5 Newell Court | East Palo Alto, California 94303
www.nodisplacement.com
Kelly Beggs
Contract Principal Planner
City of East Palo Alto
1960 Tate St.
East Palo Alto, CA 94303
[email protected]
September 26, 2022
RE: Euclid Improvements
Community Benefits Requests from September 20 Council Meeting Dear Kelly,
Thank you for your continued work on behalf of the City regarding the Woodland Park Euclid Improvements proposal. This letter responds to the requests made by a City Councilmember during the public hearing on September 20, 2022.
Woodland Park Communities is a local, community-oriented housing provider and we’re eager to improve the neighborhood and provide community benefits for East Palo Alto. The recent requests are in addition to many requests received and accepted over the past 4 years, which have included tens of millions of dollars in affordable housing, relocation benefits, new infrastructure, and community benefits. We are proud to have been able to say “yes” to so many of the past suggestions from the community.
We are at the point now, though, that additional significant costs could jeopardize our project. This would delay any improvements to the Euclid neighborhood and perhaps even make the project infeasible to build. Without the project, the community receives none of the proposed benefits that we’ve worked so hard to assemble.
Given that some costs are still unknown (including new Sanitary District fees), and construction and financing costs have significantly increased in the past few years, we’re eager to address the Councilmember’s concerns in the most cost-effective manner possible.
The following table summarizes the Councilmember’s requests and what solutions Woodland Park Communities can provide in response to the recommendation.
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Councilmember Request Woodland Park’s Response
1. Increase anti-displacement
incentive beyond $1,000
Yes. To the extent that the Council believes that
additional compensation for perceived inconvenience
is appropriate, we can increase the anti-displacement
incentive to $2,000.
We acknowledge that Improvement Area tenants will
experience some inconvenience, but we disagree with
the characterization that the Euclid Improvements Area
is disproportionately unsafe or not secure. Regardless, we will increase our security patrol, including on foot, throughout the improvement area.
Tenants who choose “Option A” to remain at Woodland
Park will receive new units at their existing rent levels, which represents a rent subsidy worth over $100,000
per household on average over 5 years. To further
encourage residents to remain at Woodland Park, we
previously offered a $1,000 anti-displacement incentive in response to a prior City Council request, but are
willing to increase it.
2. Provide $750,000 rental relief
funds
We are unable to fund additional rent relief beyond our current obligations. We expect to pay $480,000 -
$800,000 per year in gross receipts taxes towards rent
relief, anti-displacement, and affordable housing
depending on the November vote. We would be happy
for our contributions to be placed in a special rent
relief fund, consistent with the Gross Receipts Tax
ordinance. Additionally, we will work with City Staff to help identify Woodland Park tenants in financial
distress and help administer rent relief funds to our
families.
Rent relief assistance was previously discussed with City Council and Woodland Park has already committed to
continue to work with tenants to facilitate access to
state and federal programs. Woodland Park has been,
and will continue to, work diligently with the state of California, local non-profits, and the Rent Stabilization Program to apply for all available rental assistance for its tenants. Woodland Park is also working closely with,
and will continue to reach out to, its existing tenants to make sure that they are aware of all available local and state rental assistance programs. Woodland Park has
assisted in securing over $5.5 million in rent relief for our tenants in the recent past.
September 26, 2022
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Councilmember Request Woodland Park’s Response
Woodland Park already pays a significant amount
annually towards East Palo Alto’s rent relief efforts, in the form of the Gross Receipts (Measure O) Tax. To date, we have paid the City $2.7 million in gross receipts tax to help fund programs for affordable housing, antidisplacement, and rent relief. The November ballot will contain a measure to significantly increase the gross
receipts tax, which if passed, will further increase our annual payments towards rent relief.
3. Provide $500,000 capital
improvement funding for Palo
Alto water intertie
We are unable to provide the capital for the Palo Alto
water intertie in addition to the cost of the new water tank. If the Palo Alto water intertie would be sufficient to serve the Euclid Improvements and we do not need
to build a new water tank and pump, we would pay for
the intertie. This is already contemplated in the
Development Agreement.
We have had extensive discussions with EPA Public
Works over the past several years and were told that the Palo Alto water intertie will be insufficient to serve the Euclid Improvements, and therefore we must build a
new water tank, pump, and pipes at our own cost. As a
community benefit, we’ve further upsized the tank to
serve the entire neighborhood, which is estimated by
our civil engineers to cost $5,400,000 - $8,400,000
4. Build out the park at the end of
Manhattan at Woodland Ave
(part of SFJPA creek project)
Yes, we would be willing to contribute land on
Woodland Ave (between University Ave and Euclid
Ave) to support the SFCJPA creek project’s
neighborhood improvements. This 0.8 acre parcel (APN
063-471-020) is valued between $100,000 - $350,000.
We have been in touch with the SFCJPA, and there is not currently a plan for a park at this location, which
currently houses a bus stop. However, some
improvements have been contemplated and we would
be happy to work with the City and the SFCJPA to
support these plans. The parcel would be contributed to the City of East Palo Alto upon receiving building permits for the Euclid Improvements.
5. Support either a parking permit
program or a future TMA
Yes. We will contribute up to $25,000 to support a
future parking permit program. This would be
considered other transportation infrastructure provided above City standards and could be credited against the
transportation infrastructure fee.
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Councilmember Request Woodland Park’s Response
Additionally, our TDM plan proposes participation in a
future TMA.
6. Require development to be a
“certified development program”
with Commute.org
Yes, our TDM plan proposes “certified participation in
Commute.org, or equivalent program such as a TMA.”
7. Provide public EV chargers Yes, we will provide EV chargers that are available to the public within our off-street parking.
If that is not possible, we can coordinate with Public
Works to provide on-street EV charging at a maximum
cost of $50,000 as long as it is considered a specific
streetscape or frontage improvement above City
standards and could be credited against the
transportation infrastructure fee.
8. Maintain park in perpetuity Yes, we will be responsible for “all maintenance, repair and replacements necessary to maintain the Park
Space to a high quality.” This requirement is already
included in the Development Agreement.
9. Install water fountains within
project itself for residents
Yes, we will install water fountains within the property for local residents.
10. Build out sidewalk to water tank We have not heard a previous request from the City or any residents about improving sidewalks on Donohoe
Street or that portion of W. Bayshore Ave, and are
concerned that the cost of investing in a sidewalk at
this location outweighs the potential benefit.
However, we would be happy to work with EPA Public
Works to determine what may be helpful and
appropriate. We can provide some funding for improved
sidewalks near the project area as determined by EPA
Public Works, if credited against the transportation
impact fee.
11. Increase in-lieu fee by 5% if 89
offsite units not built
We are unable to increase the in-lieu fee.
The inclusionary housing ordinance was passed after our project was submitted, and we have expressed previous
concerns about the feasibility of the inclusionary
housing requirements on rental housing (see letter from October 20, 2020). After many community meetings and
5 City Council meetings about inclusionary housing for
the Euclid Improvements, we have carefully crafted a
solution to provide for 89 deeply affordable units.
Increasing the in-lieu fee will not increase our ability to September 26, 2022
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Councilmember Request Woodland Park’s Response
build more off-site units, since these will be subject to local zoning, City Council discretionary approval, our
partnership with Eden, and any conditions that come
with grant or tax credit financing.
We can only make these commitments if these are the final requests placed on the proposal before approval. If additional requests are added, it may further jeopardize the feasibility of the project, and the responses above may be reconsidered.
We believe that the project proposal meets or exceeds the City’s many and varied requirements and provides significant community benefits to East Palo Alto. We look forward to a productive approval process. As always, please let me know if you have any questions or would like to discuss.
Sincerely,
Michael Kramer