CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
City of Campbell, 70 N. First St., Campbell, California
SPECIAL MEETING OF THE CAMPBELL CITY COUNCIL
Wednesday, April 20, 2022 – 6:00 p.m.
City Hall Council Chamber – 70 N. First Street
This City C ouncil Special meeting wa s duly noticed pur suant to open meeting requirements of the Ralph M. Brown Act (G.C. Section 54956).
CALL TO ORDER
The City Council of the City of Campbell convened this day in a special meeting in the City Hall Council Chamber, 70 N. First St., Campbell, California.
ROLL CALL
Attendee Name Title Status
Paul Resnikoff Mayor Present
Anne Bybee Vice Mayor Present
Elizabeth 'Liz' Gibbons Councilmember Present
Susan M. Landry Councilmember Present
Sergio Lopez Councilmember Present
PUBLIC COMMENT
There were no public comments.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
1. Review Campbell's Plan for Housing – Objectives, Policies and Programs (PLN-2021-12)
Recommended Action: That the City Council review existing and proposed objectives, policies, and programs, and provide direction on which should be revised or added as part of “Campbell’s Plan for Housing” and the City’s Envision Campbell General Plan Update.
Community Development Director Rob Eastwood introduced Staff Report dated April 20, 2022 and reviewed the presentat ion outline, noting this is Council ’s first review of the proposed objectives, policies, and programs for Campbell’s Plan for Housing which will be available for public review during Spring 2022, with a final completion deadline of January 2023.
Brittney Ben dix, M -Group Representative, reviewed the City ’s current Housing Element progress , the current Regional H ousing Needs Assessment (RHNA) production, and the City ’s community demographics which indicate a mismatch of available housing with the needs of the community. Ms. Bendix reviewed the
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community engagement efforts including community meetings, focus groups, and surveys. Ms. Bendix reviewed top comments including the need for more affordable housing projects, accessory dwelling units, on-site care facilities, rising rental rates, increase in resilient policies, senior population needs and those on fixed incomes and female-headed household needs.
Ms. Bendix reviewed the prioritization structure of the housing policies and programs presented, noting a high priority taking 1-2 years to complete, medium priority taking 3- 5 years to complete, and low prior ity taking 6- 8 years to complete.
Ms. Bendix reviewed Objective #1, improving housing affordability in Campbell, noting the high priorit ies of modifi cations to Ca mpbell’s inclusionary ordi nance, establishment of an affordable housing overlay zone (AHOZ), regulatio n of housing unit sizes to increase affordability, investigating the use of city -owned land for a ffordable housing projects, developing objec tive standards, and allowing appropriate waivers for affordable housing developments. Object ive #2, preserving existing housing/affordable housing stock (no high priorit ies).
Objective #3, removing government constraints noting the high priorities of modifying parking standards . Objective #4, resilient housing policies (no high priorities). Objective #5, Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH), noting the high priorities of fulfilling housing needs for special needs populations and workforce housing.
Ms. Bendix noted the Planning Commiss ion feedback for Staff to evaluate the 75-foot building height limit in relation to its impact on the production of affordable housing in Campbell.
Mayor Resnikoff opened the floor for public comments.
Jim Sullivan, Campbell resident, spoke in support of establishing in-lieu fees, and for reducing government constraints, specifically reducing parking standards.
Gina Zari, Santa Clara County Association of Realtors R epresentative, spoke in support of “ mom and pop ” landlords noting t hat tenant protec tion laws and government mandates hurt th is group, which provide a significant amoun t of affordable housing.
Amy Cod y, Moreland Neighborhood Association Pres ident, requested the City consider the impacts of larger City of San Jose projects in the El Paseo area, such as the Costco project.
Anil Babbar, California A partment Association Representat ive, noted the organizations efforts to keep people in their homes during the pandemic and requested Council and Staff keep in mind the affects of Assembly Bill (AB) 1482.
Councilmembers reviewed Objective #1, improving h ousing affordability in Campbell and had the following comments:
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Councilmember Gibbons emphasized the need to distribute housing units according to RHNA allocation levels and noted the need to focus on low -low and low housing needs, supports establishing an af fordable housing impact fee , concerned about AHOZ’s, and changing the 75 feet building height limit.
Councilmember Lopez noted his preference for focu sing on the biggest bang for the buck and synergy with other resources/agencies, noting his priority for establishing a mi ssing middle (SB10) ordinance, establishment of an ADU prechecked plan set, and for putting a priority on interfacing with the Legislature to supp ort affordable housing, noting that advocating for our needs and goals could be very impactful.
Councilwoman Landry noted her support for establishing in- lieu fees to support future affordable housin g needs, su pport for ADU prechecked plan s ets, noting her preference for the planning of parking needs now, with flexibility to convert it in the future if not used to capacity.
Vice Mayor Bybee noted her support for modific ations to the inclusionary ordinance, support for AHOZ ’s, and incentives for developers to develop low/moderate income housing, noting a need for clari ty o f the low/very low income levels.
Mayor Resnikoff noted his concerns for the unintended consequences of regulating unit sizes , going beyond the 75 feet bui lding height lim it, and his concerns about impact fees and their impact to the business development in the City. Mayor Resnikoff expressed support for ADU prechecked plan sets.
Councilmembers reviewed Objective #2 & #3, preserving existing housing stock, and removing government constraints and had the following comments:
Councilwoman Landry noted her preference for m aking impact fees a higher priority.
Councilmember Lopez noted his preferen ce for moving streamlining of the permitting process to a high priority as it creates a lot of synergy across the City.
Councilmember Gibbons noted her preference for development of a program which requires tenant protections on affordable housing projects, the need for an ordinance preserving mobile home parks , the need for an ordinance relating to short term rental proper ties which could bring transient-occupancy tax (TOT) to the City’s housing programs and expressed support for streamlining permitting processes.
Vice Mayor Bybee noted that she does not support rent control ordina nces and needs more inf ormation relati ng to short term rental options . She supports streamlining of the permitting process.
Mayor Resnikoff noted he is not supportive of rent control ordinances or short- term rental ordinances and noted the need to be cognizant of the reality tha t not
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everything can be a high prior ity. Noting much of th ese areas will be improved with the passage of the objective standards.
Councilmembers reviewed Objectives #4 & #5, resilient housing and AFFH and had the following comments:
Councilmember Gibbons state d her desire for a Climate Action Plan to inform much of the resilient housing needs and education of utility management for affordable housing projects and expressed a concern for effective management of such programs with existing City resources.
Councilmember Lopez stressed the expectation of providing affordable housing information in multiple languages.
Councilwoman Landry noted her priority for resilient housing stating that some legislation will re quire such processes in utility codes, water effi ciency, etc., and is supportive of providing affordable housing information in multiple languages.
Vice Mayor Bybee noted that much of these areas wil l be addressed as part of the objec tive standards work and is s upportive of providing affordable housing information in multiple languages.
Council emphasized that the 75 feet building height limit was voter approved and can only be formally adjusted by the voters or by State law.
Council took a recess at 8:30 p.m. and returned at 8:35 p.m. with all members present.
Councilmember Lopez recused him self, noting a 500-foot conflict with the presente d project location and his personal residence and left the meeting room.
Community Development Director Eastwood, intro duced Brad Griggs with the Opportunity Housing Group and not ed that an opportunity was presented to City Staff which could convert 252 market rate multi -family units at Parc at Pruneyard Apartments to low, middle, and moderate income housing . This opport unity relates to Objective #2, preserving existing housing stock and could move forward quickly on Council approval. This project proposes to use tax exempt bonds to make improvements to the property, which would then be tax exempt for future years. The Cit y would need to join a State Joint Powers Authority and enter into a Public Benefit Agreement. This opportunity window is closing quickly due to rising interest rates.
Councilmembers expressed concerns relating to this item being al lowed to be heard on this a genda; and noted their need for more information on this project and how it fits into the priorities established by Staff.
Councilmember Lopez returned to the meeting room.
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Community Development Director Eastwood noted that S taff will consider all Council feedback and will return in May 2022 for final Council approval on which policies and programs should be included in Campbell’s Plan for Housing.
ADJOURN
Mayor Resnikoff adjourned the meeting at 9:11 p.m.
APPROVED:
ATTEST:
Paul Resnikoff, Mayor
Dusty Christopherson, City Clerk