Title
Staff Report for Resolution Approving the City of San Leandro 2011 and 2012 Housing Element Annual Progress Report
Staffreport
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff recommends that the City Council review and approve the 2011 and 2012 Annual Progress Report (APR) related to the status and progress in implementing the current Housing Element Update. The APR is accompanied by a resolution to meet State reporting requirements, which will then be forwarded to the California Department of Housing and Community Development and Governor's Office of Planning and Research (pursuant to Govt. Code §65400).
BACKGROUND
The Housing Element is one of the seven required elements of the San Leandro General Plan. The current Housing Element Update covers 2007-2014 and incorporates new data, new housing targets, and new State requirements. In April 2010, the City Council adopted the City's current Housing Element Update. The State approved the City's Housing Element Update in February 2011.
Pursuant to Government Code §65400, cities and counties must submit an Annual Progress Report (APR) every year to the State. Because some State Housing and Community Development Programs have made submittal of the APR a funding eligibility requirement, cities and counties are further incentivized to annually complete and submit their APRs.
Analysis
The purpose of the APR is to track and monitor the status of and progress in addressing the City's housing needs and goals. The primary Housing Element goals and objectives include:
1. New housing opportunities
2. Affordable housing development
3. Administration of housing programs
4. Home ownership
5. Affordable housing conservation
6. Green and sustainable neighborhoods
7. Special needs populations
8. Elimination of housing constraints
9. Fair housing
The State also uses the APR to monitor progress by cities and counties on achieving their Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) goals. State law requires that each city and county ensure that its "fair share" of regional housing accommodate community needs at all income levels. Therefore, the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) allocated to San Leandro its RHNA assignment of 1,630 total housing units for the 2007-2014 period at various income levels as shown in the following table. Also shown below is the City's total production of housing units by the end of 2012:
UNIT INCOME LEVELS RHNA ALLOCATION HOUSING UNITS
Very Low-Income 368 195
Low-Income 228 759
Moderate-Income 277 19
Above Moderate-Income 757 75
TOTALS 1,630 1,048
Between 2007 and 2010, the City met 13% of its overall total RHNA goal (218 of 1,630 units). By producing an additional 830 units between 2011 and 2012, the City has now produced 1,048 units, or 64% of its RHNA goal of 1,630.
With regard to income levels, the City's strongest performance continues to be in the production of "very low" income and "low" income housing units, respectively, meeting 47% and over 332% of its target goals to date. All of the actual production of units in the "very low" and "low" income category can be attributed to three (3) multifamily housing rental developments: Casa Verde (68 units), a former blighted motel completed in 2008, Estabrook Place (51 units), a senior housing complex completed in 2010, and Lakeside Village (840 units), a multi-family rental housing development currently in the process of converting from a 100% market rate complex to a 100% affordable rental housing property without any City funding.
However, production continues to be less robust in the moderate- and above moderate-income categories. Although the marketplace primarily contributes to the production of above moderate-income units, the City has only met 10% of its RHNA goal to date. These housing production numbers are a reflection of the recent economic recession, the downturn in the regional housing market and steep decline in residential permits issued since 2006. In San Leandro, the number of residential permits issued in 2011 (4) and in 2012 (6), continues to be very modest.
Furthermore, the State elimination of the City's Redevelopment Agency has severely hampered the City's ability to achieve several of its Housing Element goals and objectives. Without Redevelopment Housing Set-Aside funds, the City had to eliminate its First Time Homebuyer Loan Program and its Housing Rehabilitation Loan Program. The City must now also rely primarily on federal HOME Program funds, which has drastically declined since 2008, and local Affordable Housing Trust Fund monies, which is derived from the City's Inclusionary Zoning or Housing Ordinance and dependent on a more active housing market, to acquire, rehabilitate, and/or construct affordable rental housing developments.
Some of the City's key goals and accomplishments in 2011 and 2012 include:
GOAL 53: AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
· Amendments were made to the General Plan for conformity with the higher density residential recommendations under the Downtown Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Strategy in 2011.
GOAL 55: HOME OWNERSHIP
· Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) funds have been expended to acquire and rehabilitate nine (9) foreclosed homes in San Leandro. All three (3) NSP1 homes and all six (6) NSP2 homes have been resold to income-eligible families.
GOAL 56: AFFORDABLE HOUSING CONSERVATION
· Eleven (11) Minor Home Repair Grants were awarded in 2012;
· Ten (10) Mobile Home Repair grants were awarded in 2012;
· Ninety-one (91) rental housing units at Las Palmas Apartments and 143 units at Eden Lodge were rehabilitated in 2012; and,
· Financing was finalized in 2012 for the rehabilitation of the 46-unit Surf Apartments, 75-unit Fargo Senior Center, and 840-unit Lakeside Village Apartments to commence in 2013.
GOAL 57: GREEN NEIGHBORHOODS
· City continues to provide Energy Efficiency rebates to homeowners who complete energy efficient improvements to their homes;
· City continues to offer Green Point Rater services at no cost to homeowners on remodel/addition projects; and,
· City continues to participate in Energy Upgrade California.
GOAL 58: SPECIAL NEEDS POPULATION
· Building Futures with Women and Children (BFWC) provided emergency shelter and support services for 478 persons in FY 2011 and 2012;
· Davis Street Family Resource Center (DSFRC) provided essential social services for 23,810 clients in FY 2011 and 2012;
· BFWC, in partnership with the City and other social service providers, obtained a $1.5 million grant to create a new Housing Resource Center at DSFRC and assisted 4,279 retain their permanent housing and 1,226 homeless persons obtain permanent housing (the entire 3-year funding allocation has been fully expended);
· In FY 2011 and 2012, CDBG grantees provided public services to 2,227 persons with disabilities/special needs and 23,658 extremely low-income households; and,
· ECHO Housing's Rental Assistance Program prevented ten (10) households from being evicted in FY 2011 and 2012 by providing them with one-time security deposits or payment for delinquent rent.
GOAL 59: ELIMINATION OF HOUSING CONSTRAINTS
· City Council approved in 2012 Zoning Code Amendments to the second unit ordinance to increase the maximum size allowable.
GOAL 60: FAIR HOUSING
· In FY 2011 and 2012, ECHO Housing provided information, counseling, and/or investigation into thirty-five (35) fair housing inquiries or allegations of housing discrimination. ECHO Housing also conciliated six (6) of these cases and resolved seven (7) of these cases;
· In FY 2011 and 2012, ECHO Housing conducted twenty-eight (28) fair housing sessions to 697 landlords, property managers, tenants and potential homebuyers, realtors, and interested persons; and,
· In FY 2011 ECHO Housing tested sixty-five (65) rental housing properties in Alameda, Cupertino, Hayward, Livermore, San Leandro (12 properties), Santa Clara County, Union City, and Walnut Creek for discrimination based on national origin and found no differential treatment in fifty (50) (77%) of the cases.
Future key actions under the Housing Element Update for the City to assess and implement include:
· Consider adjustments to long-term affordability requirements to preserve affordable rental stock;
· Develop strategies to preserve affordable housing units "at risk" of expiring;
·
· Consider amending the Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance to ensure greater effectiveness and efficiency; and,
· Explore TOD planning opportunities at Bayfair Mall.
The submission of the City's 2011 and 2012 Annual Progress Reports is important in order for the City to be eligible to submit an application for the State Housing and Community Development housing-related grant programs such as the Housing-Related Parks Program.
Previous Actions
The City Council adopted the current Housing Element Update in April 2010 and State HCD certified the Housing Element Update in 2011.
ATTACHMENTS
None.
PREPARED BY: Steve Hernandez, Housing Specialist II, Community Development Department