EAST PALO ALTO
CITY COUNCIL
STAFF REPORT
DATE: February 15, 2022
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
VIA: Jaime M. Fontes, City Manager
BY: Kelly Beggs, Consultant Planner
Amy Chen, Community & Economic Development Director
SUBJECT: Euclid Improvements (Woodland Park) Project Relocation Plan Recommendation Recommendation
Provide direction on the proposed approach to the revised Relocation Plan (“Plan”) proposed by Woodland Park Communities/Sand Hill Property Company (“Applicant”) for the Euclid Improvements Project (“Project”).
Alignment with City Council Strategic Plan
This recommendation is primarily aligned with:
Priority No. 2: Enhance Economic Vitality
Priority No. 6: Create a Healthy and Safe Community
Background
In January 2019, Woodland Park Communities/Sand Hill Property Company (“Applicant”) submitted a Planning pre-application for the Euclid Improvements Project (“Project”) to demolish a total of 161 existing units (160 of which are rent-controlled units) and build 445 market-rate units, with one-for-one replacement of the rent-controlled units, for a total of 605 units. The 3.92-acre Project site is located within the Westside Area Plan1 and is subject to Chapter 14.02 (Tenant Protections Ordinance)2 and Chapter 14.08 (Ellis Act Ordinance - 1 Westside Area Plan:
https://www.cityofepa.org/sites/default/files/fileattachments/community_amp_economic_development/page/27 31/epa_gp_chapter_11_westside_area_plan_final_201807271719056868.pdf 2 Tenant Protections Ordinance:
https://library.municode.com/ca/east_palo_alto/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT14HO_CH14.02TEPR Withdrawal of Rental Units)3
. The Applicant formally submitted a Planning application in September 2019.
Since 2020, the City Council and Planning Commission have held several Study Sessions regarding different aspects of the Project (e.g. infrastructure, affordable housing, urban design). For background information including a synopsis of prior Study Sessions, see Attachment 1. At the most recent Study Session on November 30, 20214, City Council reviewed the Applicant’s Tenant Relocation Plan (“Plan”), directed the Applicant to make revisions, and requested that the revised Plan be brought back to a future City Council session. Although the direction was to bring a revised Relocation Plan and Affordable Housing Proposal to address the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance requirements, at this time staff feels it is important to discuss the recent revisions to the Relocation Plan. The Affordable Housing Proposal was discussed at the October 5, 2021 City Council meeting.5 The purpose of this staff report is to re-review and seek City Council feedback on the Applicant’s revised Relocation Plan. This purpose of this staff report is not to seek approval of the primary Euclid site, Affordable Housing Proposal, or the Relocation Plan.
Analysis
Applicant’s Revised Relocation Plan
The Applicant submitted a revised Relocation Plan in January of 2022 and has worked through several iterations of comments and revisions with staff. A summary table of City Council’s direction and the Applicant’s responses are shown below:
City Council Direction Applicant Revision
Resubmit a complete relocation plan. Direction Accepted. The Applicant has submitted revised Plan designed by Autotemp
that builds upon the initial Relocation
Commitments and provides a more robust
explanation and greater detail about the
relocation process.
Unit size. Clarify that units will be comparable
in size both in terms of number of bedrooms
and in square footage. Description of units
should include details regarding parking and
storage spaces in Right-of- Return Units and
Relocation Units
Direction Accepted. The revised Plan
specifies that the units will be comparable in
size both in terms of number of bedrooms and
in square footage (within +/- 5% of the
existing square footage). The revised Plan
includes that the replacement apartments and
right-of-return apartments will contain the
same number of parking spaces and any
other housing services (like storage) that are
specified in the existing lease.
3 Ellis Act Ordinance
https://library.municode.com/ca/east_palo_alto/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT14HO_CH14.08WIREUN 4 November 30, 2021 City Council Study Session:
http://eastpaloalto.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_Meeting.aspx?ID=1458 5 October 5, 2021 City Council meeting:
http://eastpaloalto.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_LegiFile.aspx?Frame=&MeetingID=1427&MediaPosition=6336.714& ID=1901&CssClass=
City Council Direction Applicant Revision
Relocation payment. Include the option of a
relocation payment pursuant to Westside Area
Plan Policy 5.11 and Municipal Code sections
14.02.140(B), 150(E), and 14.08.060.
Direction Accepted. The revised Plan
includes the right to receive a relocation
payment at amounts specified by the Ellis Act
Ordinance and adjusted by CPI if the tenant
does not elect the right of return.
Remove good standing requirement and
continuous occupancy requirement.
Direction Accepted. The good standing and
continuous occupancy requirements have
been removed in the revised Plan. An
additional option that tenants can choose to
move off-site and reserve a right of return has
been included.
Ellis Act Notice and Relocation Payment
Compliance. Demonstrate how the Plan will
comply with the tenant notice and relocation
payment requirements of Municipal Code
14.08. Direction Accepted. The Plan specifies how
the notice and relocation payment
requirements will be met and includes draft
form notices. Staff and Applicant will continue
to work through sequencing and form of
notices.
Incorporate a comprehensive disclosure
process.
Direction Accepted. Applicant has provided
copies of prior communications that have
been sent to Euclid Improvement Area
residents (see Attachment 4b) and draft future
notices are attached to the relocation plan.
Waive past-due charges for outstanding rent
and fees. Council supported staff’s
recommendation to waive past due rent and
fees for tenants due to the COVID-19
pandemic.
Alternative Proposed. The Applicant’s
resubmittal cover letter (see Attachment 4a)
described available state/federal resources
and assistance offered to tenants to access
relief funds, including the Emergency Rental
Assistance Program and the Housing is Key
Program. The Applicant’s response states it
believes that any tenant who is behind in rent
due to COVID-19 will qualify for the state’s
rental assistance funds due to the breadth of
the programs.
Provide Comprehensive History of Occupancy.
Council and staff requested a comprehensive
history of the subject property of occupancy of
the 160 units on site. The occupancy history
should date back to January 2018.
Direction Accepted (In Process). The
Applicant is working with staff to provide a
comprehensive occupancy history indicating
the current occupancy of units, the occupancy
information for tenants who participated in the
Optional Tenant Relocation Move (OTRM),
and information available regarding tenants
who have moved out. To protect the privacy
of former tenants, this information cannot be
shared in a staff report, and staff is working
with the Applicant to aggregate the
information into a summary. A summary
detailing the reasons for tenant move outs is
City Council Direction Applicant Revision
included as Attachment 4C.
Make a Good Faith Effort to Contact Former
Tenants and Advise Them of Relocation
Benefits. The Applicant should outline how
they will make a good faith effort to contact
tenants who have moved out since the
Relocation Commitments were circulated in
August 2019 and may have been unaware of
relocation payment benefits.
Direction Not Accepted. The Applicant’s
revised Plan does not include the provision of
benefits to former tenants who moved out
after the Relocation Commitments were
circulated in August of 2019 but prior to the
granting of entitlements and approval of the
Plan.
The Applicant’s revised Plan is included in Attachment 2. A comparison of SB 330 and the East Palo Municipal Code is presented in Attachment 3. Supporting documents submitted by the Applicant are included in Attachment 4.
Westside Area Plan and Municipal Code Inconsistency
In reviewing the revised Plan’s consistency with the East Palo Alto Municipal Code (EPAMC) and Westside Area Plan, staff has noted an inconsistency among the City’s policies and regulations. While the Westside Area Plan requires that tenants are offered either a relocation payment or a right of return unit, the East Palo Alto Municipal Code requires both a relocation payment and a right of return unit. The Westside Area Plan was adopted in 2017, while the relevant EPAMC chapters have not been revised since 2014.
Westside Area Plan Policy 5.11 states “Require that sponsors of new development projects offer tenants the choice between reserving replacement housing or receiving relocation payments as defined by City of East Palo Alto Ordinances” (emphasis added). Westside Area Plan Policy 5.9 requires that tenants have first right of return and “the ability to return to a unit at the same level of affordability (measured in monthly rent) as the prior unit.” EPAMC Section
14.02.140(C), however, requires that “the applicant has offered relocation assistance as required by this chapter and the right of first refusal to occupy any replacement housing to be constructed on the site to tenants displaced by the demolition.” EPAMC Chapter 14.08 sets forth relocation payment amounts and requires a right to return to newly constructed units EPAMC (Section 14.08.045). The revised Plan is consistent with the Westside Area Plan as tenants are offered either a relocation payment or a right of return unit.
Staff’s Comments Regarding the Applicant’s Revised Plan • Relocation Benefits for Former Tenants. Council asked that the Applicant offer relocation benefits to former tenants who moved out after circulation of the Relocation Commitments in August of 2019 and prior to approval of the project entitlements (including the final Relocation Plan). The revised Plan does not offer this benefit unless a tenant is already participating in the Optional Tenant Requested Move (OTRM) Program, which commenced upon circulation of the August 2019 Relocation Commitments. Figure 1 shows the different groups of tenants and the benefits currently offered under the revised Plan as well as staff recommendations.
Figure 1: Relocation Benefits by Tenant Group per revised Plan Staff recommends the provision of benefits to former tenants be negotiated as an additional community benefit through the Development Agreement. City Council will consider the Development Agreement and the final Relocation Plan as items for approval with the project entitlements.
• SB 330 Analysis. Council requested that staff provide a comparison of the City’s ordinances and SB 330 requirements. Staff has provided a comparison of Relocation benefits under SB330 and the City’s Ordinances in Attachment 3, which is summarized below:
o Eligibility: Eligibility for relocation benefits is more expansive under East Palo Alto’s ordinances.
o Moving expenses: East Palo Alto’s Ordinances require higher amounts of reimbursement for moving expenses than SB 330, so long as a receipt is provided. Further, the Westside Area Plan requires all moving costs to be covered by Applicant.
o Relocation Payment: Baseline relocation benefit payments under SB 330 ($5,250) are lower than under the East Palo Alto Ellis Act Ordinance, which under 2021 CPI adjustments would be $9,910.82 for less than two years of tenancy, or $13,214.42 for two or more years of tenancy, with an additional $3,303.61 per category of qualified tenancy (low-income, disabled, elderly, dependent, and/or terminally ill). However, SB 330 relocation payment amounts can be adjusted upwards significantly if a comparable replacement unit is not available. A comparable unit must be adequate size for occupants with comparable number of rooms and a rent that does not exceed 30% of income. • Waiving of past due fees and rent. Given the extent of State and Federal resources available to assist tenants with back-owed rent, staff recommends that the Applicant continue to work with tenants to facilitate access to these programs. Staff recommends that the project be subject to a Condition of Approval that requires and specifies continued rent relief outreach efforts in collaboration with the City’s Rent Stabilization Program and Measure O Anti-Displacement partner organizations:
Nuestra Casa, Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto, and Youth United for Community Action.
Next Steps
If the City Council supports the revised Relocation Plan with staff’s recommendations, that Plan will be included as an item for approval with the project entitlements.
Staff will continue to work with the Applicant and the City Attorney to draft the Development Agreement for the Project. If any components of the Relocation Plan are changed by the City Council through its recommendations at this meeting, staff will ensure any relevant details are captured in the revised Relocation Plan and Development Agreement. Staff will continue to work with the Applicant on the primary Euclid site and anticipates returning later in the year for City Council consideration of the Project, including the Inclusionary Housing Plan which requires City Council approval, as the Applicant is continuing to pursue an off-site compliance option.
Fiscal Impact
There are no fiscal impacts associated with the items discussed in this staff report.
Public Notice
The public was provided notice of this agenda item by posting the City Council agenda on the City’s official bulletin outside City Hall and making the agenda and report available at the City’s website and the San Mateo County Library at 2145 University Avenue, East Palo Alto.
The Applicant has provided a courtesy notice of this agenda item to all affected tenants.
Environmental
The Notice of Availability for the draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the primary Euclid site was published on July 1, 2021. The public review period was extended from 30 to 60 days and ended on September 15, 2021. The City is in the process of drafting the Final EIR. The EIR may require amendments based on any changes to the Project Description.
The action being considered by the City Council is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it is not a “project” pursuant to the CEQA Guidelines because it is a study session which does not involve any commitment to any specific project which may result in a potentially significant impact on the environment.
Attachments
1. Study Session Summary, Background, and Existing Occupancy Conditions
2. Revised Draft Relocation Plan
3. SB 330 and EPA Tenant Relocation Requirements Comparison
4. Applicant Supporting Documents