3A Public Hearing 2010 0315 - Laserfiche WebLink

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PART I. PRIORITY AFFORDABLE HOUSING NEEDS Priority: Increase the availability of affordable rental housing for extremely low- (30%), very low- (50%),low-income (80%) households Priority Analysis and Obstacles to Meeting Underserved Needs The City of San Leandro is a participating jurisdiction in the Alameda County HOME Consortium. The following analysis of the availability of affordable rental housing for extremely low-, very low- and low-income households and obstacles to meeting this need was prepared in part by the Consortium. As a Consortium member, the City of San Leandro subscribes to this priority and has proposed activities that meet the obj ective of providing affordable rental housing for extremely low, very low-, low-income households. Affordable housing continues to be in short supply throughout Alameda County HOME Consortium. The need and demand already far exceeds the supply of affordable housing, and high cost of housing for moderate and lower income households further reduce the number of affordable housing units. The 2000 Census information indicates that there are over 132,000 low-income renters in Alameda County of which 6,363 (or 5%) are in San Leandro. The need for affordable housing is especially acute among extremely low-income renters (households earning less than 30% of area median income) in the County and in San Leandro as about seventy-seven percent (77%) of them are considered cost burdened. In particular,.seventy-eight percent (78%) of extremely low-income renters in the County and City vt~ith large families face cost burdens. The Alameda County Subsidized Housing Inventory (2007) includes 23,655 rental housing units with long-term affordability and income level restrictions. Between 2001 and 2007, there was a net gain (27%) of 4,960 affordable, restricted rental units for very low individuals and families. Despite this inventory, though, there are over 83,573 low-income renter households in the County and over 4,000 renters in the City who pay more than 30% of their income for rent, according to Census 2000. In addition, the majority of the available supply of units in both the County and City are smaller units, more suitable for singles, elderly and smaller households than for larger families. Of the 23,655 total designated subsidized rental units in the County, 1,603 are Single-Room Occupancy (SRO) units; 9,200 units are designated for senior housing; and only 9,372 units are designated for family housing, 1,930 units are identified as accessible to people with disabilities (these units often overlap with other types of housing), and classifications are unknown for 1,550 units. Furthermore, with a sizeable portion of these subsidized units in the County facing conversion to market-rate rents in the near future, very low-income families have an increasing risk of becoming homeless, are doubling up in overcrowded conditions and/or are paying high percentages of their incomes for housing. The lengthy waiting lists for the subsidized rental housing properties in the County and in the City also exacerbate the lack of affordable housing. As of December 2009, the Alameda County Housing Authority (HACA) reports that there are a total of 7,109 Section 8 certificates and vouchers currently in use in the County of which 1,335 (or 18%) are in the City of San Leandro. Currently, there are over a thousand applicants on HACA's Section 8 and Public Housing Wait Lists, both of which are currently closed, and as a result HACA does not anticipate re-opening any Wait Lists anytime soon. HACA cautions that it is not unusual for eligible DRAFT Housing and Community Development Strategic Plan - FY 2010-14 City of San Leandro Page 6