The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutCM Affordable Housing____________________________________________________________________________________ FOR CITY CLERK ONLY Council Meeting: 6/04/2018 Disposition: Tabled to June 18, 2018 Agenda Item No: 4.c Meeting Date: June 4, 2018 SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT Department: City Manager’s Office Prepared by: Andrew Hening, Director of Homeless Planning & Outreach City Manager Approval: ______________ TOPIC: AFFORDABLE HOUSING SUBJECT: RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE $4 BILLION VETERANS AND AFFORABLE HOUSING BOND ACT ON THE NOVEMBER 6, 2018 STATE BALLOT RECOMMENDATION: adopt a resolution supporting the $4 billion Veterans and Affordable Housing Bond Act on the November 6, 2018 state ballot. BACKGROUND: Housing unaffordability is reaching crisis levels throughout the state of California. The Department of Housing & Urban Department defines housing affordability as "housing for which the occupant(s) is/are paying no more than 30 percent of his or her income for gross housing costs." 30% of renters in California are now spending more than 50% of their income on rent. According to data from the Marin Independent Journal, the median one-bedroom apartment in San Rafael now costs $2,580. A minimum wage worker in San Rafael making $11/hour would have to work 180 hours to afford the median one-bedroom apartment (there are only 168 hours in the week). Across the state, homeownership rates are at their lowest point since the 1940s. SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT / Page: 2 California’s booming job growth has not been met with a parallel boom in housing. In the Bay Area alone, in recent years there has been a 10:1 mismatch between job growth and housing creation. These increases have had a direct correlation with the increasing rates of homelessness we see in our community. According to the Department of Housing & Urban Development’s 2017 Annual Report to Congress. California’s homeless population jumped nearly 14 percent from 2016 to 2017 — to a total of more than 134,000 people. It rose nearly 9 percent over the previous seven years. That’s much different than the national picture. While the national homeless population ticked up about 1 percent in 2017, it remained 13 percent lower than in 2010. At least 10 California city and county governments have declared states of emergency since 2015. ANALYSIS: In response to this crisis, in the fall of 2017 the California State Legislature and Governor Brown passed a series of new bills, including new measures to increase financial support for housing creation. Senate Bill 3 – the Veterans and Affordable Housing Bond Act – was one of the approved bills, and it has put a $4 billion bond on the November 6, 2018 ballot. This bond measure has been endorsed by a variety of organizations: Statewide Organizations: ACCE, Tenants Together, PICO CA, Housing CA, AFSCME local 3299, Gamaliel CA, California Calls, California Reinvestment Coalition, Move the Immigrant Vote, APEN, Courage Campaign, Policy Link, Public Advocates, SEIU Locals 2015 & USWW, Western Center on Law & Poverty Local & Regional Organizations: ACTLA, Alameda Renters Coalition, Bend the Arc, California Rural Housing, CAUSE, CCED, Clinica Romero, Community Action Network, Causa Justa / Just Cause, CHIRLA, Community Legal Services of East Palo Alto, Council of Community Housing Organizations , Crenshaw Subway Coalition, DSA – Sacramento, East Bay Housing Organization (EBHO), East Bay Area Progressive Democrats, Employee Rights Center (San Diego), Eviction Defense Center, Faith in Action Bay Area, Faith in the Valley, Fannie Lou Hammer Institute, Glendale Tenants Union, Housing Advocates, Housing Long Beach, Housing Rights Committee San Francisco, Inland Empire Our Revolution, Inner City Law Center, Institute for the Black World 21st Century, KIWA, LA CAN, LA Forward, LA Human Right to Housing Collective, Los Angeles Tenants Union (LATU), LA VOICE (PICO), Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability (Central Valley), LiBRE, MEDA (Mission Economic Development Corporation), MIV, North Bay Organizing Project, Pasadena Tenants Union, POWER, Public Interest Law Project, SEIU Locals 1021 and 221, Strategic Actions for a Just Economy, Sacramento Housing Alliance, San Francisco Tenants Union, San Diego Organizing Project, UFCW Local 135, Union de Vecinos, Uplift Inglewood, Urban Habitat, and UTLA (United Teachers of Los Angeles) and UTSD. FISCAL IMPACT: There is no fiscal impact associated with this item. OPTIONS: The City Council has the following options to consider on this matter: 1) Adopt the resolution. 2) Request changes to the resolution. 3) Reject the Resolution. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Adopt the resolution. ATTACHMENT: 1. Resolution RESOLUTION NO. ____________ RESOLUTION OF THE SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL SUPPORTING THE $4 BILLION VETERANS AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOND ACT ON THE NOVEMBER 6, 2018 STATE BALLOT. WHEREAS, housing affordability is an urgent issue facing many communities in California, where a majority of renters (3 million households) pay more than 30 percent of their income toward rent and nearly one-third (over 1.5 million households) spend more than 50 percent of their income on rent; and WHEREAS, the housing crisis is a contributing factor to homelessness in our communities; and WHEREAS, California’s homeownership rates are at the lowest point since the 1940’s; and WHEREAS, recent housing production levels are about half of pre-recession levels (roughly 200,000 per year) and are far short of the state’s projected housing need for 180,000 new homes per year; and WHEREAS, the proceeds from the 2006 housing bond that helped create and preserve affordable apartments, urban infill infrastructure, and single-family homes have been expended; and WHEREAS, even though federal funding for affordable housing comprises a significant portion of California’s resources to support affordable housing, federal spending has been on the decline in recent years; and WHEREAS, between 2003 and 2015, Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME funds allocated to California by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to produce affordable housing units have declined by 51 percent and 66 percent respectively; and WHEREAS, last year the Legislature passed and Governor Brown signed SB 3 (Beall), which placed the $4 billion Veterans and Affordable Housing Bond Act on the November 6, 2018 general election ballot; and WHEREAS, the Veterans and Affordable Housing Bond Act will provide funding to support multifamily housing, higher density housing near transit, infill infrastructure, farmworker housing, first-time home buyer assistance, and veteran home loans; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the San Rafael City Council that the City of San Rafael hereby supports the Veterans and Affordable Housing Bond Act on the November 6, 2018 ballot to infuse much needed funding to support important affordable housing projects and spur housing construction statewide; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of San Rafael supports and can be listed as a member of the Affordable Housing Now coalition. I, LINDSAY LARA, 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 City Council of the City of San Rafael, held on Monday the 4th day of June, 2018, by the following vote, to wit: AYES: Councilmembers: NOES: Councilmembers: ABSENT: Councilmembers: ________________________________ LINDSAY LARA, City Clerk