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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAC 2020-11-05 Agenda PacketAGENDA NOVEMBER 5, 2020 AT 7:00 P.M. CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING VIRTUAL MEETING WATCH: https://tinyurl.com/CAC-2020-11-05 Telephone ID: (669)900-9128 Meeting ID: 816-4120-8163 1. Call to Order 2. Approval of October 1st Meeting Notes 3. Approval of Inclusionary Housing Letter 4. Public Comment on Non-Agenda Items 5. Discussion - The View from the Chamber: Pandemic Effects on Business - Joanne Webster 6. Project Updates • Website: https://www.cityofsanrafael.org/major-planning-projects/ 7. Discussion of Priority Development Areas for December Meeting 8. Discussion of Topics for Precise Plan for December Meeting 9. Election of Officers for December Meeting 10. Adjournment Page 1 of 2 City of San Rafael Citizens Advisory Committee for Economic Development and Affordable Housing (CAC) Virtual Meeting Summary Notes October 1, 2020 CAC Members Present: Mari Jones, Bill Carney, Kati Miller, Glen Koorhan, Dirck Brinckerhoff, Joe McCallum, Gladys Gilliland, William O’Connell, Roger Smith, Andrew Naja-Riese CAC Members Absent: Madeline Silva Khan City Staff Present: Simon Vuong Guests Present: Ethan Guy Members of the Public Present: None 1. Call to Order: Chair William O’Connell called the virtual meeting to order at 7:05 pm. 2. Approval of July 6th Meeting Notes: Approved as submitted. 3. Public Comment on Non-Agenda Items: None. 4. Presentation and Discussion – Inclusionary Housing – Ethan Guy: A discussion regarding inclusionary housing was led by Ethan Guy, Principal Analyst with the City of San Rafael. Mr. Guy provided a summary of City Council actions as well as a brief history of City staff’s review of inclusionary housing over the last few years. Mr. Guy noted that staff has been directed towards the in-depth study of four topics, which are briefly described as follows; revising inclusionary housing requirements, simplifying density bonus provisions, amending various ordinances to streamline approvals, and formalizing a design review board subcommittee. Mr. Guy spent time explaining each topic and answering questions from members of the CAC. Mr. Guy noted that the City Council has directed staff to develop a policy which can be revisited in the future, and members of the CAC remarked that they would like to encourage that practice with scheduled frequency over the upcoming years. Member Bill Carney remarked that it is important to have metrics to define what “success” is following the implementation of the policy, specifically as it pertains to the lowering of the inclusionary housing requirement from 20% to 10%. Mr. Guy responded that success will be shown by new development as well as the collection of in-lieu fees. Member Kati Miller made a motion as follows: to generally approve of the new inclusionary housing component of the ordinance guideline changes, and to recommend the establishment of a formal review process (with a cycle of no greater than five years) to gauge the effectiveness of the policy. The motion was approved by a vote of 9-0 with Member Bill Carney abstaining. 5. Project Updates: Mr. Simon Vuong reported that Homeward Bound had applied for a conditional use permit to use a portion of the vacant office building at 3301 Kerner Blvd as a homeless shelter, while their current facility at 190 Mill Street is under renovation. Page 2 of 2 Mr. Vuong also reported that the Hampton Inn and Suites hotel project at 1075 E. Francisco Blvd would be applying for building permits in one to two weeks. As a follow up to the August meeting, Mr. Vuong noted that the Goldstone Market Hall project at 1001 Fourth Street is still in the midst of an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement (“ENA”) with the City of San Rafael, and that progress had been made in regards to gaining an understanding of the conceptual parking arrangement. Members of the CAC expressed curiosity in updates pertaining to the 120-unit project at 703 Third Street, as well as the 136-unit project known as Northgate Walk at 1005-1010 Northgate Drive. Mr. Vuong noted that he would follow up to see if any updates could be brought back to the CAC at the next scheduled meeting. 6. Suggestions for Future Agenda Items: Member Bill Carney suggested revisiting the topic of the two named Priority Development Areas “PDAs” of San Rafael, and honing in on the elements of the PDAs which would be of most importance to the CAC. Member Roger Smith suggested revisiting the Downtown Precise Plan, with a specific focus on historical preservation, design review, and other topics that would merit the CAC’s discussion. 7. Adjournment: Chair William O’Connell adjourned the virtual meeting at 9:09 pm. Respectfully submitted by Joe McCallum D R A F T October ____, 2020    Citizens Advisory Committee San Rafael, CA 94901 Mayor Gary Phillips and City Council City of San Rafael 1400 Fifth Avenue San Rafael, CA 94901 Dear Mayor Phillips and Council Members, The CAC has received a presentation by Ethan Guy from the San Rafael Community Development Department on changes being proposed to the San Rafael Municipal Code (SRMC) to facilitate housing development and streamline approvals. In general, the CAC is very supportive of the suggested changes as a way to stimulate construction of additional housing, and more specifically, affordable housing. We encourage the Council to pass the amendments. However, the CAC also believes it important that the effectiveness of these amendments be objectively measured after a reasonable time period has passed. Specifically, the revised ordinance should require a rigorous review of its impact at the end of either 48 months or 60 months following ratification. As part of such a review, a reasonable effort should be made to collect base line data on the pace and type of housing development prior to the amendment (i.e. the ten or fifteen year time frame prior to 2021) and then monitor what happens over the next four or five years to see how successful the changes have been. Special attention should be paid not only to the amount of housing that is added, but also to its affordability, quality, and diversity of location. It is recognized that data alone may not fully inform us, and it is expected that gathering input from the development community and planning staff on a more anecdotal or informal basis should also be part of the review process. The CAC members believe that, in general, changes like these should be formally monitored for usefulness. Not only will that permit us all to learn what works and what doesn’t, it gives the Council an opportunity to make further modifications that may then seem important. Respectfully, William O’Connell Chair Citizens Advisory Committee