AgdaPkt 2014-12-08 Closed and Joint SA

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9.B. - Page 9 Related Issues: Housing Supply & Retail Base At the September Council meeting, as well as in subsequent conversations with members of the public, there have been concerns expressed about how a conversion could affect upcoming housing supply, as well as the City's Downtown retail base. The following section outlines some of those concerns, as well staff's preliminary analysis. Housing Supply: A primary concern expressed by some Council Members and members of the public is that an office conversion could limit future applications for housing in the DTPP area. Specifically, if too large a conversion takes place, future housing applications may be discouraged from moving forward. First, an important aspect to note is that a majority of projects approved under the DTPP have been housing developments. Most of these projects have recently been completed or are under construction. In addition, a 175 unit housing development was recently approved by the Planning Commission and should be under construction in 2015. However in 2014, the pace of downtown housing development applications slowed significantly. The following chart details the number of DTPP housing unit applications received per year since plan adoption: Year: 2011 2012 2013 2014 No. of housing units submitted: 116 794 329 175 In conversations with developers, the general feeling is that the overall market has slowed because developers are waiting to see how housing demand in the area will be impacted when all the units currently under construction come online in 2015 and 2016. While this number may change staff expects a maximum of 200-300 new housing units to be proposed in Downtown Area in 2015. This projection is also based on recent conversations with housing developers. Therefore, staff does not believe the proposed conversion will constrain future housing applications, as there would still be ample room (375 units) for new DTPP housing based on current and anticipated demand.