Human Rights Commission Housing Committee Meeting (5:00pm) Accessibility Committee Meeting (6:00pm) June 4, 2021 Virtual/Electronic Meeting Agenda Packet Attachments 1. Housing Committee Agenda 2. 03-31-2021 HRC Housing Committee Meeting Minutes 3. Accessibility Committee Agenda 4. 03-31-2021 HRC Accessibility Committee Meeting Minutes Attachment 1 Human Rights Commission AGENDA Housing Committee June 4, 2021 Virtual/Electronic Meeting 5:00 pm Please take Notice that this virtual meeting of the Human Rights Commission is for the purposes of planning, developing and drafting management and administration documents for the Human Rights Commission. For the purpose of addressing issues during the quarantine, this virtual meeting will be a limited public forum to discuss the agenda items designated under Section 5 below and to ensure the continuity of services provided by the Commission. The Commission Chair may limit public comments or discussion points that are unrelated to agenda items under Section 5 or that pertain to topics outside the scope of this Agenda. Members of the public are limited to three minutes of comment time per person related to the Agenda below. A maximum of sixteen public comment time slots are allotted per meeting. This will be a virtual/electronic meeting open to the public and registration information is available at www.charlottesville.gov/zoom. Link to Human Rights Commission shared Box folder: https://app.box.com/s/xty3wnn2s1tj8h7trkknvd79bipyxezy 1. WELCOME a. CALL TO ORDER b. ROLL CALL c. MISSION (recited by all): Act as a strong advocate to justice and equal opportunity by providing citywide leadership and guidance in the area of civil rights. 2. MATTERS BY THE PUBLIC a. PUBLIC COMMENT (Webinar attendees use the “raise hand” function, phone attendees use *9) b. COMMISSION RESPONSE TO MATTERS BY THE PUBLIC 3. MINUTES a. 03-31-2021HRC Housing Committee Meeting Minutes 4. WORK SESSION a. New Business 5. MATTERS BY THE PUBLIC a. PUBLIC COMMENT (Webinar attendees use the “raise hand” function, phone attendees use *9) b. COMMISSION RESPONSE TO MATTERS BY THE PUBLIC 6. NEXT STEPS & ADJOURN * ACTION NEEDED Individuals with disabilities who require assistance or special arrangements to participate in the public meeting may call the ADA Coordinator at (434) 970-3182 or submit a request via email to ada@charlottesville.gov. The City of Charlottesville requests that you provide a 48 hour notice so that proper arrangements may be made. Attachment 2 Human Rights Commission Meeting Minutes Housing Committee March 31, 2021 Virtual/Electronic Meeting 6:00 pm Link to rebroadcast: https://boxcast.tv/channel/vabajtzezuyv3iclkx1a 1. WELCOME a. CALL TO ORDER i. Committee Chair, Shantell Bingham, called the meeting to order at 6:05 pm b. ROLL CALL i. Shantell Bingham ii. Tobiah Mundt iii. Mary Bauer iv. Wolfgang Keppley c. MISSION (recited by all): Act as a strong advocate to justice and equal opportunity by providing citywide leadership and guidance in the area of civil rights. 2. MATTERS BY THE PUBLIC a. PUBLIC COMMENT i. None. b. COMMISSION RESPONSE TO MATTERS BY THE PUBLIC i. None. 3. MINUTES a. Review of minutes from March 17, 2021 Housing Committee Meeting i. Motion to approve as written 1. Mary ii. Second 1. Tobiah iii. Discussion 1. None. iv. Vote 1. In favor: 3 2. Can live with: 0 3. Opposed: 0 4. Abstained: 0 4. BUSINESS MATTERS a. Michael Monaco Community Services Coordinator for Piedmont Housing Alliance (PHA) presented information regarding PHA’s eviction prevention program i. See attached PowerPoint presentation ii. Commissioner questions 1. Are residents directed to resources for court costs for evictions? a. Prior to COVID PHA would waive late fees and court fees b. PHA absorbs those costs 2. What are the legal fees for evictions and about how many people are affected? a. $57 for court filings – PHA would cover i. This applied to 12 to 15 people in eviction prevention in 2020 b. Not all tenants in eviction prevention had an open court case but most had late fees – PHA would waive these 3. How many units does PHA manage within the City of Charlottesville? a. About 340 4. Did any of the tenants who were evicted have an attorney? a. Unknown 5. Of the 45 families in eviction prevention did any have attorneys? a. Some people had representation through Legal Aid b. The exact number is unknown but could be determined 6. What are the costs associated with getting evicted and what do they pay for? a. Legal fees cover filing with the court b. PHA does not provide financial supports to residents for legal representation iii. Committee Chair offers the public the opportunity to ask Michael questions 1. None. b. Commissioner updates regarding outreach to potential partners i. Shantell 1. Plans to contact CLIHC a. Emily Dreyfus and Elaine Poon are aware of the work ii. Tobiah 1. Invited Michael Monaco 2. Contacted Emma Goehler at DSA a. Committed to pushing Council to provide legal support to tenants facing evictions b. Asked for suggestions as to how DSA can support the HRC’s efforts iii. Mary 1. Attended Council budget meeting on 3/17/21 a. There was $117K set aside in the budget b. Councilor Snook noted that there had only been a handful of eviction trials, so he thought the amount should be smaller 2. Reached out to Jake Gold about the actual number of eviction cases a. Number of eviction cases, not just those that make it trial, was 700 average per year prior to the pandemic 3. Reached out to John Pollock about calculating costs a. Works at the National Right to Counsel b. Has helped other cities develop right to counsel programs c. Several decisions can lead to budgeting decisions i. Is the an income cut-off? 1. 200% of poverty level or below a. Average 80% of tenants in other cities with right to counsel programs met this criteria ii. What is the predicted default rate? 1. 50% is typical for other cities a. In Charlottesville that would mean about 350 (out of 700) cases would still be successfully matched with lawyers b. Assuming 20% of people would be over the income threshold, that would be about 300 cases 4. Asked Legal Aid Justice Center (LAJC) how many lawyers they thought it would take to handle 300 cases a. LAJC suggested that 1 lawyer could handle about 100 cases b. This means 3 full-time lawyers c. $120K = salary + benefits + overhead d. Total cost = $360K i. This did not include outreach or other coordination 5. Did not contact Central Virginia Legal Aid Society (CVLAS) a. Assumes that the numbers would be similar 6. Other cities include subsidy terminations in their plans a. Including administrative proceedings that terminate vouchers b. Could include those types of cases, as well c. Would need to ask for that data from CRHA i. How many subsidy terminations happen outside the court system? 7. Takeaways a. $117K is not enough for the initial year b. $360K may be a good starting point c. Cases may go up or down depending on outreach and situation d. LAJC may be willing to accept the funding and do the work iv. Todd 1. Emailed Kaki Dimock a. Asked about the support system 2. Emailed Dr. Kathryn Howell a. Awaiting a response 3. Emailed Dr. Barbara Brown-Wilson a. RVA eviction lab could potentially help with data b. suggested collaboration between Equity Center, Eviction Lab, DSA i. For data and policy examples c. Potential actions i. Write a letter citing the evidence for a higher amount 1. Seek support from other organizations 2. Mary will draft the letter by Friday 3. Total amount should be more than $360K to account for outreach and coordination ii. Speak at the April 5 Council budget meeting 1. Shantell will request that other speak in support a. DSA b. CLIHC c. PHA d. CRHA e. PHAR f. TJACH g. RVA Eviction Lab h. Equity Center i. City Human Services iii. Mention in letter that RVA Eviction Lab, DSA, and Equity Center might support data collection to show the impact of the work 1. Todd to ask RVA Eviction Lab for case results with and without lawyers iv. Continue to speak with Human Services about potential assistance with outreach and connecting people to the program 5. MATTERS BY THE PUBLIC a. PUBLIC COMMENT i. None. b. COMMISSION RESPONSE TO MATTERS BY THE PUBLIC i. None. 6. NEXT STEPS a. Mary will draft the letter to City Council by Friday b. Shantell will send a summary email to all listed in 4.c.ii. i. Send on Thursday ahead of letter c. Todd will ask RVA Eviction Lab for case results with and without lawyers 7. ADJOURN a. Meeting adjourned at 7:00 pm. Piedmont Housing Alliance Eviction Prevention Program  First incarnation of program: January 2019 – March 2020  Intended to prevent evictions at Piedmont Housing Alliance- Background managed communities  Primary focus on rent-related eviction  67% of all households qualify as Extremely Low-Income (<30% AMI) Demographics  91% of all households are under 50% AMI  In 2019, 67% of move-ins were formerly homeless January 2019  In total, 45 households were enrolled in EPP to  20 households “graduated” March  4 households were evicted 2020  Continuing court cases as far as possible (up to 9 months total) Tools to  Eliminating outstanding late/atty. fees prevent  Financial assistance from community partners (AIM, eviction Network2Work)  In-house housing counseling team  EPP repurposed to rent relief/assistance Post-COVID  Sought or provided assistance to over 300 households (out of 600)  Outside assistance from statewide Rent Relief Program & C’ville City RELIEF fund  Using next three months to prepare for end of moratorium Now  Enroll/re-enroll households at risk in EPP  Focus on payment plans & financial assistance for households at risk  Reliant entirely on outside funding Gaps  No capacity for housing counseling for each EPP client  In-house MSW or similar services professional needed Attachment 3 Human Rights Commission AGENDA Accessibility Committee June 4, 2021 Virtual/Electronic Meeting 6:00pm Please take Notice that this virtual meeting of the Human Rights Commission is for the purposes of planning, developing and drafting management and administration documents for the Human Rights Commission. For the purpose of addressing issues during the quarantine, this virtual meeting will be a limited public forum to discuss the agenda items designated under Section 5 below and to ensure the continuity of services provided by the Commission. The Commission Chair may limit public comments or discussion points that are unrelated to agenda items under Section 5 or that pertain to topics outside the scope of this Agenda. Members of the public are limited to three minutes of comment time per person related to the Agenda below. A maximum of sixteen public comment time slots are allotted per meeting. This will be a virtual/electronic meeting open to the public and registration information is available at www.charlottesville.gov/zoom. Link to Human Rights Commission shared Box folder: https://app.box.com/s/xty3wnn2s1tj8h7trkknvd79bipyxezy 1. WELCOME a. CALL TO ORDER b. ROLL CALL c. MISSION (recited by all): Act as a strong advocate to justice and equal opportunity by providing citywide leadership and guidance in the area of civil rights. 2. MATTERS BY THE PUBLIC a. PUBLIC COMMENT (Webinar attendees use the “raise hand” function, phone attendees use *9) b. COMMISSION RESPONSE TO MATTERS BY THE PUBLIC 3. MINUTES a. 03-31-2021 HRC Accessibility Committee Meeting 4. WORK SESSION a. Access to City resources for non-English speakers b. New Business 5. MATTERS BY THE PUBLIC a. PUBLIC COMMENT (Webinar attendees use the “raise hand” function, phone attendees use *9) b. COMMISSION RESPONSE TO MATTERS BY THE PUBLIC 6. NEXT STEPS & ADJOURN * ACTION NEEDED Individuals with disabilities who require assistance or special arrangements to participate in the public meeting may call the ADA Coordinator at (434) 970-3182 or submit a request via email to ada@charlottesville.gov. The City of Charlottesville requests that you provide a 48 hour notice so that proper arrangements may be made. Attachment 4 Human Rights Commission Meeting Minutes Accessibility Committee March 31, 2021 Virtual/Electronic Meeting 7:30 pm Link to rebroadcast: https://boxcast.tv/channel/vabajtzezuyv3iclkx1a 1. WELCOME a. CALL TO ORDER i. Chair, Wolfgang Keppley, called the meeting to order at 7:30 pm. b. ROLL CALL i. Wolfgang Keppley ii. Sue Lewis c. MISSION (recited by all): Act as a strong advocate to justice and equal opportunity by providing citywide leadership and guidance in the area of civil rights. 2. MATTERS BY THE PUBLIC a. PUBLIC COMMENT i. None. b. COMMISSION RESPONSE TO MATTERS BY THE PUBLIC i. None. 3. WORK SESSION a. ADA Office priorities i. Allyson Finchum (ADA Coordinator) lists priorites 1. Update ADA Transition Plan a. Intersection curb ramps are a priority 2. Supporting the ADA Advisory Committee a. Committee holds primary task of transition plan update 3. Addressing complaints a. Allyson receives and attempts to resolve b. Committee holds hearings if cannot resolve 4. Need to figure out how ADA Advisory Committee fits with HRC Accessibility Committee b. Status of ADA Advisory Committee i. Previously HRC Commissioners sat on ADA Advisory Committee 1. Sue Lewis, Olivia Boykin, and Charlene Green served on the Committee ii. Committee has not yet met during the time Allyson has been on staff 1. Allyson has list of members 2. Can invite Commissioners to upcoming meeting 3. Previously met quarterly iii. ADA Advisory Committee 1. Staff advisory committee that is not appointed by Council iv. Allyson has asked Missy Creasy about HRC Commissioner presence on ADA Advisory Committee 1. Awaiting response 4. Transition plan update focuses a. Allyson consulted with Jim Herndon regarding needed changes b. Curb ramps installation is the priority i. She will work to make sure this project is adequately funded ii. This is currently behind schedule iii. ADA requires that any time a street is resurfaced the curb ramps should be installed iv. ADA Committee, Public Works engineers, and Allyson’s supervisors at NDS all support prioritizing this work 5. Site plan reviews a. ADA Coordinator works with engineering staff to review site plans b. Reviews for ADA compliance and rights of way c. Some site plans already underway others are pending review 6. Accessibility of City resources a. Communications Department has made some advancements in accessible technology b. Other Departments have been handling pieces of ADA compliance c. ADA Coordinator can help make sure City is in compliance and that the right people are engaged in creating accessible resources 7. Other sidewalk improvements a. Public Works sidewalk improvement survey and a utility pole assessment were mentioned in 2013 transition plan i. Allyson can investigate status 8. CAT and other pedestrian transit a. Amanda Poncy has also been addressing ADA compliance in her work b. Allyson has received one complaint involving Jaunt and requests for some changes to CAT services i. These are both in process and have not yet been resolved 9. City resident participation and engagement a. Community members can file ADA complaints online through email form on the City website b. Email monitored by i. Allyson ii. Engineers iii. Brian Wheeler c. Outreach i. Not planned yet, as Allyson has only been in the position for a few weeks ii. Will be looking toward doing this in the future d. Commission suggestions i. Adding captions to broadcasts of City meetings ii. Transcriptions of City meetings iii. Translations of City documents to other languages iv. Public awareness of ASL interpretation services for City meetings 1. Make the process clear and easy to access 2. ASL interpreter at all Council meetings a. Notes that Ralph Northam always has an ASL interpreter during public presentations v. Staff suggests considering the scope of ASL interpretation services 1. Consider which meetings should have live ASL interpretation a. All boards and commissions vs. just Council and select boards and commission b. Consider making a budget recommendation to Council coupled with a proposal for the scope of services vi. Allyson replies 1. ASL interpretation could be included in the transition plan, but this may depend on the ADA Advisory Committee a. Allyson will look into this process 2. ADA compliance only requires that ASL interpretation be made available on an individual request basis a. Going above and beyond the requirement is possible vii. Commissioners suggest potential actions ahead of a larger proposal to Council 1. Greater public awareness of closed captioning on Facebook live a. Does not account for people who only access Council meetings through the television and do not use Facebook viii. Brian Wheeler replies 1. Communications has not seen an ASL interpretation request for Council meetings in the three years 2. Zoom supports live captioning (a live person types the text of the meeting in real-time) a. Not currently in the City budget 3. Boxcast also supports closed captioning for a fee and could be turned on a. This would not show up on Channel 10 broadcasts ix. Commissioner suggests asking ADA Advisory Committee members their views and ideas for ASL and captioning of City meetings 10. MATTERS BY THE PUBLIC a. PUBLIC COMMENT i. Shelby Edwards 1. Notes a specific transportation concern related to the redevelopment of one particular public housing site 2. PHAR and CAT are working to resolve the concern but there may be some ADA regulations involved 3. Asks for the best way to discuss with ADA Coordinator further b. COMMISSION RESPONSE TO MATTERS BY THE PUBLIC i. Allyson responds to Shelby 1. Will follow up with Shelby after the meeting by email 11. NEXT STEPS a. Allyson will look into the status of the Public works sidewalk improvement survey and a utility pole assessment. b. Allyson will look into the process of including broadened ASL interpretation services in the ADA Transition Plan. c. Allyson will confirm the date and time of the next quarterly ADA Advisory Committee meeting. 12. ADJOURN a. Meeting adjourned at 8:21 pm.