Minutes 2006 0103 - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES Page 2 City of San Leandro City Council and San Leandro Redevelopment Agency Joint Meeting-January 3, 2006 Zoning Regulations for Conversion of Existing Rental Projects to For Sale Projects. (proposes Zoning Amendments to expand the application of the Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance to include condominium conversions to the definition of "For Sale Project" and "Residential Development"). This being the time and place for the Public Hearing on the above matter, City Manager J ermanis gave overview of the matter and introduced Community Development Director Hanson Hom. Mr. Hom gave additional background on the matter and provided details on the proposed Zoning Code amendments. Mr. Hom pointed out a minor correction to the wording of the ordinance. The Hearing was then opened to the public. Lou Filipovich, San Leandro resident, addressed the City Council, commenting on the amount of information about agenda items which is provided to the public. Mr. Filipovich commented that the cost of Inclusionary Zoning will be paid by unemployed renters. There being no further comments from the public, and without objection, the Public Hearing was closed. Councilmember Starosciak asked several questions relating to the effects of the proposed amendments. She asked why the City would want these amendments, since the inclusionary units would not count toward the City's housing goals, monitoring the units would increase the amount of staff time needed, and inclusionary zoning could provide additional flexibility to developers to meet a different standard for inclusionary units than for market-rate units. Mr. Horn stated that the goals in the City's Housing Element, and State Housing Element law, require that the City produce housing which meets a full range of needs. He indicated that the amendments to the Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance are one way of meeting these needs, since it would help to offset the loss of affordable rental units. Mr. Horn noted that this is policy issue and should be included in Council's discussion of its commitment to meeting the general affordable housing needs in the community. Councilmember Starosciak stated that she did not see an advantage to the City in adopting the ordinance. She commented that the ordinance would impose a burden on the City, her district, and the people who would be purchasing and living in the inclusionary units. Councilmember Starosciak stated that she believed condominiums are more affordable to moderate-income residents anyway. She noted that the only city in Alameda County with a stricter requirement than San Leandro is proposing is the City of Livermore, and she did not feel comfortable passing the ordinance. Councilmember Grant recalled that the Council previously discussed the issue and determined that Inclusionary Housing was the right thing to do for the community. She commented that since the Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance applies to other types of residential development within the City, it makes sense to extend its application to condominium conversions.