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Published on 02/12/1996 All articles from this issue

Cities give update on the state of affordable housing at League-sponsored forum

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By Clyde Noel / Town Crier Staff Writer

Los Altos and Mountain View planning officials boasted of meeting affordable housing needs and state requirements during last week's League of Women Voters-sponsored forum on the issue. Meanwhile, a Los Altos Hills official noted affordable housing, other than granny units, was a near impossibility in a town of million-dollar homes and one-acre lots.

Also present at the Feb. 8 forum, held at Hillview Community Center in Los Altos, was Gary Burke, president of the Santa Clara Valley Manufacturing Group, since 1987. Burke discussed the pressing need for affordable housing.

"We are facing a serious housing crisis because of increasing house prices," Burke said. "We have a shortage of 57,000 units to house people that work here. If we filled out the commercial land for housing, we could fill out an additional 37,000 jobs for the county."

The manufacturing group formed the Housing Action Coalition in 1993. Their goal is to support the creation of housing that is well built, relatively affordable and located close to manufacturing jobs.

The Coalition tries to educate people to accept moderate-density housing of 15 homes to one acre. Burke addressed opponents to moderate density as "villains." "Who are the villains?" Burke asked. "We are! We don't want moderate density."

Jim Lynch, Mountain View city planner, said Mountain View had the greatest supply of affordable housing.

"In Mountain View, we have 800 affordable units for people making $17,000 or less in a three-person family. Six-hundred of those units are for seniors.

"We have affordable housing in Mountain View, but it doesn't serve them very well because too many people are in one unit," Lynch said. "People who live in affordable housing just don't have as much money as we do."

Mountain View has received a $1.1 million federal grant for building affordable housing, and the city is also using downtown redevelopment money, Lynch said.

"We don't have any failures (in affordable housing projects)," Lynch said. "The first time you receive a lot of police complaints, you start going downhill in affordable housing."

Veteran Los Altos planner Carol Hoffman rated the Los Altos program an eight or nine on a scale of 10. She said that two years ago, the rating was a two or a three.

After years of failed efforts, lawsuits and staff hours the state's Housing and Community Development in January 1995 gave the city of Los Altos final approval to their housing unit of the general plan.

The city has designated three sites to be rezoned to a higher density for residential development. Of the 50 units designated for affordable housing to date, 38 have been occupied.

"The biggest problem we have with affordable housing in the new housing units being built downtown is the homeowner's dues," Hoffman said. "We have trouble finding buyers who can afford the homeowner's dues of $500 a month at Park Regent and more than $300 a month at Chartwell."

Curtis Williams, city planner for Los Altos Hills, said the town is built out. Also, half of Los Altos Hills does not have sewer service.

"Town revenues are low and very little property tax money comes to the town," Williams said. "We have one-acre lots and no commercial, and that further restricts us."

Los Altos Hills' answer to affordable housing is the granny unit - an add-on unit, either attached to the main house or detached, with a maximum of 1,000 square feet. The unit has no restriction placed on income.

"We are presently working on a housing draft that will place emphasis on greater incentives to build," Williams said. "We are limiting floor area on new development and restricting the last 750 square feet except when they include a granny unit. Or they can pay an in lieu fee for the second unit."