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which will impact favorably other housing in the city not controlled by the market. She believed it was possible to set requirements in affordable housing for the residents to work in the city. Council can set requirements for the residents in affordable housing in a way that is not possible in the open market place. This would be for those just starting in the community, who serve the community and who would otherwise have to travel long distances in order to find housing they can afford. As Council considers things like reserving housing units or whether or not to count living facilities licensed as assisted living as housing, keep in mind all these have impacts on the city's ability to provide this special kind of housing that is missing. She was concerned about driving choices to smaller houses in an attempt to make them affordable, but she felt restricting the size was not the answer. There needs to be city investment in the production of the housing and in deciding who will live there based on income. She referred to Ms. McGovern's suggestion of investing in silent second mortgages for existing housing and said it was a good idea, but the problem is that is very costly for the number of units you get for that type of subsidy. The most efficient use of the city's affordable housing funds comes in the apartment format where there is the greatest opportunity to provide units that are all the same but to subsidize a certain number of them. That is the most bang for the buck. Dolores Bengtson, 568 Hamilton Way, referred to the question of whether to count the units on Staples Ranch towards the housing cap. She believed the criterion to be used is licensing. If all units are subject to licensing, then every resident qualifies for assisted living and would meet certain criterion for living skills they can no longer achieve. That is very different from Ridge View Commons. It is not a licensed facility. She thought that all units on Staples that are subject to licensing should not count toward the housing cap. There were no further speakers. 3. ACTION ITEMS CONCERNING GENERAL PLAN UPDATE: LAND USE Mr. Brozosky did not believe a person had to meet the requirements for assisted living to get into the Staples facility. He thought anyone who could afford it could move in. Mr. Ashenbrenner said a person would be entering a self-insured pool regulated by the State of California. In many states, it is regulated by the Insurance Department. The people have to qualify three ways: there must be a certain level of health when they come in. That is not because it is an independent living community. The State of California has decided that it must be licensed and operable as an assisted living community. The reason there must be a certain level of health when they come in is because there is an element of the project that is insurance. The people are provided assisted living and skilled nursing care for the rest of their life at essentially no extra cost. If many people come into the new project with Alzheimer's, for instance, there is a non-viable self-insured pool. The point is, it's insurance, it's services and a place to live all in one package. It is regulated like, insurance and under the law, it is all assisted living. Pleasanton City Council Special Meeting 2 11/29/05