| | | | | | | |  | CITY OF CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA
CITY COUNCIL
Staff Report |
October 1, 2024
ORDERS OF BUSINESS |
| | | | | | | | TO:
| Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
| SUBMITTED BY:
| Marnie R. Waffle, AICP, Principal Planner
| APPROVED BY:
| Chip Rerig, City Administrator
| | SUBJECT: | Update on City Council Resolution 2024-062 to develop alternative sites and programs that would allow for an amendment to the City’s adopted 6th cycle Housing Element to remove Vista Lobos and Sunset Center from the Housing Sites Inventory List |
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| | | | | | | | | RECOMMENDATION: | | Receive the report and provide feedback as appropriate. |
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| | | | | | | | | BACKGROUND/SUMMARY: | On April 8, 2024, the City Council adopted the 6th Cycle Housing Element, which covers 2023-2031. The City is responsible to plan for 349 new housing units by 2031.
On April 25, 2024, the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) certified the City's Housing Element. Two city-owned sites, Vista Lobos and Sunset Center, were included as potential affordable housing sites to achieve certification (Housing Element Program 1.1.B: City-Owned Sites).
On July 9, 2024, in response to concerns regarding the redevelopment of the city-owned sites, the City Council passed Resolution 2024-062 directing staff to begin work immediately exploring and developing alternative affordable housing sites and programs to submit a formal general plan housing element amendment that provides alternative affordable housing opportunities and removes the need for housing units at Vista Lobos and Sunset Center. Additionally, staff was directed to return to the City Council in September and October with updates on progress.
On September 10, 2024, the City Council was provided with an update on the joint efforts of the Affordable Housing Alternatives (AHA) community group and City staff exploring four strategies to provide lower-income housing in lieu of developing city-owned sites (Attachment 1).
October Update
City Council Resolution 2024-062 directed staff to return at the October 2024 meeting with a rough draft of an amendment that would ultimately be submitted to the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) (Attachment 2). Three months was not a sufficient amount of time to prepare a draft amendment that contains the level of detail required for consideration by HCD. To present alternative sites that can satisfy lower-income housing requirements, additional research and analysis is needed. City staff and the AHA community group will meet with the consultant, Veronica Tam, on Thursday, September 26th, to review the work completed and determine the next steps in preparing the amendment. Staff will update the City Council on the outcome of that meeting in our presentation on October 1st.
What is our goal?
The goal of pursuing an amendment to the adopted Housing Element is to identify alternative sites (i.e. private property) to accommodate the very-low, low, and moderate income units currently planned for Vista Lobos and the north and south parking lots of Sunset Center. Below is a breakdown of units by income category for each site.
Table 1. City-Owned Sites
The four strategies that are currently being pursued are:
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Accessory Dwelling Units & Junior Accessory Dwelling Units (Housing Element Program 1.3.C).
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The adopted Housing Element projects a total of 34 new ADUs/JADUs by 2031.
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Based on the number of ADUs constructed and the number currently under construction, the City is projected to meet this target.
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The proposed amendment to the Housing Element seeks to establish a higher projected number based on current trends producing new units.
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Potential changes to this program may include more robust incentives for the development of new ADUs.
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The proposed amendment also includes an analysis of the ADUs produced and whether smaller units could be deemed “affordable by design” satisfying a portion of the lower income housing need without the requirement for deed restrictions.
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The ADU sub committee of the AHA community group has delved into the details of ADUs to gain a more holistic understanding of the process to plan, permit, and construct an ADU. A draft resource guide has been prepared to provide homeowners with all the information they need to know, in one place, when exploring adding an ADU or JADU to their property. A draft of the guide is being shared with the Council and the community for feedback.
City staff has continued collecting and updating data on Accessory Dwelling Units that are going through the city’s permitting process. The preliminary results of the data show the average size of an ADU is 468 square feet. A summary of the data is provided below.
- In the 6th cycle Housing Element, the city estimated an average of four ADUs per year for the eight-year cycle (2023-2031) for a total of 34 new ADUs.
- In 2023, the city exceeded estimates, issuing six certificates of occupancy for new ADUs.
- As of September 2024, the city has issued five certificates of occupancy for new ADUs.
- To date, the City has produced 11 of the 34 projected new ADUs.An additional 22 ADUs are currently under construction and are expected to be complete by 2031.
- An additional four ADUs are currently in planning review.
- If no additional ADUs were constructed for the remainder of the 6th cycle, the City would exceed the ADU projection by three units.
- Approximately 58% of ADUs constructed or currently under construction are conversions of existing square footage (living space, garages, guesthouses, or studios).
City staff will be surveying property owners of completed ADUs to determine how they are currently being used. Smaller ADUs can be “affordable by design” due to their size. The survey results will inform a revised projection for ADUs in the various income categories (very low income, low income, moderate income, and above-moderate/market rate).
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Hotel-to-Residential Conversions (Housing Element Program 1.3.B).
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The adopted Housing Element sets a goal of converting 33 hotel rooms to permanent housing and transferring the development rights for 33 hotel rooms to another site within the commercial district.
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A number of smaller, older, lower-performing hotels are being evaluated as potential sites for conversion to residential. In some cases, these sites were apartments before being converted to hotel rooms and may still retain kitchens.
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The proposed amendment seeks to create a more robust program for the conversion of hotel rooms with the goal of absorbing a portion of the lower-income housing requirement that is currently assigned to the city-owned sites.
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The Hotel subcommittee of the AHA community group has drafted a white paper and revised program language that is currently being reviewed by the consultant, Veronica Tam.
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The hotel subcommittee continues its work to identify potential hotel-to-residential conversions. An inventory of existing hotel properties and the number of hotel rooms per property has been compiled and provided to the consultant for further analysis.
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Housing on Church Sites (Housing Element Program 1.1.D).
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The adopted Housing Element sets a goal of providing nine (9) new housing units on church sites (six affordable units and three market-rate units).
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The proposed amendment seeks to create a more robust program to increase the number of potential housing units on church sites with the goal of absorbing a portion of the lower-income housing requirement that is currently assigned to the city-owned sites.
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City staff and the Church subcommittee of the AHA community group are reaching out to local religious institutions to gauge interest in the development of housing and better understand the church's needs and constraints to make housing a reality.
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Downtown Housing Opportunities (various Housing Element programs).
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The adopted Housing Element includes a variety of programs to encourage the creation of new housing units throughout the downtown area.
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The proposed amendment seeks to identify specific sites (privately owned) that can absorb a portion of the lower-income housing requirements currently assigned to the city-owned sites.
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The Downtown subcommittee of the AHA community group has started surveying properties in the commercial district to identify potential housing opportunities.
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The AHA community group has prepared maps that divide the downtown area into different sectors so teams of volunteers can focus on specific areas (Attachment 3).
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Two sectors of the downtown area have been canvassed, and existing and potential housing opportunities are being collected. The results will be shared with the consultant, Veronica Tam, who will utilize the information when analyzing alternative downtown housing sites.
Since the September 10, 2024, meeting, City staff and the AHA community group have continued to meet weekly.
The City has also entered into a Professional Services Agreement with Veronica Tam & Associates to provide technical assistance.
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| | | | | | | | | FISCAL IMPACT: | | The City Administrator entered into a Professional Services Agreement with Veronica Tam & Associates to provide technical assistance to develop alternative sites and programs that would allow for an amendment to the City’s adopted 6th cycle Housing Element to remove Vista Lobos and Sunset Center from the Housing Sites Inventory List. The contract is for a not-to-exceed amount of $59,999. |
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| | | | | | | | | PRIOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION: | On April 8, 2024, the City Council adopted Resolution 2024-029, approving a General Plan Amendment and adopting the 2023-2031 6th cycle Housing Element update.
On July 9, 2024, the City Council adopted Resolution 2024-062 directing staff to begin work immediately exploring and developing alternative affordable housing sites and programs in order to submit a formal general plan housing element amendment which provides alternative affordable housing opportunities and removes the need for housing units at the Sunset Center and Vista Lobos properties as part of the city’s 6th cycle housing element. |
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