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Anaheim, CA 92805
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CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
City of Anaheim
CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE
DATE: JUNE 27, 2023
FROM: CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE
SUBJECT: UPDATE FROM THE HOUSING AFFORDABILITY AD HOC
COMMITTEE
ATTACHMENT (Y/N): NO ITEM # 26
GOVERNMENT CODE § 84308 APPLIES: NO
REQUESTED ACTION:
That the City Council receive an update from the City’s Housing Affordability Ad Hoc Committee and as deemed appropriate, provide direction to City staff.
DISCUSSION:
At the City Council meeting of December 20, 2022, Council Member Faessel expressed his desire to formulate a Housing Ad Hoc Committee (Committee) and invited Mayor Aitken and Mayor Pro Tem Rubalcava to join him in this effort. As suggested by Council Member Faessel at the time, the work of this committee is to continue the research done by previous City Council working groups that were established in 2019 and again in 2021 for the purpose of exploring and recommending policies that could increase the development of affordable housing production in Anaheim.
In 2019, the work of the Ad Hoc Group ultimately led to the development of the City’s current policy, which requires developers to meet with staff in advance of a project to learn of all the local and state programs that are available to foster affordable housing development. This has resulted in the common practice of local developers making a voluntary donation to Anaheim affordable housing programs via Development Agreement.
In 2021, a new Housing working group was established to further explore and recommend potential policies related to the production of affordable housing within the City’s draft Housing Element. The work of that group resulted in the adoption of a draft Housing Element submitted to HCD that called on the City to consider the establishment of an Affordable Housing Development Fee. Upon that direction, city staff conducted a study on a potential development fee and how that could be implemented in Anaheim.
In December, Council Member Faessel established a new Housing Affordability Ad Hoc Committee to continue the City Council’s focus on this important issue. Furthermore, he established the group to review the draft Affordable Housing Development Fee Study as Update from the Housing Affordability Ad Hoc Committee
June 27, 2023
well as consider what other tools the City has at its disposal to facilitate the development of affordable housing and report back to the City Council in the next few months.
In the first meeting of the Committee, held on March 9, 2023, staff provided background on current practice, which is to meet with housing developers to review the merits for voluntarily including income restricted units on site primarily through the use of the City’s Density Bonus program. The Committee further learned of the production goals set forth for the City under the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) and contained within the City’s Housing Element.
In the second meeting, held on May 10, 2023, staff provided Committee members with additional information on a variety of housing policy options to consider and as well as information on different housing programs that have been implemented in other cities.
Furthermore, a guest speaker, Kathe Head of Keyser Marston, joined the group discussion to provide an overview of housing policies that have been adopted throughout the State.
At the conclusion of the second meeting, Committee members expressed a desire to further evaluate options of programs implemented by other municipalities, such as an affordable housing development fee program, an inclusionary housing program, etc., to determine what it could look like if implemented locally. To that end, the City Council could direct staff to commission a study and provide the Committee with the findings at one of their future meetings. It’s important to note that all the findings and any potential policy recommendation of the Committee will be shared with the City Council at a future meeting for a full discussion and consideration.
On behalf of the Housing Ad Hoc Committee, Mayor Aitken has requested that staff bring forth this item in order to provide the council with an update on the work of the Ad-Hoc Committee to date, and have the City Council provide direction to city staff.
IMPACT ON BUDGET:
If staff is directed to conduct a study in furtherance of the Committee’s work, it is anticipated that the cost of a study would be approximately $50,000. There are sufficient funds in City Manager’s budget to cover this expense.
Respectfully submitted,
Jim Vanderpool
City Manager