Housing Element Compliance in the San Joaquin Valley Central California Legal Services 1
Unquestionable Need for Affordable Housing in San Joaquin Valley Fresno County needs 41K affordable rental units CA Housing Partnership “Tulare County was among nine Central Valley counties to see a decrease in housing [purchase] affordability from a year ago (Fresno, Kern, Merced, Placer, Sacramento, San Benito, San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Tulare).” The Sun-Gazette News http://www.thesungazette.com/article Fresno County Renters in Crisis: A Call for Action /news/2018/08/15/housing- (CA Housing Partnership May 2017) affordability-hits-a-decade-low-in- tulare-county/ 2
Why Does Housing Element Compliance Matter in the San Joaquin Valley? Statewide housing shortage and affordability issues are not just limited to the Coast. Housing Element compliance is a critical accountability tool for local jurisdictions. Actual Planning Resource allocation Zoning Removal of barriers 3
Consequences of Lack of Implementation of Housing Element Programs & Noncompliance AB 72 – HCD expanded enforcement authority Revocation of conditional approval by HCD i.e. failure to rezone carryover RHNA Revocation of HCD certification Substantial loss of grant funding Court-ordered moratorium on housing development Exposure to litigation 4
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Roadblocks to Affordable Housing in the San Joaquin Valley “[Housing element compliance] is a SoCal and NorCal problem; don’t worry about [HCD enforcement].” NIMBYs, lack of YIMBY groups Ex: strong opposition to senior/Alzheimer’s facilities in existing commercial development due to approaching density of 14 du/ac (imagine opposition directed to multifamily residential units - common default density of 20 du/ac) 6
Ex: City of Clovis Housing Element Conditionally compliant Unmet need of 4,425 lower- income units from 4 th cycle housing element 221 acres needed to be rezoned at a min of 20 du/ac Deadline was Dec. 31, 2016 Some minimal rezoning of approx. 14 acres Still need to rezone for approx. 207 acres Serious non-compliance issue 7
City of Clovis Issues a Resolution 8
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Ex: City of Clovis Housing Element P-F (Public Facilities) Zone District Permits multi-family housing in P-F (Public Facilities) Zone District Schools, water facilities and other public properties P-F properties are by definition meant to be buffered away from adjacent residential designations Fresno State Property Rezone to P-F Potentially 1,400 units Property too valuable from an educational standpoint for development for any other purpose than education. Any potential developments will 10 likely result in market rate units.
Ex: City of Clovis Housing Element Residential Overlay Overlay zone district is a “second layer of zoning that allows additional uses while leaving the base zoning in place.” Sept. 27, 2018 Clovis Planning Comm. Rpt. “Within the City limits, there exists approximately 150 acres ranging from 2.0 and 5.0 acres and currently zoned residential that could reasonably accommodate multiple-family development. The RHN Overlay District would permit projects between 35 and 43 units per acre, which would equate to 5,250 to 6,450 units.” Sept. 27, 2018 Clovis Planning Comm. Rpt. Is this realistic??? 11
How the City Perceives the Need 12 Source : ABC30 Action News
Ex: City of Clovis Housing Element Re: danger of losing grant funding and receiving possible AG referral for noncompliance “The city doesn’t really have a choice. We’re sort of being held hostage by this housing requirement because the consequences are so significant.” – Councilmember Lynne Ashbeck, Clovis RoundUp (Mar. 30, 2018) "We can zone the land for that. I don't know if any of that will be built, at least not in the near future because there's just not a lot of market for that kind of density in town." Luke Serpa, City Manager 13
Strong Community Opposition for Affordable Housing Developments in Clovis 14 Facebook Comments to Clovis RoundUp Article (Mar. 30, 2018)
How CCLS Monitors Housing Element Planning & Implementation in the Valley Monitor local government actions Observe City Council/Planning Commission meetings and public hearings Concerned citizens have right to submit oral or written public comments Public records requests Facilitate the exchange of ideas with city staff Provide reminders to local govt. re: concerns/potential inadequacies in the implementation of its housing element programs Housing element education Legal representation 15
Legal Concerns When A Jurisdiction Chooses to Exclude Low Income Community Members Gov’t Code § 65008 (Unlawful Land Use Discrimination) Generally forbids discrimination against affordable housing and its • residents by local gov’t agencies Gov’t Code § 12900, et seq. (Unlawful Housing Discrimination) Discriminatory intent or effect on protected groups • 16
Ex: Communication with City & Resulting Change 17
Local Gov’t: Closing the Gap McKinsey Global Institute, “A Tool Kit to Close California’s Housing Gap: 3.5 Million Homes by 2015” (Oct. 2016) 18
2115 Kern Street Suite 1 Fresno, CA 93721 Phone: (559) 570-1200 Toll Free: (800) 675-8001 Fax: (559) 570-1254 Emilia Morris (Legal Director) emorris@centralcallegal.org Marcos Segura (Housing Team Leader) Jesse Avila ( Staff Attorney) msegura@centralcallegal.org jesse@centralcallegal.org Cindy Wong (Staff Attorney) Luis Garcia (Staff Attorney) cwong@centralcallegal.org lgarcia@centralcallegal.org Asya Sorokurs (Housing Advocate) 19 asorokurs@centralcallegal.org
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