Resolution 2008-27
RESOLUTION NO. 2008-27
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
GILROY APPROVING AN AMENDMENT TO AHE 06-01, AN
APPLICATION FOR AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECT
EXEMPTION FROM THE RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT
ORDINANCE, APNS 790-06-016, 029, 030, 032, AND 033
WHEREAS, South County Housing ("Applicant") has requested an amendment to the
previously approved AHE 06-01, an Affordable Housing Exemption from the Residential
Development Ordinance ("RDO") to build the Rancho del Sol residential project of two hundred
and sixty (260) units; and
WHEREAS, the City has determined that the review and approval of an application for
an Affordable Housing Exemption from the RDO does not confer any entitlement for residential
development and therefore is not a "project" for the purposes of review pursuant to the
California Environmental Quality Act; and
WHEREAS, the City Council at its duly noticed public hearing on February 27, 2006
first approved AHE 06-01 by Resolution No. 2003-30 adopted May 1, 2006, and
WHEREAS, the City Council at its duly noticed public hearing on June 2, 2008 reviewed
application AHE 06-01, an amendment to the previously approved affordable housing
exemption, which requests the conversion of 83 owner occupied townhouse units to rental
apartments and certain architectural design modifications as set forth in the Staff Report dated
May 19, 2008, attached hereto as Exhibit "A", and all other documents relating thereto and took
oral and written testimony; and
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Resolution No. 2008-27
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.
SECTION I
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT
A. The City Council hereby finds as follows:
1. The project complies with Zoning Ordinance section 50.62(b )(3) in that it would
substantially benefit the City, and would not create significant negative impacts
to public facilities, to providers of public services in the community, or to the
Gilroy Unified School District. The City Council makes these findings based on
facts as set forth in the record, including the attached Staff Report.
2. The project is in compliance with Zoning Ordinance section 50.62(b )(3) criteria,
the project's affordability and the community's need for Very Low, Low, and
Moderate Income housing; the number of affordable housing projects in the
vicinity; the diversity of unit types such as single-family homes, and rental
apartments; and the consistency ofthe project's site design with City standards.
3. The project is substantially consistent with the previous RDO Affordable
Housing Exemption approval.
B. ARE 06-01-Amendment should be and hereby is approved subject to the conditions
in the attached Staff Report as though fully set forth herein as follows:
1. The Applicant shall be subject to the requirements of the "RDO Affordable
Housing Exemption Procedure" policy.
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Resolution No. 2008-27
2. The developer shall sign a contract agreemg to the provisions contained
within the "RDO Affordable Housing Exemption Procedure," pnor to
approval of an Architectural and Site review for this site.
3. The Applicant shall obtain approvals ("Approvals") for a Final Map, and
Staff-approved Architectural & Site Review, and such other approvals as the
City deems necessary.
4. The Applicant shall obtain all Approvals within two (2) years from the date of
this amended Affordable Housing Exemption approval; otherwise, the
Affordable Housing Exemption approval shall be deemed automatically
revoked. Upon application prior to the expiration of the approval and for
good cause shown, the Planning Division Manager may grant an extension of
time not to exceed one year.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 16th day of June 2008, by the following vote:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS:
ARELLANO, BRACCO, DILLON,
TUCKER, and WOODWARD
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS:
GARTMAN
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS:
PINHEIRO
I
ATTESt:
III
~
bert inheiro, Mayor
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Resolution No. 2008-27
City of Gilroy
Community Development Department
Planning Division
7351 Rosanna St.
Gilroy, CA
(408) 846-0440
AFFORDABLE HOUSING EXEMPTION
AMENDMENT
May 19,2008
File Number: AHE 06-01 (encompass #06010024)
Applicant: South County Housing (c/o Karen Saunders, 842-9181)
Location: Property located west of Monterey Road, north and south of the future extension of
Cohansey Avenue
Staff Planner: Melissa Durkin (mdurkin@ci.gilroy.ca.us)
REQUESTED ACTION:
The applicant, South County Housing, requests a revision to the RDO Affordable Housing Exemption
approval for the Harvest Park project.
DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY:
Parcel Number: 790-06-016,029,030,032, and 033
Parcel Size: 36 acres
Flood Zone: Zone B, Panel # 0603400002D, Panel Date: 8/17/98
STATUS OF PROPERTY:
Existing Land Use
Ag., Undev., Residential
General Plan Designation
Neighborhood DistrictlLDR
Zoning
Neigh. Dist/ PUD, County
STATUS OF SURROUNDING PROPERTY:
Existing Land Use
N: Vet. Office, Ag.
S: Ag., Undev., Res.
E: Res., Indus., Ag.
W: Agricultural
General Plan Designation
Neighborhood District
Neigh. Dist./LDR
Rural Residential
Neighborhood District
Zoning
RI-PUD
Neigh. Dist./Rl
County Zoning
County Zoning
EXHIBIT A
AHE 06-01
2
5/19/08
ANALYSIS OF REQUEST:
The applicant received approval of the Harvest Park project Affordable Housing Exemption on May 1, 2006.
This exemption, and the subsequent Tentative Map and Architectural & Site Review allowed the applicant to
construct:
. 161 single-family homes; and
. 83 townhouses
All of the approved homes were designed to be owner occupied.
Since that time, the residential home market has entered a significant decline, making construction financing
for low-income for-sale homes and mortgage lending to low-income buyers difficult. In addition, South
County housing's financing depends on internal subsidies generated by the market-rate homes in the Harvest
Park development. Since market-rate home sales have slowed dramatically, South County Housing cannot
rely on those homes to subsidize their low-income product. However, the applicant can obtain funding for
low-income apartment units. Therefore, the applicant proposes two changes to the Harvest Park approvals:
1. Convert 83 owner-occupied townhouses into 83 rental apartment units; and
2. Modify the architectural design of the units
See the applicant's letter (attached as Exhibit A) for a detailed explanation of the proposed changes.
Conversion to Rental Units
The conversion of 83 units from owner-occupied townhouses to apartment units will provide a rental
component in the Harvest Park project that does not currently exist. The remaining 161 units in this
development will all be owner-occupied single-family homes. The nearest apartment complex to this
development is South County Housing's transitional apartment project, approximately 800 feet south of
the proposed apartment units. The Single Family home component of Harvest Park will buffer the
proposed rental units from existing development (see page 4 of South County Housing's letter for a site
plan showing the location of the proposed apartments).
Neither the Zoning Ordinance nor the RDO Affordable Housing Exemption Procedure specifies a
preference for owner-occupied or rental units. Therefore, staff's chief concern with converting the units
from townhouses to apartments is the conversion's impact on affordability levels in the overall
development. The following chart compares the approved affordability levels with the proposed
affordability levels. [Note: 62 of the units approved for this project (25%) are market rate and are not
subject to affordability restrictions. This chart compares the affordability levels of the 182 income-
restricted units.]
EXHIBIT A
AHE 06-01
3
5/19/08
Affordability Level % Required by Policy Previous Approval Current Request
(see Appendix)
100% to 120% of 30% 54 units (30%) 54 units (30%)
Median
80% to 100% of 25% 46 units (25%) 46 units (25%)
Median
50% to 80% of Median 25% 46 units (25%) 46 units (25%)
Up to 50% of Median 20% 36 units (20%) 36 units (20%)
The proposed chan2:e is consistent with the previously-approved affordabilitv levels.
Architectural Design Modification
The applicant proposes modifying the design of the units as part of the conversion from townhouses to
apartments. The applicant has summarized the differences between the original design and the proposed
design in the attached letter. The primary changes are as follows:
Previous Desi n
Three-Story townhouses
Garages under each unit
Larger units (ranging from 1,090 to 1,680 square feet)
with less 0 en s ace
10 one-bedroom units, 49 two-bedroom units, and
24 three-bedroom units
249 parking spaces. Exceeds required parking by 62
stalls
Pro osed Desi n
Two-Sto a artments
C orts detached from the units
Smaller units (ranging from 647 to 1,083 square feet)
with more 0 en s ace
10 one-bedroom units, 45 two-bedroom units, and
28 three-bedroom units
232 parking spaces [191 Parking Spaces + 41
"Reserve Spaces" kept as a landscape strip until
parking is warranted]. Exceeds required parking by
73 stalls
Page seven of the staff report shows the approved elevations and the proposed elevations. The proposed
design is substantially similar to the approved design, with the primary exceptions being the change from
three-story to two-story and the unit size,
Zoning Ordinance section 50.66 (i) allows the Planning Division Manager to forward requests for RDO
allocation amendments directly to the City Council for approval if he finds that the modifications to the
project are not significant. After review ofthe proposed changes, staff believes the applicant's request is
substantially compliant with the previous approval, and that the proposed changes are not significant.
EXHIBIT A
AHE 06-01
4
5/19/08
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
This proiect is substantially consistent with the previous RDO Affordable Housinl!: Exemption
approval. Therefore. staff recommends that:
1. The City Council APPROVE this request; and
2. The revised Architectural & Site Review be approved at a staff level.
If this proiect is approved. staff recommends that the followinl!: conditions be applied to this
approval:
1. The developer shall sign a contract agreeing to the provisions contained within the "RDO
Affordable Housing Exemption Procedure," prior to approval of an Architectural and Site review
for this site.
2. The Applicant shall obtain approval of an Architectural & Site Review that reflects the
revised design.
Respectfully,
William Faus
Planning Division Manager
bfaus@ci.gilroy.ca.us
EXHIBIT A
I, SHA WNA FREELS, City Clerk of the City of Gilroy, do hereby certify that the
attached Resolution No. 2008-27 is an original resolution, or true and correct copy of a city
resolution, duly adopted by the Council of the City of Gilroy at a regular meeting of said Council
held on the 16th day of June, 2008, 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 5th day of July, 2008.
Shawna Freels, C
City Clerk of the City of Gilroy
(Seal)