Housing Element Staff Report

To:	PLANNING COMMISSION
From:	LISA NEWMAN, HOUSING ELEMENT CONSULTANT SCOTT ANDERSON, PLANNING DIRECTOR KEVIN BRYANT, ADVANCE PLANNER
Subject:	HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE – AFFORDABLE HOUSING GOALS, SITES, AND DRAFT HOUSING POLICIES AND PROGRAMS
Date:	MAY 13, 2002

Every city and county in California is required by State law to periodically update its Housing Element. The law also requires that the Housing Element be reviewed by the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and that HCD provide its findings regarding compliance with the law to the local agency.

As part of the Housing Element Update, the Town is required to identify and designate in its general plan and zoning ordinance sufficient sites at sufficient densities to accommodate its Regional Housing Need (RHND), as determined by the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG). The Element must address the provision of affordable housing and housing for "special needs" segments of the population, including the elderly, disabled, and large families.

Actual construction of the housing units is not mandated by the law. However, local governments must make a good faith effort to remove governmental constraints to the development of affordable housing. It is the State’s policy that local governments should be actively supporting the development of affordable housing.

In May 2000, the Planning Commission held a public workshop to discuss the Housing Element Update process. The Workshop topics included a discussion of:

A copy of the May 2000 staff report and the summary of the workshop provided to the Town Council are included as attachments 1 and 2 to this report.

Shortly after that Workshop, Town staff shifted its focus on the Housing Element Update to join a countywide collaborative effort to prepare the Marin Housing Workbook. The Housing Workbook was coordinated by Marin County with representation by all Marin municipalities during its preparation. The Workbook was published in February 2002. The purpose of the Workbook is to provide each jurisdiction with the background data (e.g., housing cost, economic and population trends, etc.) and a menu of "best practices" policies and program options that can be used to formulate each jurisdiction’s individual Housing Element. With the Workbook complete, Town staff has resumed preparation of the draft Tiburon Housing Element.

The purpose of this Planning Commission hearing is to review key components of the Housing Element Update and receive public input. After the hearing, staff will complete the Draft Housing Element and send it to HCD for review and comment. Once the Town receives HCD’s comments, formal public hearings on the Draft Housing Element with the Planning Commission and Town Council may be scheduled. Alternatively, Town staff may hold Housing Element hearings concurrent with the Draft General Plan Update. After the Town Council adopts the Housing Element, the Town will send the final document to HCD for its review. The Town’s goal is to have HCD "certify" the Housing Element as being in compliance with State law.

One of the most important aspects of the Housing Element Update is to identify sufficient sites and densities for affordable housing to demonstrate that the RHND numbers can be satisfied. Demonstrating that the Town has sufficient land zoned to support mixed use or higher density housing is essential for certification of the Housing Element by HCD.

Table 1: Potential Affordable Housing Development Sites and Units presents a list of potential sites that could support redevelopment to mixed use (commercial/residential) in the downtown area or affordable residential development in residential areas of Town. The table describes the site conditions, size of parcel, existing zoning, potential density and number of affordable units. Although some changes have been made to reflect current conditions, the list of sites is very similar to the list the Commission reviewed two years ago.

Table 1 indicates that, in theory, the Town has the land area to support more housing, including affordable housing, than is presently required by the ABAG RHND numbers for Tiburon. Specifically, the ABAG RHND allocation for Tiburon during 1999-2006 is 164 new units, of which 72 must be below market rate units. Table 1 shows that in addition to normal market rate housing development in the Town and its Sphere of Influence (including Strawberry), 181-211 affordable housing units could be built in the future.

There is no way that the Town can guarantee that these sites will be developed for affordable housing. Nor can the Town guarantee when (or in what order) they might develop. However, by identifying specific sites where housing would be an appropriate use, and adopting Housing Element policies that support affordable housing development, the Town will enhance the chances that it will occur. In most cases, with recent examples being the Chandlers Gate and Cecilia Place projects, affordable housing development at the identified sites would only occur through the combination of supportive policies (e.g., density bonus, inclusionary zoning, affordable housing overlay zoning, fast track processing, waiver of fees, etc.), the involvement of non-profit housing providers, housing subsidies from state or federal sources, and the use of Town funds such as the Redevelopment Agency housing set-aside funds or affordable housing in-lieu fees collected from other projects.

The Planning Commission should review the list of potential affordable housing sites and give comments to staff about the suitability of these sites and whether any additional sites should be added.

Table 2: Housing Goals 1999-2006 is the "action plan" for the Housing Element Update. This table takes certain sites from Table 1 and indicates how many market rate and affordable housing units could be developed within the Housing Element Update period. Again, the Town cannot guarantee that these sites will develop exactly as shown in the Table. However, the Town must make the case that it is feasible to do so. The Chandlers Gate project counts toward the Town’s Housing Need since it was completed in 2002. Thus, its four very low-income units and 21 market rate units can be subtracted from the Town’s total housing need of 164 units. The bottom line of Table 2 is that 228 new housing units, including 83 below market rate units, could be developed in Tiburon and its Sphere of Influence, including Strawberry, between 1999-2006, exceeding the RHND identified by ABAG. This version of Table 2 is also very similar to what the Commission reviewed in 2000.

Three of the four sites listed on Table 2 are located in Downtown Tiburon. These sites are included because they could be redeveloped with residential or mixed-use projects that would have both housing and commercial uses on a single property. In addition, development within downtown would be consistent with several "smart infill" principles. The Town would be accommodating new growth in a developed area, which would help prevent the conversion of open space and other environmental resources to housing. Downtown redevelopment would utilize existing infrastructure, reducing the need and the associated cost of extending new infrastructure onto undeveloped land. Finally, additional residents downtown will add vitality and provide more customers for existing and future resident-serving businesses.

The Town has a track record of approving secondary dwelling units at a rate of about 1-to-2 units per year. A secondary dwelling unit rent survey conducted by Town staff indicates that rents are affordable to low and moderate income households. Table 2 projects that 10 new secondary dwelling units would be approved between 1999-2006, with 2 affordable to low income and 8 affordable to moderate income households.

Table 3: Draft Policies and Programs presents the mix of housing policies and programs that the Town may adopt as a result of the Housing Element Update. During the Commission Workshop in 2000, staff presented a Policy and Program Evaluation table. This table discussed the existing Housing Element programs and indicated which ones had been achieved, those that had not been implemented or only partially implemented, and why. In addition, the Commission reviewed and discussed at the Workshop a "new policy/program options" report prepared by staff.

Based upon the Workshop input as well as the "best practices" policy and program recommendations from the Marin Housing Workbook, staff has devised this new list of policies and programs. Where appropriate, many former Housing Element policies/programs have been carried forward. There are some new ideas as well.

The most significant changes in Housing Element policies and programs are within the "New Housing" section beginning on page 5, including:

Staff recommends that the Commission open the public hearing and provide staff with comments on the Housing Element Tables discussed in this report for incorporation into the Draft Housing Element.