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Planning Commission Regular Meeting Minutes September 11, 2014 <br /> Page 4 of 11 <br />funding. Another Action item from the Housing Element currently in effect, which related to a <br />Neighborhood Stabilization Program to help deal with home foreclosure issues, was eliminated <br />from the Working Draft because the program has been completed. <br />Goal 56: Affordable Housing Conservation – Action 56.01-B would explore potential funding <br />sources to revive the City’s Owner-Occupied Housing Rehabilitation Loan Program, created to <br />help low-income homeowners for restoration and conservation projects. Action 56.01-C would <br />evaluate the feasibility of creating a Rental Housing Inspection Program to safeguard the rental <br />housing stock and protect tenants from unsafe, unhealthy or unsanitary living conditions by <br />performing periodic inspections. Mr. Miller pointed out that such programs are in effect in <br />Hayward, Concord and other nearby communities. In terms of apartment rehabilitation, Action <br />56-02-B contains specific language to emphasize the use of low-income housing tax credits, <br />which have been successful in San Leandro in helping convert market -rate housing to affordable <br />housing and build new affordable-housing units. For example, the application of such tax credits <br />helped rehabilitate 840 market-rate units and convert them to affordable housing. Action 56.06-A, <br />a Protection Strategy for At-Risk Units, has been updated to seek ways to protect four subsidized <br />below market-rate (BMR) units whose subsidies are set to expire during the 2015-2023 Housing <br />Element. <br />Added at the request of the Rent Review Board, Action 56.07-B would allow third-party utility <br />charges to count in its determination of rent increases, and Action 56-07-C would monitor both <br />the incidence and threat of displacement in the City, evaluate how rising rents and housing prices <br />are affecting residents, and explore what the City might do to address the displacement issue. The <br />2010 Housing Element action that called for overhauling a mobile home park has been revised <br />[through deletion]. <br />Goal 57: Healthy Homes and Sustainable Neighborhoods – Mr. Miller noted that this goal has <br />been restated to include public health, healthy homes and healthy neighborhoods. He said several <br />policies and actions have been added to explore what the City can do to promote residents’ <br />health, including a new Healthy Homes Initiative (Action 57.04-B) and a policy to incorporate <br />public health into neighborhood design and planning decisions (Policy 57.05). This goal also has <br />been updated to reflect green building standards and relevant building code revisions. <br />Goal 58: Special Needs Populations – Mr. Miller noted that the large amount of detail included in <br />this section in the 2010 Housing Element has been pared down because most of the actions <br />related to compliance with state law and have been carried out. Examples include Action 58.06 - <br />A, Reasonable Accommodates for Disabled Residents, and Action 58.08-C, Regulation of <br />Emergency Shelter. Action 58.08-B, Homeless Prevention and Re-Housing, has been added to <br />support continued funding of the Mid-County Housing Resources Center (HRC) since federal <br />funding has run out, and Action 58.09-C has been added to create a Homeless Task Force and <br />develop a local Homeless Prevention Plan. <br />Goal 59: Elimination of Housing Constraints – The current Housing Element’s action that called <br />for amending the City’s second-unit standards has been deleted because those standards have <br />been modified. <br />The action to amend zoning regulations affecting the North Area (Action 59.01-C) has been <br />edited to postpone zoning changes to allow time for a broader community dialogue. In addition, <br />instead of an action to allow single-room occupancy (SRO) units in more zoning districts in the <br />2010 Housing Element, Action 59-01-D would explore development of regulations for micro <br />units, which are apartments ranging from 250 to 400 square feet. Mr. Miller said these micro <br />units could serve the same function as single-room occupancy units but could also fill market-rate <br />housing needs. In response to a question from Acting Chair Hernandez, Mr. Miller said he drew <br />on other cities’ ordinances for the micro unit definition. Acting Chair Hernan dez observed that