Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning Land Use and Housing Committee met March 3.
Here is the minutes provided by the committee:
Members Present: Drew Awsumb, Adam Ballard, Alan Banks, Thomas Chefalo (for Eric Waggoner), Alex Devlin (for Heather Tabbert Mullins), Lisa DiChiera, Colin Duesing (for David Dubois), Jessica Infelise (for Paul Hoss), Christine Kolb, Caitlin Ritter, Kyle Smith, Robert Tucker, Mark VanKerkhoff (Chair), Miriam Zuk
Attending by Phone: Susan Campbell
Members Absent: Matthew Asselmeier, Angela Brooks, Mackenzie Drosd, Benjamin Fenton, Nancy Firfer (Vice-Chair), Veronica Gonzalez, Steve Mannella, Arnold Randall, Dennis Sanquist, Sharon Gorrell
CMAP Staff: Matthew Stern, Joan Smedinghoff, Ricardo Lopez, Tony Manno, Katie Piotrowska, Simone Weil, Tina Fassett Smith, Austen Edwards, Lindsey Hollander, Timothy McMahon, Stephanie Phifer
Others Present: Heather Armstrong, Garland Armstrong, Brian Tomkins
1.0 Call to Order
Chair Mark VanKerkhoff called the meeting to order at 9:35 a.m.
2.0 Agenda Changes and Announcements
Item 6.0, APA’s Housing Policy Guide, has been moved to the May 5th committee meeting. The committee welcomed new member Miriam Zuk from Enterprise Community Partners.
CMAP will be moving to the Old Post Office during late summer 2020. Committee members should look out for a change of venue later this year, likely as of the committee’s September 1st meeting.
3.0 Approval of Minutes – November 5, 2019
A motion to approve the minutes of the November 5, 2019 meeting was made, seconded, and carried with all in favor.
4.0 LTA/Community Planning Call for Projects – Tony Manno, CMAP
CMAP staff Tony Manno provided an update on the evaluation process and timeline for approval of the FY21 project group for the Local Technical Assistance program. CMAP and the RTA received 82 applications from across the region. The RTA selected 9 projects, which were recently approved by the RTA board. CMAP project selections will be presented to the board at their meeting on March 11th. A committee member asked if project size was considered during the evaluation process. Tony responded that both staff capacity and geographic location were considered as measures of project size. Another committee member asked if more affluent communities are given recommendations for private sector partners that can fund and/or provide the technical assistance requested if they are rejected based on their low need. Tony responded that CMAP will not deny an application solely based on low need. He added that when CMAP rejects an application for technical assistance, staff seek to recommend or connect communities with outside resources.
A committee member asked if the final proposed project selection materials could be shared with the committee. CMAP staff responded that they would share the packet once it was released, and that feedback should be directed to Chair Mark VanKerkhoff, who can deliver feedback as needed to the CMAP Coordinating Committee.
5.0 Guide on Local Incentives for Economic Development – Matthew Stern, CMAP
Many communities allocate some of their limited funding to development incentives, often without policies or procedures in place to target these resources toward meeting local or regional goals. CMAP staff Matthew Stern provided an overview of an ongoing CMAP project to create a guide for local communities on the use of incentive policies. He discussed initial findings, potential recommendations, and upcoming activities, and explained the need for the guidebook stemming from disconnect between academic interpretations and local experiences with incentives. He then facilitated a lengthy discussion with the committee to obtain feedback on the draft findings.
Committee members asked a variety of questions about and offered suggestions for the guidebook, including about the language within the recommendations, streamlining the incentive process, and the necessity of formal incentive policies. One committee member asked if it was beneficial to only concentrate on one sector of incentives, since organizations and municipalities use different incentives in different ways. Matthew responded that this project was focused on local incentives, but that recommendations may apply to state and federal incentives as well. A committee member raised concerns that a policy might mean communities are “held hostage” by their incentives. Matthew responded that one of the arguments for policy is that it is used by the public sector to document the goals community members have set forth to decide which incentives would be worth it, but a policy should not enable access to incentives by right.
In moving to the next item, Chair Mark VanKerkhoff suggested that since this topic had been such a catalyst for discussion it should be put on the agenda for a future meeting.
6.0 APA’s Housing Policy Guide
This agenda item was moved to the May 5, 2020 meeting of the Land Use and Housing Committee.
7.0 Metropolitan Mayor Caucus Census 2020 Update & Age-Friendly Communities Collaborative (AFCC) – Kyle Smith, Metropolitan Mayors Caucus
Kyle Smith from the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus updated the committee on MMC’s ongoing efforts to help the region achieve a complete count on the 2020 Census. Kyle mentioned that at this point, the Caucus has been mainly engaged in meeting with its member municipalities, and discussed the two stages of their Census work: educational and “get out the count.”
Next, Kyle provided an overview on the AFCC and invited discussion on aging in place and potential next steps and activities. He explained the country, the region, and municipalities are aging, and with longer life spans come huge policy implications for the United States. A committee member stressed the timeliness of this issue, and suggested zoning to support alternative housing for aging in place. Committee member Adam Ballard stated the attention to this issue was gratifying, but putting the focus on accessible communities long advocated for by the disability community would accomplish the same goals, since people are “aging into disability.”
8.0 2020 Work Plan – Mark VanKerkhoff, Chair
Chair Mark VanKerkhoff discussed the comments and input on the goals of the committee. He asked committee members to think about how their committee can make a difference, and added their workplan should be responsive to their interests.
9.0 Member Updates
Thomas Chefalo suggested a joint site visit/committee meeting between the Freight and Land Use and Housing committees to review the LTA Freight Impact Study in Will County.
10.0 Other Business
There was no other business.
11.0 Next Meeting
The committee is scheduled to meet next on Tuesday May 5, 2020 from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
12.0 Public Comment
Heather Armstrong voiced concern about the state of nursing home accommodations for the elderly and urged the committee to review the condition of nursing homes across the region. Garland Armstrong stressed the importance of inclusive Census materials (accommodation for people with disabilities and non-native English speakers) to ensure a full count of these communities.
13.0 Adjournment
Meeting adjourned at 11:27 a.m.
https://www.cmap.illinois.gov/documents/10180/1116827/Draft+Minutes+LUHC+March+2020.pdf/33cd930b-2b42-f070-0d0b-31d4a8748abf
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