CITY OF MILPITAS
CITY COUNCIL HOUSING SUBCOMMITTEE
September 9, 2021 City Council Housing Subcommittee Minutes Page 1
MINUTES
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Monday, August 22, 2022
Committee Conference Room
I. Call to Order and Roll Call
Councilmember Anthony Phan called the meeting to order at 3:12 PM.
Subcommittee Members Present: Councilmember Evelyn Chua, Councilmember Anthony Phan Staff Present: Assistant City Manager Ashwini Kantak, Director of Economic Development Alex Andrade, Housing and Neighborhood Services Administrator Robert Musallam, Housing Senior Administrative Analyst Sarah Balcha, Housing Administrative Analyst Michelle Silva, Principal Planner Jay Lee
II. Pledge of Allegiance
Councilmember Anthony Phan led the Pledge of Allegiance.
III. Approval of Agenda
Motion to approve August 22, 2022 agenda
Motion/Second: Councilmember Anthony Phan / Councilmember Evelyn Chua Motion carried by a vote of Ayes: 2 Noes: 0 Abstain: 0 IV. Acceptance of Minutes
Councilmember Evelyn Chua and Councilmember Anthony Phan accepted the September 9, 2021 meeting minutes.
V. Public Forum
None.
VI. Business Item
Update and Overview of Draft Housing Element 6th Cycle
Eric Yurkovich and Antara Tandon from Raimi and Associates provided the Housing Subcommittee with a PowerPoint presentation on the preliminary goals, policies, and programs for the Draft Housing Element.
The discussion after the presentation began with Councilmember Chua and Councilmember Phan expressing concerns about where the City will decide to place supportive housing. Both council members emphasized the importance of collaborating with the City’s Police and Fire Departments to be responsive to the unintended consequences and potential concerns to public safety prior to disclosing the location.
August 22, 2022 City Council Housing Subcommittee Minutes Page 2
Councilmember Chua stated the importance of strengthening the City’s relationships with the County and Federal agencies to acquire low-income housing funds. Councilmember Phan stated that Council is supportive of legal aid and monetary assistance, but any policies that might have an impact on the rental market may cause contention.
Councilmember Phan asked where tiny homes would fall in the plan. Jay Lee responded by saying there is no zoning ordinance for tiny homes and that California has strict zoning regulations. Ashwini Kantak responded by informing the subcommittee of the Tiny Homes Feasibility Study the City is currently conducting.
Councilmember Chua was concerned over the low yearly average of ADUs being produced and advised City Staff to revisit incentives for ADU productions. The methodology presented by the Raimi and Associates team only looks at ADUs built in the past 3 years. Jay Lee mentioned the low average may be due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Production of ADUs was low in 2020 but the City has since seen an uptick in recent years.
Councilmember Phan wants City staff to encourage big developers to add ADUs during the design process. He wants to discuss rezoning opportunities. Councilmember Phan thinks it would be good for certain sites to accommodate for 150% or more regional housing needs by total income for the category because that would meet the state’s goal for additional funding.
Councilmember Chua adds that rezoning should not take away from businesses. There needs to be a balance between residential, commercial, and industrial.
Councilmember Phan provided several ideas for City staff to research and consider including in the Housing Element plan to increase eligibility for state funding. Councilmember Phan’s suggestions included exploring additional options for middle-income housing, establishing parking maximums to promote transit-oriented housing, and promoting housing types that reduce costs (e.g., cost-sharing opportunities through the reduction of transportation-related infrastructure costs). Councilmember Phan also suggested staff research low-interest loan opportunities, surplus land programs, land donation options, enhanced infrastructure financing districts, adaptive reuse, and Housing Trust opportunities including the City’s potential to create its own Housing Trust.
Councilmember Phan brings up the idea of having subsidies for ADUs. He would like staff to look into providing low-interest loans in addition to the ADU grants the City is already providing to encourage ADU production.
Alex Andrade states that last year’s report metrics to the state on the ADU count was 79. This number includes ADUs that completed entitlement, pulled building permits, and finalized. If you were to add applications submitted but had not been entitled, we can add another 35 ADUs to the count.
In response to Councilmember Chua’s concern about the low ADU production count provided earlier and Alex’s ADU count data, Ashwini Kantak and the Raimi and Associates team both stated that the ADU count is standardized by the state and is the same across all the jurisdictions, therefore, we cannot change the count methodology.
Councilmember Chua directed staff to research prefab homes.
Public Comment:
August 22, 2022 City Council Housing Subcommittee Minutes Page 3
None.
VII. Adjournment
Meeting was adjourned at 4:12 PM.