Santa Clara County Grand Jury
• 2017-2018
• Agency Response
Response to:
2017 Update from the City of Monte Sereno
Affordable Housing Crisis: Density is Our Destiny*
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 4 findings
F7
Page 4
NIMBY (Not in My Backyard) opposition adversely affects the supply of BMR housing units. Response: Partially agree. NIMBY opposition is only one of many factors affecting the production of BMR units.
Related Recommendations (1)
R7
Page 5
A task force to communicate the value and importance of each city meeting its RHNA objectives for BMR housing should be created and funded by the County and all 15 cities, by June 30, 2019. Response: Will not be implemented. This recommendation will not be implemented because the County has responded to this report stating that it will not implement this recommendation because it is not warranted. However, if a task force is formed the City will consider participating.
F8
Page 5
It is unnecessarily difficult to confirm how many BMR units are constructed in a particular year or RHNA cycle because cities and the County only report permitted units. Response: Partially agree. State law requires all jurisdictions to prepare an annual report of their Housing Elements following the guidance of the California Department of Housing and Community Development. This guidance requires reporting of building permit issuance since it is a reliable metric of actual housing production.
Related Recommendations (1)
R8
Page 5
All 15 cities and the County should annually publish the number of constructed BMR units, starting in April 2019. Response: Has not been implemented, but will be implemented in the future. The City will make information available annually to the public regarding building permits finaled/certificates of occupancy issued (i.e., construction complete) starting in April 2019.
F9
Page 5
Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) offer a prime opportunity for cities with low housing density and limited developable land to produce more BMR units. Response: Agree.
Related Recommendations (2)
R9a
Page 5
ADU creation should be encouraged by decreasing minimum lot size requirements and increasing the allowed unit maximum square footage to that prescribed by state law, Response: Has been implemented. The City's current regulations related to ADUs are fully in compliance with state law.
R9b
Page 6
Increasing BMR unit creation by incentivizing long-term affordability through deed restrictions for ADUs should be adopted, Response: Will not be implemented. The City currently meets all of its very low-income housing requirements through the production of ADUs. Incentivizing long-term affordability through deed restrictions seems unwarranted as property owners are already taking advantage of the streamlined permit processing for ADUs as evidenced by the fact that the City is meeting its RHNA numbers.
F10
Page 6
Lack of funding mechanisms to create BMR housing has restricted BMR achievement by cities with limited commercial development or developable land. Response: Agree. As a City with no commercial development and virtually no undeveloped land any potential mechanisms implemented for funding BMR developments would yield very little in terms of revenue.
Related Recommendations (2)
R10a
Page 6
Residential development impact fees to fund BMR developments should be enacted by the cities of Los Altos Hills, Monte Sereno and Saratoga, Response: Will not be implemented. The recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted in Monte Sereno. The City has no commercial base and is largely built out and only with single-family development. The City would support a regional approach and will monitor and explore opportunities on how the City can participate in any regional effort.
R10b
Page 6
Parcel taxes to fund BMR developments should be brought as a ballot measure. to the voters of the cities of Los Altos Hills, Monte Sereno and Saratoga, by the 2020 elections. Response: Will not be implemented. The recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted in Monte Sereno. On November 8, 2016, voters in Monte Sereno, along with Santa Clara County voters, approved Measure A, a $950 million affordable housing bond. It is estimated that the bond proceeds would contribute to the creation and/or preservation of approximately 5,100 affordable housing units. In addition, it will increase supportive housing for special needs populations, including homeless and chronically homeless persons. The City will work with other cities in the region to explore additional strategies to support development of BMR housing. . . 4 . . 6 .
No Responses Found 3
Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.
* This report's PDF did not contain easily extractable text and required Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for analysis. There may be minor errors in the extracted findings and recommendations due to OCR limitations with scanned documents.