HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Resolution 14343 (Grand Jury Report on Affordable Housing)RESOLUTION NO. 14343
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL
APPROVING AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE THE CITY'S
RESPONSE TO THE APRIL 12, 2017 MARIN COUNTY CIVIL GRAND JURY
REPORT ENTITLED "OVERCOMING BARRIERS TO AFFORDABLE
HOUSING"
WHEREAS, pursuant to Penal Code section 933, a public agency which receives a Grand
Jury Report addressing aspects of the public agency's operations must, within ninety (90) days,
provide a written response to the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court with a copy to the
Foreperson of the Grand Jury, responding to the Report's findings and recommendations; and
WHEREAS, Penal Code section 933 specifically requires that the "governing body" of the
public agency provide said response and, in order to lawfully comply, the governing body must
consider and adopt the response at a noticed public meeting pursuant to the Brown Act; and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of San Rafael has received and reviewed the
Marin County Grand Jury Report, dated April 12, 2017, entitled "Overcoming Barriers to Housing
Affordability;" and
WHEREAS, at a regular City Council meeting held on June 5, 2017, the Grand Jury
Report was presented, public testimony was accepted and the City Council discussed the report
findings and recommendations.
hereby:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of San Rafael
Approves and authorizes the Mayor to execute the City's response to the Marin County
Grand Jury's April 12, 2017 report, entitled "Overcoming Barriers to Affordable Housing," a
copy of which response is attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference.
2. Directs the City Clerk to forward the City's response forthwith to the Presiding Judge of the
Marin County Superior Court and to the Foreperson of the Marin County Grand Jury.
I, Esther Beirne, Clerk of the City of San Rafael, hereby certify that the foregoing
Resolution was duly and regularly introduced and adopted at a regular meeting of the San Rafael
City Council held on the 5th day of June 2017, by the following vote to wit:
AYES:
Councilmembers:
Bushey, Colin, Gamblin, McCullough & Mayor Phillips
NOES:
Councilmembers:
None
ABSENT:
Councilmembers:
None
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ESTHER C. BEIRNE, City Clerk
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June 23, 2017
The Honorable Judge Kelly V.
Marin County Superior Court
P.O. Box 4988
San Rafael, CA 94913-4988
Honorable Judge Simmons
Mr. Hamilton -Roth
Simmons Jay Hamilton -Roth, Foreperson
Marin County Civil Grand Jury
3501 Civic Center Drive, Room #275
San Rafael, CA 94903
Re: Marin County Civil Grand Jury Report Entitled: "Overcoming Barriers to
Housing Affordability"
We are forwarding to you the following documents:
• A certified copy of Resolution No. 14343 adopted by the San Rafael City Council on
June 5, 2017, approving and authorizing the Mayor to execute the City's response;
• Original of the "Response to Grand Jury Report Form," executed by Mayor Phillips
on June 19, 2017
Should you need further assistance, please contact me at (415) 485-3065.
Sincerely,
ESTHER C. BEIRNE
City Clerk
cc: Gary 0. Phillips, Mayor of the City of San Rafael
Jim Schutz, City Manager
Robert Epstein, City Attorney
Paul Jensen, Community Development Director
CITY OF SAN RAFAEL 1 1400 FIFTH AVENUE, SAN RAFAEL, CALIFORNIA 94901 1 CITYOFSANRAFAEL.ORG
Gary O. Phillips, Mayor • Maribeth Bushey, Vice Mayor • Kate Colin, Councilmember • John Gamblin, Councilmember • Andrew Cuyugan McCullough, Councilmember
RESPONSE TO GRAND JURY REPORT FORM
Report Title: Overcoming Barriers to Housing Affordability
Report Date: April 6, 2017
Response By: City Council of the City of San Rafael
Title: Mayor and City Council
FINDINGS:
• We agree with the findings numbered N/A
(See Attachment A)
• We disagree wholly or partially with the findings numbered N/A
RECOMMENDATIONS:
• Recommendations numbered
(See Attachment A)
• Recommendations numbered
implemented in the future.
(See Attachment A)
• Recommendation numbered
(Attach an explanation.)
R1. R2, and R6 have been implemented.
R3 have not yet been implemented, but will be
N/A
• Recommendations numbered N/A
not warranted or are not reasonable.
(Attach an explanation.)
DATED:
ATTEST: Z G. "E`er
Esther Beirne, City Clerk
Number of aaees attached: 5
requires further analysis.
will not be implemented because they are
Signed: _
GARY P. PHILLIPS, Mayor
ATTACHMENT "A"
RESPONSE OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL TO GRAND JURY REPORT
"OVERCOMING BARRIERS TO HOUSING AFFORDABILITY"
RECOMMENDATIONS AND RESPONSES:
131: Each planning department should begin regularly scheduled meetings at which
developers can speak, early in the process with all relevant members of staff to
discuss impacts of proposed development and potential solutions to problems.
Response: This is a very good suggestion and one that San Rafael has been
implementing for over 25 years. Had the City been consulted prior to the publication
of this report, we would have reported that this is a common processing practice in
San Rafael. San Rafael employs the following practices and procedures to
encourage direct and consistent communication between the developer and City
staff:
➢ On larger, more complicated projects, City staff encourages regular "team"
meetings with the developer. The regular team meetings provide an opportunity
to better navigate the steps in the process and share information. Team
meetings also provide an opportunity to hold participants accountable for actions,
which keeps the process moving.
➢ San Rafael has a Development Coordinating Committee (DCC) that is composed
of representatives from all city departments that are part of the development
review process. The DCC includes representatives from Community
Development (Planning, Building and Code Enforcement), Fire Prevention,
Economic Development, Public Work (Land Development and Traffic), and
Police and Community Services Dept (as needed). The DCC has been in-place
since the 1980's and meetings are held two times per month (currently on the
2nd and 4th Thursdays at 3:30pm). The purpose of the DCC is to collectively
review development projects, coordinate comments and hear about policies and
regulations for each of the departments. The developer is offered an opportunity
to attend the DCC meetings. Developer attendance fosters a more transparent
and hands-on working relationship with City staff and assists in better
communication of City policies and regulations.
➢ San Rafael offers both a Pre -Application and Conceptual Review process.
Essentially, these processes provide preliminary review and feedback on a
concept or schematic project before formal development applications are filed
with the City. The feedback provided to the developer by the Pre -Application (in-
house staff review) and Conceptual Review (early design feedback from the
Design Review Board) processes will usually flush -out major policy issues or
matters of code compliance very early in the review process. This early
feedback has proven to save a developer time and money.
R2. Each planning department should develop a proactive community outreach
strategy for any project that might be considered potentially controversial
(including going beyond legal noticing minimums and initiating outreach efforts as
early as possible in the development cycle).
Response: This is a very good suggestion and one that San Rafael has been
implementing for more than 25 years. San Rafael employs the following practices
and procedures to facilitate community outreach:
➢ Encouraae contact with neiahborhood associations. For nearly every inquiry
received at the Planning Division public counter, applicants are encouraged
reach out to their neighbors and their neighborhood association. This advice is
even provided on smaller projects (like upper story additions to single-family
homes, etc.), where a neighbor could be impacted by this project. Staff also
provides the applicant with direct contact information for the neighborhood
association, as well as the list of neighboring residents that are expected for be
notified for a public hearing or action. The City cannot mandate or force an
applicant to follow-through with outreach but this encouragement is strong.
Applicants are told that early outreach usually helps diffuse potential issues and
opposition.
➢ Reauire Conceptual Review for all maior proiects. As noted above, the City has
administered the Pre -Application and Conceptual Review processes for many
years. The Conceptual Review process encourages early feedback on project
design through a public forum process. A preliminary review by the Design
Review Board offers an opportunity for feedback on building scale, mass and
design. As the Board holds public meetings, the public has an opportunity to
comment. On occasion, the Planning Commission has been afforded an
opportunity to participate in the Conceptual Review process to weigh-in on higher
level land use policy issues.
➢ Application and plan referrals. All planning applications that are filed require a
referral of the application and plans to City departments and utilities for review
and comment. Distribution of the application and plans is also provided to the
pertinent neighborhood association. This typically provides an initial introduction
of the project to neighborhood residents, as well as an initial contact with City
staff and the developer. As you are aware, San Rafael neighborhood
associations are very active and are diligent in sharing such applications and
plans with their residents.
➢ Proiect introduction to Federation of San Rafael Neighborhoods/North San
Rafael Coalition. On larger and controversial projects, staff will provide an
introduction of the project at the City's monthly meeting with the Federation of
San Rafael Neighborhoods/North San Rafael Coalition. This monthly meeting
provides an excellent opportunity as it is attended by representatives from many
of the neighborhood associations.
➢ Mandated neiahborhood meetinas. Applicant -hosted neighborhood meetings
are mandated for larger and controversial projects. In 1989, the City Council
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adopted Resolution No. 8037, which established this mandated practice.
Applicants are responsible for coordinating and noticing a neighborhood meeting
with City staff providing a meeting notice template and property owner/resident
mailing list. The mandated neighborhood meeting provides the applicant and
their design team to present their project and to obtain feedback from residences.
City staff will attend a neighborhood meeting but staff participation is limited to
providing information on the City process and general policies.
R3. Each planning department should use succinct 'plain -speak" to convey issues in
their outreach.
Response: This is a very good suggestion. The City needs to be conscious of this
issue as many times, the public notice is the recipient's initial introduction to the
project. The Community Development Department has developed a standard public
noticing template, which contains a lot of information. Much of the information on the
notice is required by state and federal laws, which must be included in the notice.
Because there are legal requirements for noticing, merely scaling back the language
in the notice would make the City vulnerable to a legal challenge. A good example is
the requirement to include the noticing of environmental (CEQA) review for the
project. The language and jargon used for environmental review noticing can be
foreign to most people. However, it can be crafted in a way to be understandable to
the layperson. Staff intends to review and revise its standard notices within the next
30 days.
R6: Each jurisdiction should adopt procedures so that low-income housing projects
are fast -tracked through the planning and permitting process.
Response: The initial reaction to this recommendation is "easier said than done."
Nonetheless, it should be noted that the City has adopted policies and procedures
which encourage the fast -tracking of affordable housing projects through the review
process. However, the City rarely receives applications for new low-income housing
projects. Most of our housing projects are market rate, with the required set aside of
affordable housing as a percentage of the overall project. Fast -tracking is only
effective if: a) there is a staff planner assigned and has their time exclusively devoted
to the project; and b) there is limited to no controversy. The downsides of fast -
tracking are: a) corners can be cut and procedures can be missed, which can make
the project vulnerable to litigation; and b) there is public criticism that the review
process has been compromised often giving the impression that project action has
been "rubber-stamped."
Fast -tracking comes in several forms and is now being administered on new
accessory (second) dwelling units (ADU). While there is mention in the Grand Jury
Report about encouraging ADUs and junior second units, the discussion is not in the
context of permit process streamlining. Accessory dwelling units and junior second
units have proven to be a good source of affordable housing. In January 2017, the
State laws mandating ADUs were significantly changed, resulting in a requirement
for local jurisdictions to adopt and administer a permit process that is ministerial
(non -discretionary provided that specified standards are met) and subject to
processing time limits (applications must be processed and action taken within 120
days). Since January 2017, the City has been operating under the new ADU
provisions set forth in the State law. As a result, we have received 14 applications for
ADUs, which is about three -to -four times the number of ADU applications the City
has historically processed in one calendar year.
General Comments on Report Scope and Research
Overall, the Grand Jury Report does not present any previously unknown findings or
information. As summarized above, all of the suggested solutions are very good and
nearly all of these solutions have been employed and implemented by San Rafael for
decades. The City of San Rafael offers the following general comments on the
report and scope of research:
Limited Consultation with Citv Staff. In completing the research for this report,
there was limited consultation with City staff. The extent of contact and outreach
with City by the Grand Jury was the City staff review and response to a
questionnaire, which focused on low-income affordable housing policies and fees
(primarily on affordable housing in -lieu fees). The questionnaire did not inquire
about the City's planning process and practices.
2. Limited Research Conducted. The research that was conducted did not include
a review of the local jurisdiction permit processing practices. The findings and
recommendations of the report might have been different had this research been
completed.
3. Report Does Not Acknowledge Local Efforts and Housinq Performance. As noted
above, consultation with the City was limited. The questionnaire did not inquire
about the number of housing units (including affordable housing units) that have
been entitled and built in the community. The City of San Rafael has had an
inclusionary housing policy in-place since 1987. Since 1987, all market rate
residential projects have been required to incorporate a percentage of below-
market rate units within the project. As a result, over the past 30 years, between
200-250 below -rate rental and for -sale units were created and integrated
throughout the community. Further, in 2002, the City (in partnership with the
County of Marin) completed a nexus study, which fostered the adoption of a
commercial linkage fee for affordable housing. New commercial development is
required to comply with the City's below-market rate housing requirements, which
may include payment of an affordable housing in -lieu fee.
Second, the Grand Jury Report provides no acknowledgement of current housing
approval performance within the local jurisdictions. Had the questionnaire
included this request, we would have reported that there are over 100 residential
units that are approved and fully entitled in Downtown San Rafael (Downtown
San Rafael Development 'Watch" List). These projects are approved with both
market rate and below market rate units.
Third, the questionnaire was not structured to solicit information on other efforts
and practices employed by the local jurisdictions to promote housing. Had the
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questionnaire included this request, we would have reported that San Rafael has
an adopted residential density bonus ordinance which has been applied to nearly
all new residential projects processed and approved in the past 10 years. Lastly,
like the City of Novato, San Rafael has adopted a Junior Second Unit Ordinance.
Comments on Report Findings
The Grand Jury has not requested a response to the report findings from the City
of San Rafael to the report findings. Nonetheless, staff has reviewed these
findings and presents the following comments on Findings F1, F4 and F7:
Findina F1 states that political will for the construction of new housing is
constrained by County -wide vocal citizen opposition. However, the Grand
Jury Report presents no tangible recommendations on how to address
community resistance. All of the recommendations may foster a better
process but do little to address or dissolve community resistance.
2. Findina F4 states that the responsibility for housing in Marin is fragmented
with little overall coordination among the different agencies in the County as
well as the cities/towns. This finding has merit. However, the Grand Jury
Report does not recognize that the County and each local city/town are
required by State law to address their individual housing needs. Each
jurisdiction is required to adopt a General Plan Housing Element and must
demonstrate how the regional housing need allocation (RHNA) is met
(appropriate zoning for housing) within their jurisdiction. Lastly, it is important
to note that each local jurisdiction is a separate entity with its own unique
housing goals and policies and elected body.
3. Findina F7 states that efforts to mediate neighborhood opposition to low-
income affordable housing proposals are often too late in the process and
have been ineffective. This finding is generalized and not necessarily correct.
As summarized in the response to report recommendation R2 above, San
Rafael engages in and promotes early outreach. Neighborhood meetings are
mandated for large and controversial projects. One example is the
neighborhood meeting that was held for the proposed Northgate Walk
residential development (Four Points Sheraton Hotel site at Manuel T. Freitas
Parkway and US 101). This neighborhood meeting, which was attended by
approximately 200 people, was held prior to any formal applications filed by
the developer. As a result of the extensive opposition expressed at the
neighborhood meeting, significant changes to the project were made by the
developer and incorporated into the formal planning applications.
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