SR-400-001-03 (10)
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f/??C-t/t?/-03
Santa Monlca, Callfornla, January 12, 1978
TO:
~ayor and Clty Councll
FROM: C~ty Staff
I Ie
SUBJECT: BCAG Hous1ng Element
J A N 2 4 1978
Introduction
Th1S report exam1nes and compares the Southern Cal1forn1a
Associat1on of Governmen~s (SCAG) Draft Reg~ona1 Houslng Ele-
ment w~th Santa Monlca's Houslng Element.
Background
SeAG's Draft Reglonal Housing Element, publlshed ln October,
1977, is one element of SCAG's Reglonal Comprehens1ve Plan WhlCh
has been requ~red by HUD for those agenc1es and local governments
utll1zlng Sect10n 701 Comprehens~ve Plann1ng Ass~stance Funds.
The Element 15 d1V1ded 1nto two documents; one which 1S ent1tled
the Regional Conponent WhlCh presents a summary of houslng needs,
goals, and oD]ectivesi and the other Wh1Ch ~s the Local Programs
Component WhlCh 1S a compendlUffi of federal, state, and local
programs that local Jurisdictlons may use to address both local
and reg10nal hous1ng problems.
The maJor goal of this HouSlng Element 1S to allevlate the exist-
ing houslng problems 1n the SCAG area, such as insuff~Clent low-
income houslng, h1gh cost of houslng, speculatlon, and to attempt
to prevent them ln the future. The obJectlves and strategles 1n
the Element define SCAG's role In help1ng to provlde adequate
houslng for all people ln the reglon and they suggest how SCAG
can work wlth the pr1vate sector, c1t1zen groups and local gov-
ernments to solve the var10US houslng problems. The Element's
lie
J AN 2 4 1978
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TO: Mayor and C~ty Councll
- 2 -
January l2, 1978
framework for assesslng and meetlng the reglon's houslng needs
is based on four major lssues: (I) coordinatlon and cooperatlon
between local governments and the prlvate sector; (2) the quan-
tlty of sound houslng avallable and needed; (3) the quallty of
houslng unlts and nelghborhoods; and (4) the cost and dlstrl-
butlon of affordable unlts. Wlthln these four lssue areas are
contained fifteen housing Pollcies and 66 Pellcy-Actlons.
SCAG provldes ln this Element a framework for addressing the
varled housing needs of the reglon's 156 clties and communlties
by dlvldlng the cltles lute three categorles. (The crlterla
for determlnlng these dlvlslons were based on data from SCAG's
Regional Houslng Allocatlon Model and thelr Urban Relnvestment
Study.) The three categorles are: (1) relnvestment cltles
and communltles or those wlth over 60% of thelr 1975 housing
stock ln the "Unsound Unlts Plus Sound Unlts wlth Low-Income
Prospects" category; (2) potentlal relnvestment cltles and com-
munities, WhlCh are those communlties with moderate amounts of
housing deterloratlon (30-60%); and (3) economlcally sound clties
and communltles, WhlCh have llttle or no deterloratlon and few
lOW-lncome households (less than 30%). Santa Monlca falls lnto
the potentlal relnvestment cltles and cornmunltles category, as
do 3/5 of the communities ln the seAG region.
The draft Houslng Element, WhlCh was dlstrlbuted In November,
ralsed many important issues and concerns. Slnce that tlme, the
SCAG staff has received comments on and revlsed the Element so
TO: Mayor and C1ty Counc1l
- 3 -
January 12, 1978
that 1t 1S presently, w1th Supplemental Attachment #8 conta1n-
ing proposed reV1510ns, a more acceptable document than 1t was
or1ginally.
The SCAG staff added a Draft Preamble to the1r Housing Element
Wh1Ch 15 conta1ned 1n the Supplemental Attachment #8. The pur-
pose of th1S Preamble 15 to satisfy those cr1t1cs who felt that
the Element lacked a proper 1ntroduct1on or scope del1neat1ng
the1r respons1b1llt1es and powers 1n th1S Element.
Th1S cr1t1c1sm 15 stlll one of our maJor concerns because the
Preamble 1n 1tS present form still does not help 1n understand1ng
what powers SeAG has to enforce ltS hous1ng pol1c1es. It 1S not
clear how much local decis1on-making w1ll be affected by th1S
document.
More spec1flcally, thlS Preamble states that local jur1sd1ct1on
should accompllsh local as well as federal and state obJectives
1n solving hous1ng problems. To what extent should localltles
be mandated to participate 1n these Ob)ect1ves? Th1S Preamble
also states that SCAG 15 gOlng to clarlfy hous1ng pol1c1es for
the bU1ld1ng industry. Thls attempt at clar1fication m1ght 1n fact
confuse more 1ssues than ever. It seems much slmpler for local
governments to deal wlth the pr1vate sector 1tself wlthout any
lnterference from SCAG.
Some other questions stlll rerna1n concern1ng this Element. One
such quest10n is what author1ty and responsib1llty does the Element
suggest that local goverments have or should have to implement the
TO: Mayor and Clty Councll
- 4 -
January 12, 1978
proposed reglonal houslng pollCleS? Also, what authorlty and
respons~bll1ty does SCAG have to ach~eve these houslng goals?
To what extent w~ll SCAG use ltS A-95 reVlew power? If they
use thelr A-95 reVlew authorlty to determlne whether or not
cltles wlll recelve federal fundlng, at what level of dlsagree-
ment wlll SCAG comment negatlvely on a Clty'S proJect? These
are lmportant lssues, especlally the one concernlng A-95 reVlew,
Slnce lt has been apparent hlstorlcally that federal agencles
glve a great deal of welght to comments recelved from the natlon's
Counclls of Governments such as SCAG.
The Element lacks an explanatlon of the flscal, economlC, soclal
and envlronmental costs of POllCY implementatlon. For example,
what are the lrnpacts of encouraglng growth in areas needlng re-
~nvestment? What are the lmpacts upon local governments WhlCh
rev~se zonlng and houslng codes to allow subdlvlslon of larger
homes? If the expected lmpacts have already been studled and
assessed ln other documents, then the Element should contaln a
brief section on these documents.
The SCAG Houslng Element contalns a potentially unmanageable
number of recommendatlons (15 Pollc~es and 66 Pollcy-Actlons),
and staff would suggest that it would be helpful to prlorlt~ze
the varlOUS recommendations ln order to know which lssues are
most lmportant.
An addltlonal concern of the staff is the usage of some words such
as II encourage, rr "proPl.ote," "urge," and "assure, II and ~l.ow they tle ln
wlth BCAG's power. It lS lnclear how these actions wlll be en-
forced, especlally as BCAG ~s only an adv~sory agency. What, ~n
TO: Mayor and Clty Caunell
- 5 -
January 12, 1978
fact, does "encourage" mean and how will BCAG react lf a mu-
nlcipallty does not comply wlth a BCAG POllCY?
Following lS a matrlx complIed by the staff which flrst Ilsts
the 15 recommended SCAG pollcles (per Supplemental Attachment
#8) and then Ilsts the 8 Housing ObJectives contalned ln Santa
Monica's Houslng Element. After each of Santa Monlca's housing
objectlves lS a list of those pollcles from SCAG1s Element
WhlCh pertalns to Santa Monlca's abJectlves.
CO~PrlRISO~ OF SA~T~ UO~ICA'S ~~OPT~D HOCSI~G OBJECTIvES
~ITH SCAG'S PROPOSED HCrSI~G POLICIES
SCAG ~OLICI~S
1 CGord~nat~on bec'veen lecal governITe~ts, pUblIC agenc~es and ~nte~ested c~t~ze2 groups, ~n\ol"e-
~ent of the ,rl~aoe seC~lon
2 SC~G snaIl reguiarly assess current and ~roJected housl~g needs for all ~ncome groups In each of
~he reg~cn's ClL~es and uni~corporated areas
~ SCAG shall proMote ~ouslng ~rod~c~lO~ In a~propr1a~e aFounts 1n ~ccse areas :dent~fied as ~Gst
~eedy by Lhe BeAG g~ow~~ pol~cy, reglonal houslng al:ocat~on ~odel, a~d ~~ban re-lnveSt~ent s~udy
4 SC~G sha:l pro~ote t~e de~.elop~eD~ and cons~rUC~1Dn of new ~ype5 of quall~Y, easily ~aLn~a~ned,
and i:e~1ble houslng. ~VhlCb eff~clen~~y ~ses scarce urban land aid na~ural Lesources
~ SCAG shall pro~ote ~~e m&lnt€na~ce cf e~~stlng housing part~cularlv sound low-valued ~n~ts ~hat
provIde ai~ordable hOUSIng fer lo'v a~d ~oderace ~nCOTe households
6 SCAG shall pro~ote renabllltatlon of deterlorated houslng ~art~cularl? low-val~e u~~cs ,bat prov~de
~CUSlr.g fo~ low apd ~oderate ~nco~e households
SCAG s~all encourage the prOViSIon of adequ&ce publlC and prlvate faCilItIes a~d ser,lces In al:
res1d€n~~al areas
x SCAG shall foster and su~por" progr~Ts that relieve adverse envlron~ental l~pacts orr e~~stlng
houslng, and ~rge t~at ne'" ~ouslng not be bUilt In areas where such ~~paccs are a:~eady at unusu-
2l:y hlgh a~d unr1~~ga:able le~els
9 SCAG shall encourage al~ bous1ng prov~ders to ~Se elemen~s of land use and SL~~c~ure neslg~ WhlCb
ad~ to the safety a~d securl~Y of res~dert~al env~ronmen~s
:0 SCAG shall atte~pt tc slow the rls~ng cost of rew and ex~sc~ng hous~ng
11 SCAG shall IdeDc:fy and pro~ote ~ethods by ~hlCh gover~ment agerc~es \~Ddlv1riua:ly or cOI:eCclVely)
may ~ed~ce or 11~1~ lncreases In the costs of new constr~c~10n
12 SCAG shall strongly encourage the expa~s1o~ 0: JOo oppor~unl~les. part1c~larly ~n re~nvest~ent
CO~Tun~~les and low ~ncome areas
13 SCAG shall scrcngly urge ;~e expans~on and adequaoe fund~ng of fede~al hous~ng progr~s for lcw
and ~ode~aLe I~cone ~ouseholds
_~ SC~G shall prepare a responsIble and equ~~able see of ~r~cer~a for the conscruct~on and dlScrlbu-
~lon of low and ~oderate ~nco~e ~euslng
l3 SC;G shall establ~sh and supper" an affL~.acLve act:on progra~ ~o provide equal oppor~u~LcY 1n
~Qus~ng
S~.Td ~Oft!C~'S HOUSI~G a3JECTI\~S
SCAG ?OLICIES ~HICH SlPPORT
SA~T; ~O~IC; HOlS:,G OBJECTIVES
~alnLaln San~a ~on~ca as a Clrv of stro~g res1rien~ial quall~les
4, 5.
~
0, r
3, 12
2
Insure ~ha~ ~he~e lS GO dlscrl~lnat~on ~n the rental. rehabl11ta-
~10~ and sale o~ hauslng
14, 15
3
Pro~oce ~afe hous~ng fer all
~, 0, 13
4
En~ourage a var~e~v of hous~ng ~ytes and nr1ces throughout ~~e
Cl~V cO assure t"e avaLlab~lltv of adeauace hous~ng tor persons
oi all ages, races, ethn~c groups and I~COues
2, 3 6. 10, 11. :3, :4
5
E~c~urage rehab~1~tat1o~ of eXlst~ng ~o~s~ng ~o e~hance the cha~-
ac~er of eX1~~ng ne~ghbornoods t'rcug~olit the ciry
5, 6
6
~ncrea~e tne avaLlabll~cY of :ow and ~odera~e Inco~e hcuslng
3, c. 10, II, 13. :4
7
Preserve ana screngthea che bas~c quall:v of Sanca \~nIca neLgh-
borhoods
7, 8, 9
8
EII~~~a~e no~-cGnforr-~~g land ~ses ~~~c threacen r-elghborhood 1r.-
cegrIcy
8. 9
-6-
TO: Mayor and Clty Councll
- 7 -
January l2, 1978
On the basis of the precedlng matrlx, lt can be observed that
In terms of general houslng policles Santa Monlca and SCAG are
In agreement. However, it appears that so~e of SCAG's 66 POI1CY-
Actlons are ln confllct wlth eXlstlng Clty POllCY. Followlng
15 a 11St complIed by staff indicating those confllctlng POI1CY-
Actions In SCAG's Houslng EleMent, as well as those WhlCh wlll
lMpact Santa ~onica in any way dlfferently than it lS presently.
(Sane Pollcy-Actlons have been revlsed per Supple~ental Attach-
ment #8 and, in those cases, both the orlglnal and the revlsed
Pollcy-Actlons have been included in thlS list.)
ReVlsed Draft Policy-Actlon:
3E. SCAG shall encourage local )urlsdlctlons to conslder
reV1Slng zonlng and housing codes, where approprlate, to allow
a more efflClent use of underutlllzed housing unlts.
Draft Pollcy-Actlon:
3E. SCAG shall encourage local )urlsdlctlons to reVlse
zonlng and houslng codes to allow:
- subdlvlslon of large homes
- multlple-famlly use of large slngle unlts
- modlflcatlon of owner-occupled unlts to
lnclude small rental unlts.
ReVlsed Draft Policy-Action:
SB. SCAG shall encourage local )urisdlctlons to use
the Callfornla State Revenue and Taxatlon Code WhlCh pro-
hibits owners of substandard rental unlts, cited for code
vlolatlons, from receiving state income tax deductlons with
respect to such dwelllngs.
Draft Pollcy-Action:
5B. SCAG shall encourage local Jurlsdlctions to use
Sectlon 17299 of the Callfornla State Revenue and Taxatlon
Code WhlCh prohlblts owners of substandard rental unlts,
clted for code vlolations, from recelvlng state lncome tax
deductlons wlth respect to such dwelllngs.
I.
TO: Mayor and c~ty Counc~l
- 8 -
January 12, 1978
ReVlsed Draft Pol~cy-Act~on:
5D. SCAG shall encourage, to the extent resources are
avallable, that provlslon for relocat~on houslng shall com-
plement local code enforcement and rehabllltatlon programs.
Draft Policy-Actlon;
5D. SCAG shall encourage that provlslons for relocatlon
hous~ng be lncluded ~n all local code enforcement and re-
hab~lltatlon programs.
ReVlsed Draft Policy-Actlon:
lOG. BeAG shall strongly urge that prlce escalation
controls be lncluded ln government aSSlsted programs that
provlde low-and moderate- income houslng ln order to ensure
that the unlts remaln part of the lower-cost houslng lnven-
tory.
Draft Pollcy-Action:
lOG. BCAG shall strongly urge that speculatlon controls
be included in local programs that provide low- and moderate-
income housing.
Draft Pollcy-Actlon (unchanged):
lOH. BeAG shall urge the state to lessen the lrnportance
of property taxes for flnanclng local government, and to use
lnstead less regresslve taxes such as the lncome tax or sales
tax.
Draft Pollcy-Actlon (unchanged):
lor. SCAG shall recommend that property tax reductlon
measures provlde that tax savlngs on rental unlts be passed on
to renters so that they do not become windfall proflts for
landlords.
TO: Mayor and Clty Counc~1
- 9 -
January 12, 1978
ReVlsed Draft Pollcy-Actlon:
llA. SCAG shall encourage local programs to reduce costs
for developers of low-and moderate- ~ncome hous~ng, particu-
larly ln cornmun~tles whose average costs are h~gh.
Draft Po11cy-Actlon:
llA. SCAG shall encourage local programs to reduce land
costs for developers of low- and moderate- lncome houslng,
partlcularly In cornmunlties whose average land costs are hlgh.
Draft Pollcy-Actlon (unchanged):
l4F. SCAG shall encourage passage of Artlcle 34 Referenda
In all communlties untll the Callfornia State Constltution
lS changed to make such referenda necessary.
Draft Pol1cy-Actlon (unchanged):
14I. SCAG shall encourage communltles seeklng new lndus-
try to assure that the lndustry's new employees can find af-
fordable houslng ln the communlty.
Prepared by: Melanie Fallon-McKnlght
Randall C. Rlchardson
Valdls V. pavlovsklS
James Lunsford