AgdaPkt 2000-08-28 - Laserfiche WebLink

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9B2- is no requirement for office developers to make a contribution to meeting that housing need. The Proposed Urgency Interim Ordinance will require office developers in the City who wish to proceed immediately with development to make a contribution to help meet housing needs based on a conservative estimate of the relevant impacts. Construction of units is required on or off-site with office development of 10,000 sJ. or greater on 1 acre or larger parcels. An in-lieu fee would be permitted for office development of 10,000 sJ. or greater on parcels less than 1 acre in size, but developers would be encouraged to build units if at all possible. The in lieu fee would be placed in a Housing Trust Fund for the future construction of units. 2. Need The Housing Element of the Redwood City General Plan calls for the provision of additional housing to accommodate the demands of new residents attracted to the City by expanding employment opportunities made available by the growth of office use in the City. First, office developments in Redwood City including the conversion of existing non- office buildings for office use, have attracted and continue to attract additional employees to the City, and there is a connection between such developments and the need for additional housing in the City. Office uses in the City are benefited by the availability of housing for persons employed in such offices close to their place of employment. However, the supply of housing units in the City has not kept pace with the demand for housing created by these new employees. Due to this shortage of housing, employers will have difficulty in securing a labor force; and employees, unable to find decent and affordable housing, will be forced to commute long distances, having a negative impact on quality of life, air quality, limited energy resources, and already overcrowded highways and public transport. Secondly, there is a low vacancy rate for rental housing. This low vacancy rate is also due in part to large office developments, which have attracted and will continue to attract additional employees and residents to the City. In Redwood City, office uses of land generally yield higher income to the developer than housing. Because of these market forces, the supply of housing units will not be expanded where the developer has the choice of constructing either offices or housing. The housing need can be expressed quantitatively based on the 1990 census and the experience of Keyser-Marston, Economic Consultants with over 10-years of experience in providing cities with "nexus" studies 1. In order to provide housing to accommodate 100% of the housing demand created by jobs creation the following analysis is utilized: The Jobs/Housinq Relationship: 1000 sq. ft. building area Module for analysis purposes. I A "Nexus Study" is required under State statutes, to confirm that there is a relationship between the impacts of a project and the requirement(s) imposed to mitigate this impact. 2