SR 05:258 - Laserfiche WebLink

Mr. Erickson indicated that the Planning Commission did not take any action on the project at its May 11,2005, meeting and continued the item to its August meeting. He then referred the project to Ms. Decker for further presentation. Ms. Decker stated that at its May 11 th meeting, the Planning Commission inquired why this project was not subject to the requirements of the Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance. She noted it was explained to the Planning Commission that staff did not recommend that the project be subject to the requirements of the Ordinance because the Ordinance applied to projects with 15 units or more, and this project had a total of only six units. She indicated that the Planning Commission nevertheless expressed its interest in finding out if the Housing Commission had any particular comments in terms of affordable housing opportunities or financing mechanisms. Ms. Decker indicated that she would be available to answer questions. Chairperson Stark queried why this item was directed to the Housing Commission when the Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance clearly does not apply to this project. He opened the floor to the other Commissioners for comments and questions. Vice Chairperson Harris asked if the Planning Commission was unanimous in having the project come before the Housing Commission. He commented that he recalled one Commissioner wanted the project to move forward. Ms. Decker confirmed that Planning Commissioner Anne Fox wanted to move the project forward. Chairperson Stark requested additional background on the kind of input the Planning Commission wanted from the Housing Commission. Ms. Decker stated that she had informed to the Planning Commissioners that the threshold for projects to come before the Housing Commission to consider an affordability requirement is 15 units or more. She added that the Planning Commission often encourages "affordability by design" and seeks to provide below market rate housing as much as possible. She explained that with this particular project, staff did not pursue this possibility because of the low number of units. Ms. Decker indicated that the Planning Commission did not give any specific direction on the type of comments it wanted from the Housing Commission. However, the Planning Commission expressed that it was important for the Housing Commission to have some input on the project because of its two multi family attached units and its location in the Downtown Core Overlay Area. She added that she did not believe the applicant would be amenable to converting even one of the attached units into an affordable housing unit because of the small overall number of units in the project. She noted that, moreover, the applicant's proposal is already "affordable by design" with its small floor plans (approximately 1,200 square foot). Page - 3 -