More senior housing possible in Whitefish

An affordable-housing presentation Tuesday revealed preliminary plans for a major expansion at Mountain View Manor in Whitefish.

Whitefish Housing Authority Director SueAnn Grogan told the City Council the project would involve the addition of as many as 20 senior apartments, a senior center and the creation of rental office space for senior-related services.

"The goal is to create more senior apartments and services by combining efforts with the Golden Agers Senior Center," Grogan said.

The senior center sits on city land near the Whitefish River, just north of Mountain View Manor. The county owns the building, which is maintained by the Golden Agers organization. A new bike path connects the two facilities.

Grogan last month asked the city to draw up a memorandum of understanding that includes all of the involved parties.

The Whitefish Housing Authority owns riverfront property behind the manor, at 100 East Fourth Street, which would be used for the expansion. It's possible the existing senior center would be razed and a new structure on that site would house both the senior center and apartments above the center, Grogan said.

"The proposal is a market-based approach to meeting our housing needs and as such will be mixed use and mixed income," she said.

She expects the comprehensive project to take three years to complete.

Cy Appel, chairman of the Golden Agers board of directors, said he'll bring the memorandum to the board for approval when it's drafted. Grogan has presented her plans to the Golden Agers board.

"The board was very supportive," Appel said. "Anything that serves the seniors, we're on board."

GROGAN GAVE the council an hour-long update of the housing authority's programs in Whitefish. In addition to the public housing program that administers Mountain View Manor, the authority also oversees a housing rehabilitation program, a rental program that uses federal housing-choice vouchers and a homeownership program.

The rehabilitation program was started in 1998 and has refurbished houses for about 35 low-income homeowners. Its goal is to preserve existing housing stock and maintain affordability by lowering costs of energy and maintenance.

The Section 8 voucher program is federally funded and aimed at very low-income households. Whitefish Housing Authority took over 16 vouchers in August 2004 after the sale of the Chair 3 Apartments. Average assistance for a two-bedroom unit is $260 a month, Grogan said.

Whitefish's homeownership program is the newest, created last year with just more than $1 million in grants and other funding. The Housing Authority formed a nonprofit entity - Whitefish Housing Development Inc. - to develop and purchase housing and reserve the housing for sale for the housing authority's First Time Homebuyer Program.

Eight families purchased homes through the program in 2005, including two moderate-income parties who bought condominiums at Riverwalk at Whitefish and six low-income parties who purchased houses.

Average cost of the affordable homes is $162,000, of which $63,000 is provided by the Housing Authority. A home is considered affordable when the monthly payments don't exceed 30 percent of the homeowner's monthly income.

The homeownership program uses a recapture mechanism to maintain affordability, Grogan said. If a home is sold for market value, the down payment and closing-cost assistance is repaid to the housing authority along with a share of the equity earned. Repaid funds put in a revolving fund to assist more homeowners.

Because housing prices are escalating at an unprecedented rate in Whitefish, the Housing Authority has proposed a resale restriction that would require the owner to sell the home to another income-eligible buyer.

THE HOUSING Authority has used the city's new voluntary inclusionary zoning ordinance passed last year to purchase three affordable homes and reserve four more units for this year. However, the authority has asked the city to set maximum purchase prices of the affordable/deed-restricted units in subdivisions utilizing the voluntary zoning ordinance. Currently, the maximum sales price is based on the subsidy the Housing Authority can provide, Grogan said, but if the city sets a maximum price according to income levels, the subsidies would decrease.

Some of the homes secured through the voluntary program have not sold, Grogan said, adding that she's turned down 90 people who couldn't afford the high cost of the homes intended to be affordable.

Council members mulled the idea of moving toward mandatory inclusionary zoning that would force developers to provide a percentage of affordable units. Late last year the council asked city staffers for more information about a mandatory program.

The Whitefish City-County Planning Board recommended a mandatory program a couple of years ago, but the council opted to take the voluntary route.

"It's a lot of work to go from voluntary to mandatory," planning director Bob Horne cautioned. "You have to tighten down the nexus."

No decision was made to pursue a mandatory program, but the council did vote to have the planning staff re-evaluate the $3,000 fee per unit for payment in lieu of [affordable] housing. Most council members maintained that the fee is too low.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.