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9.A. - Page 2 <br /> ANALYSIS <br /> Increases in Overall Supply <br /> Bay Area housing affordability issues are primarily caused by supply and demand <br /> factors. Simply put, there are too many people competing for each housing unit. This is <br /> caused by several factors, including: 1) a strong regional economy, particularly in the <br /> Peninsula. This results in people moving into the area from regions which have less <br /> fortunate economies 2) Single- family neighborhoods that had previously (and almost <br /> exclusively) housed growing families when first constructed, are now multi - generational <br /> neighborhoods. This is due to people living longer and choosing to stay in the same <br /> neighborhood for a multitude of reasons (tax incentives, strong community, etc.) 3) In <br /> general, the United States is becoming city- centric with people moving out of rural areas <br /> into urbanized areas where jobs are located (see point 1). With over 2,500 units <br /> recently completed, under construction or in the planning pipeline, the City of Redwood <br /> City continues to meet the intent of Housing Element law, and has relieved some stress <br /> to the existing housing stock via new supply. <br /> The City, realizes, however, that producing supply is not enough. There is simply not <br /> enough housing supply to meet regional demand. Subsidy and incentive programs, <br /> which help drive down the costs of housing for qualified people and families are <br /> necessary and outlined below. Although some of these programs have been in effect <br /> for years, the City is looking to grow and strengthen these programs due to the current <br /> housing crisis. For example, the opportunity has presented itself for the City to partner <br /> with Habitat for Humanity where the City can subsidize their project to generate 20 <br /> affordable ownership units. Staff will be seeking direction tonight from the Council to <br /> determine if a finalized agreement should be presented to Council at a future meeting. <br /> "Stay in Place" Programs <br /> In addition to the creation of housing for new residents, the City continues to implement <br /> programs that allow existing Redwood City residents to remain in their homes. For <br /> example, the City of Redwood City has a well - utilized low- income loan program that <br /> allows residents (that meet certain income requirements) to make improvements to their <br /> homes. This program is financed through Community Development Block Grant <br /> (CDBG) funds. While CDBG funds can be used on a number of programs at the City's <br /> discretion, the City has chosen to spend a majority of funds on housing programs. This <br /> focus has resulted in the completion of over 2,500 home improvement loans over the <br /> life of the program. <br /> The City is also developing a proposed program that will make the existing rental <br /> housing stock safer and potentially allow for rents to become more stable. This <br /> program is known as the "Fire Safety First Program." The City is home to hundreds of <br /> multi - family buildings and thousands of units, many of which were constructed prior to <br /> current Building Code standards that require the installation of fire sprinklers. This <br /> program would require that these older buildings be brought "up to code" by installing a <br /> sprinkler system within a prescribed timeframe. In order to encourage this, the program <br />