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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 -1- IDUNG0\829314.1 092210-04706089 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"; -2- IDUNG0\829314.1 092210-04706089 Resolution No. 2010-52 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 -3- IDUNG0\829314.1 092210-04706089 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: -4- IDUNG0\829314.1 092210-04706089 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)