N40 Phase 1 - Staff Report Exh.19
Exhibit C:
Diagram Demonstrating Height of Three-Story Buildings above
Finished Grade
@
North 40 – Proposed BMP Plan
The Town’s Below Market Price (BMP) Program promotes the development of affordable
housing units by providing standards and guidelines that require the creation of a certain number
of affordable units development project.
For the proposed North 40 Development application, the developers have proposed the following
development program:
• Ownership townhomes/garden cluster/courtyard condominiums.: 253 (SummerHill)
• Ownership garden cluster: 7 (Hirschman)
• Live/Work Condominiums: 2 (Grosvenor)
• Rental Apartments: 8 (Grosvenor)
• Affordable rental apartments for seniors: 50 (Eden)
Due to qualifying for the California State Density Bonus, the above numbers include the baseline
number of units (237) plus the additional 35% density bonus units (82) for a total proposed
program of 320 residential units. The Town’s BMP program requirements are calculated using
the baseline count (237).
The affordable rental senior apartments are being proposed to satisfy the Town’s BMP program,
and will offer amenity-rich, high-quality apartment homes for seniors making up to 50% of the
Area Median Income. The development team feels that our proposal meets the intent of the
Town’s BMP program, and helps achieve the following goal from the Town’s 2003 Housing
Element:
To improve the choice of housing opportunities for senior citizens, families and singles
and for all income groups through a variety of housing types and sizes, including a
mixture of ownership and rental housing.
However, the affordable product as proposed does not meet the exact requirements of the BMP
program as written. The following details what is required under the BMP, what the team is
proposing, what waivers under the BMP program are required and a justification of this
approach.
• Requirements of the BMP
• Number of Units
Per the Town’s BMP, developments of 101 units or more are required to provide BMP units
equal to twenty percent of the number of market rate units, with smaller projects requiring
gradually fewer units based on a formula. The number of BMP units required under the
Program would be slightly different depending on whether the Town chooses to define the
combined application as one project or three:
1) Three separate projects
BMP /du
required
Grosvenor 10 10% 1
SummerHill (baseline) 220 20% 36.6 (37)
Hirschman 7
10% 1
TOTAL 237 36.8 (37)
BMP units 39
2) One project
Grosvenor +
SummerHill +
Hirschman 237 20% 39.4 (40)
TOTAL 237 39.4 (40)
BMP units 40
The development team views this proposal as a coordinated approach to create a truly
integrated and holistic neighborhood. Therefore we are assuming that for the purposes of
BMP calculation, the “project” includes the Phase I North 40 development as a whole. As
shown above, this approach also provides the benefit of one additional BMP unit above the
number that would be required if the units were calculated separately for the Grosvenor,
Hirschman, and SummerHill components.
• Affordability of BMP Units
In addition to the number of units, the BMP Program further requires that the units must be
affordable to both Median Income households (those earning between 80% and 100% of the
Area Median Income (AMI) and Low Income households (those earning between 50% and
80% AMI). Half of the BMP units are required to be targeted to Low Income households
and the other half Median Income households. Given these requirements, the 40 proposed
BMP units would roughly be distributed as follows:
• BMP affordability as Required
Very Low
Income
Low Income Median Income Total
Unit Distribution 0 20 20 40
However, under the model that the development team is proposing, where Eden’s
development will be able to leverage additional financing for a stand-alone affordable
housing building, the distribution of BMP affordab36ility will be as follows:
• BMP affordability as Proposed
Very Low
Income
Low
Income
Median
Income
Moderate
Income
Total
Unit
Distribution
49 0 0 1 50
• What is Being Proposed
The development team is proposing a 50 unit project consisting of forty-nine (49) one-
bedroom units for very low income seniors and one (1) two-bedroom managers unit. While
the final targeted income targeting will depend on the financing secured, the unit mix of a 9%
tax credit execution would be roughly as follows:
Extremely Low Income Units @ 30% AMI
10
Very Low Income Units @ 45% AMI
9
Very Low Income Units @ 50% AMI
30
Moderate Income Unit @ 80% AMI
(Manager’s Unit)
1
The affordable housing program will be most successful if fifty units are built, due to
economies of scale and more successful management of a building of this size. Because
Phase I is not proposing to construct all of the 270 baseline units but is proposing this surplus
of BMP units, we request that these additional 10 units count towards any future residential
development’s BMP requirements on the remainder of the North 40 properties.
The affordable component will help meet the needs of low income seniors in Los Gatos with
safe, attractive, and affordable homes and on-site services that will help these individuals
thrive.
The project will include high quality amenities available in all Eden developments including
a community room, a computer center and library, and landscaped courtyards and furnished
lobbies for casual social interaction. The architecture and interiors will be designed in such a
way to provide a stimulating, spacious, and inviting environment for the seniors as they age
in place. Eden’s service provider and affiliate, Eden Housing Resident Services, Inc., will
offer resident activities and programs specifically designed for seniors.
• Waivers Required Under the Current BMP Program
The Development team is requesting waivers on the following specific requirements:
• Type of Units, Rental vs For Sale: The Program requires that the “BMP units
within a project of owner-occupied units shall also be designated as units for
purchase.” In this case, the development team is proposing rental housing to meet
the requirements of the market-rate for sale product.
• Location of units: The Program requires that the “BMP units shall be dispersed
throughout the development, to the extent feasible; in all buildings, on each floor,
and in each project phase.” In this case, the development team is proposing a
singular affordable senior housing component which is located on the air rights
above the Market Hall element. This centralized location for these units, as
discussed below, is key to the financing, ability to serve Very Low Income
seniors and ability to provide on-site supportive services.
• Size of units: The Program requires that the “size and design of BMP dwelling
units shall be reasonably consistent with the market rate units in the project.”
• Building Exterior: The Program requires that the “external appearance of BMP
units should be indiscernible to that of the market rate units in the project.” The
Eden affordable component will be a part of the Market Hall and will be high
quality architecture consistent with the rest of the development. Eden and
Grosvenor are using the same architect and contractor to design and build this
building. The affordable housing will not be distinguishable as affordable housing
merely by architectural treatments, however as part of a separate building it will
have its own style in order to create visual interest and texture to the
neighborhood.
• Interior Finishes: The Program requires that the “ internal finish of BMP units
should be identical to that of the market rate units in the project, except that the
developer may request Town approval of substitutions for luxury interior finishes,
appliances, or fixtures, if such substitutions do not violate any Town code
requirement.” Eden will have its own interior finish schedule based on its
preferred specifications. These materials and appliances will meet all local, state
and funding requirements.
• Project Facilities: The Program requires that “all project facilities and amenities,
including parking, must be available on the same basis to the BMP units as to the
market rate units in the project, to the extent feasible.” As proposed, the
affordable component will have its own facilities and amenities – many of which
will be above and beyond what is provided in the market-rate components. For
example, the affordable senior community will include the following amenities: a
community room, a computer center and a library or exercise room. However, the
parking ratio assumed for the senior affordable is lower (.5 per unit) based on data
which shows that low income seniors own fewer cars.
• Justification for Waivers Requested
• Deeper affordability.
Proceeding with the development as proposed will allow the development team to
provide up to 49 units targeted to Very Low Income seniors, and will help the
Town show production of these units in the Regional Housing Needs Allocation
(RHNA) process.
As shown in the Town’s recent history of affordable housing development, these
Very Low Income units are the hardest to produce. The Eden affordable senior
component will provide 49 units targeted to Very Low Income and Extremely
Low Income Seniors, along with one Moderate Income managers unit.
• Amenity-rich and service-enhanced housing for Low Income Seniors
In addition to making deeper affordability financially feasible, providing all of the
affordable units in one central building allows Eden to provide supportive
services on-site. These services provide wrap-around services that help lower
income residents thrive – and are not available in a typical disbursed BMP
implementation.
For this development, Eden Housing Resident Services, Inc. (EHRSI) will
provide resident services programming ranging from information and referrals via
regularly updated resident services guides to comprehensive programming.
EHRSI’s Resident Services staff is available to offer important information and
referral services and to develop key partnerships in our communities. We work
one-on-one with residents, coordinate and facilitate group educational
programming, develop community building activities and bring in outside
speakers to present on topics of relevance and interest to our residents.
Eden has extensive experience working with a senior population. The primary
goal of our senior resident services is to allow our seniors to ‘age in place’ and
live independently in a dignified, healthy and productive way. To meet this goal,
we provide a range of programming tailored to each individual resident. The
overall intention of services programming for our senior and special needs
residents is to:
• Reduce isolation by providing on-site programs and encouraging resident-
led programs
• Provide residents with access to resources via information and referral
• Provide programming designed to enhance the quality of life of our
residents
• Address health and wellness issues faced by our diverse communities
including depression, physical fitness, assistive technology, nutrition/diet
and personal safety
• Monitor the ability of our residents to continue to live independently and
safely in our housing community
• Build strong communities by facilitating community events, collaborating
with resident associations and encouraging volunteerism in the community
(internally/externally)
As a testament to our ability to provide housing and services allowing our
residents to age in place successfully, nearly one quarter of our residents in senior
developments are over the age of 80 – with three residents over 100.
• High quality design
Eden is recognized in the industry for its creative development approach that
includes collaborating with local governments and development partners to create
well-designed properties that meet the needs of the residents and tailoring projects
to suit the locale. In the recent past, Eden has completed entitlements for projects
in Palo Alto, Lafayette, Dublin, Novato, Orinda, and Fremont -- all of which
required excellent design as well as the development and execution of thoughtful
and comprehensive community outreach strategies.
In addition, Eden places a high value on design through the work of talented
designers, builders and other professionals and is committed to crafting high-
quality developments that give careful attention to the needs of residents and the
surrounding neighborhood. Indeed, Eden has won more than 60 awards for its
work, including the recent recognition of Foss Creek Court in Healdsburg, which
in 2011 has received the prestigious national Charles L. Edson Award for Tax
Credit Excellence, a Gold Nugget Award of Merit from the Pacific Coast
Builders’ Conference, and won the Affordable Housing Finance Magazine
Readers’ Choice Award for the best Rural project in the country.
Eden will bring this same commitment to excellence, along with the rest of the
development team to deliver a high-quality, vibrant neighborhood that offers a
variety of housing types and sizes for a range of incomes – all of which will be
places that people are excited and proud to call home.