROM BOTH THE HOUSING POLICY TASK FORCE MEETING AND A FINAL QUESTION THAT ASK THEM FOR ANY ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS.
THE TRENDS FROM THESE WERE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT FROM THE RANKING QUESTIONS.
RESPONDENTS WANTED MORE WORK ON HOMELESSNESS AND EVICTION AND THE PRIORITIZATION OF DEEPER AFFORDABILITY LEVELS.
THEY WANTED MORE COMMUNICATION AND EDUCATION, WHICH MATCHES THOSE LAST THREE PILLARS OF THE POLICY.
THERE WERE MULTIPLE RESPONSES DISCUSSING REHABILITATION OF SINGLE-FAMILY AND AGING MULTI-FAMILY STOCK, AND THEN MORE DISCUSSION OF HOMEOWNERSHIP, EQUITY DISPLACEMENT, AND GENTRIFICATION.
NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THE THIRD PIECE OF DATA THAT WE REVIEWED WAS OTHER HOUSING TRUST FUNDS IN THE US.
WE CHOSE TO REVIEW HOUSING TRUST FUNDS DUE TO THE SIMILARITIES TO THE MIHDB FUND IN FUNDING AND REGULATIONS.
DEVELOPMENT WAS BY FAR THE MOST PROMINENT USE OF THESE FUNDS WITH 31 OF THE 44 FUNDING DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.
IN LINE WITH THE HOUSING POLICY TASK FORCES, VOCAL CONCERNS MANY LARGER CITIES THAT LISTED THEIR AFFORDABILITY LEVELS PROVIDED MUCH DEEPER AFFORDABILITY, TYPICALLY BELOW 60 OR 50% AMI AND SOMETIMES EVEN AS LOW AS 15% AMI.
IN GENERAL, MOST HIGH-COST, HIGH-DENSITY CITIES FOCUSED ON MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING, BUT HOMEOWNERSHIP WAS STILL A COMMON FACTOR ACROSS CITIES.
HOME REPAIR WAS THE SECOND MOST PROMINENT USE WITH 14 TRUST FUNDS SUPPORTING AT LEAST ONE HOME REPAIR PROGRAM.
ONLY FIVE CITIES SUPPORTED HOMEBUYER ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS, BUT MOST OF THOSE FIVE INCLUDED EXPANDED HOMEOWNERSHIP SERVICES AND COUNSELING PROGRAMS. THIS CAME UP A COUPLE OF TIMES IN
[00:45:01]
THE QUALITATIVE HOUSING POLICY TASK FORCE FEEDBACK AS WELL.HOMELESSNESS AND STABILITY WERE ALSO PROVIDED BY SOME CITIES WITH SEVEN OF THEM PROVIDING SOME PROGRAM ADDRESSING HOMELESSNESS AND FOUR PROVIDING SOME FORM OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
BUT THERE WAS REALLY NO CONSISTENT USE IN THE WAY THAT THOSE WERE APPLIED ACROSS CITIES WITH SOME FUNDING DEVELOPMENT, SOME FUNDING PROGRAMS, AND SOME JUST PROVIDING FUNDING TO NON-PROFITS.
THE LAST IMPORTANT TREND AMONG OTHER CITIES FUNDS AND FOR OUR MIHDB FIND IS THAT THEY OFFER FLEXIBILITY AND INNOVATION THAT THINGS LIKE BOND FUNDING AND FEDERAL FUNDING DO NOT HAVE MUCH LOWER RESTRICTIONS.
A LOT OF CITIES USE THIS TO PURSUE SPECIFIC INTERESTS LIKE ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS, COMMUNITY LAND FUNDS, OR COMMUNITY LAND TRUSTS.
THEY DID THINGS LIKE INCENTIVE LANDLORDS TO REGISTER AS AFFORDABLE OR TO PROVIDE OPERATING EXPENSES AND CAPACITY-BUILDING TO NON-PROFITS.
NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. IN LINE WITH THAT FLEXIBILITY, WE SPOKE TO OUR VARIOUS PROGRAM STAFF WHO ACTUALLY WORK IN THE PROGRAMS TO IDENTIFY WHAT GAPS WE'RE FACING THANKS TO OUR CURRENT FUNDING SOURCES.
OUR DEVELOPMENT TEAM NOTED A FEW SUBSTANTIAL GAPS.
FIRST, FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS ON OUR FUNDING SOURCES HAVE A LOT OF REQUIREMENTS THAT CAUSE PROBLEMS AND DELAYS THAT DISCOURAGE OUR DEVELOPERS FROM PARTICIPATING.
THE BIGGEST ONE OF THESE IS THE FEDERALLY REQUIRED ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW THAT CAN TAKE UP TO 120 DAYS TO COMPLETE THAT ISN'T REQUIRED FOR OTHER FUNDING SOURCES.
CDBG DOLLARS CAN'T BE USED ON VERTICAL CONSTRUCTION, WHICH LIMITS HOW MUCH WE CAN GIVE OUR DEVELOPERS IF THEY NEED IT.
DEVELOPMENT STAFF BELIEVES THAT MORE FLEXIBLE FUNDING CAN REALLY HELP US ATTRACT MORE DEVELOPERS AND AFFORDABLE DEVELOPMENTS TO THE CITY. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
THE HOME REPAIR TEAM IDENTIFIED TWO MAJOR ISSUES THAT THIS FUND COULD POSSIBLY ADDRESS.
THE FIRST IS DIFFICULTY ATTRACTING AND KEEPING CONTRACTORS DUE TO THE VERY TIGHT PROFIT MARGINS.
MANY OF OUR MOST COMMON REPAIRS HAVE THE LOWEST PROFITS.
WE HAVE LIMITED FLEXIBILITY ON CHANGE ORDERS, WHICH HAS REALLY BECOME A PROBLEM DURING THESE TIMES OF UNCERTAINTY AND QUICKLY RISING CONSTRUCTION COSTS AND WE HAVE NO WAY TO INCENTIVIZE THINGS LIKE QUICK TIMELINES.
THE SECOND ISSUE IS THAT A LOT OF OUR HOMEOWNERS HAVE DIFFICULTY MEETING SOME OF THE REQUIREMENTS THAT THEY HAVE TO DO FOR OUR CONSTRUCTION TO MOVE FORWARD.
ONE OF THESE EXAMPLES IS THAT THEY HAVE TROUBLE RELOCATING.
THEY HAVE NOWHERE TO GO WHEN THEY NEED TO LEAVE THE HOUSE FOR SUBSTANTIAL REPAIRS.
SOME OF THEM ARE INCAPABLE TO MOVE OR RELOCATE THEIR FURNITURE AS WELL. NEXT SLIDE.
OUR TEAM NOTED A DESIRE FOR MORE OPTIONS TO SERVE HOUSEHOLDS EARNING UP TO 120% AMI BEYOND THE TWO RECENTLY APPROVED PROGRAMS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
WITH ALL OF THAT RESEARCH IN MIND, THIS IS WHAT WE RECOMMEND.
BASED ON ALL OF THAT RESEARCH.
EXCUSE ME. I'M SORRY ABOUT THAT.
THESE PERCENTAGES THAT WE'VE PROVIDED HERE ARE REALLY GENERAL SPLITS AND WILL VARY BASED ON THE NEED AND RESEARCH OVER THE COURSE OF THE YEAR.
FOLLOWING THE LEAD OF MOST OF THE CITIES AND THE HOUSING POLICY TASKFORCE SURVEY DEVELOPMENT WILL BE THE PRIMARY ALLOCATION WITH 45 PERCENT OF THE FUNDS SUPPORTING OUR PROJECTS.
THESE AREN'T EXPLICIT REQUIREMENTS, BUT WE'D LIKE TO USE THESE FUNDS TO PROVIDE DEEPER AFFORDABILITY AND RENTAL PROJECTS, INCLUDING LARGER FAMILY UNITS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF HOUSING FOR THOSE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.
WE'D LIKE TO OFFER HOME-OWNERSHIP OPPORTUNITY IS NOT JUST SINGLE-FAMILY, BUT A LOT OF MISSING MIDDLE AND INNOVATIVE HOUSING TYPES.
WE'D LIKE THESE FUNDS TO FOCUS DEVELOPMENT IN THE CITIES TARGET AREAS ONCE THEY'VE BEEN ADOPTED.
WE RECOMMEND SETTING ASIDE 10 PERCENT OF FUNDS FOR HOME BUYERS ASSISTANCE.
WE USE THESE FUNDS IMMEDIATELY TO BOLSTER EXISTING PROGRAMS AS NEEDED AND LOOK FOR WAYS TO INCREASE OPPORTUNITIES FOR APPLICANT'S EARNING 120 PERCENT AMI AND BELOW.
NEXT SLIDE, WE RECOMMEND SETTING ASIDE 15 PERCENT EACH FOR HOME REPAIR AND NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION.
HOME REPAIR FUNDING WITH GENERALLY INCREASE THE FUNDING AVAILABLE FOLLOWING THE TALUS HOUSING POLICIES RECOMMENDATIONS.
THEN WE'D LIKE TO FURTHER ANALYZE THOSE GAPS THAT WE MENTIONED A LITTLE EARLIER.
NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION DOLLARS WILL BE USED TO INCENTIVIZE INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES,
[00:50:04]
HOME REPAIR AND AMENITIES, AND TARGET NEIGHBORHOODS IN LINE WITH THE HOUSING POLICY.THOSE WILL BE ALLOCATED ONCE THOSE TARGET NEIGHBORHOODS HAVE BEEN SELECTED. NEXT SLIDE.
WE'D LIKE TO SET ASIDE A SMALL PIECE OF THESE FUNDS ANNUALLY FOR POTENTIAL INNOVATION AND TESTING OUT NEW PILOT PROGRAMS. THIS WILL OFFER US FLEXIBLE FUNDING TO RESPOND TO NEEDS AS THEY ARISE.
EXAMPLES THAT WE COULD USE THIS ON OUR TOOLS IN THE ANTI DISPLACEMENT TOOLKIT OR PROVIDING FEE REIMBURSEMENTS FOR MIHDB PROGRAMS. NEXT SLIDE.
THEN THE FINAL PIECE OF THE PIE IS ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.
WE ARE PERMITTED TO SPEND 10 PERCENT OF THE PREVIOUS YEAR'S FUNDS OR $300,000, WHICHEVER IS GREATER, MEANING THAT THIS FISCAL YEAR WE'D HAVE 300,000 AVAILABLE AND NEXT YEAR WE'D HAVE TEN PERCENT OF WHAT WE'VE EARNED THIS YEAR.
PRIMARILY, WE'D LIKE TO PRIORITIZE STAFF THAT IMPLEMENT THE MIHDB PROGRAM AND THEN POTENTIALLY FUND INCREASES IN RESEARCH AND STAFF FOR THE PROGRAMS THAT WE INTEND TO USE THESE FUNDS ON.
IN THE COMING YEAR WHEN WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE FUNDS AVAILABLE, WE'D LIKE TO INCREASE SOME RESEARCH PROJECTS, SOME DATA SOURCES, AND ALSO USE THIS TO HELP SUPPORT THE CASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM THAT WE USE TO MANAGE OUR PROGRAMS. NEXT SLIDE. OUR IMMEDIATE RECOMMENDATION IS TO MAKE 2.5 MILLION OF THE ROUND 4.4 AVAILABLE TO OUR NOFA.
WE ALSO PLAN TO INCREASE THE BUDGET FOR OUR SENIOR HOME REPAIR PROGRAM BY 1 MILLION AS WE'RE ESTIMATING ABOUT 500 APPLICATIONS AND OUR CURRENT ALLOCATION WOULD ALLOW US TO SERVE TEN.
FOR NEXT STEPS WE'LL CONTINUE TO IMPLEMENT THE MIHDB PROGRAM AND COLLECT FEES AS DEVELOPERS REQUEST THE BONUS.
WE'LL RELEASE THE NOFA OR INCREASE PROGRAM BUDGETS ACCORDING TO FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS.
WE'LL USE THE NOFA AS THE MAIN VEHICLE TO ALERT DEVELOPERS AND OUR COMMUNITY WHEN DEVELOPMENT MIHDB FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE.
NEXT SLIDE. THAT CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATION.
THANK YOU AND WE'RE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY OF YOUR QUESTIONS.
>> THANK YOU SO MUCH. WE'LL GO IN REVERSE ORDER. CHAIRWOMAN MENDELSOHN.
>> THANK YOU. WELL, FIRST, I JUST WANT TO SAY, YES FOR AN EXTRA 1 MILLION DOLLARS FOR SENIOR HOME REPAIR, THANK YOU.
I'M GLAD YOU'RE SMILING BECAUSE I THINK WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS SINCE I WAS AT REBUILDING, THANK YOU.
YES. I GUESS THERE'S TWO MAIN AREAS I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT.
ONE IS ABOUT THE MONEY, I'M GOING TO DO THAT SECOND.
THE THIRD IS I LIKED THAT YOU DID THE SURVEY FOR THE HOUSING POLICY TASKFORCE.
I THINK YOU ASKED GOOD QUESTIONS.
I THINK YOU'VE GOT REALLY GOOD INFORMATION.
I DON'T KNOW THAT THE INFORMATION THOUGH, THE ANSWERS YOU GOT MATCHED WHAT YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS ARE.
I'M GOING TO TELL YOU THINGS I HEARD THAT I DON'T THINK MATCH.
WHAT I HEARD, WHICH I WAS ENCOURAGED BY, BECAUSE I THINK IT'S THINGS THAT MY COLLEAGUES AND I TALK ABOUT A LOT.
I HEARD AFFORDABLE HOME OWNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES.
I DIDN'T HEAR THAT AS YOUR MAIN IMPETUS OF THIS IS SOMETHING WE WANT TO WORK ON.
DISPLACEMENT, GENTRIFICATION, AND HIGH PROPERTY TAXES, YES.
SENIOR HOME REPAIR, HOME IMPROVEMENT AND PRESERVATION, HOME-OWNERSHIP 58 PERCENT.
FAMILIES, SENIORS AND HOMELESS PEOPLE AT RISK OF HOMELESSNESS.
ALL OF THOSE THINGS I THINK WE'VE TALKED ABOUT REPEATEDLY.
I THINK HOUSING POLICY TASKFORCE GOT IT RIGHT.
I THINK THAT'S WHY WE GO TO THEM.
BUT THEN WHEN I LOOK AT THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND I SEE THE FIRST ONE, I'M SORRY, I'M GOING TO GET BACK OVER HERE TO DEVELOPMENT BEING 45 PERCENT.
YOU'RE DEVELOPING LONG-TERM RENTAL AFFORDABILITY.
THAT WASN'T THE TOP OF ANYTHING THAT HOUSING POLICY TASKFORCE SAID.
WE HAVE LOTS OF DIFFERENT VEHICLES FOR THAT.
WHAT I THINK YOU'RE MISSING IS REALLY ADDRESSING THIS HOME-OWNERSHIP ISSUE THAT WE HAVE HERE.
AGAIN, I'M GOING TO GO BACK TO SAYING, WE NEED SOMETHING THAT'S GOING TO ALLOW SMALLER LOTS, SMALLER HOMES THAT PEOPLE CAN AFFORD.
NOT WITH US GIVING GIANT SUBSIDIES TO HELP THEM DO FIRST-TIME HOME OWNERSHIP, BUT ACTUALLY JUST BEING ABLE TO AFFORD IT.
I KNOW YOU'VE SAID TO ME, WELL, WE DON'T DO THAT PART.
WELL, MAYBE THAT'S THE PILOT PROGRAM PART.
WE MIGHT HAVE TO START DOING THAT.
INSTEAD OF JUST GIVING THE LAND FOR LAND BANK AND ASKING OTHER PEOPLE TO DEVELOP IT,
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WE MIGHT NEED TO ASSEMBLE THAT LAND, PURCHASE IT AND CHOP IT UP IN A WHOLE DIFFERENT WAY THAN WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING SO THAT WE HAVE MORE AFFORDABILITY FOR HOME-OWNERSHIP, NOT FOR MULTIFAMILY, LOW-INCOME.I THINK WE SHOULD HELP THEM DO THAT.
I THINK IT MEANS SMALLER LOTS.
IT MIGHT BE SOMETHING WE HAVEN'T DONE BEFORE, BUT WE CAN'T WAIT FOR HOUSING.
WE CAN'T WAIT FOR OUR FOUR DOLLARS PLAN.
WHEN YOU GO TO THE NEXT RECOMMENDATION, WHERE AGAIN, HOME BUYER SYSTEMS HERE AT 120 PERCENT AMI, I JUST THINK IT'S TOO HIGH.
I KNOW WHY YOU'VE GOT IT THERE BECAUSE HOUSING PRICES HAVE GONE UP SO MUCH.
I THINK WHAT WE NEED TO ADDRESS ON HOUSING IS EXACTLY WHAT THE HOUSING POLICY TASKFORCE SAID IS THE MOST LOW-INCOME PEOPLE THAT WE CAN STABILIZE, NOT THE MISSING MIDDLE, ACTUALLY THE PEOPLE ON THE MARGIN.
THAT'S WHERE I'M HOPING WE CAN MAKE THAT BIG DIFFERENCE.
I'M NOT SURE THAT YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS ARE SKEWING THERE.
I THINK YOU'RE STILL LOOKING AT THIS 80-120 PERCENT.
I REALLY THINK YOU HAVE TO DROP DOWN.
YOU'VE GOT TO LOOK AT THE 50-60 PERCENT.
THAT'S ACTUALLY THE MISSING MIDDLE THAT IS NOT STABLE.
WHEN WE HAVE PEOPLE COME HERE THAT SAY, I'M GOING TO LOSE MY AFFORDABLE APARTMENT AT SIX, SEVEN, $800 BUT I CAN BARELY AFFORD A MEDICAID ON SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS THAT THEY'RE GETTING.
THIS IS WHERE WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO HAVE HOUSING FOR THEM, NOT FOR $1,400 A MONTH, ONE BEDROOM, THAT'S NOT AFFORDABLE FOR THE FOLKS THAT NEED IT.
I WOULD ASK YOU TO LOOK AT THIS AGAIN AND REALLY CONSIDER WHAT YOU HEARD FROM THE HOUSING POLICY TASKFORCE AND HOPEFULLY MY COLLEAGUE.
>> COUNCILMAN MENDELSOHN, IF I COULD JUST RESPOND TO THAT.
I THINK WE'RE ATTEMPTING TO DO EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE ASKING US.
THE NOTICE OF FUNDING AVAILABILITY IS THE TOOL BY WHICH WE SOLICIT PROJECTS.
WHETHER IT BE PROJECTS FOR HOUSING, FOR HOMELESS, FOR SALE HOUSING, THERE'S A RANGE OF THOSE PROPOSALS THAT CAME THROUGH THE SURVEY.
THAT NOFA IS HOW WE GO ABOUT GETTING THOSE PROJECTS.
RECENTLY, THE COUNCIL APPROVED THE CITY MANAGER TO GO AND PURCHASE SOME LAND IN PLEASANT GROVE.
THAT'S AN EXAMPLE OF EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE DESCRIBING.
WHERE WE'LL WORK WITH OUR PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT, WHERE WE'LL WORK WITH PLANNING AND URBAN DESIGN TO REZONE THAT LAND, TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN ACHIEVE SOME OF THE HOME-OWNERSHIP GOALS THAT YOU ARE DESCRIBING.
NOW, OUR POLICIES SAY THAT WE DON'T SOLICIT HOME-OWNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR HOUSEHOLDS EARNING LESS THAN 60 PERCENT OF AREA MEDIAN INCOME.
BUT IF THAT'S A CONVERSATION THAT YOU'D LIKE TO HAVE ABOUT GOING EVEN LOWER THAN THAT, I'M HAPPY TO DO THAT.
BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS AND TOOLS THAT WE USE TO ACHIEVE THE VARIOUS GOALS THAT COUNCILS THAT ASKED OF US, THE NOFA IS THE TOOL THAT ADDRESSES HOME-OWNERSHIP, HOUSING FOR HOMELESS AND SO ON.
>> WHAT I'M SAYING IS THAT FOR THIS PROCUREMENT OF THE NOFA OF THE TWO-AND-A-HALF MILLION DOLLARS.
I DON'T WANT TO SEE ANOTHER APARTMENT COMPLEX COMING OUT OF THIS FUNDING.
WE'VE GOT LOTS OF OTHER PROGRAMS THAT ARE DOING THAT, WAY TOO MANY.
I WANT TO SEE SINGLE-FAMILY OUT OF THAT.
IF YOU WANT TO RESTRICT THE NOFA FOR SINGLE-FAMILY, THEN GREAT.
BUT I DON'T THINK THAT'S WHAT THE NOFA IS GOING TO SAY.
I THINK IT'S GOING TO SAY ANY PROJECT.
THAT'S WHAT I'M PUSHING BACK ON AND THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING, GO BACK AND LOOK AT WHAT YOUR OWN HOUSING POLICY TASKFORCE TOLD YOU, WHAT YOU HEAR REPEATEDLY FROM PEOPLE WHO COME TO SPEAK HERE FROM THE COUNCIL.
WHEN I'VE SAT THROUGH THESE ENGAGEMENTS SESSIONS THAT YOU'VE HAD PEOPLE WHO ARE TALKING OR SAYING SINGLE-FAMILY.
THEN WE COME BACK AND WE HAVE A PRESENTATION ABOUT MULTI-FAMILY OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
I'M JUST SAYING, I THINK THAT NOFA NEEDS TO BE RESTRICTED AND THAT WE NEED TO ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING ABOUT SINGLE-FAMILY HOUSING BEING MORE AVAILABLE FOR FOLKS. THANK YOU.
>> THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. I TOO, WOULD LIKE TO SEE GREATER EMPHASIS ON DEVELOPMENT OF OWNERSHIP TYPE OF HOUSING.
QUESTION WITH REGARD TO THE NOFA PROGRAM.
WHEN YOU PUT OUT A NOFA TO PRIVATE DEVELOPERS,
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WHAT DO YOU SAY IN THAT NOFA IN TERMS OF WHAT TYPE OF HOUSING OR NUMBER OF UNITS YOU WANT?>> I'LL ASK DARWIN TO SPEAK TO THE SPECIFICS OF IT.
BUT IT'S A BROAD REACHING APPROACH TO WHAT'S AVAILABLE.
THE NOFA IS USED FOR BOTH RENTAL HOUSING AND FOR SALE HOUSING.
WE CAN'T DICTATE WHICH PROPOSALS COME FORWARD.
WHAT YOU'VE SEEN COMING FORWARD IS REFLECTIVE OF THE PROPOSALS THAT HAVE BEEN COMING IN.
WHERE YOU SEE MUCH OF THE FOR SALE HOUSING PROPOSALS COME IN IS THROUGH OUR LAND TRANSFER PROGRAMS AND SOMETIMES YOU'LL SEE APPLICANTS FOR LAND TRANSFER PROGRAM WILL ASK FOR LOTS AND FUNDING THROUGH THE NOFA.
>> WELL, CAN YOU ADD SOME DETAIL TO THAT AS TO WHY CAN'T WE PUT OUT A NOFA THAT SAYS, WE WANT PROPOSALS FOR SMALL LOT SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES.
>> DARWIN WADE AREA REDEVELOPMENT MANAGER.
TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, WE DO ADVERTISE MONTHLY TO OUR DEVELOPERS THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF DALLAS.
ON THE NOFA WE DO TALK ABOUT FOR SALE HOUSING.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT IS ENCOURAGED.
HOWEVER, BASICALLY WHAT COMES INTO US A LOT OF TIMES IS MULTIFAMILY.
WE HAVE MADE INCREDIBLE STRIDES TO ENSURE THAT SMALLER DEVELOPERS THAT ARE SEEKING LAND TRANSPARENT LOTS, THAT ARE SEEKING ADDITIONAL LOCAL FUNDING THROUGH THE CITY.
WE'RE LOOKING TO INCREASE FOR SALE HOUSING IN CITY OF DALLAS, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE STRIVE FOR EACH MONTH WHEN WE MEET WITH OUR DEVELOPER COMMUNITY ON THAT EFFORT.
>> WELL, THE LAND TRANSFER AND LAND BANK LOTS ARE TYPICALLY ALREADY PLOTTED STANDARD SIZED SINGLE-FAMILY LOTS, ARE THEY NOT?
>> IF WE WANT TO DO A PROJECT THAT HAS SMALL LOT HOMES OR HIGHER DENSITY, BUT STILL SINGLE-FAMILY ZERO LOT LINE HOMES, ET CETERA, THAT'S GOING TO TAKE A LARGER TRACT OF LAND AND POSSIBLE ZONING CHANGE.
HOW CAN THAT BE AVAILED THROUGH THE NOFA PROGRAM? IT SEEMS TO ME THAT NOFA IS A VERY REACTIVE PROCESS.
YOU'RE JUST REACTING TO WHAT THE PRIVATE SECTOR WANTS TO BUILD NOT WHAT WE WANT TO BUILD.
>> CORRECT. I DEFINITELY THINK WE CAN LOOK AT SOME MORE INNOVATIVE APPROACHES AS IT RELATES TO OUR NOFA AND HOW WE CAN DO EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE ASKING.
THAT'LL JUST BE A CHANGE THAT WILL HAVE TO HAVE A DISCUSSION INTERNALLY, AND IF THAT'S THE WILL OF A COUNCIL TO DO THAT, I THINK LEADERSHIP IN OUR DEPARTMENT WILL COME UP WITH SOME INNOVATIVE AND CREATIVE IDEAS TO DO JUST WHAT YOU STATED.
>> I'D VERY MUCH LIKE TO SEE THAT AFTER ALL, WE'RE THE BODY WITH THE MONEY AND WE OUGHT TO BE ABLE TO PURCHASE WHAT WE WANT TO PURCHASE.
I THINK THAT JUST CALLS FOR SOME DIRECTION TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR AS TO WHAT WE WANT TO BUILD AND THAT WE ARE GOING TO COLLABORATE WITH REPLANNING AND ZONING APPROVALS FOR WHAT WE WANT TO ACCOMPLISH.
ON SLIDE 16, IN THE SURVEY FOUND UNIQUE PROGRAMS IN OTHER CITIES THAT INCLUDED COMMUNITY LAND TRUST, AND I THINK BACK TO WHEN THOR PRESENTED A BRIEFING ON CLT IN CONJUNCTION WITH TREK ABOUT SIX MONTHS AGO, AND I THOROUGHLY ENJOYED THAT PRESENTATION.
I SAW A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY WITH CLTS AND YET I HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT THEM SINCE.
WHY IS THAT? I KNOW THAT THAT PROGRAM REQUIRES SOME UPFRONT FUNDING AND I THINK THE REAL ADVANTAGE OF THAT PROGRAM IS THAT WE THREW THE LONG-TERM LAND LEASES CONTROL THE RESALE VALUE TO ENSURE THAT THE HOUSING REMAINS AFFORDABLE UPON RESALE.
IS THAT PART OF YOUR PLAN HERE BECAUSE I'D LIKE TO SEE SOME OF OUR FUNDS GOING TO KICK-START THAT PROCESS.
>> THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION. THERE IS A COUNSEL IS STILL WORKING ON STANDING UP RESEARCH BEHIND A CITYWIDE ORGANIZATION THAT SUPPORTS MULTIPLE SMALLER COMMUNITY-BASED COMMUNITY LAND TRUST.
THEY'VE BEEN CONVENING NON-PROFITS FOR THE LAST FEW MONTHS.
THEY'VE HIRED A NATIONAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROVIDER CALLED GROUNDED SOLUTIONS, AND I'VE BEEN PARTICIPATING IN THOSE MEETINGS TO PROVIDE SOME TECHNICAL SUPPORT AND HOW TO GET THAT READY.
PART OF THAT WILL COME SOME POTENTIAL AMENDMENTS TO OUR CURRENT COMMUNITY LAND TRUST PROGRAM THAT ALLOWS FOR THAT TO HAPPEN,
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AND SO WE'RE WORKING TOGETHER TO MAKE SURE THAT A COMMUNITY LAND TRUST MODEL IS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN IMPLEMENT IN DALLAS THAT WILL BE SUCCESSFUL.MORE ON THAT IS COMING AND IS PART OF A LARGER ELEMENT ESPECIALLY AROUND THE TARGETED AREAS, AND OUR NEW POLICY OR COMMUNITY LAND TRUST WOULD MAKE SENSE AS ONE OF THE MULTIPLE WAYS TO DEVELOP HOMEOWNERSHIP.
>> WELL, I'M GLAD TO HEAR THAT.
I'D VERY MUCH LIKE TO HAVE A BRIEFING TO THIS COMMITTEE AT THE JUNCTURE WHERE YOU THINK THAT YOU HAVE SOMETHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT TO US?
>> MR. RIDLEY DEV, COUPLE OF MORE QUESTIONS.
>> NO, I THINK I'LL PASS FOR NOW.
>> THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. FIRST OF ALL, I REMEMBER WHEN WE FIRST STARTED TALKING ABOUT THIS PROCESS MANY YEARS AGO.
A LOT OF THE INITIATIVE TO EVEN CREATE THE IDEA OF THIS FUND CAME FROM THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY SAYING, WE WON'T DO THESE.
WE DON'T WANT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE MIA HDB.
BUT WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO WITH THIS FUND IS BUILD A LOT MORE UNITS BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE THE CRISIS LIES, AND WE KNOW THAT.
MY QUESTION TO YOU IS, CAN YOU SHARE HOW THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY HAS ALSO HELPED CRAFT THIS SINCE THEY'RE THE ONES THAT ARE ULTIMATELY GOING TO BE EXECUTING.
>> THANK YOU. WE HAVE ENGAGED THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY ON THE FEE STRUCTURE, USE OF THE PROGRAMS. WELL, RIGHT NOW WE HAVE HAD FOUR DEVELOPERS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE FIELD.
WE'RE STILL SEEING THE MAJORITY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE ON-SITE BONUS.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT BOTH OF THEM ARE STILL VIABLE OPTIONS TO DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY AND WE'RE NOT SEEING IT SKEWED ONE WAY OR ANOTHER THIS FIRST YEAR AND THE NEXT YEAR WILL HELP US GET SOME REAL DATA TO SHOW IF OUR FEES ARE IN ALIGNMENT.
THAT OFFERS AN INCENTIVE BOTH WAYS SO THAT WE CAN SEE ON-SITE UNITS BEING DEVELOPED AS WELL AS PEOPLE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE FEE LOOP WHERE IT MIGHT NOT MAKE SENSE, BUT THE FEE IS AT A WAY, AT A PRICE POINT WHERE WE GENERATE ENOUGH REVENUE TO BE ABLE TO OFFER THE SERVICES THAT ARE OUTLINED IN THIS PRESENTATION.
>> THANK YOU. A COUPLE OF QUICK QUESTIONS, IF I MAY, MR. CHAIR.
FIRST OF ALL, I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY WHEN THE POLICY REFERS TO FAIR HOUSING THAT'S GENERIC, NOT PROGRAMMATIC, CORRECT?
>> THEN WILL WE BE FINALLY ON THE HOME REPAIR CONCEPT ON THE REVITALIZATION SLIDE? IS THIS AN OPPORTUNITY SINCE WE DO HAVE A PROBLEM CITYWIDE WITH CONTRACTOR RECRUITMENT? IS THIS A POTENTIAL PROGRAM FOR US TO LOOK AT INTERNALLY IN TERMS OF DEVELOPING WORKFORCE?
>> THERE'S POTENTIAL THERE, YES.
ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE DOING IS TRYING TO HAVE MORE CONTRACTOR AFFAIRS.
WE'RE WORKING WITH THE OFFICE OF PROCUREMENT TO REACH OUT TO CONTRACTORS DIRECTLY, MAKE SURE THEY'RE AWARE OF OUR PROCESSES, HAVE PRESENTATION ABOUT WHAT IT TAKES TO WORK WITH US.
THERE'S FEW AVENUES THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO EXPLORE IN HOW TO RECRUIT AND TRAIN AND BUILD MORE GENERAL CONTRACTORS THAT ARE WANTING TO DO THIS TYPE OF WORK IN THE CITY OF DALLAS.
>> I THINK IT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO ALIGN SEVERAL PATHS OF CITY GOALS TOWARD THIS.
THAT MAY BE SOMETHING THAT I SPECIFICALLY ASK IF YOU WILL TO REACH OUT TO OUR SMALL BUSINESS CENTER TO LOOK AT WHETHER OR NOT THERE'S THE OPPORTUNITY TO POTENTIALLY STAND UP A CONTRACTOR TRAINING PROGRAM THAT CAN HELP PROVIDE THE NEEDS FOR THIS.
FINALLY, I THINK IT'S FANTASTIC THAT CHAIR MENDELSOHN AND COUNCIL MEMBER RIDLEY ARE SUPPORTIVE OF THE IDEA OF INCREASED DENSITY IN HOUSING.
I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT FOR ALL OF US TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND THAT IF WE'RE GOING TO GET TO HOMEOWNERSHIP, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO INCREASE DENSITY BECAUSE A LOT LAND PRICES ARE JUST TOO HIGH TO DO SOME OF THE TRADITIONAL SIZE LOTS THAT WE'VE ALWAYS DONE.
IT'S GREAT, AND I ALSO COMMEND YOU FOR THE SENIOR REPAIR PROGRAM. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR.
>> THANK YOU. WE'LL GO TO THE VIRTUAL WORLD NOW.
CHAIRWOMAN BLACKMON, GO AHEAD.
>> THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. THANK YOU GUYS FOR GIVING US THIS PRESENTATION.
IT'S I WANT TO GO ABROAD AND THEN COMING IN.
BUT WE DID ADOPT A VISION STATEMENT.
ISN'T THAT CORRECT REGARDING HOUSING?
>> THERE WAS A VISION STATEMENT PROPOSED AS PART OF THE DRAFT HOUSING POLICY. IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE REFERRING TO?
>> YES. I WAS GOING BACK THROUGH MY NOTES AND I DON'T HAVE IT HERE.
>> NO. IF YOU LOOK AT THE DRAFT HOUSING POLICY,
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IT'S THE FIRST STATEMENT IN THE DRAFT HOUSING POLICY.>> I'M TRYING TO GET THEM ON MY LAPTOP. I'M GOING ON MY PHONE.
MY QUESTION IS, WE HAVE THIS DRAFT POLICY MISSION STATEMENT, HAVE WHAT YOU PROPOSED DOES IT BRING THAT STATEMENT INTO REALITY?
>> WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING HERE IS A COMPONENT OF THAT.
THAT STATEMENT IS INTENDED TO BE MUCH MORE OVERARCHING.
>> BUT MY APPROACH TO A VISION STATEMENT IS EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO MUST MOVE THAT VISION FORWARD.
>> THAT'S WHAT I'M ASKING YOU.
DO YOU FEEL WHAT YOU HAVE GIVEN US MOVES THAT VISION FORWARD?
>> BUT WE DON'T KNOW. I GUESS YOU'VE GOT TO GO BACK AND LOOK AND SEE WHAT THAT VISION IS JUST TO MAKE SURE BECAUSE I THINK WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT HOMEOWNERSHIP.
IF WE WANT TO HAVE GENERATIONAL WEALTH IN THIS CITY, HOMEOWNERSHIP IS THAT PATH.
I'M WONDERING YOU HAVE DEVELOPMENT AS 45, ALMOST HALF OF YOUR MONEY GOING TO IT.
IN THAT DEVELOPMENT IS THERE THAT OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE HOME OWNERSHIP?
>> YES. HOMEOWNERSHIP IS A FORM OF DEVELOPMENT WHICH IS PRECURED THROUGH THE NOFA.
>> HOW MUCH OF THE 45% DO YOU PLAN TO FOCUS ON HOMEOWNERSHIP?
>> I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'LL BE LOOKING TO DO TO INCENTIVE HOMEOWNERSHIP.
WE CAN OFFER ADDITIONAL POINTS, WE CAN OFFER ADDITIONAL FUNDS.
WE CAN ALIGN WITH THE SITES, THE LAND THAT THE CITY HAS ALREADY PURCHASED TO ACHIEVE THAT GOAL.
WE CANNOT MAKE A PRIVATE DEVELOPER DO HOMEOWNERSHIP VERSUS RENTAL, BUT WE CAN INCENTIVE THEM AND WE CAN USE THE CITY'S RESOURCES, WHETHER IT BE LAND BANK, LAND TRANSFER, OR ANY PRIVATE LAND THAT WE'VE PURCHASED TO DO THAT.
>> DAVID WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THIS FUND.
HOW ARE YOU GOING TO INCENTIVIZE FOR HOMEOWNERSHIP IN THIS SPECIFIC SPOT? IT MAY BE THAT YOU NEED TO BRING IT BACK AND THINK ABOUT IT BUT I DO AGREE WITH MS. MENDELSOHN THAT HOMEOWNERSHIP IS THE WAY TO HAVING STABILITY AND STRONG COMMUNITIES.
IT ALSO AFFECTS KIDS WHEN THEY GO TO SCHOOL.
I JUST FEEL WHILE I DO AGREE THAT WE NEED TO HAVE A MIX OF A MIXED-USE DENSITY, IS THEIR OPPORTUNITY TO BUY IN THAT MIXED-USE DENSITY OPPORTUNITY? I JUST FEEL THAT WE SHOULD LOOK AT A HOMEOWNERSHIP WE'VE BEEN PUTTING IN.
WE HAVE A LOT OF TOOLS THAT HELP US CREATE THOSE MULTIFAMILY.
I DO THINK IT'S TIME THAT WE LOOK AT WHAT ARE WE DOING FOR HOMEOWNERSHIP BECAUSE A LITTLE BIT OF MONEY GOES A LONG WAY IN THAT SPACE.
YOU COME UP TO 3.8 MILLION, BUT YOU HAVE 4.4.
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH THE EXTRA SIX UNLESS I'M NOT ADDING SOMETHING UNLESS YOU'VE GOT MORE THAN 300,000 GOING TO ADMINISTRATIVE?
>> LET ME JUST ANSWER THE FIRST PART OF YOUR QUESTION ABOUT HOMEOWNERSHIP.
THE NOFA ATTRACTS BOTH FOR SALE AND RENTAL.
IF WHAT I'M HEARING FROM THE COMMITTEE IS THAT YOU WANT THESE FUNDS, THE MIHDB FEE-IN-LIEU FUNDS TO FOCUS ON HOMEOWNERSHIP, THEN THAT CAN BE A SET ASIDE OFFERED IN THE NOFA.
YOU CAN ONLY ACCESS THESE FUNDS IN THE NOFA IF YOU'RE DOING FOR-SALE HOUSING.
THAT'S AN EASY ADJUSTMENT WE CAN MAKE.
>> I GUESS TOO IF I COULD ASK, WE NEED TO LOOK AT ALL THESE IN TOTALITY.
SOMETIMES WE JUST PULL OUT A SLICE AND WE LOOK AT HOMELESSNESS AND WE TALK ABOUT THAT AND WE DO WANT TO ATTRACT THAT, BUT WE'VE GOT MILLIONS OF DOLLARS GOING THERE AS WELL.
SOMETIMES IT SEEMS WE HAVE A FRAGMENTED APPROACH TO REVIEWING THESE WHILE YOU ARE LOOKING AT IT, MAYBE IN A WHOLE PICTURE, SOMETIME I THINK WE MAY NEED THAT AS A REFRESHER BECAUSE WE GET THROWN LOTS OF THINGS, AND A LOT OF TIMES AND I THINK THAT MAY HELP US UNDERSTAND THE DIRECTION.
>> YES. WE ACTUALLY HAVE A STATE OF THE DEPARTMENT PRESENTATION COMING UP NEXT MONTH AND WE CAN LAY OUT FOR YOU THE GAMUT OF ALL THE TYPES OF ACTIVITIES THAT WE'RE CARRYING OUT, WHAT'S WORKING, WHAT'S NOT, WHERE WE HAVE CHALLENGES, THAT THING.
>> I WANT TO ADDRESS TWO OF YOUR POINTS REAL QUICK.
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WE RESERVE SOME BUDGET AS THE FUND IS NOT TO THE FULL SIX MILLION NET WHICH WE'RE ESTIMATING IT WILL GROW TO THIS YEAR.JUST BASED ON THE SPLIT ON SLIDE 20, WE CAN PRIORITIZE A PILOT PROGRAM AS IT COMES UP OR A NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION ACTIVITY AS IT COMES UP.
TODAY, WE'VE HEARD SOME REALLY GREAT THINGS IN TERMS OF MAYBE LOOKING AT WAYS TO LOOK AT THE ZONING TOGETHER, TO INCENTIVE NEW HOMEOWNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND CONSTRUCTION RECRUITMENT TRAINING.
WE HAVE SOME OF THE FUNDS RESERVED FOR THAT AS WELL AS THE ADMINISTRATION FEE THAT WE NEED TO PAY STAFF TO DO THIS.
THE VISION STATEMENT AND THE POLICY SAYS DALLAS HOUSING POLICY 2033 BUILDS RACIAL EQUITY AND ECONOMIC INCLUSION BY DEVELOPING AND PRESERVING MIXED-INCOME HOUSING, REDUCING DISPARITIES THAT DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACT HISTORICALLY DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES, AND PROVIDING AFFORDABLE AND MIXED-INCOME HOUSING INITIATIVES ACROSS THE CITY.
THAT STATEMENT JUST TALKS ABOUT THE GENERALNESS OF PRODUCING AND PRESERVING UNITS ACROSS THE CITY AS IT RELATES TO THE POLICY.
>> THAT'S MY POINT, IS THAT WE'RE GOING TO ADOPT A VISION STATEMENT.
WHAT WE DO SHOULD MOVE A VISION BEFORE WE HAVE THE WRONG VISION STATEMENT. THAT'S JUST MY THOUGHTS.
BUT GOING BACK TO YOUR NUMBERS, SO YOU HAVE 2.5 GOING TO DO THE DEVELOPMENT, GOING TO NOTIFY, ONE MILLION TO THE SENIOR HOME REPAIR.
BECAUSE WE HAVE 4.4 IN THERE, WHAT'S REMAINING AND WHERE'S IT GOING?
>> THERE'S 300,000 FOR ADMIN, AND THEN THE REMAINING 1.2-ISH IS RESERVED RIGHT NOW FOR THE FUTURE PROGRAMS THAT WE CAN PRIORITIZE.
TODAY'S BRIEFING WAS TO TALK ABOUT THAT SPLIT BETWEEN WHAT WE DO IN THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT AS IT RELATES TO THE POLICY, AS IT RELATES TO THE FEEDBACK.
BASED ON THIS CONVERSATION AND OTHERS, WE CAN CONTINUE TO PRIORITIZE THAT.
WHAT WE DIDN'T WANT TO DO IS COMMIT ALL OF THE 4.4 MILLION RIGHT NOW, AND A MATTER OF FACT, SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE HAD SOME OF THAT RESERVE IN THAT FUND TO IMPLEMENT THE PROGRAMS AS THEY COME UP OVER THE NEXT YEAR.
>> THERE'S SOME MORE FEE NEW PROJECTS PENDING THAT AREN'T YET FINALIZED, THAT WE KNOW ARE ON OUR PIPELINE.
WE ANTICIPATE THE WHOLE PROGRAM.
WE DON'T ENVISION IT GROWING MORE THAN SIX MILLION IN THIS FIRST YEAR BUT WHAT WE'LL DO AS WELL AS ON OUR PERFORMANCE REPORTS WILL MAKE SURE TO SHOW YOU HOW MUCH IS HERE WHERE FUNDS ARE COMMITTED SO THAT WE CAN SHOW YOU WHAT'S REMAINING THAT WE CAN TAP INTO FOR WHATEVER TYPE OF PROGRAM OR INITIATIVE COMES UP THAT WE WANT TO PRIORITIZE.
IT'S IN LINE WITH THE USE OF THE FEE NEW FUNDING.
>> THE ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS GOES TO PAY FOR STAFF AND ACTUAL ADMINISTRATION OF THIS?
>> CORRECT. THEN SOME OF THE TOOLS THAT WE USE TO TRACK PROGRAMS LIKE NEIGHBORLY AND SOME OF THE JUST RESOURCES THAT WE'LL NEED TO CONDUCT STUDIES OR TO PAY FOR DATA THAT HELPS SUPPORT THE NEEDS ANALYSIS THAT WE SEE IN OUR CITY.
>> THAT'S IT, MR. CHAIR. THANK YOU.
>> THANK YOU. MAYOR PRO TEM ARNOLD, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?
>> BEFORE WE GO AROUND TO DO YOU HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS? FIRST, CAN JUST THINK FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I STILL FEEL THERE'S SOME LINGERING QUESTIONS AND THOUGHTS ON HOW WE MOVE FORWARD.
THIS IS TOO BIG OF A OPPORTUNITY TO KNOCK IT RIGHT.
I HAVE A FIRST QUESTION IS ON WE'RE HEARING HOUSING.
WE WANT HOMEOWNERSHIP FOR THE RESIDENTS OF DALLAS.
I AGREE NOT EVERYONE IS READY FOR HOMEOWNERSHIP, SO WE HAVE TO STRIKE THAT BALANCE MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE FILLING EVERY NEED.
MY CONCERN THAT I HAVE WITH THE RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, I AM LOOKING ONLINE HERE AT A ONE-UNIT, ONE-BEDROOM, ONE-BATH, 350-SQUARE-FOOT HOME, 1,720 WITH DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE RENT, VOUCHERS WILL PAY FOR 70% OF THIS.
IS THAT THE BEST USE OF OUR FUNDS WHEN WE ARE BASICALLY GIVING THESE DOLLARS TO A LANDLORD?
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THAT IS, IN MY OPINION, TAKING FULL ADVANTAGE OF THE SYSTEM THAT WE'VE PLACED IN FRONT OF US WHEN THOSE DOLLARS CAN ACTUALLY BE GOING TOWARDS HOMEOWNERSHIP, MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY INVESTING THESE DOLLARS AND WE'RE GETTING THE MOST OUT OF THESE DOLLARS AND THAT WE'RE STRETCHING THEM AS FAR AS WE CAN.I DON'T KNOW IF YOU ALL ARE AWARE OF AT LEAST SITUATIONS THAT ARE OCCURRING BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW ON EARTH WE HAVE $1,700 FOR A 300-SQUARE-FOOT UNIT.
>> YES. KARL HEINZ, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS IN THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT.
I'M NOT AWARE OF ANY UNITS THAT ARE DOING THAT.
AS FAR AS ANY PART OF OUR PROGRAM, PEOPLE CAN APPLY FOR VOUCHERS AND PARTICIPATE IN THAT PROGRAM.
>> THAT'S WHERE I'M GETTING AT IS WHERE WE ARE CHECKS AND BALANCES WHEN IT COMES TO THAT, ARE WE ACTUALLY VERIFYING OR DOING THE MATH DOES THIS EVEN MAKE SENSE? I GET THAT WE WANT TO HELP PEOPLE AND WE WANT TO DO THOSE VOUCHERS.
BUT THIS JUST NOT SEEM WE'RE BEING GOOD STEWARDS OF OUR RESOURCES.
>> WE ALSO THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT.
WE DON'T RUN THE VOUCHER PROGRAM.
>> SURE. BUT WHAT I'M SAYING ON HERE WHERE WE'RE LOOKING AT POTENTIAL RENTAL ASSISTANCE OUT OF THESE FUNDS.
>> TO CLARIFY, THAT'S RESEARCH FROM EXISTING CITIES ON WHAT THEY USE FOR IT.
IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE WERE CONSIDERING TO IMPLEMENT IN THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT IN TERMS OF THE PROGRAMS THAT WE OFFER.
WE WANTED TO SHOWCASE THE WIDE VARIETY OF USES THAT CITIES USE.
AND THEN REFINE THAT THROUGH WHAT WE HEARD THROUGH THE TASK FORCE AND THROUGH OUR OWN PROGRAMS. THAT'S WHERE THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE SPLIT AND WHAT WE DO BETWEEN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A HOME REPAIR NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION COMES IN.
BUT IN TERMS OF SUPPORTIVE SERVICES LIKE THAT, WE DON'T SEE THAT UNDER OUR PURVIEW WITH THIS FUN.
BEFORE WE GO INTO SECOND ROUND, I WILL GO TO COUNCIL MEMBER WEST.
>> THANK YOU. FEW POINTS AND A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
FIRST OF ALL, THIS WAS EXCELLENT RESEARCH.
FOR YOU, THE TEAM HAD PUT THIS TOGETHER OF 44 CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND YOU LAID OUT A COMPLICATED TOPIC AND A VERY CLEAR MANNER.
THIS IS A MODEL FOR FUTURE PRESENTATIONS.
JUST GLOBALLY, FOR SLIDE 20 AND THE SLIDES THAT FOLLOW THAT ON YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS, WHAT WAS THE PRIMARY DECISION FACTOR? WAS THE MOST NEED THAT WE WOULD BE SERVING? WAS IT HOW TO GET THIS PASSED AND KEEP EVERYBODY HAPPY SO EVERYBODY GETS A LITTLE BIT OF SOMETHING? WAS IT THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE TASK FORCE? HOW DID YOU COME UP? WHAT WAS YOUR PRIMARY DECISION FACTOR?
>> IT WAS A LITTLE MIX OF ALL OF THEM.
WE DEFINITELY TOOK THE TASK FORCES OPINION INTO CONSIDERATION VERY STRONGLY.
WE WANTED TO USE THE POLICY AS OUR REAL GUIDING FEATURE.
WHAT'S THE TOP PILLARS OF OUR HOUSING POLICY? ALSO, WE CONSIDER THE FEASIBILITY.
WHAT ARE WE ACTUALLY ABLE TO SPEND FOR SOME OF THESE PROGRAMS RIGHT NOW? WHERE ARE WE GETTING THE MOST USE OUT OF OUR DOLLARS? THAT'S HOW WE FELL TO THE SPLIT.
>> GOT IT. THANK YOU. I ALSO AGREE WITH MY COLLEAGUES ON THE SENIOR HOME REPAIR MILLION DOLLARS.
GLAD TO SEE THAT. ARE WE GOING TO BE STAFFED UP IN TIME TO GET ALL THE MONEY OUT?
>> THANK YOU FOR THAT. WE ENVISION BECAUSE THIS IS A FUND THAT DOESN'T EXPIRE, OUR GENERAL FUNDS.
WE ENVISION ROLLING THAT OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT YEAR, YEAR-AND-A-HALF.
WE'LL DO SUBSEQUENT LOTTERIES WITH THE FOLKS WHO APPLIED RECENTLY.
WE WROTE THAT THEIR APPLICATIONS ARE VALID FOR A YEAR WITH THIS PROGRAM, WE DID THINGS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY IN ORDER TO EXPEDITE IMPLEMENTATION.
WE'LL BE ABLE TO ROLL THIS OUT AND CONTINUE TO SERVE PEOPLE OVER THE COURSE OF THE YEAR.
>> I THINK THAT'S A REALLY GOOD POINT ACTUALLY THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF MONEY IN OUR GENERAL FUNDS THAT EXPIRE.
WE DON'T GET IT OUT BECAUSE WE'RE NOT STAFFED UP AND THAT'S A WHOLE ANOTHER PROBLEM WE CAN TALK ABOUT.
BUT MAYBE RETHINKING, SHIFTING SOME OF OUR FOCUSES FROM SOME FUNDING TO OTHERS LIKE THIS ONE PAYING FOR MORE SENIOR HOME REPAIR BECAUSE WE CAN KEEP IT ROLLING.
SLIDE 11. WHAT WAS THAT SLIDE? SLIDE 11, YOU HAVE A BUNCH OF PRIORITIES HERE.
FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN, SENIORS, I LOVE ALL THE PRIORITIES.
IS IT LEGAL FOR US TO PRIORITIZE GIVING MONEY TO CERTAIN CLASSES OF PEOPLE? I'M NOT SAYING I'M AGAINST IT.
I LIKE THIS, BUT CAN WE LEGALLY DO THIS? OUT OF THIS FUND, I GUESS?
>> GOOD MORNING. KELSEY SALUFO, ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY.
GREAT QUESTION COUNCIL MEMBER,
[01:25:01]
I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO LOOK INTO A LITTLE BIT FURTHER.IN TERMS OF THE DIFFERENT CLASSES, WHERE THERE'RE SPECIFIC CLASSES THAT YOU WERE THINKING OF WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE LEGALITY OF PRIORITIZING, COULD YOU JUST I GUESS?
>> I'D BE CURIOUS ABOUT THE ONES LISTED HERE, FIRST OF ALL, AND THEN ALSO MY COLLEAGUES HAVE EXPRESSED INTEREST IN THE PAST AND PRIORITIZING PUBLIC SAFETY PERSONNEL, TEACHERS, HOSPITAL WORKERS, HELPING THEM GET HOMES AND STAYING IN THE CITY.
I'D LIKE TO KNOW LEGALLY, THIS FUND CAN BE USED FOR THAT.
>> YES. THANK YOU. I THINK THOSE ARE QUESTIONS THAT WE'LL NEED TO LOOK INTO A LITTLE BIT FURTHER.
I DO THINK THAT THERE ARE LEGAL QUESTIONS PRESENTED ARE A LITTLE DIFFERENT DEPENDING ON WHICH ONE OF THESE GROUPS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
I THINK MR. ERICKSON MAY BE ABLE TO SPEAK TO ONE OF OUR OTHER PROGRAMS THAT DOES FOCUS ON CERTAIN GROUPS OF PROFESSIONS.
BUT THAT'S CERTAINLY DIFFERENT FROM THE FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN AND SOME OF THESE OTHER GROUPS.
THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN LOOK INTO COUNCIL MEMBER.
>> I WON'T TAKE ANY TIME WITH THAT TODAY.
I'M FAMILIAR WITH THE OTHER PROGRAMS. WE CAN TALK ABOUT THAT LATER.
THANK YOU. NUMBER 5, WE'VE GOT 4.4 MILLION IN THE FUND.
I KNOW YOU WENT OVER THIS WITH CHAIR BLACKMON BRIEFLY, SLIDE 25 BREAKS DOWN THE ADMINISTRATIVE FEES.
THE 300,000 AND ADMIN FEES, IT'S GOING TO BE COMING OUT OF THE 4.5. YOU SAID THAT.
NOW, WHAT ABOUT THE 10 PERCENT OF FISCAL YEAR 23 FINDS? IS THAT COMING OUT OF THE 4.5 OR IS THAT GOING TO COME OUT OF SOME OTHER POT OF MONEY?
>> IT WOULD HAVE COME OUT OF THE TOTAL YEAR EARNED AT THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR.
IF WE EARNED NO ADDITIONAL DOLLARS RIGHT NOW IN THE FIELD, WOULD COME OUT OF THE 4.4 MILLION.
BUT WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FULL FUND WILL GROW TO BY THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR TO GIVE YOU A PROJECTION OF HOW MUCH THAT WILL BE.
>> I HEARD THAT RIGHT. THAT THE 300 IS COMING OUT OF THE 4.4.
>> IT IS. THAT WAS WRITTEN INTO THE PROGRAM INITIALLY FOR THE INITIAL YEAR STARTUP TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAD STAFFING IN PLACE TO SUPPORT THE INITIATIVES.
>> THANK YOU. DO WE HAVE ANYBODY HERE FROM ZONING OR PLANNING? YES, ANDREA.
I'M GOING TO FOLLOW UP WITH CHAIR MENDELSOHN'S COMMENTS ON RETHINKING LOT SIZES AND USES OF LAND TO HELP WITH HOMEOWNERSHIP.
YOU CAN PROBABLY GUESS, I THINK THAT'S A GREAT IDEA.
WOULD RE-IMAGINING OUR 1950S-ERA ZONING ON SINGLE-FAMILY LOT SIZES HELP US WITH ACHIEVING MORE HOMEOWNERSHIP IN THE CITY OF DALLAS?
>> SHORT ANSWER. YES. LONGER ANSWER.
THERE IS SOME THINGS IN THE CODE RIGHT NOW THAT COULD HELP JUST A LITTLE BIT.
FOR INSTANCE, FOR PLANNING, THERE ARE SOME OPTIONS.
ONE IS CALLED COMMUNITY UNIT DEVELOPMENT, WHERE IF YOU RESERVE A CERTAIN OPEN SPACE, OPEN TO THE COMMUNITY, YOU GET A REDUCTION IN LOT SIZES.
BUT AS LONG AS YOUR MINIMUM LOT SIZE IS STILL BIG, THE REDUCTION IS 25 PERCENT, SO YOU DON'T GET A LOT OF DENSITY.
WE HAVE THE POSSIBILITY OF ADDING ADUS SUBJECT TO BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT APPROVAL.
THERE'S A POSSIBILITY FOR SHARED ACCESS DEVELOPMENT, BUT YOU HAVE TO KEEP THE SAME LOT SIZE SO YOU GAIN A LITTLE BIT BY NARROWER STREETS.
BUT I DON'T KNOW, OTHER THAN THAT, WE DON'T HAVE AS MUCH PROP AREAS OF THE CITY THAT ARE ZONED DUPLEX OR THE TH DISTRICTS.
THEY DON'T REALLY WORK BECAUSE THEY HAVE A DENSITY CAP THAT DOESN'T WORK FOR INFILL DEVELOPMENT.
IT'S A LOT LIKE THE WAY THE CODE IS STRUCTURED IS MORE FOR NEW DEVELOPMENT IN AN UNLIMITED SEA OF OPEN SPACE.
IT'S NOT REALLY WRITTEN TO HELP WITH REDEVELOPMENT, WITH INFILL WITH ALL THE ISSUES THAT THESE TYPE OF DEVELOPMENTS POSSESS.
>> ANDREA, THANK THANK YOU FOR THAT.
DEPUTY TOLBERT, I DO HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU.
OBVIOUSLY, WE'RE HEARING A LOT ABOUT ZONING AND OUR CODE AND A LOT SIZE HERE, WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST US HAVE INDEPENDENT BRIEFING ON HOW WE CAN POTENTIALLY MOVE FORWARD WITH SMALLER LOT SIZES FOR SINGLE DWELLING PROPERTIES?
>> THANK YOU SO MUCH, CHAIR, FOR THE QUESTION, THIS MORNING.
I DO BELIEVE THAT BECAUSE THERE ARE SOME UNIQUE SITUATIONS THAT WERE OFTENTIMES FACED WITH WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT SOME OF THE SMALLER LOTS, I THINK IT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT AS STAFF CONTINUES TO BRING VARIOUS PROGRAMS AND OPTIONS TO YOU THAT IMPACT THOSE SMALLER LOTS THAT WE CAN GET SOME POLICY GUIDANCE FROM THE COUNCIL.
WE COULD PROBABLY DO THAT GOING FORWARD.
AS WE BEGIN TO EVEN WORK AND DEVELOP OUR PLANS GOING INTO 2024, THAT WE HAVE SOME CLEAR DIRECTION SO WE CAN DEFINITELY DO IT.
WE CAN DO IT AS A FULL CITY COUNCIL BRIEFING OR BRING IT BACK TO
[01:30:04]
WHATEVER COMMITTEE I WOULD SAY THE MOST FEASIBLE.THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN DEFINITELY WORK WITH AND DO.
COUNCIL MEMBER WEST, IF YOU WANTED TO WRAP UP SO WE CAN TRY TO GET INTO ROUND 2.
>> ONE MORE QUESTION. THANK YOU, CHAIR, FOR YOUR LENIENCY.
JUST TO END WITH ANDREA, TO MAXIMIZE OUR IMPACT FOR HOME OWNERSHIP ACROSS THE CITY.
JUST ASSUMING THAT FORWARD DALLAS COMMITTEE, CPC IS LISTENING RIGHT NOW, WHAT IS SOMETHING WE COULD DO TO MAXIMIZE ACROSS THE CITY, WHETHER IT'S LOT SIZES, ALLOWANCE OF OTHER TYPES OF USES?
>> FOR NOW WHAT WE'RE ACTIVELY WORKING TOWARDS AS WE ALL KNOW, WE'RE WORKING FOR DALLAS UPDATES.
WE CAN USE THAT AS A POLICY GUIDELINES FOR INFILL DEVELOPMENT AND DIFFERENT LOT SIZES.
THEN WE ALSO HAVE IN THE WORKS FULL DEVELOPMENT CODE REFORM THAT WILL TAKE FEW YEARS.
THERE WILL BE NO PROBABLY FOR SURE WILL BE ONE OF THE BIGGEST GOALS OF THE REFORM WILL BE TO LOOK INTO OBSTACLES TO HOUSING, ALL TYPES OF HOUSING, AND WHAT CAN CODE DO TO HELP.
AGAIN, OTHER THAN WHAT THE CODE HAS RIGHT NOW, I WOULD RECOMMEND AGAINST STARTING DOING MORE CODE AMENDMENTS WILLY-NILLY, UNTIL WE HAVE FOR DALLAS IN PLACE AND WE LOOK AT COMPREHENSIVELY FOR OUR CODE REFORM.
>> MAYOR PRO TEM ARNOLD, HAVE YOU GONE ROUND ONE YET? NO. GO AHEAD.
>> NO. JUST FOLLOWING UP AND LISTENING TO SOME OF THE COMMENTS ABOUT THE SMALLER LOTS.
I THINK IT SOUNDS GOOD, BUT I THINK WE NEED TO ALSO LOOK AT SOME OF THE COMMUNITIES WHERE WE ALREADY HAVE IN PLACE BECAUSE OF PAST PLANNING EFFORTS AND ZONING.
WHERE WE HAVE SMALLER LOTS AND WE HAVE BIGGER PROBLEMS. FOR EXAMPLE, THE BOTTOM IS ONE EXAMPLE THAT WE HAVE BASED ZERO LOSS.
THE CHALLENGE HAS BECOME WITH HOW DO WE PARK? WHAT ABOUT THE RESOURCES IN TERMS OF SANITATION PICKUP? THERE'S A LOT OF CHALLENGES AND YOU HAVE TO HAVE SOME BEST PRACTICES IMPLEMENTED IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO EVALUATE THOSE STEPS THAT YOU'RE TAKING NOW BECAUSE THEY'RE GOING TO IMPACT US GREATLY IN THE FUTURE.
I HAVE A SITUATION AND WHAT WE CALL THE STATE STREETS WHERE WHEN YOU GO THROUGH AND YOU FEEL YOU ARE BASICALLY HYPERVENTILATING BECAUSE YOU ARE ALL CRAMMED IN.
THERE'S NO ACCESS FROM THE BACK.
[BACKGROUND] SOMEONE IS OVER HERE TALKING. I'M SORRY.
[LAUGHTER] THE PROBLEM IS THAT WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT THE SOLUTION THAT WE ARE IDENTIFYING.
THEY DO GENERATE AND PROMOTE SOME LARGER ISSUES.
THEN IT COMES BACK TO THE COUNCIL MEMBER OF THE CITY IN TERMS OF, HOW COULD YOU PUT A SITUATION LIKE THIS IN PLACE WITH NO REAL SOLUTION? I WOULD ENCOURAGE US AS WE TALK ABOUT HOUSING, I LOVE CREATING MORE HOUSING.
BUT LOCKDOWN JUST SET US UP TO SIT AT MY HOUSE AND THEY WERE LOCKED IN A JAIL CELL BECAUSE WE CAN'T WE DON'T HAVE PARKING.
I DON'T CARE IF WE PUT NO NO CARS AND ALL BICYCLES.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE HAVE SANITATION, POLICE AND THOSE SERVICES I WANT TO REMIND US OF IT'S A CHALLENGE.
I DID WANT TO OFFER THOSE COMMUNITIES THAT I HAVE NOW THAT WE'RE WORKING THROUGH THE BOTTOM.
THEN WE HAVE STATE STREETS IN MY DISTRICT.
I KNOW IN PARTICULAR THAT WE JUST DID NOT PLAN OUT CORRECTLY BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE THAT VISION.
I DIDN'T WANT TO PUT THAT ON THE TABLE, THAT WE JUST NOT RUSH INTO IT BECAUSE IT FEELS GOOD.
LET'S GO SEE REALISTICALLY WHAT WE HAVE DONE IN THE PAST HAS REALLY CAUSED US MORE PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES NOW.
THANK YOU AND I LISTED IT AND IF I HAVE TO COMMENT ON THE SECOND ROUND, I WILL, BUT I DO APPRECIATE STAFF WORKING TOWARD IT.
THERE'S NO MAGIC ONE, BUT LET US NOT SET UP OUR SYSTEM FOE FAILURE. THANK YOU.
>> THANK YOU, MADAM MAYOR, PRO TEM FOR YOUR PERSPECTIVE.
WE'LL NOW GO TO CHAIRWOMAN MENDELSOHN.
>> THANK YOU. I GUESS I HAVE TWO THINGS.
MY FIRST ONE IS ABOUT THE MONEY AND SO I'M GOING TO SAY THAT.
THE SECOND THING I WAS GONNA SAY IT'S ABOUT THE WHOLE LOT SIZE ISSUE IS THAT PERHAPS THERE CAN BE AN INTERIM STEP BEFORE WE GET SO FORWARD DALLAS AND THE YEARS AHEAD.
BUT THAT INTERIM STEP COULD PERHAPS BE IF A CITY IS PARTICIPATING, THEN LOT SIZES COULD BE ONE-HALF OR ONE-THIRD OR WHATEVER IS
[01:35:01]
THE APPROPRIATE PERCENTAGE OF WHAT THE CURRENT LOT SIZE IS.MY QUESTION IS ABOUT THIS 4.4 MILLION THAT'S BEEN COLLECTED BACK TO THE ACTUAL BRIEFING HERE.
WHERE DOES THAT MONEY GO? IS THAT GOING THROUGH THE CONTROLLER? IS IT GOING INTO YOUR DEPARTMENT?
IT DOES GO INTO THE CONTROLLER.
BUT WE CONTROL THE FUND AND HOUSING.
>> WHEN YOU SAY YOU CONTROL THE FUND, CAN YOU EXPLAIN TO ME EXACTLY WHAT THAT MEANS?
>> GOOD MORNING, COUNCIL WOMAN. THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION.
CYNTHIA ALIX AND ASSISTANT DIRECTOR IN THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING, THE FUNDS ACTUALLY GO TO THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE TO MANAGE.
WE MANAGE OUR BALANCE AND WE KNOW HOW MUCH FUNDING COMES INTO THE CITY, BUT ALL MONEY GOES TO THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE.
>> NOT ALL MONEY ACTUALLY GOES TO THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE.
IS THAT INCLUDED THEN IN OUR AUDIT SCOPE?
>> WHERE WOULD WE FIND IT REPORTED?
>> WE HAD THIS CONVERSATION THE LAST TIME WE TALKED ABOUT MIHDB, DIRECTOR WIEDEN IS WORKING ON A REPORT TO PROVIDE GRANTS, TRUSTS, AND OTHER FUNDING.
>> WE DID TALK ABOUT IT BECAUSE EVERY SINGLE TIME I ASK ABOUT IT AND I'VE YET TO GET AN ANSWER ON WHERE I CAN FIND ALL OF THIS INFORMATION.
>> JUST TO ADD TO THAT, WE ARE INCLUDING THE BALANCE ON OUR PERFORMANCE MEASURES REPORT THAT WE DO IN QUARTERLY, I BELIEVE.
>> WELL, I HAVEN'T SEEN THAT. FOR YOU TO SPEND IS THAT ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION? IS THAT CITY COUNCIL ACTION ISN'T INCLUDED IN OUR BUDGET? I MEAN, ARE YOU USING IT? I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY SOME OF THIS IS TO OFFSET PERSONNEL.
>> IT DEPENDS ON THE AMOUNT AS ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION ALLOWS US UP TO $100,000, ANYTHING OVER THAT HAS TO COME TO COUNCIL FOR A CONTRACT.
FOR INSTANCE, DEVELOPMENT CONTRACTS ALL COME TO COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL.
ANYTHING ADMINISTRATIVE IS INTERNAL, SO WE SPEND THAT AS WE WOULD FOR SALARIES AND OTHER THINGS WITHOUT DOING AN ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION.
IT'S AN EXPENDITURE TO THE CITY.
>> HAVE YOU SPENT ANY OF IT BEFORE?
>> THE SENIOR YEAR CONTRACTS WOULDN'T COME TO COUNCIL.
THOSE ARE $10,000 CONTRACTS, BUT THE DEVELOPMENT CONTRACTS WOULD COME TO COUNCIL.
>> HAVE YOU SPENT ANY OF THE 4.4 MILLION SO FAR?
>> WE HAVE JV FOR STAFF COSTS.
WE SPEND OUT OF OUR GENERAL FUND WHERE OUR STAFF SIT AS A WHOLE AND THEN WE REIMBURSE THE GENERAL FUND IN A JV SYSTEM.
>> I DON'T HAVE THAT EXACT NUMBER FOR YOU.
IT'S ONLY ONE STAFF PERSON THAT WE HAVE AT THIS TIME.
>> WELL, I'M STILL LOOKING TO FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THAT. THANK YOU.
>> JUST QUICKLY, WHEN THE CITY WAS SETTING UP THIS PROGRAM TO RECEIVE VLU PAYMENTS, THE FIRST APPLICANT, CRESCENT REALTY, HAD GREAT DIFFICULTY IN FINDING A WAY TO GIVE THE CITY THIS $4.4 MILLION BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T HAVE THE PROCEDURE SETUP.
IS THAT ALL SET UP NOW SO THAT IT WILL BE SMOOTH SAILING FOR THE NEXT APPLICANT?
WE'VE HAD FOUR TRANSACTIONS TODAY ON VLU AND MULTIPLE THROUGH THE ON-SITE.
THE FIRST ONE WE HAD A PROCEDURE IN PLACE, THE FIRST RUN THROUGH IT ALL MAKING SURE THAT STAFF AND OTHER DEPARTMENTS WERE ALL READY TO GO AND TRAINING.
I TOOK LONGER, BUT EVERYTHING HAS BEEN WORKED OUT AT THIS POINT.
>> NO. ANYBODY IN THE VIRTUAL WORLD FOR A SECOND ROUND? I DON'T SEE ANYONE. ALL RIGHT, GUYS.
THANK YOU-ALL SO MUCH FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
WE WILL GO AHEAD AND MOVE ON TO OUR LAST BRIEFING ITEM C.
[01:40:18]
>> GOOD MORNING, CHAIR, COMMITTEE MEMBERS, CHRISTINE CROSSLEY, DIRECTOR OFFICE OF HOMELESS SOLUTIONS.
TODAY WE ARE HERE TO GO OVER THE CONTINUED PROGRESS OF THE HOMELESS ACTION RESPONSE TEAM OR HART, APPROVED AS A 2.5 MILLION DOLLAR MULTI DEPARTMENTAL HOMELESSNESS CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM BY CITY COUNCIL IN THE FISCAL YEAR 2022-2023 GENERAL FUND BUDGET IN SEPTEMBER OF 2023.
WITH A RAMP UP PERIOD OF OCTOBER THROUGH NOVEMBER OF 2022, HART CAME FULLY ONLINE IN DECEMBER OF 2022.
OVER THE PAST FOUR MONTHS, THE TEAM HAS BEEN EXTREMELY BUSY. LAST SLIDE, PLEASE.
TODAY THE DEPARTMENTS COMPRISING HART ARE HERE TO GIVE A DETAILED BREAKDOWN OF EACH COMPONENT; OUR ANTICIPATED GOALS, PERFORMANCE MEASURES TO DATE.
NEXT STEPS BASED ON OBSERVATIONS OF OUR OPERATIONS THUS FAR AND THE WAYS IN WHICH WE CAN FINE TUNE THEM AND HARNESS DATA TO INCREASE OUR EFFICIENCY. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
AS STATED, THE H.A.R.T TEAM WAS APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IN THE FISCAL YEAR 22, 23 GENERAL FUND BUDGET.
H.A.R.T IS DESIGNED TO EXPAND THE CITY'S OUTREACH FOOTPRINT TO MORE QUICKLY AMELIORATE EXTREMELY UNSAFE ENCHANTMENTS BY RESPONDING WITHIN 24-48 HOURS OR 1-2 BUSINESS DAYS AND RESOLVING ISSUES WITHIN 10 BUSINESS DAYS.
THE PROGRAM IS COMPRISED OF TWO UNITS, WHICH IS TWO TEAMS IN SHIFT WORK, KNOWN AS THE PRIMARY TEAM OPERATING IN SHIFTS, GUARANTEEING FULL COVERAGE FOR ALL CITY COUNCIL DISTRICTS FROM MONDAY TO SATURDAY, 08:00 A.M. TO 07:00 P.M.
THESE ARE SUPPLEMENTED BY ANCILLARY TEAMS, DEPARTMENTS AS NEEDED, KNOWN AS THE SECONDARY TEAM. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
HERE WE SEE THE PRIMARY TEAM DEPARTMENTS WHO ARE PRESENTING HERE TODAY.
THESE COMPRISE THE TWO UNITS THAT COVER ALL CITY COUNCIL DISTRICTS FROM MONDAY TO SATURDAY, 08:00 A.M. TO 07:00 P.M.
THE SECONDARY TEAMS ARE EQUALLY AVAILABLE AS NEEDED BY THE PRIMARY H.A.R.T TEAM, BUT DO NOT CONSISTENTLY ACCOMPANY THE MAIN TEAMS AT ALL TIME.
THE EXCEPTION TO THIS IS THE MOBILE CRISIS TEAM, WHO DOES REGULARLY ACCOMPANY THE PRIMARY TEAM, BUT ALSO WORKS WITH THE LARGER OFFICE OF INTEGRATED PUBLIC SAFETY AND SOLUTIONS AS NEEDED.
NEXT SLIDE. THE OHS PORTION OF THE TEAM AND LARGER PRIMARY UNITS ARE SPLIT INTO TWO TEAMS PLACED IN A NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN LOCATION THROUGHOUT EACH WEEK TO ENSURE EQUITABLE AND QUICK ACCESS TO ALL DISTRICTS.
OUR PERFORMANCE MEASURES ARE THE NUMBER OF SERVICE REQUESTS CLOSED WITHIN 10 DAYS.
NUMBER OF SERVICE REQUESTS PENDING CLOSING, THE NUMBER OF MCC REQUESTS TO RECEIVE PER WEEK, THE NUMBER OF ENCHANTMENTS VISITED, NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS ENGAGED, NUMBER OF HMIS ENTRIES, AND NUMBER OF ILLEGAL SOLICITATION VIOLATIONS ENGAGED.
THE OHS STAFF POSITIONS CONSIST OF ONE SUPERVISOR AND SIX OUTREACH STAFF, ALL OF WHICH ARE FILLED AND THREE TRUCKS FOR TRANSPORTATION.
THE OHS PORTION OF THE 2.5 MILLION DOLLAR BUDGET APPROVED BY CITY COUNCIL WAS 644,968,000 WITH AN ESTIMATED 300,950 INCURRED TO DATE.
NOW I WILL HAND THE PRESENTATION TO THE CODE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR JEREMY REED, WHO WILL OUTLINE CODE COMPLIANCE PORTION OF THE TEAM.
>> GOOD MORNING, COUNCIL MEMBERS. JEREMY REED, CODE COMPLIANCE SYSTEM DIRECTOR.
I'LL JUST GO BRIEFLY OVER THE H.A.R.T TEAM AS IT RELATES TO CODE COMPLIANCE IS ABATEMENT TEAM AS WELL AS TALK ABOUT THE NEW PILOT PROGRAM, THE LRT LITTER REMOVAL TEAM, AND HOW IT RELATES TO HOMELESSNESS.
FOR THE H.A.R.T TEAM, WE HAVE HEAVY EQUIPMENT AND LABOR STAFF AND EQUIPMENT OPERATORS WHO GO IN RESPONSE TO OHS'S H.A.R.T REFERRALS AND WE WILL GO AND SCHEDULE ABATEMENTS AND [NOISE] DECOMMISIONS.
WE'RE ACTUALLY PICKING UP THE LITTER, PICKING UP THE TRASH, CLOSING UP THE ACTUAL LOCATION AND TAKING THAT MATERIAL TO THE DUMP.
THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES FOR THIS TEAM ARE THAT THEY RESPOND TO AND ABATE THE PROPERTIES ON PRIVATE PROPERTY WITHIN SEVEN DAYS, ALTHOUGH IT'S USUALLY QUICKER THAN THAT.
THEN ON PUBLIC PROPERTIES THAT WE RESPOND AND DEBATE THOSE PROPERTIES WITHIN 48 HOURS.
NOW, FOR THE LITTLE REMOVAL TEAM, AS I MENTIONED, IT'S A PILOT PROGRAM THAT WAS NOT FUNDED IN THIS LAST YEAR'S BUDGET.
IT WAS JUST DESIGNED TO FILL IN SOME OF THE GAPS IN OUR PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY AND THE LITTER THAT COMES A LOT OF TIMES AUXILIARY TO PANHANDLING,
[01:45:06]
SOMETIMES HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT, SOMETIMES JUST ILLEGAL DUMPING AND BLOWN TRASH.THIS TEAM GOES AROUND PROACTIVELY FIVE DAYS A WEEK ON IN ALL SEVEN OF OUR CODE DISTRICTS, MOSTLY MAJOR THOROUGHFARES, BRIDGES, OVERPASSES, UNDERPASSES AND JUST PICKS UP LITTER.
THAT'S NOT A PART OF THE H.A.R.T TEAM PER SE, BUT IT IS A LOT OF TIMES ADDRESSING SOME OF WHAT VISUALLY WE SEE AS A REMNANT OF HOMELESS ACTIVITY AS WELL.
NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. FOR THE STAFFING AND EQUIPMENT, THE H.A.R.T ABATEMENT TEAM HAS A COMBO ROTO BOOM TRUCK, THAT'S THE BIG TRUCK WITH THE ARM THAT TAKES THE MATERIAL TO THE DUMP, A FF50 HEAVY-DUTY TRAILER, AND A BOBCAT, AS WELL AS THE REAR LOADED TRASH TRUCK, AND THIS HAS EIGHT FUNDED POSITIONS.
THE LITTER REMOVAL TEAM AGAIN, APOLOGIZE.
I HAVE A QUICK UPDATE ON SOME OF THESE NUMBERS WE ACTUALLY HAVE FOR RENTAL TRUCKS AND TWO CITY TRUCKS FOR A TOTAL OF SIX OPERABLE TEAMS AT THE MOMENT, WHICH IS 12 TEMPORARY STAFF AND A CITY STAFF.
I APOLOGIZE FOR THE UPDATE NUMBERS THERE.
FOR THE BUDGET WHAT THAT HAS LOOKED LIKE FOR CODE.
THE H.A.R.T TEAM WAS GIVEN ABOUT $700,000 FOR THE CODE ABATEMENT TEAM.
WE HAVE HERE A TOTAL ESTIMATED INCURRED TO DATE ABOUT 660.
THAT INCLUDES 100,000, WHICH WAS A ADDITIONAL THAT CAME OUT OF CODES BUDGET NOT BUDGETED FROM LAST YEAR.
THAT WAS BECAUSE OF A AN UPDATE TO OUR EQUIPMENT COST.
NOW, WHILE THAT COST HAS ALREADY BEEN SPENT AND ENCUMBERED FOR ALL OF OUR EQUIPMENT.
WE ARE STILL WAITING UNTIL NEXT FISCAL YEAR ESTIMATED TO GET ALL OF THAT EQUIPMENT IN BECAUSE OF SUPPLY CHAIN AND EQUIPMENT PRODUCTION ISSUES.
NEVERTHELESS, OUR HEAVY CLEAN TEAM THAT ALREADY HAS BEEN HISTORICALLY ABATING PRIVATE PROPERTIES WHEN CODE COMPLIANCE NEEDS TO REFER TO OUR INTERNAL NUISANCE ABATEMENT TEAM.
THAT TEAM IS WHAT SUPPLEMENTING THE H.A.R.T ABATEMENT TEAMS NEEDS AND SO WE WORK CLOSELY WITH OHS TO SCHEDULE THOSE AS NEEDED AND WORK AS FLEXIBLY AS WE CAN UNTIL WE GET THE FULL EQUIPMENT ONLINE.
THEN AGAIN, THE LITTER REMOVAL TEAM HAS INCURRED A COST OF BETWEEN $40 AND 50,000 THAT THE DEPARTMENT IS ABSORBING CURRENTLY WITH THIS PILOT PROGRAM TO JUST HELP WITH THE LITTER THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
AT THIS TIME, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO CHIEF PUGH'S.
>> DAVID PUGH'S, DALLAS CITY MARSHAL.
THE MAIN GOAL OF THE MARSHALS ASSIGNED TO THE H.A.R.T TEAM ARE TO MAINTAIN THE SAFETY AND SECURITY FOR EVERYONE THAT IS ON-SITE AT A LOCATION IN WHICH THE H.A.R.T TEAM RESPONDS TO.
WE HAVE ONE UNIFORM MARSHAL, DEDICATED TO THE NORTH TEAM FULL-TIME AND ONE TO THE SOUTH TEAM FULL-TIME.
THEY BOTH OPERATE IN FULLY-MARKED MARSHAL'S VEHICLES TO INCREASE THE PRESENCE AND ENCOURAGE INDIVIDUALS TO COMPLY WITH EVERYTHING THAT IS REQUESTED BY THE H.A.R.T TEAM.
PRIOR TO THE CREATION OF THE H.A.R.T TEAM, OHS CODE AND THE MARSHALS ENCOUNTERED RESISTANCE AND AT ONE LOCATION, ARM ACTIVISTS TRYING TO PREVENT THE CITY FROM DOING THEIR JOB AND CLEANING UP AN ENCAMPMENT.
A STRATEGIC OPERATIONAL PLAN WAS DEVELOPED IN COLLABORATION BETWEEN OHS, THE MARSHALS AND THE DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT.
IT'S HIGHLIGHTED IN THIS SLIDE WHERE WE TALK ABOUT A TIER 1 RESPONSE BASED ON THE INFORMATION THAT WE HAVE OBTAINED PRIOR TO ACTUALLY GO INTO THE LOCATION.
THAT'S THE ONE THAT WE UTILIZE MOST COMMONLY.
A TIER 2 IS WE'VE DEVELOPED SOME GREATER INTELLIGENCE THAT THERE COULD BE PROBLEMS AT THE LOCATION OF A VARYING LEVELS.
WE DID RECENTLY UTILIZE THE TIER 2 RESPONSE WHEN WE DID THE LOCATION AT THE HICKORY, BAYLOR AND DAWSON SITE.
IT WAS A VERY LARGE CLEAN-UP SITE.
WE HAD INFORMATION THAT THERE COULD BE PROBLEMS FOR NOT ONLY THE CITY EMPLOYEES THAT WERE TRYING TO DO WORK AT THE ENCAMPMENT, BUT SOME OF THE OTHER PEOPLE THAT WERE IN AND AROUND THE ENCAMPMENT AND SO WE DID ACTIVATE THE TIER 2 PLAN.
IT WENT VERY WELL. WE HAD NO PROBLEMS. WE ENDED UP MAKING ONE ARREST FOR AN INDIVIDUAL THAT HAD A WARRANT OUT FOR FAMILY VIOLENCE.
BUT OTHER THAN THAT, THERE WAS NO ISSUES.
WE'VE ONLY AS WE STOOD UP THESE H.A.R.T TEAMS, THE MARSHALS HAVE ENCOUNTERED AND TALKED TO ABOUT 200 DIFFERENT PEOPLE AT THESE SITES.
NO ISSUES, NO PROBLEMS, NO CITATIONS.
IT'S BEEN VERY PEACEFUL AND IT'S WORKING OUT ACCORDING TO THE PLAN.
THE TIER 3 ENCAMPMENT ENCLOSURE IS ONE THAT WE PUT IN PLACE IN CASE WE
[01:50:05]
HAVE ENCOUNTER SOME RESISTANCE OR ARMED ACTIVISTS LIKE WE DID PREVIOUSLY AT THE COOMBS LOCATION.I DON'T ANTICIPATE ENCOUNTERING THAT LEVEL OF RESPONSE.
I THINK THAT WHAT WE'VE DEMONSTRATED THROUGH THE H.A.R.T TEAM AND THROUGH THE VARIOUS IN CABINET CLEAN-UPS AND CLOSURES THAT WE'VE DONE HAS SHOWN THE PEOPLE THAT WE DO THIS IN A VERY STRATEGIC, COMPASSIONATE WAY.
THEREFORE, THE LEVEL OF RESISTANCE THAT WE WERE SEEING PRIOR TO WHAT WE'RE SEEING NOW IS NOT OCCURRING.
I THINK AS AS THEY CONTINUE TO SEE HOW WE DEAL WITH THIS IN A PROFESSIONAL-MANAGED OPERATION WE'LL CONTINUE TO SEE LOW LEVELS OF RESPONSE BY THE MARSHALS AND DPD AND THE H.A.R.T TEAM.
PART OF THE COMPASSIONATE RESPONSE INCLUDES IN BRINGING DALLAS ANIMAL SERVICES ON BOARD AS PART OF THE H.A.R.T TEAM.
WITH THAT, I'LL KICK IT OVER TO PAUL TO TALK ABOUT THEIR ROLE.
>> THANK YOU, G. PUGH'S. GOOD MORNING [NOISE] AS PART OF THE H.A.R.T TEAM, DALLAS ANIMAL SERVICES RESPONSE TO ANIMAL ISSUES RELATED TO HOMELESSNESS WITH TWO TEAMS. THOSE TWO TEAMS ARE MADE UP OF TWO FULL-TIME FTE EMPLOYEES.
THEY ARE ANIMALS SERVICES OFFICERS, ONE FOR THE NORTH AND ONE FOR THE SOUTH.
H.A.R.T HAS THIS SITE'S SECURITY AND ANIMAL WELFARE ASSESSMENT ARM IN DALLAS ANIMAL SERVICES.
THESE TEAMS WERE FUNDED, OF COURSE, IN OCTOBER, WE WANTED TO ENSURE THAT WE GOT THE TEAM ON THE GROUND RUNNING AND READY TO GO SO THAT WE PROVIDED TWO CURRENT SEASONED OFFICERS WHO ARE ALREADY TRAINED AND CERTIFIED ALONG WITH THE NECESSARY TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT.
WE PROVIDE WELFARE ASSISTANCE TO THE ENCAMPMENT SITES REFERRED TO THE H.A.R.T TEAM.
THE DAS TEAM HAS PROVIDED SITE SECURITY-RELATED TO LOOSE STRAYS AND LOOSED-OWNED ANIMALS.
ALSO, THROUGH THEIR ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS, THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO ASSESS THE NEEDS OF IN THOSE ENCAMPMENTS RELATED TO FOODS, BLANKETS, LEADS, COLLARS, TOYS, IN SOME INSTANCES.
EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS ON HOW TO BE A RESPONSIBLE PET OWNER AND POSSIBLE INFORMATION FOR SUBSIDIZE ASSISTANCE RELATED TO SPAY, NEUTER AND VACCINATIONS.
WE ALSO PROVIDE CRATES IF POSSIBLE, SO THAT IF THE NEED BE AND THE INDIVIDUALS NEED TO BE TRANSPORTED FROM ONE AREA TO ANOTHER, THEY CAN SAFELY DO SO WITH THEIR ANIMALS.
THE DAS HART TEAM WAS ALLOCATED OVER $276,000, SO FAR THIS YEAR, IT IS INCURRED TO DATE LITTLE OVER 120.
WITH THAT, I WILL TURN THE PRESENTATION OVER TO DIRECTOR ODIN.
>> THANK YOU, KEVIN ODIN, DIRECTOR OF INTEGRATED PUBLIC SAFETY.
IT'S AN HONOR TO BE BACK IN FRONT OF THIS BODY.
OUR MOBILE CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM SUPPORTS THE HART MISSION BY PROVIDING ENGAGEMENT ASSESSMENT, DE-ESCALATION, AND REFERRALS TO MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES ON DEPLOYMENTS.
PRIOR TO TODAY, WE HAD HAD TWO MEMBERS OF OUR RESPONSE TEAM DEDICATED TO SUPPORT AN AD HOC CAPACITY, BUT I'M HAPPY TO TELL THE COMMITTEE TODAY THAT WE ARE FULLY STAFFED AND OPERATING WITH BOTH THE NORTH AND SOUTH TEAM ON ALL HART DEPLOYMENTS.
OUR GREATEST SUPPORT IS REALLY GIVEN TO THE MARSHALS AND TO DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT, IN DOING BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ASSESSMENTS OF INDIVIDUALS THAT MAY OR MAY NOT BE A THREAT TO THEMSELVES OR OTHERS, AND DETERMINING IF AN EMERGENCY DETENTION IS NEEDED, OR IF OTHER TYPES OF CARE WOULD BE THE BEST INAPPROPRIATE SITUATION FOR AN INDIVIDUAL WE ENGAGE WITH.
TO BE THE LAW ALLOWS FOR CREDIBLE INDIVIDUALS, IN THIS CASE, MOBILE CRISIS WORKERS TO DO THAT ASSESSMENT, AND THEN TO PASS ALONG WHAT THEY FIND IN THAT ASSESSMENT TO LAW ENFORCEMENT, WE THINK THAT ALLOWS FOR BETTER OUTCOMES FOR THOSE CASES.
OUR PROGRAM COST TODAY WE'VE ACCUMULATED ABOUT HALF OF OUR BUDGET.
WE ARE AWAITING THE RECEIPT OF TWO VEHICLES FOR OUR STAFF, AND THAT WILL TAKE OUT THE REST OF OUR BUDGET.
BUT WE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THIS PROGRAM AND ARE EXCITED ABOUT THE POTENTIAL THAT IT STILL HAS TO ACHIEVE.
I'LL PASS IT BACK TO DIRECTOR CROSSLY.
>> THANK YOU, KEVIN, WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
THIS IS JUST TO GO OVER THE GOALS THAT WE SET FOR OURSELVES AS THE HART TEAM UPON APPROVAL OF THE TEAM.
THE ANTICIPATED GOALS ARE TO INCREASE SAFETY BY ADDRESSING THE EMERGENCY SERVICE REQUESTS, RESULTING IN FEWER REQUESTS FOR ASSISTANCE AS THE NEED DECREASES.
A REDUCTION OF PEOPLE IN CRISIS, AN INCREMENT IN ENROLLMENTS INTO THE COORDINATED ACCESS SYSTEM,
[01:55:03]
AND HOMELESSNESS MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR THOSE WHO ARE UNSHELTERED.WHICH THEN PUTS THEM ON A PATHWAY TO HOUSING, WHICH INCREASES OPPORTUNITIES FOR HOUSING.
A DECREASE IN ILLEGAL SOLICITATION AT HOTSPOTS, WHICH AGAIN, WE KNOW IS A COMBINATION OF FOLKS WHO ARE HOUSED AND LOOKING FOR INCREASED STABILITY, AND FOLKS WHO ARE UNHOUSED.
BOTH OF WHICH CAN BE HELPED IN WAYS THAT ARE NOT ILLEGAL SOLICITATION.
POSTED SIGNAGE AND MORE ENFORCEMENT, AND THEN APPROPRIATE REFERRALS AS NEEDED FOR VARIOUS TYPES OF TREATMENT.
WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, THESE ARE THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES I MENTIONED IN AN EARLIER SLIDE.
SINCE COMING FULLY ONLINE IN DECEMBER OF 2022, THE TEAM HAS CLOSED 143 SERVICE REQUESTS WITHIN 10 DAYS, VISITED 110 ENCAMPMENTS, CLEANED 94 LOCATIONS, ENGAGED 210 INDIVIDUALS, ENGAGED 42 PANHANDLERS, WHICH INCLUDES ILLEGAL SOLICITATION, ENTERED 189 PEOPLE INTO THE HOMELESSNESS MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM.
DONATED 67 POUNDS OF FOOD TO UNSHELTERED PETS, NEUTERED OR SPRAYED FIVE PETS, TRANSPORTED EIGHT ANIMALS TO DALLAS ANIMAL SERVICES, AND ASSISTED 37 PETS.
NOW AS A PART OF OUR NEXT STEPS, I'M GOING TO TRANSFER IT BACK TO YOU, DIRECTOR ODIN, WHO WILL TAKE US THROUGH THE PROPOSED TWEAKING OF HART'S DATA-DRIVEN RESPONSE SYSTEM TO INCREASE OUR EFFICIENCY AND EQUITABILITY ACROSS THE CITY.
>> THANK YOU, MA'AM, AS MANY OF YOU ON THE PUBLIC SAFETY OR MAY FOLLOW THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE ARE AWARE, DATA INFORMED COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT OR DICE IS THE MODEL THAT WE FOLLOW FOR TACKLING HIGH-RISK CHALLENGES AT PROPERTIES.
IN OUR CONTEXT TRADITIONALLY, THAT IS CRIME PREVENTION, WE'RE AT A POINT NOW THAT WE BELIEVE THAT WE CAN TAKE THE RISK TERRAIN MODEL, AND WHAT COMES OUT OF THAT AND RUN THAT AGAINST SERVICE REQUEST, EITHER GENERAL CODE OR HOMELESS CAMPS.
WHAT THAT WILL ALLOW US TO DO IS FOCUS ON THE PROPERTY TYPES THAT ARE ATTRACTORS, FOR RISK AND LESS ABOUT THE ACTUAL PERSONS.
BUT IF THERE ARE SUPPLY LINES THAT ARE COMING IN THAT WHEN WE MAYBE CLEAN UP A CAMP AND IT CONTINUES TO PERSIST, THERE'S A REASON WHY THAT OCCURS.
DICE IS AN INTENTIONAL PROCESS FOR DIAGNOSING THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT, AND UNDERSTANDING WHY RISK OCCURS IN AN AREA.
WE WILL BE OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS PUTTING TOGETHER INTERVENTIONS, THAT WILL TAKE ON THIS CHALLENGE IN THE HOMELESS AS WELL AS SERVICE REQUESTS SPACE FOR CODE.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO PROVIDING NOT ONLY THE MAPPING AND THE DATA BEHIND THE RISK TERRAIN MODEL, BUT ALSO WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT IN THE FIELD? WE BELIEVE THAT THAT WILL ALLOW FOR BETTER MEASUREMENTS, BETTER OUTPUTS, AS WELL AS CLOSING THE LOOP ON ISSUES THAT HAVE BEEN HABITUAL IN CERTAIN PARTS OF THE CITY.
THAT IS OUR PLAN FOR DICE, WE LOOK FORWARD TO BRINGING THAT INTERVENTION SET TO THIS COMMITTEE WHEN WE RETURN FOR THE NEXT UPDATE.
>> OUR LAST SLIDE HERE, ADDITIONAL NEXT STEPS, WHICH INCLUDE THE PROPOSED TIMELINE FOR DICE IMPLEMENTATION AND ENGAGEMENT.
AS KEVIN MENTIONED, OUR NEXT PROGRESS REPORT TO THE HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS SOLUTIONS COMMITTEE WILL BE IN JUNE OF THIS YEAR.
AT THIS JUNCTURE, I'D LIKE TO TURN IT BACK OVER TO THE CHAIR AND WE'RE AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS.
>> THANK YOU. WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED WITH COUNCIL MEMBER RIDLEY, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS?
>> THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR, FIRST OF ALL, I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU ALL.
I HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO INTERACT WITH HART NOW QUITE A BIT AND THEY ARE OUTSTANDING.
THEY ACTUALLY DID AN IMPROMPTU PRESENTATION TO OUR COMMUNITY MEETING, AND THEY WERE FANTASTIC.
I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL AND ALL OF YOUR TEAMS FOR THIS.
I THINK IT'S A TREMENDOUS MODEL.
WELL, THE DICE BECAUSE I'M NOT ON PUBLIC SAFETY SO I WANT TO UNDERSTAND IT A LITTLE BIT MORE.
THE DICE INCLUDES ALL THE WORK THAT HART IS DOING.
>> YES, MA'AM. WE WILL ADAPT THE MODEL AWAY FROM A PUBLIC SAFETY LENS AND TOWARDS A SERVICE REQUEST-BASED LENS THROUGH OUR INTERVENTIONS THAT WE CAN DO.
>> THAT IS FANTASTIC, THEN I JUST WANT TO ALSO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'VE MENTIONED THAT GREAT SUCCESS WITH 189 NUMBER AND THE HMIS SYSTEM.
THAT MEANS THAT THE STAFF IS TRAINED AND WORKING WITH THEM ON TRYING TO ACHIEVE HOUSING. IS THAT CORRECT?
>> THAT'S CORRECT, IN THIS CASE, WHAT WE REALLY WANTED WAS FOR THIS TEAM TO ALLOW OUR OUTREACH WORKERS TO HAVE THE FULL SPACE,
[02:00:01]
TO BE HOUSING READINESS FOCUSED.SO THAT THEY'RE NOT HAVING TO DO MULTIPLE JOBS, BUT THEY HAVE THE SAFE SPACE TO GO OUT, AND DO THE INTERVIEWS THAT PUT PEOPLE INTO THE SYSTEM, GET THEM CONNECTED TO PATHWAYS TO HOUSING.
WHEREAS WHEN THEY'RE ANSWERING SERVICE REQUESTS ON THEIR OWN, THEN THERE ARE ONLY TWO PEOPLE.
YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE THE CAPACITY TO DO THAT EVERY SINGLE TIME.
>> EXACTLY, THANK YOU. THEN MY FINAL QUESTION, IF I MAY, IS ABOUT THE LITTER.
I THINK IT WOULD BE GREAT AS SINCE THIS IS A PILOT TO HAVE AN OVERALL, IT'S NOT JUST HOMELESSNESS ORIENTED.
I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE IF WE COULD SOME MEMO OR SOMETHING TO UNDERSTAND THAT SO WE DON'T GO DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE HERE.
BUT AGAIN, I WANT TO COMMEND YOU BECAUSE EVERY SINGLE TIME YOU ALL HAVE BEEN TREMENDOUSLY RESPONSIVE AND I APPRECIATE IT VERY MUCH AND SO DO THE RESIDENTS.
>> HI. THANK YOU AND I WANT TO ALSO ECHO WHAT MICHELLE ALSO SAID ABOUT THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE.
IT'S NOT EASY AND I DO APPRECIATE IT.
BUT ONE QUESTION I HAVE IS, DO WE HAVE A SUCCESS RATE GOING FROM THESE ENCHANTMENTS INTO HOUSING? OR DO YOU TRACK THAT? OR MAYBE I MISSED, BECAUSE I POPPED IT OUT FOR A MOMENT.
>> THE SUCCESS RATE FOR US BECAUSE OUR SYSTEM IS STILL GETTING TO THE POINT WHERE WE CAN AUTOMATICALLY HOW SOMEONE, AS SOON AS WE ENGAGE WITH THEM, WE'RE NOT THERE YET.
FOR ME THAT IS WHAT SUCCESSFUL LOOK LIKE IN THE LARGER SCALE.
IT'S GETTING THEM INTO THE DATABASES CASS AND HMIS THAT WILL GET THEM TO HOUSING, SO THOSE ARE THINGS THAT WE'RE CHECKING UP ON, BUT WITH FOUR MONTHS OF DATA, I DON'T HAVE THAT YET RIGHT NOW.
WE'RE JUST TRACKING NUMBERS ENGAGED.
BUT I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO PLUG IN AS WE'RE MOVING FORWARD WITH THIS MORE SOPHISTICATED SYSTEM, SO THAT WHAT YOU'RE SEEING IS NOT JUST A TABLE OF NUMBERS, BUT MORE DYNAMIC MAP WITH MORE EQUITABLE RESULTS.
>> WELL, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT SUCCESS IS [OVERLAPPING].
DO YOU HAVE A PLAN OF WHEN WE WILL SEE THAT METRIC?
>> I DON'T AT THIS POINT, I THINK WE CAN ENTER IT AND KEEP TRACK OF THOSE FOLKS.
BECAUSE THAT IS SOMETHING THAT OUR ENTIRE HOMELESSNESS SYSTEM IS SHIFTING TOWARDS A MORE HOUSING ORIENTED OR HOUSING READINESS FOCUSED STREET OUTREACH.
JUST LIKE THE PEOPLE, JUST LIKE OUR STREET OUTREACH STAFF AND HEART ARE. IT'S HAPPENING.
I DON'T HAVE A SPECIFIC DATE IN MIND, BUT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE GOING TO BE TRACKING.
I WOULD EXPECT THAT IN JUNE YOU WILL SEE THOSE NUMBERS.
>> GREAT. BECAUSE I WOULD LIKE TO SEE BECAUSE THAT IS, IF YOU WANT MORE RESOURCES THAN THAT IS A METRIC I THINK THAT IS KEY TO HAVE IS TO SHOW THE SUCCESS RATE AND IF SUCCESS IS GETTING THEM HOUSE, THEN WE NEED TO KNOW THAT, SO THOSE ARE JUST MY THOUGHTS. THANK YOU.
>> WE'LL LEAVE IT TO ME TO ASK SOME UNPOPULAR QUESTIONS.
THERE'S AN ASSUMPTION HERE THAT EVERYBODY WANTS HOUSING.
HAVE YOU ENCOUNTERED ANYBODY WHO DOES NOT?
>> AS I'VE SAID BEFORE, NOT EVERYBODY WANTS HOUSING ON THE FIRST GO, SO WE DO HAVE INDIVIDUALS WE MEET WHO ARE REFUSING SERVICE, BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THEY WON'T WANT IT DOWN THE LINE.
IT'S A SMALL WORLD AND WE SEE THEM ALL THE TIME.
THIS IS JUST THE START OF THE CONVERSATION FOR MANY.
>> THAT'S THE DESIRE FOR HOUSING.
WHAT ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO ARE ACTUALLY NOT ELIGIBLE FOR HOUSING? MEANING, YOU HAVE BEEN RELEASED AFTER INCARCERATION FOR OUR VIOLENT FELONY.
NONE OF OUR APARTMENTS ARE GOING TO TAKE YOU.
>> THAT WOULD GO TO ONE OF OUR PARTNERS LIKE THE LIVING ROOM WHO DOES WORK WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE VERY FRESHLY POST INCARCERATION.
>> EVEN IF YOU ARE MULTIPLE YEARS FROM INCARCERATION FOR A VIOLENT FELONY, ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT WE HAVE APARTMENTS THAT ARE TAKING THAT BECAUSE I THINK WE DON'T?
>> THAT'S CALLED LOW BARRIER HOUSING, WHICH IS A BEST PRACTICE FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
YES, WE DO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE ARE ALWAYS HOUSING OPTIONS AVAILABLE FOR PEOPLE DEPENDING ON THE BACKGROUND CHECKS AND WHAT'S BEEN DONE YEARS IN THE PAST.
NOW SOMEONE JUST CAME OUT OF THAT TYPE OF ISSUE AND I'M NOT THE LAW ENFORCEMENT FOLKS, SO I DON'T WANT TO SPEAK FOR THEM, BUT OBVIOUSLY IF WE SAW SOMEONE WHO DID SOMETHING SIX MONTHS AGO, WELL, THAT'S A DIFFERENT SITUATION, BUT FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY WORKING THROUGH OUR PROGRAMS OR CAN WORK THROUGH THE PROGRAMS AND SOMETHING IS YEARS BEHIND THEM.
[02:05:03]
WELL, WE USUALLY FIND LANDLORDS WHERE WE CAN TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHO WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH AND WHAT THE ISSUES ARE, AND LOOK AT IT THROUGH A MORE HUMANISTIC CAPACITY.THERE ARE A LOT OF LANDLORDS WE WORK WITH HERE. WE'RE HAPPY TO DO THAT.
>> THANK YOU. CHRISTINE, DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, DO YOU HAVE?
>> YES. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH AND THANK YOU, COUNCIL MENDELSOHN FOR THE QUESTION.
WHAT I WANTED TO JUST JUMP IN AND SAY IS THAT I THINK AS WE CONTINUE TO GROW OUR HOMELESS RESPONSE SYSTEM, WORKING WITH ALL OF OUR PARTNERS, WE CLEARLY UNDERSTAND WHERE WE MIGHT HAVE GAPS WHEN IT COMES TO CERTAIN MEMBERS OF OUR HOMELESS POPULATION AND WHAT I CAN TELL YOU IS THAT THROUGH THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING, WHETHER IT'S THE OUTREACH TEAM, WHETHER IT'S HARD, WHETHER IT'S THE DRT OR RR, WHEN WE ENCOUNTER THOSE INDIVIDUALS BY CONNECTING WITH THEM AND GETTING THEM IN THE SYSTEM TO WHERE WE CAN BEGIN TO WORK WITH THEM.
I THINK THAT'S WHERE OUR FOCUS IS RIGHT NOW.
IT'S BETTER FOR US TO KNOW WHAT THOSE ISSUES ARE AND BE ABLE TO HELP TRIAGE THEM TO WHERE THEY CAN GET ON THE PATH TO HOUSING.
IT MAY NOT BE IMMEDIATE AND WE MAY HAVE TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH OUR NON-PROFIT PARTNERS AND HOW WE CAN ENGAGE BETTER AND THEN EXPAND OPPORTUNITIES TO GET THEM INTO HOUSING.
BUT IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE'RE NOT DOING.
WE ARE DOING IT, MAYBE NOT AT THE SCALE THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO DO, BUT WE DO UNDERSTAND THE NEED FOR THOSE TYPES OF INDIVIDUALS THAT MIGHT HAVE ISSUES.
WE HAVE TO STOP AND SLOW DOWN AND WORK WITH THEM A LITTLE BIT HARDER.
THAT'S THE IMPORTANCE OF THE NAVIGATION THAT WE TALKED ABOUT WHEN WE BROUGHT THE DRT TO THE CITY COUNCIL.
WE TALKED ABOUT THE NEED TO HAVE THOSE EXTERNAL PARTNERS WITH RESOURCES THAT WE CAN HELP FIND HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES FOR INDIVIDUALS JUST LIKE THAT.
THE WORK IS UNDERWAY AND IT'S HAPPENING OUT IN THE COMMUNITY AS WE SPEAK.
>> I WOULD CHALLENGE YOU THAT I AM UNFAMILIAR WITH ANY APARTMENT COMPLEXES, AT LEAST IN DISTRICT 12, THAT AREN'T DOING SIGNIFICANT BACKGROUND CHECKS, AND THAT WOULD NOT OFFER A LEASE TO ANYBODY WHO HAS A VIOLENT FELONY.
IF YOU'RE AWARE OF THAT, I'D LIKE TO KNOW ABOUT IT BECAUSE WE HAD AN ENTIRE CRIME EVENT WITH OUR APARTMENTS, KEVIN ODIN, YOU ARE THERE AND WE ENCOURAGE THEM TO PLEASE DO THOSE BACKGROUND CHECKS AND DO NOT OFFER HOUSING TO PEOPLE IN THAT CIRCUMSTANCE.
THERE'S A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT MIXED MESSAGES HAPPENING.
WHEN YOU ENCOUNTER FOLKS THAT ARE IN CAMPS, ARE YOU DOING A WARRANT CHECK?
>> NOT UNLESS SOMETHING RISES TO THE LEVEL WHERE WE'RE ULTIMATELY GOING TO BE IN A POSITION TO MAKE AN ARREST.
WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THE PERSON THAT WE ENCOUNTERED AT THE DAWSON STREET AREA THAT HAD THE FAMILY VIOLENCE WARRANT, THAT THAT WARRANT CHECK WAS MADE BECAUSE HE WAS RESISTANT AND BEGAN THROWING STUFF THE MARSHALS, SO THAT POINT THE WARRANT CHECK WAS DONE, BUT NOT AS A MATTER OF ROUTINE TO ARE WE GOING THROUGH AND DOING WARRANT CHECKS.
>> CHRISTINE, WHEN YOU'RE PUTTING SOMEBODY IN HMIS, ARE YOU DOING A BACKGROUND CHECK AT THAT POINT? DO YOU UNDERSTAND FULLY WHAT THOSE HOUSING CHALLENGES MAYBE?
>> HMIS IS PUTTING THEM IN AND IT'S VOLUNTARY, SO AT THAT POINT THERE, THIS IS THE INFORMATION THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO SHARE, THAT THEY ARE COMFORTABLE SHARING WHEN THEY'RE GETTING TO THE POINT WHERE THEY'RE WORKING WITH THE CASE MANAGER ON HOUSING THAN THAT DOES HAPPEN BECAUSE WE WANT TO MAKE SURE AND WE'RE VERY CLEAR WITH THEM OR CASE MANAGERS ARE VERY CLEAR THAT WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE HOUSING BARRIERS YOU HAVE.
WE DON'T KNOW, WE CAN'T WORK WITH YOU ON THEM, BUT THAT'S A LATER DOWN THE ROAD THING.
>> EARLIER IN THE PRESENTATION, YOU MENTIONED THAT HEART WAS WORKING FOR ON PRIVATE PROPERTY, WHICH I UNDERSTAND FOR CODE.
ARE WE ADDRESSING OUR CITY PROPERTIES?
>> YES, WE'RE ADDRESSING ALL PROPERTIES.
>> MY RESIDENTS ARE SEEING ACTUALLY AN INCREASE IN FRUSTRATION WITH NOT GETTING A RESPONSE.
I'M VERY GLAD TO HEAR THAT SOME OTHER DISTRICTS ARE WE'RE NOT SEEING THAT IN DISTRICT 12.
WHAT THEY'RE SEEING IS REPEATED REQUESTS FOR SERVICE AT SPECIFIC LOCATIONS, AND AS SOON AS THEY CALL IT IMMEDIATELY CLOSED OUT, THE ENCAMPMENT PERSISTS AND IT'S NOT BEING ADDRESSED AND I'M WONDERING, HOW ARE WE PRIORITIZING THINGS?
>> THE PRIORITIZATION IS, AS WE'VE SAID BEFORE, BASED ON THE MCC REQUESTS AND IT'S GOING TO BE GOING TO THE DICE MODEL TO MAKE US MORE CONSISTENT BECAUSE THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT IN THE PARTICULAR MODEL THAT WE'VE BEEN USING IN TERMS OF JUST RESPONDING TO THE 311 REQUESTS HAVE NOT BEEN AS EFFICIENT.
I DO KNOW THAT FOR SOME OF THE LOCATIONS IN DISTRICT 12, THE HEART TEAM HAS BEEN OUT THERE CONSISTENTLY AND WE HAVE A MULTI-WEEK MULTIMEDIA PLAN.
WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH SEVERAL RESIDENTS PERSONALLY, BUT WE ARE PLANNING ON STEPPING UP ENGAGEMENT IN THAT AREA FOR THE REASONS THAT YOU JUST MENTIONED.
>> FOR ROSEMEAD PARK, WHICH IF YOU-ALL ARE UNFAMILIAR TODAY, I'M JUST GOING TO TELL YOU IS A VERY LARGE, UNDEVELOPED PIECE OF LAND.
THERE'S NO SIGN THAT SAYS ROSEMEAD PARK, THERE'S NO PARKING.
[02:10:02]
WE RECENTLY HAD A EXPLOSION OF PROPANE TANKS.I THINK KANT MET, WHICH RESULTED IN A LARGE FIRE.
WE'VE HAD NUMEROUS VIOLENT INSTANCES, PEOPLE BEING THREATENED WITH CHAINSAWS AND ALL THINGS.
RUBLES DEVELOPMENT, LOOKING TO LEAVE BECAUSE OF THE HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT THAT ARE NOT BEING ADDRESSED.
NOW, YOU ARE GOING OUT THERE EVERY NUMBER OF WEEKS.
WE HAVE A CRISIS IN THAT AREA AND I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE CAN LEAVE IT SO UNRESOLVED FOR SO LONG.
>> IN A WAY YOU ANSWERED THE QUESTION WITH THE FIRST STATEMENT, THAT IT'S A LARGE UNDEVELOPED PIECE OF LAND.
EVERY PLACE HAS TO HAVE A PURPOSE.
WHAT I WOULD COMMIT TO IS LET TAKE A LOOK AT THAT LAND, LOOK AT THE ENVIRONMENT AROUND IT AND SEE IF THERE ARE SPECIFIC INTERVENTIONS THAT WE CAN COME UP WITH TO BETTER REPURPOSE THAT SPOT WHERE THERE'S NOT ADDITIONAL RISK BEING TAKEN THERE.
>> WELL, I CAN ADD IN BEHIND FIRE STATION 10.
THIS IS A PERPETUAL ENCAMPMENT AT THIS POINT, THE DWU LAND UNDERNEATH THE BRIDGE ON FRANKFORD.
I CAN ADD IN PRESTON ROAD JUST NORTH OF ARAPAHO.
I HAD TO LITERALLY SAY IF YOU-ALL DON'T GO OUT THERE, I WILL CALL THE MEDIA AND STAND THERE MYSELF.
SPROUTS HAD AN OPENING WE CELEBRATED THE TWO YEARS IT TOOK TO GET ZONING IN DISTRICT 1, WE OPENED IT IN DISTRICT 12 IN TWO YEARS.
BUT WE ALSO HAD TO HAVE A HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT CLEANED UP BECAUSE OF THE GRAND OPENING.
THIS IS INSANE AND WE'RE JUST NOT DOING THE ENFORCEMENT THAT WE SHOULD.
AGAIN, SO GLAD WE'RE DOING COMPASSION.
I ASKED FOR US TO DO COMPASSION, BUT WE'RE NOT DOING THE ENFORCEMENT THAT'S NECESSARY.
MAYBE WE NEED ANOTHER HEART TEAM, MAYBE THE DATA FOCUS WILL HELP, BUT WE'RE NOT SEEING IT IN DISTRICT 12 WE'RE EXTREMELY FRUSTRATED. THANK YOU.
>> THANK YOU. WANT TO THANK THE TEAM FOR BEING HERE.
IN THE FUTURE I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE PARK DEPARTMENT BE HERE AS WELL.
I THINK WE'RE DEFINITELY HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION WITH THE RIGHT CARE TEAM.
THE BIGGEST FRUSTRATION THAT I CONTINUE TO HAVE THOUGH, IS THE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN DEPARTMENTS WHOSE RESPONSIBILITY IS IT IF IT'S ON PARKLAND, THE SUPPORT FROM DPD AND MARSHALS TO ENSURE THAT A CLEANUP DOES HAPPEN EFFECTIVELY AND IN A TIMELY MANNER.
ON PAGE 3, WE'RE WORKING AT THE TIMES YET WE STILL HAVE A BIG ISSUE WITH ORGANIZATIONS THAT COME TO THE CBD, DOING GOOD DEEDS AND FEEDING INDIVIDUALS.
ON SUNDAYS, TYPICALLY BETWEEN 8:00 AM AND 01:00 PM.
AND SO I KNOW COATS HERE AS WELL.
WHAT ARE WE DOING TO ADDRESS THE INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE ORGANIZING IN FEEDING INDIVIDUALS? I KNOW THAT CHRISTINE, YOU TRIED TO ENGAGE WITH THESE GROUPS AND THINK MAYBE WE HAD ONE OR TWO PEOPLE THAT SHOWED UP TO THAT.
IF WE'RE DOING THE EDUCATION AND LETTING PEOPLE KNOW WHAT OUR ORDINANCES ARE, WHEN DO WE START ENFORCEMENT TO ENSURE THAT PEOPLE DON'T GET FOODBORNE ILLNESSES OR DON'T LEAVE TRASH BEHIND IN THE COMMUNITY.
>> IF I MADE SURE I JUST WANT TO JUMP IN FOR JUST A SECOND BEFORE CHRISTINE GIVES YOU A MORE DETAILED ANSWER.
IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE CHALLENGED WITH RIGHT NOW DUE TO OUR CURRENT CITY ORDINANCES.
WE HAD AN INCIDENT MOST RECENTLY, ACTUALLY ON CITY HALL PLAZA WHERE INDIVIDUALS REACHED OUT TO THE PROPER DEPARTMENT.
BECAUSE OF THE WAY THE ORDINANCE IS WRITTEN, AS LONG AS IT WAS UNDER 75 PEOPLE, THEY COULD SHOW UP AND ACTUALLY PASS OUT FOOD ON CITY HALL PLAZA.
WE DEFINITELY DO NOT WANT IT TO BECOME A FEEDING SITE.
WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE MYSELF, AS WELL AS WITH OUR ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER AKAL SIMPSON.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT.
HOW DO WE INCLUDE IN A PUBLIC OWN PROPERTIES AS WELL AS THOSE PRIVATE OWN PROPERTIES, IS THERE SIGNAGE? WHAT IS IT THAT WE CAN DO TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE CONTINUING OUR EFFORTS TO EXPRESS THE IMPORTANCE OF GOING AND WORKING DIRECTLY WITH THE ORGANIZATIONS VERSUS SHOWING UP, POP IN THE TRUNK, PASSING OUT FOR PANS AND STYROFOAM CONTAINERS, WHICH WE SAW ENDED UP ON THE PLAZA LAST WEEK OVER INTO THE POOL.
WE DO HAVE AN EFFORT UNDERWAY NOW JUST LOOKING AT IT FROM A LEGAL STANDPOINT.
BUT I DO KNOW THAT THROUGH CHRISTINE'S OUTREACH TEAM, THERE ARE SOME ADDITIONAL WAYS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO ENGAGE OUR NON-PROFIT COMMUNITY AND OUR FAITH-BASED COMMUNITY.
>> YES THANK YOU. JUST TO BACK THAT UP, THE HEART TEAM HAS BEEN ON THE PLAZA ENGAGING WITH THE STREET THEATERS.
[02:15:01]
THAT WAS PART OF WHERE THIS CAME THROUGH AS SEEING THAT THEY HAD THE PROPER SIGN OFF BECAUSE OF THE WAY THE ORDINANCE IS WRITTEN, EVEN WHEN WE ENGAGE THEM BECAUSE THE HEART TEAM IS THERE A COUPLE OF DAYS A WEEK ON THE PLAZA FROM 5:00-5:30 AND A LITTLE LATER, THAT'S WHEN WE SEE PEOPLE REALLY START TO PULL UP TO ENGAGE THEM.WE ALSO HAVE THE GIVE RESPONSIBLY CAMPAIGN THAT IS IN ITS THIRD WAVE IN TERMS OF MARKETING AND THAT'S ENGAGING WITH CLERGY AND NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.
ALSO JUST LARGER ORGANIZATIONS AROUND THE MOST RESPONSIBLE AND EFFICIENT WAY TO HELP IS NOT TO GIVE DIRECTLY TO SOMEONE ON THE STREET, BUT TO GIVE TO AN ORGANIZATION WHERE YOU KNOW HOW THE FUNDING IS BEING USED SO THAT YOU ENSURE IT'S BEING USED IN A RESPONSIBLE WAY.
THAT ALSO IS TO ENSURE THAT PEOPLE HAVE A HEIGHTENED AWARENESS OF ALL OF THESE WONDERFUL ORGANIZATIONS ACROSS THE CITY WHO ALREADY DO THINGS LIKE PROVIDE FREE MEALS, SHOWERS, CLOTHES, ANYTHING YOU COULD NEED, WHILE ALSO PROVIDING IT IN TANDEM WITH SERVICES THAT CAN HELP AMELIORATE WHATEVER YOUR ISSUE IS.
WHEN NONE OF THAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN, IF YOU ARE JUST STANDING ON THE STREET AND YOU GET WHATEVER IT IS YOU'RE GETTING THAT'S A STATIC ENGAGEMENT THAT'S NOT GOING TO GO ANYWHERE.
WE'RE IN THAT THIRD PUSH RIGHT NOW, AND I BELIEVE A DETAILED MARKETING PLAN IS GOING TO BE BRIEFED SOON.
>> THANK YOU. ON PAGE 13, YOU HAVE A TOTAL OF 143 REQUESTS CLOSE WITHIN 10 DAYS ARE THOSE ALL INDEPENDENT OR ARE ANY OF THOSE DUPLICATES?
>> THOSE WOULD BE UNIQUE REQUESTS AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH 311 ON.
I KNOW IT'S COUNCIL MEMBER MENDELSOHN SAID THERE'S FRUSTRATION WITH PEOPLE'S SERVICE REQUESTS BEING CLOSED.
SOME OF THAT IS BECAUSE THEY ARE DUPLICATES, WE'RE WORKING ON A BETTER WAY FOR THAT MESSAGING TO COME ACROSS.
>> PERFECT. LASTLY, THIS ONE IS WHEN AN ENCAMPMENT IS DECOMMISSIONED AND INDIVIDUALS MOVE RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET OR A FEW STEPS OVER.
MY UNDERSTANDING FROM THE WAY IT'S SUPPOSED TO WORK IS THAT IF YOU MOVE ACROSS THE STREET, YOU DON'T GET TO START OVER FOR ENGAGEMENT AND FOR NOTIFICATION.
IS THAT CORRECT OR IS THAT INACCURATE?
>> I'M GOING TO JUMP IN BECAUSE I ANSWERED THIS QUESTION LAST WEEK AND I FELL TO ACTUALLY GIVE YOU THE ANSWER DIRECTLY.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK WE'VE BEEN CHALLENGED WITH, AND WE'VE SEEN THIS FROM TIME AND TIME AGAIN.
I THINK THE LIBRARY WAS A GREAT EXAMPLE WHERE SOME OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS JUST MOVE RIGHT BEHIND CITY HALL ON ERVEY.
BECAUSE WE OFTEN KNOW WHO THOSE INDIVIDUALS ARE, BECAUSE WE'RE ENGAGING WITH THEM.
WE KNOW THEM BY NAME, THEY KNOW US BY NAME, IS THAT THE CLOCK IS NOT GOING TO START OVER.
I THINK THAT'S GOING TO ALLOW US WHEN COUNCILMAN MENDELSOHN TALKS ABOUT THE ENFORCEMENT, YOU DON'T JUST KEEP GETTING A CHANCE TO GO FROM PLACE TO PLACE AND THEN WE DO NOTHING IN BUT LET THE CLOCK START OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER.
BECAUSE THEN THEY LEARN OUR PROCESS, AND THEN OFTENTIMES WE'RE IN THE SEAT NOW TO WHERE WE ARE CHASING THEM AROUND AND THEY KNOW WE'RE NOT GOING TO DO ANYTHING.
OUR PLAN GOING FORWARD BECAUSE WE THINK THERE WAS SOME MISCOMMUNICATION ABOUT THAT, IS IF THOSE SAME INDIVIDUALS WHO WE'VE MOVED ON, THEN MOVE SOMEPLACE ELSE, THE CLOCK DOES NOT START OVER AND HOPEFULLY THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION.
THAT'S WHAT'S MY UNDERSTANDING, BUT I FEEL THAT STAFF DOES NOT HAVE THAT SAME RESPONSE, SO WE JUST NEED TO MAKE SURE WE COMMUNICATE THAT WITH EVERYONE ELSE.
>> WELL, THEY DO NOW. AS OF LAST WEEK, NO ONE SHOULD BE CONFUSED ABOUT THE PROCESS.
>> PERFECT. THANK YOU. THAT WRAPS UP.
BRIEFING C, DUE TO TIME, WE'RE GOING TO TAKE ITEMS D THROUGH L COLLECTIVELY.
IS THERE ANY QUESTIONS ON ANY OF THOSE BRIEFING ITEMS?
DO WE NEED TO TAKE A VOTE ON THESE? THEN WE HAVE REPORTS ON A LETTER M. EVERYONE GOOD? THE TIME IS NOW 11:26, AND THAT CONCLUDES OUR HOUSING AND HOMELESS COMMITTEE MEETING. THANK YOU.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.