HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/23/2025 - Regular Minutes - Housing Plan Advisory CommitteeMinutes
Housing Plan Advisory Committee
April 23, 2025
Committee Members Present: Geralen Nolan, John Nesmith, June Martin, Ivas Garcia,
Brian Yung, Aaron Shipp, and Valen Cepak
City Staff Present: Community Development Administrator David Brower, Community
Development Analyst Raney Whitwell, Community Development Intern Jackson
Reasoner, Planning & Development Services Director Anthony Armstrong, Planning &
Development Services Assistant Director Molly Hitchcock (via Teams), Planning
Administrator Chrisine Leal, Principal Planner Heather Wade (via Teams), Staff Planner
Ashley Klein, and Development Services Administration Manager Bridgette George
1. Call meeting to Order and Introductions
Committee Member Nolan called the meeting to order at 4:05 p.m.
Committee Members and City staff introduced themselves. 2. Hear Visitors
Charles Coates from Habitat for Humanity expressed his gratitude to the city for
addressing housing challenges and thanked the Committee Members for volunteering
their time to support the effort. 3. Agenda Items
3.1 Presentation, discussion, and possible action regarding Recognition of Affidavits Filed in Response to State Law on Disclosure of Local Officials Conflict of Interests.
Administrator Brower discussed perceived conflict of interest disclosures and the process for determining and disclosing them. 3.2 Presentation, discussion, and possible action regarding a presentation on the City’s Comprehensive Plan and 5-Year Evaluation Questionnaire.
Administrator Leal informed the Committee Members that during the Comp Plan evaluation process, staff was actively involved in discussions of the development of the Housing Action Plan. At that time, staff was advised to return to the Committee
once it was formed, in order to allow the Committee to provide input on the Comp Plan Update, if needed. She stated that out of the 98 action items in the Comp Plan four are specific to the Housing Action Plan:
1. Revitalization of Neighborhoods
2. Expanding Affordable and Workforce Housing
3. Developing and Refining Data Monitoring Processes for Housing and Housing Stock
4. Continuing Partnerships with Organizations and Area Partners.
Administrator Leal mentioned that they are wrapping up the public engagement portion of the process and would really like the Committee’s input, encouraging the Committee to fill out the online survey which ends next Friday, May 2nd. Administrator Brower stated that he would send an email the following morning with
a link to the Comprehensive Plan and QR Code to the survey.
Administrator Leal also noted that staff will return to the Committee after presenting their progress report to the Comp Plan Committee in September. This will give the Committee an opportunity to provide input on refining the plan, if needed.
3.3 Presentation, discussion, and possible action regarding Committee charge, structure, and format.
Administrator Brower stated that the Committee’s charge is to provide guidance, support, advice and recommendations for the execution of the Housing Action Plan.
He emphasized that the Committee would engage in more deliberative discussions
regarding which action items should be forwarded to City Council. He reminded the Committee that such discussions must occur during public meetings to comply with open meeting laws. Administrator Brower also noted that staff is available to answer questions at any time.
Administrator Brower reminded the Committee that the goal of Workforce Housing
is to provide an adequate supply of housing where the current workforce is spending less than 30% of their gross monthly income on housing costs.
The Committee discussed appointing a chair.
Committee Member Cepak moved to appoint Committee Member Geralen
Nolan as Chairperson, the motion was seconded by Committee Member Shipp, the motion passed 7-0.
The Committee discussed having future meetings the fourth Wednesday of the month at 4:00 p.m. The next meeting will be held on May 28. Administrator Brower reminded the Committee that they need four members in attendance to make a
quorum and that they can attend and participate in meetings virtually, but they would
not count towards the quorum.
3.4 Presentation, discussion, and possible action regarding an updated Housing Action Plan Existing Conditions Report and Housing Action Plan implementation progress.
Administrator Brower provided a brief summary on current housing conditions. He
noted that a significant portion of College Station workers continue to live outside the city limits and commute into the city for work. He also reported that 58% of renters are cost burdened, a figure that has not changed. However, there has been an increase in the percentage of homeowners with mortgages burdened with housing
costs, rising from 18% to 27%. This means more homeowners are now spending
more than 30% of their gross monthly income on housing expenses. Additionally,
Administrator Brower stated that the median sales price for non-new construction homes has remained the same.
3.5 Presentation, discussion, and possible action regarding recommended
prioritization of the Plan’s Goals, Strategies, and Actions.
Administrator Brower reviewed the goals, strategies and actions letting the
Committee Members know that they can access all the detailed information and
documents on the Google Drive. He requested that the Committee Members rank the
action items in the plan by Monday, so that staff can identify the top items and set
agendas for future meetings. He asked the Committee to rank them with 10 being the
highest and one being the lowest. Once the rankings are done, he will provide the list
to the Committee Members.
4.Discussion and possible action of future agenda items.
There was no discussion.
5.Adjourn
Committee Member Johnson moved to adjourn the meeting, Committee Member
Dunham seconded, the meeting adjourned at 5:21 p.m.
Approved: Attest:
Geralen Nolan, Chairperson Tiffany Romero, Board Secretary