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10 <br />1 located within access to public transit and light rail station area. He said TTA and the Triangle J <br />2 Council of Governments did submit some comments regarding changes to these criteria, and <br />3 they were partially successful in getting some criteria changed. He encouraged the local <br />4 governments to weigh in with the housing authority to make more changes. <br />5 Alderman Seils asked if the award to fund station area planning is referring to formal <br />6 small area planning or something less than that. <br />7 David Bonk said the work plan submitted does include a provision for small area plans <br />8 around those stations, where it is necessary. He said Durham has already initiated an <br />9 extensive process of identifying infrastructure improvements in most of their urban <br />10 neighborhoods. He said some infrastructure will be identified in the greenfield sites. <br />11 Alderman Seils said the stations in Chapel Hill will involve UNC, and he asked if UNC <br />12 will be part of the conversations with TTA and Durham. <br />13 David Bonk said UNC has been part of these discussions, and staff has reached out to <br />14 let the university know about the grant application. <br />15 Alderman Seils asked for more information on other local jurisdictions giving input <br />16 regarding potential revisions to the criteria for affordable housing. <br />17 David Bonk said he can provide this. <br />18 Commissioner McKee said a short section of this line lies in Orange County, and this <br />19 section is directly adjacent to Chapel Hill. He asked if there are any thoughts on how to work <br />20 out the issue of these escalating land prices and how that affects the possibility of affordable <br />21 housing. <br />22 David Bonk said that is the purpose of getting started early and getting assistance from <br />23 the federal government to do the planning. He said it is early enough in the curve that the <br />24 escalation of land prices has not occurred yet. He said even if the grant is not approved, the <br />25 process of going through the application allowed staff to really flesh out a work program that <br />26 identifies the key issues moving forward. <br />27 Commissioner McKee said his concern is that once this project gets to a certain point, <br />28 market forces will take effect with a vengeance, and businesses and high end apartments will <br />29 be drawn to this line. He sees a market influence that will impact the cost of this land, and he <br />30 does not feel there are any legal means in place for holding the land prices. <br />31 David Bonk said this will be a good topic for the upcoming meeting with the non - profit <br />32 organization. <br />33 Commissioner Gordon said it is important to consider transportation when talking about <br />34 affordability. She said the federal grant process includes a requirement of a certain percentage <br />35 of affordable housing around station sites. She said early planning should allow for this. <br />36 Commissioner Gordon referred to the portfolio management information on page 4. She <br />37 would like to see staff provide information on the root cause for why this flexibility is needed. <br />38 She said it is important to figure out what made this work when it started and what changed, so <br />39 that you have a good idea of the problem in order to come up with a solution that avoids the <br />40 need for this flexibility. She said the goal was to have affordable homes, and if the trust has to <br />41 sell the homes then this goal is not being accomplished. <br />42 <br />43 <br />