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

The School Board of Broward County, Florida, prohibits any

policy or procedure which results in discrimination on the

basis of age, color, disability, gender identity, gender

expression, national origin, marital status, race, religion, sex or

sexual orientation. Individuals who wish to file a discrimination

and/or harassment complaint may call the Director, Equal

Educational Opportunities/ADA Compliance Department at

754-321-2150 or Teletype Machine (TTY) 754-321-2158.

Individuals with disabilities requesting accommodations

under the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act

of 2008, (ADAAA) may call Equal Educational

Opportunities/ADA Compliance Department at 754-321-2150

or (TTY) 754-321-2158.

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