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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHousing & Redevelopment Authority Packet 01-28-1980a A4EN.0A PLYMOUTH HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMT AUTHORITY January 28, 1980 5;30 p.m. I. 901 call 1.i. Minutes of January 8th, 1980 Pretermination Hearing for Deborah Radtke's Section 8 Certificate M. Nomination and Appointment of a. Chairman IV. Nomination and Appointment of a Vice -Chairman V. Nomination and Appointment of a Secretary -Treasurer Vt. Memorandum from City Attorney's Office re: Deborah Radtke's Pretermination Hearing VII. Allegations Against a Section 8 Renter VIII., Proposed Changes in the Regulations for Admissions and Occupancy to the Section 8 Program IX, HUD Changes in the Section 8 Program X. Title Search on Rehab Applicant's Property X1. AdJournment. CITY OF PLYMOUTH 3400 PLYMOUTH BLVD.. PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55441 TELEPHONE (612) 559-2800 DATE: January 22, 1980 MEMO TO: HRA Commissioners FROM: Milt Dale SUBJECT: Agenda Topics for January 28, 1980 Meeting NOMINATION 8 APPOINTMENT OF OFFICERS According to the Plymouth HRA Bylaws, the annual meeting of the Authority shall be the fourth Monday of January at which time the nomination and appointment of the officers of the Authority shall be made. Since the resignation of John Spaeth from the Authority and the expiration of the term of office for Gerry Neils, these vacancies must be filled as well. Presently the positions are as follows: EXPIRATION DATE COMMISSIONER OFFICE DATE APPOINTED LENGTH OF TERM OF TERM Howard Hunt Vice -Chairman Jan. 1978 5 Years Jan. 1983 Gerald Neils Secretary -Treasurer Jan. 1976 4 Years Jan. 1980 Harold Bakke - Jan.. 1977 5 Years Jan. 1982 Rodney Hillstrom Jan. 1979 5 Years Jan. 1984 The office of Chairman is to run for the length of the term of office while the other offices are to be appointed annually. PRETERMINATION HEARIIIG OF JAN. §t1l On Jan. 8, 1980, the Plymouth HRA held a pretermination hearing for Deborah Radtke. The issue was whether just cause existed to terminate Deborah Radtke's certificate of Family Participation from the Plymouth Section 8 Proqram. Ms. Radtke's attorney, Ann Bortsch of Minneapolis Legal Aid, contended that the allegations by the At The Lake management were not all proveable and that the Section 8 Program obligated a certificate holder in only three specific particulars, ie (1) to provide income information records; (2) permit inspection of the dwelling unit; and (3) to give 30 days notice to the HRA of an intent to vacate the unit. The HRA's assistant attorney, Herbert Lefler III, has prepared a memorandum for the commissioners consideration. Basically it states that in his review of this case, the Plymouth HRA does have grounds, in addition to the three specific obligations as listed above, to terminate a. Section 8 Certificate. Consequently, it is up to the Commissioners to decide if the terms of the lease were violated as alleged and if so, should Ms. Radtke's Section 8 Certificate be taken away. Minutes relative to the hearing are attached. A response to Mr. Lefler's memo from Deborah Radtke's attorney is forth coming on Friday, January 25th. A decision on this case should be made at the January 28th meeting. Agenda Topics Page 2: ALLEGATIONS AGAINST MARTHA KNIGHT, A SECTION 8 RENTER Recently the apartment management at Village Square Apartments has informed me that one of our Sect{ -=h 8 renters, Martha Knight, appears to have two of her brothers living with r:r. In response to this compliant, the apartment manager and I visited Ms. Knight's apartment on January 21, 1980, bit were not pormitted entrance by her brother, Mike Knight. When I questioned him about his place of residence,he stated he did not live in his sister's apartment. Later that day I called his employer and was told that Mike Knight had given his address as 3301 North County Road 18, the address of Village Square Apartments. Last September the apartment manager had also informed me that it appeared Ms. Knight had long-term "guests" in violation of her lease. I then wrote her a letter September 27, 1979) indicating the steps she should take regardinn auests and warning her of the consequences of any violation of the lease and any provisions of the Section 8 Program. It is Staff's opinion that sufficient cause exists to hold a pretermination hearing on this matter. The renewal of Ms. Knight's lease and certificate comes up on February 29th so prompt consideration of this matter is encouraae4. It is my recommendation that a time and date be set at the meeting of Janaury 28th for a pretermination hearino for Martha Knight's participation in Plymouth's Section 8 Program, PROPOSED CHANGES IN PLYMOUTH'S SECTION 8 ADMISSION & OCCUPANCY POLICIES Prior to the January 8th.pretermination hearing, staff prepared a memo (dated December 20, 1979) regarding the pretermination hearing and suggested changes to Plymouth's Section 8 Admission and Occupancy Policies. This memo was mailed to Nancy Bratrud of the local HUD area office for her review & comment. Basically, she was of the opinion that the proposed.cf--ts;*as to our Section 8 policies could be simplified somewhat. She did not believe we needed a grievance board such as a public housing agency that owned and managed public housing might require. Consequently, I have made several modifications to the material submitted in the December 20th, 1979 mono with the intent of keeping the process as simple as possible. These changes are as follows: Section I (p. 2 & 3 of memo) Delete paragraph 4. (HUD will not let this one stay!) Section VII & XIV (pp 3-7 of memo) Delete all of this in favor of a more simplified hearing process Section IV (p.8 of memo) Retain Section VI.E (p.8 of memo) Add the following: Any attempt to willfully defraud the agency or U.S. Government will result in the agency referring the Case to the Inspector General's Office for their investigation and disposition." Section VI.F (p.8 of memo) Change "first month" to "second month" 04 Agenda Topics Page 3 Attachment A - HUD occupancy specialist Clancy 8ratrud believed this to bo excellent and it should be given to each new Section 8 renter when they come on the Program. Attachment 6 - This letter has been rewritten to emphasize that the HAA does not have the authority to prevent evictions. This is the perogative of the landlord and the courts. Attachment C - This was rated as "very good" by HUD and is recommended to be retained with some modifications. It is my recommendation that Section VII and. XIV be replaced by a more simplified hearing process. However, the exact format and structure of the hearing panel needs to be discussed more thoroughly. Therefore it is my recommendation that a sub committee of the Plymouth HRA be appointed to spend one or two meetings discussing the followinq: 1. The composition of the pretermination hearing panel. 2. The process to be followed from the eviction notice and/or charge of a Section b violation by a tenant to the disposition of the case. 3. The role of the HRA staff in handling allegations. It is my opinion that several cases of this nature may need to be processed every year. (However, I would like to be proven wrong!) The need to have a smooth orderly consistent process for each hearing is evident, consequenty spendtno the time "early in the game" to develop a rirkable process for "problem" Section 8 cases is advised. HUD CHANGES IN THE SECTION 8 PROGRAM On.January 11th, 1980, I attended a HUD sponsored workshop on a new "wrinkle" in the Section 8 Rent Assistance Program. This is a New Rent Adjustment Policy recently initiated by HUD in Washington. This Rent Adjustment Policy requires that all Housinq Authorities employ the use of a special Annual Adjustment Factor and/or Fair Market Rents (FMR) as specified by HUD. As you know, Fair Market Rents initially were conceived by HUD to provide an upper rent limit for apartments rented under the Section b Program. Now, however, HUD has determined that other "devices" are necessary to keep rents reasonable, hence, the Annual Adjustment Factor. This factor is applied to all lease renewals where the contract was initially entered into after January 29, 1979, to determine if the rent increase by the landlord is reasonable by HUD standards!). This is done by multiplying the Annual Adjustment Factor for out area this is 1.065 or .a 6.5% increase in rent) by the gross rent (minus the utility allowance) to determine rent acceptance. Where the rent is not acceptable, either the landlord must reduce his rent accordingly or the tenant must move out. When applying the Annual Adjustment Factor to Plymouth, staff has determined that many current Section 8 renters would likely be forced to move. Presently the vacancy rate is so low in Plymouth (less than 15 as of. January 1980) that few apartment owners would lower rents to retain a Section 8 tenant. There is no monetary incentive to do so along with the fact that once other apartment renters knew that Section 8 retrters paid less total rent, all other renters would want a rent "break". Agenda topics J$ge 4 To '"Stave off" a problem of this nature, HUD has provided the mechanism for a HRA to request a revision in the Annual Adjustment factor for designated areas.. As such, I have written.a letter to the HUD Area Office in Edina requesting that Plymouth be accorded a revision in its Annual Adjustment Factor to reflect the increased cost. of heating fuels, salaries and other operating expenses now paid by apartment owners over what was paid by them a year ago. Attached is a latter I recently submitted to Nancy Bartrud of the HUD area office. TITLE: SEARCH ON REHAB APPr?CANT'-S FAOPERTY At the last Housing Rehabilitation Committee in January, the matter of requiring a title search for each applicant's property was discussed. Staff had brought to the Committee an application where two other parties were involved in the ownership of'tne property besides the applicant. On the recommendation of the City Attorney, a title search was conducted for this property. As well, the City Attorney raised the issue that all applicants for this Program should have their titles cleared prior to the final approval of their grant application. It was the Rehab Committee's opinion that a title search was an unnecessary expense and should not be required in every case, however they turther recommended that staff take the issue up before the NRA for their determination. In.my discussion of the issue with Mark Elmberg of the Hennepin County Staff, he.indi.cated that a title search by the City Attorney would not be. necessary.. In their experience, out of some 75 applications they have needed an attorney's opinion only twice. Staff would recommend that only where several parties were involved in the property ownership, would an attorney's opinion be required. Attachments 1. Minutes of January 8, 1980 Pretermination Hearing 2. Memorandum from Herbert Lefler, III (1-17-80) 3. Letter to Martha Knight (9-27-79) 4. Letter to Martha Knight (1-22-79) S. Letter to Nancy Bratrud (1-16-80) with Attachments 6.: Map of low and Moderate Income Housing in Plymouth (as of 1-2280) January 9., 1980 Nancy 6ratrt4d HUD Occupacry Specialist hUD Area Office 6400 Franca; Ave. South Edina, Dear Nancy, Enclosed is a memo I recently prepared for the Plymouth HRA. Would you be able to determine if my suggested. changes to Plymouth's Section 8 Regulations Establishin Admission 6 Occupancy Policies are appropriate? Basically they follow procedures present y in use by the metro -Council HRA. One added. "touch" ft on Page 3 of my memo, ie under Section 1.8.4. (also circled in red). Would thi: point be VV with your office? Also, has the HUD legal staff cleared the Metro HRA's Admission 6 Occupancy Policies? Thank you much for your help in this matter. Sincerely, 1411t Dale Plymouth HRA Enclosure 3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD, PLYMOUTH. MINNESOTA 55441, TELEPHONE (612) 559.2800 t1J16 January 16, 1980 Nancy Bratrud, Housing Department of HUD 6400 France Ave. South Edina, NN 55435 Dear Nancy, CITY Cir PLYMOUTF. Occupancy Specialist This letter is in regards to the memorandum from Lawrence Simons and Donna Shalala re: The Revised Existina Housing FMR and New Rent Adjustment Policy. First, I must stress that the Section 8 Program as it relates to Section 8 renters now renting in Plymouth is in serious jeopardy if Plymouth is required to use the annual adjust- ment factor of 1.065. We therefore are submitting a request that the annual adjustment factor for Plymouth be increased to reflect the situation in Plymouth, re the abnormally high apartment operating costs over last. year. Enclosed are rent surveys done for all apartments in. Plymouth where Section 8 reenters are presently on lease. (No attempt was made to survey apartments where apartment owners have consistently refused to enter into a Section 8 contract or where rents have been far in excess of FMR. The apartments surveyed constitute 85% of all rental apartment units in Plymouth.) Please note that for all one bedroom apartments units the annual adjustment factor of 1.065 would permit only 18 units to rt eligible while for two bedroom units some 83 units would be eligble (all 83 units are in one apartment project however) and some 40 units would potentially be eligible among three bedroom units. In staff's opinion, based on the survey results enclosed, it will be necessary for Plymouth to have an annual adjustment factor of 1.165 to continue: operating the Section 8 Program in our community. Your serious consideration of our request is solicitated. Sincerely, 1, Milt Dale Plymouth NRA wk Enclosure 3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD, PLY4MYTH, MINNESOTA 5544 t, TELEPHONE (61215%2600 Y Ont 89 APARTMENTS. RENTAL RATES' IN PLYMGI]TM Per Month RAte) Pementaoe SWVEY GATES increase from wifter of Jan. 1979 to Apartment Project .One BR 0.1ts_ Jew 1979 June 1979 Jan._ 1980 Jan, 1980 1. The Place 1 42 245 2.70 290 18.4% 2. Mel l'.ngion I 18 255 260 270 5..9 3. Plymouth Colony ; 30 240 270 285 18.7 4. Manor Royal 78 280 29.S 3'15 16.1. S. Village Square 77 245 265 290 18.4 6. Fox Meadows , 53 245 260 26S 8.2 Fox Meadows I 53 25.5 280 260 9.8 7. At The lake 108 2SO 265 280 12.0 B. Lancaster TOlage 1. 64: 255 255 280 9.8 9:. Plyrouth Terrace 43 240 250 264 6.3 10. Four Seawns Estates 48 250 265 275 10.0 11. four Seasons. Villa 48 21S 2.30 250 16.3 Four Seasons Villa 95 230 250 275 19.6 12. Countryside Estates 12 230 250 265 15.2 Countryside Estates 24 240 260 273 14.6 Total Units OR TWO 81 tPARTMENTS. RENTAL RAZES IN PLYMOUTH Per Mrnth Rete) Percentage SURVEY OATES increase from Noftr of Jan. 1979 to• Apartment Project tub BR Units Jan. 1979 June 1979 Jan. 1980 Jan. 3980 1. The Place T056" S29S 3.15 14.5% The Place 96 290 310 330 13.8 2. Wellington 14 290 315 315 8.6 Wellington 7 295 325 325 10.2 3. Plymouth Colony 12 285 315 330 Plymouth Colony i 71 299 320 335 1.5.5 Plyrouth Colony ' 12 295 325 340 15.3 4. Manor Royal j It 340 335 375 10.3 Martyr Royal 42 350 345 385 10.0 S. Village Square 1 76 280 300 325 16.1 Village Square 4 24 300 320 350 16.7 6.. Fox Meadows 83 305 305 315 3.3 Fox Meadows 83 315 d'sS 350 11.1 7. At The Lake 48 2'90 305 32C 10.3 At The Lake 24 300 315 330 10.0 At The Lake 6 310 325 335 8.1 8.. Lancaster Village 64 290 290 320 10.3 9.. Plymouth. Terrace 41 270 296 300 Plymouth. Terrace 12 285 290 320 12'.3 10. Four Seasons Estates X48 290 305 315 8.6 11. Four Seasons Villa 30 245 260 290 18.4 Four Seasons Villa 67 PS5 290 320 2S.S 12. Countryside Estates 12 260 285 300 15.4 Countryside Estates k4 270 29S 310 14.8 Total Units Fiv THREE. BR APARTMENTS, RENTAL RATES IN PLYMOUTH Per Mohth Rate) Percentage SURNY DATES Increase from Number of Jan. 1.979 to A i_ Proiect. Th1 a Units, Jan. 1979 J+ae1974 Jan... 1980 Jan., 1980,... 1. Plymouth Colony t 1 $305 MIA $360 18.0% 2. Fox Meadows 20 395 $385 385 2.6 Fox Meadows 20 410 410 425 3.7 3. At The Lake 6 330 355 360 9.1 Total Units OTHER APARTMENTS. IM PLYMOUTH NOT ON THE SECTION 8. PROGRAM A&artment Project Number of BR dnits Rental Rate As of Jan. 1980 1. South Shore I OR Units: 6 No rental rate information 2 OR Units: 11 available. Ownei will not 2. Village Arms participate in the Section 8 1 OR Units: 8 Program at this time. 2 BR Units: 14 e 3. Sunrise Bay Estates 1 OR Units: 3.5 $325 to $360 2 OR Units: 46 $425 to $460 4. Oakwood: 1 BR Units: 44 $325 2 BR Uoits: 63 $380 to $415 S. Willow Creek Efficiency. 21 $215 This., apartment. hss its am 1 BR Units: 39 $215 new construction Sect. 8 Program 2 8R Units: 60 $335 Totals 1 BR Units: 132 2 BR Units: 194 326 January 29, 1980 Nancy Bratrud HUD Occupancy Specialist HUD Area Office 6400 France Ave. South Edina, MN 55424 Dear Nancy: Jaw ,^ I ..reyo. } _ I thought you might he interested in knowing what is happening in our Section 8 Program out in Plymouth; so I have enclosed the minutes and related attorney memos from a recent pretermination hearir- On the meeting of January 28th, 1980 the Plymouth HRA did di.,ct our attorney to prepare findings and conclusions to terminate Ms. Radtke's certificate. Sincerely.,: iJx, -VX Milt Dale Plymouth HRA Enclosures wk A TPA4 34x3 FLYNICUTH BOULEVA.P.O, PLYMOUTH, MINilESOTA 55441. TELEPHONE (6121559.2600 January 29, 1980 #4 Diane Omiel Housing Management Branch HUD Area Office 6400 France. Ave. South. Edina, MN 56424 Dear Diane: Recently an auditing firm was selected. by the Plymouth NRA to conduct an audit of our Section 8 Program as per HUD regulations. This firm shall also prepare HUH forms 52681, 52682 and 52595 for fiscal years June 30, 1978 and June 30, 1979. These forms should be completed within the next two weeks, i^ by February 8th. Sincervely, 6- Milt Jale Plymouth HRA wk a. PLY ."R',;Tri F&CU VAAD. PLYMOUTH, !'f':::f-SOTA 55441. TE..EPMONE (02) 50-2i'