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Citizens for a Caring Community March 5. 2013 SUPPL_.MENTAL MATERIAL Mayor Jerry Thorne and Pleasanton City Council Members Provided to the t♦i Pleasanton, California A9te)!' Distribution of Packet uncil Re:Agenda Report 9 fats Dear Mayor Thorne and City Council Members, While the Staff has worked diligently to implement the recently adopted Housing Element,they have clearly been hampered by recent court decisions to implement the very minimal affordability requirements set forth in the City's Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance(IZO). Ironically,while a court decision has required Pleasanton to zone land at sufficient density to accommodate the City's fair share of affordable housing, another court decision has invalidated Pleasanton's only ordinance that requires apartment developers to provide affordable units. This situation requires immediate action by the Council to protect Pleasanton's authority to control the use of the land it up- zoned to fulfill an important public purpose:the provision of workforce housing for Pleasanton employees eaming below 80% AMI. I would respectfully suggest that the Council authorize staff to briefly suspend processing development applications for properties zoned at 30 du/acre until completion of the nexus study recently undertaken by the Housing Commission, and until the Council adopts new, legally enforceable, affordable housing fees and policies. Only this will ensure an appropriate level of community benefit from the higher density development of these properties.. The court decision invalidating inclusionary zoning as a tool to provide affordable housing has unfortunately, but predictably, resulted in a series of proposals by large real estate holding companies to build luxury apartment complexes that include few or no affordable units. The resistance to including affordable units within their apartment complexes has nothing to do with financial hardship or the inability to"pencil". Rather, as these corporate applicants have universally emphasized to City staff and the Housing Commission, Pleasanton no longer has a legally enforceable ordinance requiring them to include ANY affordable units in their developments. The Council should also consider that the City has substantially increased the book value of all properties it up-zoned to 30 du/acre for purposes of RHNA compliance. This created an instant financial windfall for the owners and their development partners. It seems highly inappropriate that Pleasanton would gift the entire value of land use entitlements to private parties without any public purpose or benefit. Pleasanton's implementation of the Housing Element has proceeded smoothly and efficiently to date. A delay in processing development applications until Pleasanton completes its nexus study and implements new affordable housing regulations should be brief, and is completely justifiable. Thank you for your consideration. Very sincerely, Becky De-414114' CC: Housing Commission, Brian Dolan, Nelson Fialho