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Human Services and Development Services Departments recommending the following pertaining to the Housing Advisory Committee:
1) Receive a list of applicants interested in serving on the Housing Advisory Committee;
2) Presentation by said Department staff on constraints and barriers to providing affordable housing, with two examples of projects;
3) Presentation by said Department staff relative to housing construction costs as provided by Mercy Housing California, a builder of affordable housing developments; and
4) Approve the formation of a Housing Advisory Committee in accordance with, and contingent upon, County Counsel approval of the Housing Advisory Committee Structure and By-Laws, which establishes the Committee structure, including sub-committees, and scope of work.
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Fiscal Impact/Change to Net County Cost: No change.
Background:
On August 14, 2007, the Board received a presentation by PMC Consultants and staffs from the Human Services and Development Services Departments. The Board also received and filed the Affordable Housing Options and Staff Reports. At the direction of the Board, staff returned on August 28, 2007 to provide further information on constraints and barriers relevant to provision of affordable housing and to receive instruction to continue to develop an Affordable Housing Policy. Staff was directed to return on September 25, 2007 with (1) a list of interested applicants to serve on the Housing Advisory Committee; (2) constraints maps and yields; (3) a breakdown of housing construction costs; and (4) recommendations on committee structure, sub committees and scope of work. On September 25, 2007, this item was continued to the October 16 agenda.
Issues/Analysis:
(1) Applicants for Housing Advisory Committee: A list of potential applicants is attached to this agenda item. (This attachment is #21 in the Legistar system.)
(2) Constraint Maps and Yields: The maps provided on August 28, 2007 show the extent of information presently available from the County's GIS resources. Since the mapping layers were prepared primarily for the 2004 General Plan, the information is provided at the "landscape" level, meaning that it is general information provided for the County as a whole, and while tied geographically to location, it is not at a level of detail that would provide for a site-by-site analysis. For example, information regarding public services only show whether a site is located within a service provider district, such as a fire protection district or water and/or sewer provider district. It does not show where the actual facilities are, or whether those facilities, such as water line or sewer lines have sufficient capacity to support new development without upgrades.
Members of the development community had hoped to provide staff some examples of the type of site analysis necessary to determine maximum yield for a site by identifying the various constraints that the sites pose. Unfortunately, we were unable to receive that information prior to the deadline for providing agenda items to your Board. What we know, though, is that it is not possible to identify, at the landscape level of review looking at the County as a whole, all of the constraints at the level of detail necessary to determine if a site is so constrained that an affordable housing project simply is not financially feasible so that they can be mapped.
A more thorough analysis at the County-wide level is intended to be done through the Housing Element update, although it is not likely that the level of detail done for individual sites can occur. Please refer to the Housing Element Update in number 4 for further discussion.
(3) Breakdown of Housing Construction Costs: One of the issues expressed by your Board is that the overall costs for construction of any dwelling units have skyrocketed, including land and permit costs. You asked for a breakdown of those costs to better understand the ability of developers to absorb the costs, and keep the price affordable. Mercy Housing, one of the few builders working in the County to provide affordable housing projects, provided such a breakdown. (This attachment is #23 in the Legistar system.) The spreadsheets show four different building types, assuming fees for the Placerville-El Dorado-Diamond Springs area, with housing prices range from $282,334 to $335,619 per unit:
· Rental Multifamily 3-story flats (50 units, 1, 2, 3 bedrooms)
Wood frame SOG construction, flat site, all infrastructure at site - $335,619 per unit
· For sale 2/3 Story Attached Townhome (30 units, 2-3 bedrooms) - $282,334 per unit
· For Sale Detached Single Family
(20 units, 2-story, 3-4 bedroom, 1300 sq. ft. w/ 2-car garage) - $334,323 per unit
· For Sale Self-Help Single Family
(20 units, 1-story, 3-4 bedroom, 1300 sq. ft. w/ 2-car garage) - $272,615 per unit
Details are contained in attachment #23.
Without completing complex analyses using multiple assumptions, it is not possible to directly correlate these costs to actual rents, but the figures below provide a glimpse at typical costs. Rents or sales prices are going to vary greatly depending on financing schemes the developer has put together, whether the project is subsidized through grants or tax credit programs, if rents are set, and many other factors.
(4) Recommendations on committee structure, sub committees and scope of work
Staff from the Human Services Department has prepared proposed by-laws for the structure, composition, and responsibilities of the Housing Advisory Committee. (This attachment is #24 in the Legistar system.) The proposed by-laws call for an 11-member body that represents various stakeholder segments, such as homebuilders, affordable housing consumers, industry representatives (building, real estate, and finance). the proposed by-laws call for ten initial subcommittees, including the Housing Element Update, fee programs, and "fast tracking" affordable housing and employment generating projects.
The Development Services Department has attached a scope of work for the Housing Element Update. (This attachment is #22 in the Legistar system.) The contract with the consulting firm selected by staff to prepare the update is expected to be before your Board in late October or early November. We anticipate that the contract will begin in January. The committee that is being considered could serve as an advisory committee for your Board and staff throughout the update process.
Action to be taken following Board approval:
Human Services and Development Services to proceed with approved recommendations.
Contact: Human Services: Doug Nowka, 621-6163
Development Services: Greg Fuz or Peter Maurer, 621-5355
Concurrences: County Counsel received the Housing Advisory Committee Structure and By-Laws for review concurrently with submission of the Board agenda item.