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SR 03-26-2019 7B City Council Report City Council Meeting: March 26, 2019 Agenda Item: 7.B 1 of 24 To: Mayor and City Council From: David Martin, Director, City Planning Subject: Introduction and First Reading of an Ordinance for Proposed Amendments to the Affordable Housing Production Program Recommended Action Staff recommends that the City Council: 1) Review and discuss the information contained in this report regarding the City’s regulatory and policy framework to support housing production, as well as affordable housing production trends, including units in the Extremely Low Income (ELI) category. 2) Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with HR&A Advisors, Inc., a California-based company, for financial feasibility analysis of potential affordable housing requirements and minimum density requirements for the Planning and Community Development and Housing and Economic Development Departments. This recommended award is for a total amount not to exceed $150,000 with future year funding contingent on Council budget approval. 3) Consider introduction and first reading of an ordinance amending the text of the Municipal Code to temporarily remove the option for providing ELI units to satisfy a project’s Affordable Housing Production Program obligation pursuant to SMMC Chapter 9.64 and specify that 100% Affordable Housing Projects that are owned and operated by non-profit housing providers and financed with tax credits may be exempt from certain provisions of the Affordable Housing Production Program (SMMC Chapter 9.64), subject to certain conditions (Attachment “A”) Executive Summary Affordable housing is the City’s highest housing priority, and is the focus of City programs, subsidies and other efforts to minimize the affordability gap in Santa Monica. This report presents information on the use of the Affordable Housing Production Program (AHPP) to support the long-term housing needs in Santa Monica, and to maintain economic diversity within the city. It focuses on two aspects of the AHPP: 1) The use of the Extremely Low Income inclusionary option to satisfy a development’s affordable housing obligation, and 2 of 24 2) Development of 100% affordable housing projects owned and operated by non - profit housing providers outside of the requirements of the City’s AHPP using financial assistance through the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee. Extremely Low Income Option Most of this report focuses on the production of units targeted to lower income households earning no more than 30 percent of the area median income (“AMI”), commonly referred to as “extremely low-income” (ELI). Based on evidence of local housing needs, this income category was added to the AHPP in 2013 as an option for a development to satisfy its onsite affordable housing obligation by restricting five percent of the total units built for ELI households for Tier 1 projects, and seven and a half percent for a Tier 2 housing project. In the past ten years, nearly 160 units at the ELI income category have been approved, including several projects that predate the formal introduction of this income category into the AHPP. While the creation of units deed-restricted to the ELI level helps to realize SCAG’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation and the City’s own Quantified Objectives, there is a concern that the recent methodology for creating the units (i.e., through the existing AHPP “menu of options”) is counterproductive to meeting the overall Proposition R mandate for 30 percent of all housing to be affordable. This report contains data on the use of the 5 percent option since its adoption in 2013, as well as a preliminary evaluation of its impact on the City meeting its Proposition R targets. The information presented in this report is intended to support the City Council’s direction to prepare amendments to the AHPP to temporarily remove the 5 percent option by providing background on the past half-decade of housing policy, as well as information about affordable housing production trends, including units in the ELI category. Should the Council decide to temporarily remove the 5 percent option, Attachment A presents the ordinance language to effect this change to SMMC Section 9.64.050. California Tax Credit Allocation Committee Financial Assistance 3 of 24 Also included in this report is a brief discussion of a financial tool that supports 100% affordable housing development. The California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (TCAC) provides financial assistance to housing developers and presents additional affordable housing opportunities distinct from the City’s AHPP through TCAC’s own regulations that include affordability levels, maximum rents, minimum unit sizes and other amenities. TCAC-funded projects that are also funded by the City are currently not required to use the City’s housing waiting lists. An ordinance to modify SMMC Section 9.64.030 is included in Attachment A that would allow affordable housing developments by nonprofit TCAC recipients that are not City- funded to be exempt from AHPP requirements provided they select households from the City-developed list of income-qualified households and do not compete with City- funded projects also seeking TCAC financial assistance. 4 of 24 PART 1: EXTREMELY LOW INCOME OPTION Background Santa Monica has an extensive history that prioritizes affordable housing to preserve and promote a diverse and sustainable community. Residents have affirmed this p riority in local voter-approved initiatives, such as Proposition R (1990), requiring that 30 percent of all new multifamily housing be affordable, and Proposition I (1998), authorizing the City to participate financially in creating affordable housing equa l to one- half of one percent of the housing stock annually (approximately 250 residences). City Council has further facilitated affordable housing through adoption of land use incentives and administrative funding guidelines to streamline affordable housing production and preservation, based on a policy foundation supporting affordable housing in the General Plan Land Use and Housing Elements. The Land Use Element also identifies affordable housing as a primary community benefit in new development. The Affordable Housing Production Program (AHPP) requires developers of multi-family housing to contribute to affordable housing production through a flexible framework to help the City meet its affordable housing goals. Finally, City Council has approved a local preference policy that prioritizes affordable housing opportunities for Santa Monica residents and workers. Changes to the Zoning Ordinance and AHPP (2013) In recent years, California’s ongoing housing crisis has underlined the need for local jurisdictions to revisit their regulatory frameworks governing housing production. In Santa Monica, the discussion has been particularly dynamic, as the community and decision-makers have wrestled with a variety of local, regional and State -level factors that contribute to production, affordability, and equity. From time to time, changes to the rules and regulations related to housing are effected in response to these factors. With the dissolution of the Redevelopment Agency in 2012, the City lost its primary funding source for affordable housing. In 2012-2013, Council led a host of public discussions on the ability for the City to continue to meet the needs of Santa Monica residents. Out of those discussions arose a focus on providing for those whose 5 of 24 household income levels were below the traditional very-low income threshold established by HUD.  On February 28, 2012 (Attachment G), Council held a study session to consider a variety of issues related to housing in Santa Monica. At the study session, staff presented data from the City’s affordable housing waiting list showing that the vast majority (95%) of Santa Monica residents and workers on the list were at extremely low- or very low-income levels.  On December 11, 2012 (Attachment H), Council directed staff to amend the AHPP to include opportunities for extremely low-income households to address the approximately 3,000 ELI households who lived or worked in Santa Monica at that time.  On February 26, 2013 (Attachment I), Council directed staff to consult with the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA) and return with a draft ordinance amending the AHPP rent limit standards to achieve greater affordability.  On June 25, 2013 (Attachment J), Council introduced for first reading Ordinance No. 2429 (CCS) to revise household income eligibility levels and rent limits for the AHPP, and to add an option for developers to provide affordable housing to households earning no more than 30 percent AMI to satisfy AHPP obligations. The subsequent amendments to the AHPP approve d by Council in 2013 revised the City’s household income eligibility levels to match income levels published annually by HUD and/or HCD, and added the 30 percent of AMI category referred to as “extremely low-income1” to the menu of options that satisfy a development’s inclusionary affordable housing requirement. This significant addition to the AHPP was designed to create a financial incentive to stimulate the development of such units. Henceforth, outside of the 1 30% Income Household means a household whose gross income does not exceed the 30% income limits applicable to the Los Angeles-Long Beach Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area, adjusted for household size, as published and periodically updated by Housing and Urban Development (HUD) 6 of 24 areas governed by the Downtown Community Plan, applicants undertaking Tier 1 and Tier 2 projects currently may select from a menu of options to develop at least: Option Tier 1 Tier 2 (Requires 50% more than Tier 1) 1 5% of the total units of the project for 30% income households at affordable rent2; or 7.5% of the total units of the project for 30% income households at affordable rent; 2 10% of the total units of the project for 50% income households at affordable rent; or 15% of the total units of the project for 50% income households at affordable rent; or 3 20% of the total units of the project for 80% income households at affordable rent; or 30% of the total units of the project for 80% income households at affordable rent; 4 100% of the total units of a project for moderate income households at affordable rent. Not Applicable Proposition R Compliance (1994-Present) The production of multifamily affordable housing in Santa Monica is regulated by the voter-approved Proposition R, which requires that:  Thirty percent of all multifamily housing completed in each fiscal year be affordable for and occupied by low- and moderate-income households; and  At least one-half of the total affordable housing completed be affordable for and occupied by low-income households. The most recently published Annual Report (FY 16/17) discussing the City’s compliance with Proposition R illustrates a downward trend in affordable housing production, citing just 13 percent of multifamily housing completed during that time is affordable to low- and moderate-income households. This is consistent with the low production numbers from the previous two fiscal years (FY 14/15, and FY 15/16) when 19 percent of new multifamily housing was affordable to low- and moderate-income households. 2 The 5% option was added to Chapter 9.64 in 2013 by Ordinance 2429 (CCS) 7 of 24 Cumulative Proposition R Achievements3 Affordable New Multifamily Residences Completed Annually FY 94/95 through FY 16/17 One of the main factors affecting the number and percentage of affordable residences being constructed is the loss of funding from the Redevelopment Agency. Historically, a 3 Annual Affordable Housing Report on Propositions R and I, April 2018 8 of 24 significant portion of the Proposition R affordable housing mandate has been fulfilled by nonprofit developers who use City-subsidized loans to create affordable housing. The largest funding source for such loans was the Redevelopment Agency. Since the demise of the Redevelopment Agency in 2012, Santa Monica voters approved measures GS and GSH in 2016, which provides approximately half of the amount of funding that was available through the former Redevelopment Agency. In addition, Council has directed that all repayment of loans from the former Redevelopment Agency to the City be dedicated to affordable housing. Despite a failure to achieve Proposition R requirements annually over the past three fiscal years, the City continues to exceed the minimum Proposition R requirement cumulatively, adding up the developments that have been completed over the past 23 years. Subsequent Shifts in Housing Policy (2017) Since the most recent changes were made to the AHPP, local, regional and national economic factors have shifted once again, leading to a widely-recognized state-wide housing crisis and a renewed discussion on local housing production policy, both market-rate and affordable. The City has been proactive in its efforts to use adopted policy as a lever for incentivizing new housing production in targeted areas, such as Downtown, and for increasing the supply of affordable housing. These measures have been implemented at the same time that the City has witnessed a decrease in the overall amount of affordable housing produced on an annual basis, as previously mentioned. Downtown Community Plan The adoption of the Downtown Community Plan (DCP) in 2017 established a new methodology for housing production that includes permit streamlining, and floor area and height incentives for qualified housing projects. Downtown development is also subject to higher affordable housing requirements than citywide, and must provide a set percentage of units (on-site or off-site) that are deed-restricted to each income level identified in the AHPP. 9 of 24 This approach differs from the Zoning Ordinance in three important ways: 1. The affordable housing methodology in the DCP removes developer selection of income categories at the Tier 2 level, and instead establishes a 20 percent base requirement for a project’s total affordable housing contribution based on the project’s height. 2. The DCP does not provide the developer a financial incentive to profit from a higher market-to-affordable ratio based on developer selection of income levels. For example, a Tier 2 mixed-use housing project of 100 units that has selected the Zoning Ordinance’s ELI option will generate only 8 deed-restricted units, and 92 market-rate units. In the DCP, that same project would provide a minimum of 20 deed-restricted units, and 80 market-rate units. 3. The required affordable housing units produced in a project by the DCP must be distributed across the four income levels recognized by the AHPP based on the following percentages: a. 20% Extremely Low-Income b. 20% Very Low-Income c. 30% Low-Income d. 30% Moderate-Income The increased affordability requirements in the DCP are expected to play a critical role in helping the City meet the requirements of Proposition R. Amending the AHPP to require a broader array of affordability levels could also assist in Proposition R compliance. A forthcoming Council Information Item on the impact of DCP housing policy on production will be issued in March 2019. Suggested Changes to the AHPP (2018) Based on the DCP’s new approach to creating equity among income levels, new conversations have sprung up to evaluate the existing Zoning Ordinance methodology in order to identify potential improvements that balance supply with demand, and aid in 10 of 24 reversing the downward trend in affordable housing produc tion identified in the past several Proposition R compliance reports. These discussions have been fueled by the perception that the financial incentive to allow a development to deed -restrict a low number of units for extremely-low income households has perhaps been too successful, and has ultimately impacted the City’s ability to meet annual Proposition R targets. This, coupled with the loss of Redevelopment, has placed an even heavier burden on the City to make up the production of remaining affordable units using limited financial and regulatory resources. In light of this concern, the Housing Commission discussed on November 15, 2018 modifying affordable housing requirements outside of the Downtown Community Plan area, and opined on the possibility of suspending the extremely low-income option until a full review of the AHPP could be conducted through an updated economic feasibility study. The feasibility study is a work effort currently in the scoping phase being led in partnership by the Planning and Community Development and Housing and Economic Development departments, which will provide analysis on the potential to modify the AHPP so that it addresses a broader range of needs, including supporting Prop. R and Regional Housing Needs Assessment compliance. The scope and timeframe for the upcoming feasibility study is discussed later in this report. As an interim measure, Council directed staff on December 18, 2018 to prepare amendments to the Affordable Housing Production Plan disallowing the current option for developers to provide fewer extremely low-income units until the feasibility study can be completed. Discussion Santa Monica is a desirable place to live and work, making the demand for housing far greater than the existing supply. Based on significantly higher than average rent and home ownership values, as well as the housing policy described earlier in this report, the City continues to receive proposals to create new housing. Because of these conditions, the City has been fortunate to routinely meet the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) housing production targets established by the Southern California 11 of 24 Association of Governments (SCAG) as well as the City’s own “Quantified Objectives” for housing production outlined in the adopted 2014 -2021 Housing Element. The City’s mixed-use higher-density commercial districts provide a wide range of housing opportunities, and current pipeline projects indicate that the City will continue to attract new market-rate housing development that is capable of contributing to the creation of new affordable units at a variety of income levels. Affordable Housing Production (2014-Present) Since 2014, the cumulative amount of affordable residences completed (final building permits) has met the City’s minimum requirement of 30 percent. Multifamily developments completed between 2014 and 2018 produced 1,001 residences, of which 402 (40 percent) were affordable to low-and moderate-income households. Of those affordable units, 95 percent were affordable to low-income households. The City has met both Proposition R requirements that 30 percent of all multifamily housing be affordable to low- and moderate-income households and that at least one-half of the total affordable housing be affordable for and occupied by lo w-income households. However, pipeline projects indicate that future production will fall short of this mark. Multifamily developments currently in construction will produce just 13 percent affordable units (95 of 759 total), and multifamily developments with planning approval will produce just 10 percent affordable units (133 of 1,384 total). For projects in construction and with planning approval, over 90 percent of all affordable units will be affordable to low-income households. Pending projects are those that have been submitted but have not received planning approval yet. Affordable residences represent 22 percent of all pending projects (366 of 1,651 total), which includes five large 100 percent affordable housing developments. The following table summarizes this information. 12 of 24 2014-2018 Affordable Housing Production Program Summary Development Stage Total Residences Affordable Residences Percent Affordable Completed 1,001 402 40% In Construction 759 95 13% Planning Approval 1,384 133 10% Pending 1,651 366 22% TOTAL: 4,795 996 21% Developments Completed Attachment B indicates that 46 developments totaling 1,001 residences were completed between 2014 and 2018. A total of 402 of these residences (40 percent) were affordable to low- and moderate-income households. These projects received planning approvals between 2000 and 2015 and include six 100 percent affordable housing developments. Developments in Construction Attachment C lists active building permits to illustrate the number of multifamily residences in construction as of January 2019. There are active building permits for 759 residences in 21 new multifamily developments. These developments will provide 95 residences affordable to low- and moderate-income households representing 13 percent of multifamily residences in construction. These active building permits received planning approvals between 2006 and 2018 and do not include any 100 percent affordable housing development. Developments with Planning Approval (not in construction) Attachment D identifies 38 multifamily developments containing 1,384 residences that have received planning approval but have not been issued building permits yet. A total of 133 of these residences will be affordable to low- and moderate-income households, representing just 10 percent of all residences at the planning approval stage. These projects received planning approvals between 2008 and 2018 and two of these developments are 100 percent affordable housing developments. Looking at just the 14 multifamily developments that received planning approval in 2018, 16 percent of the residences (98 of 604 units) were affordable to low- and 13 of 24 moderate-income households. Seven of these 14 developments provided only extremely low-income units (and market rate), representing eight to nine percent of the units in each development. Multifamily Residences (Units) with Planning Approvals in 20184 Developments Submitted Since 2013 (Approved, In Construction, Completed) Considering all multifamily developments that were submitted and received planning approvals since the changes to the AHPP policy in 2013, which also includes completed projects and projects in construction, residences affordable to low- and moderate- income households make up 16 percent of all residences (199 of 1,283). More than one-third of all affordable units approved since 2013 have been in the extremely low- income category (74 of 199). Excluding the three large 100 percent affordable housing developments developed by Community Corps of Santa Mon ica (CCSM), the remaining multifamily market developments include just 8 percent of residences that are affordable to low- and moderate-income households. 4 Source: Planning and Community Development Permit Tracking 14 of 24 Affordable Units in Approved Multifamily Developments Submitted Since 20135 Pending Developments Attachment E shows the 27 pending multifamily developments containing 1,651 residences that have been submitted but have not yet received planning approvals. A total of 366 of these residences are proposed to be affordable to low- and moderate- income households, representing 22 percent of all proposed residences. Five of these developments are 100 percent affordable housing developments (three of which are off - site affordable units from market-rate developments), which represent 231 units, or 63 percent of all the proposed affordable residences. Planning Commission Comments The Planning Commission held a study session on this topic on February 20, 2019. During that meeting, staff presented information described in this report and attachments, as well as a snapshot of the City’s progress in realizing the housing production targets established by the following:  SCAG Regional Housing Needs Allocation (2013-2021) (Attachment E) 5 Source: Planning and Community Development Permit Tracking 15 of 24  Housing Element Quantified Objectives (2014-2021) (Attachment E)  City of Santa Monica Proposition R (1990) As demonstrated by the housing production data, the City is on track to meet both the RHNA and Quantified Objective targets for ELI, VLI and Above Moderate; however, production has fallen short in the categories of Low Income and Moderate Income. Approved and pending housing projects are not anticipated to contribute enough units in these income categories to realize the targets. Similarly, preliminary data indicates that annual Proposition R compliance will be difficult to achieve during FY18/19, but some recovery is anticipated in future years based on the success of the City’s effort to support affordable housing production through its Housing Trust Fund program, which is successfully generating a range of affordable units through non-profit development 100% affordable housing projects. Based on this information, as well as an appreciation of other housing-related work efforts scheduled for 2019, such as the AHPP Feasibility Study, the DCP Housing Report, Housing Incentives for the Boulevards and Bergamot, and solutions to Corporate or “Medium Term” Housing, the 6 person Planning Commission was evenly split over the issue of temporarily removing the 5 percent ELI option from the AHPP. Commissioners in Support of Removing the 5 Percent ELI Option Those in favor of temporarily removing the 5 percent option cited data demonstrating that ELI needs have been met and already exceeded, and that more attention should be focused on the production of low- and moderate-income units during the time remaining in both the RHNA and Housing Element cycles. Commissioners in Opposition to Removing the 5 Percent ELI Option Those in opposition to removing the 5 percent ELI option argued for the continued production of housing under the current regulatory framework, and viewed changes to the AHPP as premature pending a more comprehensive assessment of the entire affordable housing production program. This will commence in spring, pending Council 16 of 24 budget authorization. Some commissioners made a case for expediting the upcoming feasibility study, as well as the effort to bring forward information regarding possible incentives for the Boulevards and Bergamot. Agreement on Pipeline Project Exemption Despite the split vote on removal of the 5 percent ELI option, the Planning Commission unanimously passed a separate motion to recommend that pipeline projects be categorically exempt from any regulatory action taken by Council on this subject. The Planning Commission did not clarify what defines a “pipeline” project. Housing Commission Comments The Housing Commission held a public meeting on February 21, 2019 to discuss, among other items, use of the ELI option in development. Mirroring the recommendations of several Planning Commissioners, the Housing Commission majority voted to 1) temporarily remove the 5 percent option until a financial feasibility study can be completed to evaluate potential modifications to the AHPP; 2) defer final consideration of other amendments to the AHPP (regarding exempting nonprofit- developed affordable housing) until after the financial feasibility is completed and reviewed, and 3) to expedite the financial feasibility study. Ordinance to Implement Proposed Temporary Elimination of ELI Option from AHPP The proposed ordinance in Attachment A provides for a temporary elimination of the ELI option to allow the feasibility study to be completed and reviewed. The elimination would apply to projects with an application that has been determined complete on or after March 26, 2019. Those projects would not be allowed to select Extremely Low Income from the AHPP’s “menu of options”, but would otherwise be permitted to choose from any other income level currently available. 17 of 24 Future Analysis and Efforts on Housing Production Downtown Community Plan Housing Report Information Item (March 2019) Staff recently issued a monitoring report for the DCP that evaluates the influence of DCP housing policy and requirements on housing production. This review of data from the past one and a half years since DCP adoption provides information that may be informative to the related analytical efforts mentioned below, specifically regarding how the unique project requirements for affordable housing production Downtown are working, or are producing unintended consequences such as the emergence of six new Tier 1 SRO projects that avoid entirely the DCP’s affordability requirements. This report also provides an insight into the urban design implications of the affordable housing requirements Downtown, as well the fulfillment of desired community benefits that are associated with Tier 2 and Tier 3 projects. Feasibility Study to Evaluate Citywide AHPP Program (Spring-Summer 2019) The upcoming financial feasibility study is intended to inform decision-makers with the results of empirical testing of prototypical private developments to establish the financially-feasible limits of modified affordable housing requirements, in addition to testing a minimum density concept for R2 multi-family lots to help increase the City’s supply of affordable housing. More specifically, the feasibility study will evaluate whether affordable housing requirements associated with broader affordability levels, unit mixes, and percentage requirements can be supported financially by p rivate developers of future Tier 2 developments outside of the Downtown area. A similar feasibility analysis was completed for the inclusionary requirements in the DCP. Staff estimates that this work will take between 6-8 months to complete and review with the Planning Commission, Housing Commission and City Council. Housing Incentives: Boulevards and Bergamot Plan Area (Spring-Summer 2019) During the same timeframe as the AHPP Feasibility Study, staff will work to identify means to stimulate more housing production on the city’s Boulevards and in the Bergamot Plan area, where housing development has been relatively anemic over the past half decade. This process will consider a variety of tools including project streamlining, floor area and height incentives, and other features to direct multifamily 18 of 24 housing production away from the residential neighborhoods to areas identified by the Land Use and Circulation Element. PART 2: CALIFORNIA TAX CREDIT ALLOCATION COMMITTEE (TCAC) FINANCING Background SMMC Section 9.64.030 defines the applicability of the AHPP to certain project types. The ordinance currently provides that a multi-family rental housing project that will be developed by a nonprofit housing provider receiving financial assistance through one of the City’s housing trust fund programs and secured by a regulatory agreement with the City for a minimum period of 55 years shall be exempt from the City’s Affordable Housing Production Program (AHPP). This standard is intended to differentiate nonprofit affordable housing developments from inclusionary housing obligations resulting from market-rate developments. This standard is also intended to help ensure that City funds invested in affordable housing can be maximized, including leveraging non-city funds. Nonprofit housing providers have identified an opportunity to increase the total amount of affordable housing that can be produced through the AHPP by partnering with market rate developers to leverage tax credits for offsite inclusionary housing. Howe ver, under the existing AHPP ordinance, only projects that will be developed with “financial assistance through one of the City’s housing trust fund programs” can be exempt from the AHPP requirements. Community Corporation of Santa Monica (“CCSM”), a non - profit housing provider who has developed affordable housing throughout Santa Monica, has therefore proposed an amendment to the AHPP ordinance that would extend certain provisions of the AHPP exemption to 100% affordable housing projects owned and operated by nonprofit housing providers that finance the development of these projects with tax credits. The proposed exemption to the AHPP requirements would be subject to the following conditions: (i) compliance with Section 9.64.110 of the AHPP (which would require the developer to select tenant applicants from the City developed waiting list); 19 of 24 (ii) compliance with the then-current California Tax Credit Allocation Committee Regulations (“TCAC Regulations”), including the minimum unit size requirements in Cal. Code Regs. tit. 4, § 10325(g)(1)(B); (iii) ensuring that the project’s affordability obligations will be secured by a regulatory agreement, memorandum of agreement, or recorded covenant in form approved by the City Attorney, for a minimum period of fifty-five years; and (iv) ensuring that the project does not compete with a City-funded Tax Credit project in the same category and round of competition, as reasonably determined by the City Manager. If approved, this exemption would allow these 100% affordable housing projects to comply with TCAC Regulations, instead of AHPP requirements, except that tenant applicants would be selected from the City-developed list. TCAC regulations apply different affordability levels, maximum rents, minimum unit sizes, and amenities from AHPP standards. For example, the TCAC maximum rent levels are higher than AHPP maximum rents, which enhances the underwriting of these projects for tax credit equity investors and commercial lenders, and facilitates layered financing for larger affordable housing projects than would otherwise be feasible in the absence of tax credit financing. A comparison of TCAC and AHPP rents are set forth in the table, below: AHPP vs TCAC Rent Limits (2018) Unit Type Extremely Low Very Low Low Moderate AHPP 0-Bdrm $364 $606 $728 $1,334 TCAC $509 $848 $1,018 n/a AHPP 1-Bdrm $416 $693 $832 $1,525 TCAC $545 $909 $1,091 n/a AHPP 2-Bdrm $468 $780 $936 $1,715 TCAC $654 $1,091 $1,309 n/a AHPP 3-Bdrm $520 $866 $1,040 $1,906 TCAC $756 $1,260 $1,512 n/a 20 of 24 21 of 24 AHPP vs TCAC Minimum Unit Sizes AHPP in Blue Unit Type Minimum Square Footage 0-Bdrm 500 200 1-Bdrm 600 450 2-Bdrm 850 700 3-Bdrm 1,080 900 Discussion Attachment A presents a clarified description of the applicability of the AHPP for certain project types. The attached ordinance accomplishes the following:  Adds to the current exemption for projects developed with financial assistance through one of the City’s housing trust fund programs from the AHPP requirements by further exempting multi-family rental housing projects developed by a nonprofit housing provider receiving financial assistance through the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee from the AHPP requirements so long as the project is a 100% Affordable Housing Project as defined by the Santa Monica Municipal Code.  Multi-family project applicants would be required to select households from the City-developed list of income-qualified households or equivalent priority list approved by the City.  Applicants would be required to comply with then-current California Tax Credit Allocation Committee Regulations, including the minimum unit size requirements.  The project’s affordability obligations would be secured by a regulatory agreement, memorandum of agreement, or recorded covenant in form approved by the City Attorney, for a minimum period of fifty-five years. 22 of 24 Planning Commission Comments This issue was first raised as part of the latest round of Zoning Ordinance updates. On February 20, the Planning Commission recommended that the City Council approve an amendment consistent with the language presented to the Commission, which did not require to use the City’s housing waiting list and did not prohibit the projects from competing with City-funded projects for financial assistance from TCAC. Housing Commission Comments The City’s Housing Commission, upon reviewing the proposed modification to this language, made the following recommendations: 1) Recommends against adopting the text amendment permanently until an economic analysis is completed to ensure that the off -site inclusionary requirements reflect the additional opportunity associated with tax-credit leveraging. 2) Supports adopting the text amendment on an interim basis to enable a currently proposed inclusionary / market-rate arrangement if the developer can demonstrate to Council that the proposed developments are beneficial in terms of the number of inclusionary apartments that will be created. 3) If the proposed text amendment is adopted, it should make explicit that prospective residents of tax-credit funded inclusionary housing will come from the City list, as they do for other inclusionary housing. Next Steps on Financial Feasibility Study Vendor Selection for AHPP Feasibility Study Staff recommends HR&A Advisors, Inc. to provide financial feasibility analysis of potential affordable housing requirements and minimum density. This recommended award is made as an exception to the competitive bidding process pursuant to Section 2.24.80(d). Competition does not exist because HR&A has completed extensive feasibility analysis related to the AHPP, including the recent Downtown Community Plan, and therefore has the unique ability or capability to complete the study. Completing a competitive procurement process is highly unlikely to produce cost- 23 of 24 competitive proposals from other sources, given HR&A’s experience and knowledge with preparing modeling for the AHPP. Financial Impacts and Budget Actions Staff seeks authority to award an agreement with HR&A Advisors, Inc. for financial feasibility analysis of potential affordable housing requirements and minimum density requirements. Staff will seek grant funding from the California Department of Housing and Community Development’s to fund the agreement in whole or in part. To ensure that the study can commence immediately, the Housing and Economic Development Department will advance the funds from an existing account. Agreement Request Amount FY 2019-19 Budget Housing and Economic Development Department Account # Total Agreement Amount $150,000 01160001.552010 $150,000 Future funding is contingent on Council budget approval. Prepared By: Peter James, Principal Planner Approved Forwarded to Council Attachments: A. Ordinance to Temporarily Remove ELI Option B. Developments Completed C. Developments in Construction D. Developments with Planning Approval 24 of 24 E. Pending Developments F. RHNA and Quantified Objectives Progress G. February 28, 2012 Council Study Session on Housing (Web Link) H. December 11, 2012 Direction to Staff to Add ELI Option (Web Link) I. February 26, 2013 Direction to Staff to Amend Rent Limit Standards (Web Link) J. June 25, 2013 Ordinance Adopted to Include ELI Option (Web Link) K. Written Comments L. Powerpoint presentation 1 City Council Meeting; March 26, 2019 Santa Monica, California ORDINANCE NUMBER _________ (CCS) (City Council Series) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA AMENDING SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE CHAPTER 9.64 TO EXEMPT CERTAIN 100 PERCENT AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS OWNED AND OPERATED BY NONPROFIT HOUSING PROVIDERS THAT ARE SUBJECT TO CALIFORNIA TAX CREDIT ALLOCATION COMMITTEE REGULATIONS AND TO REMOVE THE EXTREMELY-LOW INCOME AFFORDABLE HOUSING CATEGORY WHEREAS, the City has a long history of prioritizing preservation and production of affordable housing in order to promote and maintain affordability and diversity within the community; and WHEREAS, the City’s residents have affirmed this priority in voter-approved initiatives, such as Proposition R, which was adopted by the voters in 1990 and mandated that 30 percent of all new multi-family housing units constructed each year be affordable, and Proposition I, which was adopted by the voters in 1998 and authorized the City to participate financially in creating affordable housing equal to one -half of one percent of the housing stock annually; and WHEREAS, the City Council has further facilitated preservation and production of affordable housing by adopting land use incentives and administrative funding guidelines to streamline affordable housing production and preservation and through the policy foundation of supporting affordable housing articulated in the General Plan’s Land Use and Housing Elements; and 2 WHEREAS, the City’s Affordable Housing Production Program, codified at Chapter 9.64 of the Santa Monica Mun icipal Code (the “AHPP”), requires developers of multi-family housing projects to contribute to affordable housing production and thereby enhances the City’s efforts to meet its affordable housing production goals; and WHEREAS, the requirements of the AHPP are based on a number of factors including, but not limited to, the City’s longstanding commitment to economic diversity; the serious need for affordable housing as reflected in local, state, and federal housing regulations and policies; the demand for affordable housing created by market rate development; the depletion of potential affordable housing sites due to market-rate development; and the impact that the shortage of affordable housing has on the health, safety, and welfare of the City’s residents, including local and regional traffic, transit, transportation and air quality impacts; and WHEREAS, on June 25, 2013, the City Council adopted Ordinance Number 2429 (CCS) to amend Chapter 9.64 by revising affordable housing categories, income- eligibility limits, and rent limits to be consistent with federal and state affordable housing programs (“Ordinance 2429”); and WHEREAS, Ordinance 2429 also expanded AHPP income categories to include households at the lowest end of the income scale, whose gross income does not exceed 30 percent of the area median income, sometimes referred to as the extremely low-income category; and WHEREAS, Ordinance 2429 further provided that a developer may meet its AHPP requirements by developing 5 percent of the total units of the project to be made available at affordable rent to households in the extremely low-income category; and 3 WHEREAS, the extremely low-income category was added to the AHPP to stimulate the development of such units; and WHEREAS, since the adoption of Ordinance 2429, more than one-third of all affordable units approved have been in the extremely-low income category, and, in 2018, 84 percent of all affordable units approved were in the extremely-low income category; and WHEREAS, although the City has met its overall affordable housing production requirements as mandated by Proposition R since adoption of Proposition R and, collectively, since 2014, the City has seen an overall decline in affordable housing production since 2014 and has not met its annual targets for affordable housing production under Proposition R in fiscal years 2014/2015, 2015/2016, or 2016/2017; and WHEREAS, the production of such a large number of affordable units in the extremely low-income category has resulted in fewer affordable units being produced in the very low-, low- and moderate-income categories and fewer affordable units being produced overall; and WHEREAS, on July 25, 2017, after conducting a feasibility study, the City adopted AHPP obligation requirements specific to the Downtown as part of the Downtown Community Plan (“DCP”); and WHEREAS, the DCP established a 20 percent base requirement for a project’s total affordable housing contribution, with a required distribution across all affordable income levels; and 4 WHEREAS, the DCP AHPP requirements are designed to ensure the development of affordable units to be made available across all income levels and to assist the City in meeting its affordable housing production goals overall; and WHEREAS, the City now desires to conduct a feasibility study to determine whether adjustments to the AHPP obligations are appropriate for areas outside of the City’s Downtown; and WHEREAS, until that study is completed, the City desires to remove the extremely low-income category as an option for satisfying affordable housing production obligations in order to ensure production of affordable housing units at a variety of affordable income levels and to encourage the overall production of affordable housing within the City; and WHEREAS, a significant portion of affordable housing units developed in the City have historically been constructed by affordable housing providers that have received financial assistance from the City to develop 100% affordable housing projects; and W HEREAS, Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.64.030 exempts from the AHPP those 100% affordable housing projects that are developed by nonprofit affordable housing providers receiving financial assistance through the City’s housing trust fund programs; and WHEREAS, as a result of the loss of redevelopment funding in 2012, the City has been unable to provide the same level of financial assistance to affordable housing developers to construct 100% affordable housing projects in the City; and WHEREAS, in order to encourage the development of more 100% affordable housing projects within the City, the City desires to exempt 100% affordable housing 5 projects that will be owned and operated by affordable housing providers receiving financial assistance through the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee from the requirements of the AHPP, subject to certain conditions; and WHEREAS, the proposed exemption would allow 100% affordable housing projects to comply with regulations adopted by the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, rather than AHPP requirements, except that tenant applications would be selected from the City’s list of eligible tenants; and WHEREAS, the proposed amendments to the AHPP are intended to achieve greater affordability and maintain Santa Monica’s economic diversity; and WHEREAS, the proposed changes to the AHPP would result in lower rents and greater accessibility of affordable housing to lower income households; and WHEREAS, the proposed amendments to the AHPP are consistent with Proposition R. NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.64.030 is hereby amended to read as follows: 9.64.030 Applicability of chapter. A. The obligations established by this Chapter shall apply to each multi-family project involving the construction of two or more multi-family units. Multi-family projects that, which project has not have received its ministerial or discretionary planning approvals on or prior to July 26, 2013 shall be subject to the provisions of Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.56.010 et seq., as 6 they existed on the date of their approvals, except that pricing requirements for affordable housing units shall be published by the City on an annual basis instead of adoption by resolution of the City Council. For purposes of this Chapter, ministerial or discretionary planning approvals include, but are not limited to: plan checks, variances, conditional use permits, administrative approvals, development review permits, and development agreement ordinances which have not yet become effective (collectively, "Approvals") on or before July 26, 2013. B. No building permit shall be issue d for any multi-family project unless such project construction has been approved in accordance with the standards and procedures set forth in provided for by this Chapter. C. Notwithstanding the above, a multi-family rental housing project shall be subject to Section 9.64.110 of this Chapter but shall not be subject to the other requirements of this Chapter if the project is secured by a regulatory agreement, memorandum of agreement, or recorded covenant with the City valid for a minimum period of fifty-five years and the project is: 1. A 100% affordable housing project, as defined by Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.52.020.0050, that a multi-family rental housing project that will be developed by a nonprofit housing provider receiving financial assistance through one of the City’s housing trust fund programs shall not be subject to the requirements of this Chapter so long as the project is an affordable housing project meeting the requirements of Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.52.020 or any successor 7 thereto and the project’s affordability obligations will be secured by a regulatory agreement, memorandum of agreement, or recorded covenant with the City for a minimum period of fifty-five years. 2. Additionally, a A multi-family rental housing 100% affordable housing project, as defined by Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.52.020.0050 that (a) will be developed by a nonprofit housing provider receiving financial assistance through the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee; (b) will comply with California Tax Credit Allocation Committee Regulations as set forth in California Code of Regulations, Title 4, Sections 10300 and following, including minimum unit size requirements set forth in Section 4, § 10325(g)(1)(B); and (c) does not compete in the same category and round of competition to receive financial assistance through the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee as a project receiving financial assistance from the City, as reasonably determined by the City Manager. B. Multi-family projects which have received Approvals prior to the effective date of this ordinance shall be subject to the provisions of Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.64.010 et seq., as they existed on the date of their approvals, except that pricing requirements for affordable housing units shall be published by the City on an annual basis instead of adoption by resolution of the City Council. DC. A designated landmark building or contributing structure to an adopted Historic District that is retained and preserved on-site as part of a multi- 8 family project shall not be considered or included in assessing any of the requirements under this Chapter. SECTION 2. Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.64.050 is hereby amended to read as follows: 9.64.050 On-site option. The following requirements must be met to satisfy the on -site provisions of this Chapter: A. For ownership projects of at least four units but not more than fifteen units in multi-family residential districts, the multi-family project applicant agrees to construct at least: (1) twenty percent of the total units as ownership units for moderate-income households at an Affordable Ownership Hosing Cost, or as an alternative; (2) twenty percent of the total units as rental units for 80% income households at affordable rent if these rental units are provided by the applicant in accordance with Civil Code Sections 1954.52(b) and 1954.53(a)(2); (3) ten percent of the total units as rental units for 50% income households at affordable rent if these rental units are provided by the applicant in accordance with Civil Code Sections 1954.52(b) and 1954.53(a)(2); or (4) for projects with an application for a ministerial or discretionary planning approval that is determined complete on or before March 26, 2019, five percent of the total units as rental units for 30% income households at affordable rent if these rental units are provided by the applicant in accordance with Civil Code Sections 1954.52(b) and 1954.53(a)(2). 9 B. For ownership projects of sixteen units or more in multi-family residential districts, the multi-family project applicant agrees to construct at least: (1) twenty-five percent of the total units as ownership units for moderate -income households at an Affordable Ownership Housing Cost, or as an alternative; (2) twenty-five percent of the total units as rental units for 80% income households at affordable rent if these rental units are provided by the applicant in accordance with Civil Code Sections 1954.52(b) and 1954.53(a)(2); fifteen perc ent of the total units as rental units for 50% income households at affordable rent if these rental units are provided by the applicant in accordance with Civil Code Sections 1954.52(b) and 1954.53(a)(2); or (4) for projects with an application for a ministerial or discretionary planning approval that is determined complete on or before March 26, 2019, ten percent of the total units as rental units for 30% income households at affordable rent if these rental units are provided by the applicant in accordance with Civil Code Sections 1954.52(b) and 1954.53(a)(2). C. For all other multi-family applicants, the multi-family project applicant agrees to construct at least: 1. five percent of the total units of the project for 30% income households at affordable rent for projects with an application for a ministerial or discretionary planning approval that is determined complete on or before March 26, 2019; 2. ten percent of the total units of the project for 50% income households at affordable rent; 10 3. twenty percent of the total units of the project fo r 80% income households at affordable rent; or 4. one hundred percent of the total units of a project for moderate income households at affordable rent. D. Except as provided in 9.23.030(A), any fractional affordable housing unit that results from the formulas of this Section that is 0.75 or more shall be treated as a whole affordable housing unit (i.e., any resulting fraction shall be rounded up to the next larger integer) and that unit shall also be built pursuant to the provisions of this Section. Any fractional affordable housing unit that is less than 0.75 can be satisfied by the payment of an affordable housing fee for that fractional unit only pursuant to Section 9.64.070(A)(2) or by constructing all the mandatory on-site affordable units with three or more bedrooms. The City shall make available a list of income levels for 30% income households, 50% income households, 80% income households, and moderate income households, adjusted for household size, the corresponding maximum affordable rents adjusted by household size appropriate for the unit, and the minimum number of units required for 30% income households, 50% income households, or 80% income households required for typical sizes of multi-family projects, which list shall be updated periodically. E. The multi-family project applicant may reduce either the size or interior amenities of the affordable housing units as long as there are not significant identifiable differences between affordable housing units and market rate units visible from the exterior of the dwelling units; provided, that all dwelling 11 units conform to the requirements of the applicable Building and Housing Codes. However, except as provided in Section 9.23.030(A), each affordable housing unit provided shall have at least two bedrooms unless: 1. The proposed project comprises at least ninety-five percent one bedroom units, excluding the manager’s unit, in which case the affordable housing units may be one bedroom; 2. The proposed project comprises at least ninety-five percent zero bedroom units, excluding the manager’s unit, in which case the affordable housing units may be zero bedroom units; 3. The proposed project comprises zero and one bedroom units, excluding the manager’s unit, in which case the affordable housing units must be at least one bedroom units; or 4. The multi-family project applicant has elected not to pay the affordable housing fee pursuant to Section 9.64.070(A)(2), in which case the affordable housing units must be at least three bedroom units. The design of the affordable housing units shall be reasonably consistent with the market rate units in the project. An affordable housing unit shall have a minimum total floor area, depending upon the number of bedrooms provided, no less than the following: 12 0 bedrooms 500 square feet 1 occupant 1 bedroom 600 square feet 1 occupant 2 bedroom 850 square feet 2 occupants 3 bedrooms 1,800 square feet 3 occupants 4 bedrooms 1,200 square feet 5 occupants Affordable housing units in multi-family projects of one hundred units or more must be evenly disbursed throughout the multi-family project to prevent undue concentrations of affordable housing units. F. All affordable housing units in a multi-family project or a phase of a multi-family project shall be constructed concurrently with the construction of market rate units in the multi-family project or phase of that project. G. On-site affordable housing units must be rental units in rental projects. In ownership projects, these affordable housing units may be either rental units or ownership units. H. Each multi-family project applicant, or his or her successor, shall submit an annual report to the City identifying wh ich units are affordable units, the monthly rent (or total housing cost if an ownership unit), vacancy information for each affordable unit for the prior year, verification of income of the household occupying each affordable unit throughout the prior year, and such other information as may be required by City staff. I. A multi-family project applicant in a residential district who meets the requirements of this Section shall be entitled to the density bonuses and 13 incentives provided by Sections 9.22.030 or any successor thereto and the waiver/modification of development standards provided by Section 9.22.040 or any successor thereto. A multi-family project applicant in a commercial or industrial district shall be entitled to the development bonuses and incentives provided in the Land Use and Circulation Element and implementing ordinances. J. All residential developments providing affordable housing on -site pursuant to the provisions of this Section shall receive priority building department plan check processing by which housing developments shall have plan check review in advance of other pending developments to the extent authorized by law. K. The City Council may by resolution establish compliance monitoring fees which reflect the reasonable regulatory cost to the City of ensuring compliance with this Section when affordable housing units are being initially rented or sold, when the required annual reports are submitted to the City, and when the units are being re-sold or re-leased. SECTION 3. Any provision of the Municipal Code or appendices thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, to the extent of such inconsistencies and no further, is hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary to effect the provisions of this Ordinance. SECTION 4. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not aff ect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would 14 have passed this Ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional without reg ard to whether any portion of the ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional. SECTION 5. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage of this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published on ce in the official newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. This Ordinance shall become effective 30 days from its adoption. APPROVED AS TO FORM: _______________________ LANE DILG City Attorney 14 ATTACHMENT B: DEVELOPMENTS COMPLETED Address Total Ex-Low - 30 V-Low - 50 Low - 80 Mod - 120 Market Completed Year 914 5th St 4 4 2014 947 4th St 5 5 2014 2640 Lincoln Blvd. 2 2 2014 214 Santa Monica Blvd. 38 4 34 2014 1127 Princeton St 3 3 2014 1959 High Place [HPE] [2401 44 5 39 2014 1754 19th St 49 5 42 2 2014 612 Lincoln Blvd 4 4 2014 1317 7th St 57 6 51 2014 1755 Ocean Avenue 93 93 2014 1725 Ocean Avenue 160 58 47 53 2 2014 1705 Ocean Avenue 65 65 2014 829 Broadway [Phase II] 19 3 16 0 2014 1548 6th St 4 1 3 2014 1253 17th St 4 4 2014 713 Ashland 2 2 2015 1837 12th Street 8 8 2015 908 5th St 3 3 2015 702 Arizona Ave 49 5 44 2015 1919 4th St 3 3 2015 2438 Ocean Park Blvd 2 2 2015 1959 20th Street 2 2 2015 943 16th St 5 1 4 2015 1834 Euclid Street 2 2 2015 520 Colorado 34 12 20 2 2015 1319 Yale St 6 1 5 2016 1171 Franklin St 6 1 5 2016 525 Broadway 122 122 2016 1012 2nd St 4 4 2016 1318 2nd St 53 5 5 43 2016 2316 3rd St 3 3 2016 1347 19th St 3 3 2016 1236 25th St 3 3 2017 1433 18th St 6 1 5 2017 1433 14th St 19 19 2017 3214 Highland 6 1 5 2017 1455 4th St 2 2 2017 1750 10th St 7 1 6 2018 1211 9th St 5 1 4 2018 1803-1807 16th St 10 10 2018 1038 Bay St 2 2 2018 2919 Lincoln Blvd 10 1 9 2018 954 5th St 3 3 2018 1626 Lincoln Blvd. 64 7 39 18 0 2018 1329 California Ave 3 3 2018 1136 18th St 3 3 2018 Total: 46 Projects 1001 87 170 125 20 599 15 ATTACHMENT C: DEVELOPMENTS IN CONSTRUCTION Address Total Ex- Low - 30 V- Low - 50 Low - 80 Mod - 120 Market Planning Approval Bldg Permit 1621 Franklin St 4 1 3 2011 2013 2930 Colorado (VTP) 356 3 35 318 2013 2015 2913 10th St 3 3 2013 2016 2300 Wilshire Blvd 30 30 2014 2016 1423 Franklin St. 3 3 2016 2016 3008 Santa Monica Blvd. 24 2 22 2018 2016 1807 17th St 6 1 5 2007 2017 1444 11th St 8 2 6 2008 2017 2323 28th St 8 1 7 2009 2017 1533 11th St 5 1 4 2012 2017 1112 Pico Blvd 32 4 28 2014 2017 1541 Franklin 5 1 4 2014 2017 723 Pier Ave 2 2 2015 2017 1927 18th St 3 3 2015 2017 1025 Euclid St. 5 5 2006 2018 1601 Lincoln Blvd 90 14 4 1 71 2015 2018 1560 Lincoln Blvd 100 15 5 80 2015 2018 1014 Bay St 3 3 2016 2018 1641 Lincoln Blvd. 66 5 61 2016 2018 212 Bay St. 3 3 2016 2018 436 Pier Ave 3 3 2017 2018 Total: 21 Projects 759 10 68 10 7 664 16 ATTACHMENT D: DEVELOPMENTS WITH PLANNING APPROVAL Address Total Ex- Low - 30 V- Low - 50 Low - 80 Mod - 120 Market Planning Approval 1041 17th St 8 8 2008 1703 Ocean Front Walk 6 1 5 2009 1518 11th St 6 1 5 2011 919 Broadway 2 2 2014 1211 12th St 13 4 9 2016 1840 17th St. 5 1 4 2016 1927 19th St 3 3 2016 1949 17th St 5 1 4 2016 2102 5th St. 3 3 2016 500 Broadway (offsite 1626 Lincoln) 249 249 2016 2512 7th St 3 3 2016 1035 21st St 3 3 2017 1121 22nd St 3 3 2017 1216 Arizona Ave 2 2 2017 122 Strand St 3 3 2017 1325 6th St 64 64 2017 1430 Lincoln Blvd 100 100 2017 1613-37 Lincoln Blvd. 191 15 176 2017 1754 10th St 3 3 2017 2219 Virginia Ave 3 3 2017 2901 Santa Monica Blvd 51 5 46 2017 423 Ocean Ave. [aka 429] 12 2 10 2017 601 Wilshire Blvd 40 5 35 2017 2215 5th St 2 2 2017 1437 Lincoln Blvd 40 6 34 2018 2903 Lincoln Blvd. 47 4 43 2018 2225 Broadway 16 2 14 2018 1450 Cloverfield Blvd. 34 3 31 2018 1318 Lincoln Blvd. 43 4 39 2018 1650 Lincoln Blvd 100 8 92 2018 401 Ocean Ave 5 5 2018 1342 Berkeley St 8 8 0 2018 1443 18th St 12 12 2018 1824 14th St 39 4 20 15 0 2018 234 Pico Blvd 105 8 97 2018 2822 Santa Monica Blvd 50 4 46 2018 1828 Ocean Ave 83 12 71 2018 1921 Ocean Front Walk 22 22 2018 Total: 38 Projects 1384 60 52 19 2 1251 17 ATTACHMENT E: PENDING DEVELOPMENTS Address Total Market Affordable % Affordable 1514 7th St 50 0 50 100% 711 Colorado 56 0 56 100% 1235 5th St 23 18 5 22% 1543 7th St 100 100 0 0% 601 Colorado Ave 140 140 0 0% 1425 5th St 92 92 0 0% 1323 5th St 41 39 2 5% 1437 7th St 65 52 13 20% 501 Broadway 94 60 34 36% 525 Colorado Ave 40 28 12 30% 1338 5th St 96 91 5 5% 1427 Lincoln Blvd 15 12 3 20% 1557 7th St 40 38 2 5% 1437 6th St 41 39 2 5% 1238 7th St 37 0 37 100% 2906 Santa Monica Blvd 44 40 4 9% 3223 Wilshire Blvd 53 49 4 8% 1618 Stanford 50 46 4 8% 1445‐1453 10th St 40 0 40 100% 1301 4th St 48 0 48 100% 101 Santa Monica Blvd 79 61 18 23% 1437 5th St 41 39 2 5% 1415 5th St 102 97 5 5% 2020 Virginia Ave 21 19 2 10% 18 1665 Appian Way 3 3 0 0% 3030 Nebraska Ave 177 164 13 7% 1707 Cloverfield Blvd 63 58 5 8% Total: 27 Projects 1,651 1,285 366 22% 14 ATTACHMENT B: DEVELOPMENTS COMPLETED Address Total Ex-Low - 30 V-Low - 50 Low - 80 Mod - 120 Market Completed Year 914 5th St 4 4 2014 947 4th St 5 5 2014 2640 Lincoln Blvd. 2 2 2014 214 Santa Monica Blvd. 38 4 34 2014 1127 Princeton St 3 3 2014 1959 High Place [HPE] [2401 44 5 39 2014 1754 19th St 49 5 42 2 2014 612 Lincoln Blvd 4 4 2014 1317 7th St 57 6 51 2014 1755 Ocean Avenue 93 93 2014 1725 Ocean Avenue 160 58 47 53 2 2014 1705 Ocean Avenue 65 65 2014 829 Broadway [Phase II] 19 3 16 0 2014 1548 6th St 4 1 3 2014 1253 17th St 4 4 2014 713 Ashland 2 2 2015 1837 12th Street 8 8 2015 908 5th St 3 3 2015 702 Arizona Ave 49 5 44 2015 1919 4th St 3 3 2015 2438 Ocean Park Blvd 2 2 2015 1959 20th Street 2 2 2015 943 16th St 5 1 4 2015 1834 Euclid Street 2 2 2015 520 Colorado 34 12 20 2 2015 1319 Yale St 6 1 5 2016 1171 Franklin St 6 1 5 2016 525 Broadway 122 122 2016 1012 2nd St 4 4 2016 1318 2nd St 53 5 5 43 2016 2316 3rd St 3 3 2016 1347 19th St 3 3 2016 1236 25th St 3 3 2017 1433 18th St 6 1 5 2017 1433 14th St 19 19 2017 3214 Highland 6 1 5 2017 1455 4th St 2 2 2017 1750 10th St 7 1 6 2018 1211 9th St 5 1 4 2018 1803-1807 16th St 10 10 2018 1038 Bay St 2 2 2018 2919 Lincoln Blvd 10 1 9 2018 954 5th St 3 3 2018 1626 Lincoln Blvd. 64 7 39 18 0 2018 1329 California Ave 3 3 2018 1136 18th St 3 3 2018 Total: 46 Projects 1001 87 170 125 20 599 15 ATTACHMENT C: DEVELOPMENTS IN CONSTRUCTION Address Total Ex- Low - 30 V- Low - 50 Low - 80 Mod - 120 Market Planning Approval Bldg Permit 1621 Franklin St 4 1 3 2011 2013 2930 Colorado (VTP) 356 3 35 318 2013 2015 2913 10th St 3 3 2013 2016 2300 Wilshire Blvd 30 30 2014 2016 1423 Franklin St. 3 3 2016 2016 3008 Santa Monica Blvd. 24 2 22 2018 2016 1807 17th St 6 1 5 2007 2017 1444 11th St 8 2 6 2008 2017 2323 28th St 8 1 7 2009 2017 1533 11th St 5 1 4 2012 2017 1112 Pico Blvd 32 4 28 2014 2017 1541 Franklin 5 1 4 2014 2017 723 Pier Ave 2 2 2015 2017 1927 18th St 3 3 2015 2017 1025 Euclid St. 5 5 2006 2018 1601 Lincoln Blvd 90 14 4 1 71 2015 2018 1560 Lincoln Blvd 100 15 5 80 2015 2018 1014 Bay St 3 3 2016 2018 1641 Lincoln Blvd. 66 5 61 2016 2018 212 Bay St. 3 3 2016 2018 436 Pier Ave 3 3 2017 2018 Total: 21 Projects 759 10 68 10 7 664 16 ATTACHMENT D: DEVELOPMENTS WITH PLANNING APPROVAL Address Total Ex- Low - 30 V- Low - 50 Low - 80 Mod - 120 Market Planning Approval 1041 17th St 8 8 2008 1703 Ocean Front Walk 6 1 5 2009 1518 11th St 6 1 5 2011 919 Broadway 2 2 2014 1211 12th St 13 4 9 2016 1840 17th St. 5 1 4 2016 1927 19th St 3 3 2016 1949 17th St 5 1 4 2016 2102 5th St. 3 3 2016 500 Broadway (offsite 1626 Lincoln) 249 249 2016 2512 7th St 3 3 2016 1035 21st St 3 3 2017 1121 22nd St 3 3 2017 1216 Arizona Ave 2 2 2017 122 Strand St 3 3 2017 1325 6th St 64 64 2017 1430 Lincoln Blvd 100 100 2017 1613-37 Lincoln Blvd. 191 15 176 2017 1754 10th St 3 3 2017 2219 Virginia Ave 3 3 2017 2901 Santa Monica Blvd 51 5 46 2017 423 Ocean Ave. [aka 429] 12 2 10 2017 601 Wilshire Blvd 40 5 35 2017 2215 5th St 2 2 2017 1437 Lincoln Blvd 40 6 34 2018 2903 Lincoln Blvd. 47 4 43 2018 2225 Broadway 16 2 14 2018 1450 Cloverfield Blvd. 34 3 31 2018 1318 Lincoln Blvd. 43 4 39 2018 1650 Lincoln Blvd 100 8 92 2018 401 Ocean Ave 5 5 2018 1342 Berkeley St 8 8 0 2018 1443 18th St 12 12 2018 1824 14th St 39 4 20 15 0 2018 234 Pico Blvd 105 8 97 2018 2822 Santa Monica Blvd 50 4 46 2018 1828 Ocean Ave 83 12 71 2018 1921 Ocean Front Walk 22 22 2018 Total: 38 Projects 1384 60 52 19 2 1251 17 ATTACHMENT E: PENDING DEVELOPMENTS Address Total Market Affordable % Affordable 1514 7th St 50 0 50 100% 711 Colorado 56 0 56 100% 1235 5th St 23 18 5 22% 1543 7th St 100 100 0 0% 601 Colorado Ave 140 140 0 0% 1425 5th St 92 92 0 0% 1323 5th St 41 39 2 5% 1437 7th St 65 52 13 20% 501 Broadway 94 60 34 36% 525 Colorado Ave 40 28 12 30% 1338 5th St 96 91 5 5% 1427 Lincoln Blvd 15 12 3 20% 1557 7th St 40 38 2 5% 1437 6th St 41 39 2 5% 1238 7th St 37 0 37 100% 2906 Santa Monica Blvd 44 40 4 9% 3223 Wilshire Blvd 53 49 4 8% 1618 Stanford 50 46 4 8% 1445‐1453 10th St 40 0 40 100% 1301 4th St 48 0 48 100% 101 Santa Monica Blvd 79 61 18 23% 1437 5th St 41 39 2 5% 1415 5th St 102 97 5 5% 2020 Virginia Ave 21 19 2 10% 18 1665 Appian Way 3 3 0 0% 3030 Nebraska Ave 177 164 13 7% 1707 Cloverfield Blvd 63 58 5 8% Total: 27 Projects 1,651 1,285 366 22% 19 ATTACHMENT F: SCAG REGIONAL HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENT PROGRESS RHNA Quantified Objective Completed and In Construction Needed for RHNA Needed for Quantified Objective Approved (not In Construction) Extremely Low (0-30% AMI) 428 83 97 93 (14) 60 Very Low (31- 50% AMI) 214 238 (24) 52 Low (51-80% AMI) 263 263 135 128 128 19 Moderate (81- 120% AMI) 283 111 27 256 84 2 Above Moderate (>120% AMI) 700 700 1,263 (563) (563) 1,251 Totals 1,674 1,371 1,760 1 Vernice Hankins From:Fred Alexander <riverfred1@gmail.com> Sent:Saturday, March 23, 2019 9:09 AM To:councilmtgitems Subject:Community Dear Council,  In regards to affordable housing, you do not get much bang for your buck in SM, that is why people commute. With the  train system leading to SM people can live outside of SM and easily commute with low fares. Please use the funds for  affordable housing for more practical purposes.  In regards to the homeless, I suggest the council study other beach cities that do not have the problem SM has such as:  Dana Point, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Seal Beach, Hermosa Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, etc.  Obviously these beach communities are not attracting the homeless and destroying the quality of life of their residents.  Fred Alexander  Long time concerned resident  Item 7-B 03/26/19 1 of 19 Item 7-B 03/26/19 I t e m 7 - B 0 3 / 2 6 / 1 9 2 o f 1 9 I t e m 7 - B 0 3 / 2 6 / 1 9 I t e m 7 - B 0 3 / 2 6 / 1 9 3 o f 1 9 I t e m 7 - B 0 3 / 2 6 / 1 9 I t e m 7 - B 0 3 / 2 6 / 1 9 4 o f 1 9 I t e m 7 - B 0 3 / 2 6 / 1 9 1 Vernice Hankins From:Hank Koning <hkoning@kearch.com> Sent:Monday, March 25, 2019 10:00 AM To:councilmtgitems Subject:Agenda Item 7B: Zoning Code change - an opportunity to create more affordable housing Mayor, City Council Members, I am writing to support the proposed revisions to the Zoning Code as supported by CCSM and Amy Anderson towards creating more options for the production of affordable housing in Santa Monica. As a resident of and business owner in Santa Monica for 38 years I appreciate the need for more housing, and particularly affordable housing, in this fine City. And as an Architect involved in both market rate and affordable housing I understand the need to have flexibility in how this is produce. Kind Regards Hank Koning Hank Koning FAIA FRAIA LEED A.P. Founding Principal KoningEizenberg | 1454 25th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90404 310 828 6131 x111 www.kearch.com Item 7-B 03/26/19 5 of 19 Item 7-B 03/26/19 March 26, 2019 Santa Monica City Council 1685 Main Street Santa Monica, CA 90405 RE: ITEM 7B: ELIMINATION OF THE EXTREMELY LOW INCOME HOUSING OPTION FROM THE AHPP Dear Mayor Davis and Councilmembers: I would first like to thank you for referring the proposed Interim Zoning Ordinance calling for the elimination of the Extremely Low Income (ELI) option from the Affordable Housing Production Program (AHPP) to the Planning Commission for discussion. I would also like to acknowledge City staff, who prepared an excellent staff report and presentation for us. We had a robust discussion of this issue at our February 20, 2019 meeting and deadlocked, 3 to 3, on whether to support or reject this proposal. The Planning Commission discussed what we were told was to be an Interim Ordinance, which would be in place until the final adoption of AHPP changes, if any, which may be based on the findings of the feasibility study. However, the draft Ordinance before you on March 26 seems to be a permanent one with no reference to “Interim” or a sunset date. I would appreciate clarification of this. Although I am writing this as an individual, not as a representative of Planning Commission, I would like to share with you the discussion points which were raised at the meeting. Those opposing elimination of the ELI option did so after pointing out the following reasons for supporting their objections. (The language in italics has been added by me and was not brought up at the Planning Commission meeting.) The ELI option provides housing opportunities for the very lowest income among us and is therefore a safety net for preventing homelessness. Given the City’s strong commitment to addressing the needs of the homeless, eliminating the ELI makes no sense. The definition of extremely low income for a family of four is an annual income that does not exceed $29,050. For an individual, the annual income limit is set at $20,050. Eliminating the ELI option has no impact on the City’s meeting its Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) goals since the RHNA does not include an Extremely Low Income housing goal. Instead, the RHNA prescribes a housing goal for Very Low Income units, which includes the ELI units produced. The City Housing Element does include a goal for ELI households, but achievement of this goal is not considered by the State when evaluating our compliance with the RHNA. The State bunches our ELI units with Very Low Income units when assessing the City’s assessing its performance. Item 7-B 03/26/19 6 of 19 Item 7-B 03/26/19 The major vehicle for compliance with the production requirements of Measure R was never thought to be inclusionary units produced under the AHPP. Instead, the 100% affordable housing projects developed and owned by CCSM and other nonprofits were always considered to be the vehicle for compliance. Historically, more than 60% of the units produced in compliance with Measure R have been in 100% affordable projects. With the death of redevelopment and the loss of those housing funds, the City has experienced a slowdown in the production of 100% affordable projects. However, that is changing with investment in the Housing Trust Fund and the development of AHPP off-site projects. We therefore expect to see an increase in the percentage of nonprofits’ contribution to Measure R compliance. (According to its Executive Director, CCSM has two projects that will begin construction in 2019 and five more projects in the predevelopment pipeline. This point was overlooked, I believe, in staff’s recommendation to eliminate the ELI option. Before reacting to the apparent over reliance on the ELI option, the Council should ask for an income level breakdown of these CCSM projects. The alarm over Measure R compliance may be an overreaction.) Revising the AHPP on a piecemeal basis is not prudent policy making. Instead, the Council should await the findings of the feasibility study and revise the AHPP based on those findings and public input. There is no current analysis proving the feasibility of AHPP requirements other than ELI units for Tier 2 projects. If a developer chooses an option other than ELI units for a Tier 2 mixed income project, that project must include 15% of the units for Very Low Income households, or 30% of the units for Low Income households. We do not know if these requirements work. The only feasibility test ever done was in 2014, and it only looked at Very Low Income inclusionary units. The analysis was limited to one Tier 2 prototype project in downtown using the Very Low Income option. One cannot consider this limited 5-year old analysis to be applicable Citywide. It is also no longer valid since construction costs have risen 30-40% since then. The Commissioners in favor of removal of the ELI option were of the belief that developers are opting for the ELI choice because it means more profit for them. They may be right, but no one knows for sure. We are all frustrated with mixed income projects coming before us with the minimum number of inclusionary units allowable. The point is that no one knows whether the inclusion of units other than ELI units is feasible. And, until we do, we should not be tinkering with the AHPP requirements. Thank you for your consideration and for your commitment to affordable housing in Santa Monica. Respectfully, Leslie Lambert, Sunset Park Resident Item 7-B 03/26/19 7 of 19 Item 7-B 03/26/19 1 Vernice Hankins From:Soloff, Michael <Mike.Soloff@mto.com> Sent:Monday, March 25, 2019 5:28 PM To:councilmtgitems Cc:Gleam Davis; Terry O’Day; Councilmember Kevin McKeown; Ted Winterer; Sue Himmelrich; Greg Morena; Ana Maria Jara Subject:Agenda Item 7B (Mar. 26, 2019) -- Temporary Removal from AHPP of Extremely Low income Option Attachments:Chair Soloff Report to SMHC re Extremely Low income Option.pdf; PERSONAL VIEW OF MICHAEL SOLOFF REGARDING INITIAL HTF PLAN (ITEM 8.D).pdf To the Honorable Members of the Santa Monica City Council: One topic covered under your Agenda item 7B is whether to amend the Affordable Housing Production Program to temporarily eliminate the extremely low income option. I write first to provide additional information regarding the Housing Commission’s deliberations regarding this issue, and then to share some additional personal views. Housing Commission Deliberations I attach for your reference the Report that I presented to the Housing Commission at its November 15, 2018 meeting when we first discussed the issue (as well as my prior report referenced therein). In that Report I demonstrate that (1) the City will not achieve compliance with Proposition R during the 2013- 2021 Housing Element, (2) the existing extremely low income option—which requires just half the number of affordable units as the next lowest income option—incentives for-profit developers to select this option when it is available (i.e., a Tier 1 or Tier 2 project outside the current Downtown Community Plan), (3) selection of this option—which provides at most 8% affordable units in a project—imposes a large burden on the City to use its own limited funds to create enough affordable units to meet Proposition R, and (4) no plan yet existed to conduct the feasibility study needed to revise the AHPP outside of the Downtown as directed by City Council as part of the Housing Trust Fund Plan adopted in July 2018. This is the same Report you received (among other items) in connection with Item 13.G on your December 18, 2018 agenda. Prior to its February 21, 2019 meeting, the Santa Monica Housing Commission also received the staff report on this issue provided to the Planning Commission. After further discussion, the Housing Commission passed the following resolution by a vote of 6 ayes, 0 noes, and 1 abstain: Motion by Chair Soloff, seconded by Commissioner Katz to recommend that City Council (1) adopt an interim zoning ordinance temporarily suspending the extremely low income option in the Affordable Housing Production Program outside of the Downtown, (2) direct the expedited preparation of an economic feasibility study of the Affordable Housing Production Program outside of the Downtown, and (3) direct that the results of that study be brought before the Planning Commission and the Housing Commission for their deliberations and recommendations about permanent solutions. Additional Personal Views Item 7-B 03/26/19 8 of 19 Item 7-B 03/26/19 2 Voter approved Proposition R provides that “The City Council by ordinance shall at all times require that not less than thirty percent (30%) of all multifamily-residential housing newly constructed in the City on an annual basis is permanently affordable to and occupied by low and moderate income households.” The City will not comply with Proposition R over the eight years of the current Housing Element. . The AHPP is a critical component of the Council’s efforts to comply with Proposition R In July 2017 the Council—using data from an HR&A feasibility analysis, and recommendations from staff, the Planning Commission, and the Housing Commission—developed and adopted a new approach to the AHPP for the Downtown that is designed to better serve the requirements of Proposition R and the City’s other affordable housing goals. Both at that time, and a year later, the Housing Commission recommended that Council direct a similar feasibility analysis outside of the Downtown so that that portion of the AHPP likewise could be changed to better align with Proposition R and the City’s other affordable housing goals. The Council adopted that recommendation in July of 2018 as a part of the initial Housing Trust Fund Plan for the 2013-2021 Housing element period. Only now is there an effort to contract for that feasibility study. In the meantime, every additional project that utilizes the extremely low income option makes it that much more difficult for the City to catch up, and/or will make it more difficult to meet Proposition R’s requirements over course of the next eight year Housing Element. As the old adage states, the best way out of a hole is to stop digging. I therefore join my fellow Housing Commissioners in urging the temporary suspension of the extremely low income option outside the Downtown, an expedited feasibility study, and deliberation by staff, the Planning Commission, the Housing Commission and ultimately the Council on an improved design for the AHPP outside of the Downtown. In that regard, I object to the apparent recommendation of staff (not presented to the Housing Commission) that any project with a completed application as of March 26, 2019, be permitted to continue to use the extremely low income option. Given that the existing text of the AHPP provides that only projects with “Approvals” prior to the effective date of a prior revision to the AHPP do not have to comply with the new requirements, there does not appear to be any legal requirement to adopt staff’s proposal (although I claim no expertise on that legal issue). Nor is there an equitable requirement to do so. For-profit developers earn large returns precisely because they take risk, including entitlement risk. Moreover, since July of 2018, developers have had notice that City Council had directed a new AHPP feasibility study outside of the Downtown, with an eye toward revising the AHPP. And as of December 18, 2018, developers knew that Council had directed preparation of an ordinance to suspend the extremely low income option. Given all of these circumstances, the voters who passed Proposition R, and the taxpayers and residents who money goes to fund affordable housing, properly will want to know why staff—and if adopted, why the City Council—believes it is necessary or proper to make Proposition R’s mandate harder and more expensive to reach by grandfathering any project with an application completed as of March 26, 2019. Michael E. Soloff | Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP 350 South Grand Avenue | Los Angeles, CA 90071 Tel: 213.683.9159 | Fax: 213.683.5159 | mike.soloff@mto.com | www.mto.com Item 7-B 03/26/19 9 of 19 Item 7-B 03/26/19 3 ***NOTICE*** This message is confidential and may contain information that is privileged, attorney work product or otherwise exempt from disclosure under applicable law. It is not intended for transmission to, or receipt by, any unauthorized person. If you have received this message in error, do not read it. Please delete it without copying it, and notify the sender by separate e-mail so that our address record can be corrected. Thank you.    Item 7-B 03/26/19 10 of 19 Item 7-B 03/26/19 To: Santa Monica Housing Commission From: Chair Michael Soloff Re: Item 4C on Agenda for November 15, 2018 Meeting I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY While it is projected that the City will meet or exceed all of its other housing production goals during the 2013-2021 Housing Element cycle, it is projected that only 25% of all new housing completed during that time period will be affordable housing, rather than 30% as mandated by Proposition R. While the lack of an HTF funding source for the first half of that time period undoubtedly played a role, so too did the over-incentivization in the Affordable Housing Production Program for developers to choose to provide a very small number of extremely low income units in complete satisfaction of their inclusionary housing obligations. The City Council remedied this issue in the Downtown Community Plan in July of 2017 based on the HRA feasibility analysis. The Housing Commission recommended in 2017 that a review take place of the AHPP outside the Downtown Community Plan, and the Housing Commission recommended in 2018 that the City Council put into the initial HTF plan a direction to Staff to do so as soon as possible. While the City Council adopted this recommendation, Staff advises that Planning Staff is necessary to the process of obtaining the feasibility study essential to any such review, and that Planning Staff reports it is fully engaged on other matters that City Council prioritized over the AHPP review outside of the downtown. The 105 unit Tier 2 project on Pico Boulevard considered for a Development Review Permit by the Planning Commission at its November 7, 2018 meeting illustrates that the AHPP requirements outside of the Downtown Community Plan continue to undermine City efforts to meet Proposition R’s Charter mandate. By providing only 8 extremely low income affordable units, that project imposes on the City the obligation to produce 34 new affordable housing units just to meet the Proposition R mandate created by this one project. The Housing Commission should discuss what, if anything, can and should be done in light of these realities. Possibilities include (1) asking Council to preclude the extremely low income option outside the downtown until a feasibility study can be conducted and/or (2) urging the City Council to direct that a higher priority be placed on obtaining and acting upon such a feasibility study. II. BACKGROUND A. The City’s Affordable Housing Production Program 1. The AHPP In Areas Outside The Areas Governed By The Downtown Community Plan In 1990 the voters of Santa Monica passed Proposition R, which amended the City Charter to add the following provision: Item 7-B 03/26/19 11 of 19 Item 7-B 03/26/19 The City Council by ordinance shall at all times require that not less than thirty percent (30%) of all multifamily-residential housing newly constructed in the City on an annual basis is permanently affordable to and occupied by low and moderate income households. For purposes of this Section, “low income household” means a household with an income not exceeding sixty percent (60%) of the Los Angeles County median income, adjusted by family size, as published from time to time by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, and “moderate income household” means a household with an income not exceeding one hundred percent (100%) of the Los Angeles County median income, adjusted by family size, as published from time to time by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. At least fifty percent (50%) of the newly constructed units required to be permanently affordable by this Section shall be affordable to and occupied by low income households. Santa Monica City Charter Section 630. Pursuant to this voter mandate, the City Council subsequently adopted an Affordable Housing Production Program (“the AHPP”). As relevant to this Agenda Item, the AHPP currently provides for Tier 2 projects located outside the boundaries of the area governed by the Downtown Community Plan: All Tier 2 projects must meet the following requirements: 1. Affordable Housing. Applicants proposing residential and mixed-use projects shall incorporate the following: a. At least 50 percent more affordable housing units than would be required pursuant to Section 9.64.050.1 Any fractional affordable 1 Section 9.64.050(C) provides (bolding added): C. For all other multi-family applicants, the multi-family project applicant agrees to construct at least: 1. five percent of the total units of the project for 30% income households at affordable rent; 2. ten percent of the total units of the project for 50% income households at affordable rent; 3. twenty percent of the total units of the project for 80% income households at affordable rent; or 4. one hundred percent of the total units of a project for moderate income households at affordable rent. Item 7-B 03/26/19 12 of 19 Item 7-B 03/26/19 housing unit that results from this formula shall be provided as a whole affordable housing unit (i.e., any resulting fraction shall be rounded up to the next larger integer). b. On-site affordable housing units shall be affordable to 30%, 50%, or 80% income households depending on the percentage of affordable units being provided and shall not include any Moderate Income units, as defined by Section 9.64.020. Subject to the modifications contained in this Subsection (A), all of the affordable units shall comply with the provisions of Chapter 9.64. c. Affordable housing units required by this Subsection (A) may be provided offsite, pursuant to Section 9.64.060 2, if the affordable housing units are owned in whole or part and operated by a non- profit housing provider for the life of the project, and the Final Construction Permit Sign Off or Certificate of Occupancy for the affordable units is issued prior to or concurrently with the Tier 2 project. 2. Unit Mix. Applicants proposing residential and mixed-use projects shall incorporate the following: a. For market rate units: i. At least 15% of the units shall be three-bedroom units; ii. At least 20% of the units shall be two-bedroom units; iii. No more than 15% of the units shall be studio units; iv. The average number of bedrooms for all of the market rate units combined shall be 1.2 or greater; and v. Notwithstanding Subsections (A)(2)(a)(i-ii) above, any fractional housing unit less than 0.5 that results from this unit mix shall be rounded down to the next lower integer. Any fractional housing unit of 0.5 or more that results from this unit mix shall be rounded up to the next larger integer. b. For affordable housing units: 2 Section 9.64.060(B) provides (bolding added): B. For all other multi-family project applicants, the applicant shall agree to construct the same number of affordable housing units as specified in Section 9.64.050(C). Item 7-B 03/26/19 13 of 19 Item 7-B 03/26/19 i. The average number of bedrooms for all of the affordable housing units combined shall be equal to or greater than the average number of bedrooms provided for all of the market rate units pursuant to Subsection (A)(2)(a) of this Section. c. The Director may grant a waiver from this unit mix requirement pursuant to the requirements and procedures for Waivers in Chapter 9.43. d. The requirements of Subsection (A)(2) of this Section shall not apply to project applications filed prior to the effective date of this Ordinance. Santa Monica Municipal Code §§ 9.23.030(C)(1)-(2) (bolding added). 2. AHPP Requirements In The Downtown Community Plan With the adoption of the Downtown Community Plan in the summer of 2017, AHPP requirements for projects in the areas governed by that plan are as follows (emphases in original): Housing and Mixed-Use Residential Projects Qualifying Benefits. An applicant seeking approval for a housing or mixed-use residential project that exceeds the base floor area ratio or height allowed in the district where the project is located shall provide community benefits in each of the following categories. 1. Housing. All Tier 2 projects and Tier 3 projects less than 75,000 square feet must meet the following requirements: a. Affordable Housing. Subject to the modifications contained in this Section, all of the affordable units shall comply with the provisions of Chapter 9.64. As set forth in Table 9.10.070.A, applicants proposing residential and mixed-use projects shall incorporate the following: i. A percentage of the total number of units in the project, corresponding with the height or FAR of the project, shall be deed-restricted as on-site affordable housing units. Any fractional affordable housing unit that results from this formula shall be provided as a whole affordable housing unit (i.e., any resulting fraction shall be rounded up to be the next larger integer). Table 9.10.070.A: On-Site and Off-Site Affordable Housing Requirements Height (Feet) On-Site Affordable Housing % Off-Site Affordable Housing % On-Site Affordable Housing % for Development Agreements and Planning Applications Complete on or before 11/11/16 Off-Site Affordable Housing % for Development Agreements and Planning Applications Complete on or before 11/11/16 Item 7-B 03/26/19 14 of 19 Item 7-B 03/26/19 40-50 20% 25% 20% 25% 52 21% 26% 20% 25% 54 22% 27% 20% 25% 56 23% 28% 20% 25% 58 24% 29% 20% 25% 60 25% 30% 20% 25% 62 26% 31% 20% 25% 64 27% 32% 20% 25% 66 28% 33% 20% 25% 68 29% 34% 20% 25% 70-84 30% 35% 20% 25% ii. Affordable housing units may be provided off site pursuant to Section 9.64.060 except that the total number of affordable housing units shall be increased to the percentage of the total number of units in the project as set forth in Table 9.10.070.A,. The off-site affordable housing units shall meet the following conditions: (1) The affordable housing units are owned in whole or part and operated by a non-profit housing provider for the life of the project; (2) The final construction permit sign off or certificate of occupancy for the affordable units is issued prior to or concurrently with the Tier 2 or qualifying Tier 3 project; and (3) The location of the off-site location shall be within the boundaries of the Downtown or within a one-quarter mile radius of the market rate units. iii. The total number of affordable housing units shall incorporate the affordability mix specified in Table 9.10.070.B. Any fractional affordable housing units that result from the percentage mix of total affordable housing units shall be aggregated into whole affordable housing units (i.e., any resulting fraction shall be added to other resulting fractions). The resulting whole units may be provided at 30%, 50%, 80%, or moderate-income household affordability levels. Table 9.10.070.B. Affordability Affordability Level Affordability Mix of Total Number of Affordable Housing Units 30% Income Household 20% 50% Income Household 20% 80% Income Household 30% Moderate Income 30% Item 7-B 03/26/19 15 of 19 Item 7-B 03/26/19 b. Unit Mix. Applicants proposing residential and mixed-use projects shall incorporate the following: i. For market rate units: (1) At least 15% of the units shall be three-bedroom units; (2) At least 20% of the units shall be two-bedroom units: (3) No more than 15% of the units shall be studio units; (4) The average number of bedrooms for all of the market rate units combined shall be 1.2 or greater; and (5) Notwithstanding subsections (C)(2)(a)(i) through (iii) above, any fractional housing unit less than 0.5 that results from this unit mix shall be rounded down to the next lower integer. Any fractional housing unit of 0.5 or more that results from this unit mix shall be rounded up to the next larger integer. ii. For affordable housing units the average number of bedrooms for all of the affordable housing units combined shall be equal to or greater than the average number of bedrooms provided for all of the market rate units pursuant to subsection (C)(2)(a) of this Section. iii. The Director may grant a waiver from this unit mix requirement pursuant to the requirements and procedures for Waivers in SMMC Chapter 9.43. B. Prior Housing Commission Recommendations To City Council Regarding The AHPP At several meetings in June 2017, the Housing Commission considered the then draft Downtown Community Plan, and made a number of recommendations to the City Council (including recommendations to increase the percentage of affordable units required for project approval in light of the results of the HRA feasibility study performed in connection with the preparation of the draft plan). Of relevance to this agenda item, the Housing Commission recommended (bolding added): Review the entire Affordable Housing Production Program now for consistency with Proposition R mandated income targeting and rent limits, and to assure that the affordability requirements of the AHPP outside of the downtown area are based on an economic analysis similar to that conducted for the DOWNTOWN COMMUNITY PLAN. One year later, in connection with review of the draft initial Housing Trust Fund Plan for the 2013-2021 Housing Element, the Housing Commission recommended that this Plan include the following: Item 7-B 03/26/19 16 of 19 Item 7-B 03/26/19 City staff is directed to develop as soon as possible, in consultation with the Planning and Housing Commissions, a proposal to adjust the AHPP program that applies outside of the Downtown Community Plan. The proposal shall be based on a feasibility study, and shall take into account past and projected future production of housing through inclusionary zoning and HTF funded projects, as well as the quantified objectives in the Housing Element and the requirements of Proposition R. The Staff Report to City Council recommended that the initial HTF Plan include this provision, and City Council did include it. C. Current Status Of Updated AHHP Feasibility Study For Areas Outside Of The Areas Governed By The Downtown Community Plan Based on communications with Staff, it appears that no steps have yet been taken to obtain an updated feasibility study for areas outside of the areas governed by the Downtown Community Plan. Nor is there any projected date for when such a study will be undertaken. Staff advises that work by the Planning Department is necessary to proceed with arranging for such a feasibility study, and that Planning Department Staff advises that it is presently fully engaged on other planning issues given a higher priority by the City Council. D. Impact Of Existing AHPP Requirements Outside The Downtown On Acheivement Of Proposition R Mandates 1. Evidence That The Existing AHPP Requirements Outside Of Downtown Continue To Incentivize Developers To Provide Only A Small Number Of Extremely Low Income Units In Tier 2 Projects The AHPP requirements outside of downtown create an enormous economic incentive for developers to meet their AHPP requirement by providing a small number of extremely low income units. This is because (1) the developer of a Tier 2 project outside of the downtown need only make 7.5% of the units in the building deed-restricted for extremely low income residents in order to satisfy the AHPP, but needs to make 15% of the units deed-restricted for very low income residents or 20% of the units deed-restricted for low income residents in order satisfy the AHPP. The small amount of revenue the developer loses by making units extremely low income (rather than very low income or low income) is tiny compared to the additional revenue the developer receives from charging market rate on those additional units it otherwise would have to make either very low income or low income deed-restricted units. This fact is illustrated by the very small differences in the percentage of affordable extremely low, very low and low income units HRA found feasible in its study of downtown prototypes: Item 7-B 03/26/19 17 of 19 Item 7-B 03/26/19 This reality is also illustrated in the most recent Tier 2 project to come before the Planning Commission (at its 11/7/18 meeting) for a Development Review Permit—216-234 Pico Boulevard. This mixed-use project will create 105 new residential units, only eight of which will be deed-restricted affordable units for extremely low income residents. 2. The Current Status Of The City’s Efforts To Comply With Proposition R During The 2013-2021 Housing Element Period Based on the data and projections provided by Staff in connection with the Housing Commission’s recent review of the draft Initial HTF Plan, the following is the best information currently available: a. Without doing anything more, Santa Monica is projected to produce (i.e., complete or issue building permits for) more than three times the number of market-rate units called for by the current Housing Element. See Part II.B.1 of Personal and Individual Views of Housing Commission Chair Michael E. Soloff regarding Initial Housing Trust Fund Plan (submitted to City Council in connection with Item 8D on the Council’s July 24, 2018 Agenda (provided herewith). b. Without doing anything more, Santa Monica is projected to produce (i.e., complete or issue building permits for) more than the overall number of deed-restricted affordable housing units called for by the current Housing Element. However, the unit mix will deviate from the mix called for by the current Housing Element in that it will include many more extremely-low (30% AMI) and very-low income (50% AMI) units, but considerably fewer low- income (80% AMI) units. See id . Part II.B.2. c. Without doing anything more, Santa Monica is projected to fall short of Proposition R’s requirements by approximately 130 affordable housing units. Proposition R requires 30% of all new housing completed each year be affordable housing, with at least half of that 30% (i.e., at least 15% of all new housing) affordable to those earning 60% or less of the Los Angeles County median income. It is projected that more than 15% of the new housing that will be completed during the 2013-2021 Housing Element will be affordable to those earning 60% or less of the Los Angeles County median income, thus meeting one of Proposition R’s two requirements. But only 25% of the new housing overall will be some form of affordable housing, rather than the required 30%. See id. Part II.C below. Item 7-B 03/26/19 18 of 19 Item 7-B 03/26/19 III. DISCUSSION The existing AHPP requirements outside of the areas governed by the Downtown Community Plan incentivize developers to provide a very small number of extremely low income units in their Tier 2 projects. This fact is among the factors that has contributed to the projected failure of the City to meet its Proposition R Charter mandate during the 2013-2021 Housing Element. It also is exacerbating that projected failure. The recent mixed use project at 216-234 Pico Boulevard illustrates the problem. That project adds 105 new residential units. In order to meet Proposition R’s 30% mandate, 32 of those units would have to be deed-restricted affordable units. As only eight will be deed-restricted affordable units, the City will have to spend its own funds to generate 35 additional affordable housing units just to meet Proposition R’s Charter mandate created by this project (105 private units plus 34 City financed units is 139 total units; 30% of 139 units is 41.7 units; 8 inclusionary units and 34 City financed units is 42 affordable units). Even if the City financed units only require $275,000 per unit in HTF funds because they will be part of a tax credit project, the 34 units will cost the City just under $9.4 million. By contrast, if the same project had provided 15% very low income units (an alternative under the AHPP). 16 of the 105 units would be deed restricted affordable units. Under that scenario, the City would only need to finance 22 additional affordable housing units to meet Proposition R’s Charter mandate (105 private units plus 22 City financed units is 127 total units; 30% of 127 units is 38.1 units; 16 inclusionary units and 22 City financed units is 38 affordable units). Assuming again that the City financed units only require $275,000 per unit in HTF funds because they will be part of a tax credit project, the 22 units will cost the City just over $6 million. In the Downtown Community Plan, the City decided to require a mix of affordability levels among any inclusionary units in a project. In order to implement that approach—and to set the inclusionary requirement at the maximum economically justified level—a new feasibility study is required for projects outside the downtown. But no such study is currently on the horizon. The Housing Commission should discuss what, if anything, can and should be done in light of these realities. Possibilities include (1) asking Council to preclude the extremely low income option outside the downtown until a feasibility study can be conducted and/or (2) urging the City Council to direct that a higher priority be placed on obtaining and acting upon such a feasibility study. Item 7-B 03/26/19 19 of 19 Item 7-B 03/26/19 1 Vernice Hankins From:Council Mailbox Sent:Tuesday, March 26, 2019 3:22 PM To:City Council Distribution Group Cc:councilmtgitems Subject:FW: Santa Monica Forward letter re 7B on Council agenda tonight Attachments:SMF Letter to Council.docx Council‐  Please see the email below regarding the Affordable Housing Production Program.   Thanks,  Stephanie  From: Judy Abdo [mailto:judyabdo@gmail.com]   Sent: Tuesday, March 26, 2019 2:59 PM  To: Council Mailbox <Council.Mailbox@SMGOV.NET>  Subject: Santa Monica Forward letter re 7B on Council agenda tonight    March 26, 2019  Santa Monica City Council  1685 Main Street  Santa Monica, CA    RE:       ITEM 7B ON MARCH 26 COUNCIL AGENDA  Dear Mayor Davis and Councilmembers:  A Guiding Principle of Santa Monica Forward (SMF) is to support the development of new housing that is affordable to all income levels as a means to do our part in meeting the Statewide housing crisis, to protect the economic diversity of our residents, and to prevent homelessness among our lowest income citizens.  Santa Monica Forward, therefore, opposes the language, as amended by City staff, in the proposed Zoning Ordinance amendment being considered under Item 7B at your meeting tonight.    Specifically, Section 9.64.030 C.2 will render infeasible the development of off‐site 100% affordable housing projects as an option for compliance with the Affordable Housing Production Program (AHPP).  SMF strongly  believes that this off‐site option is a highly desirable approach for producing affordable housing at no cost to  the City.  Since more affordable units are required if the off‐site option is used, it contributes to Measure R compliance more than on‐site affordable units would do.  Further, as the 1626 Lincoln Boulevard project has proven, off‐site 100% affordable housing projects produce more and larger units, suitable for family occupancy, support services and community spaces, and open space that is designed with children in mind.   SMF supports substitution of the language submitted by Tara Barauskas, CCSM Executive Director, in her March 25, 2019 to the Council, for that language being proposed by City staff.  2 Santa Monica Forward also opposes the elimination of the Extremely Low Income category from the AHPP options  as  set  forth  in  Section  9.64.0505  C.1.   The  very  poorest  among  us  and  those  most  in  danger  of homelessness will suffer the most if the City Council approves staff’s recommendation.   This is contrary to SMF’s  Guiding Principles and the Strategic Goals of the City.  Of grave concern to SMF is the fact that no one can say with any certainty that eliminating the Extremely Low Income category will result in more production of Very Low and Low Income units.  No one can say because no current, meaningful feasibility study has been performed demonstrating whether these income categories will work in a new project.  Housing applications may grind to a halt.      Rather than eliminating the Extremely Low Income category, we urge you to expedite the AHPP feasibility study and, upon its completion and if necessary, to revise the AHPP holistically rather than piecemeal and in the dark. Sincerely,    Judy Abdo and Juan Matute, Co‐Chairs, Santa Monica Forward Steering Committee          CITY OF SANTA M ONICA Affordable Housing Policy CITY COUNCIL Item #7B March 26, 2019 Authorize AHPP Feasibility Study 2 Purpose of Tonight’s #7B Discussion Potential Removal of ELI Option from AHPP 1 Ta x Credit Allocation Committee Te xt Changes to AHPP 3 HOUSING IN SANTA MONICA Remove ELI 5% from AHPP Prop. R SB50 Rent Control RHNA Housing Element AHPP Study SRO and Ensuite Tr end Corporate Housing Analysis Displacement and Gentrification DCP Monitoring Report Context for Housing Discussion Policy and Requirements Adjustments and Analysis Background •Changes to Zoning Ordinance and AHPP •Council Direction Potential Removal of ELI Option from AHPP 1 2013 5% ELI Option Introduced to AHPP Background on Housing Policy 2015 New ZO Adopted Tier 2 Rules Established to Require 7.5% for ELI 2017 DCP Adopted New Methodology for AHPP DCP AHPP Methodology Height (Feet) On-Site Affordable Housing % Off-Site Affordable Housing % 40-50 20%25% 52 21%26% 54 22%27% 56 23%28% 58 24%29% 60 25%30% 62 26%31% 64 27%32% 66 28%33% 68 29%34% 70-84 30%35% AHPP Income Category Required % of Units Extremely Low 20% Ve ry Low 20% Low 30% Moderate 30% More height = more required affordable units Affordable Units are Distributed Across AHPP Income Categories Housing Commission November 2018 Preclude the extremely low-income option until a full review of citywide AHPP through updated economic feasibility study based on the DCP Model. Direction from Council City Council December 2018 Prepare amendments to the AHPP disallowing the current option for developers to provide fewer extremely low-income units until the feasibility study can be completed. Housing Demand and Production Housing Needs/Demand Affordable Housing Waiting List (Applicants Who Live or Work in Santa Monica) Income Category Count Percentage Extremely Low (0-30% AMI)405 21% Ve ry Low (31-50% AMI)176 9% Low (51-80% AMI)855 44% Post 2013 Moderate 11 7 6% Pre 2013 Moderate 380 20% Above Moderate (>120% AMI)8 0% To tals 1941 100% * Compared with 2013, there is increased demand at all levels of affordability Needed for RHNA Needed for Quantified Objective 93 (14) (24) 128 128 256 84 (563)(563) Completed and In Construction 97 238 135 27 1,263 1,760 Housing Production RHNA Quantified Objective Extremely Low (0-30% AMI) 428 83 Ve ry Low (31-50% AMI)214 Low (51-80% AMI)263 263 Moderate (81-120% AMI)283 111 Ab ove Moderate (>120% AMI)700 700 To tals 1,674 1,371 Progress Tow ards RHNA and Housing Element Quantified Objectives Approved (Not In Construction) 60 52 19 2 1,251 üSATISFIED HOUSING ELEMENT ü SATISFIED HOUSING ELEMENT Housing Production 2014-Present 402 40% 599 60% 95 13% 664 87% In Construction 133 10% 1,251 90% Planning Approval (not in construction)Completed Affordable Market Rate 366 22% 1,285 78% Pending (no approval) 39.3% Affordable 16.4% Affordable Factors Affecting Affordable Housing Production: •Loss of Redevelopment Agency (2012) •Use of in-lieu fee •Popularity of ELI option Housing Production 2018 7%6% 3% 0% 84%market rate 2018 Planning Approvals Ex-Low - 30 V-Low - 50 Low - 80 Mod - 120 Market •14 Total Projects •604 To tal Units Approved •16% of Total Units are Affordable •46% of Affordable Units are Extremely-Low Income •0% Moderate-Income Units DCP Regulated Housing Production Downtown Pending New Projects (DCP Regulations and Zoning Ordinance) Address TYPE HEIGHT PA RKING #UNITS % AFFORDABLE PROVIDED 1427 Lincoln AA-Tier 2 50 15 15 20% 1437 6th Street AA-Tier 1 39 0 41 5% 1557 7th Street AA-Tier 1 39 0 40 5% 1437 5th Street AA-Tier 1 39 0 41 5% 1338 5th Street AA-Tier 1 39 0 96 5% 1415 5th Street AA-Tier 1 39 0 102 5% Proposition R Performance Proposition R (1990) •30% of all multifamily housing completed each fiscal year must be affordable and occupied by low-and moderate-income households; and •At least one-half of the total affordable housing completed be affordable for an occupied by low-income households. Removal of ELI Option Commission Comments PLANNING COMMISSION 2.20.19 Remove ELI Option •3 yes •3 no AHPP Feasibility Study •Unanimous •Expedite HOUSING COMMISSION 2.21.19 Remove ELI Option •6 yes •1 no AHPP Feasibility Study •Unanimous •Expedite Public Comment Public Comment Received Leslie Lambert •Seeks clarification on temporary vs. permanent ordinance •Opposes removal of ELI option until AFTER AHPP feasibility study Michael Soloff •Supports temporary removal of ELI option •Suggests exempting only approved projects Discussion Question for City Council to Consider •In light of presented data, should the ELI option be temporarily removed? •Attachment A could effect changes to Section 9.64.050 •ELI option removed for any application not complete as of March 26, 2019 •Financial Feasibility Analysis of Modified AHPP Citywide Program –Pro forma development analysis •Enhanced affordable housing requirements •Housing production incentives •TCAC Guidelines –Construction cost estimator, Developer –Expedited timeline AHPP Feasibility Study 2 •Staff Recommendation –Authorize City Manager to execute agreement with HR&A Advisors, Inc. not to exceed $150,000. •New language added to AHPP (Attachment A) –Exempts TCAC-financed housing from AHPP requirements –Maintains requirement to use City’s list –Requires coordination with staff in applying for competitive tax creditsUse of Tax Credit Allocation Committee Financing 3 •Staff Recommendation –Introduce for 1st reading Public Comment Received CCSM •Supports recommendation to remove the City funding requirement for 100% affordable Housing Projects to use TCAC guidelines. •Concern that limitations on applying for tax credits would cause market-rate developers to forgo partnering with non-profits. TCAC Financing and AHPP Authorize AHPP Feasibility Study 2 Purpose of Tonight’s #7B Discussion Discuss Potential Removal of ELI Option from AHPP 1 Introduce for 1st Reading: TCAC Text to AHPP 3 Extra Information Housing Production 2014-Present 65 11 22 14 11 9 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 2 to 10 11 to 25 26 to 49 50 to 74 75 to 100 Over 100 Pending, Planning Approval, In Construction, and Completed Multi-Family Projects (Since 2014) Housing Production 2018-Present 0 1 7 5 4 2 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 2 to 10 11 to 25 26 to 49 50 to 74 75 to 100 Over 100 P r o j e c t s Number of Units in Project Pending Multi-Family Projects, 2018-2019 Background on Housing Policy Option Tier 1 Tier 2 (Requires 50% more than Tier 1) 1 ELI:5% for 30% income 7.5% for 30% income 2 VLI:10% for 50% income 15% for 50% income 3 LI:20% for 80% income 30% for 80%income 4 M:100% for moderate income Not Applicable REFERENCE: Agreement No. 10830 (CCS)