DATE: January 31, 2019
TO: Honorable Members of the Land Use & Housing Committee
FROM: Councilmember Vivian Moreno
SUBJECT: 2019 Land Use & Housing Committee Priorities and Work Plan (Print Memo)
As Chair of the Land Use & Housing Committee I look forward to discussing and implementing a number of important issues in 2019. I have received suggestions from LU&H Committee members, members of the public and various stakeholders about topics they would like discussed in the upcoming year.
I have integrated many of these suggested topics of discussion in the attached work plan, with a particular focus on addressing San Diego’s housing crisis.
CC: Honorable Mayor Kevin Faulconer
Honorable Council President Georgette Gomez
Honorable City Attorney Mara Elliot
Andrea Tevlin, Independent Budget Analyst
Elyse Lowe, Director, Development Services Department
Land Use & Housing Committee 2019 Priorities and Work Plan
Item: Adjust Parking Regulations for Development Transit Priority Areas
Action: Update parking regulations to ensure that outdated standards do not create unnecessary barriers to the production of housing units in the city in transit priority areas.
Timeline: Short
Item: Development Impact Fees Adjustment for Affordable and Middle-Income Housing
Action: Examine ways to restructure Development Impact Fees in order to encourage more development of middle income and affordable housing units. Options could include basing it on square footage instead of per unit to incentivize smaller units and denser development and adjusting the fee based on types of units produced, including possible waivers for affordable units.
Timeline: Long
Item: Preserve and Protect Existing Affordable Housing Units
Action: Require advance notice to the City Council of the expiration of affordability or sale of affordable housing development.
Explore options to extend affordability restrictions beyond 55 years.
Explore ways to increase relocation assistance for residents displaced by the conversion of an affordable property to market rate.
Explore updating Section 8 navm ent standards to match current market rate rents.
Timeline: Mid
Item: Single Room Occupancy (SRO) units
Action: Explore ways to increase and incentivize the development and preservation of
existing SRO units, including receiving an update from the San Diego Housing Commission regarding a development user fee study, requesting an annual report on units lost/preserved and exploring reduced permitting fees and parking
requirements.
Timeline: Mid
Item: Increase Density Bonus program for middle income and low-income housing
Action: Explore density bonus incentives that could increase middle income housing
production.
Timeline: Mid
Item: Incentivize affordable housing development near public transit
Action: Work with Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) to stimulate affordable housing development near MTS public transit sites.
Timeline: Long
Item: Set Annual Housing Goals for the city and determine what data should be reported to the Committee
Action: Discuss housing target goals that include goals for production of middle income, low income and permanent supportive housing units and establish goals through a City Council resolution. Determine frequency of reporting desired by the Committee and if there is a desire to examine the data by co=unity planning area to determine if building activity is consistent with capacity approved in each community plan. Include data on the number of affordable units lost or preserved.
Timeline: Short
Item: Community Land Trust
Action: Explore options for establishing a city-sponsored Co=unity Land Trust, including coordination with other local government agencies that also may have public land available that could be used for affordable and moderate-income units.
Timeline: Mid
Item: Revisions to Council Policy 700-10, Disposition of City-Owned Real Property
Action: Discuss Revisions to Council Policy 700-10, Disposition of City-Owned Real Property, in order to ensure that the use of surplus land for affordable housing is a primary consideration when the city considers selling property. Evaluate the housing capacity of city-owned residential property as part of the disposition process.
Timeline: Mid
Item: Seeking Available Resources from Federal, State and Regional Agencies for Creation of Housing
Action: Receive information update from City Staff, San Diego Housing Commission staff and city lobbyists regarding available funding for the creation of permanent supportive housing, affordable units and middle-income units.
Timeline: Mid
Item: Accessory Dwelling Units
Action: Explore how the city can provide education and outreach to the public on how to build an accessory dwelling unit in a simple and straightforward manner.
Allow owners of unpermitted accessory dwelling units to bring units into compliance without penalty.
Explore waiving or reducing fees and consider general fund allocation to the public utility department to cover water and sewer capacity fee
waiver/reductions.
Timeline: Mid
Item: Simplify and Streamline Housing Regulations
Action: Explore changes to housing regulations that allows for a more streamlined and simplified process that allows permits to be reviewed/approved faster.
Timeline: Long
Item: Movable Tiny Houses and other Alternative Housing Options
Action: Explore possibility of including movable tiny houses in the Accessory Dwelling Unit ordinance. Explore other alternative housing options including modular homes, manufactured housing and emergency sleeping cabins for the homeless.
Timeline: Mid
Item: Review requirements for ground floor commercial space in residential projects
Action: Explore how requirements could be altered in order to allow for increased production of housing units.
Timeline: Mid
Item: Economist for the Planning Department
Action: Explore creation of a position within the Planning Department for an Economist who could provide the city with analysis on how zoning changes that affect density could sour development within each community.
Timeline: Short
Item: Just Cause Eviction Policy Review
Action: Review the city’s Just Cause Eviction policy to ensure protections exist to prevent tenants from being displaced from their homes
Timeline: Mid
Item: Incentivize production of Permanent Supportive Housing
Action: As outlined in AB 2162, allow permanent supportive housing by right in multi-family zones.
Streamline production of permanent supportive housing units.
Receive update regarding regulatory reforms and reduced fees to incentivize the construction of permanent supportive housing, per the direction from the October 2018 Select Committee on Homelessness.
Timeline: Mid
Item: First Time Homebuyer Programs
Action: Examine available programs and discuss possibility of expanding local programs Long in communities of Districts 4, 8 and 9.
Timeline: Long
Item: Community Plan Updates
Action: Review all proposed community plan updates and receive an up-to-date schedule Mid regarding community olan updates in process.
Timeline: Mid
Item: San Diego Housing Commission
Action: Receive regular updates from the San Diego Housing Commission regarding affordable housing production and associated actions and programs, such as Moving to Work, Transit Oriented Development Fund, Affordable Housing Production Objectives and Affordable Housing Fund
Timeline: Mid
Item: Regional Housing Needs Assessment
Action: Receive informational update on the Regional Housing Needs Assessment.
Timeline: Mid
Item: Civic San Diego
Action: Receive updates regarding the Affordable Housing Master Plan and Long-Range Property Management Plan.
Timeline: Mid
