ACT! Mountain View City Council Takes Final Action on North Bayshore Precise Plan
December 12, 2017
Gathering: 5:30 PM (Food and drinks provided); Meeting: 6:00 PM
Mountain View City Hall
500 Castro Street, Mountain View

Agenda will be posted here prior to the meeting.

After several years of planning and advocacy, the finish line is finally in sight! Final plan adoption is scheduled for the December 12th Council meeting at 6:00 pm. With the Plan’s adoption, Mountain View will create a major opportunity for growing its stock of both affordable and market rate homes, with the possibility of nearly 10,000 new homes, including 2,000 affordable homes. 

There’s still time for you to sign our #SayYesNBS letter in support of the Plan! Click here to sign the petition and remember to pass along to your colleagues, friends, and family!  

We need the entire housing community to speak up in support of such bold action in the face of this housing crisis!

Join the League of Women Voters Los Altos-Mountain View, Balanced Mountain View, the Mountain View Coalition for Sustainable Planning, the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce, and community partners in a gathering before the meeting. Come down at 5:30 to meet your fellow housers, grab some food, and claim your #SayYesNBS sticker and a sign to hold up during the Council hearing. Our item is first up on the agenda so please get to City Hall promptly at 5:30!

Highlights

‘Tis the Season to Be a Member!

There is just one week left to become a member of SV@Home in time for our 3rd Annual Member Holiday Party! Haven’t signed up yet? You’re in luck! From now through December 13th, if you join SV@Home for the first time or renew your existing membership, you will be entered to win one of several great prizes, including merchandise donated by the SF 49ers Foundation, an SV@Home member. Prizes include a football signed by San Francisco 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster, a mini helmet signed by offensive tackle Joe Staley, two pairs of tickets to the 49ers Museum at Levi’s Stadium, and a free SV@Home hoodie or t-shirt! New prizes are being collected. (Note that all members who have joined or renewed since September 1st are eligible for the raffle.)

SV@Home brings together a broad range of voices from the community to speak up on housing issues, envisioning a Silicon Valley where everyone has a safe, stable, and affordable home. Join our coalition of 250+ members and help us start off the New Year strong!

Sign up online or fill out this form. Discounted rates are available – just ask! For any questions, email membership@siliconvalleyathome.org.

Thank you and welcome to our newest 2018 and new members! 

Melissa Morris, Warren Gannon, Christine Carr, Jan Lindenthal, Kevin Watts, Jeffrey Weiss, Maria Tellez, Stefan Luesse, Sunnyvale Councilmember Larry Klein, Mike Kasperzak, Comerica Bank, Rutan and Tucker LLP, Wells Fargo, MidPen Housing Corporation, Santa Clara County Housing Authority, Rebuilding Together Silicon Valley, Federal Home Loan Bank of SF, City of Santa Clara, Monterey Bay Economic Partnership, Resources for Community Development, Goldfarb & Lipman LLP, and County of Santa Clara!

The Member Holiday Party is Less Than a Week Away!

SV@Home’s annual Holiday Party is next Wednesday, December 13th at the Silicon Valley Capital Club. Join us to celebrate another year of learning, acting, and engaging on affordable housing in Santa Clara County!

If you haven’t RSVPed yet, you can check out the full details and RSVP on the Eventbrite page. The holiday party is a member-only event and is free to all current SV@Home members. If you aren’t sure if you or your company is a  member, contact membership@siliconvalleyathome.org

Parking can be found at Fairmont Plaza Parking Garage in the Silicon Valley Capital Club/KQED Building.

SV@Home and the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits Host Senior Conversation  

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Dozens of seniors and service providers came out to participate in SV@Home’s ‘Senior Huddle’, on December 5th, in partnership with SVCN’S Aging Services Collaborative, to offer their perspective on the Bay Area housing crisis’s impact to seniors.

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Press Conference on Tiny Homes

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The Gensler Team presents their tiny home Bridge Housing Communities concepts, with San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, Vice-Mayor Magdalena Carrasco, Councilmember Chappie Jones, Councilmember Lan Diep, and Jacky Morales-Ferrand, San Jose’s Director of Housing.  The City of San Jose will consider Bridge Housing Communities at its December 12th meeting.  See more below.

Policy Updates

San Jose City Council Acts on Urban Villages

On Tuesday, the San Jose City Council took action to speed up development in Urban Villages, requesting that staff return with an Urban Village Infrastructure Financing Plan by April.  The Infrastructure Financing Plan is intended to provide a simplified, transparent, and predictable mechanism for financing amenities in Urban Villages, including open space, public art, and enhanced streetscapes.  Urban Villages account for a significant portion of the 120,000 planned units in the GP 2040, which was approved by the Council in 2011.  Progress has been stalled awaiting approval of this Plan.

In its motion, the Council asked staff to conduct additional community outreach to Urban Village neighbors and the development community. And, in the event that a fully-developed Plan is not approved in April, on an interim basis, the Council directed that developers could proceed after either paying a contribution or providing amenities equivalent to a determined flat fee while the final Plan is completed.  Read more about the Council direction here– https://drive.google.com/open?id=1DAHFmvFwMRGfB6jqqO3H_1-IL1P1PnZq

SV@Home provided feedback on the Plan, including recommending that the City expedite development in Urban Villages, simplify the zoning process, and be mindful of the required cost of improvements.  We expressed strong support for the inclusion of additional affordable housing, over and above inclusionary requirements, as an eligible amenity.  SV@Home will continue to participate in the conversation as the policy is finalized. 

Affordable Housing Policies at Mountain View City Council Study Session

On Tuesday, November 28th, the Mountain View City Council held a study session on City-wide affordable housing policies. The evening’s discussion centered on revisions to and reinstatement of the City’s inclusionary ordinance. The Council unanimously directed staff to execute a two-stage process – an immediate modification to raise the for-sale and rental residential affordability requirement to 15% and a longer-term process to undertake additional revisions to the City’s inclusionary requirements. 

Cities throughout the County and State are taking similar actions to implement dormant Inclusionary Housing Ordinances or to create new requirements as a result of the enactment of AB 1505, which will go into effect in January.  This bill reiterated the rights of local jurisdictions to require that new rental development include affordable units.

Inclusionary Zoning and Commercial Linkage Fee Vote at Santa Clara City Council

The Santa Clara City Council unanimously voted Tuesday night to approve an Inclusionary Housing Ordinance (IHO) that set rates at 15% for both for-sale and rental housing development. As required by AB 1505, the IHO allows for alternative means of compliance, including in lieu fees, dedication of land, or off-site construction.

The City also took action to create commercial linkage fees that range from $2-$20 a square foot depending on the type of development and are projected to generate millions of dollars for new affordable homes.  In passing these fees, the City joins Cupertino, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, and Palo Alto in requiring commercial developers to share the costs of housing their local workforce.  The Cities of San Jose and Milpitas are currently considering commercial linkage fees.

The Council’s action came after the Affordable Housing Working Group, which brought together nonprofit and for-profit developers, environmental groups, and elected officials, arrived at recommendations on a potential Housing Impact Fee.  Staff moved in a different direction after the passage of AB 1505, which allowed the City to shift its focus from Housing Impact Fees to an IHO.

Stanford General Use Permit Application Sparks Debates on Campus’ Impact on Affordability, Traffic, and Jobs-Housing Balance

With members of the public seeking additional opportunities to weigh in on the Stanford General Use Permit (GUP) application, the County has extended the comment period on the GUP Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to February 2, 2018.  With Stanford’s influence on jobs, housing, transportation, and population throughout all of Santa Clara County, and especially in Palo Alto and other nearby cities, many residents have already engaged in the process and shared their feedback and concerns with the County, which will make the ultimate decision to approve or deny the GUP. The GUP request includes approval of over 2 million square feet of new academic facilities, 3,150 housing units for faculty and students, and a transportation strategy that will not generate any new net commute trips as a result of further development.

Written comments can be addressed to David.rader@pln.sccgov.org or via regular mail to David Rader, 70 W. Hedding St., San Jose, CA 95110.

For more information, visit the Santa Clara County website and check out Palo Alto Weekly’s editorial on the GUP:

Stanford’s ambitious GUP: Proposal rekindles old issues of housing, transportation and ‘build-out’

Three More Measure A Projects Approved!

In November, the County Board of Supervisors considered recommendations to fund the first six affordable housing developments with monies from Measure A, the $950 million voter-approved bond measure.  Three of the projects were approved at that time, but three others were held while the County negotiated around ownership of the underlying land.  Those three projects were approved on Tuesday:

• The Veranda– a 19-unit affordable senior development with six units set aside for chronically homeless or homeless seniors with disabling conditions.  The project, located in Cupertino, will be developed by Charities Housing Development Corporation.               

• Villas on the Park– an 84-unit permanent supportive housing development in Downtown San Jose co-developed by the Affirmed Housing Group and People Assisting the Homeless (PATH)                 

• Quezal Gardens– a mixed-use development with 71 affordable homes and over 12,000 square feet of commercial space in East San Jose developed by Resources for Community Development.  Twenty-four of the 71 apartments will be set aside for the chronically homeless.   

Upcoming Public Meetings

San Jose City Council: Bridge Housing Communities

Tuesday, December 12th
1:30 pm
San Jose City Hall
200 E. Santa Clara Street, San Jose
Item 4.1 Read the staff report here

Among major US Cities, San Jose has the third highest rate of unsheltered homelessness.  In response to this Shelter Crisis, the City Council will reconsider the development of tiny homes as temporary shelter for the homeless, also known as Bridge Housing Communities, which are allowed by State law under AB 2176.  Passed in 2016, this bill authorized a five-year pilot program in San Jose to create immediate housing options for those without shelter, which would serve as temporary homes before their residents can transition to permanent housing.  This program could allow the City to respond more rapidly to the urgent need for shelter, while continuing to build out more permanent affordable homes.  

CASA Technical Committee Meeting

Wednesday, December 13th
11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Bay Area Metro Center – 1st Floor Yerba Buena Conference Room
375 Beale Street, San Francisco
View the agenda and meeting packet here.  

The CASA Technical Committee is set to dive in to some of the high-impact action ideas related to increasing affordable and market rate housing production, tenant protections, and affordable housing preservation that have been brought to the table.  To view the list of the ideas up for discussion, download the October 25th meeting packet here. 

San Jose City Council: Inclusionary Housing & Affordable Housing Impact Fees

Tuesday, December 19th
Time: No earlier than 1:30 pm
San Jose City Hall
200 E. Santa Clara Street, San Jose
View the meeting agenda here

With AB 1505 going to effect on January 1, 2018, local jurisdictions have an immediate opportunity to reinstate inclusionary housing requirements for rental development.  San Jose’s 15% requirement is set to be automatically reinstated on January 1st, but at a recent Rules Committee meeting, staff indicated that a phase-in period, during which projects can apply to pay the current $17 affordable housing impact fee (AHIF) instead of complying with the inclusionary housing requirements, may be considered.  Rental inclusionary housing requirements are one of the most impactful tools cities can use to build affordable housing, and SV@Home supports reinstating the inclusionary requirement without any phase-in period.

Cupertino City Council: Vallco Specific Plan

Tuesday, December 19th
6:45 pm
10350 Torre Avenue, Cupertino
Agenda will be posted here prior to the meeting

The Cupertino City Council is planning to discuss the housing, office, and retail mix to be analyzed as part of the Vallco Specific Plan process, which is expected to formally launch in early 2018. Members of the specific plan consulting team are expected to attend to respond to Council questions.

City of Santa Clara: El Camino Real Specific Plan

First Community Workshop to take place in January 2018

The City of Santa Clara announced that it will launch a series of workshops in early 2018 to gather input from the public regarding future development along El Camino Real. As the City of Santa Clara states, “The El Camino Real is the City’s most visible and identifiable commercial corridor. The City’s General Plan vision for El Camino Real is to transform the Focus Area from a series of automobile-oriented strip malls to a tree-lined, pedestrian and transit-oriented corridor with a mix of residential and retail uses.”  Want to weigh in on how the City can achieve this vision?  Be sure to participate in the community engagement process!  To be added to the El Camino Real Specific Plan e-mail list, or to make comments on the plan, please contact the project manager, Anna McGill at AMcGill@santaclaraca.gov or by phone at 408-615-2458.

SV@Home Events

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January Happy Housers

Friday, January 19th 5:30-7 PM
Location TBD

We’re kicking off the events of the new year with a Happy Housers on January 19th! SV@Home’s Happy Housers events are a great opportunity for people from all corners of the housing world to connect, exchange ideas, and get to know fellow housers. Our special guest will be Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors President Dave Cortese. Mark your calendars!