Cities Dismayed by Affordable Housing Measure

Menlo Park Mayor Nicholas P. Jellins was frank in explaining his city’s opposition to a bill that would penalize local governments that don’t plan to meet state affordable housing requirements. Many people in his upscale Silicon Valley town “desire to have neighbors who live in homes similar to their own,” he said.

That’s just the kind of not-in-my-backyard sentiment that caused state Sen. Joseph Dunn (D-Santa Ana) to offer a bill that would fine cities and counties that fail to comply with the state’s 32-year-old housing requirement.

“With all due respect to the mayor, we must all share the burden equally of resolving the housing crisis,” Dunn said.

In a state where 65% of the residents cannot afford the $250,000 median price of a single-family home--let alone live in a place like Menlo Park, where the price tag is $750,000--Dunn aims to compel cities and counties to live up to their obligation to plan housing for people at all income levels.

Cities and counties argue, however, that Dunn’s approach is too harsh and would not result in more affordable homes. Governments could be fined up to $1,000 per unit of needed housing and stripped of up to 60% of state road maintenance and transportation service funds. Local officials say that would only force them to divert money from vital public services.

“It’s one of the worst bills to come out of Sacramento in a long time,” said Jim Hendrickson, city manager for Palos Verdes Estates, which is not in compliance with the state’s housing requirement.

About 40% of California’s 528 local governments fail to meet the housing standard, according to the Department of Housing and Community Development’s Housing Element Compliance Report that came out in April. The number includes cities and counties that have yet to turn in a housing plan to the state agency.

In 1969, the Legislature enacted a planning and zoning law that included a provision requiring local governments to identify, analyze and not unduly constrain the development of housing for people at all income levels. The law also mandated that the housing plans be updated every five years. Before local governments adopt their plan, they must send it to the state housing agency for review and ultimately certification or risk the consequences of being deemed out of compliance.

Building in California has been falling short by as many as 100,000 homes a year for a decade, according to the state housing agency.

Although current law permits private groups to sue cities and counties that fail to meet the housing standard, experts estimate that only 30 such legal actions have been filed in the last decade. Dunn says tougher measures are now needed.

“If 40% [of local governments] are able to violate the law, how can the current remedies then be effective?” said Mark Stivers, an aide to Dunn.

The senator is optimistic that his bill will pass; it was recently approved by the Senate Housing and Community Development Committee on a 6-1 vote. So far, he has received more than 100 letters of protest from cities and counties, including a five-page letter from the League of California Cities, calling the bill draconian and vicious.

Under Dunn’s proposal, Santa Cruz County--which has not had a certified housing plan since 1994--would stand to lose as much as $2.9 million of the $4.9 million a year it receives in gas tax funds from the state. That means it would have to fire more than half of its road maintenance crew, which can barely handle the workload now, said John Presleigh, a county public works assistant director for the transportation division.

“It would kill us,” Presleigh said.

Cities and counties understand they will be punished only if they do not plan to meet state housing standards. But local officials counter that it makes no sense to plan for something that is unlikely to be built. Officials say they could be sued by various interest groups if they promise housing that is never delivered.

Novato City Manager Rod Wood says many local governments, including his city, simply don’t have the money to subsidize the number of affordable homes the state wants.

“I would have to lay off most of the Police Department or close off parks,” he said.

And local governments don’t have control over market prices, said Richard Thompson, community development director for Manhattan Beach.

“Since property values are so high in our city, it’s virtually impossible to provide affordable housing,” he said. The median price for single-family homes in his city is $700,000.

Thompson said there is no vacant land for development in Manhattan Beach.

City and county officials say they are trying their best to meet the requirements, and have already done much to diversify housing.

* In Menlo Park, the City Council agreed this year to build 68 affordable units.

* In San Diego, the City Council has put together a plan that calls for future residential developers to set aside land for affordable homes. And the council plans to amend residential zones to require higher-density areas.

“Now there’s more support for affordable housing politically than I’ve ever seen,” said Miles Pomeroy, senior planner for San Diego.

* Novato is spending $145 million to build more than 900 lower-cost homes, doubling the amount of affordable housing in Marin County. City Manager Wood said state and federal housing agencies have contributed only about $400,000 in grants.

Many local officials complain that state housing officials expect them to seek more units than is realistic. The housing agency is being sued by several Inland Empire communities, alleging that the housing quantity assigned them was higher than warranted.

If the state wants local governments to build a certain number of homes, officials argue, the state needs to provide more financial help. Wood said cities and counties need incentives, not penalties.

Proponents of the bill counter, however, that another pending law would take care of that concern. The bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach), would increase the share of property taxes cities and counties receive if they build homes, especially affordable ones.

Cities like Sacramento favor the bill because without it, they worry, that the burden of providing housing would fall more heavily on them.

The California Chamber of Commerce also supports the bill. Businesses often suffer when high housing costs drive away employees.

Jeanne Cain, the organization’s vice president of government relations, said: “It would make it easier to attract and retain workers.”

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Affordable Housing Compliance

A law proposed by state Sen. Joe Dunn (D-Santa Ana) would fine communities that fail to plan for housing that all residents can afford, as current state law requires. Housing officials say that these Southern California communities have failed to provide plans or that their plans do not meet state standards. A statewide list is posted at: https://www.hcd.ca.gov/hpd/hrc/plan/he/status.htm.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY

Agoura Hills, Alhambra, Arcadia, Artesia, Avalon, Azusa, Baldwin Park, Bell, Bell Gardens, Bellflower, Beverly Hills, Burbank, Calabasas, Carson, Cerritos, Commerce, Covina, Cudahy, Culver City, Downey, Duarte, El Segundo, Glendora, Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach, Hidden Hills, Inglewood, Irwindale, La Canada Flintridge, La Habra Heights, La Mirada, Lakewood, Lancaster, Lawndale, Lomita, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, Lynwood, Manhattan Beach, Maywood, Monrovia, Montebello, Monterey Park, Norwalk, Palmdale, Palos Verdes Estates, Paramount, Pasadena, Pico Rivera, Pomona, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, San Dimas, San Gabriel, San Marino, Santa Clarita, Santa Monica, Sierra Madre, Signal Hill, South Gate, Temple City, Torrance, Vernon, Walnut, West Covina, West Hollywood, Westlake Village, Whittier.

ORANGE COUNTY

Anaheim, Cypress, Dana Point, Fullerton, La Habra, La Palma, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Newport Beach, Orange County, Placentia, Seal Beach, Stanton, Villa Park, Westminster.

RIVERSIDE COUNTY

Banning, Beaumont, Blythe, Calimesa, Canyon Lake, Cathedral City, Coachella, Corona, Desert Hot Springs, Hemet, Indio, La Quinta, Lake Elsinore, Murrieta, Norco, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Perris, Riverside County, San Jacinto.

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY

Adelanto, Big Bear Lake, Chino Hills, Colton, Fontana, Grand Terrace, Hesperia, Loma Linda, Montclair, Needles, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Redlands, San Bernardino, San Bernardino County, Upland, Victorville.

SAN DIEGO COUNTY

Chula Vista, Coronado, Encinitas, Imperial Beach, San Diego, San Marcos, Santee.

VENTURA COUNTY

Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Santa Paula, Simi Valley, Ventura, Ventura County.

Source: California Department of Housing and Community Development