Attachment 3 - Public CommentATTACHMENT 3
From: Phil Koen
Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2021 7:03 AM
To: Marico Sayoc; Rob Rennie; Matthew Hudes; Mary Badame; Maria Ristow
Cc: Shelley Neis; jvannada; Rick Van Hoesen; David Weissman
Subject: Agenda Item #1 - Special Meeting of the Town Council - December 7, 2021
Dear Council Members,
A critical question that the Council needs to discuss at this study session is , are there sufficient sites to
accommodate the RHNA by income category?
The Land Use Element and Housing Element, working together, must ensure there are sufficient sites
available through appropriate zoning action, development standards and infrastructure capacity to
accommodate the development by income category of 1,993 units in total.
Historically the Town has not had a problem in providing for the development capacity for above market
rate housing. The major failing has been the Town’s ability to provide development capacity for below
market rate housing. The 6th cycle RHNA has established that the Town must provide the development
capacity for 1,167 below market rate units to be potentially developed within the eight-year cycle. The
question is, does the current draft Land Use Element provide for the development of such capacity?
It is important to break the 1,993 RHNA allocation into 2 buckets – market rate housing and below
market rate housing. Under the current 2020 General Plan and existing zoning laws, there is more than
enough development capacity for the Town to demonstrate to HCD that there are sufficient sites to
meet the required above market rate housing. Unfortunately, the same can not be said for the below
market rate housing. The central focus of the Land Use Element is to ensure there is sufficient land use
capacity.
To determine how many below market rate sites must planned, HCD allows ADU’s to be credited
toward meeting the RHNA allocation based on the affordability and unit count. If the ADU’s meet the
affordability test, 200 ADU’s (assumed 25 units per year are developed over the 8-year period) can be
credited to the 1,167. That reduces the below market rate housing to 967 dwelling units. To ensure that
sufficient capacity exists to accommodate this number throughout the planning period, HCD
recommends that the Town create a buffer of at least 15% more capacity than required. That means the
Town needs to create capacity through zoning changes to allow for the development of 1,112 below
market rate units. The Land Use Element must define the zoning and development standards
appropriate to accommodate the need for 1,112 below market rate units.
High land and development costs combined with limited supply of vacant and developable land means
that below market rate housing can only be achieved by pursuing more intensive, compact and infill
development or redevelopment.
HCD has established best practices for selecting sites to accommodate below market rate housing.
These factors include proximity to transit, access to amenities such as parks and services, access to
health care facilities and grocery stores, proximity to available infrastructure and transit hubs.
Additionally, the Government Code allows for the use of higher density as a proxy for lower income
affordability, as long as parcels are zoned to allow sufficient density to accommodate the economies of
scale needed to produce affordable housing. Parcels that allow “at least” 20 units per acre are
considered appropriate to accommodate the RHNA for below market rate housing.
The Staff memo for the December 7 Study session does not discuss any land use strategies that could be
used to enable the Town in achieve the development target of 1,112 below market rate units. The
memo discusses the need to meet the overall RHNA allocation of 1,993 units but fails to discuss the
more difficult question regarding capacity for the development of below market rate housing, The Staff
does correctly point out that the HCD may not certify a Housing Element if it disagrees with
assumptions, housing sites and/or programs. The potential for disagreement will not come from
assumptions regarding the development of market rate housing but rather the assumptions regarding
the development of below market rate housing.
We strongly encourage the Council to discuss the appropriate land use strategies that could be used to
meet the below market rate RHNA allocation. That is a core challenge facing the Town.
Los Gatos Community Alliance