HomeMy WebLinkAboutCD Annual Progress Report (APR) on Housing____________________________________________________________________________________
FOR CITY CLERK ONLY
Council Meeting: April 5, 2021
Disposition: Accepted report
Agenda Item No: 7.a
Meeting Date: April 5, 2021
SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
Department: COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Prepared by: Paul A. Jensen (RN)
Community Development Director
City Manager Approval: ___________
TOPIC: ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT (APR) ON HOUSING
SUBJECT: ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT (APR) ON: HOUSING UNITS SUBMITTED,
APPROVED AND BUILT IN 2020; AND UPDATE ON PROGRESS OF IMPLEMENTING
PROGRAMS IN THE HOUSING ELEMENT. CASE NO. P21-003
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council:
a.Open the public hearing and accept comments; and
b.Accept report.
BACKGROUND:
Government Code Section 65400 requires local jurisdictions to prepare an Annual Progress Report
(APR) on the status of the City’s Housing Element and the progress in meeting its share of regional
housing needs. A copy of the report must be submitted to both the Governor’s Office of Planning and
Research (OPR) and the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) by April 1st
for the previous calendar year (January 1-December 31). Historically, the APR has been prepared in
narrative format and informally reported to the City Council as part of routine updates on housing.
However, the State housing laws have dramatically changed in the last several years, and now mandate
higher reporting standards and a greater level of accountability by the local jurisdiction. The housing laws
require that a public hearing on the APR be conducted by the local jurisdiction to allow for public
comment.
The APR is reported on forms prescribed by HCD. Prior to the 2018 reporting year, the APR forms were
simpler, requiring the reporting of housing units approved (entitled) in the reporting calendar year, and
progress on the implementation programs contained in the Housing Element. However, in response to
changes in the State housing laws, in 2020, the forms became far more complex. The APR now requires
that the local jurisdictions itemize and report the number of housing units: a) submitted and deemed
complete; b) approved/entitled; c) issued building permits; and d) built and issued final inspections for
occupancy. Further, the APR requires reporting the type of housing unit and the level of affordability. As
noted above, the APR also requires listing all of the housing programs outlined in the Housing Element
and status of implementation of these programs. Lastly, the recent changes to the APR require that local
jurisdictions report on housing development processed using the by-right housing approval process
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prescribed by Senate Bill 35 (SB 35). The APR now contains nine (9) reporting tables briefly described
as follows:
1. Table A – Housing Development Applications Submitted. An “application” is a formal permit
application submittal of a project for approval. This application is either for a discretionary
entitlement (e.g. Environmental and Design Review, Use Permit), or where a ministerial process
is solely required, such as an application for a building permit.
2. Table A2 – Annual Building Activity Report Summary. This table requires reporting all new
housing construction, approved/entitled units, building permits issued, and built units issued a
Certificate of Occupancy/final inspection.
3. Table B – Regional Housing Needs Allocation Progress. This table tallies the reporting year and
prior year(s) of building permits issued for housing units under the current Regional Housing Need
Allocation (RHNA) Planning Cycle (current cycle is 2015-2023). Permitted housing units are
reported by their affordability (e.g., low-income, above moderate income/market rate). This table
tracks the local jurisdictions progress towards meeting the RHNA. Table B contains the RHNA
by income level and compares that number with total annual new housing units and housing units
to date.
4. Table C – Properties Rezoned to Accommodate a Shortfall of Housing Need. State housing law
requires that if the local jurisdiction approves a housing development on a housing opportunity
site that results in fewer units than the number estimated for the site in the Housing Element, the
shortfall of units must be made by rezoning another site to accommodate the shortfall. For the
2020 reporting year, the City was not required to rezone any site(s) to accommodate a shortfall
of housing need.
5. Table D – Housing Element Program Implementation. This table requires that all Housing
Element programs be listed and accompanied by a report on the progress of program
implementation.
6. Table E – Commercial Development Bonus. This table allows for reporting of commercial
development bonus for applications that include an agreement for partnered housing that
contributes affordable housing through a joint project or two separate projects encompassing
affordable housing. For the 2020 reporting year, the City did not approve any project involving a
commercial development bonus.
7. Table F – Housing Units Rehabilitated, Converted from Non-affordable to Affordable and
Preserved. This table allows the local jurisdiction to report housing units that have been
substantially rehabilitated, converted from non-affordable to affordable by acquisition, and
preserved. For the 2020 reporting year, there were no housing units approved/built that meet this
criterion.
8. Table G – City-owned Properties Sold, Leased or Otherwise Disposed. This table requires the
local jurisdiction to identify any City-owned property that has been included in the Housing
Element Sites Inventory that have been sold, leased, or otherwise disposed of during the reporting
year. The City did not dispose of any such property during the 2020 reporting period.
9. Summary Table. This table tallies the data from several of the tables listed above. The summary
data focuses on the total of all permits issued and all applications submitted and approved for the
2019 reporting period.
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ANALYSIS:
Staff has completed the APR for the 2020 calendar year. The APR tables are attached (Attachment 1).
Staff submitted the report to HCD on April 1, 2021. The following is a summary of the City’s progress on
housing approvals/entitlements, building permits issued and housing units completed for occupancy.
As reported in the Housing Application Summary Table, a total of 46 housing development
applications were submitted to the City and deemed complete in 2020. These completed applications
included: 38 Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADUs) applications; four (4) Junior Accessory Dwelling Unit
(JADUs) application; two (2) single family dwellings (SFDs) applications; a three (3)-unit development
application; and a 32-unit development application. HCD allows accessory units that are less than
500 square feet in area to be reported as low-income (non-deed restricted) because rental prices for
these units tend to fall within the low-income rental rates. A total of 7 units fall under this category.
The 32-unit development at 190 Mill Street is recorded as very low-income units but were in fact
approved as extremely low-income units.
Table A2 data includes the following report for 2020:
a. Housing Units Entitled: 201 units
b. Building Permits Issued: 82 units
c. Units Built and Granted Final Occupancy: 32 units
d. Units Lost: 1 unit
RHNA (Regional Housing Needs Allocation) progress is presented in Table B (below):
Income Level
RHNA
Allocation
by
Income
Level
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Very Low
Deed Restricted 240 2 1 4
Non-Deed Restricted
Low
Deed Restricted 148 10 5 1 2
Non-Deed Restricted 4 7 24 6 7
Moderate
Deed Restricted 181
Non-Deed Restricted 10 1
Above Moderate 438 94 21 20 14 22 69
Total RHNA 1007
Total Units 120 26 27 41 28 82
Note: units serving extremely low-income households
are included in the very low-income permitted unit
totals
As mentioned above the tables use building permit issuance for the purposes of determining progress
towards RHNA. The 82 units that were issued building permits in 2020 including the 41-unit housing
SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT / Page: 4
development at 815 B Street (at 2nd Street), which is near completion, as well as a total of 36
ADUs/JADUs; 2 single family residential units; and 3 units in multifamily development. Please note
that housing projects that have been approved/entitled are not necessarily reflected in the APR if they
did not also receive a building permit. Those units will be counted in future reporting periods once
building permits are issued. Entitlements were granted for the following key housing projects in 2020,
but are not yet counted toward the RHNA number as building permits for these projects were not
issued in 2020:
• 190 Mill Street (32 extremely low-income transitional housing units)
• 999 Third Street (BioMarin R&D + Whistlestop/EDEN Housing Senior Center and Housing
(68 low-income senior housing units)
• 350 Merrydale Road (45 townhome units)
While Table B only shows credit for 82 units, the City received completed applications for 201 units
in 2020 getting us closer to reaching our RHNA goals.
As reported in Table D, there are a number of Housing Element programs that are ongoing and serve
to streamline housing development within the City and provide housing protections to vulnerable
communities. The following are some key Housing Element programs that were part of the 2020
reporting period:
a. H11-b. & H16-a. Accessory Dwelling Units and Junior Accessory Dwelling Units. The city began
drafting of an ADU Ordinance in 2019. However, due to additional changes in state legislation on
ADUs, the final draft ordinance was not completed and released until late 2020. The draft ADU
ordinance was reviewed by the Planning Commission on March 23, 3021.
b. H-5a. Fair Housing Program. In 2020, the City continued to initiate and adopt renter protection
policies, practices, and programs. Policy and ordinance actions initiated in 2020 included a
temporary moratorium on rent increases to residents living in US Census Tracts most
disproportionally impacted by COVID-19.
a. H-6a. Funding Sources. In 2020, the City piloted a “buy out” of a portion of the inclusionary
housing requirement for Village @ Loch Lomond Marina development. The buy-out authorized
the City acceptance of an in-lieu fee for six, undeveloped, for sale housing units. A portion of the
in-lieu fee that was collected was granted to Homeward Bound to subsidize their transitional
housing project at 190 Mill Street. Further, a portion of the in-lieu fee that was collected was
allocated to EDEN Housing for a loan to build 68 low-income housing units at 999 3rd Street.
b. H-8d. Relocation Assistance. In 2020, this City initiated municipal code amendments to establish
residential rental relocation assistance requirements for residents subject to “no fault” eviction in
the US Census Tract 1122.01 (federally designated Opportunity Zone).
a. H-9d. Housing for Extremely Low-Income Households. In 2020, the City granted “by right”
approvals for the redevelopment of the Homeward Bound emergency shelter at 190 Mill Street.
The redevelopment includes the approval of 32 extremely low-income transitional housing units.
Further, in 2020, the City collaborated with and assisted the County of Marin in its purchase of
3301 Kerner Boulevard to convert this office-developed site with transitional housing.
b. H-13a. Assisted Living. In 2020, the City issued building permits for the development of the
Oakmont Assisted at 3773 Redwood Highway. This development will provide 89 assisted living
apartment units with supportive services.
c. H-17d. Efficient Project Review. In 2020, the City implemented and initiated a number or
measures to further promote efficient project review. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the
City launched: a) an online permit application program for both Planning review and Building
SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT / Page: 5
Permits; b) a “virtual public counter” to service customers during City Hall closure; and c) a piloted
Design Review Board Sub-Committee to review projects.
d. H-18a. Inclusionary Housing Nexus Study. In 2020, the City partnered with the County of Marin
to initiate a study to update the affordable housing in-lieu fee for new residential and non-
residential (commercial linkage fee) projects.
Summary Table. The Summary Table tab includes a summary of Tables A through G. There are only
two relevant tables as shown below. As shown in these tables there were total 82 units were issued
building permits in the 2020 reporting period. This is also the total number of units that count toward
the City’s RHNA goals.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
As required by State law (California Environmental Quality Act), review and action on the APR must be
reviewed to determine if it is subject to environmental review. As the APR is an informational report, it
will have no physical impact on the environment. The APR is classified as a planning study, which
qualifies for a Statutory Exemption from the provisions of the CEQA Guidelines under 14 CRR Section
15262.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH:
Notice of the public hearing was conducted in accordance with the public review period and noticing
requirements contained in Chapter 29 of the Zoning Ordinance. Notice of public hearing was mailed to
all neighborhood associations and stakeholders including the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce and
housing advocacy groups.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with the completion and submittal of the 2020 APR.
SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT / Page: 6
OPTIONS:
1. Accept the APR as presented by staff;
2. Accept the APR with modifications; or
3. Reject the APR and direct staff to return with additional information.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. 2020 HCD Annual Progress Report Tables
2. Public Hearing Notice
3. Correspondence
Jurisdiction San Rafael
Reporting Year 2020 (Jan. 1 - Dec. 31)
Current Year
Deed Restricted 4
Non-Deed Restricted 0
Deed Restricted 2
Non-Deed Restricted 7
Deed Restricted 0
Non-Deed Restricted 0
69
82
46
80
80
0
0
0
0
0
Income Rental Ownership Total
Very Low 0 0 0
Low 0 0 0
Moderate 0 0 0
Above Moderate 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0
Cells in grey contain auto-calculation formulas
Very Low
Low
Moderate
Above Moderate
Units Constructed - SB 35 Streamlining Permits
Number of Streamlining Applications Approved
Total Developments Approved with Streamlining
Total Units Constructed with Streamlining
Total Housing Applications Submitted:
Number of Proposed Units in All Applications Received:
Total Housing Units Approved:
Total Housing Units Disapproved:
Total Units
Housing Applications Summary
Use of SB 35 Streamlining Provisions
Note: Units serving extremely low-income households are included in the very low-
income permitted units totals
Number of Applications for Streamlining
Building Permits Issued by Affordability Summary
Income Level
CITY OF SAN RAFAEL
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
Notice is hereby given that the San Rafael City Council will hold a public hearing on the following project:
MEETING
DATE/TIME/LOCATION:
Monday, March 15, 2021 7:00 p.m. COVID-19 ADVISORY NOTICE
Consistent with Executive Orders No.-25-20 and No. N-29-20 from the
Executive Department of the State of California and the Marin County
March 16, 2020 Shelter in Place Order, the San Rafael City Council
meeting of March 15, 2021 will not be physically open to the public and the
meeting will be streamed live to YouTube at
https://www.youtube.com/cityofsanrafael and through Zoom. Instructions
on how to participate online, will be available on the YouTube channel.
PROJECT
DESCRIPTION:
ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT (APR) ON HOUSING – Per State law,
the City of San Rafael is required to complete and submit an Annual
Progress Report (APR) on housing to the State of California Department of
Housing and Community Development. The APR includes data on the
number of housing units submitted and approved in 2020, and an update
on the progress of implementing programs in the City’s Housing Element.
Further, State law requires that the City conduct a public hearing on the
APR to solicit public comments. File No.: P21-003.
As required by State law (California Environmental Quality Act), review and
action on the APR must be reviewed to determine if it is subject to
environmental review. As the APR is an informational report, it will have no
physical impact on the environment. The APR is classified as a planning
study, which qualifies for a Statutory Exemption from the provisions of the
CEQA Guidelines under 14 CRR Section 15262.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN: You may comment on the project online. The City Council will consider
public comment/testimony and decide whether to accept the APR.
IF YOU CANNOT
PARTICIPATE:
You may send a letter to Lindsay Lara, City Clerk by email to
Lindsay.Lara@cityofsanrafael.org..
FOR MORE
INFORMATION:
Contact Renee Nickenig, Assistant Planner at (415) 485-3397 or
renee.nickenig@cityofsanrafael.org. City offices are currently closed
to public walk in, but you can contact the planner for more
information. You can also view the staff report after 5:00 p.m. on the
Friday before the meeting at http://www.cityofsanrafael.org/meetings.
SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL
/s/ Lindsay Lara
Lindsay Lara
CITY CLERK