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HomeMy WebLinkAbout00 - Non-Agenda Item - CorrespondenceReceived After Agenda Printed April 13, 2021 Non -Agenda Item City Council Non Agenda Item 4/13/21 In two weeks, the Newport Beach City Council will be presented with a Draft of the Housing Element for approval to be sent to the State Housing and Community Development Department. The real due date is early in 2022. This submittal should be slowed down to give the Council time to get more education about what they are being asked to approve. This undertaking began in 2019 with the formation of a Housing Committee to begin the General Plan update. In 2020 a new committee was formed and it became the committee to focus on meeting the 4,845 RHNA housing mandate. Since that time all of us have been learning ... a lot. And with that knowledge have come more questions. Several residents have been attending meetings, reading state guidelines, talking to developers, and watching recordings of other cities Planning sessions. We now have a greater understanding of the complications of the draft the Council is being asked to submit. We are deeply concerned about the direction the City is taking with the Housing Element of our General Plan. We are not sure that the full Council is aware of the ramifications of the path they are on. With Covid this has been a challenging learning curve for all of us. However, we think the residents are beginning to take notice and if we continue this trajectory the City is in store for a devastating outcome. Today we ask residents to ask the Council to pause this process and seek some education. We believe a study session should be held as soon as possible. There are affordable housing experts that can speak to us and give us some alternate ideas about how we can meet the state mandate without devastating our precious city. We believe there is a compromise that is challenging to implement but can be embraced by the residents. We don't believe any of us could have known this before now. We have been working on an alternative Option for our Draft Housing Element and will share that with the council in the coming weeks. However, at this moment, we believe it is critically important that we slow down and be sure that each council member is fully informed of the potential consequences of submitting the proposed Draft Housing Element in the next few weeks. We have provided an outline of some of the things that we think each Council Member should have a thorough understanding of. These are complicated topics, and we feel that we need experts in the field of for-profit affordable housing and housing alternatives. Attached is the outline of topics that we recommend be covered and some suggestions for speakers to address these topics. We hope that you will take the concerns of unsuspecting Newport Beach residents and businesses to heart. They will begin to realize the consequences of our Housing Element when it is too late to make these changes. It is up to you to look out for the future of our precious city. We hope you will join us in gaining a full understanding of what is being proposed in our Draft Housing Element and make the necessary changes to it so we can arrive at a Draft that all of us can support and live with. Newport Beach is going to undergo a transformation in the next decade. Let's make informed decisions about what we are going to provide for our residents and businesses. Nancy Scarbrough Jean Watt Charles Klobe 4/12/21 Suggested Topics for Study Session Page 1 of 4 Inclusionary Requirements How can inclusionary zoning assist the City to control runaway high-density development? How does a 40% affordable/60% market -rate mixed income residential development project, or a 30% affordable/70% market -rate mixed income development project work in terms of financial feasibility, exactly? How can private investors and/or state/federal grants and funding contribute to affordable housing? What are the requirements attached to various types of funding? For example: percentage of very low, low, and moderate -income units required to be made available in the project receiving funds; length of time to maintain affordability of units; other requirements imposed by federal or state grants, tax-exempt bonds or private market funding. Is there a template or prototype affordable project (e.g. project size, number of units, or number of acres) that would be needed to make a project viable? How does the land value/cost affect the viability of an affordable housing project in Newport Beach? Overlay Zones How do overlay zones work and can they be eliminated when we achieve our RHNA requirements? How would this be done? Could there be an automatic sunset clause in the zoning ordinance to accomplish this? When are changes made to the City's Land Use Element and Zoning code? How is an overlay zone different than a policy or regulatory specific plan for targeted geographic opportunity areas? Mixed Income Developments Have we studied the value of creating public policy to allocate affordable housing and market rate units intelligently throughout the City in a way that will attract mixed income, for profit developers and how are we reflecting that in our RHNA allocation? How can we allocate low-income and market rate units intelligently throughout the City in a way that will address the problems created when affordable housing is concentrated in one area? Density Bonus State Laws- summary When is a Density Bonus "by right"? How does the State law required density bonus affect the numbers in the proposed Draft Housing Element? 4/12/21 Suggested Topics for Study Session Page 2 of 4 ADU's/JADU's State laws regarding property owner's rights and City controls — Summary What is the cost range of compliance? Hopefully, factual information provided by contractors. City ordinance vs. state requirements, basic requirements for compliance. Possible number existing, possible future numbers. What kinds of numbers are other cities using? What are the reporting requirements for the homeowner regarding affordability? What are the property tax consequences of improvements made to bring an ADU into compliance? What are the State requirements for an aggressive ADU/JADU approach in our Housing Element? Possible options for City approach to justification. 100% Affordable Projects Are 100% affordable projects created by non-profit affordable housing developers as well as market rate developers? What are the sources of funding for 100% affordable housing projects? What sources of public funding are available only for homeless and very low-income affordable housing? What sources of public/private funding are available only for moderate or "middle" income affordable housing? What is the typical density and number of units of a 100% affordable housing project? Would Newport Beach be able to achieve five 100% senior only affordable projects at approximately 90 units each, how? Could a 100% affordable housing project give a priority to Newport Beach residents who are seniors and/or essential workers, or families? 4/12/21 Suggested Topics for Study Session Page 3 of 4 Proposed Draft Housing Element Range of possible housing units: If this Draft Element is adopted, what is the total possible number of units, including bonus units? Actual number of property owners who have agreed to rezone? Why is Coastal Zone being avoided, except for carryover, especially with interest letter from Lido Village? "By -right" status of 5th Cycle carryover sites if built with an affordable component. How does this affect Banning Ranch? Basis for excess (more than RHNA) new above -moderate units in capacity tables: do those represent the number thought necessary to achieve development of the affordable units, or something independent of that? Repercussions for failure to comply with RHNA/ Housing Element Review of State fines and penalties, and what is likelihood that the State will impose fines or penalties, and when? Lawsuits by Housing Advocacy groups. Likely reasons for a lawsuit What are the possible outcomes for non-compliance? What about a strategy of submitting something that we know needs adjustment to work, and allowing ourselves the additional time to make adjustments? Timeline Last date to adopt Housing Element without penalty? Last date to submit draft, without penalty? Will Council review and approve draft before it is submitted? Impact of new state laws going into effect on January 1, 2022, or later, on Housing Element adopted before or after that date? Scope and timeline of EIR Is it being prepared prior to scoping? Negotiating with HCD Strategic Options 1. Housing Element Base Case - (Option 3) Pros • Fully meets RHNA requirements. • Affordable units disbursed throughout the Newport Beach and not concentrated within the airport area. 4/12/21 Suggested Topics for Study Session Page 4 of 4 • Minimum number of above -moderate units. • Addresses needs of existing residents (seniors) and local workers. • Fewer environmental impacts • Accessory Dwelling Units — existing units would be grandfathered in and brought up to code. • Acknowledges that ADU's/JADU's will be built anyway based on new state law. Cons • Inclusionary zoning minimum requirements might negatively affect for-profit residential developers. • Restricts the number of new above moderate units. 2. Housing Element Option 2 — Pros • Meets RHNA Affordable Housing Requirements • Buffer addresses "no net loss" • Variable Inclusionary Zoning Requirements provides developer flexibility. Cons • Significantly exceeds above -moderate income unit RHNA requirement. • Encourages Banning Ranch development • In -lieu fee policy could work against dispersal of the units across the city, concentrating units in fewer locations. Unintended Consequences and Oversights What have we missed? New laws in the California legislature (SB9 and SB10 specifically) — Impacts on our Housing Element once our Housing Element is adopted and we have revised our zoning code? Suggested Speakers Michael Costa, Highridge Costa Housing Companies National Community Renaissance (National Core) Steve PonTell, President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Ruane (Corona Del Mar Resident, and former planning director for the County of Orange. For the past several years, Senior/Executive Vice President for National Renaissance (National Core) www.National Rennaissance.org YIMBY LAW Newport Beach Planning Commission 100 Civic Center Drive Newport Beach, CA 92550 April 3, 02, Received After Agenda Printed April 13, 2021 Non -Agenda Item Re: INITIAL DRAFT OF THE GENERAL PLAN HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE (PA2017-141) Dear Newport Beach Planning Commission: YIMBY Law is a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit organization dedicated to make housing more accessible and affordable by promoting and enforcing compliance with state housing law in California. YIMBY Law enforces state laws by advising localities of their obligations under state law, and filing lawsuits against those localities when they fail to comply. Examples of some of our recent cases include litigation against the city of Simi Valley for denying a residential care facility for seniors in violation of the HAA, and litigation against the state Department of Housing and Community Development for assigning a Regional Housing Need Assessment for the San Francisco Bay Area that is too low, in violation of state law. As part of the RHNA process, every local government in California is required to make plans to accommodate their fair share of the regional need for affordable housing in the "housing element" of their general plans. YIMBY Law organizes and provides technical assistance to pro -housing activists all over California who are interested in advocating for housing elements that realistically plan for housing, and that distribute affordable and dense housing equitably across cities. YIMBY Law has partnered closely with People for Housing OC on housing element advocacy in Orange County. We are writing today regarding the new requirement that Housing Elements Affirmatively Further Fair Housing. Government Code Section 8899.50 requires that all housing elements passed after Jan 1 2021 must affirmatively further fair housing. What does it mean to "affirmatively further fair housing?" There are 4 aspects in the code: 1. Address significant disparities in housing needs and in access to opportunity, 2. Replac[e) segregated living patterns with truly integrated and balanced living patterns, 3. Transform racially and ethnically concentrated areas of poverty into areas of opportunity, and 4. Foster and maintain compliance with civil rights and fair housing laws. Newport Beach's Housing Element as written does not address all of these aspects. In particular, in the current draft, there is no mention of how Newport Beach plans to "replace segregated living patterns with truly integrated and balanced living patterns." According to Figure 3-8 on page 70 of the draft Housing Element, most of Newport Beach's census block groups are 75%-100% white, and 4 block groups are 95-100% white. Newport Beach's housing element has to explain how it is going to "replace" this existing "segregated living pattern with a truly integrated and balanced living pattern" as the law requires. There is no discussion at all of how Newport Beach is going to address these racially concentrated areas. The law requires housing element explain how these areas became segregated and articulate policies that will desegregate them. YIMBY Law is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation, whose mission is to increase the accessibility and affordability of housing in California. I am signing this letter both in my capacity as an employee of YIMBY Law and as a resident of California who is affected by the shortage of housing in our state. Best regards, Sonja Trauss Executive Director YIMBY Law sonja(Nyimbylaw.ora i YIMBY Sue the Suburbs. LAW