Council Manager Memo #36 - May 15, 2009
Calendar Details:
(See Below)
Information Items:
- Raleigh Legislative Update
- EPA Starts Clock for Revised Air Quality Plan for Ozone
- April 22, 1009 Metropolitan Transit Commission Meeting Summary
- Housing Trust Fund - FY2009 Request for Proposals
Attachments:
Environment Committee Summary 4-23-09
Government Affairs Committee Summary 5-4-09
Legislative Update Memo 5-15-09
League Legislative Bulletin #16
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Calendar Details:
Monday, May 18, 2009
3:30pm - Environment Committee, Room 280. AGENDA: Sustainable Facilities Policy; Climate Prosperity/Climate Communities; Farmers Markets; NLC "Green Cities" Conference
5:00 pm - Council Zoning Meeting
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
3:00pm - Council Budget Adjustments, Room 267
Thursday, May 21, 2009\
12:00pm - Community Safety Committee, Room 280. AGENDA: Rental Property Ordinance; Defining a Pet within City Limits
Information Items:
Raleigh Legislative Update
Resource:
Boyd Cauble, City Manager's Office, 704-336-2009, bcauble@ci.charlotte.nc.us
This week resembles the closing days of the regular session when committee meetings are held on the floor around members' desk, committee agendas have items added at the last minute, the legislative bodies recess, and adjourn the same day so legal deadlines are met.
In summary, the pace is hectic, and the members work late into the night. All of this leads to bills meeting the "crossover deadline" which is necessary for their continued eligibility for consideration. A record number of bills have been approved by the House and Senate, many of which concern local governments' ability to plan, budget, and govern.
Attached are specific issues which will be the major focus of attention for local government during the remainder of this legislative session.
EPA Starts Clock for Revised Air Quality Plan for Ozone
Resource:
Eldewins Haynes, CDOT, 704-336-7621, ehaynes@ci.charlotte.nc.us
On May 8, 2009, EPA published in the Federal Register a "final action" finding that North Carolina and South Carolina failed to submit the required State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions for the 1997 8-hour ozone air quality standard. This action by EPA was anticipated and described in a Council-Manager Memo dated January 23, 2009. The North Carolina SIP for the Metrolina ozone nonattainment area includes assumptions and strategies for the counties of Mecklenburg, Union, Gaston, Lincoln, Cabarrus, Rowan, and the southern part of Iredell County. The South Carolina SIP does the same for York County.
The "final action" also triggers EPA's ozone sanctions clock. If a new SIP is not submitted within 18-months, new industrial emissions in the nonattainment area would be subject to much stricter emissions requirements. Furthermore, if a SIP is not submitted to EPA within 24 months (May 8, 2011), Federal transportation funding in the Metrolina region would be suspended. NCDENR is scheduled to submit a new SIP to EPA on November 30, 2009.
The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR) had submitted the SIP for the NC portion of the nonattainment area to EPA in June, 2007. On November 17, 2008, however, EPA sent a letter to NCDENR stating that EPA would not approve that SIP. Council was informed of this development via email just before Thanksgiving, 2008. On December 19, 2008, NCDENR responded by withdrawing the SIP, which resulted in the May 8 "final action" by EPA. Staff is working with NCDENR staff to develop information for the new SIP. Staff will continue to inform Council regarding the SIP and other air quality issues.
April 22, 2009 Metropolitan Transit Commission Meeting Summary
Resource:
Keith Parker, CATS, 704-336-3855, kparker@ci.charlotte.nc.us
At its meeting on Wednesday, April 22, 2009, the MTC had three action items on the agenda (all passed unanimously):
FY2010 Transit Operating Program and FY2010-14 Transit Capital Investment Plan
CATS' CFO presented the proposed FY2010 Transit Operating Program and the FY2010-14 Transit Capital Investment Plan. The key elements of the transit program are the sales tax projected at $13.2 million lower than FY2009 adopted budget, the 90,000 hour reduction in the bus and rail service, funds from the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the advancement of the Rapid Transit Program. Several changes were made to the budget presented on January 23 due to changing economic conditions. The revised Transit Operating Program is $110,867,772. The Transit Capital Investment Program increased by $20,766,306 in FY2010 with the allocation of the Federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to be utilized the North Davidson Street Bus Garage. The projected sales tax for FY2010 is $62.7 million.
The Metropolitan Transit Commission adopted the revised FY2010 Transit Operating Program and the revised FY2010-14 Transit Capital Investment Plan. The Operating Program and CIP were presented to the Charlotte City Council for review and approval on May 11.
LYNX Purple Line Locally Preferred Alternative & Design Update
Planning Director Debra Campbell provided an update on the land use, transportation, economic development, and environmental benefits of an integrated transit/ land use strategy. CATS' Deputy Director of Development John Muth provided information on the 2030 System Plan approved in November 2006, a history of the planning and engineering of the corridor projects, the project development process and the lessons learned from implementing the Blue Line.
Project Manager David Carol provided an overview of the 25-mile North Corridor Commuter Rail Project. The base 2009 cost, in current dollars, is estimated at $358 million to implement two-way service between Charlotte and Mount Mourne. The actual project cost will depend on the implementation date and underlying inflation. If CATS started today, the line could be complete by the end of 2011, at a cost between $368 million (at 3.25 percent escalation) and $375 million (5 percent escalation).
The cost estimate assumes the Purple Line north of Davidson is funded by Mooresville or Iredell County.
LYNX Blue Line Extension Locally Preferred Alternative & Design Update
Danny Rodgers, project manager for the Northeast Corridor, presented the 15 percent design update and the locally preferred alternative alignment and station locations. The base project cost estimate is $928 million - $1.1 billion, depending on the rate of inflation and project enhancements. Staff will continue to coordinate with multiple stakeholders, including the railroads, NCDOT, and businesses along the corridor.
Commissioner Jennifer Roberts made a motion to accept the Purple Line updated cost estimates, the LPA, to direct staff to apply for Federal Discretionary stimulus funds, to accept the BLE 15 percent cost estimate, to adopt the LPA for the Blue Line Extension and to advance to 30 percent of design level. The motion was seconded by Mayor Woods of Davidson.
The MTC approved unanimously.
CEO Report
Under the Director's report, Mr. Parker discussed the following:
a. Town Hall Day
Olaf Kinard, CATS Director of Marketing and Communications, reminded MTC members that they had previously signed proclamations thanking the NCDOT and the Legislature for their support of CATS. The proclamations were presented May 6, Town Hall Day.
b. Monthly Budget Update
Mr. Parker referred MTC members to the monthly budget update in their packet.
c. Bus Wrapping
Mr. Parker informed MTC members that he has received an unsolicited proposal to put advertising on a select number of buses for an upcoming event. He asked for the MTC's approval to move forward on investigating the potential of a pilot advertising program. Mr. Parker stressed that this would be structured as a pilot program, and was not intended to change MTC bylaws. He indicated that he did not know at this time whether the proposal has merit. Because of the timing of the event, Mr. Parker asked for the flexibility to investigate further. The MTC agreed.
The next MTC meeting will be May 27 at 5:30 p.m.
Housing Trust Fund – FY2009 Request for Proposals
Resource:
Stan Wilson, Neighborhood & Business Services, 704-336-3337, swilson@ci.charlotte.nc.us
Zelleka Biermann, Neighborhood & Business Services, 704-336-2482, zbiermann@ci.charlotte.nc.us
On January 12, 2009 City Council approved the Housing Trust Fund Advisory Board's recommendation to allocate $6,000,000 to fund Multi-Family Rental Housing (new construction and rehabilitation) and $3,300,000 to fund Special Needs Housing (new construction and rehabilitation). Staff issued a Request for Proposal to developers and received seven proposals for Multi-Family Rental and seven proposals for Special Needs Housing. Staff evaluated and ranked each proposal based on the Loan and Grant Guidelines and Evaluation Criteria established by the Housing Trust Fund Advisory Board. The Housing Trust Fund Advisory Board discussed the Requests for Proposals at its May 14, 2009 meeting. Below are the results of the Request for Proposal process.
The FY2009 Housing Trust Fund Request for Proposals will be presented to City Council at its June 1, 2009 workshop.
Housing Trust Fund - FY2009 Request for Proposal Results
Multi-Family Rental and Special Needs Housing
Multi-Family Rental - New Construction/Rehabilitation
| Project Score |
Project Name |
Developer |
Aff. Units |
Type |
City Funding |
| 122 |
915 Caldwell |
Charlotte Housing Authority |
100 |
New Construction |
$800,000 |
| 122 |
Savanna Woods Apts. |
Charlotte Housing Authority |
117 |
New Construction |
$1,000,000 |
| 104 |
Strawn Tower Apts. |
Charlotte Housing Authority |
170 |
New Construction |
$1,000,000 |
| 98 |
Oak Park Apts. |
Foundation for Affordable Housing |
107 |
Rehabilitation |
$1,400,000 |
| 92 |
Willow Run Apts. |
United Equities VI |
51 |
New Construction |
$616,605 |
| 89 |
Steel Creek Seniors** |
Wood Partners |
120 |
New Construction |
$1,183,395 |
| |
Total |
|
665 |
|
$6,000,000 |
| -------- Cut off Line for Funding ------- |
| 78 |
Townhomes of Ashbrook |
|
150 |
New Construction |
$1,500,000 |
** Based on available funding the Steel Creek Seniors project would receive $1,183,395 of the $1,370,434 requested.
All of the projects listed in the Multi-Family Rental category with the exception of Oak Park Apartments have applied to the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency (NCHFA) for Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and Bond allocation. It is anticipated that all of the projects will not receive funding from the NCHFA and there will be remaining funds to be reallocated.
Special Needs Housing - New Construction/Rehabilitation Projects:
| Project Score |
Project Name |
Developer |
Aff. Units |
Type |
City Funding |
| 112 |
Charlottetown Terrace |
Charlotte Housing Authority |
161 |
Rehabilitation |
$1,000,000 |
| 108 |
Dove's Nest |
Charlotte Rescue Mission |
90 |
New Construction |
$1,500,000 |
| 106 |
Domestic Violence Facility |
United Family Services, Inc. |
80 |
New Construction |
$800,000 |
| |
Total |
|
|
|
$3,300,000 |
| -------- Cut off Line for Funding ------- |
| 104 |
Moore place |
Charlotte Center for Urban Ministry |
85 |
New Construction |
$2,000,000 |
| 100 |
Women's Transition Shelter |
Friendship CDC |
26 |
Rehabilitation |
$448,052 |
| 96 |
Belmont Walk |
Charlotte Housing Authority |
33 |
New Construction |
$800,000 |
| 91 |
Arrowood Senior Apts. |
VSL Construction Inc. |
100 |
New Construction |
$725,000 |
