AgdaPkt 2016-10-24 Closed and Joint SA PFA HHCC

Browse Search

7.A - Page 1 REPORT To the Honorable Mayor and City Council From the City Manager October 24, 2016 SUBJECT City Council and Housing and Human Concerns Committee Joint Study Session RECOMMENDATION Hold Joint City Council and Housing and Human Concerns Committee (HHCC) study session to discuss recommendations related to affordable housing policy in Redwood City BACKGROUND For more than a generation, the San Francisco Peninsula has been a relatively expensive place to find housing when compared to other parts of California and the nation. This is primarily due to low housing production since the post-World War II housing boom, a physically constricted land area and several decades' worth of relatively high job creation in the region. Over the past 5 years, however, the affordable housing situation has become a crisis. Those who do not have the ability to pay"market" rents, including some long term residents, have needed to move out of the area. While the creation of new housing supply can provide some relief, particularly over the long term, there are many residents who need help now. Furthermore, the lack of affordable housing could have a negative impact of the local economy as the local workforce is priced out of the area. The City's primary affordable housing tool, its Redevelopment Agency, was eliminated by Governor Brown in 2012 along with all other local redevelopment agencies in California. The City had produced over 700 affordable housing units using Redevelopment funds. The City was also scheduled to receive millions of dollars over the life of the Redevelopment Plan for affordable housing due to the tax increment associated with developments approved at the time. Redevelopment law had also required that 15% of the housing developed be affordable. Since eliminating redevelopment agencies, the State has failed to provide any new tools to communities to help address the housing crises in the Bay Area and other coastal communities. Compounding the loss of this State tool for producing affordable housing, Federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funds, which are also used to support housing-related services, have also been reduced over this same time period. As a result, cities now find themselves "on their own" to address an historic and regional challenge when it comes to the preservation and production of affordable housing. Historically, this had not been the case. Recent Council Action In October 2015, the City Council adopted the "first phase" of post-Redevelopment affordable housing policy. The following list describes the actions taken and the status of implementation: Page I 1