2016 Annual Report Planning & Development Department Building a Better Hutch
Housing
Neighbor‐ hoods
Development
Preservation
Planning & Development Department 2016 Annual Report
Executive Summary
The Department continued to make progress on City Council priorities for 2016, including: Completed the CDBG grant for Avenue A Launched the 2017‐2037 Comprehensive Plan (est. March 2017 completion) Adopted revised Historic Preservation regulations Awarded Historic Preservation Fund Grants for architectural consulting services and for a cost comparison tool Adopted Rural Housing Incentive Districts Implemented the Rental Registration & Inspection Program Implemented new Planning & Development software (CitizenServe) Surveyed Houston Whiteside properties for contributing status Partnered with KU to develop an Infill Study for housing Adopted an Area of Influence surrounding the City for comment on development projects Modified the Neighborhood Revitalization Plan to include adoption by partnering agencies
2017 Work Plan
Go live to the public with the CitizenServe portal Complete Historic Preservation Action Plan implementation Complete the 2017‐2037 Comprehensive Plan Implement the recommendations of the Infill Study Complete 2017 Strategic Plan items, with major projects as follows: o Revise the Zoning Regulations to reduce the number of uses to broad use categories o Revise the Zoning Regulations to reduce the number of use types requiring special and conditional use permits Adopt new Sign Regulations compliant with State and Federal legislation/rulings Work with the County on Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Apply for a CDBG housing grant for a feature neighborhood, if we receive sufficient pre‐applications
Staff
Jana McCarron, AICP, Planning & Development Director Casey Jones, AICP/CFM, Senior Planner Amy Allison, Housing Program Coordinator Aaron Barlow, Associate Planner Charlene Mosier, Planning Technician Vacant, Planning Technician
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Planning & Development Department 2016 Annual Report
Contents
Executive Summary Department Overview Staffing
Comprehensive Plan
Housing New Housing Housing Development Gap Financing
Infill Development Study Land Bank Moderate Income Housing Grant Residential Infill Program Rural Housing Incentive Districts Special Assessment Districts
Housing Rehabilitation
2014 CDBG Brush Up Hutch! Paint Program Down Payment Match Incentive Neighborhood Revitalization Partnership Rental Registration & Inspection Program REPAIR Grant Revolving Grant – Interfaith Housing Zero Interest Residential Rehabilitation Loan
Housing Education & Marketing Housing Educational Seminar Series
Housing Website
Neighborhoods Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative
Healthy Neighborhoods Matching Grants
Development CitizenServe Implementation
Miscellaneous Cases Planning Cases Zoning Amendments
Preservation HPF Grant‐Consultation
HPF Grant‐Cost Comparison Tool Houston Whiteside District Survey Historic Preservation Action Plan Historic Preservation Reviews
Appendix A
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Planning & Development Department 2016 Annual Report
Department Overview
Staffing
The Department was short one position for half of 2016. Mr. Aaron Barlow, Associate Planner, joined the Department in July and hit the ground running. Mr. Barlow is the Preservation Planner. He also manages the Brush Up Hutch! Paint Program, as well as planning cases. For 2017, the Department is working on integration of programs across employees and cross‐training. An organization chart with primary duties is included at Appendix A.
Comprehensive Plan
Much of the Department’s efforts in 2016 were spent on development of the 2017‐2037 Comprehensive Plan, which was formally kicked off in July. In conjunction with consultants, staff held numerous public meetings and distributed a Community Survey that had more than 1300 responses. The final draft document is scheduled for Public Hearing by the Planning Commission on March 7, 2017 and adoption by the City Council on March 21, 2017. 4
Planning & Development Department 2016 Annual Report The Housing & Neighborhoods Division was very active during 2016. Following is a status report for the primary housing programs organized by City Council priority area.
Housing
New Housing Program Name & Update
Housing Development Gap Financing
Infill Development Study
No funding was budgeted specifically for Gap financing in 2016. A grant in the amount of $40,000 was received from NeighborWorks in 2015. This was spent on two units constructed by Interfaith Housing Services (HIS) in the Lincoln Neighborhood. Healthy Neighborhood Initiative funding is attempting to improve markets to reduce the Gap. Other programs, such as MIH grants, work to help reduce the gap. Results of the $6,000 study were presented to City Council in December 2016. Staff is working with the University of Kansas architecture students on final refinements and will return in 2017 with the recommendations / work plan.
The Hutchinson Land Bank acquired 5 new lots in 2016 and sold one lot. The Land Bank partially funded the infill development study. Additional funding may be needed in 2018.
Land Bank
Moderate Income Housing Grant
Phase 2 for the Townhomes @ Santa Fe Place project is under construction. The City’s match portion is $54,500, which was budgeted in 2016. This includes the Building Permit fee waiver.
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Planning & Development Department 2016 Annual Report me & Update Program Name & Update Residential Infill Program
One application was received during 2016, resulting in a fee waiver of $528.50.
The City received approval from the State in 2016 to use RHID financing and five potential districts were established. One application has been submitted (Hampton East), and is still in the planning stages.
Rural Housing Incentive Districts
Special Assessment Districts
One new assessment district was established in 2016 (Monarch Meadows, Phase 2)
Housing Rehabilitation Project Name & Update 2014 CDBG
Brush Up Hutch! Paint Program
Down Payment Match Incentive
Neighborhood Revitalization Plan
The 2014 CDBG was completed in 2016, with 16 houses located along E Avenue A rehabilitated. Funding included a City match of $94,611.57. The grant has been closed out. The City may wish to apply for a grant for 2018, which will require allocation of a match. The Brush Up Hutch Paint program was very active in 2016. A total of 14 houses were painted, 14 of which were located in the SW Bricktown neighborhood and were painted largely through a Pilot program which used housing valuation rather than income requirements for program eligibility. Funding levels may need to be increased if future years are as successful as this one. The Down Payment Match Incentive was approved as part of the 2017 Housing Initiatives. This program will commence in March 2017 and is a partnership with Interfaith Housing Services. Funds are available in the Houston Whiteside, College Grove and SW Bricktown neighborhoods. The Neighborhood Revitalization Plan program was revised in 2015‐16 and approved by all other taxing entities, as well as the State. A total of $469,390.47 was rebated in June 2016 for 2015 taxes throughout the County. Of this, $104,628.30 were new (2015) applications. Less than 1/3 of the new applications ($30,263.26) were Hutchinson NRP rebates. New Hutchinson residential rebates totaled $5,841.94.
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Planning & Development Department 2016 Annual Report Project Name & Update Rental Registration & Inspection Program Repair Grant (Stallman) Revolving Grant – IHS Zero Interest Residential Rehab Loan
For 2016, 5,544 units were registered, resulting in $142,120 collected. A total of 628 inspections were performed in 2016, with 287 of those resulting in major violations. Most of these properties were repaired to bring rental housing up to minimum health and safety standards. The program was revised in June 2016 in response to State legislation. As part of the changes, fees were reduced and a sunset of December 2019 was placed on the program. Bi‐annually, the City applies for Stallman Grant funding. In 2016, $5,000 in grant funds were used to repair houses prior to painting using the Brush Up Hutch Paint funds. These funds were spent in partnership with Interfaith Housing Services. City Council allocated $50,000 in 2016 Housing Initiative funding to Interfaith Housing for the rehabilitation of a minimum of 4 houses. In 2016, one of the 4 houses was renovated and the other 3 houses were identified. The Zero Interest Residential Rehabilitation Loan Program was approved by the Housing Commission on 12/21/2016 and City Council on 1/17/2017. The program will fund up to $2500 in interest per loan and is available in Feature Neighborhoods, as well as the Houston Whiteside District beginning in March 2017. The program represents a partnership with Peoples Bank & Trust.
Housing Education & Marketing Project Name & Update Housing Educational Seminar Series
Housing Website
This 6‐part educational seminar series is funded by a $2,500 grant from the Hutchinson Community Foundation. The first seminar will be held in February 2017 and will address financing Home Repair and Home Purchase. All seminars will be promoted in the feature neighborhoods and Houston Whiteside but will be available to residents across the City. One seminar will specifically deal with historic preservation. The City partnered with Hutchinson News to develop the hutchareahomes.com website, which includes the MLS, rentals and information on the City’s housing and neighborhoods programs. Hits are averaging more than 1,000 per month, compared with the <400 hits per year the City’s housing website formerly received.
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Planning & Development Department 2016 Annual Report
Neighborhoods
In 2015, the City began to look at Housing issues from the neighborhood perspective and the Hutchinson Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative (HHNI) was launched. A partnership between the City, Hutch Rec, United Way, Interfaith Housing and various other non‐profit and neighborhood groups, HHNI seeks to improve neighborhoods by making them more marketable. Project Name & Update
Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative
Healthy Neighborhood Matching Grants
Funding was included in the 2016 budget for sign toppers and other identification improvements in feature neighborhoods. College Grove sign toppers were purchased in 2016 and have been installed. SW Bricktown sign toppers are on order and should be delivered this month. Additional funding is available for 2017 from the Kansas Health Foundation grant for the SW Bricktown Neighborhood. Matching grants have not been spent for 2016. The College Grove neighborhood has submitted a proposal for painted crosswalks which will use some of these funds. In addition, the SW Bricktown Neighborhood is working on a mural design for the Woodie Seat Overpass. It is anticipated the matching grant funds will be spent by the end of 2017.
SW Bricktown
College Grove 8
Planning & Development Department 2016 Annual Report
Development
Development activity was slightly less in 2016 than in the two previous years, but still strong. A summary of Department activity is included below. Project Name & Update In February 2016, the Planning & Development Department went live with the code enforcement module of the City’s new permitting and planning software system, CitizenServe CitizenServe. The Planning module, for tracking development cases, went live in October Implementation 2016. Among the goals for 2017 is to make these modules available to the citizens via the web. The Planning Department reviews a variety of permits and projects that are not formal Miscellaneous Reviews planning cases. The graph at right provides a summary of miscellaneous planning & development activity for 2016. The Planning & Development Department processed the following applications for 2016: Conditional Use Permits 1. Single family dwelling (Sandy Lake Addition) 2. Self‐storage facility (2803 N Lorraine) 3. Sun Valley Trucking (Blanchard & S Lorraine) Site Plans Planning Cases 1. Stutzman’s Greenhouse (925 E 30th Ave) 2. Lincoln School Parking Lot (Bigger & Elm) 3. Matt’s Auto (827 Grant St) 4. Fire Station #5 (1024 N Hendricks St) 5. Metro to Go (15 W 2nd Ave) 6. Siemens Storage Yard 7. Bold Warehouse (E 11th Ave & Alcoa Dr) 8. Hutchinson Strip Center (1441 E 30th Ave) 9. Otter Habitat – Hutchinson Zoo (6 Emerson Loop) 10. Hutch ICU Expansion (1701 E 23rd Ave)
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Planning & Development Department 2016 Annual Report
Zoning Amendments
Special Use Permits 1. Sonic Drive‐Thru (621 E 4th Ave) 2. Chick‐Fil‐A (1809 E 17th Ave) 3. Bar & Tavern (1221 E 4th Ave) 4. Bar & Tavern (1321 E 4th Ave) 5. Bar & Tavern (1723 E 4th Ave) Subdivisions 1. Sandy Lake Addition 2. Kisiwa West 3. Meadowlake Reserve Area Replat 4. North Pointe 5. Pine Hill Second 6. Sun Valley Variances 1. Sonic (621 E 4th Ave) 2. Bar & Tavern (1221 E 4th Ave) 3. Bar & Tavern (1321 E 4th Ave) 4. Sun Valley Trucking (1601 E Blanchard Ave) 5. Fence (3908 N Monroe St) 6. Bar & Tavern (1723 E 4th Ave) 7. Garage (2808 N Main St) For 2016, seven applications for rezoning properties were received and approved: 1. Sandy Lake (00000 E 11th Ave) 2. USD 308 (Bigger & Elm) 3. Smith & Westbrook Baptist (30th Ave & Elm ) 4. Fire Station #5 (1024 N Hendricks) 5. Sun Valley Trucking (1601 E Blanchard Ave) 6. Red Barn Reflections (K‐61 and Dillon Ave) 7. Regier (2714 N Waldron) [approved 2/7/17] Two language amendments were made to the Zoning Regulations, as follows: 1. Residential Accessory Structures 2. Adult Day Cares
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Planning & Development Department 2016 Annual Report
Preservation
The Department continued to work on City Council’s historic preservation priorities in 2016, particularly in the Houston Whiteside Historic District. District residents will have access to the 2017 housing programs, which should encourage investment in this neighborhood. Project Name & Update
HPF Grant‐ Consultation
HPF Grant‐Cost Comparison Tool
Houston Whiteside District Survey
Historic Preservation Action Plan
Postcards advertising the consulting services were mailed to all Houston Whiteside residents in December 2016. Two consultations have already been authorized. The City may choose to fund consulting services as part of the annual budget and possibly make these services available for all historic properties. The City received $11,500 from the State to prepare a cost comparison tool, as well as for consulting services (see above). A draft tool will be available in March 2017. The City will want to budget for ongoing updates of the tool, if it is well‐utilized and helpful. The Landmarks Commission performed a survey of all structures located in the HW District and made recommendations to the State in January 2017 for reclassifying 7 properties from Contributing to Non‐contributing status. The State formally changed one property from Non‐ Contributing to Contributing and 11 properties from Contributing to Noncontributing on January 26, 2017. Updated photos of all properties surveyed have been uploaded on the State’s website. The Historic Preservation Action Plan was adopted by City Council in early 2016. A total of $2,777 was approved as part of the 2017 budget request for Historic Preservation Action Plan implementation, specifically for promotion of the Cost Comparison Tool and continuation of Consulting Services, if warranted.
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Planning & Development Department 2016 Annual Report Project Name & Update Fourteen historic reviews were conducted during 2016, with 8 of those involving properties located in the Houston Whiteside District, which represents 57% of the total reviews. A majority of the reviews (9) were performed by Staff, with 2 reviews triggering Landmarks Commission approval and 3 reviews performed by the State Historic Preservation Office (State HPO). There were no appealed cases during 2016. A full listing follows:
Historic Reviews
Property 121 N Main St 519 E Avenue A 530 E 1st Ave 206 W 1st Ave 521 E Sherman Ave 621 E Avenue Ave 615 E Sherman Ave 612 E Avenue A 208 N Main St 608 E Sherman Ave 605 E 1st Ave 1602 N Main St 427 N Main St 100 S Walnut
District Downtown Core North Houston Whiteside Houston Whiteside Individually Listed Houston Whiteside Houston Whiteside Houston Whiteside Houston Whiteside Downtown Core North Houston Whiteside Houston Whiteside Individually Listed Individually Listed Downtown Core South
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Reviewing Entity Staff Landmarks Comm State HPO State HPO Staff Staff Staff Staff State HPO Staff Staff Landmarks Comm Staff Staff
Project Aluminum Storm Windows Window replacement Tax credit – renovations Ramp & security upgrades Porch/railing repair Reroof detached garage Reroof house Reroof house Tax credit – remodel Reroof house Reroof house Electronic Message Center Reroof building Sign