Resolution 2010-52
RESOLUTION NO. 2010-52
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
GILROY APPROVING APPLICATION AHE 10-02 FOR AN
AFFORDABLE HOUSING EXEMPTION FROM THE
RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE TO
ALLOCATE 26 RESIDENTIAL APARTMENT UNITS ON
PROPERTY LOCATED AT 9389 MONTEREY ROAD,
APN790-07-28.
WHEREAS, South County Housing Corporation submitted application ARE 10-02 for an
"Affordable Housing Exemption" from the Residential Development Ordinance (RDO) for a
twenty-six (26) residential unit apartment on a property containing approximately 1.75 acres,
zoned R4 PUD and located at 9389 Monterey Road, APN790-07-28; and
WHEREAS, the apartments are to provide permanent housing for very low income,
chronically homeless persons; and
WHEREAS, the City Council may grant the requested RDO Affordable Housing
Exemption if it determines that the application meets the criteria set forth in Zoning Ordinance
section 50.62(b)(3), which criteria are fully discussed in the Staff Report dated September 2,
2010 ("Staff Report"); and
WHEREAS, the City has determined that the review and approval of an application for
an RDO Affordable Housing Exemption does not confer any entitlement for development and
therefore is not a "project" as defined in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and
does not require environmental clearance; and
WHEREAS, the City staff duly noticed the matter for public hearings before the Planning
Commission and the City Council; and
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Resolution No. 2010-52
WHEREAS, the Planning Commission reviewed said application including the Staff
Report at a duly noticed public meeting on September 2, 2010, and recommended approval of
ARE 10-02 to the City Council; and
WHEREAS, the City Council reviewed the application for an RDO Affordable Housing
Exemption, the Staff Report and a Supplemental Staff Report dated September 20,2010, and all
documents relating thereto and took oral and written testimony at its duly noticed public meeting
of September 20, 2010; and
WHEREAS, on October 4, 2010, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2010-_
approving the transfer of 26 units from the RDO Affordable Senior Housing Exemption category
to the RDO Affordable Housing Exemption category, thereby making 26 units available for
affordable housing; 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 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 Council makes these findings
based on the facts set forth in the record, and the analysis at pages 5 through 8
in the Staff Report, which analysis is attached hereto as Exhibit "A";
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2. The project is in compliance with Zoning Ordinance section 50.62(b )(3)
criteria, including the project's affordability and the community's need for
Very Low Income housing; the number of affordable housing projects in the
vicinity; the diversity of unit types and services provided within the project to
benefit the residents, and the outdoor amenities provided in the project for use
of the residents.
B. The City Council hereby approves ARE 10-02, granting twenty-six residential
units through the RDO Affordable Housing Exemption process, with the
following condition:
1. Time Limits: The Applicant must obtain all City discretionary approvals
within two (2) years from the date of this Affordable Housing Exemption
approval; otherwise the Affordable Housing Exemption approval shall be
deemed automatically revoked. Upon application prior to the expiration of
the Affordable Housing Exemption approval and for good cause shown, the
Planning Division Manager may grant an extension of time not to exceed one
year.
This resolution shall be in full force and take effect only if, and on the same date, that
Resolution No. 2010 -_ approving the transfer of 26 units from the RDO Affordable Senior
Housing Exemption category to the RDO Affordable Housing Exemption category takes effect.
II
II
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Resolution No. 2010-52
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 4th of October 2010, by the following vote:
NOES:
COUNCILMEMBERS:
ARELLANO, BRACCO, DILLON,
TUCKER, WOODWARD and PINHEIRO
GARTMAN
AYES:
COUNCILMEMBERS:
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS:
NONE
APPROVED:
ATTEST:
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Resolution No. 2010-52
Exhibit A
Affordable HousinQ Exemption
The applicant requests approval of an Affordable Housing Exemption (AHE) from the
ROO under the provisions of Zoning Ordinance section 50.62 (b) (4), to allow the
construction of 26 Very Low Income housing units. The residents in the project would
be required to pay 30% of their income as rent.
Zoning Ordinance section 50.62 (b) (3) establishes the eligibility requirements for
projects applying for Affordable Housing Exemptions. Those requirements and staffs
analysis of each is presented below.
1. "A residential development project sponsored by a non-profit organization
funded by federal, state, or local government is exempt, so long as such
organization is one of the following: 1) an organization that receives annual
operating grants in excess of $100,000 from government sources, including
government chartered intermediaries; or 2) an organization that qualifies as a
Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO), as defined by the
California Department of Housing and Community Development."
The applicant, South County Housing, qualifies under category (1), above.
2. The project must be:
A. Seventy-five (75) units or less;
The proposed 26 unit project meets this criterion.
B. Consistent with the "ROO Affordable Housing Exemption Procedure"
The proposed project is consistent with this policy. The rental rates for the
units will meet the required affordability levels (see item 4 B, below). As a
condition of approval of the Architecture and Site approval, the applicant will
be required to enter into an agreement with the City prior to issuance of
Building Permits, committing to meet all aspects of the policy.
C. Such projects shall not be immediately adjacent to another project having
received an AHE within the previous three (3) years except where the City
Council approves a specific exemption.
The adjacent Sobrato Family Apartments, also developed and operated by
South County Housing, provide housing for low income families. The project
was approved more than three years ago. Therefore the project complies
with this requirement.
3. 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
Exhibit A
create significant negative impacts to public facilities or to providers of public
services in the community or to the Gilroy Unified School District.
As described elsewhere in this report, the proposed project will benefit the
community by providing permanent housing for 25 formerly homeless individuals
and providing a new development to compliment the streetscape of the northern
gateway to Gilroy, along Monterey Road. The project will take the place of the
140 bed emergency homeless shelter approved for the site and is expected to
generate significantly less activity and have little or no effect on the surrounding
neighborhood.
4. The City Council shall also 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 ROO cycle, and the number of years left in the cycle.
The City Council allocated 464 affordable housing units in the 2004-2013
ROO cycle. Only seven of the allocated units have been constructed. All of
the units in this category have either been awarded or have applications
pending, so, to award units to this project, the City Council will need to
transfer 26 units from the Affordable Senior Housing Exemption (ASHE)
category, as requested. No other applicants have expressed intent to use the
ASHE units and the City Council has not set a policy restricting reallocation of
these units.
B. The affordability of the project;
The City's "ROO Affordable Housing Exemption Procedure" requires rental
housing constructed through the Affordable Housing Exemption to establish
rental rates equivalent to the California Tax Credit Allocation (CTCAC) 50%
income level rental rates for Santa Clara County". The rental rates for the
project will be below the CTCAC 50% income level.
C. The need for the types of units which are proposed
The General Plan Housing Element has documented the need for additional
housing in the Very Low Income range. The Gilroy Police Department has
reviewed the project and submitted the following comments: "The Gilroy
Police Department is in complete support of this project. The Department
believes that this wrap around service model is the most successful way to
actually get chronic mentally ill and or chemically dependent homeless people
off of the streets in Gilroy. This solution is the absolute best in sustaining the
long term needs of each client. The Police Department has been committed
to the Homeless Outreach Committee over the past 2 years to end chronic
homelessness and to improve the quality of life for the community. Staff have
Exhibit A
seen this model work for homeless individuals to become productive
members of our community such as the Streets Team members. The
homeless profile for Gilroy shows that Gilroy is ranked #1 in homeless
individuals per capita. We have on the average of 193 unsheltered homeless
people in Gilroy. During the winter months up to 125 can be housed at the
Armory, leaving about 68 people still on the street or in encampments. This
project will help to get some of that population (25 individuals) off of the street
and into permanent housing which is a win-win for our community. "
D. The number of affordable housing projects constructed or proposed within the
project vicinity
Adjacent to the west of the project is the 60-unit Sobrato Family Apartments,
which provide low income affordable housing for formerly homeless families.
Approximately 300 feet south of the project site, across Farrell A venue is a
12-year old single family subdivision of 60 dwellings, some of which remain
restricted to low-income ownership. Approximately 240 feet to the north of
the project site on the west side of Monterey Road is the site of the approved
Harvest Park development, which has an approved AHE for 182 units
comprised of a mixture of affordable and market rate single family and multi-
family dwellings. The project has not begun construction.
There are 120 existing and 182 approved, but not yet built affordable
housing units near this site, for a total of 302 affordable units. If this
exemption request is approved, there will be 328 units with varied income
levels from of very low to market rate in the surrounding area. Although this
could be considered an over-concentration of affordable housing units, there
are some factors that may mitigate this concern:
. The affordable projects described include a mixture of housing types
(rental family and studio apartment units and owner-occupied single
family homes). The intervening vacant parcel between the project site
and the future Harvest Park development has an approved Shovel-ready
Infill Housing Exemption (SHE) for 51 market-rate, small-lot single-family
dwellings.
. The low-income projects in this area are inter-mixed with market-rate
projects. Because these projects are affordable to a mixture of incomes,
people of various incomes and backgrounds are living together. In the
long term, this creates more sustainable neighborhoods, and better
planned communities.
. As noted above, the proposed project will replace the 140-bed homeless
shelter previously approved by the City Council.
E. The diversity of unit type and architectural styles which are proposed in the
entire development
Exhibit A
The design for the project consists of a single two-story building placed
parallel to Monterey Road, providing a new contribution to the streetscape of
this northern "gateway" to the City. The building incorporates 26 studio
apartments, a 1,000 square foot community room, and. 1,400 square feet of
office space for use by providers of community services to benefit the
residents.
F. The site design and proposed building elevations.
The project includes extensive outdoor amenities for the use of the residents,
including open space and walking paths, a half basketball court, vegetable
garden and BBQ area.. The architectural design of the building incorporates
multiple earth-tone colors with stone accents and variations in the facade that
provide additional interest to the building elevations.
Conclusion
The proposed project is consistent with all of the criteria established in the Zoning
Ordinance and the ROO Affordable Housing Exemption Procedure. While there are a
relatively large number of affordable housing units in the vicinity, they provide a variety
of housing types and income levels. The area south of Farrell Avenue is predominantly
single-family in nature. The opportunity to place 25 formerly homeless persons in
permanent housing and provide intensive services to support them to become
successful, contributing members of the community is an important benefit to the
community. The Community Development Department and the Police Department
recommend approval of the requested Affordable Housing Exemption.
I, SHA WNA FREELS, City Clerk of the City of Gilroy, do hereby certify that the
attached Resolution No. 2010-52 is an original resolution, or true and correct copy of a city
resolution, du1y adopted by the Council of the City of Gilroy at a regu1ar meeting of said Council
held on the 4th day of October, 2010, 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 11 th day of October, 2010.
Sha a Freels, CMC
City Clerk of the City of Gilroy
(Seal)