3B Public Hearing 2010 0419 - 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. The Consortium's economy has grown and declined in the last five (5) years. However, the ultimate consequences have been the increased loss of jobs, increased number of home foreclosures, and declining home prices while the costs of living in the area continued to increase. Thus, affordable housing continues to be in short supply throughout Alameda County HOME Consortium. The increasing need and demand already far exceeds the existing 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 [households earning less than 80% area median income (AMI)] 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 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 City with large families face cost burdens. Renters are more burdened as their incomes have generally not kept pace with the area's high rents that are continually increasing. As of June 2009, according to RealFacts, the average rent in Alameda County is $1,432 which is a $3.5% increase since June 2007. 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 (30%) of 5,674 affordable, restricted rental units in Alameda County for very low-income individuals and families. San Leandro added 270 subsidized rental units. Despite this inventory, though, there are over 83,5731ow-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 maj ority 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; 9,141 units are designated for senior housing; and only 9,050 units are designated for family housing. 1,879 units are identified as accessible to people with disabilities (these units often overlap with other types of housing), and classifications are unknown for 1,982 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 Housing and Community Development Strategic Plan - FY 2010-2014 City of San Leandro Page 6