Thousand Oaks to Address Affordable Housing
Kathy Maurice and her family moved to Thousand Oaks nearly four decades ago when she was in the third grade. She remembers having to wait for builders to complete her parents’ three-bedroom, two-bath house, which cost less than $30,000.
Today, properties in the older Newbury Park neighborhood where she rents a home sell for upwards of $450,000. Maurice and her husband, Dean, a grocery store produce manager, earn more than $70,000 a year, but she said it’s been impossible for them to afford a house.
“A lot of families have had to leave town because of how they wanted to live -- they didn’t want to just be scraping by [and] wanted to be comfortable -- they couldn’t live here. So they moved to other states or cities,” said the mother of three adult daughters.
The Thousand Oaks City Council will consider several actions tonight designed to address the issue of affordable housing: making it easier to build secondary dwelling units, or “granny flats;” eliminating portions of the municipal code to conform with state law regarding how many renters may occupy homes and apartments; and reviewing a report on ways to provide more affordable residences.
“I think it’s absolutely essential that we address the need now,” Councilman Dennis Gillette said during a recent groundbreaking for Oak Creek Senior Villas, a 57-unit affordable housing complex the city helped finance. “We’ve done our due diligence. All the questions have been asked and answered ... we need to develop a plan to address this critical need.”
The report, prepared by Cotton Bridges Associates in Pasadena, said that the city is a long way from providing enough housing that’s affordable for working families, considering that new homes in town sell for more than $600,000 and rents at new apartment complexes exceed $1,400 a month. The city’s General Plan calls for 50,000 dwelling units in the city, of which 46,200 already exist and 600 are under construction.
An additional 1,300 units have been authorized for construction -- mostly in Newbury Park’s Dos Vientos neighborhood -- which means about 1,900 homes are left to be approved.
Even if all those homes were affordable, that number would fall short of a goal proposed by the Southern California Assn. of Governments, which says Thousand Oaks needs 2,456 additional dwellings inexpensive enough to serve those with moderate, low or very low incomes.
City Council members say they want to provide housing relief, but don’t believe voters will support building enough lower-priced residences to meet the demand. “It’s unlikely residents will allow the city to build the 2,000 or so units needed in this city,” said Councilwoman Claudia Bill-de la Pena. “It’s pretty much unrealistic that we’ll build anywhere close to that many.”
Saying it is an obligation for the council and the city “to provide as much affordable housing as possible,” Bill-de la Pena said it would be a manageable goal if half the homes yet to be approved, about 950 units, target low- and moderate-income residents. She warns, however, that any future dwellings must not harm the environment or overburden traffic, sewers, schools or existing services.
Cotton Bridges offers several options to increase affordability. It said the city could ease its standards, approve mixed-use zoning to permit residences alongside commercial and industrial projects, provide incentives for owners to build housing on vacant and underutilized lots, and require builders to include affordable units in their developments.
Mayor Pro Tem Bob Wilson Sr. supports mandates for builders. He considers it reasonable to require that 20% to 35% of all new housing be offered at below-market rates. “There’s a philosophy that when you have inclusionary [housing], you raise the price of the other units,” he said. “I don’t care. What I do care about is having places that are affordable. I’ve got four kids and four grandkids in Thousand Oaks. Two of them may have to move if they want to buy a home.”
To meet a state deadline, the council is expected to change the municipal code to eliminate the need for homeowners to request a special use permit to build a granny flat. The change would approve one-story, two-bedroom attached additions up to 499 square feet whenever an applicant complies with city standards. A state law that became effective Jan. 1 requires such automatic approval for any applications submitted after today.
And the city attorney recommends the council repeal other portions of the municipal code that limit the number of people who may occupy a rented dwelling, because state standards are less restrictive and make city rules unenforceable.
For instance, the code lets only two adults occupy a 15-foot by 18-foot bedroom, while the state allows up to six people. It’s also suggested that the city begin periodic inspections of all rental units, estimated at 13,300 to 16,000, depending on the number of single-family homes being rented.
The council’s public hearings are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
