march 1, 2011 preliminary plan for cornerstones

8/7/2019 March 1, 2011 Preliminary Plan for Cornerstones

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ROUTING City Council | DELEGATION W. TrocenkoWRITTEN BY D. Kreuzer | March 1, 2011 Planning and Development Department 2011PHB005

Page 1 of 3

New Process forCornerstones GrantApprovals

Recommendation:

That the March 1, 2011, Planning andDevelopment report 2011PHB005 bereceived for information.

Report Summary

This report provides an update ofAdministrations progress inresponding to a number of related

City Council and ExecutiveCommittee referrals on Cornerstonesand other housing initiatives.

Previous Council/Committee Action

At the July 21, 2010, City Councilmeeting, the following motion waspassed:

1. That Administration prepare a reportto the September 8, 2010, ExecutiveCommittee meeting, setting out:

a) the details of the Citysrelationship with the City ofEdmonton Non-Profit HousingCorporation, and outlining howthat corporation is currentlyinvolved in the delivery andimplementation of the Cityshousing initiatives.

b) recommendations on how theCity of Edmonton Non-Profit

Housing Corporation or otherexisting or new City non-profitcorporations, committees oragencies could be used to deliveror implement the Citys housinginitiatives into the future.

2. That Administration provideassistance to the board of the City ofEdmonton Non-Profit HousingCorporation in preparing its interimand final governance reports, usingexisting City budget resources.

At the June 23, 2010, City Councilmeeting, the following motions werepassed:

That Administration provide a statusreport to the September 8, 2010,Executive Committee meeting on thedevelopment of new processes forCornerstones grant applications, asreviewed in the June 9, 2010, Officeof the City Auditor report

2010OCA012.

That the City Manager and City Clerkwork together to ensure that Councilhas an opportunity to provide inputinto the strategy for affordablehousing, including governance,intergovernmental relations andfuture steps. (Cornerstones-Independent Evaluation and FutureAction Plan Report).

Report

This report provides a summary of theAdministrations progress in respondingto City Council and ExecutiveCommittee motions regarding:

The role of the Citys Non-ProfitHousing Corporation in implementingthe Citys housing initiatives andgovernance relationship to the City.

Development of new processes fordelivering Cornerstones grantfunding programs, includingalignment with the Citysdevelopment approval processes.

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New Process for Cornerstones Grant Approvals

Page 2 of 3

Implementation of therecommendations of theIndependent Evaluation ofCornerstones and future action plan.

Attachment 1 provides information andthe current status of actions to addressthe July 21, 2010, motions of CityCouncil relating to the City of EdmontonNon-Profit Housing Corporation(homeEd). The Housing Branch hasheld two strategic information and actionplanning sessions with the Board ofhomeEd. These sessions focused on anumber of governance and operationalissues identified in the City AuditorsGovernance and Financial Reviews,with the homeEd Board confirming thefollowing high-level outcomes:

A new Vision and Mandate ofhomeEd.

General Board consensus on theconceptual outline of the futurestate governance model and theinterim transitional governancemodel.

Short, medium and long termstrategic activities, including theprioritization and development ofa work plan and resourcing toimplement the Auditrecommendations.

The homeEd Board will be seeking ashareholder meeting with City Council inMarch, 2011, to more fully inform themabout the above outcomes, progress todate and to seek direction on thetransitional and future state governancemodels.

The second update (Attachment 2)relates to Councils June 23, 2010,request for a status report onimplementation of the City Auditors

recommendations regarding issuance ofdevelopment permits and approval ofCornerstones funding. Attachment 2outlines the City Auditors sixrecommendations, with Administrationsresponse, action plan and current statusof implementation.Two of the recommendations wereimplemented in 2010, two will becompleted by March 31, 2011, and theremaining two recommendations will becompleted by year-end 2011.

The third status update (Attachments 3,4 and 5) relates to the independentevaluation of Cornerstones and CityCouncils direction that Administration

provide an opportunity for Councilsstrategic input into governance,intergovernmental relations and futuresteps in the strategy for affordablehousing.

Attachment 3 provides an overview ofthe Consultants Cornerstonesrecommendations and Administrationsprogress to date.

Attachment 4 (updated Roadmap)summarizes the high level plan forcompletion of the existing Cornerstonesprogram, based on total funding of$149.99 million. At year end 2010, theCity has firm commitments in place for$120.63 million of the total funds.

Attachment 5 shows Administrationspreliminary plan for the allocation of theremaining $29.36 million of available

funding for 2011 and 2012. This planwill be finalized and brought forward forCouncils approval following theMarch 1, 2011, City Council meeting.

In response to the request for directparticipation of City Council in the


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Attachment 1

Page 1 of 3 Report: 2011PHB005 Attachment 1

Status of Council Motions Relating to the City of Edmonton Non-Profit HousingCorporation (homeEd)

Motion 1: That Administration prepare a report to the September 8, 2010Executive Committee meeting, setting out:

a) The details of the Citys relationship with the City of Edmonton Non-ProfitHousing Corporation, and outlining how that corporation is currentlyinvolved in the delivery and implementation of the Citys housinginitiatives.

Response: The City of Edmonton is the sole shareholder of homeEd, a privatenot for profit company incorporated in 1977. The objective for which homeEdwas established was broadly defined to develop, provide, operate and maintainhousing accommodation of all kinds. More specifically, as explained in a 1977Council report, the principal intent of the Non-Profit Corporation was to secureFederal government subsidized mortgage loans to build new affordable rentalhousing stock for Edmontonians. Such housing was specifically targeted tomixed income tenancy such that rents fell between the low end of private marketrents and subsidized housing (social housing), within the parameters of theprograms funding requirements. When the Province of Alberta introduced asimilar non-profit housing program providing mortgage subsidies, homeEdsuccessfully built projects with said provincial funding.

The governance of homeEd was established with a Board of Directors originallycomprised of the Mayor, two aldermen, a commissioner and two generalmanagers from the Administration. Board composition changed over the years

until elected officials withdrew from Board participation and now City Councilappoints all seven Board members from the public at large.

Management of the Corporation originally was provided by an individual withoutDepartmental affiliation, although on the Citys payroll, who reported directly tothe Board. In 1995, the Board approved the retention of a Branch Manager inthe Planning and Development Department to manage homeEd, a model thatcontinued for 15 years until his retirement. The Board requested a governancereview in October 2009 and met with its shareholder at a meeting on July 12,2010, to discuss a governance review and to clarify the role of the Board andfuture directions.

At present, homeEd owns and manages 806 apartment and townhouse units;658 of which were built under federal or provincial mortgage subsidizationprograms and 148 units either built or acquired with the assistance ofCornerstones funding and Provincial affordable housing grants. homeEdcontinues to successfully fulfill its original intent. It provides very favourablemixed income rental accommodation seamlessly into neighbourhoods throughout


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Attachment 1


the City. It is an excellent example of inclusionary housing wherein tenantswithin a housing development pay either a subsidized rent or low end of marketrent, depending on household income.

The City of Edmonton Non-Profit Housing Corporation has capably demonstratedits ability to deliver and implement City housing initiatives. In addition toexpanding the housing stock with Cornerstones grants, homeEd works with theCity and other agencies to provide housing to third stage tenants (stabilizingafter abusive relationships) and housing first tenants, coming out of homelesscircumstances. In addition, units from the private sector coming to the City underthe present Inclusionary Housing Strategy are being managed by homeEd interms of tenant selection, placement and property management.

b) Recommendations on how the City of Edmonton Non-Profit HousingCorporation or other existing or new City non-profit corporations,committees or agencies could be used to deliver or implement the Cityshousing initiatives in the future.

Response: At a meeting with the Shareholder (City Councillors) on July 12,2010, the homeEd Board presented a proposal for a new governance modelintended to move homeEd forward to achieve mutual housing objectives. Theprinciple aspect of this proposal of the Board would see the replacement ofAdministration presently engaged in management of the Corporation with staffand services hired by the Board outside of the Administration. In response, theShareholder directed the Board to work with Administration to develop agovernance model and policy framework and report to a homeEd shareholdermeeting in November 2010.

At the subsequent meeting of the homeEd Board of Directors on July 22, 2010,the Housing Branch Manager advised that the City Manager had rescheduled thenext shareholder meeting for the first quarter of 2011. This will also enable theAdministration to benefit from the Council retreat on housing directives scheduledfor March 1, 2011, given the changing landscape emanating from Provincialdirections and evolving perspectives of housing management bodies and othernon-profit providers.

On January 13, 2011 and January 20, 2011, two Strategic Working Sessions withthe homeEd Board were hosted by the Housing Branch. Through these sessionsthe Board was engaged in discussions that focused on matters relating to:

the Citys strategic framework and important outcomes expected by Council; sharing information on the broader housing environment, trends, issues,

market reports, and perspectives of other housing providers as theenvironment is undergoing change;

facilitating working sessions to focus on issues important to the Board; directions and strategic imperatives of the Housing Branch; and


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Attachment 1


the potential to map out new directions for homeEd in this context.

These collaborative efforts are being summarized into a report that is beingprepared jointly between the Administration and the homeEd Board for futurereview and consideration by the shareholder.

Motion 2: That Administration provide assistance to the Board of the City ofEdmonton Non-Profit Housing Corporation in preparing its interim and finalgovernance reports, using existing City budget resources.

Response: As described above, Administration is working collaboratively with theBoard to achieve this directive. A report will be prepared to address governance use ofexisting City resources, and other relevant matters.

In the interim, Administration remains committed to provide the ongoing management ofhomeEd to ensure the housing portfolio remains financially and properly managed. Thiswill assure the important continuation of providing needed affordable housing to ourcitizenry while at the same time professionally maintaining millions of dollars of Cityassets. The Housing Branch Planning and Development, Finance and Treasury andAsset Management and Public Works are participating in these discussions.


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Attachment2

Topic

Recommendation

ResponseandActi

onPlan

Upd

ate

Targetcompletiondate:FirstQuarter,2011.

ResponsibleParty:Managers

oftheHousing

andCurrentPlanningBranches.

withexpectationswithpublic

inquiriesandcom

munication

issues:

1.

Parametersareinplaceto

havethoseresponsible(at

thelowestle

vel)respondto

publicinquiries.

2.

Escalationguidelinesare

beingdevelo

pedtoensure

thatpublicin

quiriesare

escalatedas

appropriate.

3.

POSSEimprovementsare

beingdevelo

pedtoensure

theelectronictrackingof

filesbetween

Current

Planningand

Housing

Branches.

4.

Apointpersonwillbe

identifiedineachBranchfor

collaboration

between

Brancheson

Housing

relatedissue

s.

5.

Alignmentof

accountabilities

betweenBra

nchesisbeing

refinedthrou

ghtheHousing

AccountabilityFramework

initiative.

6.

BranchManagersaretaking

anactiveroleinmonitoring

thesechangesand

improvements.

7.

Formaldocu

mentationwill

resultfromth

eHousing

AccountabilityFramework

initiative.


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Attachment3

ImplementationStatusofRecommendationsfr

omt

heIndependentEvaluationofCornerstones

ConsultantsRecommendations

CurrentActionsandStatus

Recommendation1

CornerstonesPlan

Produce

aplanupdateforremainderof

Cornerstonesfunding

Plannee

dstoalignwithcorporate

initiatives

Evaluationframework

Attachment4providestheupdated

CornerstonesRoadmapindicating$149.9

9

millionintotalanticipatedfun

dsand$149.9

9

millionintotalplannedcomm

itmentsforthe

five-yearCornerstonesPlan

period.

Thereare

hardcommitmentspriorto2010yearendfor

$120.6

3millionofanticipatedfunds.

Attachment5providesalistingofspecific

plannedproject,unitandfun

dingcommitments

forallocatingtheremaining$

29.3

6millionof

Cornerstonesinyears2011and2012.

Theplanalignswithinitiative

ssuchastransit-

orienteddevelopment;revita

lizationof

neighbourhoods;artsandcu

lturalpolicy;Smart

Choices;walkability;anddiversityand

inclusion.

Avaluesindexassessmenttoolisunder

developmenttoquantitativelyandqualitatively

assessthevalueformoneyCornerstones

financialcontributions.

This

assessmenttool

willbecompletedbyyearen

d-2011.

Recommendation2

AnnualReporting

Produce

annualCornerstonesReports

Reporta

ccomplishmentssince

inception

todateinfirstreport

Subsequ

entreportshighlightannual

accomplishments

AnannualstatusreportonC

ityCouncils

housinginitiativesfor2010(Councillor

Leibovici)willbefinalizedby

March,

2011.

Recommendation3

HousingFirstInitiative

Develop

TermsofReferencefor

AffordableHousingHousingFirst

Initiative

TheMarch1,

2011Councilo

ff-sitesessionwill

ensureCityCouncilhasdirectparticipationin

theproductionoftheTermsofReferencefor

futuredirections.


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Attachment3

CityCouncilMotion

Thatthe

CityManagerandCityClerk

worktogethertoensurethatCouncil

hasano

pportunitytoprovideinputinto

thestrategyforaffordablehousing,

including

governance,

intergovernmentalrelationsandfuture

steps.

DraftagendaforaCityCoun

ciloff-sitesession

isbeingdevelopedinconsultationwiththeCity

Manager,CityClerkandCommunityServices.


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Attachment4

TotalPlannedCommitments

(2006-2013)

3,187

147,824,598

$0

EMERGENTISSUESCONTIN

GENCY

$161,134

TOTALPLANNEDCOMMITMENTSPLUSEMERGENTISSU

ESCONTINGENCY

$149,985,732


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Attachment5

No.of

Commitmen

t

Total

Expenditur

e

FuturePriorityP

rojectsthatRemainUnfunded(cont

d.)

Units

Year

Funding

Year

FiveCornersTower2(The

Quarters)MixedHousing

0

2011

$0

2012

RowlandRoad(TheQuarters)MixedHousing

0

2010

$0

2012

GoodridgeNeighbourhood

AreaStructurePlan

0

2011

$0

2013

CommunityHousingStrate

gy

0

2011

$0

2013

EmergentIssuesConting

ency

0

2011

$161,134

2011

TOTALS

645

$29,358,970


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Attachment 6


Issues Emerging from the Changing Housing Landscape

In addition to the numerous housing initiatives and activities outlined in the Planning andDevelopment Department Report 2010PHB008 (and the preceding five attachments thereto),

the Housing Branch is further involved in other housing related discussions as summarizedbelow:

1. Review of present approaches and future recommended directions for inclusionaryaffordable housing. The existing approach of attaining 5% of comprehensivedevelopment units, through Direct Control rezonings, at 85% of market value foraffordable housing was initiated at a different time in the real estate cycle.Alternative strategies need to be developed, given the current housing economy,elimination of Provincial Block funding for municipal housing programs andchanging priorities for the use of future City and Provincial housing funds.

2. As a key stakeholder in a new Cornerstones process, Community Services staffwill be able to provide more comprehensive input into the development of a futurestrategic plan (New Process for Cornerstones) to address issues of healthy,diverse and inclusive, well-designed communities, and enabling a better link of thenew process with the Great Neighbourhoods initiative.

3. The Province of Alberta has approved the Capital Region Board Housing Plan forthe general location of non-market housing and mechanisms to increase the supplyof market affordable housing in the Region, including the City of Edmonton. TheProvince, through the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, has agreed to workclosely with the Capital Region Board Housing Committee on the development of

sub regional planning models and to investigate options of the allocation andutilization of non-market housing funding. This work will include a review of theutilization of the current provincial capital and operating dollars as well as theprovincially controlled housing assets. This investment includes over 9,000housing units and 5,000 rent subsidies in the City of Edmonton as deliveredthrough 16 Provincially-established local Housing Management Bodies. Theimplications of this work could include the redevelopment and leveraging of existingassets, creating more effective partnerships and changes to governance anddelivery structures.

4. Goodridge NASP Asset Management and Public Works is leading efforts to bringforward the Goodridge Neighbourhood Area Structure Plan that will encourage newand different housing built forms. This significant City land holding presents anideal opportunity to achieve mixed use neighbourhoods with sensitive integrationsof affordable, mixed income housing types.

5. The Housing Branch is preparing to bring forward two inclusive mixed-use, mixed-housing proposals in The Quarters. These projects were in response to a Cityproposal call and, if approved, will represent significant landmark developments on


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Attachment 6

two key development sites in The Quarters.

6. Review of the two pilot Projects as part of the First Place Program and thedevelopment of a go forward strategy for the remaining 18 sites.

7. Participation in the development of a new Edmonton Community Plan on Housingand Support Service in collaboration with the Homeless Commission, HomewardTrust Edmonton and a range of government, community and industry housingstakeholders.

8. In collaboration with the Government of Alberta, the City of Edmonton Non-ProfitHousing Corporation (homeEd), Capital Region Housing Corporation, HomewardTrust Edmonton and others, to pilot new partnership methodologies fordemonstration projects identified in Attachment 5 of this report.

9. The Housing Branch is preparing to implement processes that would result in Boyle

Renaissance Phase II Aboriginal Seniors Housing Facility, and Boyle RenaissancePhase III York Hotel market housing proposal.

march 1, 2011 preliminary plan for cornerstones

Documents