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ogo.gif" width="108" height="109" border="0"> "Listen Live" |
KUSP provided a brief Land Use Report on KUSP Radio from January 2003 to May 2016. Archives of past transcripts are available here.
Week of September 1, 2003 to September 5, 2003
The following Land Use Reports have been presented on KUSP Radio by Gary Patton, Executive Director of LandWatch Monterey County. The opinions expressed by Mr. Patton are not necessarily those of KUSP Radio, nor of any of its sponsors.
Monday,
September 1, 2003 – Inclusionary Housing – An Introduction
American government works on the principle of “supply and demand.”
If the public demands something, and gets serious about its demands,
the political process starts trying to supply what the public wants.
It is easier to describe the process than it is to do it in practice,
but this democratic approach to public policy making actually does
work.
In the 1970’s and the 1980’s, well organized and effectively focused demands for environmental protection resulted in the adoption and implementation of public policies at the federal, state, and local level that have profoundly changed how growth and development decisions are made. The same kind of organized public demand for policies that deal with our affordable housing crisis are now starting to bear fruit. One of the key concepts is “inclusionary housing.”
This week, I’m going to focus these Land Use Reports on the topic of “inclusionary housing.” Debates about “inclusionary housing” are taking place in front of City Councils, and Planning Commissions, and other forums throughout the Central Coast Region, and that’s because affordable housing is such a major concern for individuals, and business, and labor organizations, and for the public agencies that we expect to help solve our community problems.
Check out the KUSP website, at www.kusp.org, for some helpful references on “inclusionary housing.”
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California
http://www.nonprofithousing.org/nph/news/index.atomicCalifornia Coalition For Rural Housing
http://www.calruralhousing.org/Inclusionary Housing Study
http://www.nonprofithousing.org/about/pressroom/releases/index.atomicOrder Form
https://secure.ga3.org/02/preorder_inclusionaryreportThe Santa Cruz County Inclusionary Ordinance
http://ordlink.com/codes/santacruzco/index.htm
Tuesday,
September 2, 2003 – Inclusionary Housing –Basic Definitions
The Federal and State governments have set up very specific definitions
for what is called “affordable housing,” to include persons
with “very low,” “low,” and “moderate incomes.”
The very low income category is for individuals or families who earn 50% or less than the median income in the particular area in which they live. The low income category includes those who earn between 50% and 80% of the median income. The moderate income category includes those who earn from 80% to 120% of the median income. In the Monterey Bay Area, it turns out that even those who earn more than 120% of the median income, and therefore have “above average” incomes, may not be able to find housing they can afford. Local governments are now starting to talk about “workforce” housing categories as a way to deal with that fact.
“Inclusionary housing” is price-restricted housing that a local government makes a developer include within a new development. This housing is required to be sold or rented to persons with very low, low, and moderate incomes, or increasingly to persons with “workforce” income levels. Tomorrow, I’ll talk about a couple of the most important features of “inclusionary housing” programs, including the mandatory nature of the program and the inclusionary percentage required from the developer. Check the KUSP website for references. It’s www.kusp.org.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California
http://www.nonprofithousing.org/nph/news/index.atomicCalifornia Coalition For Rural Housing
http://www.calruralhousing.org/Inclusionary Housing Study
http://www.nonprofithousing.org/about/pressroom/releases/index.atomicOrder Form
https://secure.ga3.org/02/preorder_inclusionaryreportThe Santa Cruz County Inclusionary Ordinance
http://ordlink.com/codes/santacruzco/index.htm
Wednesday,
September 3, 2003 – Inclusionary Housing – Percentages
Inclusionary housing is a mandatory program, in which a local government
requires a developer to “include” a certain percentage
of price-restricted housing within whatever development is proposed.
Such programs are still the “exception,” rather than the
“rule.” That’s probably because they do impose a
significant requirement on housing developers. Developers have tended
to oppose such programs, and they have often been successful in
defeating them. Developers sometimes argue, in opposing inclusionary
housing programs, that “40% of zero is zero.” Clearly,
that’s true. In establishing an inclusionary housing program,
a local government needs to set the inclusionary percentage correctly.
In Santa Cruz County, at least 15% of all new housing must be rented or sold to average or below average income persons. That percentage (not ambitious by today’s standards) was established as a minimum standard in 1978, when the voters adopted Measure J. You can take a look at the Santa Cruz County program by clicking on the Land Use Report link at www.kusp.org. In Salinas, which currently has an inclusionary program that sets a 12% requirement, a recent study said that a 40% inclusionary percentage would work, if the Salinas program were somewhat restructured. Tomorrow, I’ll talk about the “like for like” issue that is key in the Salinas debate.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California
http://www.nonprofithousing.org/nph/news/index.atomicCalifornia Coalition For Rural Housing
http://www.calruralhousing.org/Inclusionary Housing Study
http://www.nonprofithousing.org/about/pressroom/releases/index.atomicOrder Form
https://secure.ga3.org/02/preorder_inclusionaryreportThe Santa Cruz County Inclusionary Ordinance
http://ordlink.com/codes/santacruzco/index.htm
Thursday,
September 4, 2003 – The Salinas Study
During debate last year on the new Salinas General Plan, the public
called very forcefully for an increased inclusionary housing percentage.
Housing developers generally opposed any stronger requirement, and
City staff cautioned the Council not to make a decision to increase
the current 12% requirement without getting more information.
Responding to public concern, the Salinas City Council contracted with the well-respected firm of Bay Area Economics to prepare an “Inclusionary Housing Program Feasibility Study.” That study was published in May, and is now available. It’s well worth reviewing. Last Tuesday night, over two hundred people attended a joint meeting of the City Council and Planning Commission, to learn about and speak to the issue of inclusionary housing in Salinas. Almost all those in attendance were urging a strengthening of the current requirement.
The “big issue” at the Salinas meeting seemed to be the “like for like” requirement in the current Salinas ordinance. Salinas has a 12% inclusionary requirement, which is generally considered “low,” but they require the affordable units to be exactly the same as the market rate units. 40% would be achievable, according to the study, but only by changing the “like for like” requirement. As the banners in the audience said, “sí, se puede (that can be done),” if the City Council wants to do it.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California
http://www.nonprofithousing.org/nph/news/index.atomicCalifornia Coalition For Rural Housing
http://www.calruralhousing.org/Inclusionary Housing Study - http://www.nonprofithousing.org/about/pressroom/releases/index.atomic
Order Form
https://secure.ga3.org/02/preorder_inclusionaryreportThe Santa Cruz County Inclusionary Ordinance
http://ordlink.com/codes/santacruzco/index.htmTo get involved in Salinas, contact Lupe Garcia at 831-759-2824, Ext. 13
Friday,
September 5, 2003 – Inclusionary Housing Overview
This has definitely been “Inclusionary Housing Week” here
on the KUSP Land Use Report. I hope you haven’t been too overwhelmed.
There is hardly an issue of more public importance in the land use
arena than the issue of affordable housing, and how to get more
of it. When local governments impose a direct requirement, mandating
that a certain percentage of all new housing be made affordable
to persons with average and below average incomes, the result is
definitely more affordable housing. But these programs are politically
difficult, and administratively challenging. The fact that Santa
Cruz County has operated such a program, successfully, for almost
twenty-five years, proves that “sí se puede,” it
can be done! But it’s not easy.
Supply and demand government will only supply what the public demands, and that demand has got to be focused and organized. If you’d like to get involved, there’s a very helpful new resource book on inclusionary housing from the Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California. One hundred and seven cities and counties in California have adopted an inclusionary housing ordinance, and NPH reports that this technique has the potential to double affordable housing production statewide. The NPH report, titled, “30 Years of Innovation,” is pretty cheap. You can find out how to obtain a copy by clicking on the Land Use Report link at www.kusp.org.
For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.
More Information:
Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California
http://www.nonprofithousing.org/nph/news/index.atomicCalifornia Coalition For Rural Housing
http://www.calruralhousing.org/Inclusionary Housing Study
http://www.nonprofithousing.org/about/pressroom/releases/index.atomicOrder Form - https://secure.ga3.org/02/preorder_inclusionaryreport
The Santa Cruz County Inclusionary Ordinance
http://ordlink.com/codes/santacruzco/index.htmFor assistance in organizing for more affordable housing in Monterey County, contact LandWatch.
Archives of past transcripts are available here
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