each and every one of you to the Housing Committee meeting. Madam Clerk, please call the roll. Good afternoon. Commissioner Bermudez. Present and accounted for. Commissioner McGee. Commissioner Regalado. Vice Chairwoman Lopez. Chairwoman Bastion. Four members present, we have a quorum. I'd like to ask everyone to stand up and I thank Commissioner Vicky Lopez who will lead us with a short prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. Thank you, Madam Chair. Bow your heads, please. Heavenly Father, thank you so much for bringing us together today to do your important work. We know as public servants we serve you first to serve those constituents that you have asked us to serve. And so today as we address all the housing needs, one of the largest things that we know are important to our constituency, we ask for your guidance and your direction and so we ask all of this in your name. Amen. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. All right. Thank you, Commissioner Lopez. All right. Now I think it's time to open reasonable opportunity for the public to be heard. So there's a non-profit? This is a non-profit? We don't have it. Okay. All right. So I don't see anyone approaching. Reasonable opportunity is now closed. Any change in the agenda? No, Madam Chair. Motion to set the agenda is in order. All right. All right. All in favor? So now, Mr. Attorney? Yes. Madam Chair, you have the first public hearing, which is a resolution approving after a public hearing, the fiscal year 2025-2029, five-year public housing agency plan and authorizing the county mayor or the county mayor's designee to submit the plan to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development for final approval, make any necessary revisions to the amended plan subject to the limitations of the significant amendment and substantial deviation definition. Item 1G1 is a public hearing. Thank you. Public hearing on this item is now open. I have a list of names. This is 1G2. So you're asking me. So we don't have any 1G2. All right. Mr. Attorney, it doesn't seem like we have anyone for 1G1. This is 1G1? Yeah. Okay. All right. So we have one. So when I call your name, we don't have one card for 1G1. When I call your name, please approach. You have two minutes to make a presentation. Start with your name and address for the record. And I have Ms. Renita Holmes. Madam Holmes. Good afternoon, Madam Chair. The board member, it's been a minute. I'm glad to be here to be able to give you my concerns about this fiscal plan for the next five years and perhaps something that we didn't discuss this year thus far. As a person with disability, a senior and a person that meet most of those priorities that are substantiated by the Americans with Disability Act of 1970, I was disappointed to see this board in its entirety and the oversight of a policy that was offered by Miami-Dade Housing Agency to take what was a congressional act that put us as a priority, one which we have not met our mandates with that were given by HUD, to now put us on a preference point. Currently, you'll note on the card that it says homeless. I am homeless. I am homeless because I lived in a building that someone inspected that had 28 violations. I am homeless because people decided to port me out and I was told that the county has no services for me. I was ported out to a place I did not have any say to. But most of all, I'm here today because I am really pissed off the way that I was spoken to. Listen, HUD was there when all that money was given away. Now that his contractors are here, please don't come here and take jobs from decent people who've been here 25 years, walk them out with the police, and then come and talk to the rest of the women like we're nothing. We're better than that. I'll talk to you later, but I am going to talk and don't tell me don't say anything. One employee has the right to do that. Thank you, Madam Holmes. Anyone else on 1G1? Seeing no one approaching, public hearing on 1G1 is now closed. Now, colleagues, anyone has any comments on 1G1? Happy to move it. All right. So we have a second? I have a second, but I have some questions. I'm sorry. You have questions? Yeah. I second the motion, but I'll second when it comes down to questions. Okay. You will recognize. Thank you, Madam Chair. I guess this question is for Nathan's director, if you can answer a few questions. I do notice on MDC002, you've discussed the ideas of utilizing this newly established Miami-Dade Attainable Housing Corp, Inc., the 501c3, into becoming a developer arm of Miami-Dade County housing. My question to you is, how many meetings have you had and how many people actually turned out at these meetings to hear of the new plan? Well recognized. With regards to the creation of the entity? Yeah. The creation of the entity was done through legislative process. Okay. So the public was never aware or notified of this outside of the legislative process? For the creation of the entity, just through the legislative process. However, this plan was noticed. So there was one public meeting on this. Got it. Next question is, as it relates to the five-year plan, I know- Two public meetings. Two public meetings. How many people turned out? Offered it virtually. Let me look. Let me find that real quick. We can provide that information. And when you say not many, are we talking about two, three, four, 100, 500? The sign-in sheets. So let me just go ahead through the item and find that for you. Got it. Got it. And it's probably your position, Mr. Director, that this item must move forward with the Miami-Dade Attainable Housing Corp, Inc. language included. I'm pretty sure is that your position? Yes. This is in order for HUD to recognize that this is one of our activities that we'll be performing. That is correct. So outside of this particular vehicle, it is your position that the Miami-Dade Attainable Housing Corp, Inc. cannot move separately? At one point, we will have to update our five-year plan to include the possibility of development through the Attainable Corp. So if it does not move through this, we would then have to bring something back. That is correct. Right. Is there a reason why there is almost as if there's a time, certain date that you have to have the Miami-Dade Attainable Housing Corp, Inc. create it now? Is there a reason why it came now as opposed to working more with the community leaders and commissioners to see exactly what it is they can do to make this thing better or leave it like it is? But do you just give more notice and more attention to it? So this is a result of following the board's action that created the actual corporation. So following the board's action, creating the corporation and with the intent to utilize it at one time, we have to notify HUD through the five-year plan to take action on it. So that's why it's in now. This is the first possible opportunity. We're particular in this Miami-Dade attainable program that it requires you to give notice to the district commissioners about particular lots that would be developed by this newly formed corporation. That would be solely part of the resolution that adopted it. Right. Under our... We will be coming back with... I'll get the right term with it, Council. The agreement with the board on the instrumentality. Implementation? Our agreement through the chair some assistance by legal. Who were you... Nathan, who are you addressing to? Through legal. All right. You are recognized. Okay. Madam Chair, I believe the director is talking about a shared use agreement between the county and the corporation. So, yes, I apologize. I forgot the name. The chair use agreement which will come back to the board which will set out the rules and regulations of the corp which would include recognizing the resolution as it pertains to acquiring permission from the district commissioner before utilizing the instrumentality. So, correct me if I'm wrong. So, am I hearing you telling me there are going to be four entities part of this shared agreement? We're talking about potentially HUD, HCD, the board and this newly created vehicle this 501c3? We're just recognizing we're just informing HUD that we are utilizing an instrumentality as part of our menu of methods of developing property within the county. And I'm not trying to trip you up, Nathan. So, I'm just trying to make sure I'm clear when I'm understanding this. The attainable newly created vehicle the instrumentality that you mentioned earlier. That would be one vehicle. The second vehicle will be HCD. The third part of the shared agreement would be with the commissioners and the fourth would be HUD. Am I reading that correctly or am I misreading what I'm reading? Help me understand. I'm not trying to trap you. I'm just trying to get clarity here. HUD is not necessarily part of that quad party. It's really the board of county commissioners is the board of the instrumentality. HCD and its staff staff it and act as its employees. Okay. And should we enter into an agreement with a developer which is a potential as part of those activities then a developer would be part of that process as well. I guess you see where I'm going, right? Because you're going to get into the developing world but then there's also a reality that you're going to bring forth other developers to develop. So am I anticipating that you're going to tell me at some point the economy of this is where you're going to take a percentage of future developers portion of their pie in lieu of you building out these parcels that you laid out as part of this new mechanism to develop housing for Miami-Dade County? Not necessarily. Each deal could be very, very different. There's a possibility depending on the nature of a development that HCD acts as the sole developer and builds a development. It's possible that there is a joint venture between a private developer. We may use the instrumentality to purchase property as well to rehab property. So depending on the nature of the agreement and the nature of the development there will be a wide range of possibility. Is it fair to say that HCD and the county will retain greater benefits or financial benefits as part of a deal? Yes, that is a possibility. Whereas in the position that we're in now the developer reads most of the benefits yes, the county could see a greater amount of the financial benefits which we use for additional housing. all right and final question as it relates to this item you're not proposing that the county create a general contracting team you're just saying that you want the county you want this vehicle to serve as the developer only like in name and not in a process and not the reality of actually constructing and being part of the general contracting team. No, that's not the intent. So the intent is just for this vehicle to serve as a developer. This is a standard method for large PHAs across the nation to act in this capacity to give ourselves greater opportunity to leverage funds especially to leverage funds and to be more creative with development. So it's a another option in the methods that we currently have now. Anything else Mr. Vice Chair? No, I'll just say my comments are the same as I've said before. I'm very skeptical about government getting into the business of developing housing and the reason why is because history has shown especially where I grew up that anytime you have government actually building homes normally they'll build it everything is great they'll cut the ribbon the resources really never stay there. It really never stayed there to do the upkeep and the management portion of these homes. I.e. they become housing projects and let's be absolutely clear when it comes down to certain communities and there's no race or class here it's just it's just the idea of knowing that history has shown us Madam Chair that the county has great ideas but oftentimes especially when it comes down to housing the county will bail out. I lived in three different housing projects growing up I lived in Naranja projects Modela housing projects and I live in over there in Pine Lake and Pine Villa and Pine Island so I know what's about to happen right? We're going to authorize the county to go back to do what they were doing in the 70s this is not new this is absolutely not new they're going to become a developer like they did back then take the fee put the fee into a general fund and repurpose it somewhere else while at the same time the people who are stuck in those housing facilities are going to be without the proper maintenance the proper management company and the proper apparatuses to help them get to the next level and I just want to put my objection on the record I'm not voting for this I see where this is going and I know what's going to happen as a matter of fact we're in the process now of demolishing Naranja housing projects demolishing the area in Goose Arthur Mays and we've already demolished Modela housing projects all three of which I've had the opportunity and pleasure of residing in but I can also tell you that with every administration comes a different priority as it relates to quote unquote those people because it's going to be eventually those people and when it's those people those people normally find themselves without the proper management that we're seeing across the board with these AMIs of certain developers who are building and giving us some great management companies and some not so great but I just don't believe the county should get in the business of developing when they can't maintain and if you're telling me there's a separate spot of money on the side that the county is particularly going to use to ensure that there is a quote unquote five star management company that can step in and do the work and provide quality A1 housing for these you know those people these people our people then I'll be there with you but I didn't see it and maybe we can come up with some language where we specify that if we do this then you're going to give us A1A management that's what I was going to ask you do you have a specific recommendation that you can yeah I think and this is why again for the record I love this guy by the way this is this is my guy like this is my director right and we go back and forth like this but is there a is there a world where we can ensure that if the county does get into the business of developing that the county has a A1 management company pool that they can choose from and that we have the notification early on as to who your potentially going to choose and whether or not we're going to have a say in it before I put forth any language I just want to see if you have it that you can give to us and we can work that out Nathan go ahead through the chair I appreciate your comments and I think that that definitely can be accommodated when we come back with the agreement before the board we we do other than our public housing stock we do have other buildings that are managed by the county we don't manage it ourselves we do have a contract with a professional managed organization and I can say that currently now we're through the RFP process which the board authorized us to go through this RFP process for management services of these I would think with each deal as part of those deals again because the district commissioner is consenting to moving forward with an instrumentality and each of these projects are going to be vastly different I think it's appropriate to discuss long-term management how it will be management the nature of construction whether there'll be displacement so I think that's definitely on the table as we move forward with this process this vehicle here I just want to be clear on this vehicle all this vehicle does it says the board established this instrumentality eventually it will be used since the board has established it HUD needs to have that in our five-year plan again as one of the mechanisms that we develop it's not necessarily designed for the specifics of it that will come between the board and HCD and administration when we present that agreement you'll be willing to meet with Nathan absolutely madam chair that he will present next time this comes forward happy to thank you so much Nathan thank you thank you and thank you I was just going to say and you know Commissioner McGee I think we all understand the historic issues right and it's not just the county it's also the federal government which is why we had a movement towards RAD I think when the item was presented and Nathan is correct this document by law must mirror everything that the board of county commissioners has approved full stop that's all it does it mirrors everything that we've approved the item was approved now when the effectuating agreement for the item comes to the board I think that's the opportunity to really deep dive into these concerns my understanding of the item is that it was to provide tools for the department because there are some developments that people just don't want right and we have to kind of grapple with that but I think your point as to the management is an important one I think overall there has been a movement towards divesting from these properties the county is the federal government and the county are all divesting from these things and I think post surfside and you know all the requirements as to the maintenance of a building were in a different place than we were 10 years ago or 20 years ago and and when you work on that I mean I would suggest I mean I think and one of the things we've talked about in these rat agreements is the responsibility not just to have a management company but also to put aside funds to continue to maintain those properties right because if you'll remember when we did the audit for after surfside a lot of the buildings that were tagged were our buildings right and and we were we were aware of those situations so I think it's a this might provide another vehicle a to be more competitive when we're redoing these properties but be to provide a safeguard and I think we need to be cognizant of that because this department no longer comes out of the general fund so one of the things that we're looking at is development by development how can they be self-sustaining right so I look forward to that and always thank you thank you Nathan I think we'll have a lot more clarity when we see the actual agreement that goes with this item thank you Commissioner Regalado Commissioner Bermudez you recognized I'll be brief but I understand the concept of having it in your whatever in your holster so to speak but I agree with you know Vice Chairman McGee this is a question of philosophy and making sure that the supposed grand plans that we have actually work and in the end we're going to have to look at that because I come from his perspective which is if you can not and he's lived it himself so he just as he so mentioned if we are not going to be able to provide if this is not something that's going to turn out to be it's going to be simply another what's happened in the past and it may not be the best choice it has to be maintained has to be managed correctly because that's the that's and for me it's more of a philosophical issue when we go in that direction than anything else I understand why it's needed for this five-year plan and I'm okay with that but I too want to share my concerns along with Commissioner McGee that you know as I said the other evening you know if we are going to talk the walk we got to walk the walk thank you Commissioner Bermudez Commissioner Lopez thank you Madam Chair yes so just in keeping with what the vice chairman said I've never been a proponent of government trying to do something that the private sector has done well and that the government has failed to do well and so thank you for your examples real live examples of where you lived I think it's the role of government to provide the collaboration the funding but also the oversight and the carrot and the stick I agree with you I have I have buildings now that have bad actors managing the buildings and I'm working with HCD I'm so grateful for their leadership as well and addressing the problem in that one building that has become incredibly egregious to my residents but I do it is a philosophical issue I think I understand and I think Commissioner Regalado is right we got a HUD requires that whatever we've done and we did this in October we have to put it in the plan we don't have to execute it and I think that clearly I think Commissioner McGee you you will be able to lend a lot of assistance as we begin to roll that out in a way that provides the proper safeguards the proper you know I think really the criteria because I'm afraid when the county wants to become a developer we have some very good actors in our community that are building great affordable housing workforce housing and honestly I don't think we need to replicate that we do need to use whatever tools we can to access as much funding as we can and if that's one Nathan that's great but in reality I think we certainly don't have to be something that someone already does and does well for us I just think we have to monitor these wherever we make an investment we should have a lot of safeguards in place to to the investment that we're making as taxpayers dollars are being used to provide that and so HCD does that well I'm also looking at how they can better some of that monitoring because honestly had I not gone into a building and understood what was going on we may none of us may have known so just to just to sum it up I think that the vice chairman is correct we shouldn't get involved in things that others are doing well and we should make sure that if we have to do something and that it is providing a proper tool that we will do it correctly so thank you vice chairman thank you commissioner lopez and seems like you might also be interested in partaking in this meeting so maybe it has to be a sunshine meeting where other commissioners can partake you know and then give their share their information we look forward to all right and g1 no one else would someone like to move it I had moved it and you did move it second and I'm clear there's someone else on 1g1 yeah I believe that um madam true you closed the public hearing you may reopen it it's your discretion madam chair public hearing on 1g1 is again open she could have stayed where she is but yeah can can someone help her with the mic please she said thank you for the reason for the nomination thank you thank you please state your name address for the record my name is betty oliver and I was living and I became homeless which I should never have but unfortunately I was standing on Camila's for about four months and during the time they had opened up section 8 and HUD the person that was my case manager told me she signed me up for HUD as well as section 8 I ended up going in the hospital before I went in the hospital she said I had to pay to go upstairs I was getting passes because I do have blood clot issues the point is what that is what happened to my section 8 she said in car and gave us they had new places apartments and the thing about it was I think she got upset with me because she wanted me to be Miss Camila's I didn't want nobody to know I was staying in Camila's home house and the thing about it was before she became my case manager I used to speak to everybody I'm very friendly and the thing about it she wouldn't even speak to me so I told the person I said oh she won't even speak to me she's my case manager but I'm just using for example so what happened to the section I was there during the time when they opened up what happened to HUD she told me HUD is no longer like HUD it's like new apartments so I end up going to the hospital I kept in contact with her Oliver your time is up excuse me I didn't hear you I would like to speak to someone okay because I feel that I know that I've been treated unfairly and then that way I can speak to where I'm living at now at the time thank you have a nice day thank you so much someone will go in the bank thank you mayor thank you all thank you so much anyone else on 1g1 all right public hearing on 1g1 is closed for a second I second it all time I'm clerk please call the roll commissioner Bermudez yes commissioner McGee yes commissioner Regalato yes vice chairwoman Lopez yes chairwoman Bastion motion passes unanimously attorney yes madam chair your next public hearing item is resolution of 1g2 sorry resolution approving after a public hearing the amendment of local housing assistance plan as required by the state housing initiative partnership program acts subsections 420.907 through 420.9079 Florida statutes and rule chapter 6737 of the Florida administrative code item 1g2 is a public hearing all right thank you madam chair I believe the administration wanted to request an amendment to the item yes can you go ahead and then read that do you have the access to that right now mr. attorney yeah please go ahead and read it yes madam chair the amendment is as follows on page mdc02 028 under section pc add under the income categories to be served extremely low on page mdc034 under section qb1 change b to a and then for relocation assistance for owners tenants who have been deprived of affordable housing remove eviction evicted due to closure of mobile home parks in accordance with 723.003 ss and and under section qc on page mdc034 add extremely low to the income categories to be served that's the amendment to 1g2 thank you so much now public hearing on 1g2 is open I have a few cards I'm gonna call a few names please come and line up you will have two minutes state your name and your address for the record record um we're gonna start with um we're gonna start with miss oliver uh you also she left did she leave she also signed for 1g2 well she's still here she can come back if she wishes to um present on it yeah i said one two minutes you have two minutes uh mr alex john joseph please approach paul christian nancy how was that vignale i hope i'm pronouncing your name correctly yes yes carrie fit and ahmed ahmed moray forgive me if i butchered your name can line arms on on both uh mics mr alex you can start yes uh my name is alex jane joseph and i live at uh 80202 northwest uh uh north west miami court uh miami florida three three on five zero uh i'm a resident of uh saw park uh mobile home and uh but when i'm looking for when i take a look at the miami days earrings uh miami days i was in a meeting i see the proposed uh compensation for the owners of the house over there uh it's very far far from uh reaching the means of the people over there because of the uh the cost of life because ten thousand dollars and some added uh five thousand dollars uh i don't think it's not enough because the medium price in the area is around forty fifty thousand dollars this is the price that people pay for their houses and i'm not gonna say much because i've already uh uh participate in much of this meeting over this meeting over there over here and i think that uh the best thing to do is to uh reach a fair agreement way uh before um way before uh we get invicted because uh if you wait at the last minute at the last minute i don't think it's gonna be a rush i don't think they're gonna reach a fair decision i think this is something that should be concluded way before that thank you very much thank you good afternoon my name is ahmed mori 880 northwest 131st avenue miami florida so several housing and community organizations have also submitted we've submitted a joint written comment with our concerns and suggestions in in greater detail in general we support uh the county's the county's efforts to implement sb 594 but request you consider several changes to make this strategy work a little more effectively for families that are facing park closure first really appreciate the amendment that was proposed minutes ago that covers a pretty substantial part of my own public comment uh but second uh reconsidering perhaps the ten thousand dollar cap for households facing park closure you know that amount you know is is tantamount to a county policy choice not necessarily a limit that's strictly imposed by sb 594 and you know the statute what it does is require a strategy addressing people deprived of affordable housing by park closure and leaves local governments to establish award amounts so for a homeowner who may need to move who may need to replace uh or abandon their homes ten thousand may bear perhaps little relationship to the actual loss and then third you know to the extent that it's possible create a mechanism so that residents inside municipalities are not left behind particularly municipalities that are not eligible for ship funds and finally if there is an opening we request that you explore the use of ship funds to support the preservation and acquisition of relocation housing so organized residents and nonprofit partners can pursue collective solutions when facing park closures thank you distinguished commissioners of the housing committee uh polkerson on fee uh family action network movement we're at 100 northeast 84th street uh and again we'll be speaking about uh the considered change to the county's uh housing assistance plan ship uh local housing assistance plan so we understand the merits of 594 but as speakers before me uh both in the advocacy realm and impacted parties have mentioned um there is the possibility here really of increasing options particularly for mobile homeowners who you know may be facing evictions and we understand that right now whether we're talking about amounts eligibility funding start dates you know those aren't guaranteed those aren't locked in and they should not basically be left fluid until basically when mobile homeowners are facing eviction and they have less leverage to really drive those outcomes so we're asking for fair compensation uh we've been really connected with with the sore park residents and other mobile homes for for for quite a few years now we've we've seen the ups we've seen the downs and you know we want to really reach out you know to to cjp and other organizations have been part of that process um in terms of the the advocacy so we believe that you know ten thousand does not suffice really for the types of relocations and the property loss that many of the people would be facing it's important uh that the conversation with impacted parties happen early in the process you know so that solutions can be defined that are fair to them uh and not when they're already facing eviction and finally as you've heard the testimonies uh from sore park members both last thursday and today it's it's very important to show every discretion to ensure that they are considered uh fairly and that they're treated with with with dignity and fairness some of them are in their 80s and are in their 80s and cannot really restart from scratch so thank you very much and please keep an open mind on this issue thank you thank you hello good afternoon my name is carrie fight i'm a housing attorney with community justice project our address is 3000 biscayne boulevard miami florida 33137 um our organization is engaged with no less than four mobile home park communities uh that are facing cloak park closure some in litigation and some in the earlier notice stage and so we've helped residents navigate all aspects of the park closure process we were pleased to see sb 594 passed during this trend of park closures and mobile homeowners facing closure have been relying and counting on the support to provide some relief during an extremely stressful time our our organization along with some other orgs and housing advocates flagged that the florida housing finance corporation template amendment and consequently the county's proposed amendment language fell quite short of what sb 594 requires in suggesting assistance only after displacement which would not be productive for obvious reasons and i understand now that florida housing finance corporation has corrected that language to address mobile homeowners who are facing park closure to match the text of sb 594 which has been acknowledged by the county and your amendment and we would of course like to see that correction made today for the park closure closure experience we of course recommend the most robust and comprehensive support for mobile home communities and this trend of park closures and displacement we are in agreement with the previous comments that the current cap should be raised and we do think that the most sustainable solution for mobile homeowners is one that includes land acquisition as is referenced in other parts of the l-hap plan for other types of residents last we do caution this committee to think through in the implementation phase how relocation assistance support is not relied upon by the park owner in avoidance of offering reasonable compensation to homeowners who must vacate their homes in excess of the minimum state statutory amounts which are far from adequate to transition to new housing thank you for your time thank you good afternoon chair and members of the committee my name is alisa vignale 9241 collins avenue apartment 1a cersei florida i am a licensed realtor and here in miami date and for the past several months i've been building a housing pilot called rice homes not from theory but from pulling out actual mls records close sales and condo assessment notices across this county the idea is simple a small community a small community of new permanent factory built homes on public or otherwise low cost land under a long term ground lease the residents buy the home not the land because most of these buyers can pay cash for the sale of the distressed condo they walk away with no new mortgages and a dramatically lower monthly cost a few hundred dollars a few hundred dollars in ground lease instead of over a thousand or two thousand or three thousand dollars in hoa and assessment payments i want to be precise about what this is and it isn't this is a for-profit development no donation ask or not a charity a private development team mine designs build and sells the homes and earns a legitimate transparent developer return for doing it the same way that miami date own surtax and ship ownership development program already invites for profits developers to do the public sector's role is narrower than people assume making land available through a lease and where appropriate supporting infrastructure not funding the homes outright and not donating land with no return to the taxpayer i am also here not today i am also here not today asking for a specific parcel i know how that request looks on day one and i rather earn it what i am asking for the ease is smaller and i think easier way to say yes to point me to the right staff to evaluate this as a pilot someone who can tell me can you please conclude your time is up please conclude okay thank you someone who can tell me whether there is publicly controlled land and could support a project like this and what a ground lease and ship pathway would actually look like in practice i already lined up a couple of manufactured home vendors i am tracking real construction costs against a target price and i'll be back in front of the committee and at the for affordable housing advisory committee later this month thank you thank you thank you ma'am you're welcome thank you good afternoon good afternoon jeffrey hearn from legal services greater miami 4343 west flagler miami florida 33134 our office regularly represents mobile homeowners who are facing displacement as you know mobile homes are different they aren't the same as tenants these are individuals who own their homes many people have invested in them over decades and when these parks close they're losing really what is the most significant asset that they have and mobile homes really are the last form of unsubsidized affordable housing in the county so it is really critical that we do have a program like this we support the changes that are being made the the motion today to to amend the plan getting the funds to people at the earliest possible stage is incredibly important the other thing that we think is is really important as miss fight said earlier the the implementation of this will be critical we we do not want this to be a movement from the park the the developer the owner who is making millions and millions of dollars through the sale to be no longer provide relocation because they believe that the county will be doing that this should be a supplement on top of what the developer should be providing to the residents so as this plan is implemented i think that really needs to be top of mind with the county as they move forward thank you thank you good afternoon my name is mariano choa and i live at 3601 southwest 11th street apartment 2b i'm a neighbor of the residence of silver coat silver court mobile home park at 3170 southwest 8th street our commissioner is raquel regalado back in march my neighbors at silver court received an eviction notice for september 30th since then they've been fighting displacement with while continuing to work multiple jobs and taking care of their families i'm here representing my neighbors who are elderly or currently at work and care taking i've spent a lot of time getting to know them and i know that and i know that they've spent their life savings on their homes which are cemented to the ground i feel strongly that you all should get to know their stories and share my concern and support for my neighbors and their fight silver court residents live in miami-dade county they are facing the same displacement as a family living a few blocks away and uncorporated miami-dade please do not create a program that leaves their families without assistance simply because their park happens to be inside the city of miami if the county needs an agreement with the city or another funding mechanism please create that mechanism a municipal boundary should not determine whether a family facing displacement gets help thank you good afternoon my name is christina rodriguez and i reside at silver court mobile home park 3170 southwest 8th street i live with my son i've been living there for 15 years and on march 11th we receive an eviction notice that day i felt i was i was about to die i was very sad i know we stay there for a short short period of time myself and my my friends venimos nuestra nuestra comisionada es la señora regalado la cual estamos agradecida el día que fuimos y nos reunimos our commissioner is commissioner regalado we will be very appreciative of her the day that we met with her and that we had conversations about this a la cual nos recibieron muy bien muchas gracias they received us very well we really thank her for that pero tenemos pendiente la reunión que nos prometieron but we're still pending the meeting that we were promised necesitamos ayudas en el proceso de desalojo we need assistance on the eviction process during the eviction process no cuando no hayamos ido not once we've been displaced ahora es cuando necesitamos dinero this is the moment where we need money para encontrar sitio to find another place pagar depósito to pay deposits mudar nuestras pertenencias move our belongings o averiguar si podemos trasladarnos trasladar nuestras casas or to find out if we are able to move our homes por favor hagan que la ayuda este disponible desde que una familia recibe el aviso de desalojo please ensure the assistance is available as soon as the family receives the eviction notice por cambio de uso or because due to a change of use ayúdenos antes de perder nuestros hogares please assist us before we lose our homes no después not afterwards muchas gracias por su tiempo thank you very much for your time y esperamos tocarles el corazón para resolver nuestros problemas we hope we touch estamos muy agradecidas porque han puesto sus oídos y esperamos pronto su ayuda en el nombre de jesús to solve our issues we really appreciate your help please do not leave us by ourselves alone muchas gracias dios los bendiga thank you muchas gracias my name is louis joseph my name is louis joseph my name is louis joseph my name is louis joseph my address is eight zero five zero northwest Miami court Miami Florida three three one five zero I've been living at this place since 2007 and we received notice that there will be assistance in the amount of about ten thousand dollars and this is frankly not enough for us because things life is very expensive now I'm asking you to please reconsider the amount because it's it's not enough cost of living that's very expensive please reconsider it so we can be able to afford relocate I thank you very much and I hope that everything will come out well yes thank you good afternoon my name is Victoria Diaz and I reside at Silver Coat Trailer Park 3170 Southwest State Street and I'm here and I agree that this amendment for more than ten thousand dollars to assist anybody facing an eviction should be considered right now since March 11 we are facing with the same situation some of the residents that have already left with that sort of that amount of money are already facing economical hardship so I request or strongly suggest that that amount should be increased and trailer parks should always be included that has been the livelihood of many people I've been living there for 25 years I've seen families grow into great professionals and great human beings we should not be excluded and it looks like that's what has been done to us to trailer trailer park homeowners thank you good afternoon thank you for allowing me to be here thank you for allowing me to be here represento a Miami Solar Park Mobile Home 8050 Northwest Miami Court I'm representing Solar Park Mobile Home address is 8050 Northwest Miami Court my name is Jose René Martinez and my name is Jose René Martinez okay seré muy específico y bastante breve I will be very specific and brief estamos amenazados y condenados a ser desplazados we are dreading and condemned to be displaced por ser pobres because we are poor el plan propuesto o estrategia por Miami the strategy the proposed strategy or plan proposed by Miami day it's not enough la comunidad no pide dinero ni nada gratis our community is not asking for money or anything for free pide un lugar digno para vivir bajo techo we are asking for a dignified place to live con renta moderada with a moderate rent después de 25 años pensé heredar el mobile home a mis hijos after 25 years I was under depression that I was going to be able to leave the trailer home to my kids to my children yo creo que tendré que olvidarme de eso and I think I'll have to forget about it porque no es mi decisión although it's not my decision es la decisión de otras personas it's somebody else's decision creo que Miami day puede hacer mucho por nosotros and I think Miami day can do a lot for us and to obtain something that would allow us to live under a roof not for free creo que eso es suficiente para mí I think this is enough for me gracias thank you thank you so much Jose Mortimer or Martinez is this alright I think you probably signed two cards okay anyone else there's someone else coming oh two different people okay alright so Jose F. Martinez good afternoon my name is Jose Martinez and I reside at Miami Soar Park 8050 Northwest Miami Court lot E123 231 50 E123 okay and I reside at 8050 Northwest Court lot E123 I'm here petitioning as an American citizen I am 81 years old I am already retired and I reside for 41 years at Soar Park which will be closed by a company what we need myself and all our families is to be listened to prevent ourselves to be outside to prevent ourselves to be outside to be remunerated to be remunerated to be remunerated with a considerable amount of money with a considerable amount of money thank you commissioners thank you commissioners thank you madam mayor thank you thank you I do not have any more cards however however if there is anyone anyone who wishes to speak on 1G2 it is your time make sure you fill out a card madam someone could also bring her card to her go ahead actually I think it's on that card 1G1 and 1G2 I just asked the clerk to do it for me because last minute I had to do something very important okay other than that I just wanted to add on 1G2 just in plain English when we think about when I share my experience I tell you it comes in cost relocation was always there as a protection for those who were losing their housing due to development I don't know how the language has changed or how the current county attorney for section 8 and the rest interprets it I question a lot of that interpretation of that policy I've seen no actually official change but let's think about it I've been a place where it's been a three bedroom place for my children a room for this one maybe small but still different rooms I now am moving into storage which is the biggest industry next to development and housing 400 bucks for a one bedroom then you're paying to eat out because you don't have a place to cook then you have to think about a place to eat because if you're under that eviction you're not necessarily ready to take on a hotel or Airbnb and there are 31,000 evictions where that was last two months ago and now it's more than that now I want you to think about that cost what happens to that family or that individual you can't afford it so I'm hoping that we actually take the situation serious not just saying this relocation is another phase these are people we do when we don't when we relocate the money is spent it's given the industry that's not fair that's not what the regulations wrote please consider the actual amounts and the actual cost of being relocated versus giving other land and consult with your attorney because sometimes I think he has too much to interpret thank you anyone else? seeing no one coming public hearing on 1G2 is now closed and I know my colleagues probably have comments or questions I'm going to start with Commissioner Lopez you are recognized thank you Madam Chair so I have a couple of questions so the first question I have is I don't know if this amendment does it but Nathan it is I it appeared from the public input that Florida Housing Finance Corporation made several revisions to align it and match it to Senate Bill 594 is our what we have before us is that is it aligned exactly like that? through the chair you are recognized yes Commissioner okay good so there's no misalignment with respect to the $10,000 of relocation assistance how did we come up with that amount? so we received some general guidance from Florida Housing which was the $10,000 plus the $5,000 for rental assistance so that was generally how we came up with those dollars we're also starting to look at the entire program and I think it's important for the board to understand we get about $7 to $8 million in SHIP every year but 65% of it must go to home ownership activities and the statute specifically says for the purpose of this new activity for mobile home rental assistance it doesn't constitute as part of that 65% additionally 75% of the total amount for SHIP needs to be for the rehabilitation, construction, and repair of affordable housing and again this new allocation for mobile homes does not constitute the 75% so we have a limited amount of money now that's not to say that this amount cannot be adjusted but as we get through implementation and understanding the need for the community that can be adjusted again this was a first snap to get this in front of the board quickly in order to get this policy moving along because of the legislation the other thing I'd like to point out there are several other municipalities such as Miami, Miami Beach, Hialeah, North Miami, Miami Gardens the larger municipalities they receive SHIP as well they're also required to amend their plan so there's some coordination that we'd like to do as well with these jurisdictions to look at the whole package so how much if we didn't adjust it given the restrictions of 65% and 75% what is the pot that we're talking about? one and a half to two one and a half to two million so I guess and we're still competing against the programs but these are theoretical and again not to say that that total amount is appropriate but again when you're left over with that remaining amount you're looking at one and a half to two correct so I guess you know this is a question I'll have for Florida Housing Finance Corporation when they give their guidance and you know I've worked with them a great deal the question always is is it commensurate to you know Miami-Dade County versus Liberty County for instance and where housing costs are much greater where relocation costs are much greater and so I don't know if they took that into account that's something I'll take up with them because it sounds like they're giving you guidance but I'm not certain that they said well in Miami-Dade County it's going to cost a whole lot more potentially 25% more to relocate and to find a new place so because you know they get they've only given you 5,000 for lot rental assistance I can assure you and these were conversations Madam Chair that we had when I was in the legislature mobile homes were a very important part of the discussion of affordable housing and had often been excluded, ignored and as a result of Senate Bill 594 they became I think very visible but I'm not certain that this amount will get anybody anything and if you know anything about relocating I think that that's part of the problem the guidance that you were given but then again you're telling me that the pot of money is very it's very small compared to the number of people we heard legal services has at least four mobile home parks and I don't know how many people that represents but it's becoming more of a trend for owners of mobile parks to sell their property and as we heard we've got a lot of people that have been displaced who have lived in mobile home parks 20, 30, 40 years and need some assistance now when housing costs are so high the other question I had what are the other larger counties doing? like Broward, Orange, Hillsborough have we seen what they're doing? because they're going to face the very same things us worse than anyone but they too as large counties have we looked at what they're doing? we haven't as a yet but we're happy to reach out to see I think that would be helpful and then to answer the questions about whether they get the funds early versus after they've been evicted because I have to tell you once I'm in the street it doesn't we're placing people on the street before they get the benefit of assistance does this plan allow us or does Senate Bill 594 have any restrictions on when we offer it to the mobile home park owner that is leaving? so we will work through that through the implementation but we've changed the language from eviction to deprived of housing so I think we can interpret that that is if they're in the process and they've got or the mobile home owner has approval by the state and local jurisdiction already and we know that there's that timeline so they will be displaced I believe that is an indication that we could start that program so I think by changing this language closer to the state gives us that leeway not to be reactive at that last point but to be slightly more proactive certainly as soon as they know that they're being evicted or that the land is being sold that gives people proper notice I mean I don't know that anyone can find a place and and up I mean uproot their whole families in a matter of seconds I mean they need to know am I going to have 10,000 am I going to have 5,000 and then they can go out and look for proper housing and lastly I guess I don't know a lot of people have talked about the responsibility of the landowner to give money so that this isn't in lieu of but complementing is there anything that that requires a landowner of a mobile home park to to do right I'll give I'll give a partial answer because I'm not fully versed in in the state statute but there there's three prongs to it and you're correct and through I can tell you through zoning and through our comprehensive plan there are requirements that developer must provide some assistance state law mandates that there be a certain amount of assistance whether it's enough that I think could be debated but that is part of the process so when there's a land use or zoning application that's a redevelopment of a mobile home park usually that's the first step of a redevelopment part of that there should be some plans that's going to be with RER and probably a discussion with them but that's that's one problem so yes we're looking at funding we're not solving the entire problem that's not the goal of this legislation it is a prong and and one of the tools in solving it but but yes there are state requirements state requirements and this is in addition to any state requirement for funding okay thank you very very much madam chair thank you commissioner anyone else commissioner Regarado you're recognized thank you and I just wanted to make a few points and thank you for everyone who who came out first of all the city of Miami does have ship funding so I'm glad Nathan that you qualified that and and just so that you know the city of Miami actually prioritizes their ship money into three buckets different from the county housing retention and repairs emergency home repairs and housing rehabilitation down payment and closing cost assistance and affordable housing production so I would tell you first and foremost to go to the city of Miami and have them change their rules to comply with this because historically this has not been a priority for them so and I say that as a resident of the city of Miami also I think it's important to note that there is there as Nathan mentioned there's a there's a piece of this that the developer participates in this is a zoning item that goes before the city of Miami Miami it is the city of Miami that negotiates this so the city of Miami is going to be in charge of those community benefits and those negotiations and the effectuation of the statute and I have been very clear you know with the residents of the mobile home park about that the county is not involved in that process the county does pay for an eviction program that you all remember we started during the pandemic and as a result of that eviction program we do work with everyone with legal aid we fund legal aid you know and we provide caseworkers Commissioner Lopez you brought up like what why they get the money so late the issue is the trigger so this change is one of the things that we've been asking for because technically under the state law we cannot access all of this money until they are legally unhoused they can hold over so it's you know the eviction process is the eviction process so there has to be a point where the home owner says I'm gonna leave right they don't necessarily have to be out in the street they don't have to be in the eviction process but there is a gray area there between a holdover and okay I'm gonna leave and now I'm negotiating what that price is and that's always been kind of the murky part for us to figure out I agree that at the state level there should be some flexibility given as to what happens when home values are greater I will say that Broward and Orlando have a benefit to us because they have over 55 housing over 55 housing provides a price point that is much lower than housing that is available to everyone we don't have that in Miami-Dade County so in many cases we saw this when we had another mobile home issue in Miami-Dade County a lot of folks leave the county they go to other counties where they can get something at a better price and a lot of the folks are over 55 so it's very common for them to choose to choose that housing now as to as to the price point I think as Nathan mentioned when we look at the effectuation we it's a case by case right but it's going to be very hard because we don't we have to have enough money in the fund to be able to help people and we don't know how many of these are going to happen so at some point we might want to look at the comp plan and when these things get triggered and how many of these applications we can take because there is a world right in which all of a sudden you have two or three of these come up at the same time and to Nathan's point if you have 1.2 1.3 right and you you use all your money at the beginning then what do you do you don't have access to the to the ship money beyond that so I know that the residents back to this particular park asked me for a meeting with the developers I am not in the position to negotiate that I've been very clear in that we're doing everything that we can to provide support but really the city of Miami is the one that's dealing with this development and and they need to facilitate that because they're the ones that are going to be negotiating this deal the county is not involved in that so it puts us in a very difficult you know situation and obviously we represent areas of an incorporated that also have mobile home parks so we have to prioritize the unincorporated areas we're happy to help in the incorporated but when the municipality receives ship money then it's a conversation with us and them but they are getting that funding so we are the municipality in our unincorporated areas and that has to be our priority to kind of double down on a municipality that receives ship I think is a very different thing but I think that's something that as Nathan works on the effectuation I think we can provide some like air support you know if needed but I think the real the real priority for our programming has to be the unincorporated areas and the municipalities that do not get ship because that means that under the statute they get zero so we all agree that 10,000 is not enough but if if you're getting zero that's a very different conversation so I want to thank you Madam Chair for working on the item I think it's very important I would love to co-sponsor it and work on the effectuation with Nathan happy to move it thank you thank you Mr. Vice Chair thank you thank you Madam Chair I do have a few questions and I would love to also be considered co-sponsor the item this is a really good item so my question is to Mr. Director Nathan so the mobile home preservation program is that what we're talking about do we have one that's already etched out because from my understanding Senate Bill 594 did two things right it removed the 20% cap and also delegated the responsibility of creating protection for mobile home tenants and land owners it gave us the opportunity to create a mechanism to help fund them in the event of facing issues that we're facing today is that pretty much accurate that is correct all right and if that is accurate then is it is there a world where if our mobile home preservation program isn't as we heard from Commissioner Regalado the City of Miami has one on deck is there a world where we can mirror that but at the same time analyze the number of mobile homes that are inside of the unincorporated area and use that number and have it as a basis for the amount of money that you have left over in this this stash this pot this one to two million dollars and make a calculation as to how much of the county can afford for the unincorporated area yes we can do an inventory analysis with RER for for all mobile home parks i think i think it would be good to look at it even for and for incorporated areas that receive ship just to get the full universe we could also see which ones are currently subject to potential zoning action over the next couple years great and and senate bill 594 actually in a sense it gives you a wide latitude to come up with a game plan that would be beneficial and advantageous to the current mobile homeowners and renters who are actually experiencing the setbacks that they're experiencing today due to owners selling properties for a higher rate is there is there something that we can find in and I think Commissioner Lopez said it earlier maybe we go towards the best practice and look at other counties and cities and find out what can we borrow from them so that we can speed this up so that they don't have to find themselves in limbo while we're going through this I completely Commissioner agree with that position as well as Commissioner Lopez and Regalado yeah absolutely we'll we'll take a look at some of the larger counties as well as the cities and see what we can line up I think a combination of that and inventory and and you know which which mobile homes may may be going through a redevelopment I think that will give us some good data and analysis I think I think west of us there are we have like a like the St. Pete area the Tampa area they have a lot of mobile homes Jefferson County and I think I think we can look at those areas and see what they're talking about over there and I think that'll give us a nice guidance because they're if I'm looking at this correctly right they're equally situated right as as far as opportunities for hurricanes the amount of hurricanes that the fact that the market is actually changing as it relates to real estate value and I think I think they'll give us a great you know a great indicator of what we can do and what we can do Happy to look at that Thank you Madam Chair Thank you thank you so much anyone else Um, you have something else? Yeah, I should have regard to Yes, since since Commissioner McGee mentioned that I would just say there there is a more Florida mobile home relocation trust fund So Nathan while we're looking if we're going to do if we're going to do an audit, right? I mean we're asking for an audit. I think it's a great idea so we can evaluate the risk, right? So we're looking at a particular pot of money. We're going to do an audit to evaluate the risk Look at the trust fund also because that's another that's another state vehicle that we should add Uh, when when we look at that Um, and there is a radius associated to that trust fund Um, so maybe that's like a path forward also to establish a radius and a price point based on that radius Thank you Madam Chair Oh, thank you Madam Chair to respond also in an agreement with Commissioner Regalado I do believe Senate Bill 594 actually, um Provides for that six month window that 180 day, right? So is there a world and again, I'm talking out loud before I'm actually thinking about the answer And I know as a lawyer, we should never ask the question. We don't know the answer to But I'm thinking out loud here. Is there a world since we have broader control since the state gave it to us? Is there a world where everything can literally start at the 181st day as it relates to support of those who are impacted? Um I think to exceed the 180 days Yeah, yeah. Is there a world is there a world where we can we can we can we can do that? I don't maybe that's a question to the attorney Um, is there a world where we can do that like and to you know If it starts at 181 and I start at 181 if we only have 180 that's Let's look and see if we can somehow expand and so that we can benefit them more I would say, you know, and I'll defer to to legal But there's some very specific language in there that caps it at the six months Um under this program So But we can combine programs. So if it's like so when it stops at 180 we can pick up another one Again under your the legislative board, uh body Uh, yes, but under this program it's limited That's Anything else? Uh, vice chair? Mike? Thank you so much. Um Does legal have any anything? We can certainly get back with uh commissioner McGee on his issue We'll do some research and circle back with you if that's okay, uh vice chairman Thank you. That would be helpful So thank you so much first all the residents who came here to speak Um, I really appreciate that I want to let you know that I encourage you to come back and back again because your voices matter Um Um To to Nathan Um You do have uh You do have a wealth of uh resources, uh with us today Um, and uh And I'd like to start by thanking community justice project and Macy's Fight Um And also, um Eagle services of Buddha, Miami Jeffrey, thank you so much But you also have them I'd like you to really reach out to them Um To look into other alternatives Um You also have the residents that you can You you you you can you can engage so to the residents I heard you Uh very clearly about the amount Uh This is one proposal and and and we're gonna take all your feedback into consideration Um And then to see what is possible Nathan Is it possible to increase it in in in if if it is then to how much But in in order to really make the right decision it is important to meet with the community Meet with the residents and meet with the some of the resources that are in the room Because they are the they are they are in the community they know the the residents I know They work very closely with the mobile home residents so they will be able to bring the feedback that you you could also use uh in that process And then I also would uh uh recommend uh my my colleagues um idea to um look into other other counties to Find best practices Uh because uh obviously there is a housing crisis Obviously ten thousand dollars is not gonna get them far But I understand that you have a limited pot It's limited I think you said one point something How much again is it the amount that you have you're dealing with right now After we you know knock out seventy five percent of that eight million it's roughly one and a half to two million Potentially again that's still competing against other programs that this board directs us to to implement So we got to look at the whole thing collectively but it's limited that's correct It is limited so look into best practices and and and and and and engage meet with the community to see How best you you can um um you can you can um have uh help them And I don't know if my colleagues remember We call that last year I did um uh made an urging for the Florida legislature to increase the assistance to the Florida mobile home Uh, you know uh board So hopefully this is something that we can follow up on it was made last year So there is clearly a need for it So my advice is to um um a schedule a time Meet with the with the with the community organizations and meet with the residents And I want to tell you those of you who came to speak It is a process the ten thousand is one aspect that we are looking at There might be other ideas other things that we can we can uh work on So um um um hopefully uh together we'll find um better solutions for you But I want you to to understand that we value your voices We value you coming and then we value your your feedback All right Nathan so you will reach out uh to the residents And also reach out to community justice project and legal services of good in miami And let's start a conversation to see how we can improve uh this Because obviously um it is a crisis And uh we need to um make the best decisions for our residents Because these are people who've invested a lot I've I've I have a lot of experience working with mobile homeowners Remember that was my job before I became a commissioner So I know the challenges and I understand the challenges And I can tell you that the concerns are real Ten thousand dollars will not take them far So let us uh continue the process to make sure that we find the best solutions To help them because they are all residents And then we need to provide the assistance that is needed So that they can live in in in dignity and respecting the indignity Is just like every other homeowner in miami-dade county Will do madam chair All right anything else for my colleagues Um thank you for your feedback Um move the item madam Yep move it Second Yes uh no commissioner regalado already um Right Did we have a second Yep Okay all right Madam clerk call the roll Commissioner McGee Commissioner Ragalado Yes Commissioner Bermudez Vice Chairwoman Lopez Yes Chairwoman Bastian Yes Motion passes unanimously That is as amended As amended Madam Chair Yes uh madam chair you still have item 2a And also the uh the minutes which is 6a I move the remainder of the agenda Aye No I think uh just a motion to adjourn is in order Thank you madam chair Thank you madam chair Thank you madam chair Thank you madam chair Thank you madam chair Thank you madam chair Thank you madam chair Thank you madam chair Thank you madam chair Thank you madam chair Thank you madam chair Thank you madam chair Thank you madam chair Thank you madam chair Thank you madam chair Thank you madam chair Thank you madam chair Thank you madam chair Thank you madam chair Thank 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