Affordable Housing for Low Income Proposal

							 Housing Challenges and
Opportunities in Calabasas




  Tom Bartlett, AICP, City Planner
        City of Calabasas
 Challenges to Affordable Housing
           in Calabasas
• Limited land availability
• High cost of building materials
• Robust real estate market coupled with an
  exceptionally low vacancy rate encourages a
  high rate of market appreciation and a
  shrinking supply of existing affordable units
• $1.5 million is the median price for a single-
  family home in Calabasas
• NIMBY mindset
                                          Housing Affordability
                                                   Workshop
                                                October 1, 2005
Resources and Opportunities

            • City’s existing housing
              programs
            • Land (despite lack of land
              availability overall, there
              are some potential sites)
            • Density Bonus
            • Inclusionary Housing
              Ordinance and the
              Affordable Housing Trust
              Fund
                                 Housing Affordability
                                          Workshop
                                       October 1, 2005
City’s Existing Housing Programs

              • Rental Registration
                Ordinance
              • Senior Rental Voucher
                Fund
              • Rental Assistance
                Program
              • Residential Rehabilitation
                Program

                                Housing Affordability
                                         Workshop
                                      October 1, 2005
      Potential Housing Sites
• Standard Pacific – pending 80 to 96 unit
  MF residential project (originally a 40-
  unit SF proposal).
• Lincoln Properties – 34 single-family units
• Messenger – 53 single-family units
• Other potentially suitable sites identified
  in the Housing Trust Fund White Paper

                                     Housing Affordability
                                              Workshop
                                           October 1, 2005
              Density Bonus
State Law – Section 65915 of the Calif. Gov. Code
requires local agencies to grant a 20% density
bonus and at least one concession when:
• 10% of units in the project are reserved for
  lower income households
• 5% of units for project are for very low income
  households
• 100% of units for project are for qualifying
  residents under Section 51.3 of Civil Code
• 10% of condo units are for moderate income
  households (5% density bonus)
                                         Housing Affordability
                                                  Workshop
                                               October 1, 2005
       Density Bonus (cont’d)
• Calabasas General Plan –- The Housing Element:
  “The City offers a density bonus program to
  facilitate development of affordable housing.”
  (Program #14)
• City Ordinance – The Development Code offers
  “incentives to developers for providing housing
  that is affordable to the types of households
  and qualifying residents…” (Section 17.22.030)
• Both point to the State law for requirements.

                                        Housing Affordability
                                                 Workshop
                                              October 1, 2005
Inclusionary Housing Ordinance
Per Section 17.22.020 of the Calabasas
Municipal Code:
“All residential development
projects proposing ten or
more housing units shall
include housing that is
affordable to low, very low
and/or moderate income
households, ...”

                                  Housing Affordability
                                           Workshop
                                        October 1, 2005
 Affordable Housing Trust Fund
• A repository trust account for in-lieu fees paid
  by developers of residential and commercial
  projects (per section 17.22.020 of the CMC)
• In-lieu fees currently are:
   $2,886/unit for residential
   $.90/s.f. for retail commercial
   $1.50/s.f. for office
• Forthcoming revision to the fee schedule
  expected to increase revenue by 300% +
• Current fund balance: $1,400,000
                                          Housing Affordability
                                                   Workshop
                                                October 1, 2005
 City Experience in Affordable
            Housing
• Rental subsidy and housing rehabilitation
  programs are successful, but fail to
  produce new affordable units or provide
  Housing Element “RHNA” credit
• Experienced Local Housing Providers and
  Municipalities offer insight into how to
  get the job done
                                    Housing Affordability
                                             Workshop
                                          October 1, 2005
   Focus on New Housing Units
• Construction of entirely new housing units adds
  to the overall housing supply
• Redevelopment housing resources are not
  available because there are no redevelopment
  areas in Calabasas
• BUT, the Affordable Housing Trust Fund can be
  leveraged to promote the construction of new
  units.


                                         Housing Affordability
                                                  Workshop
                                               October 1, 2005
       Community Concerns
NIMBY is a formidable barrier to housing
affordability:
         • “Affordable housing will look bad and
           will detract from my property value.”
         • “Persons in affordable units will cause
           problems in the community.”
         • “It’s OK to have affordable housing –
           just not near my neighborhood.”

                                            Housing Affordability
                                                     Workshop
                                                  October 1, 2005
 Participation – Getting to YIMBY



• Affordable housing projects can be well designed to fit
  with the architectural styles and tastes of the community
• Teachers, firefighters, nurses, technicians, tradesmen,
  and others fundamental to the economic and social
  workings of our community need affordable housing
• If not near your neighborhood, or your neighbor’s
  neighborhood, then where?
                                                Housing Affordability
                                                         Workshop
                                                      October 1, 2005