Loading...
2010101808 Staff Reporttower, of :1~IEETI\G DATE: 10/18/10 t;;~{~ ITE1I \O: :.t ~0s~ca~°SJ COL:'\CIL AGE\DA REPORT DATE: October 13, 2010 TO: ~~AYOR AND TO\\~:\ COliNC1L AND PLA\NING COI~~IMISSION FROM: GREG CARSON, TO\\'1~l MANAGER SUBJECT: RE\~IE\\~ OF THE DRAFT ?007 - ?014 HOUSING ELEMENT RECOIi~iE\DATIO\: 1. Review and Discussion of the Draft ?007 -?014 Housing Element. 2. Consider any public comments. BACILGROL~D A\D SL~I~IARI': Since late 200, the General Plan Con>lnittee {GPC) has been «-orking with the General Plan consultants and staff on the ?007 - ?014 Housing Element. The first draft of the Housing L-lenient ~~-as released for public re~~iew in December X009, and the second draft «-as released in late September ?010. The Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), the state a~enc~~ responsible for reyie«-ing and cel-tifying Housing Elements. is currently conducting the second review of the Element. Staff anticipates that HCD a-ill certify the Town's Housing Element. HCD's comments are due October ?~. ?010. y The GPC completed a thorough revie«- of the second draft on September ?9, ?010, and recommended that the Plalllling Commission and To~~~n Council revie~r and approve the Housing Element. In addition to the joint To~yn Council and Plamling Conullission Housing Elemealt snide session on October 1 S, ?010, the Planning Commission and To~yn Council «-ill each hold public hearing=s on October ?7 and i~lovember 1, 2010, respecti~~ely. This report summarizes the state requirements for Housing Elements, local housing needs. and t11C proposed llouslllg pr0YT1'a111S alld pO11C1i;S fbl' the 1'eIIlallllllg four veal's Of the progl'alll pcnod. ``' J PREPARED B1": \\- endie R. Rooney. Director of Community Development Revi ~ved by: ~~ Assistant To«~n ~-Tanager Down Attorney Clerk Finance ~, Community Development Reformatted: ~ 3U ;;_ DE\' C\CLRPTS~'Oli~ Hou:m~ Element 10 ]S 2010.doc P.=~GE 2 ~1:~1"OR A\D TO«~ COL\CIL SUBJECT: 2007 - 2014 HOUSING 1=LE\'1E\T October 1 ~. ?010 :~\_~LI~S15: Required Contents of the Hotlsin<~ Element and State Housing Law: The I-Iousing Element is one of seven state-mandated elements of a General Plan. The Housing Element assesses housing needs for all income groups and establishes a program to meet those needs. The goals of a Housing Element are to: • Increase the housing supply and the mix of housing types in an equitable manner. • Promote iniill development. socioeconomic equity. and ln-oteet environmental resources. • Promote an improved intraregional relationship between jobs and housing. Unlike the other state-mandated General Plan elements, the Housing Element is subject to detailed statutory requirements regarding its content and is subject to mandatory HCD revie«~ and certification. The Housing Element must also be updated approximately e~~erv live }-ears. unlike other General Plan elements, which are typically updated every 10 to 20 years. State law requires that the Housing Element contain the follo~~~inQ information: • .-~ revie~~~ of the goals, objectives, and policies of the current Housing Element. • Current demographic, economic. and housing information for the To« n. • .~~ quantificci housing needs assessment. • :~nal~~sis of the constraints to providing housin`7 for all income l~~ cls. • :~ discussion of opportunities for energy conservation in new housing developments. • An inventory of assisted units at risk of conversion to market rate. • An inventor} of residential land resources, including suitable sites for housiny~. homeless shelters, and transitional housing. • ~ set of housiny~ goals, policies. and programs. • Quantified objectives for housing over the next live-year period. • ~ description of diligent efforts towards participation by all economic groups in the update process. Pursuant to state ]a~~~. the Housing Element must specify potential housing sites and identify policies and pro~~rams that ~~~ill help meet the Regional I-iousinU \eed Allocation (RH\:~). «~hich is the '`fair share" of housingr for each jurisdiction in a particular region. The Rf i\.~~ quantifies the need for housing within each jurisdiction during a specified planning period. Conumunitics use the R1-1\.-~ in ]and use planning. prioritizing local resource allocation, and in deciding ho~~~ to address identified existing and firture housing needs resultin~~ Ii•om population. cmplo~~mcnt, and household ;growth. The RH\'A does not necessarily encourage or promote gi'0~~'tll, but ratllel' x110\\"S CO1111mtlllltle5 t0 antlCipatC' y~l'O~\~tll. So that COlleCtl\ elf' the I'Cg1011 alld subregion can grow in ways that enhance quality of life, improve access to jobs, promote transportation mobility. and address social equity and fair share housing needs. The .association of Bay Area Governments (.1B.-~G j determines the RH\.~ for Santa Clara County and Los Gatos. :1BAG has dctenmincd that the total RH\_~ for the: 2007 - 2014 period P_AG E 3 ~~1AYOR AND TO«~"N COUNCIL SUBJECT: ?007 -?014 HOUSING ELE~-IENT October 13, ?010 for the To«~n of Los Gatos is X62 housing units. The draft ?007 - ?014 Housing Clement is designed to meet the Town's Regional Housing \~eeds Allocation and to foster the availability of housing affordable to all income levels to the extent possible given the To~yn's constraints. The number of units by income categories are contained on page 1 ~ of the draft Housing Element. An impol-tant distinction to note is that the state mandates that communities must plan for these housing units, allocate resources and remove constraints, but does not require that the jurisdictions actually construct the uluts. Colnlnunities, «~ith Redc~-clopment Agencies like Los Gatos, typicall~~ partner in the acquisition or construction of affordable housing: however, the development is ~Tcncrally a private sector enterprise. As noted above. the state requires that e0111111LImt1eS plan for their "fair share" of affordable housing by identifying available sites and demonstrating in the Housing Element that the projected residential development capacities of the sites can realistically be achieved. The state allows local govclnments to utilize "default" density standards that are deemed adequate to meet the '`appropriate zoning" test for affordable housin~~. For Santa Clara County. the state has set a minimum default residential density of ?0 units per acre (u'a). which is consistent ~t~ith the Town's high density residential zoning district. Growing communities can generally accommodate the RI-I\.~ within their existing im~entorv of undeveloped or underdeveloped higher density residential zones. In predominately built-out communities, such as Los Gatos. the RHNA is generally demonstrated tlu-ough a commitment to rezone either lower density residential (less than 20 LI-`a) or appropriate conunercial or industrial lands to high density residential. An alternative to large scale rezoning is an affordable housing overlay zone (AHOZ), ~-hich is a relatively new concept that is gailung attractiveness. particularly in built-out communities. An AHOZ is applied to sites on which residential densities could be increased if a given level of affordabilit}~ is achieved. A map showing these sites is "overlaid" on the existing zoning map. An overla~~ can apple to all sites ~~~ithin particular cone districts or only selected sites. ~~~ithin the overlay zone. affordable housing developments should be eli_Qible for (a) by right residential deV~eloplllellt, (b) 111111t1fanlllV de~'elopIllent On COnlnlerClal SIteS. ~C) \V~aiV"erS Ol reduCtI0I1S of buildin~~ and plaluung fees. (d) relaxation of certain development standards (e.g. parking. setbacks, height). and subject to overall design review. All of these benefits reduce the uncertainty and costs faced by developers of affordable housing. Staff conducted an aualvsis on how to achieve the RHN~A under existing zoning (Low and ~'ledium Density Residential. Commercial and Industrial) and determined that between 70 and 100 acres would need to be developed u~•ith affordable housing to meet the RHNA. By using the :yH07_, staff was able to identify approximately ~4 acres «~here the overlay could be applied. hi the case of these 34 acres. the property o~a~ners could develop under the existing zoning or the AI-IOZ. The AHOZ could alloy increased densities. fee reductions or waivers, residential uses by right, and relaxation of certain development standards. The AHOZ projects would also be subject to To«-n architectural and site revie~~~. The realistic development capacity for the 34 acres is 611 units. which is 49 more units than the ~6? units allocated by the RH\A. This additional capacity would allow for the some of the sites to develop at a lower density- if needed. P.-~GE 4 \L-~1'OR .-~\D TOE\"\ C'Ot'1CIL SUBJECT: ?007 - ?Ol4 HOC: SING ELE~1E\T October I ~, '01 ~l \Ioreo~ cr. if the sip .-~1-lOZ sites aI-e deg elol)ed ~~•ith other uses. the To~~~n ~~~ould be I'edtlil~ed to identifi~ additional :'1HOZ sites. During the carl~~ anal~~sis of potential sites, staff identified additional properties throughout the Toti~~n ~ti~here the AI-IOZ could he applied if necessar~~_ "fhc recommended .~IIOZ sites are listed in the follo«~ing table. Residential Sites Anal~-sis Slte )/SI5t1I1~ 70111II~ PaI'CCl Acreage )DC~'~lOPIllE'IIt Potential LOS Galos (~OUrlhOUce Capri Dri~~e and Kllo~rles Dri~~e Opell 51)ace J.? i~C 104 Southba~ De~~clopnl~nt 1~"inchcster Bled C~~ 7.1 14? Oka Road ~~lnd Lark .1~ cnue. ~~Iix of R~~I ~. R-1 13.7 24S S~~~anson I=ord -Los Gatos Boule~~ard CH 4.~ ~7 South Ba~~ Honda- Los Gat~,• Boulc~ and CH l .~ ~S Ditt~~s Lane R-1:D 1.6 ;~ Total 34.3 611 \e«~ Agplicable Le~,islation and Statutor~~ Requirements: The follo« ins are kev lcgislali~~e changes affecting this I Iousin~ Elenlcnt pro~~:ram period: • SB ?: This legislation requires local jurisdictions to strengthen pro~~isions for addressing the housing needs of the homeless, including the identification of a zone or cones «~here emcrgenc}~ shelters are allo~~'ed as a use bi' right without a conditional use permit. • :1B ?634: Rcduires that comnnulities assess the housing uceds of estrcmcly lo~~~ income households. • :-~B ?34g and AB ?l~ti: These Housing Element ]a«~ aulcudments clarifi' the required contents of a Housin~~ Element. including more detailed land im~entorv and site identification program requirements. and make significant reforms to the process and standards for determination of the RH\:~ to cacti amununit}~ for ~•erv lo~~~. lo~~~. moderate. and abo~~e moderate income housing. • SB X20: Requires that the anal~~sis and program scctians of the Clement contain an assessment of constraints on housing for persons ~~~ith disabilities and an action program adch'essin~ those constraints. PAGE ~ ~JAYOR AND TO~~~N COL~CIL SUBJECT: 2007 - 2014 HOUSI\G ELEMENT October 13, 2010 • SB 37~: Attempts to integrate allocation of RHNA platuling ~i°ith the preparation of the regional transportation plans (RTP) b}~ requiring consistency bet«~een the RHNA and the "sustainable communities strate~v" that must be included in the RTP. Document Format: "l~he I-lousing Element is contained in pages 1 tlu~ough 3~ of the document, and the 1~echnical _~ppendix is attached to the draft Housing Element and is numbered pages i to 6-16. The Housing Element contains red-line chances that respond to both HCD and GPC comments from their respecti~°e revie~i~s of the first draft as «~ell as GPC questions and remarks fi"om the September 29, 2010, final review. There were eery few changes made to the Teclu~ical Appendix (pages i to 6-16) from HCD's f rst review; consequently, all of the red-line changes are from the September 29, 2010, GPC final review. The Housing Element has three primary functions: (1) to establish "ro~~~n's housing goals and policies; (2) to quantify the maximum number of housing units that can be constructed. rehabilitated, and conserved over the seven year period bet~a~een June 2007 and June 2014; and (3) to present Town's housing progY-ams, which represent aseven-year schedule of actions to be implemented by the Town to achieve goals. policies, and quantified objectives of the Housing Element. The Technical Appendix presents the most currently available information at the release of the first draft of the Housing Element in 2009 pertaining to the foliowing nine subsections: (1) background; (2) housing need's assessment, including a projection of population and employment, household size and tenure; (~) special population groups; (4) housin~ stock and characteristics, including over-paying and overcrowding; (~) housing needs, including regional needs allocation; (6) housing resources; (7) govermnental and non-governmental constraints to housing production; (~) evaluation of the effectiveness of the previous Housing Element: and (9) an inventory of land suitable for residential development. Housing Needs: The draft Housing Element identifies the follo~vin;~ housing needs: • Extremely Lo~v Income: Approximately 900 Households rn~ 7.~°,/o of the Town's 2005 population are classified as Extremely Low income, which is defined as a four person household ~yith an income level of 30 percent or less of the Area Median Income (AMI) or S31,S~0 per year. Iligh rental and for-sale occupied housing costs results in this population spending snore than ~0 percent of their annual income on housing. • Homeless: Pursuant to the 2007 Santa Clara County Homeless Census and Sui~~ey, approximately 30 homeless individuals reside in Los Gatos. • Single Parent; Approximately 611 Households or ~°% or the 2008 population are considered single parent households. Generally single parent households have more difficulty affording appropriate family housing. • Senior: Los Gatos's senior population is growing, In 1970. 11 percent of the population was consider senior (age 6~ or greater), and in 2008 the senior population has increased to 17°~'0. Seniors often have limited income and a range of accessibility and health care needs that necessitate specific types of housing. PAGE 6 \1.-~~"OR .-1~D TO~'`'\ COL-~C1L SL BJECT: ?00? - _'01-I HO[. Sl\G ELE~IE\T October 1 ~, ~[ilU • Persons ~yith Disabilities: Approximately 1,776 persons or 6.7°,~0 of the population have disabilities that affect their mobility or sell=care. 1"he cost of local housing is prohibitively expensive for those on Supplemental Security hlcome. which averages SS00 to 5900 per person per month in ?007- 0~. .lob to Housing Balance: The To« n's cw~rent Job to Housing ratio is 1.~ jobs per household, which is ~yithin the targeted range. \~'ith the projected increase in jobs in Los Gatos over the next 10 }ears; this ratio is expected to grow to 1.6 jobs per household, resulting in an increase in housing demand. • Housing Affordability: Housing costs have continued to increase faster in Los Gatos than the county avera<~e. In ?00~. ~4 percent of all Los Gatos renters were paying more than 30 percent of their monthly income for housing. Thirty percent of a household income spent on housing is the conventional public policy indicator of housing affordability in the United States. The affordability gap for for-sale housing is approxin~atcly 5600,000 for sin~le- family home and S19~.000 for multi-family. Housing Constraints: The draft Housing Element identities ~ nutnbcr of potential goyet7lmental and non-gm~er7ui~ental constraints to the construction of housing for all income levels. The Element indicates that there are three potential governmental land use constraints. including the required conditional use permit process for multi-family housing in multi-family residential cones. and the lack of provisions and definitions for transitional and supporti~~e housing in the To~~~n Code. actions HOU 6-8 and 6-9 have been included in the Housing Element to address these constraints. Land cost is the greatest non-governmental or market constraint to housing development in Los Gatos. As pre~~iousl}~ noted, housing costs have steadily increased in Los Gatos Dyer the past 10 years and generally outpaced most communities within Santa Clara County. ~~'ith average residential land at S3 to S=1 million dollars per acre. housing development is becoming too cost prohibited for most economic sectors in the community. Housing Program Focus: Following are the housing progn-ams that Los Gatos believes will be the most effective in meetin~~ the To~yn's housing goals. These programs will be the focus of the To~yn's housing efforts during the remaining four year period of this Housing Element. 1. :Activel}~ encourage the development of affordable h~~using on the _~ffordable 1lousing O~ erlay Sites. ?. Remo~~c ~~m~ernmcntal land use constraints. ~. Offer incentives to developers of affordable hi~usin~g, including densit}7 bonuses, fee deferrals or ~yaiyers, expedited permit processing. and the use of the in-lieu fee fired. Specifically. the Housing Element recommends the following Actions Continue the ii~llo~ving programs: • Belo~~~ Market Price • Second Unit Program • Preserving at-Risk I-Iousin~~ Units PAGE \~IAl'OR Ai\D TO« :\ COL'i~'CIL StiBJECT; ?007 -?014 HOL;SIi~rG ELEME\~T October 13, ?010 • Rental Consei~~ation • Housing Consei-~~ation • Hrnne Access Programs • Supporting non-profits that ser~~e homeless populations • Supporting the County Continuum of Care Program • Pro~~iding Senior IIousing Resources Proposed ne~i~ housing programs: • \?~rork with the Redevelopment Agency (RD.A) to develop housing for extremely lo~v income households. • Create the AHOZs for Oka Road, Vasona Junction Area, and Los Gatos Boulevard. • Eai-~nark RDA and B\1P Funds for the AHOZs. • Encourage mixed use de~~elopments «~ith affordaUle housin~~. • Create development standards and amend the code to allo« emergency shelters in the Controlled \~Ianufacturing Zone. • :adopt a Reasonable Accommodation Ordinance to ensure Fair .-access. • Add Transitional Housing and Group Homes to the Code. • Evaluate ~~~hethe~r the To«•n should amend the Code to allo«~ nnilti-family residential uses in the ~~F Zone Uy right. • EllCOttl'age green building and energy conser~~ation in housing. Follow-LTp From September 29. ?010. GPC Meeting: As noted in Housing Element transmittal memo, on September ?9, '010, the GPC conducted a page by page review of the Housing L-lenient section (pages 1 tlu-ough 3~). The majority of the GPC recommended changes to the document ~~ ere incoiZ~orated into the draft transmitted to the Council and Planning Commission on October 7, ?010. However, the following is a list of items that the GPC requested clarification rn1 or required further input from the consultant. Tile updated iilfonnation is contained in italics. • Page 7, First complete paragraph: Provide a definition of "rehabilitation" and clearly state whether the facts regarding the number of units rcgt~iring rehabilitation are estimates. Staff 11'111 C1C1d a dL'fr1117o1t f01' "l"elta17111taIlOrl." J~OI(Slrl~ 1"eha17711tClFlo17 r"C'C1'211J'eS 111C11i7n~ Itllj~l'OVeIaC'11tS to tltC' Safer}" CI17C~ ItCrI7rtQ17111t1' Of Q ltotls2 Q11Cl,~~Ol" 71'1Cr1i779g 1777~J]'Ol'P]llelttS t1'1Clt bT'Irr~ a Itottse tltt0 CO11Ip11a1rC2 lt'It12 t112 BtllldrTl~ COde. TIIe 111a711JL'1" Of ttlrltS 1'L'C~irU'llr~ reltabilitatiorr rn~e estirarates. Staff can rel~ise the last settterrce in the fr-st cont~lete paragraph orr pale 7 to clarif~• this czrtd say, "Ol~erall, approsiatrrtc:h~ 4. ~ percent, or about X80 traits, of the total housing stock, is estirttated to be ctrrreatlt' in need of relzcrbilitatiorr. " • Page 7. 3a.: y'erifti• number of homes sold in Los Gatos between December of ?007 and December ?008. DCE l,~as trot able to l~erifl- the number of homes sold irr this period. Staff l,~ill 1,•ork ~, ith local real estate companies to l~erifi• gad update this irtforntation prior to the printing the fitra7 L• lenient. P.acE ~~IA1"OR A'~D TO«'~ COL~CIL SL~BJEC"h: ?007 - 201-I HOCSI'~G ELEME\T October 1 ~. 2010 • Page 9. -1a.: \'erifv «~hether the facts stated ill this paragraph and rclati~•e to the housing conditions for the E~u~emely Lo~~~-Income Households are specific to Los Gatos or are more genera] statements reflccti~e of Extremely Lo~~•-[ncome Households nationally. Tlrese.lacts arc speci/ic to 1 os Gatos. • Page ?-I.:action HOL~-3.1: V~rif}' if the ti~~e-year Section S assistance contract for Villa ~`asona has been rcne«-ed. Starr ~t il! hale this 1'eri~ed prior to the Plamrirrg Conrnrissiorr public hecn•ing. • Page 24, ,~~ction I-IOL'-3.3: IIousing Conser~~ation Pro~n'am: Continue to pro~•ide Housing Conser~~ation Program assistance to property o«~ners to inlpro~'e their housing units. Impro~~c at least 1 ~ housing units thl•ough this prog~-aln. Redesign marketing materials and aggressisely market progn-~un to potential applicants. A'crifi~ ho~a the number of units ~~~as deri~~ed. I he nlmrber of units estinurterl to be impro~'ed tlrrotrglr the Holrsing Conserl'ation Program is based on the prel~ious 20(12-'007 Housing T:lenrerrt's goal to rehabilitate 1 U to _'0 units. There is Trot a state standard r•egardirrg the Ittrrrlber ortnrits that should be presel-,•ed. • I a~~e ~0, :Action HOL'-6.7: Vcrifi- ho«• and ~~~hy a conditional use permit process ~~~as Cll'Ig111a11V 1171p1e171ellted fol' nlilltl-fanlll}' USeS 111 I'II' ZO11C I~1StI'1C[S. f111S 17'111 iC11;B 1l2ore 711]7[ to tract; the historl•; Irolt'el•e1: this inrornratiorr lril! be obtairred.rnr the sttrdt• that the :lctiorr r•egrrires. \est Steps: In order to secure final Housing Element re~~ie~~~ anti appro~~al ~~ ith the cul7-ently seated Plannin~~ Conmlission and To«~n Cowlcil. the follo~~~ing re~~ie~~~ and adoption schedule has been established: • Planning Conullission Public Hearing: October 27, ?010 • To~~~n Council Public 1-Tearing: Ao~'enlber 1. ~'Ol0 CO\CL>rS1O\ .1\ll RECO~IIIE\D.aTIO\: Staff~bclie~~es that the Planning Commission and To~~~n Council «~ill find that the second draft of the Housing Element meets state Housing La~~~ ~~-hile maintaining the t~•pes of affordable prop-rams that the To~~~n has historicall~~ enco~u-a~red and implemented. The draft Housing Element also addresses the To~~~n~s "fair share'' of affordable housing as articulated in the Regional 1~Iousin~~ Reeds .lssessment through the unique .1HO7_ concept that does not require a "broad bI"llsh 1"ClOlllllg Clf pl'o})el"tles, bUt 1'alhel' CC11151de]'S pl'e-1de11i1fICd pal'CelS that COllld aCCOmnlodate h1g11eI" C1e1151t1eS if de\'ClOpC;d 111 a 111aI111C]" COnslstent ~t']th tl]e to\~'Il pollC~" alld praCilCe. The draft Housing Element contains many ne~~~ programs and 1-o~~~n Code re~~isions that «~ill need to be implemented o~~er the remainin~~ four-near period of this housing allocation c~~cle. Ho»~e~•cr. onl~~ one kc~~ program, the .-~IIOZ, and some minor code amendments ~~•ill need to be completed ~rithin one ~~ear of the adoption of the Housing Elcnlent. Follo~~'ing the To~~~n PAGE 9 =1A~"OR AND TO\VN COtiNCIL SliBJECT: 2007 - 2014 I-IOUSING ELE\1ENT October 13, 2010 Council's appro~•al of the Housing Element, staff. the To«~n's consultants, and the GPC ~~•ill commence «~ork on drafting the specific details for each of the Affordable Housin~~ O~~erla~• Zones. Design Comnnmity ~. the En~~ironment (DCE), the To~~~n's Gencral Plan consultants. are confident that the rc~•ised second draft adequate]} addresses all of HCD's first rc~~ie«= comments and arc anticipating that the state ~~~ill ccrtifi= the Element as meeting all requirements. Final HCD comments are due to the To«=n on or before October 2~. 2010. The Draft 2007 - 2014 Housing Element is a result of the extensive rz~•ie«~ «~ith the General Plan Committee and t«~o separate re~~ic~vs with the State Department of Housing and Committee De~~elopmcnt. Public hearings with the Plaiuiin~ Conunission and Town Council are scheduled for October 27 and \ovember 1, 2010. Staff recrnnmends that the To~~~n Council and PlatvlinQ Commission re~~ie~v the red-line draft of the Housing Element and for«~ard any questions to staff prior to the October 18. 2010, study session and the October 27 and ~o~~ember 1.2010; Public Hearings. E~\'IRO~\=IENTAL .~SSESS~~IENT: The 2007 - 2014 Housing Element is a component of the 2020 Gencral Plan. The General Plan is a project as defined under CEQA and accordingly an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ~~~as prepared for the project. On September 20. 2010, the Town Council adopted Findings of Fact and a Statement of 0~-en-idin~ Considerations to certifi= the Final Environmental hllpact Report prepared for the General Plan 1=1SCAL IMPACT: done. _-attachments: Previously submitted to the Town Council: 1. ~-lemorandum dated October 6, 2010. which included a cope of the Second Draft of the 2007 - 2014 Housing L-]ement (,Distributed on October 7, 2010) \\ R:ah THIS P.-~GE I\TEtiTI0~:1LL1~ LEF"t BL.~~K `°"~"~~~ _ MEMORANDUM ~~~ ~~ s~. a~ S' °s~~^~° COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT To: Town Council and Planning Commission From: tiVendie Rooney. Director of Community Development Subject: Transmittal of the Second Draft of the Housing Element Date: October 6, 2010 Enclosed please find the second draft of the Housing Element. The Element is contained in pages 1 through 40 of the document, and the Technical Appendix is attached to the draft Element and is numbered Pages i to 6-16. The draft Housing Element (pages 1 tln•ough -10) is in red-line format that is based on changes from the General Plan Conunittee (GPC) and State Housing and Conununity Development (HCD) comments. The majority of changes «-ere made to this portion of the document. i\-Tinimal edits were made to the back~n•ound data in the Technical Appendix. This red- line draft swill be the document that is reviewed during the upcoming joint Town Council and Planning Commission study session on October 18, 2010. The GPC met on September 29, 2010, and following a page by page review of the Housing Element section (pages 1 through 40), forwarded the document to the Plaiu~.ing Commission and the Town Council with a recommendation to approve the Element. The majorih~ of the GPC-recommended changes to the document have been incorporated into this draft. However, the follo«-ing list of items that the GPC requested clarification on require further input from the consultant. These will be addressed over the next week and incorporated into the staff report for the stt:dy session. • Page 7, First complete paragraph: Provide a definition of "rehabilitation" and clearly state whether the facts regarding the number of units requiring rehabilitation are estimates. • Page 7, 3a.: ~'ei7fi- number of homes sold in Los Gatos between December of 2007 and December 2008. • Page 9, 4a.: ~-erify whether the facts stated in this paragraph and relati~~e to the housing conditions for the Extremely Low-Income Households are specific to Los Gatos or are more general statements reflective of Extremely Lo«--hlcome Households nationally: • Page 24, Action HOU- ~. l : Verify if the Section 8 assistance contract for Villa ~'asona has been renewed, GPC ~~letno October 6. 2010 Page 2 Page 2~. Action HOB-- ~.3: ~'erifi~ ho~y the number of units «•as deri~~ed. Page ~0. Action HOli-6.~: ~'erifi~ ho~y and tyhy a conditional use pei-~nit process «-as ot-iginall~~ impletnentcd for multi-family developments in R\1 Zone Districts. The To«-n's consultants have been closely ~~~orking «-ith state HCD to ensure that the second draft Housing Element contains all the state required anal~~sis and programs. Based on recent conversations ~yith the state, DC~E is confident that the draft Element meets state requirements and «-il] be certified. Final HCD comments are due on or before October 2~, 2010. Recommended Housing Element revie«~ schedule: The GPC has spent considerable time and effort reviewing the draft Housing Element as well as developing an understanding of the state housing element la«~s and how the various provisions affect the To«-n's affordable housing programs. Consequent]}•, staff believes it is important to secure approval of the Housing Element with the presentl~~ seated Council and Planning Commission. Accordingly, staff is proposing a compressed review and adoption schedule that completes the process prior to the seatin~~ of a new Council in December. Staff is proposing the follo«~ing schedule: • GPC: September 29, 2010 (completed] • Joint To«n Council and Plaiuling Commission study session: October 1 S. 2010 • PlamlintT Commission Public Hearing: October 27, 2010 • To«~n Council Public Hearing: \'ovember 1.2010 «-hile the schedule is compressed, it allows the GPC special meeting on September 29, 2010; a stttd~ session with the Town Council and Planning Co>TUnission, in which staff~~~ill provide an educational presentation of state housing element la~t-s and the ke~~ provisions of the To«-n's Housing Element; and a public hearing with the Planning Commission and the Town Council. Finally, staff requests that To~yn Council \~Iembers and Planning Commissioners contact staff in advance of the study session for clarification or to provide a list of concerns or issues. Please contact either Joel Paulson at i}?aulson,a;losgatosca.go~~ or ~~ endie Rooney at wroone~•Vlosgatosc.gov. L_~cl.os~-ar: Second draft of the Town of Los Gatos Housing Element and 'T'echnical .appendix ~~-R:ah ,DF~' ~~?ndie Houstne Element T;an,mit:al Memo doe