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Home My WebLink AboutCAC 2017-11-02 Minutes November 2, 2017 CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING THIRD FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOM, CITY HALL 7:00 P.M. Present: Chair Bill Carney, Andrew Naja-Riese, Roger Smith, Felix AuYeung , Bill O’Connell, Kati Miller, Dirck Brinckerhoff, Glenn Koorhan, Gladys Gilliland Absent: Gordon Manashil Staff Present: Danielle O’Leary Members of the Public: David Coury, Jim Gareghty 1. Call to Order 2. Approval of Meeting Summary Notes October 5th 3. Potential Approaches to Affordable Housing – Guest; Olson Lee, former Director of SF Mayor’s Office of Housing and Economic Development Mr. Lee presented a PowerPoint on his experience with creating affordable housing in San Francisco and what measures might be applicable to San Rafael. Among suggested ideas: Inventory existing public lands for possible affordable housing sites, including school campuses and air rights over parking lots and garages. Other jurisdictions are building teacher housing on surplus school sites. Partnerships with non-profit developers could maximize the results. San Francisco enters into long-term leases, but retains public ownership of the housing sites. Consider additional ways of funding affordable housing. These might include increasing the ‘workforce housing linkage fee’ that San Rafael applies to new commercial development, and/or adding such a fee for market-rate residential development or major rehabs, as Mill Valley is now doing. Another idea is applying a certain percentage of the new ‘tax increment’ generated by development to the City’s housing fund; this was previously required in redevelopment areas, but can also be enacted locally. It could be for districts or citywide. Another suggestion was to seek a countywide workforce housing bond issuance, which might be especially attractive if it helped fund both new developments and second units and if it identified specific infill sites already included in approved housing elements. Consider additional development code incentives for building affordable housing. These could include adjusting density requirements to encourage more but smaller units within established height and massing envelops. Also, reducing parking requirements, especially in areas served by transit or shared parking facilities. Increasing inclusionary zoning requirements could also help, if backed by studies clearly establishing the public benefit. The CAC thanked Mr. Lee for sharing his experience and ideas. Members remarked on the high architectural quality of the San Francisco affordable housing developments, to which he commented that a single poorly-designed or poorly-operated development would have decimated his program. One member pointed out that state law now allows for teacher housing if the school district owns the land. A member of the public suggested that the City discuss such a possibility with the school district. The question was raised about how to respond to public concerns like traffic and building scale. Mr. Lee said to remind people of the importance of maintaining diversity in the community, in particular a diverse housing stock for the workers who unpin services, schools, and the economy. He also commented that housing of the right size in the right place could also help support more transit ridership. A committee member pointed out that San Rafael’s downtown and Northgate area were already zoned to accommodate taller buildings. A copy of Mr. Lee’s presentation is attached to these minutes. 4. Project Updates Transit Center Relocation – Steve Kinsey will report to Council November 20. SMART Updates/Francisco MUP, Merrydale Promenade – No report. Northgate Mall – The new owner will attend December 6 CAC; a survey is online now. BioMarin/Whistlestop – No new submittals. Council will review downtown development guidelines and goals at November 6 meeting. Other developments – No report. Sonoma fire report – Mr. Carney wondered what lessons San Rafael might learn from the recent disasters from the North Bay fires. Danielle described the experience and challenges in her neighborhood in Santa Rosa. Nearly 3,000 homes and over 400,000 SQFT of commercial property was lost in the fire. Many displaced residents are wondering if they can afford to build. The City and County in partnership with FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Association) opened a Local Assistance Center to help individuals sort through options. 5. Suggestions for Future Agenda Items – Continued discussion of possible ways to increase affordable housing and of reduce fire vulnerability in San Rafael. 6. Adjournment – Meeting adjourned at approximately 8:50. Meeting notes prepared by Danielle O’Leary and Bill Carney Date November 2, 2017 Creating Affordable Housing Presentation for San Rafael CAC What is affordable? ✤Rental Housing: generally 30% of 50% of median income which for a family of four in a two bedroom apartment means a rent of $1,142 ✤Ownership Housing: generally 33% of 100% of median income for a family of four in a two bedroom home means a sales price of $473,000 What are market prices? ✤Median rent for a 2-bedroom apartment is: $3,150 (Source: Truilla) ✤Median sales price for a 2-bedroom home is: $696,000 (Source: Zillow) Who can afford market rate housing? ✤Market rent: $3,150 ✤Market rent is affordable at 137% of median income ✤Market home price: $696,000 ✤Market home is affordable at 165% of median income Impacts of affordability crises ✤lower income employee and family can’t live in the community and must commute to work ✤lower income employee pays too much for housing and can’t pay for other essentials ✤lower income employees are overcrowded ✤lower income employees live in substandard housing Who is lower income? ✤Classroom assistants ✤Clerks ✤Wait persons ✤Day care staff ✤Seniors ✤Individuals with special needs What are the costs of affordable housing? ✤Land ✤Construction Cost ✤Financing and other Cost How is affordable housing financed? ✤First mortgage supported by rents ✤Soft mortgages from city, county, state, federal (loss of redevelopment funds offset by recent state leg.) ✤Equity ✤Developer ✤Investor How communities can affect the cost of affordable housing ✤Subsidizing the cost of land or construction ✤Subsidizing the rents ✤Subsidizing the operation How communities assist in financing affordable housing ✤Provide project based rental subsidies through housing authority or other rental subsidies ✤Provide annual operating subsidies to the project ✤Provide soft loans to cover construction or land costs ✤Provide land at below market rate lease How communities reduce the cost of affordable housing ✤Increase density for affordable housing ✤Permit modular housing ✤Co-locate affordable housing and public buildings such as libraries and community facilities ✤Waive building and planning fees for affordable housing ✤Re-envisioning public housing sites How communities create affordable housing through legislation ✤Rent control, anti-displacement, does not increase supply. ✤Just cause eviction ordinances ✤Inclusionary zoning per project or per development: Mission Bay, TransBay (units, fees, land dedication) ✤Jobs housing linkage fees ✤Tax increment zones ✤Budget and general fund set-asides (boomerang funds) ✤General obligation bonds Date Mission Creek Senior Housing for independent and frail seniors, public library, adult day, commercial Mission Creek Senior ✤Land acquired as part of DDA and leased to developer ✤Public library paid a fee for the shell and for the tenant improvements with G.O. bond funds. ✤Soft loan provided to developer through redevelopment tax increment funds. ✤Frail seniors subsidized by Department of Public Health Date Dr. George Davis Senior Senior Housing and state of the art Senior Center Dr. George Davis Senior ✤Land purchased by SFRA from market rate developer and leased to developer ✤Senior center funded by CDBG and private fund raising ✤Soft loan provided to housing developer ✤Project based vouchers for majority of the units. Date Richardson Apartments Housing for formerly chronicly homeless and neighborhood commercial Richardson Apartments ✤Land purchased by SFRA from State and leased to developer ✤Housing for formerly chronicly homeless ✤Operating and services funded by Dept. on Homelessness ✤Commercial spaces leased to small businesses Other SF Programs ✤HopeSF ✤Rental Assistance Demonstration Program ✤Small Sites ✤Teacher housing ✤10-year plan to end Chronic Homelessness Thank You ✤Questions and Answers