Revisions to the Affordable Housing SchoolImpact Fee Waiver Program and EmployerAssisted Housing Program Concept
November 28, 2017
Presented by:Leslie Brown, Chief Portfolio Services Officer Chris Akagbosu, Director, Facility Planning and Real Estate Department
Facility Planning and Real Estate Department
• Review the District's current School Impact Fee Waiver (SIFW)
program
• Discuss factors contributing to the need for program
changes
• Share feedback garnered from affordable housing
stakeholder community
• Present staff recommendations for new program parameters
• Introduce potential Employer Assisted Housing Concept
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The Purpose of Today’s Presentation
Directives from August 15, 2017 School Board Workshop Relating to
Affordable Housing
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• To mitigate the potential impact on affordable housing, staff to research the effect of capping the school impact fee increases at 75%
• Include waivers for low and very low income units
• Explore moderate income units when it benefits Broward County Public School teachers
• Revisit the current District position of capping school impact fee waiver at $25,000 per project; and maintain the current annual funding allocation at $375,000
• Support a two year phase-in of the fee increases• Subsequent feedback from District Chief Financial Officer indicated
that this loss of revenue may be problematic
SCHOOL BOARD OF BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA IS THE ONLY KNOWN DISTRICT IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA THAT FUNDS ITS OWN SCHOOL IMPACT FEE WAIVER PROGRAM
Comparison Among Florida Urban School Districts
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County
School Impact Fee
Waiver Program
Program Description
Broward Yes
100% of school impact fees waived by School Board for very low income units, up to $25K. Fees also
waived for elderly housing.
Miami-Dade No Fees only waived for elderly housing.
Palm Beach No
Fees only waived for elderly housing. Department of Economic Sustainability under the County does
have a fund that people can apply for to use to pay the required impact fees.
Pinellas N/A County does not collect school impact fees.
Orange No
Orange County provided State-allocated (SHIP) affordable housing funds to developers. Developers
utilized these funds to pay impact fees. Reimbursements are provided and funded by the County
Housing and Community Development Division. Discounts provided as follows:
50% Area Median Income (AMI) is a 75% reimbursement of all fees
80% AMI is 50% reimbursement of all fees
Hillsborough No Impact fees only waived for transportation, parks and fire.
Broward County Income Chart
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The Broward County Income Category Chart is based on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Income Limits Documentation System.
Broward County's Median Income is $64,100
Effective: April, 2017
• Annual Allocation Amount - $375,000
• Project receives 100% waiver, up to $25,000 for units
certified by Broward County as very low income
• Only in effect for last two years
Broward County Public Schools- Current School
Impact Fee Waiver Program
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Fiscal Year Total # Units
Granted
Waivers
Total Amount
Allocated
Undistributed
Allocation
2015/16 32 $108,180 $266,820
2016/17 5 $30,696 $344,304
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Current Context
Proposed school impact
fee schedule may
negatively impact
housing affordability
There is a growing
demand for affordable
housing subsidies in
Broward County, as
identified in Broward
County Comprehensive
Plan
Administrative process
rather than a Board
approved resolution for
each waiver has worked
well to streamline
application process
For last two years, most of
the yearly allocation has
remained underutilized
Some projects have
expired and applicants
had to reapply because
they could not complete
the County process within
the 30 day deadline
Very low income housing
“deals” are hard to finance
Stakeholder Ideas to Expand SIFW Program
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• Feedback from meeting with affordable housing community stakeholders on July 26,2017 and October 9, 2017 was to consider some of the following changes:
• Larger annual allocation
• Maintain per project maximum but increase to $50,000
• Open program to low-income certified projects; also include moderate income projects if for BCPS teachers
• Allow for 60% AMI for rental
• Allow for 80% AMI for home ownership
• 100% waiver for very-low income projects, 75% waiver for low income projects
• Reserve certain % of annual allocation for very-low or low income projects
• Link waiver amount to the time the units must remain affordable (i.e. the longer the affordability period, the greater the waiver)
• Reserve some of annual allocation for non-profit developers
• Advance the granting of the School Impact Fee Waiver to earlier in the development process
Staff Recommendations for SIFW Program – ANNUAL
ALLOCATION
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• Maintain Annual Allocation at $375,000• First priority – full disbursement of annual funding
• When full disbursement can be demonstrated, would justify need for expansion or approaching local government partners to possibly supplement the program
• Financial fate of the District is unknown as it relates to pending status of House Bill 7609
• Funding is unrelated to direct delivery of education
• Can easily modify the annual allocation in the future via Resolution
• does not require amendments to Policy
Staff Recommendations for SIFW Program – INCOME LEVEL
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• Expand to 100% waiver for very low and low income affordable housing projects
• Mirrors Broward County impact fee waiver program
• Supports goal of full disbursement of annual allocation
• Simple and streamlined, not overly restrictive
• For limited amount in total annual allocation pool, does not make sense to divide allocation for specific groups (i.e. non-profit, scaled percentages for target income brackets or longer affordability periods, etc.) but can be done in future
• When budget allows, reserve funding reservations for specific groups
• Assess program in a year and if money runs out too quickly or is not secured for subgroups (i.e. very-low income, non-profits) then restructure
• Moderate income credit program for teachers is NOT included
• County staff has indicated that it is not feasible to implement as a part of SIFW program because buyer/renter information is unknown at the time of building permit; County is not suited to administer such a program on behalf of the District
• Could be implemented as a separate and internally run program that provides subsidy for teachers
Staff Recommendations for SIFW Program – PER PROJECT
MAXIMUM
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• Double per project maximum - to $50,000
• Project maximum and proposed ($50,000) amount supported by stakeholders to prevent one or a few projects from taking entire allocation; however $25,000 is not enough
• Not all projects hit the maximum threshold – this may change when expanded to low income units
• Number of low and very low income affordable units that will be eligible within a single project depends on the proposed unit type, fees currently range from $344 (high-rise) to $8,241 (single family)
• Could increase per project cap if total program allocation amount increases
Staff Recommendations for SIFW Program –
TIMING OF PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION
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• Continue to implement at building permit stage/impact fee payment stage, and increase issuance period from 30 to 60 days
• Because of the per project cap, the limited SIFW amount available would not significantly impact a tax credit pro forma
• SIFW only issued for projects that will actually be built
• Lengthen the issuance period from 30 to 60 days to give sufficient time for applicants to redeem waiver at Broward County prior to expiration
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School Impact Fee Waivers for School Board of
Broward County (SBBC) Teachers - General Concept
Eligibility Criteria, Application and Award
Process need to be developed
Reimburse school impact fees for
teachers
• Reimburse up to $4,000 over
4 years of employment, %
forgiven each year
• Based on current impact fee
schedule
Establish funding allocation– from the $375,000 allocation?
• Amount will guide
program parameters
• Investigate potential
mechanism to
disseminate payments
Intent (Return on
Investment)
Recruitment? Retention?
What does the District
want to gain?
Limit Eligibility to target income levels
Potential rollout 2018/19 fiscal year
OTHER IDEAS?
� Bring new Resolution and School Board Policy 1161
to School Board Meeting with new program
parameters
� Assess the success of SIFW program parameters
after one year, retool as needed
� Continue to develop SIFW program for SBBC
Teachers if desired by the School Board with target
implementation date in Fiscal Year 2018/19
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Next Steps:
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Questions
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Broward County Public Schools
600 SE 3rd Ave
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
browardschools.com
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expression, national origin, marital status, race, religion, sex or
sexual orientation. Individuals who wish to file a discrimination
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Facility Planning and Real Estate
Revisions to the School Impact Fee Waiver Program and Employer Assisted Housing Program Concept
The School Board of Broward County, Florida
Nora Rupert, Chair
Heather P. Brinkworth, Vice Chair
Robin Bartleman
Abby M. Freedman
Patricia Good
Donna P. Korn
Laurie Rich Levinson
Ann Murray
Dr. Rosalind Osgood
Robert W. Runcie, Superintendent of Schools