Item2.Addendum with Attachments 7 and 8PREPARED BY: ERIN WALTERS AND JOCELYN SHOOPMAN
Associate Planner and Associate Planner
110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● 408-354-6832
www.losgatosca.gov
MEETING DATE: 07/07/2022
ITEM NO: 2
ADDENDUM TOWN OF LOS GATOS
HOUSING ELEMENT ADVISORY BOARD REPORT
DATE: July 6, 2022
TO: Housing Element Advisory Board
FROM: Joel Paulson, Community Development Director
SUBJECT: Continue the Review and Discussion of the Draft Goals, Policies, and Programs.
REMARKS:
Attachment 7 contains information provided by a Board Member. Attachment 8 contains public
comments received after the completion of the Staff Report.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachments Previously Received with the June 16, 2022, Staff Report:
1.Draft Appendix Housing Needs Assessment
2.Draft Appendix Review of Previous Housing Element
3.2021 Annual Progress Report to HCD
4.Draft Goals, Polices, and Implementation Programs
Attachments Received with the July 7, 2022 Staff Report:
5.Draft Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Assessment Data
6.HEAB Member Comment
Attachments Received with this Addendum Report:
7.Information Provided by a Board Member
8.Public Comments received between 11:01 a.m., Friday, July 1, 2022 and 11:00 a.m.,
Tuesday, July 5, 2022.
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From: Maria Ristow <MRistow@losgatosca.gov>
Sent: Saturday, July 2, 2022 9:26 AM
To: Laurel Prevetti <LPrevetti@losgatosca.gov>; Joel Paulson <jpaulson@losgatosca.gov>; Jennifer
Armer <JArmer@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Article about middle housing
This article was sent to me by a local resident in favor of increased housing options. If possible, I’d like
to have it shared with GPAC, HEAB, Planning Commissioners and fellow council members, after the
holiday weekend.
https://www.dwell.com/article/portland-oregon-low-density-zoning-middle-market-housing-629bcc39
Thank you!
Maria
Maria Ristow
Vice Mayor, Los Gatos Town Council
To help avoid violations of the Brown Act, please don’t forward this email.
ATTACHMENT 7
Article Link: https://www.dwell.com/article/portland-oregon-low-density-zoning-middle-market-
housing-629bcc39
In Portland, Oregon, the Paths to
Homeownership Are Multiplying
The city’s low-density zoning reform in August of last year opened the door to lot splits
and smallplexes—and developers, homeowners, and lenders have gotten busy building.
Text by Michael Andersen
In 2015, Eric Thompson heard that his city of Portland, Oregon, was considering overhauling its
low-density zoning. He joined the project’s advisory committee with one paramount goal: to
stop it.
Thompson had built a local business knocking down small old homes in fancy parts of town and
replacing them with bigger new ones—3,000 square feet or so. Now, the city was looking to
rechannel housing investment away from projects like those and toward smaller homes. It
seemed like a dagger aimed at his livelihood.
"All I’d ever built for previously were the 5 percenters who could afford what today would be a
million-dollar-plus house," Thompson recalls.
Portland loosened rules for backyard accessory homes, allowing up to two at 800 square feet each.
They no longer have to be smaller than the existing home.
Illustration by Alfred Twu for Sightline
Seven years later, today’s Eric Thompson could tell his former self a thing or two. At his firm,
Oregon Homeworks, permit applications are flying out the door. His team has 70 homes around
the city in its pipeline, enough to keep themselves busy for the next year. They’re all in the same
Article Link: https://www.dwell.com/article/portland-oregon-low-density-zoning-middle-market-
housing-629bcc39
leafy, close-in neighborhoods Thompson has long built in—except his sale prices have fallen
sharply, to $425,000 to $550,000. They’ll be the least expensive newly built homes on the block
by far.
It’s not exactly the bottom of the market. But these days, he’s mostly left the "5 percent" behind
and is signing deeds over to schoolteachers and restaurant managers, people who never
thought they’d be able to afford new construction.
Thompson’s business is alive and thriving; every one of its recent projects has turned a profit, he
says, and financing hasn’t been too hard. Thompson’s secret: the argument he lost seven years
ago. Despite his efforts in 2015, new homes of the size he once built are now illegal in most of
the city. But in exchange, almost any residential lot is now allowed to have up to four modest
homes on it.
Welcome to Portland, America’s new test tube for rediscovering the "missing middle" of the
housing market.
The Fall and Rise of the Triplex
Portland’s zoning reform, which took effect in August 2021, is part of a wave of similar changes
across the United States and Canada. Houston, today the nation’s least expensive boomtown,
arguably led the way by slashing minimum lot sizes to 1,400 square feet with a two-step reform
in 1998 and 2013. Minneapolis made a splash when it legalized triplexes citywide in 2018. Cities
from Walla Walla, Washington, to Greeley, Colorado, to Charlotte, North Carolina, have all made
similar changes or set the wheels in motion to end bans on duplexes and lot splits.
Don’t call it a revolution, though. Call it a comeback.
One hundred years ago, duplexes, triplexes, quads, townhouses and backyard homes—"middle
housing," they’ve recently been called—were legal almost everywhere. And they were fairly
popular. In those days before the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, one path to homeownership was
to build a small duplex, rent out one side, and live in the other. Thanks to countless ad hoc
arrangements like that, millions were built, often scattered through the low-density
neighborhoods of the day. One out of 13 homes in the United States is part of a two- to four-
unit building. But then, driven by a movement that was often deliberately segregationist, such
buildings were gradually banned from most of our urban land between 1920 and 1960. Today
these relatively affordable attached homes are disproportionately old, by far the oldest on
average of any structure type.
In other words, this heartwood of the country’s middle-class housing stock is slowly rotting out.
Article Link: https://www.dwell.com/article/portland-oregon-low-density-zoning-middle-market-
housing-629bcc39
Portland now allows "smallplexes," defined as two- to four-unit structures, to share a lot. The lot
can be subdivided among a few side-by-side homes, even if some resulting lots don’t abut the
street, providing low-cost ownership options.
Illustration by Alfred Twu for Sightline Institute0002:24
In the last few years, as the issue has gained attention on both the left and right, politicians have
turned to a new strategy for planting a new generation of mid-priced homes: state legislation.
Statewide middle-housing bills have been introduced in 14 states since 2019,
from Montana to North Carolina, and passed in three: Oregon, Maine, and (in 2021) the nation’s
biggest housing market, California.
California’s zoning reforms are likely to bring change to the construction lending market, says
Susan Brown: first a trickle, then a torrent. Brown, an Oregon-based Certified Mortgage Banker
and founder and CEO of CoreSGB, spent 17 years scaling up a regional construction lending
program for Umpqua Bank and now consults with small to midsize companies to launch their
own. One of the niches she carved out for Umpqua was financing to help homeowners add
accessory cottages and, now, other middle-housing infill projects.
A big constraint in Brown’s lending was the difficulty of reselling the resulting loans to Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac, the federally chartered loan companies.
"That was our argument for years: If we could get Fannie and Freddie’s attention by having
California do something, then we’d get somewhere," says Brown.
Article Link: https://www.dwell.com/article/portland-oregon-low-density-zoning-middle-market-
housing-629bcc39
A small detached home in inner Northeast Portland might have wound up demolished under the
city’s old low-density zoning rules that allowed only oneplexes. Now, small detached homes can be
added to the lot, and also several attached homes.
Photo by Michael Andersen for Sightline Institute
Now, it’s happening. In May 2022, President Biden ordered the federal agencies that guide
mortgage lending to start opening new channels to loans for two- to four-unit structures and
accessory dwelling units. Within a month, Freddie Mac announced that it would now accept
rental income from a new ADU as part of qualification for a home renovation loan.
Brown says she expects credit unions and community banks to be first to take advantage of this
and other changes, followed by larger lenders. Eventually, she thinks, an array of entrepreneurs
will come up with ways to help homeowners and other small-scale developers address local
housing shortages and get more value from their property. In some cases, it might resemble the
ways middle housing was financed a century ago.
"As the demand opens up, there will be creativity and ingenuity," Brown says. "There will be
capital to deploy, and it will find a vacuum."
Flexible Rules for Ordinary People
Meanwhile, in Portland, policymakers are continuing to tweak the new codes to make them
more usable, especially by homeowners, nonprofits, and others with less capital.
A round of changes coming into effect there on July 1 will add several such options. Fourplexes
can be a bit larger, to accommodate home offices, larger families, and wheelchair-friendlier
bathrooms. "Cottage clusters," which allow a few homes of various sizes around a shared yard,
Article Link: https://www.dwell.com/article/portland-oregon-low-density-zoning-middle-market-
housing-629bcc39
will be a new option by right. Projects meeting affordability standards will have a new option,
hammered out by city staff with the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity: up to six attached
homes on almost any lot, arranged side by side to allow private yards and porches.
For projects meeting affordability standards, Portland will now allow up to six small homes side by
side on any lot, including mid-block.
Illustration by Doug Klotz for Portland: Neighbors Welcome
Owners of large backyards will have an interesting new option, too. Instead of having to scrape
together the cash for construction and hope to recoup it in future rent, they’ll be allowed to plan
a small home and then sell the backyard as a small developable lot to a new neighbor. It’s got
particular potential for homeowners who find themselves land-rich but cash-poor.
"They don’t have to expend $150,000 on land," Brown says. "They already have the land."
One of the most important new options might be invisible. Oregon’s state laws include new
townhouse-specific codes to let property owners drop a lot line down the middle of a shared
wall. That will allow homes in new smallplexes to be sold independently without the hassle of
renting or condoizing.
"I don’t think it’s on a lot of people’s radars," says Schuyler Smith, a Portland-based architect
who specializes in townhouses and ADUs. "But as it becomes known more, I do think it’ll have an
impact."
Portland’s housing entrepreneurs, from homeowners to lenders to designers to developers,
know they’re just droplets in a vast, roiling housing market. But they seem to take pride in the
possibility that they’re riding the front of a wave. Their next weird idea for working within the
new rules might be one that goes global.
Article Link: https://www.dwell.com/article/portland-oregon-low-density-zoning-middle-market-
housing-629bcc39
Portland’s new low-density zoning code allows three or more detached homes to share a lot, by
right, when arranged around a shared courtyard. The flexible format is called a "cottage cluster."
Photo courtesy of Ross Chapin Architects
"We may not have the answer," says Mike Mitchoff, a builder whose firm, Portland Houseworks,
has 42 homes in its pipeline so far that use the new rules. Mitchoff says they plan to use the new
cottage cluster code to deliver new detached homes in the high $300,000s to low $400,000s.
"But we have an answer."
"It’s a brave new world," says Eric Thompson. "For those of us in the know, Portland has the
most progressive, flexible building code in the U.S."
Related Reading:
Here’s How We Fix the Hole in the Middle of the Housing Market
How to Build an Affordable America
Published
June 22, 2022
Last Updated
June 23, 2022
Topics
Design News
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From: Emily Ramos <>
Sent: Friday, July 1, 2022 7:26:41 PM
To: Council <Council@losgatosca.gov>; Rob Rennie <RRennie@losgatosca.gov>; Maria Ristow
<MRistow@losgatosca.gov>; Mary Badame <MBadame@losgatosca.gov>; Matthew Hudes
<MHudes@losgatosca.gov>; Marico Sayoc <MSayoc@losgatosca.gov>; Joel Paulson
<jpaulson@losgatosca.gov>
Cc: Mathew Reed <>
Subject: Housing Element – Anti-displacement policies to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing
EXTERNAL SENDER
Dear Mayor Rennie, Vice Mayor Ristow, and Councilmembers Badame, Hudes, and Sayoc:
On behalf of SV@Home, please see the attached letter about anti-displacement policies to affirmatively
further fair housing in the housing element.
Kind regards,
Emily Ann Ramos
Preservation and Protection Associate, SV@Home
I
Website Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Become a Member
ATTACHMENT 8
July 1, 2022
RE: Housing Element – Anti-displacement policies to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing
Page 2 of 4
350 W. Julian Street, Building 5, San José, CA 95110
408.780.8411 • www.svathome.org • info@siliconvalleyathome.org
Based on the work in Palo Alto, and a number of other cities, below are a number of policies that the Town of Los
Gatos should consider, or build upon, to further the community’s anti-displacement goals by addressing housing
instability.
1) Rental Survey Program
Rental survey systems collect basic information on rental housing – changes to tenancies, changes to rents - to
empower cities to better understand the challenges faced by renters, and the effectiveness of state and local
renter protections.
2) Tenant Relocation Assistance
When tenants are displaced due to redevelopment of an existing rental property, or the conversion of that
property to another use, this policy would require the property owner to provide assistance to the tenant to help
them relocate to another home.
3) Eviction Reduction Program
This expands on existing state law (AB 1482: The Tenant Protection Act of 2019), which limits the reasons a
landlord can evict a tenant, to additional types of rental properties otherwise not covered by the state. Local
jurisdictions can determine which loopholes they would like to close. Currently, state law exempts:
a) Single family homes not owned by a corporation
b) Rental property built within the past 15 years, including accessory dwelling units.
c) Any duplex where the owner occupied the unit before the other unit’s tenancy and continues to occupy the
unit.
d) Housing restricted by a deed, regulatory restrictions, or other recorded document limiting the affordability to
low or moderate income households.
e) Mobile homes.
f) Rental property subject to local ordinances that restrict rent increases to less than 5% plus CPI.
g) Single family homes where the owner occupies and rents at least 2 bedrooms or units (ADUs and JADUs).
h) Owner occupied rental properties where the tenant shares bathroom or kitchen facilities with the owner.
i) Hotels
j) Rental property provided by non-profit hospitals, organizations such as churches, extended care for the
elderly, adult care facilities etc.
4) Anti Rent-Gouging Policy
This policy also expands on existing state law (AB 1482: The Tenant Protection Act of 2019), which limits annual
rent increases to 5% plus the Consumer Price Index (CPI), by including additional units exempted by state law.
Each city can determine which loopholes they would like to close. They can also adopt lower thresholds for
maximum increases like San Jose (5%) and Mountain View (CPI). Currently, state law exempts:
a) Single Family homes not owned by a corporation
b) Rental property built within the past 15 years, including accessory dwelling units.
c) Any duplex where the owner occupied the unit before the other unit’s tenancy and continues to occupy the
unit.
d) Housing restricted by a deed, regulatory restrictions, or other recorded document limiting the affordability to
low or moderate income households.
e) Mobile homes.
f) Hotels
July 1, 2022
RE: Housing Element – Anti-displacement policies to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing
Page 3 of 4
350 W. Julian Street, Building 5, San José, CA 95110
408.780.8411 • www.svathome.org • info@siliconvalleyathome.org
5) Security Deposit Limit
This policy would limit the amount that can be charged for security deposits to 1.5 times the monthly rent, and
help reduce the financial obstacles to entry for low-income households.
6) Fair Chance Ordinance
This ordinance would limit landlords' ability to ask applicants about their history of interaction with the criminal
justice system, which disproportionately impacts Black and brown households. The policy would not make it illegal
for landlords to run background checks on tenants, but would make it illegal to include these questions on the
initial rental application.
7) Right to Counsel
This program would provide tenants with legal assistance in eviction cases. Tenants experiencing housing
instability will be better able to enjoy the rights they have, feel more empowered to exercise those rights, and be
more likely to stay housed more often.
8) Tenant/Community Opportunity to Purchase (TOPA/COPA)
The local jurisdiction could provide tenants and/or community-based organizations notice of intended sale of
rented property, and provide a specific time period during which the tenants and/or organization have the
opportunity to purchase the property. Tenants at risk of being displaced through the sale of a building would be
provided with another option to potentially stay in their home. A version of this policy is actively being explored
and studied in the City of San Jose.
9) Proactive Rental Inspection
This establishes a program for code enforcement officers to routinely inspect the rental housing inventory.
Through these programs tenants are more likely to be protected from living in substandard housing, and local
jurisdictions may catch habitability issues before they become so large that they require “red tag” evictions.
10) Tenant Resource Center
As a response to the pandemic, the cities of San Jose and Mountain View created Eviction Help Centers where
tenants and landlords could receive information on local laws, assistance to apply for rent relief and legal aid.
These cities are now looking at making the centers a permanent tenant/housing resource center post-pandemic.
11) City-wide Affordable Rent Portals
A portal for submitting a common application for affordable housing would save the tremendous amount of time
and energy it currently takes to submit the same information on separate applications for each affordable
property. A clearinghouse of affordable housing opportunities would also allow the city or county to affirmatively
market to vulnerable and hard to reach populations. Current examples of these portals include San Jose Doorways
and Dalia in San Francisco.
12) Increase Multi-lingual engagement with city services and housing opportunities
Language barriers can keep many communities from accessing the housing opportunities and services they need.
Taking steps to increase the city’s capacity to engage under multiple languages can improve those outcomes.
13) Net-loss policy
SB 330 (The Housing Crisis Act of 2019) requires that protected units are replaced one-for-one in cases of the
redevelopment of a rental property. These provisions are currently mandated by state law, but local jurisdictions
July 1, 2022
RE: Housing Element – Anti-displacement policies to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing
Page 4 of 4
350 W. Julian Street, Building 5, San José, CA 95110
408.780.8411 • www.svathome.org • info@siliconvalleyathome.org
can adopt permanent no-net-loss ordinances. This policy would protect critical sources of housing affordable to
lower-income families, and incentivize higher-density infill redevelopment when paired with land use policies to
support the feasibility of this redevelopment.
These policies have been developed with consideration of some of the major barriers to housing stability, and causes
of displacement, which have been identified through an extensive research and engagement process in Palo Alto, and
a few other jurisdictions in the county. Through the housing element, these anti-displacement policies should be
considered a comprehensive package of responses to address the complexity of the challenges faced by renters in Los
Gatos. For further information and if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to our Preservation and
Protection Associate, Emily Ann Ramos at emily@siliconvalleyathome.org.
Thank you for considering anti-displacement and tenant protections solutions to affirmatively further fair housing.
Sincerely,
Mathew Reed
Policy Director
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