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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/21/2003, C11 - RESOLUTION URGING THE CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE TO REJECT THE GOVERNOR'S PROPOSED SHIFT OF LOCAL VEHI I RECEIVED JAN 21 200' counat acEnaa SLO CITY CLERK CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO CITY HALL, 990 PALM STREET Tuesday, January 21 , 2003 ADDENDUM #2 ADDED CONSENT ITEM: C11. RESOLUTION R .IN G THE CALIFORNIA LE .IS AT IR TO REJECIIHIL GOVERNOR'S PROPOSED.SHIET OF LOCAL VEHICLE I NS F (VLF) REVENUES AND TO HONOR THE 1999 COMMITMENT TO RESTORE THE VLF TO ITS NORMAL LEVEL (GEORGE/KISER) RECOMMENDATION: Adopt a resolution urging the California Legislature to reject the Governor's proposed shift of local VLF revenues and honor the 1998 commitment to restore the VLF to its normal level. ® Regular City Council meetings are broadcast on KCPR, 91.3 FM and Charter Cable Channel 20. The City of San Luis Obispo is committed to include the disabled in all of its services,programs,and activities. Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (805)781-7410. Please speak to the City Clerk prior to the meeting if you require a hearing amplification device. For more agenda information,call 781-7103. COUP: _ 0 CDD DIR CAO la FIN DIR RED FILE eACAO FIRE CHIEF ZrATTORNEY RAV DIR M ING AGENDA .0 CLERK/ORIG Z ROUCE CHF DAITEM # �I ❑ D PT HEADS y;'R=C DF' SHR DIR Public Tree Plantings Jan. 21,2003 lcoolearth.org All ages are welcome Saturday,January 25, 11 am to 3pm Morro Bay State Park Planting 100 small Oak trees on Black Hill near highway One. Black Hill is the Pine covered hill on the south side of Highway 1 that every one sees as they approach Morro Bay. It's a beautiful wild, undeveloped area of the State Park favored by hikers and wildlife. The past 10 years have seen an astounding Die-off of the Monterey Pines to the point where a forest may not be there at all unless other native trees are planted. The small trees have been grown from local seed and the soil on Black Hill is sandy and easy to dig. The terrain is gently sloping and quite open and even small children can plant with an adults assistance. Bring a shovel, wear work clothes, and bring some drinking water. Pizza will be provided later . Meet on La Loma st. 1 block uphill from Quintana road,which parallels Hwy 1 between South Bay Blvd and Morro Bay Blvd.. For more information call Lionel at 772-1701 or Bryan at 235-2319 Sunday February 2, 1 pm to 4pm Whale Rock Reservoir, Cayucos, Ca. Plant 200+native Cypress, Oak,Redwood, and Sycamore With Girl scouts from Los Osos, Morro Bay, and Cayucos at a very beautiful but eroding , man made Lake that is a water supply for San Luis Obispo, Cuesta College, Cal Poly, and Camp San Luis Obispo. These are small trees and easy to plant. Bring a shovel,wear work clothes, and bring some drinking water. There are no trees there now, so whatever we do will really add to the environment. The reservoir is located on Old Creek Road; one mile off of Highway One at the South end of Cayucos. There is a stop light on Highway One. For information Call Lionel 772-1701 or 441-1752. Saturday,March 1, 2003, l Oam to 3pm Laguna Jr. High, San Luis Obispo, Ca. Plant 200 + Redwoods and Oaks in previously prepared holes, to replace the hundreds of existing eucalyptus trees on campus which are dying of eucalyptus pests. Bring a shovel, wear work clothes and get ready to have some FUN beautifying the school. Keep in mind that the Coastal School District has no budget for this so if volunteers don't plant new trees this will be an ugly, windswept place. For information call Lionel at 772-1701 or 441-1752 WV C7 .f - e 1-4 1 . 15 acid - y posit zp4l�t-Ofth6 F y it y San.-L 4/bis'P,O YCYaber ofoaece 1 \~ - �an uay� X003 \r Workforce Housing: Challenges and Responses Table of Contents Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 A 20/20 View of Housing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 What Choices Does the Business Community Have? . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Processes and Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 A position paper of the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce Developed by the 2002 Housing Task Force Carlyn Christianson, Task Force Chair Task Force Members Kimberley Conti,Century 21 Realty Lynn Cooper,Pacific Oak Foreclosure Services(former mayor) John French,real estate consultant Charlie Fruit,Coast National Bank Gabe Garcia,CPA,Barbich Longcrier Hooper&King Donna Lewis,Pacific Republic Mortgage Corp. George Moylan, San Luis Obispo County Housing Authority Jeanne Potter,CPA, Glenn Burdette Philips&Bryson Jonathan Reich,Cal Poly,College of Architecture Charley Senn, Senn Commercial and Industrial Real Estate(past-chair,planning commission) Sandi Sigurdson, San Luis Obispo Symphony Scott Smith,People's Self-Help Housing Elizabeth(Biz) Steinberg,Economic Opportunity Commission Patti Whelen, Cannon and Associates Staff Dave Garth, President/CEO Patricia Wilmore, Director of Governmental Affairs Workforce Housing: Challenges and Responses,Page 2 Background At its 2001 retreat, the San Luis Obispo Chamber's Board of Directors determined that lack of affordable workforce housing was the number one business issue facing the community. For that reason, a Housing Task Force was formed in early 2002 to first study the issue, prepare findings for the Board and advocate solutions. The problem was confirmed by anecdotal evidence gathered by the Chamber and the media, as well as scientifically valid data from the California Department of Housing, the UCSB Economic Forecast Project, and the local ACTION for Healthy Communities 2001 Community Survey. The Chamber's September 2002 membership survey shows that, a year later, the situation continues to be of significant concern. As reported in the survey, 85%of respondents agreed that the Chamber needs to � •=•�" focus on housing as a major part of its program and 83%agreed that the cost of housing has made it more difficult to hire well-qualified employees. Members report that even when cost is not the predominant factor, availability certainly is. The recommendations which follow were developed by the Chamber's Housing Task Force and, after review, endorsed by the Chamber's Board of Directors. Initially, the Task Force agreed that it would spend one year working on the housing issue, and then evaluate its usefulness to the Chamber. Task Force members felt strongly that modest, incremental goals were not only important in terms of what can Home Prices in SLO actually be accomplished and measured, but also for psychological 400 reasons. The housing issue is of 350300- enormous proportions and 0 zso ramifications, and incremental S200- progress would help those who feel ,00 "this is just too big to tackle." 50 0 19951996199719981999200020012002 Workforce Housing: Challenges and Responses,Page 3 A 20/20 View of Housing "Nothing is going to solve the housing crisis in San Luis Obispo." Even though this is a truism often used to justify the wringing of hands and lack of action by leaders, it is a truism best left behind; doing nothing will surely make the future even worse. Specific, significant steps can be taken to address our city's housing challenges. Many of the reasons behind the current housing problems in San Luis Obispo are not specific to the city itself. These external factors include California's increased population, the decline in public funds to address infrastructure, and the growth restrictions and environmental concerns arising in y past decades. In San Luis Obispo the problems are exacerbated by its highly desirable coastal location, the added pressures of two large educational facilities, an influx of wealthy out of ` t c town buyers willing to purchase housing at big- city prices, and an historically lower local wage structure as a formerly"rural" area of California. The San Luis Obispo area is an extremely desirable place to live, work or retire and will continue to attract and retain people with the ability to buy homes at prices which cannot be afforded by many Even substandard housing in San Luis Obispo is local residents. beyond the means of many of our citizens. The Chamber has long recognized that a livable, balanced community depends on widely diverse types of workers—from field workers to police officers, waiters to bank tellers, teachers to nurses, doctors to software technicians—and each has to have somewhere to live. Typically less expensive starter homes such as condominiums, apartments, duplexes, v ' manufactured homes, and smaller single family detached homes are all in short supply and are very ' expensive. i IR This small 1,000 square foot house sold for $375,000 last year. Workforce Housing: Challenges and Responses,Page 4 The City of San Luis Obispo is now the fourth least affordable housing market in the nation. Clearly, the gap between wages and housing costs has reached crisis proportions. In 2001, 47.5% of respondents to anACTION for Healthy Communities survey stated that one-half or more of their income went to housing, including utilities. Local school populations are down and schools are closing, neighborhood character is changing and the homeless shelter population of families is increasing.According to the 2002 UCSB Economic Forecast Project, in the past five years, population growth in the City has been less than 1%while job growth has been 24%. In 2001,the City of San Luis Obispo issued permits for only 109 single family units and 23 multiple family units. While we are unlikely to build our way out of this crisis or to increase wages to meet costs, an effort must be made to build more units in the affordable to moderate price range that are available to our workforce. SLO Housing Affordability Index E 40- 35 - Cb 035 m 30 'o `0 25- 20- 15- 10- 5- 0 520151050 1992 1993 19941995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Workforce Housing:Challenges and Responses,Page 5 What choices does the business community have? Both empirical and anecdotal evidence point to established businesses relocating to communities where housing is within reach of manufacturing employees(e.g.,Ernie Ball), community leaders choosing work in other areas where owning a home is possible (e.g., San Luis Obispo High School's Principal)and companies missing opportunities to hire topnotch professionals because of the county's high housing costs and limited supply(e.g., Promega BioSciences). Government, services and retail trade account for about 75%of the city's employment or 30,600 jobs and do not typically provide the highest paying jobs.Lack of housing affordability causes increased commuting times, leading to increased pollution,more crowded roads,and less time at home with family. Quality of life suffers and the social balance of the community} ted. ty is disrupted. A lack of workforce housing in San Luis Obispo is already affecting each of us, in Most of the new housing being built in SLO consists of services not available and higher prices for expensive,detached single family homes. every service and product.With the flight of families from our city to more affordable areas, we are exporting our future.Dr.Bill Watkins confirmed this in his Economic Outlook Report for 2003 in which the demographics highlight the aging of our population and a noticeable gap in the number of residents in the 38-45 age range. San Luis Obispo needs more housing developed immediately if we are to maintain our economic health and vitality as well as the social fabric. Workforce Housing: Challenges and Responses,Page 6 Process and Goals The Chamber's Housing Task Force(CHTF)members divided housing issues into four broad categories: 1. Funding and Costs 2. Zoning and Land Use 3. Infrastructure Challenges • " - Y. 4. Political Issues involving the t public,the media and our elected and appointed leadership. Within each of these categories,the group's goals and recommended actions ' are as follows: 1. Address the funding and cost ^ aspect by investigating areas where { the Chamber could support new revenue sources for housing. The community also needs to �'. understand the benefits of money spent on housing.Although = ', housing is seen as a"financial ' . = z loser"in the City's budget,we People living in SLO strengthen the community need to understand that when both economically and socially. people live here,more of their income stays here and gets cycled into the system for services.This benefits and strengthens the community both economically and socially.Both the private and public sector need to work together to understand the actual cost of creating housing. Decision makers have been reluctant to look at real numbers and to take the steps needed to bring costs down. To that end, Chamber staff and the CHTF chair spoke persuasively during public comment at a Cuesta College Trustees meeting in support of putting college resources into exploring new alterative housing options for Cuesta students.The CHTF also unanimously recommended to the Chamber Board that the Chamber officially support the concept of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, a recommendation the Board adopted. 2. Address the zoning and land use aspect by making specific suggestions to the City for changes in the zoning and land use elements that would encourage, streamline and provide incentives for housing development within the city. Zoning changes are needed to allow greater density and concurrently make the permitting process reliable and efficient.Developers need to be able to depend Workforce Housing: Challenges and Responses,Page 7 a 1i f r! on what the General Plan and the Housing Element state in ti^ �L regard to allowed uses so that projects can proceed in a timely manner without facing undue,costly and seemingly endless levels of review and alteration.The Chamber encourages more diversity in housing type and affordability,while still following the General Plan and the City's important goals regarding the preservation of urban a ° reserve lines and open space. This goal dovetailed perfectly with the City beginning work on its Housing Element Update. Specific suggestions were passed to the City,and the Chamber expects to be included on any public outreach committee formed to work on the Housing Element Update. The City's uncertain,costly,complex and lengthy review process is a significant obstacle to new housing development. 3. The Chamber's Housing Task Force specifically declined to address major infrastructure implications of housing development during this year.These issues were felt to best be addressed by other Committees and Task Forces of the Chamber,such as the Water Task Force and the Economic Development Committee.The CHTF notes that, in addition to water,roads and transportation issues are a major aspect of housing development that may need special attention.One critical City policy that has hampered residential development calls for new development to"pay its own way."This policy has been used as a method to fund transportation and other improvements currently needed-even without any new develo at will serve many existingthresidents. In some o i' cases,these additional costs are enough to make a prospective residential development economically unfeasible. `': 4) Address the political aspect by taking several types of action involving both education and ° advocacy. First,membership involvement and education was The cost of infrastructure improvements which encouraged and supported.The benefit the entire community must be more fairly distributed. Chamber gathered feedback and opinion through member surveys, its slobusiness.com newsletter and E-Insider, and by scheduling housing speakers at the Good Morning San Luis Obispo monthly membership breakfast. Workforce Housing: Challenges and Responses,Page 8 Second,media involvement and education was promoted through those same avenues. Dramatic, interesting membership stories,along with the hard cold facts,were provided to the media on a regular basis. Indeed,the CHTF discovered that,merely by forming the task force,the Chamber went a very long way toward bringing the problem to the media's attention. Third, a specific and focused effort was made to educate city leadership and the general population regarding the importance of adequate housing to the city's economic vitality.A number of CHTF meetings were held with individual City planning staff and planning commissioners.One-on-one meetings by Chamber staff and individual CHTF members with City council members also occurred, and were felt to be important in addressing the political aspect. The problem of NIMBYism was addressed specifically at all these meetings,as well as discussions regarding the other aspects of the housing issue in the areas of cost, zoning and land use. :;7 71 f? _ � `i i�� `may/il�^ � �`T-✓� _? 5' Very few new apartment units have been constructed recently,even though rental apartrnents can be both attractive and affordable. Workforce Housing:Challenges and Responses, Page 9 1 Recommendations It is important for the Chamber to take a number of actions on several fronts. Positive results can be accomplished with a united effort of the.Housing Task Force, other Chamber committees and task forces, the Chamber staff and general membership. The San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce Housing Task Force recommends that the Board reconvene a Housing Task Force for at least one more year with a focused agenda. Listed below are 20 recommendations for action in 2003. • Keep(. focused on the goal of producing more actual housing units. ^ i Don't be satisfied with lip service from elected officials, government staff or anyone else. Keep pressuring for i-''''` decisions that get housing built. i • Concurrently maintain and protect the Chamber's environmental priorities. European-style condo projects use Communicate with Chamber membership to educate and land more efficiently and should gather feedback on housing issues. be more affordable.. • Keep Chamber members informed about what the housing shortage will mean to them as employers, employees, residents, and parents. • Continue outreach to media on the housing issue with specific facts and newsworthy human-interest stories. • Combat NIMBYism on every front, including within the Board and the Chamber membership itself. Keep explaining how housing is related to economic vitality, and how economic vitality is related to the individual. Continue to point out the small number of NIMBY voices but realize there may be a large number of silent NIMBY hearts. This task is a never-ending but crucial battle in itself. • Promote and provide one-on-one educational efforts with policymakers and elected and appointed officials (City council, planning commission, City planning staff) with Chamber members, staff and housing stakeholders. Worldorce Housing:Challenges and Responses,Page 10 r • Offer the Chamber's support and show appreciation to leaders when they make difficult decisions that will benefit the city in the long run but may be unpopular now. "Make it safe"for decision-makers to do the right thing. • Initiate a"Follow that Development"program with a "real world" model, modest sized development noting the time and costs involved. Host or promote focused`workshops"between developers, City leadership and City planning staff to foster factual understanding of what it takes to build housing locally in real time and actual dollars. Include workshops with non- profit housing developers. Note that compact urban form needs to become cost effective if we are to avoid sprawl. • Involve the Chamber in housing related City processes and activities, especially goal-setting and budget processes, the Housing Element Update and other zoning and land-use discussions. • Insist that our big institutional employers, _ particularly Cal Poly and Cuesta, take an active role in developing housing for their faculty, staff and students. r Advocate for changes in City policy that would encourage creative and progressive housing �r?' .y development such as providing incentives, Innovative combinations of commercial and which may include increasing residential housing uses are necessary. density in the C-C (central commercial), O (office) and C-R (retail commercial) zones, revising non-conforming structure rules for greater flexibility, reducing minimum residential lot sizes and adopting streamlined processing procedures for housing projects. • Development standards should be changed to promote housing. Some possibilities: allow detached second residential units by right, eliminate the downtown in-lieu parking fee for dwellings, re-establish the R-O (residential- office) zone, and develop new multi-family housing design guidelines. Land use changes should expand areas designated for R-3 and R-4 zoning. Development of annexation areas needs to be expedited. We recommend taking a serious look at rezonings of C-R, C-S, and M zoned properties to mixed-use residential/commercial. Workforce Housing: Challenges and Responses,Page 11 • Lobby for streamlined and coordinated laws that govern the construction of market rate rental housing. Currently, numerous and conflicting laws make the development of market rate rental housing too confusing and expensive. • Encourage federal and state agencies to move decision making down to officials at the local level. These"transfer of compliances"would greatly improve the pace of review of many small projects that are currently trapped in the black hole of the U.S.Army Corps of Engineers and the California Regional Water Quality Board. • Sponsor specific demonstrations showing the visual aspects of various types of housing. Show people how attractive ^— higher density projects can look and what good design and planning can do. • Enlist the Cal Poly College of Architecture to co-sponsor a national design contest for innovative, attractive compact urban design. Design competitions such as Even single family detached homes Seattle's can serve as a model. can break away from traditional lot sizes and backyards. • The City needs a true housing advocate on staff. • Emphasize the City's duty and responsibility to proactively cooperate and support housing development by addressing the policy and staffing situations mentioned above. The City complains continuously about the State imposing its demands without support, funding or resources.Why does the City expect housing to miraculously appear, built by private developers, and yet it does little in the way of providing the non-monetary resources only it can provide? "New development must pay for its own way"has had the effect of squelching affordable and moderately priced housing. Workforce Housing: Challenges and Responses,Page 12 l Conclusion The San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce strongly encourages a three-pronged approach for 2003.First, we must realize that no one entity or action is going to solve the problem. Collaboration is key, particularly in the revision of the City's housing element which is due by the end of next year. Action is the next important element; we must have the creativity and the will to take every step possible toward the real production of housing. Education and Advocacy must be continued on all fronts to make available workforce housing for the community and for our membership. - l i RAY• yr rr ' of Workforce Housing:Challenges and Responses,Page 13