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s . est,tot.) MINUTES MARCH 8 , 1972 HOUSING CONCERNS COMMITTEE 7 : 00 A. M. CITY MANAGER ' S OFFICE CITY HALL REDWOOD CITY MEMBERS PRESENT : Chairman Paul C . Keckley , William Floyd , Mary W . Henderson , Sylvester McGuire , Martin F . Mohr, Eugene Moriguchi , -and Frederick A . Soderer . MEMBERS ABSENT : Tony Gonzales and Herbert G . Petersen . STAFF PRESENT: Assistant City Manager Smith, Community Redevelopment and Housing Aide Ransom, and Planning Director Schroeter . VISITORS : Eileen Gray, 950 Iris Street , Redwood City Louis Knowles , P . 0 . Box 295 , Redwood City Kathleen and R . Mahany , 1026 Vera Avenue , Redwood City Max Rice , P . 0 . Box 295 , Redwood City J . Paul Bradley , Housing Development Corp . of San Mateo County _ Steve Yaeger , 272 Hudson Street , Redwood City Myron Filene , 410 Park Street , Redwood City Arthur S . Keyes , 696 Third Avenue , Redwood City The meeting was called to order at 7 : 05 A.M. Housing Aide David Ransom opened the meeting with estimates of Redwood City ' s housing need derived from the work he has been doing in preparing the background study for the housing element of the City ' s comprehensive general plan . Federal housing programs estimate that low/moderate-income households should pay no more than a quarter of their income for housing , Mr . Ransom said . Though income estimates for Redwood City are not very satisfactory , they suggest that as many as 2 , 250 to 3 , 450 low-income households with an annual income of $5 , 000 or less cannot find housing at a quarter of their income . Indeed , the Labor Department estimates the "lower budget" families cannot pay more than a fifth of their income for housing without "compromising health and self-respect . " As many as 3 , 650 to 1+ , 500 Redwood City households earning $6 , 000 or less cannot find housing at twenty percent of their income . This doesn ' t include the unincorporated areas of the Sphere of Influence , for which no figures are available , Mr . Ransom said . The deficiency of low-income units has caused a shortage in the next range up , with a third to two-thirds of the households with annual incomes of from $6 , 000 to $7 , 250 unable to find housing at a quarter of their income or less . Indeed , a large and increasing number of middle-income home buyers are being forced by the housing market to support homes at a 3 : 1 ratio of cost to annual income , rather than the conventional 2 . 5 : 1 ratio , or the "achievable" 2 : 1 ratio that the County Housing Element suggests for households earning between $6 , 000 and $10, 000 . Another indication of the extent of housing need in the City might be the number of substandard dwellings , Mr . Ransom said . But the available figures are not MINUTES HOUSING CONCERNS COMMITTEE MARCH 8 , 1972 PAGE 1 OF 4