Affordable Housing Task Force — Columbia, SC
Date: 2021-10-12
Time: 11:00

COLUMBIA AFFORDABLE HOUSING TASK FORCE MEETING AGENDA
 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2021


The Columbia Affordable Housing Task Force will conduct an Advisory Committee Meeting on
Tuesday, October 12, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. using video conferencing technology. The meeting will
be streamed online at www.columbiasc.gov. For questions regarding the meeting, please contact
the City Clerk at (803)545-3045 or cityclerk@columbiasc.gov.

CALL TO ORDER
APPROVAL OF MINUTES

1. Approval of the September 14, 2021 Affordable Housing Task Force Meeting Minutes

COMMITTEE DISCUSSION

2. Affordable Housing Trust Funds - Mr. Michael Anderson, Director of Housing Trust
 Funds for Community Change

3. Committee Reports

  Public Education & Awareness Committee - Ms. Brenna Bernardin, Chair
 - Outreach Plan
  Partnerships - Ms. Jennifer Moore, Chair
  Legal & Zoning - Ms. Lila Anna Sauls, Co-Chair
  Financing - Mr. Reggie Barner, Chair
  Accessibility - Ms. Julie Ann Avin, Chair

ANNOUNCEMENTS
NEXT MEETING DATE
Tuesday, November 9, 2021 at 11:00 a.m.

ADJOURNMENT




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COLUMBIA AFFORDABLE HOUSING TASK FORCE MEETING AGENDA
 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2021


The Columbia Affordable Housing Task Force will conduct an Advisory Committee Meeting on
Tuesday, October 12, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. using video conferencing technology. The meeting will
be streamed online at www.columbiasc.gov. For questions regarding the meeting, please contact
the City Clerk at (803)545-3045 or cityclerk@columbiasc.gov.

CALL TO ORDER
APPROVAL OF MINUTES

1. Approval of the September 14, 2021 Affordable Housing Task Force Meeting Minutes

COMMITTEE DISCUSSION

2. Affordable Housing Trust Funds - Mr. Michael Anderson, Director of Housing Trust
 Funds for Community Change

3. Committee Reports

  Public Education & Awareness Committee - Ms. Brenna Bernardin, Chair
 - Outreach Plan
  Partnerships - Ms. Jennifer Moore, Chair
  Legal & Zoning - Ms. Lila Anna Sauls, Co-Chair
  Financing - Mr. Reggie Barner, Chair
  Accessibility - Ms. Julie Ann Avin, Chair

ANNOUNCEMENTS
NEXT MEETING DATE
Tuesday, November 9, 2021 at 11:00 a.m.

ADJOURNMENT




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MEETING DATE: October 12, 2021

DEPARTMENT: City Clerk

FROM: Erika Hammond, City Clerk

SUBJECT: Approval of the September 14, 2021 Affordable Housing Task
 Force Meeting Minutes
FUNDING SOURCE &
ORIGINAL BUDGET:


ATTACHMENTS:
  AHTF_MN_09142021 (PDF)




Updated: 10/8/2021 3:33 PM Page 1
 Packet Pg. 2
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 Attachment: AHTF_MN_09142021 (6907 : Approval of the September 14, 2021 Affordable Housing Task Force Meeting Minutes)
 COLUMBIA AFFORDABLE HOUSING TASK FORCE MEETING MINUTES
 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2021

CALL TO ORDER
 Attendee Name Present Absent Late Arrived
 Jeff Armstrong   
 Julie Ann Avin   
 Reggie Barner   
 Sue Berkowitz   
 Brenna Bernardin   
 Pamela Bynoe-Reed   
 Tameika Isaac Devine   
 Bryan Grady   
 Dylan Gunnels   
 Tonya Isaac   
 Jeff Larimore   
 Ivory Mathews   
 Jennifer Moore   
 Mary Louise Resch   
 Shayla Riley   
 Lila Anna Sauls   
 Gregory Sprouse   
 Allison Terracio   
 Regina Williams   
 Lester Young   
 Jim Zieche   
 Chris Zimmer   

Julie Ann Avin, MIRCI introduced Anita Floyd, Chief Operating Officer at MIRCI as a new task
force member. Anita is one of the most respected advocates and planners of affordable housing in
the Midlands.

Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine introduced Brittani Richards, Director of Grants and
Government Affairs at Habitat for Humanity as a new member serving as the replacement for
Mary Louise Resch on the task force.




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 Packet Pg. 3
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 Attachment: AHTF_MN_09142021 (6907 : Approval of the September 14, 2021 Affordable Housing Task Force Meeting Minutes)
 COLUMBIA AFFORDABLE HOUSING TASK FORCE MEETING MINUTES
 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2021
APPROVAL OF MINUTES

1. Approval of May 11, 2021 Affordable Housing Task Force Meeting Minutes - Approved

2. Approval of August 10, 2021 Affordable Housing Task Force Meeting Minutes - Approved

Upon a single motion made by Jim Zieche and seconded by Ivory Mathews, taskforce members
voted unanimously to approve the May 11, 2021 and August 10, 2021 Affordable Housing Task
Force Meeting Minutes.

COMMITTEE DISCUSSION

3. Committee Reports

  Public Education & Awareness Committee - Ms. Brenna Bernardin, Chair
  Partnerships - Ms. Jennifer Moore, Chair
  Accessibility - Ms. Julie Ann Avin, Chair
  Financing - Mr. Reggie Barner, Chair
  Legal & Zoning - Ms. Sue Berkowitz and Ms. Lila Anna Sauls, Co-Chairs


Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine said the bulk of today’s discussion will be committee
reports and next steps. By December, we need to be recommending the amount of units we would
like to see introduced into the market as a benchmark. Then we can make a presentation to city
and county councils for next year. We also need a multi-year plan.

Erika Hammond, City Clerk read an email update from Brenna Bernardin, Public Education and
Awareness Committee Chair: The Public Education and Awareness Committee is ready to move
forward once the new definition is adopted. Once the description is ready, we will meet again to
review the 2-page Task Force fact sheet. For September, we are working with the Partnership
Committee on a GoogleDoc with group suggestions for outreach, contact information, and who
should make the first contact. We hope to have everything ready for October. If anyone has any
ideas for outreach or how we should present the material, feel free to email me, and we will add
it to our meeting.

Bryan Grady, Ph.D., SC Housing said during the last meeting, there was a question of affordable
versus attainable. I came up with three options: go with what we previously had subject to changing
participate to engage; have the same definition subject to changing affordable to attainable; or
decouple the words affordable and attainable and develop multiple definitions for other existing
terms such as workforce housing and priority housing.

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 Attachment: AHTF_MN_09142021 (6907 : Approval of the September 14, 2021 Affordable Housing Task Force Meeting Minutes)
 COLUMBIA AFFORDABLE HOUSING TASK FORCE MEETING MINUTES
 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2021


Upon a motion made by Julie Ann Avin and seconded by Pamela Bynoe-Reed, the task force
members voted unanimously to approve the following definition of Affordable Housing:

Affordable housing consists of inclusive, equitable, and safe places to live, for owners and renters,
priced such that all Columbians can afford necessities of living and fully engage in our community.

Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine said we should have workforce housing and priority
housing spelled out in our documents.

Cindy Herrera, Columbia Housing suggested that a percentage be used for all definitions.

Jim Zieche, More Justice asked if the greatest need is in priority housing.

Bryan Grady, Ph.D., SC Housing said there are existing resources that serve higher income levels.
The National Housing Trust Fund is the only funding source exclusively for the extremely low
income population.

Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine said at some point we will have a document with our
approved definition of affordable housing, our priorities, and a glossary of terms to include the
definitions for priority housing and workforce housing. I will send this to Councilwoman Terracio
and I will report out to City Council next week. Then we can move forward with this definition
and Brenna and Jennifer can provide a public engagement plan. Melanie Huggins, Executive
Director at the Richland County Public Library has asked how they can be supportive of our
efforts. Our award winning PR department at the City of Columbia will be positioned to help us
move forward with getting this information out. At the next meeting we will have a plan for public
engagement. Please email your thoughts to Jennifer and Brenna.

Julie Ann Avin, MIRCI, Accessibility Committee Chair said we are working to formalize a report.
We continue to focus on universal design requirements for individuals with disabilities or for
people to age in place; enhancing the federal fair housing minimums for ADA compliance; and
working with landlords to make units accessible to individuals who were formerly incarcerated.

Councilman Sam Davis said when I worked with the state we tried to intercept the construction
process to get commitments from builders and owners to make sure they met the minimum federal
set aside in terms of physical accommodations. This strategy can increase the numbers as units
come online.


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 Attachment: AHTF_MN_09142021 (6907 : Approval of the September 14, 2021 Affordable Housing Task Force Meeting Minutes)
 COLUMBIA AFFORDABLE HOUSING TASK FORCE MEETING MINUTES
 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2021
Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine asked if there are models that we need to research regarding
housing for those returning from incarceration.

Sue Berkowitz, SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center, Legal & Zoning Committee Co- Chair said
an application has been submitted to HUD through 180 Place and other providers for eviction legal
assistance. We are waiting to see if the application has been approved. I have been working to help
people access rental assistance around the state.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Jim Zieche, More Justice announced that they are working with Richland County Council to form
an affordable housing trust fund. We believe that ARP funds can be used for that purpose.

Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine outlined the following next steps:

  Julie Ann Avin will submit a report for the Accessibility Committee.
  Reggie Barner will host a Financing Committee meeting and submit a report.
  Lila Anna Sauls and Sue Berkowitz will host a Legal & Zoning Committee meeting
 and submit a report.
  Jennifer Moore and Brenna Bernardin will develop a public education, awareness, and
 outreach plan.
  We will establish goals and recommendations for 2022 in October.
  We will draft a document for the councils to review prior to November.

Ivory Mathews, Columbia Housing thanked all housing ambassadors for supporting and
advocating for federal resources for housing during the month of August. Housing has been
included in the reconciliation bill that is being considered by Congress. This week, we started the
demolition of Allen Benedict Court. We are also partnering with the State Housing financing
agency and Richland County to host a Housing Power Hour about emergency rental assistance
programs on September 15, 2021. Click here to view “Calling all Landlords in SC!”

Cindy Herrera, Columbia Housing reported that the local fund administered by the State Fiscal
Accountability Authority will reach its bond cap and by the end of the year we will not be able to
address several projects in our pipeline. Columbia Housing has three priority projects and there
are twelve private sector projects. We need assistance with discussions on moving bond cap that’s
sitting with SC Housing to the local fund and with advocating for these projects at the local level
and for an increase in the per capita bond amount at the federal level.



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 Attachment: AHTF_MN_09142021 (6907 : Approval of the September 14, 2021 Affordable Housing Task Force Meeting Minutes)
 COLUMBIA AFFORDABLE HOUSING TASK FORCE MEETING MINUTES
 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2021
Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine asked City Manager Wilson to discuss this with city
lobbyists.

Teresa Wilson, City Manager added that the Turning Leaf Project is expanding to Columbia. It
has been a great project for reducing recidivism in Charleston. They are having a grand opening
on October 27, 2021. They have a significant strategy to ensure that individuals are able to
acclimate to society with wraparound services when they have been formerly incarcerated. One of
those services is identifying suitable housing after successfully completing the program. We had
a productive conversation with them on yesterday.

Dylan Gunnels said Haven Home is now official. I am available to meet with you, if you have
questions about our methodology. We are raising funds to serve as a line of equity and we are on
track to start purchasing properties by the beginning of 2022. The Haven Home Market will be
held on Saturday, September 18, 2021 at 8:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. at Reformation Lutheran
Church, 1118 Union Street, Columbia, SC 29201.

Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine announced that Secretary Marcia Fudge of HUD recently
visited Columbia. One takeaway was her passion for ensuring that HUD is a partner at the state
and local levels. She spoke a lot about equity, upgrading facilities, and evictions. I am working to
identify a magistrate in Richland County who can help us establish an eviction court. I’ll be in
Washington, DC this weekend for HUD and congressional meetings. Please email me about the
great things you are doing and I will include them in my report. Lastly, Ms. Shropshire, Executive
Director of SC Housing agreed for Dr. Grady to assist us with a housing needs assessment.

Bryan Grady, Ph.D., SC Housing said I have been the lead author of a statewide housing needs
assessment, which puts all of the data on the table for policy makers and stakeholders to consider
about the state of affordability, housing availability, the number of individuals unable to access
affordable housing, challenges, demographics, and more. It helps to inform strategic planning and
program design. Click here to learn more.

NEXT MEETING DATE
Tuesday, October 12, 2021 at 11:00 a.m.

ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 11:56 a.m.




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 Attachment: AHTF_MN_09142021 (6907 : Approval of the September 14, 2021 Affordable Housing Task Force Meeting Minutes)
 COLUMBIA AFFORDABLE HOUSING TASK FORCE MEETING MINUTES
 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2021


Respectfully submitted:



Erika D. Moore Hammond, CMC
City Clerk




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MEETING DATE: October 12, 2021

DEPARTMENT: City Clerk

FROM: Erika Hammond, City Clerk

SUBJECT: Affordable Housing Trust Funds - Mr. Michael Anderson,
 Director of Housing Trust Funds for Community Change
FUNDING SOURCE &
ORIGINAL BUDGET:




Updated: 9/27/2021 9:19 AM Page 1
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MEETING DATE: October 12, 2021

DEPARTMENT: City Clerk

FROM: Erika Hammond, City Clerk

SUBJECT: Committee Reports
FUNDING SOURCE &
ORIGINAL BUDGET:

PURPOSE:
Public Education & Awareness Committee - Ms. Brenna Bernardin, Chair
 - Outreach Plan
Partnerships - Ms. Jennifer Moore, Chair
Legal & Zoning - Ms. Lila Anna Sauls & Ms. Sue Berkowitz, Co-Chairs
Financing - Mr. Reggie Barner, Chair
Accessibility - Ms. Julie Ann Avin, Chair




Updated: 10/8/2021 3:28 PM Page 1
 Packet Pg. 10

COLUMBIA AFFORDABLE HOUSING TASK FORCE MEETING MINUTES
 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2021


The Columbia Affordable Housing Task Force met on Tuesday, October 12, 2021 using video
conferencing technology. The Honorable Tameika Isaac Devine, Chair called the meeting to
order at 11:03 a.m. and the following members were present:
Attendee Name Title Status
Tameika Isaac Devine Chair Present
Jeff Armstrong Family Promise Present
Julie Ann Avin MIRCI Absent
Reggie Barner The Barner Group Absent
Sue Berkowitz Director of the SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center Absent
Brenna Bernardin Fast Forward Present
Pamela Bynoe-Reed Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority Present
Bryan Grady State Housing Finance & Development Authority Present
Dylan Gunnels Director at Haven Homes Present
Tonya Isaac Community Representative Present
Jeff Larimore Midlands Housing Trust Fund Present
Ivory Mathews Columbia Housing Authority Present
Jennifer Moore United Way Present
Shayla Riley Coldwell Banker Present
Lila Anna Sauls President and CEO of Homeless No More Absent
Gregory Sprouse Central Midlands Council of Governments Present
Allison Terracio Richland County Council Present
Regina Williams Board Member Present
Lester Young Just Leadership Present
Jim Zieche More Justice Present
Chris Zimmer Truist Bank Present
Brittani Richards Habitat for Humanity Absent

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

1. Approval of the September 14, 2021 Affordable Housing Task Force Meeting Minutes

Upon a motion made by Ivory Mathews and seconded by Pamela Bynoe-Reed, task force
members voted unanimously to approve the September 14, 2021 Affordable Housing Task Force
Meeting Minutes.




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 COLUMBIA AFFORDABLE HOUSING TASK FORCE MEETING MINUTES
 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2021

COMMITTEE DISCUSSION

2. Affordable Housing Trust Funds - Mr. Michael Anderson, Director of Housing Trust
 Funds for Community Change

Michael Anderson, Director of Housing Trust Funds for Community Change said a housing trust
fund created by ordinance or legislation commits public dollars to meet the identified affordable
housing needs of a community. The Mescher Act allows for cities and counties in South Carolina
to create or participate in housing trust funds, specifically to advance the development or
rehabilitation of affordable housing. The key to a housing trust fund is having money in it to
produce the intended results. He presented Housing Trust Funds: A Proven Local Solution for
Increasing Access to Homes.

Members of the committee inquired about the use of American Rescue Plan Act funds;
establishing a trust fund through a third party; using the existing Midlands Housing Trust Fund
as a vehicle for dedicated funding from the city and/or county; and the Greenville Housing Fund.

3. Committee Reports

  Public Education & Awareness Committee - Ms. Brenna Bernardin, Chair
 - Outreach Plan
  Partnerships - Ms. Jennifer Moore, Chair
  Legal & Zoning - Ms. Lila Anna Sauls & Ms. Sue Berkowitz, Co-Chairs
  Financing - Mr. Reggie Barner, Chair
  Accessibility - Ms. Julie Ann Avin, Chair

Jennifer Moore, Chair of the Partnerships Committee presented a joint report with the Public
Education Committee. We developed an outreach strategy to start in November using a
storytelling approach. It focuses on conversations with neighborhood groups, targeted corporate
and business community groups, or other entities that could be strong advocates for the message
of affordable housing or those needing enhanced education efforts. Each committee should
provide their input on the talking points by November 1st.
ANNOUNCEMENTS

Patrick Wright, Esq., Senior Assistant City Attorney announced that he will be the new County
Attorney for Richland County.




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 COLUMBIA AFFORDABLE HOUSING TASK FORCE MEETING MINUTES
 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2021

NEXT MEETING DATE

Tuesday, November 9, 2021 at 11:00 a.m.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was closed at 12:02 p.m.

Respectfully submitted:



Erika D. Moore Hammond, CMC
City Clerk




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