Resolution 1998-25
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RESOLUTION NO, 98-25
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
GILROY APPROVING M 98-04/AHE 98-01, AN APPLICATION
FOR AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING EXEMPTION FROM THE
RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE, APN 808-08-
011
WHEREAS, American Housing Partners ("Applicant") submitted M 98-04/AHE
98-01, requesting an affordable housing exemption from the Residential Development Ordinance
("RDO") for the purpose of constructing 75 affordable, senior citizen housing units; and
WHEREAS, the City Council may grant the requested RDO exemption only if it
determines that it meets the criteria set forth in Zoning Ordinance section 50,62(b)(4), which
criteria is fully discussed in the Staff Report dated March 26, 1998, which is attached hereto as
Exhibit A and incmporated herein by this reference; and
WHEREAS, the Planning Commission reviewed application M 98-04/AHE 98-01
at a duly noticed public hearing on April 2, 1998, and recommended that the City Council approve
the Application M 98-04/AHE 98-01, subject to the two (2) conditions set forth on page 6 of the
Planning Division Staff Report, attached hereto as Exhibit A; and
WHEREAS, the City Council reviewed Application M 98-04/AHE 98-01 and all
documents relating thereto and took oral and written testimony at its duly noticed public hearing of
April 27, 1998; and
WHEREAS, the location and custodian of the documents or other materials which
constitute the record of proceedings upon which this project approval is based is the office of the
City Clerk.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
A. The City Council hereby finds as required by Zoning Ordinance section 50,62(b)(4)
that the project would substantially benefit the City, and would not create significant negative
impacts to public facilities or to providers of public services in the community or to the Gilroy
IMSD\410836,01
84-052004706002
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RESOLUTION 98-25
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Unified School District, and makes these findings based on facts as set forth in the record, including
the attached Staff Report,
B, M 98-04/AHE 98-01 should be and hereby is approved subject to the two (2)
conditions in the attached Staff Report,
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 18th day of May, 1998 by the following vote:
AYES:
COUNCILMEMBERS: ARELLANO, GIFFORD, MORALES,
ROWLISON, SPRINGER, SUDOL, GILROY
NOES:
COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE
t1\WcL2~
K. A. Mike Gilroy, Mayor ~
~i2u~~
Rhonda Pellin, City Clerk
\MSD\410836,01
84-052004706002
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RESOLUTION 98-25
Community ~evelo~;~nt
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Planning Division
Staff Report
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Department
March 26, 1998
File Number: M 98-04/ ARE 98-01
Applicant: American Housing Partners (c/o Robert Zamora)
Location: 7884 Wren Avenue, south of First Str~et
Staff Planner: Melissa Durkin
REQUESTED ACTION:
The applicant is requesting a 75 unit Affordable Housing Exemption from the RDO competition for
Victoria Woods, [Note: 74 units will be rented to Seniors, and one unit will be set aside for a
manager,]
DESCRIPTION..O..E..f.R~:
Parcel Number: 808-08-011
Parcel Size: 2,67 acres
Flood Zone: Zone B, Panel # 0603400001C
Panel Date: 10/06/81, Revised to reflect LOMR. 8/31/95
SIATII~E..:eROn:RIY:
Existing..Land..lIs~
Abandoned Ag. Building
Gene.raLElan.D~signation
Professional Office
. Zoning
PO-PUD
ST A TI1ROE..8URROIINDING....FROP.ERIY:
Existing.L.and.lIse
N: Blockbuster/Undeveloped
S: Professional Offices
E: Alley / Single Family Homes
W: S.F. Res" Duplexes, Apart.
GeneraLEla.ILDesignation .
General Services Commercial
, Medium Density Residential
Low Density Residential
Low and Med. Dens, Res,
Zoning
C3-PUD
R3-PUD
Rl
Rl, R3, R2
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CONFORMANCE OF REQ1TRST '\VITH GENERAL PLAN:
The proposed project conforms to the land use designation for the property on the General Plan map,
and is consistent with the intent of the text of the general Plan Document. This project conforms with
the policies of Gilroy's General Plan. The following example demonstrates this compliance:
Residential Environment (Section IV):
Policy 1: "The City will continue to work towards the goal of a balanced community with a variety
of housing types and prices, sufficient job opportunities, and an efficient and adequate provision of
City services and amenities. "
The proposed project is in conformance with this policy, because it will provide low income, senior
citizen housing, Both of these housing types are under-represented in Gilroy,
Policy 2: lIThe City will encourage the construction of multi-family units, especialZv units suitable for
lower income households and large families, "
The proposed project is in conformance with this policy, because it will be affordable to low income
households,
lI.rh.an Develo.pme.nLan.d Community_De..sign (Section II):
Policy 3: "Urban Development will only occur within the incorporated portion of the Planning Area,
Land will therefore be annexed to the City before final development approval is given, "
The proposed project is in conformance with this policy, because this land has been within City limits
for many years.
Policy 4: "The City will phase development in an orderly, contiguous manner in order to maintain a
compact development pattern to avoid premature investment for the e.."Ctension of public facilities and
services, New urban development will occur in areas where municipal services are available and
capacity e.."Cists prior to the approval of development in areas which would require major new facility
e..'Cpansion, "
The proposed project is in conformance with this policy, because this site is surrounded by urban
development.
ENVIRONMENT ALlMll.CI.S:
An Expanded Initial Study would normally be required for this project. However, the State has
recently passed a law that exempts affordable housing projects, up to 100 units in size, from CEQA.
The City Attorney is reviewing this law to dete.rmine whether Victoria Woods will meet the
requirements of the exemption. If it is found that this project is exempt from CEQA, the applicant will
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be required to prep~e a traffic report, and implement appropriate mitigation measures, prior to
approval ofth~ Architectural and Site Review application.
ANALYSIS OF RRQUEST:
The applicant is requesting approval of an Affordable Housing Exemption from the RDO under the
provisions of Zoning Ordinance section 50.62 (b) (4), to allow the construction of 75 affordable
apartment units that will be rented exclusively to senior citizens. (Note: one of the units will be set
aside for the resident manager.] This section of the Zoning Ordinance governs affordable housing
developments that are constructed by private sector developers, and allows up to 75 units to be exempt
from the City's Residential Development competition process, Projects that are exempt from the RDO
under this section must comply with the City's "Affordable Housing Exemption Procedure for Private
Developments" policy, which is currently being revised, These revisions are expected to be completed
by the summer of 1998, Staff recommends that, if this Affordable Housing Exemption request is
approved, the applicant be subject to the revised policy.
As stated in section 50.62 (b) (4), the City Council may grant RDO exemptions for affordable housing
projects if the project is determined to meet specific criteria. This section states,
The City Council shall grant an exemption under this subsection only if the City Council
determines the project would substantially benefit the City, and would not create significant
negative impacts to public facilities or to providers of public services in the community or
to the Gilroy Unified School District. The City Council shall consider the following
elements in determining whether to grant this exemption:
a. The number of exempt units which have already been granted during the current RDO
cycle, and the number of years left in the cycie;
b. 'The affordability of the project;
c. The need for the types of units which are proposed;
d. The number of affordable housing projects constructed or proposed within the project
vicinity;
e. . The diversity of unit type and architectural styles which are proposed in the entire
development; and
f. The site design and proposed building elevations.
Following is staffs determination of this project's consistency with this exemption criteria:
This project will be rented exclusively to senior citizens, and is therefore not expected to have any
.impacts on the Gilroy Unified School District. However, the applicant will be required to pay the
S tate mandated fee for senior citizen residential developments, which is the same fee paid for
commercial developments, The applicant will incorporate any needed public improvements into the
design of this project prior to approval of the architectural and site review, Staffbelieves this project
is Consistent with this criteria.
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A. The City Council set aside 950 housing units to be exempted from the RDO competition in the
ten year cycle between 1994 and 2003. Although there are no annual limits on the number of
, exempt units which can be awarded, the City Council has expressed a desire to ensure that the
exempt units are not completely allocated in the fIrst few years of the RDO cycle, So far, 491
units have been allocated through the exemption process, leaving a balance of 459 units available
for the six years remaining in the cycle, . If this request is approved, 384 exempt units will be
available to be allocated in the remaining 6 years of this RDO cycle, which is approximately 40%
of the original number ofRDO exempt units. Staff does have some concerns about the prospects
of exempt units being available at the end of this RDO cycle, however we believe that this request
is marginally Consistent with this criterion.
B. The developer is proposing to rent the apartment units at rates that are consistent with the City's
affordable housing exemption policy, If this project is approved, the applicant will be required
to sign an agreement stating that the rents shall not exceed the rates listed in the City's exemption
policy, [Note: Rental rates will be revised with every published revision ofHUD income limits,]
Staff believes this project is (:oos.is..tent with this criterion,
c. According to the City's Consolidated Plan, which was adopted on May 1, 1995, Gilroy has a
demand for 846 new affordable rental units, Since that document was adopted, there have been
four affordable rental projects approved within the City: the 34 unit Monterra Village, located
south of Mantelli Drive and west of Kern Avenue, the 74 unit Gilroy Park Apartments, located
south ofF arrell Avenue, and east of Wren Avenue, the 74 unit Gilroy Garden Apartments, located
along Wren Avenue, south of Farrell Avenue, and the 21 unit Villa Esperanza, located west of
Kern Avenue, north of Mantelli Drive, Therefore, there is still a need for 643 affordable
apartment units in Gilroy. The proposed project would help meet this need by adding 75 senior
apartment units, Staff believes this project is.C.onsistent with this criterion,
D.There are three affordable housing projects near this site:
1, Plum Tree West - 70 seniorldisabled rental units approximately 1500 feet west of this site,
2. Sunset Gardens - 75 senior rental units approximately 500 feet south of this site.
3. The Orchard ~ 80 multi-family rental units approximately 500 feet west of this site,
If the Victoria Woods project is approved, there will be 300 affordable units located in this area.
Although this is a high concentration of low income housing, staff believes that allowing the
proposed project to be constructed will not cause negative impacts on this area for the fO,llowing
reasons:
. There are market rate single family neighborhoods west, south and east of this site,
Blending market rate and low income housing is ideal for creating sustainable
communities,
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. The proposed project will be surrounded by commercial or professional office uses on
three sides, and market rate single family homes on the fou~ side. The surrounding
l~d uses act as a buffer between Victoria Woods and the other affordable housing
projects. .
Staff believes this project is Consistent with this criterion,
E. The applicant is proposing to construct two story structures, with stucco siding and tile roofs.
Staff believes that the proposed structures meet Planning Division requirements, and that these'
buildings will complement the surrounding area, Staff believes this project is C!l.nsisten:t with
this criterion.
F. The applicant has proposed a site design which meets minimum City standards. Staff believes
that this site is in an excellent location for a senior residential facility, due to its close proximity
'to services (e,g, markets, banks, doctor's offices, and video rental facilities), In addition, several
amenities are proposed for this site [see Exhibit A]. Staff believes this project is Consis.tent with
this criterion.
ADDITIONAl, INFORMATION:
The following additional information is provided in order to aid in the decisi.on making process:
. The minimum age of the residents will be 55
. There will be 62 one-bedroom units and 13 two-bedroom units
. These apartment units will be constructed with funds granted by the California Tax Credit
Allocation Committee. The apartments will be restricted to low income seniors for a period of
55 years
. Exhibit A - Site amenities for this project
. Exhibit B - A project description that has been prepared by the applicant
. Exhibit C - A market survey that has been prepared by the applicant
. Exhibit D- Proposed Rental Rates for the Units
SIAFF ACTIO.N~
S.tafI.re..commendsAP.EROJ!AL_QfJhis _re.ques.tJoLthe~Qllo.wing_ reasons:
1. The request is generally con~istent with criteria set forth to exempt affordable housing units,
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2. There is a need for the type of units which are proposed.
3, The applicant has agreed to mitigate all impacts to public facilities and services, and to the Gilroy
Unified School District.
If this project is approved, staff recommends that the following.~.onditions be applied to this apPJ:QY.al:
1. The applicantshall be subject to the revised requirements of the "Affordable Housing Exemption
Procedure for Private Developments" policy, These revisions are expected to be completed by
the late Fall or early winter of 1997.
2. The developer shall sign a contract agreeing to the provisions contained within the "Affordable
Housing Exemption Procedure for Private Developments," prior to approval of an Architectural
and Site review for this site,
Respectfully,. ~
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William F aus
Planning Division Manager
4-2-98 At their meeting of April 2, 1998, the Planning Co~mission, recommend approval of M
98-04/AHE 98-02. subject to two conditions as set forth in the staff report, and the.
motion was approved by a voice vote of 6-0-1 (Commissioner Pinheiro absent). VOIce
Resolution #98- 13.
AYES: BLANKLEY, COLLIER, GARTMEN, PUENTE, TUCKER, LAI
NA YES: NONE
ABSENT: PINHEffiO
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I, RHONDA PELLIN, City Clerk of the City of Gilroy, do hereby certify that the attached
Resolution No. 98-25 is an original resolution, duly adopted by the Council of the City of Gilroy
at a regular meeting of said Council held on the 18th day of May, 1998, at which meeting a
quorum was present.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Official Seal of
the City of Gilroy this 3 rd day of June, 1998.
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(Seal)