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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/08/1981M I N U T E S ADJOURNED MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1981 - 7:00 P.M. COUNCIL HEARING ROOM, CITY HALL, 990 PALM STREET SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA STUDY SESSION ROLL CALL Councilmembers Present: GlennaDeane Dovey, Ron Dunin, Robert Griffin; Allen Settle, and Mayor Melanie C. Billig . Absent: None City Staff Present: Bill Hanley, Interim Administrative Officer; Pamela Voges, City Clerk; Henry.Engen, Community Development Director; Geoff Grote, Legal Assistant Others Present: Human Relations members Steve Nelson, Charles Link, Donald O'Connor, Ruth Wirshup and Mildred Rockview -----------------------------------------------------------------=------ 1. REPORT OF ACTIVITIES OF STANDING COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEES— A. Area Council of Governments Councilwoman Dovey No report as committee had not met since the last Council report. B. County Water Advisory Committee Mayor Billig No report as committee had not met since the last Council meeting. C. North Coastal Transportation Councilman Settle No report as committee had not met since the last Council meeting. D. Parking Committee Councilman Dunin Councilman Dunin reported that the committee was still discussing additional alternatives for possible reduction of assessments to property owners. He stated that the next report would be submitted by the consultant. E. Whale Rock Commission Mayor Billig No report as the commission had not met since the last Council meeting. F. Zone 9 Advisory Committee Councilman Dunin No report as the committee had not met since the last Council meeting. 2. HOUSING AUTHORITY /CITY COUNCIL JOINT STUDY SESSION Council reviewed with the City Housing Authority policies and programs along with future needs. City Council Minutes December 8, 1981 - 12:10 p.m. Page 2 Steve Nelson, Housing Authority Chairperson, stated that his primary concern was what the future holds for low- income public housing. He was interested in getting Council feedback and discussing where the Housing Authority is at this time. He explained that housing assistance needs now show that family housing needs represent 72 percent and elderly housing representing 28 percent. He explained that of our total assisted housing of 374 units, 135 were for traditional public housing and 239 units under Section 8 for housing assistance. He stated the Housing ' Authority went before the Board of Supervisors recently to discuss a County wide program as over 500 people have come to H.A. from outside the city for low- income housing and they were unable to help them. Households assisted in 1981 worked out to be about 50/50, elderly vs. family needing low- income housing. Of these groups, 55 percent were white, 25 percent Hispanic, 18 percent Black, and 2 percent Asian. He said that some of these people have waited up to five years to be placed in housing. Under Section 8 they are working on applications on an average of up to two years depending upon the housing the individual is looking for. His response to a statement often heard, "We don't want to help the low- income housing," he explained, that in over 44 percent of the families, the family heads are employed. He further commended Rick Chubon, Executive Director for the Housing Authority, on his insight on making a preliminary application for housing needs. Subsequently, the appraisal of the parcel of property was found to be more than the County had expected it to cost; so it appears that the Housing Authority is high on the eligibility list. He added the Housing Authority apparently has $750,000 available for rehabilitation of 18 more units, probably triplexes and fourplexes, and they are looking at Casa De Vida and Friendship School for the elderly and handicapped. He stated their primary purpose for coming to the Council this evening was because they have funds, they are applying for additional funds; but they have no sites and most of these applications are contingent upon a site already being available. They would request the Council give guidance for specific sites that might-be available to the Housing Authority. He stated the Housing Authority was right in line with 202 money for the handicapped and elderly as there was not much competition from other agencies, but he is not sure that they can qualify as they have no site location. He felt the Granada Hotel is a possibility for 11 units and the Park Hotel for an additional 40 units. He stated the Housing Authority has been unable to produce any units for 10 years and that now was the first good opportunity for them to do so. Councilman Settle agreed with comments by Mr. Nelson and supported taking.advantage of the funds now because, with the Reagan cuts, this may be a thing of the past. He further questioned.whether mortgage subsidies were given as opposed to only rental subsidies. Ruth Wirshup explained that most people interested in the Housing Authority program were not interested in owning their own homes. Steve Nelson agreed that most low and middle- income housing is rental because those people were not interested in buying.. When you talk about buying, you are talking about middle -class buyers. He reiterated the need for sites if they were to ever get funding. He was talking about this as a prerequisite before applying. He added that the city would receive the fair market value:for any surplus properties they sell to the H.A. He brought up the Gudel property again as a possibility, although the Council had stated that they did not feel it was appro- priate at the time the Housing Authority originally requested it. He would still like to consider possibly using this property in an exchange for another more appropriate site. In response to Councilwoman Dovey's question, he stated the city would own the property; but the Housing Authority would be able to use it in exchange for property elsewhere. Councilman Griffin stated that this type of leverage was exactly what the Housing Authority needed to use for trading arrangements, and he would-like to see this criteria laid out. City Council Minutes December 8, 1981 - 12:10 p.m. Page 3 Councilman Settle stated he also supported the idea of exchange. This has been done in many areas of California, and he felt it was an extremely good idea. Councilman Dunin was concerned that although it is effective, it takes a great deal of time and ties up the property for a long period of time. He still did not feel the Gudel property was appropriate but could support this concept. He felt that this property might be more advanta- geous if the city were to sell the Gudel property to make the corporation yard possible. He also was not sure that this was a good location for low- income housing. Councilwoman Dovey agreed with the concept of exchange. Ruth Wirshup stated she was pleased the Council was supportive of this concept. She felt the two agencies must work together and develop a list of sites. The money was available, but the property was the real road block. Councilman Settle reminded them also that there was the potential of any applicant for development of a large piece of property to dedicate a portion of that land for this purpose. Councilman Griffin suggested that maybe the city ought to be more systematic about property management with a coordinated effort to develop property use alternatives. Councilman Dunin stated he would be opposed to the city getting any more involved in property management. The Housing Authority has always been very strong, and he would support their acting as a strong advisory body with added independence. Mayor Billig also stressed the need for keeping the lines of communi- cation open between the Housing Authority and the city, making the Council aware of the problems as they happen. Ruth Wirshup explained that part of the difficulty stemmed from the Council's membership continuing to change, as well as the members of the Housing Authority; and each time there is a slightly different perspective. Steve Nelson explained that in view of the recent Central Government policies, he felt it was necessary that the Housing Authority not be as independent as they have been but rather work closer with the Council in administering their programs. Mayor Billig agreed that the Council sees the roles change all the time. She felt the Council is happy to know where the agencies are expending their efforts. She felt that although the Council reads all.the minutes, usually minutes cannot tell all; the legislative reasons and subsequent actions. She emphasized that the city was still not so large that individual H.A. members -could not go to the Council and explain current problems. Councilman Settle stated the Housing Authority is the property manage- ment arm in land use planning. He would like to see the Housing Author- ity take advantage of that. Mayor Billig felt that new construction was important, however, the city should take a two - pronged approach: 1) new sites and 2) what is happening to the valuable stock in the community (demolition, and.office conversions). Every time a demolition or an office conversion is made, the city,has to do double -time to make up for the lost housing stock. We have to look very hard at our present stock each time we allow another use. We need to be responsive to our total housing needs. Councilman Dunin added that he would be very supportive of giants towards programs to explore joint housing for elderly and student housing, etc. City Council Minutes December 8, 1981 - 12:10 p.m. Page 4 Donald O'Connor would also encourage the city to look to new develop- ments for low- income housing, such as the Edna -Islay project. Upon question by "Councilwoman Dovey, Steve Nelson stated that out of 150 units possible, they have only built 15. He suggested that property behind General Hospital, although County property, might possibly be used for an additional 24 units. He would like to see a coordinated effort between the City and the County for acquiring this piece of ' property and any influence that the city might have would be appreciated. Councilman Dunin felt that the city did not have much influence; however, if the property was on the open market, the city would have first purchase option. If the Housing Authority had the money, then something might be worked out. Steve Nelson also brought up the possibility that the County has consid- ered establishing their own Housing Authority. He felt this would duplicate this Commission's efforts,and he would hope that the County and City could work together using one commission to deal with both City and County needs. Mayor Billig cautioned that there were other-problems involved in a .joint City /County authority. Councilwoman Dovey felt that the City had an obligation to assist in the provision of sheltering to those who cannot provide it for themselves. Councilman Griffin stated he would like to see the Housing Authority pursue establishing housing projections and needs so that programs can be anticipated and not being reactive. Maybe an ad hoc task force could follow through on something like that. Regarding siting, he would like to see mutual coordination between the City and the County. He would encouragean annual Housing Authority report to explain current programs. Councilman Settle stated he would like to see large developments give sites towards housing for dedication being used for exchanging purposes, look to smaller units for more intense use, he felt traditional mix was important, and would like to see a broader communication between the city and the County. Councilman Dunin would encourage the Housing Authority to have a monthly report or presentation or (possibly on a quarterly basis) to extend their activities to become not only an advisory body, but become a body which assists the Council on the shelter problem; he was a great believer in helping those to help themselves. He felt in many cases these people had the money, but they did not know how to use it. Mayor Billig wished the authority to know that if they felt it was important to keep in touch with the Council on a monthly or quarterly basis, that they were welcome; but she did not want.them to feel it was mandatory. She would like for them to try to help the other groups, i.e. RSVP, etc., who have similar problems.- She would like to see more coordination with these other types of groups. She felt that-housing was not going to be a real crucial problem in the next ten years, and she wanted them to know the Council would always be available: 8:55 p.m. Mayor Billig declared a recess. 9:05 p.m. City Council reconvened,, all Councilmembers present. ' 3. EDNA -ISLAY SPECIFIC PLAN Council continued their consideration of the Edna -Islay Specific Plan (continued from 8/11, 8/31, 9/29 and 11/9). Mayor Billig explained that because of the technical nature of this development and its magnitude, she did'not feel the Council should rush any-decisions on these issues. She wished to go over and be sure that there was general consensus on several items: City Council Minutes December 8, 1981 - 12:10 p.m. Page 5 1) That the development have a good housing mix (some standard subdivision approach, i.e., duplexes, triplexes, etc.) with the flavor of the same conglomeration as other neighborhoods in the community. She felt this was especially true for the Edna side. 2) A project that has R -1 and R -2 densities. 3) Scale of the development was important (planning and designing the neighborhood. 4) Affordable housing was what the Council wanted and would "encourage. 5) Look towards quality but on a smaller scale with a market.that.is different than it has been in the past.. Quality homes on a smaller scale with innovative approaches to provide affordable housing. 6) Supportive of the park and open space,. development to be given incentive for this. 7) Council's concerns were primarily not with the .Islay side, but. rather the Edna side. She continued that she talked with the developer, and he appeared to be comfortable with where the Council was coming from. She felt another significant point to consider was supplemental water and where the city was right now. She felt the project should be considered with the overall capital costs and impacts on the community in mind. She also talked with the developer on the possibility of extending the phasing, which he agreedto..The developer felt that 200 units in the first.three years would make a viable project. The overall outside time the project would require would be from 11 to 12 years, with the absolute outside to be 12 years. This would also include Dr. DeVincenzo's portion of the project which is one of the last phases. She felt that the Council needed to consider the overall character of the neighborhood mix and R -1 and R -2 as to how it fits into the overall project and consider afford- able housing. Terry Sanville, Senior Planner, stated that the Council had asked the staff to come back with additional calculations showing the effect of applying lower based densities to the Edna and Islay areas. Alternative ways of calculating buildable area were also to be studied. He would suggest the Council review the material and, 1) select one of the three alternative methods for determining that buildable area or develop another acceptable alternative, 2) specify the base density that shall be applied to the buildable area within the Edna and the Islay area, 3) give additional direction to the staff and the consultants on how the intensity of development desired by the Council might be achieved in the planning area, 4) resolve the type of housing programs that should be included in the draft specific plan. He continued that the Council had asked to see the results of applying a base density of 4.5 to 5.5-units per net acre in the Edna area and 4.0 to 5.0 units per acre in the Islay area.. Three different methods of calculating that buildable area were evaluated; the results of the studies showed that number of housing units allowed in the Edna area .could range from 319 to 516. The number of units in the Islay area could range from 302 to 440. .Total housing in the area could range from 621 to 956 units. Once the Council agreed upon a base density and a method for calculating the buildable area, the land use map might have to be changed. If densities lower than recommended by the Planning Commission were selected, the Council should also consider the following strategies and give staff and consultants further direction. 1) Change most medium - density areas to low- density areas, the remaining multi - family areas would be built at 12 units per acre; 2) retain the proposed amount of area for multi - family housing but develop it at lower densities, say 9 units per net acre (about the same as R -1 - PD); 3) develop the entire area with single -fam- ily houses at the maximum density allowed by the recently amended R -1 zone (7 units per acre). The precise feasibility of any of those strategies would depend on the base density and method for calculating 1 D 1 City Council Minutes December 8, 1981 - 12:10 p.m. Page 6 buildable area selected by the Council. Alternately, the solution would probably be a combination of the three shown above. However, the Council should state its preference if it had a specific position at this time. He reminded the Council, too, that the original plans submitted to the Planning Commission and accepted in 1977 was acceptable by staff then and was acceptable by staff now. Staff would support the original plan and goals. Some changes have been made since that time and dealt with regarding to bonuses, etc.,.however, for the most part, ' the original plan was fine as it stood. Councilwoman Dovey stated that she had no problem with figuring the net buildable units with either Alternate 1 or 3. Councilman Settle had the following recommendations: 1) to accept Alternate #1 for 1000 units supporting a base density as applied to the buildable area of 5.5 acres; 2) reduce the mix for moderate housing; 3) regarding type of housing, he would like to see the Housing Authority low- income housing be mandatory and the bonus enabling; 4) bonus should apply to both sides, both Edna and Islay. Councilwoman Dovey would have both areas treated the same for density use. She felt that if you allow changes in the numbers using a bonus, both sides should be able to use it. She would like to keep all housing R -1 and R -2. She felt a slight change in the land use map might be required to compensate for the overall reduction. She would agree with Councilman Settle to start with 1000 units and go from there. Councilman Dunin stated that because the Council had increased the overall density to 7 units, the overall density for this project should be increased to 6 units per acre, and he would, therefore, support the reduction to one because housing is the ail problem; he felt they should not be reducing the density. He disagreed with the other two areas. One side would be more expensive than the other because one side would be more guilded than the other. He would support rental housing but it should be "an investment rental" i.e., triplexes, fourplexes, etc. He would agree that both areas be R -1 and R -2 in nature but if there were plans for fourplexes, then this might result in a density problem, which should be taken under consideration. The 11 to 12 year phasing period would be acceptable to him. He did not agree to make it mandatory for a dedication of land for Housing Authority use but would agree with the developer if they got the density bonus, then they would set aside the property with a reasonable time to build those units. Councilman Griffin would support Alternate #1 as he agreed with the methodology used in it. Terry Sanville stated that staff would also encourage Alternate #1 to encourage the type of open space which are a benefit to these neighborhoods; but this alternate would still allow control of the overall density. Henry'Engen reminded the Council that they still have a range of from 4 to 7 units; this would be important; and it will all depend upon the character of the property as to what number.they would finally come up with. After brief discussion and upon general consensus, the following was agreed upon: 1) maximum development during the.first three years would ' be 200 units, 2) the build -out period would be from 11 to 12 years, 3) the alternate method #1 for calculation of the buildable acreage would be used (93.9 acres, Edna and 88.0 acres, Islay), 4) 5.5 units per acre would be the base density for both areas, and 5) to retain the desig- nated area of medium - density residential would be retained but the density limited to 9 units per acre. (5 -0) Mayor Billig also reminded the Council to look carefully at the EIR when this item comes back to the Council for its final adoption as they would only have one crack at it. City Council Minutes December 8, 1981 - 12:10 p.m. Page 7 9:55 p.m. Council convened in Closed Session. 10:40 p.m. City:Council reconvened, all Councilmembers present. There being no further business to come before the City Council, Mayor Billig adjourned the meeting to Monday, December 14, 1981, at.12:10 p.m. i" C`,. Pa ela Voges, City Clerk 1 L' / APPROVED BY COUNCIL: 1/5/82 r, M I N U T E S ADJOURNED MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO MONDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1981 - 12:10 P.M. COUNCIL HEARING ROOM, CITY HALL, 990 PALM STREET SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA STUDY SESSION Roll Call Councilmembers Present: GlennaDeane Dovey, Ron Dunin, Robert Griffin, Allen I Settle, and Mayor Melanie C. Billig Absent: None City staff Present: Pamela Voges, City Clerk; Henry Engen, Community Development Director; Dave Romero, Public Services Director; Terry Sanville, Senior Planner; Glen Matteson, Assistant Planner E -1. RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION FOR WILLIAM HANLEY On motion of Councilwoman Dovey, seconded by Councilman Settle, the following resolution was introduced: Resolution No. 4690 (19.81 Series), a Resolution of Appreciation expressing.the city's gratitude and appreciation to William C. Hanley, Interim City Administrator for,the period July 30, 1981,to December 18, 1981. Passed and adopted on the following roll call vote: AYES: Councilmembers Dovey, Settle, Dunin, Griffin, and Mayor Billig NOES: None ABSENT: None E -2. RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION FOR HENRY ENGEN On motion of Councilwoman Dovey, seconded by Councilman Settle, the following resolution was introduced: Resolution No. 4691.(1981.Series), a Resolution of Appreciation expressing the city's gratitude and