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A Carrot Among Sticks
housing
YO U A R E I N V I T E D !
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NEWS of the WEEK cont’d With Housing, What Jerry Brown Taketh Away, Jerry Brown Giveth by Nick Welsh mid the 15 bills Governor Jerry Brown signed last week to address California’s bubbling housing crisis, there was no shortage of “sticks” for developers to use to beat recalcitrant local governments into submission should they not approve proposed housing projects. But lurking quietly among these noisier bills is a “carrot”— Assembly Bill 1505 — that authorizes cities and other local governments to impose affordability requirements on rental developments as a condition of approval. Such requirements had been boilerplate until 2009, when an appeals court ruled they violated the state law governing rent control ordinances. With the passage of AB 1505, such requirements were once again rendered legal. “It’s a huge deal,” said David Rowell, a housing project manager with the City of Santa Barbara. It might make an exceptionally big deal, he added, for the city’s controversial AUD (Average Unit-Size Density) program, which rewards developers willing to build rental housing with increased densities and relaxed parking requirements. Under the new state law, local governments can require landlords to set aside up to 15 percent of the new rental units for low- to moderate-income households. Anything more than 15 percent requires permission from the California Department of Housing and Community Development. If only 10 percent of all 1,300 proposed rental units now wending their way through the city’s review process were set aside for low- to moderate-income households, that would be 130 new affordable units. “That’s 130 households paying reasonable rents,” Rowell stated, “and the city isn’t paying any subsidy.”
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The first AUD project out of the gate was the 89-unit complex on upper State Street known as The Marc, much reviled by critics not just for its density but for its high rents. Two-bedroom apartments there rent for as high as $3,500. Critics of the AUD program have seized upon The Marc’s high prices to discredit the experimental housing initiative as a whole. Had AB 1505 been in place when The Marc was approved, City Hall, Rowell pointed out, would have had the ability to soften those costs for some. Under AB 1505, a two-bedroom apartment could be rented to a moderate-income household for no more than $1,700 a month and to a low-income household for no more than $1,350. Even with AB 1505, it’s not quite that simple. Right now, Rowell is overseeing two economic studies to determine how much of an “inclusionary” burden AUD developers can absorb without destroying the economic incentive the AUD program creates. City Hall has also contracted for an economic study to determine how many new low- and moderate-income jobs are generated by new rental housing developments to service the tenants who will live there. The results of these two studies should be out sometime in November. The extent to which AB 1505 can be applied to other proposals in the AUD pipeline will be a council call. The further along any project is, the harder it will be for the council to change the rules. According to Rowell, there are currently 456 AUD rental units that have been permitted or deemed complete. These, he said, could be looking to have building permits issued within the next week. Another 124 units’ worth of AUD rental housing units could be seeking pern mits within the year.
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National Police Dog Foundation Fundraiser 1 1:30am - 1:30pm GranVida Senior Living and Memory Care 5464 Carpinteria Avenue, Carpinteria, CA 93013 Call 805.881.3175 by Thursday, October 12th or register at GranVidaSeniorLiving.com/RSVP
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Energy Choice Too Expensive?
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study on the prospect of governmentrun energy in Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo counties found the program would not be economically feasible. “We’re different,” Jen Cregar, project supervisor with Energy & Sustainability Initiatives, told the Santa Barbara County supervisors. “We are not the same as everyone else.” Though the so-called Community Choice Energy program would result in lower greenhouse-gas emissions, Santa Barbara customers could expect their electricity bills to be $16-$23 more every month, the study found. Part of the problem, Cregar explained, is that the region has two electricity providers, Southern California Edison and PG&E, each with different rates and billing systems. But the majority of the supervisors were not convinced and voted for additional analysis. “I am disappointed like many of you are,” Wolf said. “[But] I’m not giving up on this.” Simply put, Community Choice Energy seeks to allow local governments to purchase bundled energy and sell it to customers while
at the same time creating renewable energy. “This is happening everywhere. We should not be left behind,” charged environmental activist Katie Davis, adding that many realworld examples contradict the study’s conclusions. In fact, nine programs are already up and running in California. Nine speakers echoed Davis’s optimism and asked for more thorough review of the 2,000-page report. “Rarely do I stand before you and ask you to slow down,” added Sigrid Wright, president of the Community Environmental Council. The study found that in North County, where PG&E provides power, Community Choice Energy could be feasible. But, Cregar explained, state law mandates that the county offer Community Choice Energy to all residents or not at all. Ironically, conservative North County supervisors Steve Lavagnino and Peter Adam both voted against more review. Adam joked he almost wanted to vote for more exploration so he could watch the effort fail. —Kelsey Brugger
independent.com
october 5, 2017
THE INDEPENDENt
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