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<br /> very good . Nonetheless , the 1970 Census shows 170 units in Redwood City lacking
<br /> complete plumbing , 202 units lacking full kitchen facilities , and 708 units
<br /> " overcrowded" with more than one person per room. Again , no figures were
<br /> available for the Sphere of Influence .
<br /> Another indicator of housing need was population growth and the aging of housing
<br /> stock , Mr . Ransom said . Most of Redwood City ' s housing is wood -frame , with an
<br /> estimated useful life of forty years . Conservatively , some 800 pre-1930 units , are
<br /> over forty years of age in Redwood City . Another 2 , 600 units will turn forty
<br /> during the ' 70s , yet another 3 , 900 during the 180s , leaving Redwood City with
<br /> some 7 , 300 units - -about a third of the existing housing stock--which may need
<br /> replacement before 1990 .
<br /> The deterioration of aging housing , Mr . Ransom said , will be greatest in those
<br /> units whose low/moderate-income owners have not had sufficient income to keep
<br /> them properly maintained . Because of this , and because few if any units selling
<br /> under $20 , 000 or renting for less than $100/month have been built since 1960 , the
<br /> aging of the City ' s housing will hit its less costly units hardest , Mr . Ransom said .
<br /> The average asking price for new housing in Redwood City is over $40 , 000 currently .
<br /> Furthermore , Redwood City will need new housing to accommodate continued growth ,
<br /> Mr . Ransom said . Low projections of population growth are for 2, 300 new house-
<br /> holds before 1980, 1, 500 more before 1990. High estimates - -which assume a
<br /> completion of Redwood Shores --are for 5 , 300 units before 1980, 22 , 400 households
<br /> before 1990- -a more than doubling of Redwood City ' s population . For the Sphere
<br /> of Influence , a "probable" population projection is for 4 , 850 new households
<br /> before 1980 , 5 , 600 more before 1990 .
<br /> Still another way of looking at Redwood City housing need is by estimating the
<br /> number of households qualifying for existing 2ederal subsidies , Mr . Ransom said .
<br /> Federal legislation has extended the promise :_-f subsidized housing to nearly half
<br /> of the nation ' s households , but funding has lagged far behind . Fully a third of
<br /> Redwood City households qualify for federal low/moderate-income housing programs
<br /> for which qualifying incomes are as high as $6, 480 for one person , through $8 , 100
<br /> for a family of four , to $9, 990 for a family of ten or more . In addition, many
<br /> homeowners qualify for the programs of loans and grants up to $3, 500 for repair
<br /> and improvement to their homes .
<br /> However, Congress has not appropriated sufficient funds for these programs ,
<br /> Mr . Ransom said . Consequently, it is not simply out of past lack of initiative
<br /> that Redwood City should only have 310 federally-subsidized low/moderate-income
<br /> units currently occupied or under way . Most of these units are for the elderly,
<br /> he said , and the majority of those currently under consideration by HUD are for
<br /> the elderly as well .
<br /> A primary obstacle to adequate low/moderate-income housing in the Redwood City
<br /> area , Mr . Ransom said , is high land cost . Land cost rose in the Bay Area by
<br /> better than 400 percent between 1950 and 1970 , against a 300 percent increase
<br /> nationwide . Costs in San Mateo County are higher than anywhere else outside of
<br /> San Francisco . Other obstacles are the lack of commitment to housing at all
<br /> levels of government, and continued discrimination on the basis of race and
<br /> socio-economic level , Mr . Ransom said , citing the additions the Housing Concerns
<br /> MINUTES HOUSING CONCERNS COMMITTEE MARCH 8 , 1972 PAGE 2 OF 4
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