HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 8.2 Establish Housing Commission
CITY CLERK
File # D[J][[][Q]-I1J~
AGENDA STATEMENT
CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: January 17, 2006
SUBJECT:
Establishment of Housing Commission/Committee
Report Prepared by: fen Ram, Community Development Director
ATTACHMENTS:
None
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1.
2.
3.
Receive Staff presentation;
Deliberate; and
Provide Staff with direction on whether the City Council
would like to Staff to proceed with the implementation of the
establishment of a Housing Commission/Committee by
indicating preference for
a. Option 1;
b. Option 2;
c. Option 3;
d. Option 4; or
e. Provide additional direction.
RECOMMENDA nON:
FINANCIAL STATEMENT:
Sufficient funds have been included in the Fiscal Year 2005 - 2006
budget to fund any of the above options.
DESCRIPTION:
At the Joint Commission! City Council Goals and Objectives Workshop in February 2005, the Planning
Commission indicated concerns that no commission or committee was working on housing issues for the
City. Following that meeting, at the City Council's Goals and Objectives meeting in April 2005, the City
Council added a new High Priority to their 2005 Goals and Objectives as follows: "Establish a Housing
Commission/Committee" .
At the current time, the City of Dublin has in place a Planning Commission, which is the land use body
designated under State Law and the City of Dublin Municipal Code to make recommendations on land use
decisions to the City Council. The City Council makes the final decision on General Plan Amendments
(including amendments to the Housing Element of the General Plan), rezonings and other major land use
actions.
COPIES TO: In-House Distribution
Page 1 of7
ITEM NO.-B-2
K:\HOUSING\Housing Commission\CCSRCommissionscoping 1-17 -06.doc
In the past, the City Council has appointed various task forces or committees to address certain issues that
are pending before the City Council. For example, task forces were appointed to address the Downtown,
Open Space, Community Facilities and Affordable Housing.
During the preparation of the Housing Element that was adopted in June 2003, the City Council appointed
a Affordable Housing Task Force for a I year period that included members of the City Council, Planning
Commission and interested members of the community. That Housing Task Force also made
recommendations on the establishment of priorities for the Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance. After the
conclusion of these two items, the Affordable Housing Task Force's duties were completed and the City
Council ended and formally recognized the Task Force's contributions.
Decision Making:
Housing issues that are primarily before the City relate to updating the Housing Element of the General
Plan every five years; implementing the Inclusionary Ordinance by working with developers; partnering
with non-profits (such as Eden) to participate in building affordable housing; and developing programs,
such as the First Time Homebuyer Program.
There are several different types of decision making relating to housing issues.
. Policy decisions relating to housing issues are made by the City Council;
. Amendments to various planning documents relating to housing are approved by the City Council
upon recommendation by the Planning Commission;
. A Task Force has also been used on specific issues to provide advice to the City Council; and
. Staff routinely makes decisions relating to the implementation of programs that have been
approved by the City Council.
Table One, below, illustrates the types of decisions that are made relating to housing in the City of Dublin:
VariatH:ms froJ}j; .Reportspr~a1are~lo
Inclusiooary 0!dinance'City C9~t
Type otDecisicm
General Plan
Amendments to
Housing Element
- - ---
Devel~Pmentof @w. ,; ;
'BR~~ie~gram~{fi~;
tijDe home1.lu~er,'"
':Commercial:Nexus,,,
..;'F:ee, prioritysystem)iiii
Distribution and make
up of units in
subdivisions
Table One
Decision Maker on Housing Issues
Si,aff
. .Citi~;'~~i ,'. Notes;!'"
;!lJanuing, '
. :!:€ommtil~n'
Recommend to
City Council
Approval Body
A Taskforce
was used in the
Housing
Element Update
:T~;For<!~~' ....
'werihJ.seijifor ','
developtrii:'ntgJf '
these p/ograjifS
Reports prepared to
Planning Commission
and City Council
Reports 'grepared fo:r!!!
T~l"'orees,P:J~J:iiri8
Co~ssion.~d City
COlttlcil .......
R~ndto,' Awxoval:'Body!:jii';
ci~';CouncU" ,",'U un"
Set forth in Inclusionary
Ordinance.
Implemented by Staff.
;;-,
,iApl)IQVal~OOY;';'
, .\~-,o-.:;,> , Lo':>'--
------
Page 2 of7
'fy~ ~Diidsion ' ',';Staff'
Reports prepared to
Planning Commission
and City Council
Set fortin IHclusiprirY
Ordin~~. ApptQvea
by:Cit~'Manager'l(Ii"
ClfO' Alklrney. .'
Amendments to
Inclusionary Ordinance
AfI.lrqable HouSing
Aifeefnentil
PI_bg
Cmmmssion
Recommend to
City Council
CiJy C~il::.', ;NOtes':
Approval Body
,Standlm:ij'<Orm .
ap '" ',p)r'
, 'Cit Quacit
To assist the City Council in determining the appropriate body to work on housing issues, Staff did a
survey of other jurisdictions to determine what types of decisions or issues Housing
Commissions/Committees are responsible for (see Table Two below):
Table Two
Survey of Cities Relating to Housing Commission/Committees
Agenej:"
Pleasanton
Me.nl~'Park '
,'0--
Livermore
'Su~yv~
Redwood City
. - ----- ,
SanRamon
Brentwood
Santa
Walnut Creek
" ' Typecof Body;..,; " , ' "~9!~ijed~iOli~.iss4~,~;' ',lpUrposeiilf,
, (Comlnlssion/@IDJIlittee) ,;'Jjody":':~f ' ,;' '" ,,',"
Review Affordable Housing Agreements, review
CDBG and all grant funding programs, review lottery
or process for how BMR unit applicants are selected,
reviewed Staff's monitoring process for BMR unit
ownership over time.
H~umngi~ol11IllissiQn : ,All , ':Agreements with Dev~loPl~. Revi~ws<li~
'" poli, ' ,,' using isSues.: ' """ '"
Mostly CDBG grant review. Affordable Housing
Agreements.
Advi~(;()U~il~nexi~tin8&PO
policj~ and6th~houslng issfie~;
appli~a.tions. ,'.. "
Reviews CDBG applications. Affordable housing
advocacy, recommends policy changes relative to
land use issues and affordable housing issues.
- - --- - -
, , '
HQusingAdv;iory;!" '" Advisory bo6Y to;'tbePlaiming Gon:n;pissioll f~r lh~':':
C.omrnittee ' '.~:~' reyiewand *,velQpmentofI)t}w:props.< Revie~~.
distiibutionolt BMR units withinnewdev~opmen~,
Advisory body to the City Council. Reviews
Affordable Housing Agreements and amendments to
Affordable Housing Agreements. Reviews new
subdivisions to give suggestions for compliance with
the regional growth management plan. Reviews
distribution of BMR units within new developments.
, R~~iews i~,applicm:igns f~ homeim.Piovemen~:;
Rtiiiews C!.BGappliciltioll~~! ' ..''''
Housing Commission
Human Services
Commission
Ho~ng~HWi1an~o',' '
--- - ------
Set'\l1ces :Eonjnissiw.
Housing & Human
Services Commission
Housing Subcommittee
Housin~ Rclia~ilitation'
Loan Canmnttee
Housing Sub-Committee
of City Council
""~ prb~~:::i',
iewfi CDBG',
';;~f; ;;,
Implementation and interpretation of Inclusionary
Zoning Ordinance.
Page 3 of7
Concord
None
Newark
None
Five of the cities surveyed had Housing Commissions or Housing and Human Services Commissions.
There does not appear to be a difference in the scope of the responsibility of the commissions. The five
commissions review housing issues and CDBG applications.
Some of the cities surveyed, such as Danville, Walnut Creek, Concord, Piedmont, Newark and Albany do
not have a Housing Commission or Committee. These cities stated that in-house Staff (Housing Staff or
Planning Department Staff) reviews housing issues that arise. Issues that are not resolved by Staff or are
policy issues are either reviewed by the Planning Commission or forwarded directly to the City Council.
Four of the cities had housing committees. Some of the cities that had committees established committees
or task forces for specific purposes. Others used the committee structure and the responsibilities of the
committees were similar to those in other cities that had Housing Commissions. A focused committee, as
shown in some of the examples in Table Two above, has the benefit of allowing the city to select
individuals to serve on the committees with specific knowledge about the topic being studied. In addition,
if a committee is formed for a particular issue or focus with a limited time period; then once the issue is
completed, the committee work can end. When another issue comes up, a new committee can be formed.
This type of committee structure is what the City of Dublin has been utilizing for many years. Example
include the Commercial Nexus Task Force; Open Space Task Force; Downtown Task Force; Village
Parkway Task Force; Affordable Housing Task Force; and Community Facilities Task Force.
Many of the cities surveyed noted that the commission or committee reviewed affordable housing
agreements. The City of Dublin has developed a boilerplate agreement that was approved by the City
Council to be signed by Staff. The intent of the City Council was that the development process should
not be slowed down by items that could be handled at an administrative level.
It is important for the City Council to decide what types of actions or tasks the new Commission or
Committee will have and then determine the type of body that would best meet the Council's goal. The
following list includes possible responsibilities for a Commission or Committee:
Purpose of Commission/Committee
1. Provide recommendations to the City Council for new policies and programs relating to housing;
2. Provide recommendations to the Planning Commission and City Council on updates to the
Housing Element of the General Plan (next update due in 2009);
3. Provide recommendations on amendments to the Inclusionary Ordinance;
4. Provide recommendations for projects that request variances from the Inclusionary Ordinance;
5. Provide recommendations to the Planning Commission on the distribution of affordable housing in
new developments; and/or
6. Review and recommend to the City Council funding requests for CDBG.
The decision on the role of the Housing Committee/Commission could have impacts on the speed in
which development projects are processed in the City. Currently, all projects are heard by either the
Planning Commission, or the Planning Commission and City Council. If the City Council were to
Page 4 of 7
establish a new body that was charged with either number 4 or 5, it would add another step (and therefore
approximately one month) to the development process.
Based on the City Council's decision on what the purpose and role of the new Commission/Committee
would be, there are several directions that the City Council could take to achieve the goal of creating a
Housing Commission/Committee. Each of these options has different factors to consider in terms of
benefits and other considerations as follows:
Option 1.
Establish a Housing Commission.
The City Council could determine to set up a new Commission that focused on housing issues. A sub-
option to this approach is to set up a new Commission that would focus on housing and other issues to be
identified by the City Council.
The primary benefits of this approach include:
. A message would be sent to the community that the City places a high priority on housing issues;
. The City Council could appoint people with special expertise in the housing area (those same
people could also be appointed to the Planning and Housing Commission under Option 2); and
. A Commission could be established that included Housing as well as other interest areas the City
Council may want to include.
Other possible effects of this approach include:
. Another Commission would require an ongoing fiscal commitment from the City:
o Training of Commission (including conferences);
o City Attorney participation;
o Overtime for staff and additional evening meetings for Staff; and
. A decision to establish a Commission is final and not flexible. Commissions are established by
Ordinance and have a defined set of duties and responsibilities;
. Memberships on Commissions are not as flexible as memberships of task forces or committees.
Generally, Commissioners are appointed for terms by the Mayor. For example, Planning
Commissioners are appointed for 4 year terms. Members on Committeesrrask Forces are also
appointments, but since task forces and committees are generally for specific issues and time
periods, the terms are shorter (generally membership runs until the reason for the task force or
committee is completed); and
. Should the City Council desire to include another committee or commission in the development
process (such as reviewing the distribution of units within a subdivision), it would delay approval
and building of development proposals by adding another step and additional time in the process.
Option 2.
Change the name and focus of the ''Planning Commission" to "Planning and Housing
Commission" .
The Planning Commission is the State mandated planning body for the City. As such, the majority of
land use decisions are required to be reviewed by the Planning Commission prior to going to the City
Council. If the City Council wanted to change the emphasis of the Commission to address more housing
issues, those issues could be brought before the Planning and Housing Commission rather than convene a
special task force or committee.
The primary benefits of this approach include:
Page 5 of7
. A message would be sent to the community that the City places a high priority on housing issues
and that housing issues should be fully integrated into the land use planning and development
process;
. The Planning Commission is familiar with land use and housing policies, the development process
of the City and how new issues would fit into the overall land use environment of the City;
. The development process (and development of new affordable housing) would not be slowed
down by adding another review commission in the City approval process; and
. Additional staffing would not be required for facilitating another commission, committee or task
force.
Other possible effects of this approach include:
. If there are special issues that need to be addressed, such as the development of a new program, the
Commission may need to meet more frequently or have longer meetings to keep up with other
development applications;
. More meetings would require more staff time (however, no more than the other options listed
below); and
. Having one Commission would not increase the number of people working on affordable housing
issues in the community.
Option 3.
Establish a Housing Committee or Task Force.
The City Council could determine that a Housing Committee or Task Force be formed to address specific
housing issues that the City Council could identify at this meeting.
The primary benefits of this approach include:
. The goal of the committee/task force could be a focused issue or issues and task force participants
could be sought with specific expertise in the topic (for example, there were different types of
participants on the Commercial Nexus Task Force and the Affordable Housing Task Force);
. Setting up the scope of the committee or task force is flexible. The Council could determine that
the task force or committee could be for a limited time period (such as the previous Housing Task
Force that was for a 1 year period). The Committeerrask Force could be disbanded when not
needed;
. There is no ordinance requirement to set up a task force or committee (no development of charter
or rules of operation);
. While there are staff time commitments with this option (preparing for the meeting, facilitating the
meeting and preparing minutes); the commitment is not as intense as with a Commission that has
regular required meetings; and
. There are no ongoing fiscal commitments of the City as the Committeerrask Force can be paused
or disbanded at the City Council's pleasure.
Other possible effects of this approach include:
. A committee or task force does have impacts on staffing as meetings must be noticed, organized,
reports prepared, meetings facilitated and minutes prepared; and
. Should the City Council desire to include another committee or commission in the development
process (such as reviewing the distribution of units within a subdivision), it would delay approval
and building of development proposals by adding another step in the process.
Page 6 of 7
Option 4.
Establish a Housing Committee as a One-Year Pilot Program.
This Option is the same as Option 3, above; however, in this Option, Staff would bring back a report in
one year to the City Council on the Housing Committee. At that time the City Council could determine if
the Committee should continue, be modified or developed into a Housing Commission.
CONCLUSION:
The Staff Report includes several options for the implementation of the City Council's goal of
establishing a Housing Commission or Committee. Following the City Council's discussion and
direction, Staff will return to the City Council with the necessary documents to implement either Option I,
2, 3 or 4.
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council: 1) receive Staff presentation; 2) deliberate; 3) provide Staff with
direction on whether the City Council would like Staff to proceed with the implementation of the
establishment of a Housing Commission/Committee by indicating a preference for a) Option I; b) Option
2; c) Option 3; d) Option 4; or e) Provide additional direction.
Page 7 of7