Live blog: Ability Housing Springfield meeting

[sheclown]

^ super. Call the homeless coalition and see what you can do to help

[strider]

Federal Housing Voucher Guidelines for Veterans . And yes I would be happy to rent to a qualified homeless veteran with a voucher and have in the past in Riverside , Neptune Beach as well as Springfield : HUD has issued over 58,000 housing vouchers for veterans . Seems to work :The Federal Government thinks so anyway : http://www.va.gov/homeless/housing.asp#one .

Very cool.  So you like this program and think it should be the way to go, even in Springfield.

Just so everyone has the info, here's the program description:(emphasis mine)

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and VA Supportive Housing Program (HUD-VASH) partner to provide permanent, supportive housing and treatment services for homeless Veterans.

As of September 30, 2013, HUD had allocated more than 58,000 Housing Choice vouchers across the country, which allows Veterans and their families to live in market rate rental housing while VA provides case management services. A housing subsidy is paid to the landlord directly by the local public housing authority on behalf of the participating Veteran. The Veteran then pays the difference between the actual rent charged by the landlord and the amount subsidized by the program. The case management services facilitate the attainment of the Veteran's recovery goals. The HUD-VASH Program is for the most vulnerable Veterans, and provides special services for women Veterans, those recently returning from combat zones, and Veterans with disabilities.

Interesting that this is almost exactly what Ability Housing wants to do and what Jacksonville just declared illegal. Jaxbuilder, if you accept that voucher, will Mr Meeks and Mr Burney declare your rental a "special Use"?

[sheclown]

I can't get to the September 4th Planning Commission meeting minutes online.  Anyone else having problems with this?

[ChriswUfGator]

Public records request.

[sheclown]

Transcripts for the meeting are out.

COJ web site

Starts on page 87.

Burneys "average person" quote is on page 145 line 14-22

Rather damning IMHO

DIRECTOR BURNEY:

Well,
if they came to us
and they were not changing,
they were just picking up where the current owners of Cottage Avenue left off
renting to just the average person,
not providing any services, you now,
following that typical landlord/tenant relationship, you know,
we would just issue a Certificate of Use and allow them to move
forward

[AuditoreEnterprise]

That is borderline if not full fledged general discrimination. I mean if a handicapped person needed special accommodations would this would apply to them as well? Jesus almighty people need to think before they say certain things. I am sure his defense will be the same as what every other city person has been seen saying in the past... "I didn't mean it like that... It was taken out of context." Just go back to that general rule... Think before you speak...

[AuditoreEnterprise]

It is a shame indeed

[sheclown]

transcripts posted here:

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,22620.0.html

[sheclown]

Sunday's Lead Letter: Don't put the entire burden of solving homelessness on Springfield

Fri, Sep 12, 2014 @ 3:11 pm
Letters from Readers

In its recent letter, Ability Housing brought up the issue of discrimination.

Discrimination can mean different things to different constituents.

I believe it discriminatory to single out one residential section of any city to place large numbers of homeless.

The city realizes that the Historic Springfield district has provided more than its share in housing for homeless and social services.

SPRINGFIELD HAS BEEN SINGLED OUT

In Duval County, there are 699 properties with social service exemptions.

Duval County is 840 square miles.

That equates to less than one social service organization per square mile.

Within Historic Springfield — which is one square mile — there are 45 such properties.

The Springfield Zoning Overlay was designed to prevent this neighborhood from becoming the receptacle for all the social problems of a large city.

All of Jacksonville's citizens have the responsibility of taking care of those who are less fortunate.

Historic Springfield has many families.

Every day these residents come face to face with the homeless, disabled and disadvantaged.

Springfield residents respond daily with money, clothes, food and even medical care for those who struggle.

We do this gladly on our own time.

And with our own money.

It is in the spirit of our community.

RESPONSIBILITY MUST BE SHARED

But placing more homeless housing in Springfield only makes residents feel resentful and discriminated against.

Is the Historic Springfield residential area the only square mile in this large city where these kinds of facilities can be located?

I believe not.

I ask that Ability Housing and other social services become more creative and spread their visions across all sections of our wonderful city.

Don't break the back of one section of Jacksonville.

This responsibility needs to be shared by all citizens!

Susan Dobson, Jacksonville

[sheclown]

for a list of the 45 structures, look to this thread:

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,21248.0.html

Not sure how counting the SPAR building as a burden on the neighborhood (as it is included in one of the 45) -- but it is the script which is being passed around.

[JayBird]

for a list of the 45 structures, look to this thread:

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,21248.0.html

Not sure how counting the SPAR building as a burden on the neighborhood (as it is included in one of the 45) -- but it is the script which is being passed around.

Yes, but that was the conversation back in April. Please tell me that by now someone has actually formed a list that they were using to base that off of (because the list mentioned in that old thread wasn't the "official" one).

Also, is this special purpose overlay unique to neighborhoods, or is it a flat across the board that can be applied to any neighborhood? (EDIT: Sorry sometimes my Yankee brain jumbles my words: translation: is it one overlay for Springfield, Riverside, San Marco or do they each have their own different unique overlay rules?

[sheclown]

for a list of the 45 structures, look to this thread:

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,21248.0.html

Not sure how counting the SPAR building as a burden on the neighborhood (as it is included in one of the 45) -- but it is the script which is being passed around.

Yes, but that was the conversation back in April. Please tell me that by now someone has actually formed a list that they were using to base that off of (because the list mentioned in that old thread wasn't the "official" one).

Also, is this special purpose overlay unique to neighborhoods, or is it a flat across the board that can be applied to any neighborhood? (EDIT: Sorry sometimes my Yankee brain jumbles my words: translation: is it one overlay for Springfield, Riverside, San Marco or do they each have their own different unique overlay rules?

Ironically, Burney's interpretation makes new permanent supportive housing illegal in all Jacksonville neighborhoods. New Rooming houses are not allowed in any neighborhood. Therefore being "akin" to one makes it an illegal use. 

Historic Districts with restrictive overlays are no different in this regard (from the rest of the city).

HUD calls Permanent Supportive Housing a best practice -- 

As far as the list of 45 goes, yes it is from the talking points initially circulated last spring and has little to do with "special uses".

[Kay]

Each overlay is different. 

[sheclown]

So, as I see it, these are the possible courses of action:

1.) Ability Housing closes up shop and there is no new Permanent Supportive Housing placing Jacksonville in direct opposition to HUD's favored policy.

2.) Calvin Burney defines Permanent Supportive Housing and then is compelled to determine what zoning allows it.  (And therefore must decide where it will not be allowed as well -- not a wise move with Fair Housing and ADA watching).

This is not a Springfield Overlay issue.  This is a Jacksonville issue.

Neither of these options will work out well for Jax.

from page 202/203

Commissioner Detrich:

But supportive housing has been in existing over the last five, ten, fifteen years, and the code, if you -- since those uses are already out there in multitudes, it didn't -- and before your time, before you were even the Planning Director, because I know you're not responsible for those actions that came before you.  To your knowledge or under your terms or direction, knowing this use is out there, you didn't feel it necessary to amend the code to address them?

Director Burney:

Well, one of the things that we have done since I have been with the Planning Department, we have gone back and taken a look at the code.  And in certain areas where we feel that there amendments, we have been pulling together language to amend the code, we have just not submitted the language to council for approval or ran it through the process.  But the thing is we are aware that in some instances there may be some things in the code that might need to be updated.  And when we do run across some of those things, we are putting together language to address those issues.

[strider]

The term used in the Springfield Overlay, "Special Use", is only found in the Springfield Overlay.  But as Sheclown pointed out, the term itself does not matter too much.  Rooming houses and high density group care homes are defined in the overlay as "Special Uses" and the written interpretation states that as Permanent Supportive Housing is akin to a rooming house or group care home, then as a potential new special use, it is not allowed. That would seem to apply to Springfield only then.  Except that rooming houses are not allowed anywhere in Jacksonville except in a few select zoning codes and then only by Exemption.  High density group care homes are essentially in the same boat.  Permanent Supportive Housing as been declared by Mr Burney to be essentially the same as a rooming house or high density group care home.  People being what they are, how long before complaints from other communities start rolling in?  Mr Burney and the Planning Commission just made Permanent Supportive Housing illegal in all of Jacksonville. Unless you are in the right zoning code and can get an exemption.  Remembering the foot stomping crowd in Springfield, what are the odds of that?