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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 8.2 Rental Availability OrdinanceTO: FROM: PREPARED BY: SUBJECT: CITY OF DUBLIN PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA STATEMENT/STAFF REPORT Meeting Date: July 1, 1991 Planning Commission Planning Staff Dennis Carrington, Senior Planner Robert Schubert, Contract Planner Rental Availability Ordinance GENERAL INFORMATION: PROJECT: APPLICANT: LOCATION: ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: Rental Availability Ordinance as required by the Housing Element City of Dublin City-wide and extended planning area A Negative Declaration of Environmental Impact was prepared for General Plan Amendment 91-001 including the Rental Availability Ordinance. NOTIFICATION: Public Notice of the July 1, 1991 hearing was published in the local newspaper and posted in the County Clerk's office and other public buildings. ANALYSIS: Section 6.3, Strategy III.E of the Housing Element requires that a minimum of 10% of the units in large multi -family projects be maintained as rental units for a period of five years. A goal of the Housing Element is to achieve a balanced community with housing available for households over a range of income levels. The City is experiencing a shortage of rental housing. The City's Housing Element identifies a 5% vacancy rate as necessary to permit rental mobility whereas the City's 1.8% rental vacancy rate falls far below that goal. In addition, rental housing is an important source of affordable housing since down payment requirements and the high cost of new housing limit new housing as an affordable ownership housing source. Also, some households choose to rent for reasons other than affordability. Recently, the JL Construction Company requested that Strategy III.E be amended to allow developers the option of paying an in -lieu rental fee rather than providing rental units. In response to the request, the City Council initiated a General Plan Amendment. The ITEM NO. B.G. COPIES TO:Agenda/General File Planning/Address File Project Planner PAGE _L OF./' attached Draft Ordinance requires that any new multi -family residential development involving more than ten (10) dwelling units, which is approved on or after the effective date of the Ordinance, would be conditioned to provide ten percent (10%) of the total number of dwelling units within the development as rental units for a period of five (5) years. The obligation to provide rental units may be satisfied by the applicant's payment of in -lieu rental fees. The amount of the in -lieu rental fees would be calculated by multiplying the required number of rental units times the amount necessary to subsidize the rental of a three bedroom market rate apartment for five years for a family of five earning 80% of the Alameda County median income, where no more than 30% of income is spent on rent. The three bedroom dwelling units would provide more adequately for the rental housing needs of the general population than would either one or two bedroom units. Thirty-four percent of the families on waiting lists for subsidized apartments in Dublin are waiting for three -bedroom apartments. The 80% support level, of the HUD support levels available, is the level most consistent with market rate rents. Below is an example of how the fee could be calculated for a required rental unit: Family of Five. Alameda County Median Income of $46,850. Percent Market Affordable Difference 12 Mos. 5yrs The Value of Rent Rent of first year's Median rent plus 4 Income years at 4% yearly adjust- ments for rent increases 80% $1,100 $937 $163 $1,956 $9,780 $10,594 The in -lieu rental fees would be paid at the time of issuance of a building permit. The in -lieu rental fees, together with any interest earnings on such monies less reasonable administrative charges, would be used or committed to use by the City within five years of the date of payment, for the purpose of providing rental housing in the City of Dublin through land acquisition, land or rental writedowns, construction of rental housing, rental assistance, direct contributions to a non-profit association or corporation for construction of rental housing, landbanking (including property exchanges) and any other mechanism available to the City to provide rental housing. The Developer would guarantee compliance with Strategy III E by agreeing to a condition of approval that the rental housing be provided or an in -lieu rental fee be paid. The written agreement providing the guarantees would be subject to review and approval by the City Attorney. Dublin residents will be given first priority for rental units; Dublin employees will have second preference for rental units; third preference will be given to those who need to move to Dublin to be /HSNGRNTL -2- PAGE Z OF near Dublin residents or services; and fourth preference will be given to those who live outside Dublin. The exterior design of the rental units would be identical to the non rental units. The units would be dispersed throughout the project and would include all unit types represented in the project in the same proportion as in the project as a whole. The owner of each project would be responsible for obtaining and verifying information with respect to the qualifications of tenants, including, information relating to applications, income and eligibility. The following individuals would be ineligible to rent a unit under the ordinance: (a) All employees and officials of the City who have, by the authority of their position, policy making authority or influence affecting City housing programs. (b) The Applicant or Project Owner of the unit to be rented. (c) Anyone gaining significant economic benefit from a direct business association with public employees, officials, applicants, or project owners. RECOMMENDATIONS: FORMAT: 1) Open public hearing and hear Staff presentation. 2) Take testimony from the public. 3) Question Staff and the public. 4) Close public hearing and deliberate. 5) Give direction to Staff and continue hearing to the July 15th Planning Commission meeting. ACTION: Staff recommends that the Planning Commission give direction to Staff and continue the hearing to the July 15th Planning Commission meeting. ATTACHMENTS: Exhibit A: Exhibit B: Resolution recommending that the City Council approve the draft Rental Availability Ordinance Draft Rental Availability Ordinance /HSNGRNTL -3- PAGE 5 OF RESOLUTION NO. 91 - A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN RECOMMENDING CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL OF A RENTAL AVAILABILITY ORDINANCE WHEREAS, pursuant to the General Plan Amendment requested by JL Construction and initiated by the City Council to revise Strategy III.E of the Housing Element, the City of Dublin has prepared a Rental Availability Ordinance; and WHEREAS, notice of the Planning Commission public hearing was published in the local newspaper and posted in the City Clerk's Office and in other public buildings in accordance with California State Law; and WHEREAS, the Rental Availability Ordinance has been reviewed in accordance with the provision of the California Environmental Quality Act; and WHEREAS, an Environmental Impact Report, SCH #84011002, was prepared for the Dublin General Plan and certified on February 11, 1985; which Environmental Impact Report addressed impacts of the future development of the City of Dublin; and which impacts of said development of the General Plan exceed the impacts of General Plan Amendment 91-001 including the Rental Availability Ordinance; and WHEREAS, the programs proposed in the Rental Availability Ordinance do not raise any new significant environmental issues which were not addressed in the Dublin General Plan Environmental Impact Report; and WHEREAS, data indicating the amount of cost, or estimated cost, required to provide the housing for which the in -lieu rental fee is levied and the revenue sources anticipated to provide the housing, including General Fund revenues were made available to the public at least 10 days prior to the public hearing; and WHEREAS, on July 1, 1991, the Planning Commission adopted Resolution No. recommending City Council certification of the Negative Declaration as adequate and complete; and WHEREAS, the Planning Commission considered all written and oral testimony submitted at the public hearing. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE Dublin Planning Commission does hereby recommend that the City Council approve the draft Rental Availability Ordinance. PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 1st day of July, 1991. AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ATTEST: Planning Director /hsngre8 Planning Commission Chairperson EXHIBIT A rwe....wL ORDINANCE NO. -91 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN An Ordinance Adding Chapter 8.12 to Title 8 of the Dublin Municipal Code Enacting a Rental Availability Ordinance The City Council of the City of Dublin does ordain as follows: Section 1. Chapter 8.12 is hereby added to Title 8 of the Dublin Municipal Code to read as follows: "CITY OF DUBLIN RENTAL AVAILABILITY ORDINANCE CHAPTER 8.12 OF TITLE 8 CITY OF DUBLIN MUNICIPAL CODE Section 8.12.010. Title. This Ordinance shall be called the "Rental Availability Ordinance of the City of Dublin." Section 8.12.020. Findings. A goal of the City's adopted Housing Element is to achieve a balanced community with housing available for households over a range of income levels. The City of Dublin finds the City is experiencing a shortage of rental housing. The City's Housing Element identifies a 5% vacancy rate as necessary to permit rental mobility whereas the City's 1.8% rental vacancy rate falls far below that goal. (Housing Element, pp. 16-17.) In addition, rental housing is an important source of affordable housing since down payment requirements and the high cost of new housing limit new ownership housing as an affordable housing source. Also, some households choose to rent for reasons other than affordability. The City Council finds that it is a public purpose of the City and a public policy of the State of California as mandated by the requirements for a housing element of the City's General Plan, to make available an adequate supply of rental housing for persons of all economic segments of the community. Section 8.12.030. Purpose. The purpose of this chapter is to enhance the public welfare and assure that housing development contributes to the attainment of the above described goals by providing rental housing in the City of Dublin directly or through land acquisition, land or rental writedowns, construction of rental housing, rental assistance, direct contributions to a non-profit association or corporation for construction of rental housing, landbanking (including property exchanges) and any other mechanism available to the City to provide rental housing. A limited and finite amount of land remains for development of housing in the City and extended planning area. In order to assure that the remaining developable land is utilized in a EXHIBIT 8 PAGE Sr— nF I/ manner consistent with the City's housing policies and needs, the City declares that 10% of the total number of units in all new multi -family projects of more than ten units shall be maintained as rental units for a period of five (5) years. The regulations set forth in this Chapter shall apply City-wide, including the extended planning areas. Section 8.12.040. Definitions. For the purposes of this Chapter, certain words and phrases shall be interpreted as set forth in this section unless it is apparent from the context that a different meaning is intended. (a) Applicant: Any person, firm, partnership, association, joint venture, corporation, or any entity or combination of entities which seeks City permits and approvals for a project. (b) Approval: Adoption of a resolution by the Planning Commission and/or City Council approving a discretionary permit such as a Tentative Map, Planned Development or Use Permit, for a project. (c) City: The City of Dublin or its designee or any entity with which the City contracts to administer this chapter. (d) Dublin employee: Any head of household, or in the case of married couples either spouse, who has worked within the City Limits of Dublin continually for one (1) year immediately prior to the date of application for a rental unit. (e) Dublin resident: Any person who has lived within the City Limits of Dublin continually for one (1) year immediately prior to the date of application for a rental unit. Continually shall be construed to include lapses of residency of no longer than six months. (f) Dwelling unit: A dwelling designed for occupancy by one household. (g) Household: One person living alone, or two or more persons sharing residency whose income resources are available to meet the family's needs and who are related by blood, marriage or operation of law. (h) In -lieu rental fee: A fee paid to the City by an applicant for residential development in the City, in lieu of providing the rental units required by this Chapter. (i) Multi -family residential development: A project which includes any multi -family dwellings. (j) Project: A housing development at one location including all dwelling units for which permits have been applied for or approved within a twelve-month period. /hsngord3 -2- PAGE y„r- OF f/ (k) Project Owner: Any person, firm, partnership, association, joint venture, corporation, or any entity or combination of entities which holds fee title to the land on which the project is located. (1) Rental unit: A rental dwelling unit as required by this Chapter. (m) Re -rental controls: Legal restrictions by which the availability of rental units will be monitored and controlled to insure that the unit remains available for rent. (n) Unit type: Dwelling units with similar floor area and number of bedrooms. Section 8.12.050. General rental unit requirements for new multi -family residential developments of more than 10 units. (a) Any new multi -family residential development involving more than ten (10) dwelling units, which is approved on or after the effective date of this Ordinance, shall be conditioned to include an Agreement to provide ten percent (10%) of the total number of dwelling units within the development as rental units for a period of five (5) years from the date of final occupancy of each unit. The obligation to provide rental units may be satisfied by the Applicant's payment of in -lieu rental fees, as provided in Section 8.12.070 of this Ordinance. In applying the 10% requirement, any resulting fraction of units less than or equal to 0.50 may be disregarded and any fraction greater than 0.50 shall be construed as requiring one rental unit. The rental requirement shall be imposed only once on a given development, regardless of changes in the character or ownership of the development. (b) Any development permit for new multi -family residential development projects of more than ten units, if granted, shall be subject to conditions ensuring compliance with the provisions of this Chapter. Such conditions shall specify the timing of construction of rental units and/or payment of in -lieu rental fees and the rental control mechanism. Evidence of compliance with the rental housing conditions shall be in the form of a written Agreement between the Applicant and the City Manager completed prior to the issuance of any project building permits. The Agreement shall indicate the number and construction scheduling of all rental units and any other information required by the City Manager to determine the Applicant's compliance with the conditions. The Agreement shall be recorded as a deed restriction prior to issuance of any project building permits and shall run with the land encompassed by the project for each phase until the rental units have been occupied for a period of five years from the date of final occupancy of the last unit in each phase. /hsngord3 -3- PAGE /1 (c) Dublin residents will be given first preference for rental units; Dublin employees will have second preference for rental units; third preference will be given to those who need to move to Dublin to be near Dublin residents or services; and fourth preference will be given to those who live outside of Dublin. (d) All rental units in a project and phases of a project shall be constructed concurrently with or prior to the construction of non -rental units. (e) All rental units shall be reasonably dispersed throughout the entire development; shall include all unit types represented in the project (unless the number of unit types exceeds the number of rental units) and said unit types shall be provided in the same proportion as in the project as a whole; and shall be compatible with the design and use of the non -rental units in terms of exterior appearance, materials, and finished quality. (f) The Project Owner shall be responsible for obtaining and verifying information with respect to the qualifications of prospective and current tenants, including, but not limited to, information relating to applications and eligibility in a form satisfactory to the City Manager. The Project Owner shall maintain a list of qualified applicants for the length of time the units are rented and shall allow the City Manager to inspect such information upon reasonable notice. (g) The City Manager shall monitor the continuing availability of rental units and shall take such actions as necessary to notify the public of their availability. Section 8.12.060. Relation of Rental Availability Ordinance to Inclusionary Housina Ordinance. The rental availability provisions of this chapter are separate from the provisions of the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance of the City of Dublin, Chapter 8.08 of Title 8 of the City of Dublin Municipal Code. However, rental units required under this rental availability ordinance may also be counted to determine compliance with inclusionary housing requirements so long as the rental units meet all applicable requirements of the inclusionary housing ordinance, including the time period and rent levels required. Section 8.12.070. In -lieu rental fees. (a) An Applicant may contribute fees in lieu of providing the rental units. Such fees shall be known as "in -lieu rental fees". (b) The amount of the in -lieu rental fees for a project shall be calculated by multiplying the required number of rental units by the amount necessary to subsidize the rental of a three bedroom market rate apartment for five years for a family of five earning 80% of the Alameda County median income, where no more /hsngord3 -4- PAGE than 30% of income is spent on rent. The amount of the in -lieu rental fee will be determined using the following table. (The numbers in the table are illustrative, the market rent and County Median Income in the table will be those in effect at the time of approval of the project): Family of Five. Alameda County Median Income of $46,850. Percent Market Affordable Difference of Rent Rent Median Income 80% $1,100 $937 12 Mos. 5yrs The value of the first year's rent plus 4 years at 4% yearly adjust- ment for rent increases $163 $1,956 $9,780 $11,018 The value of the first year of rent plus four years at 4% yearly adjustment for rent increase is calculated by adjusting the base of $1,956 in this example annually for a period of four years at a compounded annual rate of 4% and adding that amount to the first year's rent. The 4% is based on a survey of rental increases typical for 1990. Typical rental increases will vary over time. Market rent will be determined by the City Manager. The apartment units used for determination of comparative market rental cost must be located in the Tri-Valley area (Dublin, San Ramon, Livermore and Pleasanton) and be comparable in size, age and amenities to the units that would otherwise be sold. (c) The in -lieu rental fees shall be paid at the time of issuance of a building permit. (d) The in -lieu rental fees shall be deposited into a fund to be known as the "Rental Availability Housing In -Lieu Rental Fees Fund" ("Fund") and shall be used only for the purposes set forth herein. (e) All monies in the Fund, together with any interest earnings on such monies less reasonable administrative charges, shall be used by the City Manager for the purpose of providing rental housing in the City of Dublin through land acquisition, land or rental writedowns, construction of rental housing, rental assistance, direct contributions to a non-profit association or corporation for construction of rental housing, landbanking (including property exchanges) and any other mechanism available to the City to provide rental housing. /hsngord3 -5- PAGE OF %i (f) The monies in the Fund shall be used or committed to use for the purposes set forth in subsection (e) above within five (5) years of the date of payment into the Fund. Any monies remaining unexpended or uncommitted at the end of the five year period shall be refunded to the then -current owner or may be contributed to a non-profit association or corporation for the purpose of providing rental housing in Dublin, at the option of the City Council. (g) No later than June 30 of each year, the City Manager shall prepare a report for the City Council identifying the balance of monies in the Fund and the rental housing provided and any monies committed to providing rental housing. The annual report shall also include a review of administrative charges. The City Council shall receive and consider the report. Section 8.12.080. Conflict of Interest. Following are those individuals who, by virtue of their position or relationship, are found to be ineligible to rent a unit under this chapter as their residence: (a) All employees and officials of the City of Dublin who have, by the authority of their position, policy making authority or influence affecting City housing programs. (b) The Applicant or Project Owner. Section 8.12.090. Violations. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, corporation, partnership or other entity to violate any provision or to fail to comply with any of the requirements of this Chapter. A violation of any of the provisions or failing to comply with any of the requirements of this Chapter shall constitute a misdemeanor; except that notwithstanding any other provisions of this Code, any such violation constituting a misdemeanor under this Chapter may, in the discretion of the enforcing authority, be charged and prosecuted as an infraction. (b) Any person convicted of an infraction under the provisions of this Code, unless provision is otherwise herein made, shall be punishable as provided by the Government Code of the State of California. Section 8.12.100. Enforcement. (a) The provisions of this chapter shall apply to all agents, successors and assigns of an Applicant. No building permit or occupancy permit shall be issued, nor any development approval be granted which does not meet the requirements of this chapter. (b) The City Manager is designated as the enforcing authority. /hsngord3 -6- PAGE /t) OF (c) The City may institute any appropriate legal actions or proceedings necessary to ensure compliance herewith, including but not limited to actions to revoke, deny or suspend any permit or development approval. Section 8.12.110. Appeals. Any person aggrieved by any action involving denial, suspension or revocation of an occupancy or other permit, or denial, suspension, or revocation of any development approval, may appeal such action or determination in the manner provided in Section 1.04.050 of the Municipal Code." Section 2. Severabilitv. The provisions of this ordinance are severable and if any provision, clause, sentence, word or part thereof is held illegal, invalid, unconstitutional, or inapplicable to any person or circumstances, such illegality, invalidity, unconstitutionality, or inapplicability shall not affect or impair any of the remaining provisions, clauses, sentences, sections, words or parts thereof of the ordinance or their applicability to other persons or circumstances. Section 3. Relation to Approved Proiects. The enactment of this ordinance and Chapter 8.12 of the Municipal Code shall not affect the conditions of any project approved before the effective date of this ordinance, including any condition for rental of units consistent with the Housing Element in effect at the time of approval of the project, provided that the conditions of any such project may be amended upon application of the Project Owner to include the alternative of payment of an in -lieu rental fee. Section 4. Posting and Effective Date. This ordinance shall take effect and be in force thirty (30) days from and after the date of its passage. This City Clerk of the City of Dublin shall cause this ordinance to be posted in at least three (3) public places in the City of Dublin in accordance with Section 36933 of the Government Code of the State of California. PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 1st day of July, 1991, by the following vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ATTEST: Mayor /hsngord3 -7- PAGE OF