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HomeMy WebLinkAbout4a_Additional MaterialsJuly 15, 2020, HEUAC Agenda Item IV.a Comments The following comments on items on the Newport Beach Housing Element Update Advisory Committee agenda are submitted by: Jim Mosher ( jimmosher@yahoo.com ), 2210 Private Road, Newport Beach 92660 (949-548-6229) Item IV.a. MINUTES OF JULY 1, 2020 The following corrections are suggested: Page 2, paragraph 3 from end: “David Tanner suggested HEUAC direct the public as to how it can help HEUAC achieve its goals. He requested an update regarding staff's efforts to expedite the processing of the Housing Element amendment, specifically an exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), to affect the Greenlight provision or Measure F S.” [It certainly sounds like “F” in the video at 21:50, but I’m pretty sure it was intended to be “S” – the letter of the ballot measure by which Greenlight was adopted in 2000.] Page 4, paragraph 3 from end: “Mayor O'Neill suggested if the City zones not only needs to zone for affordable housing, but has to think it will actually happen.” [see video at 1:09:15] Housing Element Update Advisory Committee - July 15, 2020 Item IV(a) Additional Materials Received 1 1 Rodriguez, Clarivel Subject:FW: Chair Tucker's Request Attachments:Minutes 070120.docx From: Larry Tucker <tucker@gtpcenters.com>   Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2020 4:26 PM  To: Zdeba, Benjamin <bzdeba@newportbeachca.gov>  Subject: RE: Chair Tucker's Request  [EXTERNAL EMAIL] DO NOT CLICK links or attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.  Ben ‐ ‐ Attached are my suggested edits to the Minutes of July 1, 2020.  Larry  Housing Element Update Advisory Committee - July 15, 2020 Item IV(a) Additional Materials Received 2 CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS – 100 CIVIC CENTER DRIVE WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2020 REGULAR MEETING – 6 P.M. I. CALL MEETING TO ORDER – 6 p.m. II. WELCOME, INTRODUCTIONS AND ROLL CALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Larry Tucker, Jeffrey Bloom, Susan DeSantis, Paul Fruchbom, Elizabeth Kiley, Geoffrey LePlastrier, Stephen Sandland, Ed Selich, Debbie Stevens, (Ex Officio Member) Mayor Will O’Neill MEMBERS ABSENT: None Staff Present: City Manager Grace Leung, Community Development Director Seimone Jurjis, Deputy Community Development Director Jim Campbell, Principal Planner Jaime Murillo, Senior Planner Ben Zdeba, City Traffic Engineer Tony Brine, Administrative Support Technician Amanda Lee Chair Tucker welcomed everyone to the inaugural meeting of the Housing Element Update Advisory Committee (HEUAC). The Housing Element Update process begins with the State determining the number of housing units that agencies must plan forprovide over the ensuing planning period. Mayor O'Neill thanked committee members for their service to the City. The Council spent quite a bit of time in December 2019 and January 2020 thinking about how to address the Housing Element Update. Committee members were selected for specific reasons, including their background and expertise. In 2019, the Council talked to residents to ensure it understood what residents were looking for. Given the size and scope of the Housing Element, the Council will need to engage stakeholders. Finding the number of housing units will be incredibly difficult and will likely be divisive. At the beginning of the year, the Council adopted an approach to object to the State's mandate legally and politically/legislatively and to comply with the mandate. The goal for the HEUAC is to find a way for the City to comply or to explain why the City cannot comply with the mandate. Technically, the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) has not provided a certified number of housing units required for this planning cycle. SCAG has requested the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) grant extensions for all municipalities. HCD has not responded. Indications are HCD will deny the request; however, enforcement will be extremely difficult. The City has been working with Senator John Moorlach and Assembly Member Cottie Petrie-Norris. In reference to his role on the HEUAC, Mayor O'Neill explained that he represents the Council, but he cannot speak for the Council without a majority vote on a topic. He may offer his personal opinion and present a topic or question to the Council. III. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS Jim Mosher hoped any conflicts of interest would be handled transparently given committee members' expertise in real property development and HEUAC's recommendations to the Council regarding the use of real property. If people are paid to attempt to influence committee members' opinions, they are regarded as lobbyists and should register with the City. Housing Element Update Advisory Committee - July 15, 2020 Item IV(a) Additional Materials Received 2 Housing Element Update Advisory Committee Meeting July 1, 2020 Page 2 of 5 IV. CURRENT BUSINESS a. Three-Pronged Strategy of City Council and Focus of the Committee Recommended Action: No action taken Chair Tucker reported the City is working legislatively and with other agencies to better define the Regional Housing Needs AllocationAssessment (RHNA) number and credits that can be applied to the number. Community Development Director Seimone Jurjis advised that the City has engaged with multiple State agencies. SCAG has issued a draft RHNA number of 4,832 housing units for the City. The Mayor has written letters to SCAG opposing the methodology and to HCD requesting clarification. State law requires the City to permit accessory dwelling units (ADUs), but HCD's guidelines do not provide sufficient credits for ADUs to meet RHNA numbers. Staff has drafted legislative changes, and Assembly Member Petrie-Norris has introduced legislation that defines RHNA credits and provides guidelines for substantial evidence. The City needs to build a coalition to support the bill and will appeal its RHNA numbers. Chair Tucker indicated the City has to identify sites where residential development could occur and prepare an Inventory of Sites. The Tax Assessor's parcel number for each property must be listed on the Inventory. The certified number of RHNA units and credits will not be known for some period of time. Any political efforts to reduce housing units will likely occur late in the process. Chair Tucker invited the public to comment. Jim Mosher noted HEUAC's purpose and responsibilities do not include a complete focus on RHNA numbers. HEUAC is more of a forum for public input. The General Plan Update Steering Committee (GPUSC) attempted to conduct outreach and research, which could inform HEUAC's discussions. HEUAC should obtain input from the people who will be impacted by the need for housing as well as developers. David Tanner suggested HEUAC direct the public as to how it can help HEUAC achieve its goals. He requested an update regarding staff's efforts to expedite the processing of the Housing Element amendment, specifically an exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), to affect the Greenlight provision or Measure F. Mayor O'Neill noted that Still Protecting Our Newport (SPON) submitted the same request as Mr. Tanner. The City has requested State Representatives sponsor legislation to exempt or at least expedite the CEQA process for a Housing Element Update. The sole purpose of the City's request was to try to meet the timing aspects of the Housing Element Update. The representatives declined the request. Chair Tucker advised that he raised the issue of a CEQA exemption with the GPUSC in order to emphasize that HCD’s schedule would be difficult to meet and if an EIR had to be prepared thenthe need for additional time would be needed to complete theprepare a Housing Element Update. With respect to Mr. Mosher's comments, the resolution directs HEUAC to make any recommendations it believes necessary. To begin the compliance process, HEUAC will need to identify sites. Greenlight will not change the Committee’s work, but rather will merely add one more layer of Housing Element Update Advisory Committee - July 15, 2020 Item IV(a) Additional Materials Received 2 Housing Element Update Advisory Committee Meeting July 1, 2020 Page 3 of 5 approval, a public vote, after the Committee, Planning Commission and City Council complete their work. Therefore, Greenlight is outside HEUAC's purview. In response to a committee member's question, Deputy Community Development Director Jim Campbell understood a housing project that is approved but not completed before June 30, 2021 may be counted towards the City's RHNA numbers. Currently, there is no information regarding counting live-aboards towards RHNA numbers. Staff will provide HEUAC with a tally of housing units. Committee Member DeSantis noted SCAG has joined the San Diego Association of Governments and the Sacramento Area Association of Governments to sign a letter to the Governor and HCD to push back on the schedule. The Governor or the Legislature can change the timeline for the Housing Element Update, but HCD cannot. HCD recently extended the timeline for the local assistance program by six to eight months. b. Discuss Methods to Identify Possible Housing Opportunity Sites Recommended Action: Discuss procedures for (i) identifying and contacting owners of potential housing opportunity sites; (ii) discuss approach to encouraging sites that could enable affordable housing in whole or in part; and (iii) prioritizing sites in case the RHNA requirements are lower than currently anticipated Chair Tucker related that there may be underutilized or vacant parcels in the City that can be opportunity sites. Newport Center, the west Newport area, and the Airport Area will be opportunity sites. He noted that inIn GPUSC community workshops, participants favored placing housing in Newport Center, the Airport Area, the area near Hoag Hospital, Banning Ranch, and the former landfill in Newport Coast. HEUAC will have to review each parcel in areas that might provide opportunity sites. The standard for opportunity sites is land that is suitable and available (feasible). Determining whether a parcel is available will require some technical analysis. Determining whether a parcel is suitable will be decided by the full Committee and require public input. HEUAC will form a subcommittee to analyze sites to see how the process will play out. Anyone with ideas for potential opportunity sites should contact staff or committee members. Committee Member Fruchbom added that feasibility means economically feasible. Chair Tucker noted the City is required to plan for development, not to ensure sites are developed. State law states a municipality that plans to use non-vacant land for more than 50 percent of lower- income RHNA requirements has to provide substantial evidence that there are no impediments to the use of the property in order to claim credit for the property. In reply to Committee Member Kiley's query, Chair Tucker advised that HEUAC will review recent housing applications that were not developed. The first step is to identify sites where development is feasible. If sites are feasible, HEUAC will consider their suitability. The hot topic for the community will be which sites are suitable for housingsuitability. In answer to Committee Member Sandland's inquiry, Chair Tucker agreed that his memorandum proposed HEUAC rank opportunity sites. He did not believe the State would reduce the RHNA numbers materially. However, if the City cannot comply with the RHNA numbers and the State does reduce the numbers, the Council can useproceed with the ranking of sites by the Committee and supporting information rather than having to start the process again. Housing Element Update Advisory Committee - July 15, 2020 Item IV(a) Additional Materials Received 2 Housing Element Update Advisory Committee Meeting July 1, 2020 Page 4 of 5 Committee Member DeSantis believed community input on a range of scenarios will be important when HEUAC prioritizes sites. The Orange County Business Council's in-fill capacity study focused on capacity within Orange County for additional housing development. Perhaps HEUAC can invite the study author to present information about changing market trends and the study's results. Chair Tucker invited the public to comment. Jim Mosher remarked that the public may not be familiar with committee members, which could be a problem if committee members want to engage with the public. He hoped committee members would have open minds. The infeasibility of the former landfill site is not obvious. Chair Tucker indicated if development of the former landfill site was feasible, someone would have developed it by now. An unnamed resident provided an unrelated comment about the COVID-19 pandemic. c. Formation of Affordable Housing Subcommittee and Opportunity Sites Subcommittee Recommended Action: Form an affordable housing subcommittee and a housing opportunity sites subcommittee to divide up workload Chair Tucker reviewed the City's RHNA numbers by income level and stated he thought that three committee members hadhave expertise in development of affordable housing. It was his hope that anAn affordable housing subcommittee wouldwill be able to educate HEUAC regarding choices. Mayor O'Neill advised that Committee Members Bloom and Fruchbom have experience with affordable housing. Chair Tucker proposed Committee Members Selich and Sandland form a housing opportunity sites subcommittee, which will analyze sites for feasibility. HEUAC will form a subcommittee for outreach in the future. Jim Mosher asked if the affordable housing subcommittee will propose revisions to the goals and policies of the Housing Element and engage people living in or seeking affordable housing. Chair Tucker reported the purpose of the subcommittee is to assist HEUAC in understanding the financing and tax aspects of affordable housing and how the City can seek as many new affordable units as possible while still complying with RHNA. The subcommittee will not review the existing Housing Element regarding affordable housing fromor the vantage point of people living in or seeking affordable housing. Mayor O'Neill suggested if the City zones for affordable housing, it will happen. The question of whether the required number of affordable housing units can be constructed given the cost of land is legitimate. The Council needs to know if it is possible. If it is not possible, the Council needs to know the amounts of a subsidy and incentives that could achieve more affordable housing. The Council will need a primer on affordable housing and an explanation of what is needed to achieve affordable housing. In response to Committee Member DeSantis' question, Chair Tucker stated programs that involve larger employers in the City to incentivize affordable housing is outside HEUAC's purview, although Housing Element Update Advisory Committee - July 15, 2020 Item IV(a) Additional Materials Received 2 Housing Element Update Advisory Committee Meeting July 1, 2020 Page 5 of 5 he noted that is something that Committee Member DeSantis might want to discuss directly with the City Council. Chair Tucker invited the public to comment. Seeing no one wishing to comment, he moved, seconded by Committee Member Selich, to appoint Committee Members Bloom and Fruchbom and Chair Tucker to the affordable housing subcommittee and Committee Members Selich and Sandland and Chair Tucker to the housing opportunity sites subcommittee. AYE: Tucker, Bloom, DeSantis, Fruchbom, Kiley, LePlastrier, Sandland, Selich, Stevens NO: None ABSTAIN: None ABSENT: None d. Discuss Agenda Items for Next Meeting Recommended Action: No action taken Chair Tucker requested agenda items for a CEQA project description, a definition of substantial evidence, and an outreach process. In reply to Committee Member Selich's query, Principal Planner Jaime Murillo advised that the proposed recommendations for substantial evidence were taken from the initial legislative amendments. Chair Tucker invited the public to comment. Charles Klobe suggested committee members may be confronted by folks who need a planning incentive to make affordable housing work. Residents may be resigned to the RHNA number, but they may not accept the City granting a subsidy or incentive that the resident has to pay for. HEUAC may not find enough sites to comply with the requirements, but the State will be hard pressed to impose fines for not trying. V. COMMITTEE ANNOUNCEMENTS OR MATTERS WHICH MEMBERS WOULD LIKE PLACED ON A FUTURE AGENDA FOR DISCUSSION, ACTION OR REPORT (NON-DISCUSSION ITEM) Committee Member DeSantis requested the author of the in-fill capacity study address HEUAC regarding development trends and data from the study relevant to Newport Beach. Committee Member Sandland requested staff advise HEUAC regarding the consultant's work and how the consultant's work will affect HEUAC's work. In answer to Committee Member Bloom's question, Chair Tucker indicated HEUAC will receive information about housing units entitled or permitted before June 30, 2021. Community Development Director Jurjis recommended a presentation from the consultant regarding HCD's guidelines and information HCD is seeking. VI. ADJOURNMENT – 7:36 p.m. Next Meeting: July 15, 2020, 6 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. Housing Element Update Advisory Committee - July 15, 2020 Item IV(a) Additional Materials Received 2