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SR-400-001-03 (10) ~ ()() . 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 r-......-' ~.-- ~t.1"...C.'1~~~ . ....rel!':: 0~ '1-'.' ~..jrl.- "r~ I.~~ l~iT'1' ....Lc.t{I~ , I U n, Mpfl ...~N ,7 StiNT A. ~d~;CP., c,;'i..i~ . _ \ 'J C \..i- f"" I' - . " \.0 . ~ y \... '- '('\ t: "f...., '. '"\ t'~ '\ c.r_,..~ '0;: R~" \j '"' ...\,,\ ......'-..... . \ ~- \J A GO ~'\'1t \t.\/. \~ .,~ J\'~ ., c~V' \'i-Jwv...., Slt..~\~ / 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