Appendix A Fair Housing Assessment A-3
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 additional iterations, African American workers had “become so discourage about finding housing opportunities” that they began carpooling from outside cities such as Richmond.3 A 2018 Berkeley publication titled, Racial Segregation in the San Francisco Bay area, attempted to illustrate segregation in the Bay area communities. In their study they found that communities such as Monte Sereno and Los Gatos were the “most segregated, heavily white cities in the county” with Santa Clara County containing “no truly integrated city”.4 The study also delved into the history of segregation, highlighting a 1960’s era laws and practices connected to urban renewal projects that were displacing communities of color. The building of transportation infrastructure created a reduction of affordable housing due to a lack of one for one replacement in the area.
In addition to historical discriminatory practices that embedded segregation into living patterns throughout the Bay Area, it’s also necessary to recognize the historical impacts of colonization and genocide on Indigenous populations and how the effects of those atrocities are still being felt today. The original inhabitants of present-day San Mateo County are the Ramaytush Ohlone, who have “…lived on the San Francisco Peninsula for thousands of years and continue to live here as respectful stewards of the land.”5 However, “[d]ue to the devastating policies and practices of a succession of explorers, missionaries, settlers, and various levels of government over the centuries since European expansion, the Ramaytush Ohlone lost the vast majority of their population as well as their land.”6 The lasting influence of these policies and practices have contributed directly to the disparate housing and economic outcomes collectively experienced by Native populations today.7
The timeline of major federal Acts and court decisions related to fair housing choice and zoning and land use appears on the following page.
As shown in the timeline, exclusive zoning practices were common in the early 1900s. Courts struck down only the most discriminatory and allowed those that would be considered today to have a “disparate impact” on classes protected by the Fair Housing Act. For example, the 1926 case Village of Euclid v. Amber Realty Co. (272 U.S. 365) supported the segregation of residential, business, and industrial uses, justifying separation by characterizing apartment buildings as “mere parasite(s)” with the potential to “utterly destroy” the character and desirability of neighborhoods. At that time, multifamily apartments were the only housing options for people of color, including immigrants.
3 Source: book The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein, p 121.
4 Racial Segregation in the San Francisco Bay area, Part 1 | Othering & Belonging Institute (berkeley.edu) 5 https://www.smcoe.org/for-communities/indigenous-people-of-san-mateo-county.html 6 https://www.smcoe.org/for-communities/indigenous-people-of-san-mateo-county.html 7 https://www.americanprogress.org/article/systemic-inequality-displacement-exclusion-segregation/
Appendix A Fair Housing Assessment A-4
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 The Federal Fair Housing Act was not enacted until nearly 60 years after the first racial zoning ordinances appeared in U.S. cities. This coincided with a shift away from federal control over low-income housing toward locally-tailored approaches (block grants) and market-oriented choice (Section 8 subsidies)—the latter of which is only effective when adequate affordable rental units are available.
Figure A-1 shows a timeline for major public and legal actions related to fair housing access.
Report content and organization
This Fair Housing Assessment follows the April 2021 State of California State Guidance for AFFH.
Section I. Fair Housing Enforcement and Outreach Capacity reviews lawsuits/enforcement actions/complaints against the jurisdiction; compliance with state fair housing laws and regulations; and jurisdictional capacity to conduct fair housing outreach and education;
Section II. Integration and Segregation identifies areas of concentrated segregation, degrees of segregation, and the groups that experience the highest levels of segregation; Section III. Access to Opportunity examines differences in access to education, transportation, economic development, and healthy environments; and Section IV. Disparate Housing Needs identifies which groups have disproportionate housing needs including displacement risk.
Appendix A Fair Housing Assessment A-5
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Figure A-1 Major Public and Legal Actions that Influence Fair Access to Housing SOURCE: Root Policy Research
Appendix A Fair Housing Assessment A-6
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Primary Findings, Contributing Factors, and Fair Housing Actions This section summarizes the primary findings from the Fair Housing Assessment for Monte Sereno including the following sections: fair housing enforcement and outreach capacity, integration and segregation, access to opportunity, disparate housing needs, and contributing factors and the city’s fair housing action plan.
Monte Sereno differs from the County and Bay area overall for its relatively high proportion of residents identifying as Non-Hispanic White (71 percent in Monte Sereno compared to 32 percent in Santa Clara County) and small Hispanic population (7 percent in Monte Sereno and 25 percent in the county). Monte Sereno’s proportion of Black/African American and Other or mixed-race residents is similar to the county, in that it is less than 4 percent for both groups.
Contributing Factors Prioritized:
Lack of diverse housing stock (High priority);
Lack of low-income housing (High priority);
Large lot configuration; Predominance of single-family zoning; Original subdivision of land catered to large single-family lots (Medium priority);
Lack of City resources (Medium priority); and
Lack of political power in regional transportation efforts (Low priority).
Priority #1
Fair housing issue: Lack of housing that accommodates people of lower-income with a disproportionate impact on people of color, resulting in a lack of overall socio-economic and racial diversity in the city.
Contributing Factors: Lack of diverse housing stock; lack of low-income housing.
It is helpful to understand the local history of Monte Sereno to inform why Monte Sereno offers little to no variety of housing types with 96 percent single family detached units. The City of Monte Sereno became incorporated in 1957 as a response to pressures of annexation from surrounding cities. As stated in “Battle of Peaceful Mountain” a historical narrative of Monte Sereno written by Monte Sereno’s first Mayor Thomas Inglis, “most of the residents of Monte Sereno wanted to retain the amenities which had attracted them: large lots, modern taxes, natural scenic beauty unimpaired by unsightly billboards…”. The platform that the City Founders ran on featured promises of:
“country living, strictly residential zoning, preservation of natural scenic beauty, no commercial enterprises, [and] no billboards.”
The intent of incorporating was to maintain the present way of life in Monte Sereno which was limited to large single-family lots. In 1960 the City of Monte Sereno fought against adjacent
Appendix A Fair Housing Assessment A-7
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 unincorporated Country land being re-zoned for multi-family use. In 1963 the City of Monte Sereno pushed back against a high school that was proposed to be built within the City, stating that the high school would result in “students from outside our City numbering three or four times the number from inside. The resulting diversion from country living, the loss of City tax revenue and the large increase in City expenditures for street construction and maintenance and police protection of the school and against rowdyism would be unfair and unjustified.”8 The City of Monte Sereno was incorporated on the premise of maintaining a single-family residential town. As a result, the General Plan and Zoning Ordinances maintained the single-family residential zoning, and for the most part, large lot sizes. This has resulted in poverty rates that are very low for all residents and White and Asian residents experience no poverty according to census data. Low poverty is a factor of a housing market that favors high income households. Monte Sereno has a lower share of very low-income residents than other jurisdictions in the Bay area as a whole, a lower share of low-income residents, a lower share of moderate-income residents, and a higher share of above moderate-income residents.
Low poverty is a factor of a housing market that favors high income households. Monte Sereno has a lower share of very low-income residents than other jurisdictions in the Bay area as a whole, a lower share of low-income residents, a lower share of moderate-income residents, and a higher share of above moderate-income residents.
The City of Monte Sereno has developed the following programs to respond to this fair housing issue and contributing factors:
Program J: Special Needs Housing
Program K: Seniors and Accessory Dwelling Units
Program L: Shared Housing Options
Priority #2
Fair housing issue: The predominance of single-family detached housing in the city has led to an exclusive and high-priced ownership housing market relative to Santa Clara County and the Bay area overall.
Contributing Factors: Lack of diverse housing stock; large lot configuration; predominance of single-family zoning.
The City’s original and subsequent updates to the General Plan and Zoning Ordinances have emphasized large lot, low-density, single-family development with densities ranging from one dwelling unit to five dwelling units per acre.
Historically, this type of development contributed to segregation patterns, including in Monte Sereno, due to, among other factors, the higher purchase costs that accompany large lots and single-8 Inglis, Thomas. City of Monte Sereno Battle of Peaceful Mountain. 1982.
Appendix A Fair Housing Assessment A-8
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 family homes. Financing for single-family properties favored educated higher income earners and as a result purchasing property in the City remained out of reach for many lower income households and lead to the demographics seen in the City today.
The City of Monte Sereno has developed the following policies to respond to this fair housing issue and contributing factors:
Program B: Site Development Permits
Program C: Facilitate Parcel Maps
Program D: Flag Lots
Program E: Review SB9 Regulations
Program G: Development Incentives
Program I: Accessory Dwelling Units
Program Q: Implement Multi-Family Housing Re-Zoning
Priority #3
Fair housing issue: Lack of sufficient infrastructure to support diverse housing stock.
Contributing Factors: Original subdivision of land catered to large single-family lots; lack of City resources.
Monte Sereno’s infrastructure pattern, including roads, sewers and drainage, catered to low-density single-family development and was designed and sized to service the low-density rural character. The infrastructure reinforced limited services and was not designed to support higher density, more affordable types of housing units.
The City of Monte Sereno has developed the following programs to respond to this fair housing issue and contributing factors:
Program T: Housing Maintenance
Program V: Energy Conservation
Program W: Water Conservation
Summary
In Monte Sereno, access to opportunity is strong across racial and ethnic groups, for family types, and for persons with disabilities. Disparity in housing choice—particularly for low- and moderate-income households living in other parts of the county and in the region—is the main challenge in the city. Although Monte Sereno has done better than surrounding communities in permitting
Appendix A Fair Housing Assessment A-9
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 affordable housing units, the city’s lack of housing production overall and zoning and land use regulations that limit the development of diverse (and more affordable) housing types has prevented low- and moderate-income households in the county and broader region from residing in the city.
Since 2015, the majority of new housing permits have been for Accessory Dwelling Units. ADUs accommodate growth that has largely been priced for the lowest income households, with 43 units permitted for very low-income households—representing 57 percent of all permits. Another 30 permits were issued for housing for above moderate-income households. This is vastly different than nearby Los Gatos, which permitted 134 units, of which none served low or very low-income households and 59 percent served above moderate income households.
Rental housing is more attainable than ownership housing, due to the high proportion of rental units that rent from $2,300 to $5,600/month for a two-bedroom unit (Zillow dated 6/21/2023).
A.2 Fair Housing Enforcement and Outreach Capacity
This section discusses fair housing legal cases and inquiries, fair housing protections and enforcement, and outreach capacity.
Fair Housing Legal Cases and Inquiries
California fair housing law extends beyond the protections in the Federal Fair Housing Act (FHA).
In addition to the FHA protected classes—race, color, ancestry/national origin, religion, disability, sex, and familial status—California law offers protections for age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, military or veteran status, and source of income (including federal housing assistance vouchers).
The California Department of Fair Employment in Housing (DFEH) was established in 1980 and is now the largest civil rights agency in the United States. According to their website, the DFEH’s mission is, “to protect the people of California from unlawful discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations (businesses) and from hate violence and human trafficking in accordance with the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Unruh Civil Rights Act, Disabled Persons Act, and Ralph Civil Rights Act”.
9 DFEH receives, evaluates, and investigates fair housing complaints. DFEH plays a particularly significant role in investigating fair housing complaints against protected classes that are not included in federal legislation and therefore not investigated by HUD. DFEH’s website provides detailed instructions for filing a complaint, the complaint process, appealing a decision, and other frequently asked questions.10 Fair housing complaints can also be submitted to HUD for investigation.
9 https://www.dfeh.ca.gov/aboutdfeh/
10 https://www.dfeh.ca.gov/complaintprocess/
Appendix A Fair Housing Assessment A-10
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Additionally, Santa Clara County has a number of local resource and enforcement organizations:
Project Sentinel: Assists with housing discrimination, mortgage foreclosures, rental issues, and more;
Housing and Economic Rights Advocates (HERA): Legal and advocacy organization for vulnerable Californians facing discrimination and economic abuses related to households; Bay area Legal Aid: Broad advocacy focused on helping low-income Bay area residents lead stable lives, including housing stability; and
Law Foundation of Silicon Valley: Legal advocacy for social change with a focus on finding stable homes for low-income residents.
Appendix A Fair Housing Assessment A-11
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 From 2013 to 2021, 391 fair housing complaints in Santa Clara County were filed with the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) or Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (FHANC). Most of the county’s valid complaints cited disability status as the bias. Of these complaints, 69 percent were considered valid and proceeded to actionable responses.
Accounting for population differences, Palo Alto had the highest total inquiries per 1000 people (0.37) while Monte Sereno had no complaints at all.
Nationally, the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) reported a “negligible” decrease in the number of complaints filed between 2019 and 2020. The primary bases for complaints nationally of disability (55 percent) were represented in Marin County at a much higher rate (77 percent). Familial status represented 8 percent of complaints nationally, similar to the 7 percent of cases in the county.
NFHA identifies three significant trends in 2020 that are relevant for this AFFH:
First, fair lending cases referred to the Department of Justice from federal banking regulators has been declining, indicating that state and local government entities may want to play a larger role in examining fair lending barriers to homeownership; Second, NFHA identified a significant increase in the number of complaints of harassment— 1,071 complaints in 2020 compared to 761 in 2019; and
Finally, NFHA found that 73 percent of all fair housing complaints in 2020 were processed by private fair housing organizations, rather than state, local, and federal government agencies— reinforcing the need for local, active fair housing organizations and increased funding for such organizations.11
Figure A-2 on the following page summarizes fair housing complaints and inquires.
Outreach and Capacity
Monte Sereno City maintains a website with information about local fair housing ordinances with live links to Project Sentinel under the “Who can assist me with fair housing” FAQ. The site does not reference any other entities for assistance. Additional links to the Department of Consumer Affairs, HUD, Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, and the Bay area Legal Aid would improve the efficacy of the site. The website should also more transparently describe how the steps residents should take if they feel they have faced discrimination and are seeking information about filing complaints (e.g., link to HUD’s and State of California fair housing pages). 11 https://nationalfairhousing.org/2021/07/29/annual-fair-housing-report-shows-increase-in-housing-harassment/
Appendix A Fair Housing Assessment A-12
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Figure A-2 Fair Housing Complaints and Inquiries
SOURCE: United States Census Bureau
In 2011, Monte Sereno revised their municipal code (10.23) to provide reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities. The city also created Program H-5.2, instructing the city to provide fair housing laws and resources at the Planning Department counter and the city’s website.
Compliance with state law. Monte Sereno is compliant with the follow state laws that promote fair and affordable housing. The city has not been alleged or found in violation of the following:
Housing Accountability Act (Gov. Code. Section 65589.5) requiring adoption of a Housing Element and compliance with RHNA allocations;
Fair Housing Com plaints and Inquiries
H U D F a ir H o u s in g C o m pla in t s , by B a s is , S a n t a C la ra C o u n t y , 20 17-20 21 Number Percent
Disability 243 77%
Race 25 8%
Familial Status 14 4%
National Origin 42 13%
Religion 28 9%
Sex 21 7%
Total cases 315
H C D F a ir H o u s in g In qu iries (20 13- 20 21) a n d H U D F a ir H o u s in g C o m pla in t s (20 17- 20 21) 29 26
15 12
11 11
8 7
6 1
0 0
0 San Jose
Santa Clara
Sunnyvale
Palo Alto
Gilroy
Morgan Hill
Campbell
Mountain View
Los Gatos
Cupertino
Milpitas
Saratoga
Los Altos
Los Altos Hills
Monte Sereno
HCD Fair Housing Inquiries
224
40
Appendix A Fair Housing Assessment A-13
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 No Net Loss Law (Gov. Code Section 65863) requiring that adequate sites be maintained to accommodate unmet RHNA allocations;
Least Cost Zoning Law (Gov. Code. Section 65913.1);
Excessive Subdivision Standards Law (Gov. Code. Section 65913.2); and Limits on Growth Controls Law (Gov. Code. Section 65589.5).
Housing Specific Policies Enacted Locally
Monte Sereno identified the following local policies that contribute to the regulatory environment for affordable housing development in the city.
According to the California Department of Housing and Community Development AFFH Data Viewer (HCD data viewer), Monte Sereno does not have any public housing buildings. Additionally, none of the census tracts in the city show data for Housing Choice Voucher usage.
Monte Sereno’s solution to adding affordable housing has been on the development of secondary/accessory dwelling units on single family properties. The city has amended its accessory dwelling unit program to allow larger units, uncovered parking, fee waivers for rent-restricted units, and an amnesty program. The City has established a multifamily zoning district and the City allows residential care homes, supportive housing and transitional housing by right in all residential zoning districts.
A.3 Integration and Segregation
This section discusses integration and segregation of the population by protected classes including race and ethnicity, disability status, familial status, and income status. The section concludes with an analysis of racially and ethnically concentrated areas of poverty and affluence.
Integration and Segregation
“Integration generally means a condition in which there is not a high concentration of persons of a particular race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, or having a disability or a particular type of disability when compared to a broader geographic area.
Segregation generally means a condition in which there is a high concentration of persons of a particular race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, or having a disability or a type of disability in a particular geographic area when compared to a broader geographic area.” SOURCE: California Department of Housing and Community Development Guidance, 2021, page 31.
Race and Ethnicity
Monte Sereno differs from the county and Bay area overall for its relatively high proportion of residents identifying as Non-Hispanic White (71 percent in Monte Sereno compared to 32 percent in Santa Clara County) and small Hispanic population (7 percent in Monte Sereno and 25 percent in
Appendix A Fair Housing Assessment A-14
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 the county). Monte Sereno’s proportion of Black/African American and Other and mixed-race residents is similar to the county, in that it is less than 4 percent for both groups.12 Monte Sereno’s residents have grown more racially diverse since 2000 largely due to the declining share of Non-Hispanic Whites (12 percentage point drop).
The median home value is more than $2 million and there are few rental options, therefore access to housing in Monte Sereno requires extremely high income and ability to access homeownership.
Communities of color in Santa Clara County have historically been excluded from homeownership.
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) determined loan eligibility based off maps that designated neighborhoods on a scale from desirable to hazardous. Homes in hazardous areas noted the number of low-income and non-white people and were not approved for mortgages. This system, known as redlining, effectively excluded individuals of color from accessing homeownership through government loans. Even when people of color were able to secure financing, restrictive covenants and discrimination by real estate agents often prevented them from purchasing homes.
One real estate agent in the 1950s said of the region that it was “not a proper place” for “Negroes, Chinese and other racial minorities.” Emmit Dollarhyde of the Santa Clara NAACP continued to confront similar statements with the emphasis that “Negro and other minority war veterans risked their lives to protect this country from foreign fascism” and deserved to access quality housing and obtain homeownership in the region.13
Geographic Concentrations
HCD maps that show the percent non-White population by census tract show only one area with a non-White population of between 20 percent and 40 percent of residents. All tracts in Monte Sereno are White majority. The neighborhood segregation map shows about one-third of the city—the northwestern portion—as “Mostly White,” parts of the northeast as “Latinx-White,” and the remainder and majority of the city as “Asian-White.” The diversity index is lowest to low throughout the city.
Monte Sereno is similar to immediately surrounding communities in lack of racial and ethnic diversity. Diversity increases in the communities of Sunnyvale, Campbell, and San Jose.
Older residents are less racially diverse than other age groups, with 78 percent of the population older than 65 years identifying as White compared to 75 percent of those aged 18 to 24 and 69 percent of children less than 18 years old. Black/African American, American Indian/Native Alaskan, and Other race/Multiple races each account for an increasing—albeit slight—share of the population but only in age groups under 65 years of age. 12 The share of the population that identifies as American Indian or Alaska Native was zero in 2019. 13 Loewen, James W. (2006) Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism. New York Press.
Appendix A Fair Housing Assessment A-15
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Poverty rates are very low for all residents and White and Asian residents experience no poverty according to census data. The highest poverty rate was 1.4 percent among Hispanic and Other race residents. Low poverty is a factor of a housing market that favors high income households. Monte Sereno has a lower share of very low-income residents than other jurisdictions in the Bay area as a whole, a lower share of low-income residents, a lower share of moderate-income residents, and a higher share of above moderate-income residents.
Dissimilarity and Isolation Indices
The Association of Bay area Governments (ABAG) created a 2021 report on segregation in Monte Sereno, measuring racial and income segregation within the community. This report analyzes two common indices that measure segregation: the isolation index and the dissimilarity index.
The Dissimilarity Index, or DI, is a common tool that measures segregation in a community. The DI is an index that measures the degree to which two distinct groups are evenly distributed across a geographic area. The DI represents the percentage of a group’s population that would have to move for each area in the county to have the same percentage of that group as the county overall.
DI values range from 0 to 100—where 0 is perfect integration and 100 is complete segregation.
Dissimilarity index values between 0 and 39 generally indicate low segregation, values between 40 and 54 generally indicate moderate segregation, and values between 55 and 100 generally indicate a high level of segregation.
The isolation index is interpreted as the probability that a randomly drawn minority resident shares an area with a member of the same minority, it ranges from 0 to 100 and higher values of isolation tend to indicate higher levels of segregation.
The scores below represent the racial dissimilarity index values for Monte Sereno and the Bay area.
Compared to the Bay area overall, Monte Sereno is less segregated, although this is likely a factor of lack of diversity within Monte Sereno than a product of integrated communities. Asian/API vs. White: .052 and .185 (both very low segregation); Black/African American vs. White: .112 and .244 (low segregation); Latinos vs. White: .026 and .207 (low segregation); and People of Color vs. White: .023 and .168 (very low segregation).
The report finds that, in Monte Sereno, White residents are the most segregated compared to other groups, and the most likely to live in neighborhoods where they are unlikely to come into contact with any other racial group.
Appendix A Fair Housing Assessment A-16
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Above moderate-income residents are the most segregated compared to other income groups in Monte Sereno. Very low-income residents have become more segregated between 2010 and 2015.
Overall, since 2010, Monte Sereno’s racial segregation has declined, but the income segregation between moderate income residents and other groups has increased.
Disability Status
The share of the population living with at least one disability is 7 percent in Monte Sereno compared to 8 percent in Santa Clara County.
Geographic Concentrations
Monte Sereno has no Census tracts where the population of persons with disabilities exceeds 8 percent.
Familial Status
Monte Sereno’s households are mostly made up of 3-4 person households (38 percent) and 2-person households (38 percent).
Compared to the county and Bay area overall, Monte Sereno has half the share of 1-person households (10 percent in Monte Sereno compared to 20 percent in the county) and slightly more 5- person households (14 percent v. 12 percent). The Bay area and county are similar in household sizes, while Monte Sereno has larger household sizes.
Married couple households make up the vast majority of Monte Sereno households (85 percent) and most do not have children living at home, either because they do not have children or they are older adults. About 37 percent of all households have at least one child under the age of 18.
Monte Sereno has 1.5 times the share of married couple family households as the county and Bay area and half as many single person households. Monte Sereno also has no “non-family households”—roommates, unrelated persons living together, and one-third the share of single parent households.
Monte Sereno’s married couples overwhelmingly own housing: 96 percent of married couple families in the city own their homes. Renters are more likely to be living in 1- and 2-bedroom units than owners, and owners are more likely to be occupying 3-4- and 5-bedroom units. However, 52 percent of renters in Monte Sereno occupy a 3–4-bedroom housing unit, likely due to the city’s predominance of single family detached homes.
Geographic Concentrations
There are only concentrations of married couple households with and without children in Monte Sereno; no other household type is concentrated.
Appendix A Fair Housing Assessment A-17
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Household Income
Monte Sereno’s households are much higher-income than the county and Bay area overall: 79 percent of Monte Sereno households earn more than 100 percent of the AMI, compared to 55 percent for the county and 52 percent for the Bay area (Figure A-3 below).
Figure A-3 Segregation and Integration
SOURCE: United States Census
Monte Sereno also has fewer households in every other AMI category. Notably, the jobs to household ratio for Monte Sereno is significantly lower than the county or Bay area, indicating the city as a commuter town where higher income residents live but do not work.
Segregation and Integration
P opulation by P rotected Class
City of Monte Sereno Santa Clara County
Race and Ethnicity
American Indian or Alaska Native, NH 0% 0%
Asian / API, NH 19% 37%
Black or African American, NH 2% 2%
White, Non-Hispanic (NH) 71% 32%
Other Race or Multiple Races, NH 2% 4%
Hispanic or Latinx 7% 25%
Disability Status
With a disability 7% 8%
Without a disability 93% 92%
Familial Status
Female-Headed Family Households 3% 10%
Male-headed Family Households 2% 5%
Married-couple Family Households 85% 57%
Other Non-Family Households 0% 8%
Single-person Households 10% 20%
Household Income
0%-30% of AMI 8% 14%
31%-50% of AMI 4% 11%
51%-80% of AMI 7% 11%
81%-100% of AMI 2% 9%
Greater than 100% of AMI 79% 55%
0%
19%
2%
71%
2%
7%
0%
37%
2%
32%
4%
25%
7%
93%
8%
92%
3%
2%
85%
0%
10%
10%
5%
57%
8%
20%
8%
4%
7%
2%
79%
14%
11%
11%
9%
55%
Appendix A Fair Housing Assessment A-18
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Geographic Concentrations
Every block group in Monte Sereno with available data has a median household income of $125,000 and more. The city has no concentrations of low-income households and no areas of concentrated poverty.
Racially or Ethnically Concentrated Areas of Poverty and Affluence Racially Concentrated Area of Poverty or an Ethnically Concentrated Area of Poverty (R/ECAP) and Racially Concentrated Areas of Affluence (RCAAs) represent opposing ends of the segregation spectrum from racially or ethnically segregated areas with high poverty rates to affluent predominantly White neighborhoods. Historically, HUD has paid particular attention to R/ECAPs as a focus of policy and obligations to AFFH. Recent research out of the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs argues for the inclusion of RCAAs to acknowledge current and past policies that created and perpetuate these areas of high opportunity and exclusion.14 It is important to note that R/ECAPs and RCAAs are not areas of focus because of racial and ethnic concentrations alone. This study recognizes that racial and ethnic clusters can be a part of fair housing choice if they occur in a non-discriminatory market. Rather, R/ECAPs are meant to identify areas where residents may have historically faced discrimination and continue to be challenged by limited economic opportunity, and conversely, RCAAs are meant to identify areas of particular advantage and exclusion.
R/ECAPs
HCD and HUD’s definition of a Racially/Ethnically Concentrated Area of Poverty is:
A census tract that has a non-White population of 50 percent or more (majority-minority) or, for non-urban areas, 20 percent, AND a poverty rate of 40 percent or more; OR A census tract that has a non-white population of 50 percent or more (majority-minority) AND the poverty rate is three times the average tract poverty rate for the County, whichever is lower.
SOURCE: California Department of Housing and Community Development Guidance, 2021.
For this study, the poverty threshold used to qualify a tract as an R/ECAP was three times the average census tract poverty rate countywide—or 21.6 percent.
According to HCD, there were 11 census tracts in the county that qualify as R/ECAPs (19.4 percent poverty rate). All were located in San Jose. None of the R/ECAPs were located in Monte Sereno in 2013.
14 Goetz, E. G., Damiano, A., & Williams, R. A. (2019). Racially Concentrated Areas of Affluence: A Preliminary Investigation. Cityscape: A Journal of Policy Development and Research, 21(1), 99–124
Appendix A Fair Housing Assessment A-19
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 RCAAs
An RCAA is a census tract 1) with a percentage of its total White population that is 1.25 times higher than the average percentage of the Council of Governments (COG) region’s White population; and 2) has a median income that is 2 times higher than the COG Area Median Income (AMI). Analysis of RCAAs is intended to help analyze how concentrations of affluent, majority white communities were established. As discussed previously, discriminatory behavior by lenders and real estate agents effectively excluded other races from accessing neighborhoods which today are still largely white and affluent. The story of concentrated poverty in neighborhoods of color cannot be told without the history of active exclusion from those with more political, social, and economic power.
On the following page, Figure A-4 shows areas in the region where there are gaps between the white and non-white populations. Monte Sereno has a sizable gap of more than 50 percent. This means there are at least fifty percent more white people than non-white people. Directly to the west in Saratoga and similarly in the north in Campbell, there is more diversity.
Table A-1 below breaks down the median income and population by race in the City and County.
All races and ethnicities in Monte Sereno are wealthier compared to Santa Clara County, although it should be noted that sample sizes are small. Monte Sereno has much smaller non-white populations compared to the county. High income across all races suggests that this community offers abundent opportunities for all people, as long as they have extremely high income to afford housing costs.
Programs that reduce housing costs will allow more people to access economic opporitunity in Monte Sereno.
Table A-1 Median Income Comparisons, City and County
Race/Ethnicity
Monte Sereno Santa Clara County
Median Income Population Median Income Population
White $250,000+ 2,579 / 74.1% $122,079 857,092 / 44.5%
Hispanic $250,000+ 247 / 7.1% $79,914 490,978 / 25.5%
Asian $250,000+ 647 / 18.6% $148,942 702,881 / 36.5%
Black - 64 / 1.8% $76,200 47,992 / 2.5%
Two or more races $203,750 69 / 2% $112,506 100,143 / 5.2% All Households $250,000+ 3,479 / 100% $124,055 1,972,470 / 100% SOURCE: ACS 2019 5-Year Estimates
Appendix A Fair Housing Assessment A-20
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Figure A-4 Map Showing White Majority Tracts in Monte Sereno SOURCE: California Department of Housing and Community Development AFFH Data Viewer The map below shows that all census tracts in Monte Sereno are designated as an RCAA. Again, this means that 1) its total White population is 1.25 times higher than the average percentage of the COG region’s White population; and 2) has a median income that is 2 times higher than the COG Area Median Income (AMI). Monte Sereno is surrounded by RCAAs except directly to the west in Saratoga. Farther north of Los Gatos, the community of Campbell has pockets that are not RCAAs.
Appendix A Fair Housing Assessment A-21
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Non-RCAAs likely offer more affordable housing options to non-white populations that, as shown in the table above, tend to have less income compared to the white population. It is important to note that there are no recorded properties accepting Housing Choice Vouchers in Monte Sereno according to HCD maps, which limits choices for low-income, non-white voucher users in the region and excludes this population from the city. Figure A-5 shows Monte Sereno outlined among RCAA’s within the region.
Figure A-5 Map Showing RCAA’s According to Census Tract SOURCE: California Department of Housing and Community Development AFFH Data Viewer
Appendix A Fair Housing Assessment A-22
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 A.4 Access to Opportunity
This section discusses disparities in access to opportunity among protected classes including access to quality education, employment, transportation, and environment. The California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (TCAC) in collaboration with HCD developed a series of opportunity maps that help to identify areas of the community with good or poor access to opportunity for residents.
These maps were developed to align funding allocations with the goal of improving outcomes for low-income residents—particularly children.
Access to Opportunity
“Access to opportunity is a concept to approximate place-based characteristics linked to critical life outcomes. Access to opportunity oftentimes means both improving the quality of life for residents of low-income communities, as well as supporting mobility and access to ‘high resource’ neighborhoods. This encompasses education, employment, economic development, safe and decent housing, low rates of violent crime, transportation, and other opportunities, including recreation, food and healthy environment (air, water, safe neighborhood, safety from environmental hazards, social services, and cultural institutions).” SOURCE: California Department of Housing and Community Development Guidance, 2021, page 34.
The opportunity maps highlight areas of highest resource, high resource, moderate resource, moderate resource (rapidly changing), low resource and high segregation and poverty. TCAC provides opportunity maps for access to opportunity in quality education, employment, transportation, and environment. Opportunity scores are presented on a scale from zero to one and the higher the number, the more positive the outcomes.
TCAC’s economic opportunity score is comprised of poverty, adult educational attainment, employment, job proximity, and median home value. All areas of Monte Sereno have high economic opportunity (> 0.75).
Education
TCAC’s education score is based on math proficiency, reading proficiency, high school graduation rates, and the student poverty rate. According to TCAC’s educational opportunity map, every census tract in Monte Sereno scores higher than 0.75—indicating the highest positive educational outcomes. Opportunity scores are presented on a scale from zero to one and the higher the number, the more positive the outcomes.
Monte Sereno is served by the Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District, the Los Gatos Union Elementary School, and the Saratoga Elementary School Districts with Campbell Union elementary and high school districts accounting for a small number of residents. The most complete data, due to halted data collection during the COVID pandemic, was from 2019 and highlights a
97.7 percent graduation rate among all students in the Los Gatos-Saratoga Union high school, about the same as in 2018 (97.1 percent).
Appendix A Fair Housing Assessment A-23
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Every census tract in Monte Sereno scores high on educational outcomes, meaning that all areas of the city provide access to strong educational environments. There is little variance in graduation rates among Monte Sereno high schoolers by race and ethnicity. Asian students graduated at a slightly higher rate (98.4 percent) than Hispanic and White students’ graduation rates (95.3 percent and 96.5 percent, respectively). African American students did not have enough students enrolled to accurately measure (less than 11 total). The lowest graduation rate is among students with a disability at 88.1 percent-- still very high.
When broken down by race/ethnicity, Asian students graduated at a slightly higher rate (98.4 percent) than other students, although graduation race are very high across races and ethnicities:
Hispanic and White students’ graduation rates were 95.3 percent and 96.5 percent, respectively.
African American students did not have enough students enrolled to accurately measure (less than 11 total).
The lowest graduation rate was among students with a disability at 88.1 percent--still very high.
The Los Gatos Union Elementary served 2,710 students in 2021, down from 3,024 from 2019, the last year with complete data. White students accounted for 64 percent of all students, with Asians (18.8 percent) and Hispanics (8.7 percent) students accounting for the majority of the remainder.
The school included 4.2 percent socioeconomically disadvantaged students, one homeless student, and 7.2 percent students with a disability.
Saratoga Elementary had 1,657 students in 2021 and 1,765 in 2019. Even though Los Gatos and Saratoga feed into the same high school district, Saratoga is significantly different demographically than Los Gatos elementary school. At Saratoga, 57 percent of students are Asian with White students accounting for 25.7 percent, Hispanics another 6.1 percent. Saratoga Elementary served a student population with 10.8 percent disabilities, 2.4 percent socioeconomic disadvantages, and no homeless students.
San Mateo Union enrollment by race and ethnicity is similar to the countywide distribution.
However, there is a higher proportion of Asian students in San Mateo Union (23 percent compared to 17 percent countywide), a smaller proportion of Filipino students (5 percent compared to 8 percent countywide) and Hispanic students (32 percent compared to 38 percent countywide).
Employment
There is a disconnect between the jobs servicing Monte Sereno and the type of jobs residents of the city perform. The Professional & Managerial Services industry dominates the employment of residents, while jobs located in Monte Sereno are dominated by the Health & Educational Services.
The Professional & Managerial Services industry overtook the Health & Educational Services industry for job holders in Monte Sereno in 2007 and has been the dominant employment industry of Monte Sereno residents since 2011.
Appendix A Fair Housing Assessment A-24
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 For those working in Monte Sereno, there has been a slow but steady shift toward Arts, Recreation & Other Services with a steady supply of Health & Education Services jobs.
Monte Sereno is a city of out-commuters. Notably, the city had 449 jobs in 2018 but 1,855 job holders. The City’s jobs to household ratio is 0.37, meaning there are fewer than one job for each household. This compares to 1.5 for the Bay area and 1.75 for Santa Clara County.
Monte Sereno has more higher wage workers than jobs. This is also true for low- and moderate-income wage workers but less so, indicating that jobs in Monte Sereno are more likely to be low and moderate wage.
HUD’s job proximity index shows that Monte Sereno offers a moderate proximity to jobs. On a scale from zero to 100 where 100 is the closest proximity to jobs half of the block groups in the city score 60-80 (high proximity) while the other half scores 40-60 (moderate proximity.
Those who work jobs with lower wages in Monte Sereno, such as maintenance, construction, and caretaking of homes in the town, likely have to commute in from other areas given the high housing prices.
Environment
TCAC’s opportunity areas environmental scores are based on the CalEnviroScreen 3.0 indicators, which identify areas disproportionately vulnerable to pollution sources such as ozone, PM2.5, diesel PM, pesticides, toxic release, traffic, cleanup sites, groundwater threats, hazardous waste, impaired water bodies, and solid waste sites.
Monte Sereno scores low to moderate on positive environmental outcomes, with the lowest environmental scores in the southwest. The city also scores low on California Healthy Places Index (HPI) developed by the Public Health Alliance of Southern California (PHASC). It is not clear which is more reflective of the area’s environmental health, but Monte Sereno scores poorly due to groundwater contamination and traffic pollution.
The HPI includes 25 community characteristics in eight categories including economic, social, education, transportation, neighborhood, housing, clean environment, and healthcare.15 Disparities in Access to Opportunity
Because Monte Sereno offers high opportunity neighborhoods throughout, all residents live in highly resourced areas, regardless of race or ethnicity. Los Gatos and other surrounding areas are also entirely high opportunity cities. Nearby, San Jose is a low resource community likely with many communities that are unable to access housing in Monte Sereno and therefore are unable to access high opportunity neighborhoods in the surrounding area. 15 https://healthyplacesindex.org/about/
Appendix A Fair Housing Assessment A-25
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 The Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) provided by the Center for Disease Control (CDC)—ranks census tracts based on their ability to respond to a disaster—includes four themes of socioeconomic status, household composition, race or ethnicity, and housing and transportation. Monte Sereno scores well on the SVI; no neighborhoods are ill equipped to respond to disasters.
Monte Sereno does not have any disadvantaged communities as defined under SB 535 as “the top 25 percent scoring areas from CalEnviroScreen along with other areas with high amounts of pollution and low populations.”16
Disparities Specific to the Population Living with a Disability Seven percent of the population in Monte Sereno is living with at least one disability, compared to 8 percent in the county. The most common disabilities in the city are ambulatory (3.9 percent), self-care (3.6 percent), and independent living difficulty (3.0 percent). For the population 65 and over, the share of the population with ambulatory difficulties increases to 11.4 percent while hearing difficulty becomes a top three issue at 9.4 percent. There were no unemployed persons with a disability in Monte Sereno.
Geographic Concentrations
There are no concentrations of persons with disabilities in Monte Sereno.
Disability
“Disability types include hearing difficulty, vision difficulty, cognitive difficulty, ambulatory difficulty, self-care difficulty, and independent living difficulty.” SOURCE: California Department of Housing and Community Development Guidance, 2021, page 36.
Figure A-6 on the following page summarizes access to housing opportunities.
A.5 Disproportionate Housing Needs
This section discusses disparate housing needs for protected classes including cost burden and severe cost burden, overcrowding, substandard housing conditions, homelessness, displacement, and other considerations.
16 https://oehha.ca.gov/calenviroscreen/sb535
Appendix A Fair Housing Assessment A-26
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Disproportionate Housing Needs
“Disproportionate housing needs generally refers to a condition in which there are significant disparities in the proportion of members of a protected class experiencing a category of housing need when compared to the proportion of members of any other relevant groups, or the total population experiencing that category of housing need in the applicable geographic area. For purposes of this definition, categories of housing need are based on such factors as cost burden and severe cost burden, overcrowding, homelessness, and substandard housing conditions.”
SOURCE: California Department of Housing and Community Development Guidance, 2021, page 39.
Figure A-6 Access to Opportunity
SOURCE: United States Census
Access to Opportunity
Regional Access
City of Monte Sereno Santa Clara County
Jobs to Household Ratio 0.37 1.71
Unemployment Rate 0% 0%
LEP Population 0% 9%
Share of P opulation by R ace in R esource Areas in the City of Monte Sereno Em ploym ent by Disability Status
F or those in the la bor
0%
17% 74% 2% 6%
Moderate Resource Area
High/Highest Resource Area
American Indian or Alaska Native, NH Asian / API, NH
Black or African American, NH White, Non-Hispanic (NH)
Other Race or Multiple Races, NH Hispanic or Latinx
96%
100%
No Disability 4%
With A Disability
City of Monte Sereno
96%
90%
4%
10%
No Disability
With A Disability
Employed Unemployed
Santa Clara County
Appendix A Fair Housing Assessment A-27
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Housing Needs
Population growth trends in Monte Sereno have followed county and Bay area trends; however, the rate of growth has been significantly lower.
Since 2015, the housing that has received permits to accommodate growth has largely been priced for the lowest income households, with 43 units permitted for very low-income households— representing 57 percent of all permits. Another 30 permits were issued for housing for above moderate-income households. This is vastly different than nearby Los Gatos, which permitted 134 units, of which none served low or very low-income households and 59 percent served above moderate income households. This is likely why Monte Sereno continues to maintain highest resource status, high median incomes, and high home values.
Most of the city’s homes were built between 1940 and 1979. After this period, housing production slowed significantly, with the production halving every 10 years. Since 2010, only 57 housing units have been built.
Monte Sereno offers a little to no variety of housing types with 96 percent single family detached units. The next highest category of housing unit was single family attached (3 percent); there are no mobile/manufactured homes in Monte Sereno.17
Owning a home in Monte Sereno requires very high incomes and ownership housing costs much more than in the county or Bay area overall: 97 percent of owner-occupied homes in the city are valued over $1 million with 84 percent valued above $2 million. This compares to 48 percent for the county and 35 percent for the Bay area overall of homes over $1 million. According to the Zillow Home Value Index, Monte Sereno is almost three times more expensive than the county and the Bay area.
Renting is more attainable in Monte Sereno, with 37 percent of units renting below $1,500 per month. This is on par with the Bay area overall (35 percent renting below $1,500/month) and better than county (22 percent). Monte Sereno has a large share of luxury rentals (42 percent rent for $3,000 and more) and few moderately priced rentals. It is worth noting, however, that only 6.5% of units are renter-occupied, therefore there are few options for renters despite its reasonable price point.
Cost Burden and Severe Cost Burden
Cost burden, which occurs when households spend more than 30 percent of their gross income on housing costs, is about the same as the county and Bay area. 17 Housing Needs Data Report: Monte Sereno, ABAG/MTC Staff and Baird + Driskell Community Planning, 2021.
Appendix A Fair Housing Assessment A-28
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Cost burden does vary by tenure (renter or ownership) in Monte Sereno in two distinct ways.
Renters are more likely to be extremely cost burdened (23 percent v. 12 percent for owners), although owners are more likely to be burdened overall (32 percent of owners experience cost burden compared to 23 percent for renters). The relatively low level of burden among renters is related to the large share of rental units that are affordable.
Cost burden also varies by income, with 90 percent of extremely low-income households severely burdened. The majority of households with incomes of less than 80 percent experience cost burden.
There are disparities in housing cost burden in Monte Sereno by race and ethnicity. Seventy-three percent of Hispanic households are cost burdened, with 59 percent using over half of their income on housing costs. This compares to 33 percent of non-Hispanic White households and 30 percent of Asian households. There were no data for Black or African American or Native American/Alaskan residents.
Geographic Concentrations
There is a higher concentrations of cost burdened renters in the city south of Highway 9, but the concentrations of burdened owners apply uniformly to the entire city.
Overcrowding
The vast majority of households (99 percent) in Monte Sereno are not overcrowded—indicated by more than one occupant per room. Owner households are more likely to be overcrowded, with 1.5 percent of households with more than one occupant per room, compared to 0 percent of renter households.
Only White households experience overcrowding (1.8 percent). The city’s wealthiest households (100 percent+ AMI) are the only households with overcrowding.
Geographic Concentrations
There are no geographic concentrations of overcrowded households in Monte Sereno.
Substandard Housing
Data on housing condition are very limited, with the most consistent data available across jurisdictions found in the American Community Survey (ACS)—which captures units in substandard condition as self-reported in Census surveys. No renter households in Monte Sereno report living in substandard housing. About 1 percent of owner households are lacking complete kitchens and 1 percent lack complete plumbing. The City has not received code enforcement complaints regarding substandard housing. Although substandard housing is not an issue in Monte Sereno, Program T (Housing Maintenance) has been included to ensure that the housing stock in the city continues to be maintained.
Appendix A Fair Housing Assessment A-29
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Homelessness
In 2019, 9,706 people were experiencing homelessness in the county during the One-Day Count (Point-In-Time), with only 18 percent of people in emergency or transitional shelter while the remaining 82 percent were unsheltered. The majority of unsheltered people experiencing homelessness were in households without children. The majority of people in transitional housing were in households with children.
People who identify as American Indian or Alaskan Native (8 percent of the homeless population compared to less than 1 percent of the total population), Black (19 percent, 2 percent), White (44 percent, 32 percent), and Hispanic (43 percent, 25 percent) are overrepresented in the homeless population compared to their share of the general population. People struggling with chronic substance abuse (35 percent), severe mental illness (42 percent), and post-traumatic stress disorder (33 percent) represented a substantial share of the homeless population in 2019. Losing a job or being evicted was reported to be the causal events that led to homelessness in 44 percent of incidents of homelessness.18
Displacement
According to the Sensitive Communities map of vulnerable communities, none of the city’s census tracts are vulnerable to displacement.
Displacement Sensitive Communities
“According to the Urban Displacement Project, communities were designated sensitive if they met the following criteria:
They currently have populations vulnerable to displacement in the event of increased redevelopment and drastic shifts in housing cost. Vulnerability is defined as:
Share of very low-income residents is above 20 percent, 2017 AND
The tract meets two of the following criteria:
• Share of renters is above 40 percent, 2017
• Share of people of color is above 50 percent, 2017
• Share of very low-income households (50 percent AMI or below) that are severely rent burdened households is above the county median, 2017
• They or areas in close proximity have been experiencing displacement pressures.
Displacement pressure is defined as:
Percent change in rent above county median for rent increases, 2012-2017 OR
Difference between tract median rent and median rent for surrounding tracts above median for all tracts in county (rent gap), 2017”
SOURCE: https://www.sensitivecommunities.org/.
18 According to Santa Clara County’s Homeless Census & Survey (2019); 2019 SCC Homeless Census and Survey Exec Summary.pdf (sccgov.org).
Appendix A Fair Housing Assessment A-30
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Access to Mortgage Loans
In many communities, disparities by race and ethnicity are prevalent for home mortgage applications, particularly in denial rates. This is less true in Monte Sereno. Mortgage denial rates are relatively modest—ranging from 17 percent to 20 percent--with the exception of Hispanic applicants (33 percent). It should be no that only 5 applicants from Hispanic applicants were received out of 162 in 2018 and 2019.
Figure A-7 summarizes information on disproportionate housing needs. It is likely that the extremely high housing prices deter applicants of color from seeking homes in Monte Sereno, therefore the low denial rates are less a reflection of equity than they are exclusion from the expensive market.
A.6 Conclusion
To address the fair housing issues as identified and prioritized in the analysis above, the following Programs are intended to reverse patterns of exclusivity and segregation:
C (Facilitate Parcel Maps);
D (Flag Lots);
E (Review SB9 Regulations);
G (Development Incentives);
H (Employee Housing);
I (Accessory Dwelling Units);
J (Special Needs Households);
K (Seniors and Accessory Dwelling Units);
L (Shared Housing Options);
M (Countywide Cooperation);
N (Reasonable Accommodation);
O (Fair Housing);
P (Low Barrier Navigation Center;
Q (Implement Multi-Family Housing Re-zoning);
R (Participate in Regional Homelessness Program;
S (Allow Single Room Occupancy Units in all Zoning Districts); T (Housing Maintenance);
Appendix A Fair Housing Assessment A-31
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 U (Infrastructure Capital Improvements);
V (Energy Conservation);
W (Water Conservation); and
X (Fair Housing Enforcement) are included in this Housing Element.
Figure A-7 Disproportionate Housing Needs
SOURCE: United States Census
Disproportionate Housing Needs
C o s t B u rden , C it y o f M o n t e S eren o , 20 19 Area Median Income (AMI)
O v erc ro w din g , C it y o f M o n t e S eren o , 20 19 Occupants per Room by Tenure
S u bs t a n da rd H o u s in g , C it y o f M o n t e S eren o , 20 19 Incomplete Kitchen and Plumbing Facilities by Tenure
H o m eles s n es s , S a n t a C la ra C o u n t y , 20 19 Race and Ethnicity
Share of Homeless
Population
Share of Overall
Population
American Indian or Alaska Native 8% 1%
Asian / API 5% 37%
Black or African American 19% 2%
White 44% 44%
Other Race or Multiple Races 24% 16%
Displacem ent, 2020
Assisted Units at High or Very
High Risk of Displacement City of Monte Sereno Santa Clara County Number of Units 0 417
% of Assisted Units 0% 8%
10%
36%
48%
83%
75%
41%
5%
17%
22%
90%
23%
48%
3%
0%-30% of AMI
31%-50% of AMI
51%-80% of AMI
81%-100% of AMI
100%+ of AMI
0%-30% of Income Used for Housing 30%-50% of Income Used for Housing 50%+ of Income Used for Housing
0.9%
0.9%
0.0%
0.0%
Kitchen
Plumbing
Owner Renter
0.0%
0.0%
1.0%
0.5%
1.0 to 1.5 Occupants per Room
More than 1.5 Occupants per Room
Owner Renter Series3
1.5+ Occupants
per Room
1-1.5 Occupants
per Room
Appendix A Fair Housing Assessment A-32
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 This side intentionally left blank.
Housing Needs Assessment
APPENDIX
B
Table of Contents
APPENDIX B HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENT....................................................................B-1 B.1 Population, Employment, and Household Characteristics............................................. B-1 B.2 Housing Stock Characteristics...........................................................................................B-15 B.3 Special Needs Groups.........................................................................................................B-27 Tables
Table B-1 Population Growth Trends......................................................................................B-1 Table B-2 Housing Permits by Income Group .....................................................................B-18 Table B-3 Assisted Units at Risk of Conversion ...................................................................B-18 Table B-4 Overview of Special Needs Groups......................................................................B-28 Table B-5 Extremely Low-Income Households, Monte Sereno, 2015-2019....................B-30 Table B-6 Disability Status by Age, Monte Sereno, 2020 ....................................................B-38 Table B-7 Population with Developmental Disabilities by Age..........................................B-39 Table B-8 Population with Developmental Disabilities by Residence...............................B-40 Table B-9 Homeless Population by Jurisdiction, 2017-2022...............................................B-40 Table B-10 Students in Local Public Schools Experiencing Homelessness........................B-44 Table B-11 Homeless Facilities Near Monte Sereno ..............................................................B-45 Table B-12 Migrant Worker Student Population ....................................................................B-45 Figures
Figure B-1 Population Growth Trends......................................................................................B-2 Figure B-2 Population by Age, 2000-2019.................................................................................B-3 Figure B-3 Population Age by Race............................................................................................B-3 Figure B-4 Population by Race, 2000-2019 ...............................................................................B-4 Figure B-5 Jobs in a Jurisdiction .................................................................................................B-5 Figure B-6 Workers by Earnings, by Jurisdiction as Place of Work and Place of Residence ....................................................................................................................B-6
Figure B-7 Jobs-Worker Ratios, By Wage Group.....................................................................B-7 Figure B-8 Jobs-Household Ratio...............................................................................................B-7 Figure B-9 Resident Employment by Industry .........................................................................B-8 Figure B-10 Households by Household Income Level..............................................................B-9 Figure B-11 Household Income Level by Tenure ....................................................................B-10 Figure B-12 Poverty Status by Race............................................................................................B-11 Figure B-13 Housing Tenure .......................................................................................................B-11 Figure B-14 Housing Tenure by Race of Householder ...........................................................B-12 Figure B-15 Housing Tenure by Age..........................................................................................B-13 Figure B-16 Housing Tenure by Housing Type........................................................................B-13 Figure B-17 Households by Displacement Risk and Tenure ..................................................B-14 Figure B-18 Housing Type Trends .............................................................................................B-15 Figure B-19 Housing Units by Year Structure Built.................................................................B-16 Figure B-20 Vacant Units by Type..............................................................................................B-17 Figure B-21 Substandard Housing Issues..................................................................................B-19 Figure B-22 Home Values of Owner-Occupied Units ............................................................B-20 Figure B-23 Zillow Home Value Index......................................................................................B-20 Figure B-24 Contract Rents for Renter-Occupied Units.........................................................B-21 Figure B-25 Median Contract Rent.............................................................................................B-22 Figure B-26 Cost Burden by Tenure...........................................................................................B-23 Figure B-27 Cost Burden by Income Level ...............................................................................B-23 Figure B-28 Cost Burden by Race...............................................................................................B-24 Figure B-29 Cost Burden by Household Size............................................................................B-25 Figure B-30 Cost-Burdened Senior Households by Income Level........................................B-26 Figure B-31 Overcrowding by Tenure and Severity.................................................................B-26 Figure B-32 Overcrowding by Income Level and Severity .....................................................B-27 Figure B-33 Overcrowding by Race............................................................................................B-28
Figure B-34 Household Size by Tenure .....................................................................................B-32 Figure B-35 Housing Units by Number of Bedrooms ............................................................B-32 Figure B-36 Single-Parent Households by Jurisdiction, 2019.................................................B-33 Figure B-37 Household Type ......................................................................................................B-33 Figure B-38 Trends in Single-Parent Households, Monte Sereno, 2010-2019.....................B-34 Figure B-39 Female-Headed Households by Poverty Status..................................................B-35 Figure B-40 Senior Population by Jurisdiction..........................................................................B-36 Figure B-41 Senior Households by Income and Tenure .........................................................B-36 Figure B-42 Population by Disability Status by Jurisdiction, 2020.........................................B-37 Figure B-43 Trends in Persons with Disabilities, Monte Sereno, 2012-2020.......................B-38 Figure B-44 Homelessness by Household Type and Shelter Status, Santa Clara County ..B-41 Figure B-45 Racial Group Share of General and Homeless Populations, Santa Clara County.......................................................................................................................B-42 Figure B-46 Latinx Share of General and Homeless Populations, Santa Clara County......B-42 Figure B-47 Characteristics for the Population Experiencing Homelessness, Santa Clara County.............................................................................................................B-43 Figure B-48 Farm Operations and Farm Labor by County, Santa Clara County ................B-46 Figure B-49 Population with Limited English Proficiency......................................................B-47
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-1
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Appendix B
Housing Needs Assessment
B.1 Population, Employment, and Household Characteristics Population
The Bay Area is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in the nation and has seen a steady increase in population since 1990, except for a dip during the Great Recession. Many cities in the region have experienced significant growth in jobs and population. While these trends have led to a corresponding increase in demand for housing across the region, the regional production of housing has largely not kept pace with job and population growth.
In 2020, the population of Monte Sereno was estimated to be 3,622. The population of Monte Sereno makes up approximately 0.2 percent of Santa Clara County.1 In Monte Sereno, roughly 4.9 percent of its population moved during the past year, a number 8.5 percentage points smaller than the regional rate of 13.4 percent. Table B-1 shows population growth trends for Monte Sereno, Santa Clara County, and the Bay Area as a whole.
Table B-1 Population Growth Trends
Geography 1990 2000 2010 2020
Monte Sereno 3,287 3,483 3,341 3,411
Santa Clara County 1,497,577 1,682,585 1,781,642 1,936,274 Bay Area 6,023,577 6,783,760 7,150,739 N/A
SOURCE: bayareacensus.gov, census.gov
From 1990 to 2000, the population of Monte Sereno increased by 6.0 percent, while the population of Santa Clara County increased by 12.3 percent over the same time period. In the most recent decade, Monte Sereno’s population increased by 2.1 percent compared with an 8.7 percent increase for Santa Clara County. Figure B-1 shows a graph of population growth trends in percentages. 1 To compare the rate of growth across various geographic scales, Figure B-1 shows population for the jurisdiction, county, and region indexed to the population in the year 1990. This means that the data points represent the population growth (i.e., percent change) in each of these geographies relative to their populations in 1990.
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-2
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Figure B-1 Population Growth Trends
SOURCE: California Department of Finance, E-5 series Note: The data shown on the graph represents population for the jurisdiction, county, and region indexed to the population in the first year shown. The data points represent the relative population growth in each of these geographies relative to their populations in that year. For some jurisdictions, a break may appear at the end of each decade (1999, 2009) as estimates are compared to census counts. DOF uses the decennial census to benchmark subsequent population estimates. For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table POPEMP-01.
Age
The distribution of age groups in a city shapes what types of housing the community may need in the near future. An increase in the older population may mean there is a developing need for more senior housing options, while higher numbers of children and young families can point to the need for more family housing options and related services. There has also been a move by many to age-in-place or downsize to stay within their communities, which can mean more multifamily and accessible units are also needed.
In Monte Sereno, the median age in 2000 was approximately 42 years. By 2019, the median age increased to approximately 48 years. More specifically, the population of those under 15 has increased since 2010, while the 65-and-over population has increased. Figure B-2 shows population by age for the years 2000, 2010, and 2019.
Looking at the senior and youth population by race can add an additional layer of understanding, as families and seniors of color are even more likely to experience challenges finding affordable housing. People of color2 make up 21.7 percent of seniors and 31.4 percent of youth under 18.
Figure B-3 shows population age by race.
2 Here, all non-white racial groups are counted.
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-3
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Figure B-2 Population by Age, 2000-2019
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 SF1, Table P12; U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2010 SF1, Table P12; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Data (2015-2019), Table B01001. For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table POPEMP-04.
NOTE: Universe: Total population
Figure B-3 Population Age by Race
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Data (2015-2019), Table B01001(A-G). For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table SEN-02.
NOTE: Universe: Total population. In the sources for this table, the Census Bureau does not disaggregate racial groups by Hispanic/Latinx ethnicity, and an overlapping category of Hispanic / non-Hispanic groups has not been shown to avoid double counting in the stacked bar chart.
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-4
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Race and Ethnicity
Understanding the racial makeup of a city and region is important for designing and implementing effective housing policies and programs. These patterns are shaped by both market factors and government actions, such as exclusionary zoning, discriminatory lending practices and displacement that has occurred over time and continues to impact communities of color today3.
Since 2000, the percentage of residents in Monte Sereno identifying as White, Non-Hispanic has decreased by 12.6 percentage points, with the 2019 population standing at 2,456. By the same token the percentage of residents of all other races and ethnicities has increased. In absolute terms, the Asian/API, Non-Hispanic population increased the most while the White, Non-Hispanic population decreased the most. Figure B-4 shows population by race for 2000, 2010, and 2019.
Figure B-4 Population by Race, 2000-2019
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000, Table P004; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Data (2015-2019), Table B03002. For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table POPEMP-02.
NOTE: Universe: Total population. Data for 2019 represents 2015-2019 ACS estimates. The Census Bureau defines Hispanic/Latinx ethnicity separate from racial categories. For the purposes of this graph, the “Hispanic or Latinx” racial/ethnic group represents those who identify as having Hispanic/Latinx ethnicity and may also be members of any racial group. All other racial categories on this graph represent those who identify with that racial category and do not identify with Hispanic/Latinx ethnicity.
Employment Trends
Balance of Jobs and Workers
A city houses employed residents who either work in the community where they live or work elsewhere in the region. Conversely, a city may have job sites that employ residents from the same city, but more often employ workers commuting from outside of it. Smaller cities typically will have more employed residents than jobs there and export workers, while larger cities tend to have a 3 See, for example, Rothstein, R. (2017). The color of law: a forgotten history of how our government segregated America. New York, NY & London, UK: Liveright Publishing.
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-5
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 surplus of jobs and import workers. To some extent the regional transportation system is set up for this flow of workers to the region’s core job centers. At the same time, as the housing affordability crisis has illustrated, local imbalances may be severe, where local jobs and worker populations are out of sync at a sub-regional scale.
One measure of this is the relationship between workers and jobs. A city with a surplus of workers “exports” workers to other parts of the region, while a city with a surplus of jobs must conversely “import” them. Between 2002 and 2018, the number of jobs in Monte Sereno increased by 29.0 percent. Figure B-5 shows jobs in Monte Sereno from 2002 through 2018.
Figure B-5 Jobs in a Jurisdiction
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics, Workplace Area Characteristics (WAC) files, 2002-2018. For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table POPEMP-11.
NOTE: Universe: Jobs from unemployment insurance-covered employment (private, state and local government) plus United States Office of Personnel Management-sourced Federal employment. The data is tabulated by place of work, regardless of where a worker lives. The source data is provided at the census block level. These are crosswalked to jurisdictions and summarized.
The next figure shows the balance when comparing jobs to workers, broken down by different wage groups, offering additional insight into local dynamics. A community may offer employment for relatively low-income workers, but have relatively few housing options for those workers, or conversely, it may house residents who are low-wage workers, but offer few employment opportunities for them. Such relationships may cast extra light on potentially pent-up demand for housing in particular price categories. A relative surplus of jobs relative to residents in a given wage category suggests the need to import those workers, while conversely, surpluses of workers in a wage group relative to jobs means the community will export those workers to other jurisdictions.
Such flows are not inherently bad, though over time, sub-regional imbalances may appear.
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-6
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Monte Sereno has more low-wage residents than low-wage jobs (where low-wage refers to jobs paying less than $25,000). At the other end of the wage spectrum, the city has more high-wage residents than high-wage jobs (where high-wage refers to jobs paying more than $75,000).4 Figure B-6 shows workers by earners and place of work and residence.
Figure B-6 Workers by Earnings, by Jurisdiction as Place of Work and Place of Residence SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Data 2015-2019, B08119, B08519. For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table POPEMP-10.
NOTE: Universe: Workers 16 years and over with earnings Figure B-7 shows the ratio of jobs to workers, by wage group for Monte Sereno. A value of one (1.00) means that a city has the same number of jobs in a wage group as it has resident workers, in principle, a balance. Values below one (1.00) indicate a jurisdiction that exports workers for jobs in a given wage group.
Such balances between jobs and workers may directly influence the housing demand in a community. New jobs may draw new residents, and when there is high demand for housing relative to supply, many workers may be unable to afford to live where they work, particularly where job growth has been in relatively lower wage jobs. This dynamic not only means many workers will need to prepare for long commutes and time spent on the road, but in the aggregate, it contributes to traffic congestion and time lost for all road users.
If there are more jobs than employed residents, it means a city is relatively jobs-rich, typically also with a high jobs-to-household ratio. Thus, bringing housing into the measure, the jobs-household ratio in Monte Sereno has increased from 0.29 in 2002, to 0.37 jobs per household in 2018. In short, Monte Sereno is a net exporter of workers. Figure B-8 shows Monte Sereno’s jobs-household ratio. 4 The source table is top-coded at $75,000, precluding more fine-grained analysis at the higher end of the wage spectrum.
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-7
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Figure B-7 Jobs-Worker Ratios, By Wage Group
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics, Workplace Area Characteristics (WAC) files (Jobs); Residence Area Characteristics (RAC) files (Employed Residents), 2010-2018. For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table POPEMP-14.
NOTE: Universe: Jobs in a jurisdiction from unemployment insurance-covered employment (private, state and local government) plus United States Office of Personnel Management-sourced Federal employment. The ratio compares job counts by wage group from two tabulations of LEHD data: Counts by place of work relative to counts by place of residence. See text for details.
Figure B-8 Jobs-Household Ratio
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics, Workplace Area Characteristics (WAC) files (Jobs), 2002-2018; California Department of Finance, E-5 (Households). For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table POPEMP-13.
NOTE: Universe: Jobs in a jurisdiction from unemployment insurance-covered employment (private, state and local government) plus United States Office of Personnel Management-sourced Federal employment; households in a jurisdiction. The data is tabulated by place of work, regardless of where a worker lives. The source data is provided at the census block level. These are crosswalked to jurisdictions and summarized. The ratio compares place of work wage and salary jobs with households, or occupied housing units. A similar measure is the ratio of jobs to housing units. However, this jobs-household ratio serves to compare the number of jobs in a jurisdiction to the number of housing units that are actually occupied. The difference between a jurisdiction’s jobs-housing ratio and jobs-household ratio will be most pronounced in jurisdictions with high vacancy rates, a high rate of units used for seasonal use, or a high rate of units used as short-term rentals.
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-8
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Sector Composition
In terms of sectoral composition, the largest industry in which Monte Sereno residents work is Financial & Professional Services, and the largest sector in which Santa Clara residents work is Health & Educational Services. For the Bay Area as a whole, the Health & Educational Services industry employs the most workers. Figure B-9 shows resident employment by industry.
Figure B-9 Resident Employment by Industry
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Data (2015-2019), Table C24030. For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table POPEMP-06.
NOTE: Universe: Civilian employed population age 16 years and over. The data displayed shows the industries in which jurisdiction residents work, regardless of the location where those residents are employed (whether within the jurisdiction or not). Categories are derived from the following source tables: Agriculture & Natural Resources: C24030_003E, C24030_030E; Construction: C24030_006E, C24030_033E; Manufacturing, Wholesale & Transportation:
C24030_007E, C24030_034E, C24030_008E, C24030_035E, C24030_010E, C24030_037E; Retail: C24030_009E, C24030_036E; Information:
C24030_013E, C24030_040E; Financial & Professional Services: C24030_014E, C24030_041E, C24030_017E, C24030_044E; Health & Educational Services: C24030_021E, C24030_024E, C24030_048E, C24030_051E; Other: C24030_027E, C24030_054E, C24030_028E, C24030_055E Household Characteristics
Household Income
Despite the economic and job growth experienced throughout the region since 1990, the income gap has continued to widen. California is one of the most economically unequal states in the nation, and the Bay Area has the highest income inequality between high- and low-income households in the state.5 In Monte Sereno, 79.3 percent of households make more than 100 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI)6, compared to 8.2 percent making less than 30 percent of AMI, which is considered extremely low-income.
5 Bohn, S.et al. 2020. Income Inequality and Economic Opportunity in California. Public Policy Institute of California. 6 Income groups are based on HUD calculations for Area Median Income (AMI). HUD calculates the AMI for different metropolitan areas, and the nine county Bay Area includes the following metropolitan areas: Napa Metro Area (Napa County), Oakland-Fremont Metro Area (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties), San Francisco Metro Area (Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo Counties), San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara Metro Area (Santa Clara County), Santa Rosa
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-9
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Regionally, more than half of all households make more than 100 percent AMI, while 14.7 percent make less than 30 percent AMI. In Santa Clara County, 30 percent AMI is the equivalent to the annual income of $39,900 for a family of four. Many households with multiple wage earners, including food service workers, full-time students, teachers, farmworkers and healthcare professionals, can fall into lower AMI categories due to relatively stagnant wages in many industries.
Figure B-10 shows households by income level.
Figure B-10 Households by Household Income Level
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) ACS tabulation, 201B-2017 release. For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table ELI-01.
NOTE: Universe: Occupied housing units. Income groups are based on HUD calculations for Area Median Income (AMI). HUD calculates the AMI for different metropolitan areas, and the nine county Bay Area includes the following metropolitan areas: Napa Metro Area (Napa County), Oakland-Fremont Metro Area (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties), San Francisco Metro Area (Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo Counties), San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara Metro Area (Santa Clara County), Santa Rosa Metro Area (Sonoma County), and Vallejo-Fairfield Metro Area (Solano County). The AMI levels in this chart are based on the HUD metro area where this jurisdiction is located. The data that is reported for the Bay Area is not based on a regional AMI, but instead refers to the regional total of households in an income group relative to the AMI for the county where that household is located. Local jurisdictions are required to provide an estimate for their projected extremely low-income households (0-30% AMI) in their Housing Elements. HCD’s official Housing Element guidance notes that jurisdictions can use their RHNA for very low-income households (those making 0-50% AMI) to calculate their projected extremely low-income households. As Bay Area jurisdictions have not yet received their final RHNA numbers, this document does not contain the required data point of projected extremely low-income households. The report portion of the housing data needs packet contains more specific guidance for how local staff can calculate an estimate for projected extremely low-income households once jurisdictions receive their 6th cycle RHNA numbers.
Throughout the region, there are disparities between the incomes of homeowners and renters.
Typically, the number of low-income renters greatly outpaces the amount of housing available that is affordable for these households.
In Monte Sereno, the largest proportion of both homeowners and renters falls in the Greater than 100 Percent of AMI group. Figure B-11 shows household income by tenure.
Metro Area (Sonoma County), and Vallejo-Fairfield Metro Area (Solano County). The AMI levels in this chart are based on the HUD metro area where this jurisdiction is located. Households making between 80 and 120 percent of the AMI are moderate-income, those making 50 to 80 percent are low-income, those making 30 to 50 percent are very low-income, and those making less than 30 percent are extremely low-income. This is then adjusted for household size.
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-10
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Figure B-11 Household Income Level by Tenure
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) ACS tabulation, 201B-2017 release. For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table POPEMP-21.
NOTE: Universe: Occupied housing units. Income groups are based on HUD calculations for Area Median Income (AMI). HUD calculates the AMI for different metropolitan areas, and the nine county Bay Area includes the following metropolitan areas: Napa Metro Area (Napa County), Oakland-Fremont Metro Area (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties), San Francisco Metro Area (Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo Counties), San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara Metro Area (Santa Clara County), Santa Rosa Metro Area (Sonoma County), and Vallejo-Fairfield Metro Area (Solano County). The AMI levels in this chart are based on the HUD metro area where this jurisdiction is located.
Currently, people of color are more likely to experience poverty and financial instability as a result of federal and local housing policies that have historically excluded them from the same opportunities extended to white residents.7 These economic disparities also leave communities of color at higher risk for housing insecurity, displacement or homelessness.
In Monte Sereno, Asian/API (Hispanic and Non-Hispanic) residents experience the highest rates of poverty, followed by White (Hispanic and Non-Hispanic) residents. Figure B-12 shows poverty status by race.
Tenure
The number of residents who own their homes compared to those who rent their homes can help identify the level of housing insecurity (i.e., the ability for individuals to stay in their homes) in a city and region. Generally, renters may be displaced more quickly if prices increase.
In Monte Sereno there are a total of 1,128 housing units, and fewer residents rent than own their homes: 6.5 percent versus 93.5 percent. By comparison, 43.6 percent of households in Santa Clara County are renters, while 43.9 percent of Bay Area households rent their homes. Figure B-13 on the following page shows housing tenure for Monte Sereno, Santa Clara County, and the Bay Area as a whole.
7 Moore, E., Montojo, N. and Mauri, N., 2019. Roots, Race & Place: A History of Racially Exclusionary Housing the San Francisco Bay Area. Hass Institute.
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-11
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Figure B-12 Poverty Status by Race
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Data (2015-2019), Table B17001(A-I). For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table ELI-03.
NOTE: Universe: Population for whom poverty status is determined. The Census Bureau uses a federally defined poverty threshold that remains constant throughout the country and does not correspond to Area Median Income. For this table, the Census Bureau does not disaggregate racial groups by Hispanic/Latinx ethnicity. However, data for the white racial group is also reported for white householders who are not Hispanic/Latinx. Since residents who identify as white and Hispanic/Latinx may have very different experiences within the housing market and the economy from those who identify as white and non-Hispanic/Latinx, data for multiple white sub-groups are reported here. The racial/ethnic groups reported in this table are not all mutually exclusive.
Therefore, the data should not be summed as the sum exceeds the population for whom poverty status is determined for this jurisdiction. However, all groups labelled “Hispanic and Non-Hispanic” are mutually exclusive, and the sum of the data for these groups is equivalent to the population for whom poverty status is determined.
Figure B-13 Housing Tenure
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Data (2015-2019), Table B25003. For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table POPEMP-16.
NOTE: Universe: Occupied housing units
Homeownership rates often vary considerably across race/ethnicity in the Bay Area and throughout the country. These disparities not only reflect differences in income and wealth, but also stem from federal, state, and local policies that limited access to homeownership for communities of color
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-12
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 while facilitating homebuying for white residents. While many of these policies, such as redlining, have been formally disbanded, the impacts of race-based policy are still evident across Bay Area communities.8
In Monte Sereno, all non-White households owned their homes, while homeownership rates were
91.8 percent for White households. Notably, recent changes to state law require local jurisdictions to examine these dynamics and other fair housing issues when updating their Housing Elements.
Figure B-14 on the following page shows housing tenure by race of householder.
Figure B-14 Housing Tenure by Race of Householder
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Data (2015-2019), Table B25003(A-I). For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table POPEMP-20.
NOTE: Universe: Occupied housing units. For this table, the Census Bureau does not disaggregate racial groups by Hispanic/Latinx ethnicity. However, data for the white racial group is also reported for white householders who are not Hispanic/Latinx. Since residents who identify as white and Hispanic/Latinx may have very different experiences within the housing market and the economy from those who identify as white and non-Hispanic/Latinx, data for multiple white sub-groups are reported here. The racial/ethnic groups reported in this table are not all mutually exclusive. Therefore, the data should not be summed as the sum exceeds the total number of occupied housing units for this jurisdiction. However, all groups labelled “Hispanic and Non-Hispanic” are mutually exclusive, and the sum of the data for these groups is equivalent to the total number of occupied housing units.
The age of residents who rent or own their home can also signal the housing challenges a community is experiencing. Younger households tend to rent and may struggle to buy a first home in the Bay Area due to high housing costs. At the same time, senior homeowners seeking to downsize may have limited options in an expensive housing market.
In Monte Sereno, 60.0 percent of householders between the ages of 25 and 34 are renters, while 11.1 percent of householders over 85 are renters. Figure B-15 on the following page shows housing tenure by age.
8 See, for example, Rothstein, R. (2017). The Color Of Law: A Forgotten History Of How Our Government Segregated America.
New York, NY & London, UK: Liveright Publishing.
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-13
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Figure B-15 Housing Tenure by Age
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Data (2015-2019), Table B25007. For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table POPEMP-18.
NOTE: Universe: Occupied housing units
In many cities, homeownership rates for households in single-family homes are substantially higher than the rates for households in multi-family housing. In Monte Sereno, 93.4 percent of households in detached single-family homes are homeowners. Figure B-16 shows housing tenure by housing type.
Figure B-16 Housing Tenure by Housing Type
SOURCE: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Data (2015-2019), Table B25032. For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table POPEMP-22.
NOTE: Universe: Occupied housing units
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-14
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Displacement
Because of increasing housing prices, displacement is a major concern in the Bay Area.
Displacement has the most severe impacts on low- and moderate-income residents. When individuals or families are forced to leave their homes and communities, they also lose their support network.
The University of California, Berkeley has mapped all neighborhoods in the Bay area, identifying their risk for gentrification. They find that in Monte Sereno, no households live in neighborhoods that are susceptible to or experiencing displacement and none live in neighborhoods at risk of or undergoing gentrification. Equally important, some neighborhoods in the Bay Area do not have housing appropriate for a broad section of the workforce. UC Berkeley estimates that all households in Monte Sereno live in neighborhoods where low-income households are likely to be excluded due to prohibitive housing costs.9 Figure B-17 shows household displacement risk and tenure.
Figure B-17 Households by Displacement Risk and Tenure
SOURCE: Urban Displacement Project for classification, American Community Survey 5-Year Data (2015-2019), Table B25003 for tenure. For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table POPEMP-25.
NOTE: Universe: Households. Displacement data is available at the census tract level. Staff aggregated tracts up to jurisdiction level using census 2010 population weights, assigning a tract to jurisdiction in proportion to block level population weights. Total household count may differ slightly from counts in other tables sourced from jurisdiction level sources. Categories are combined as follows for simplicity: At risk of or Experiencing Exclusion: At Risk of Becoming Exclusive; Becoming Exclusive; Stable/Advanced Exclusive At risk of or Experiencing Gentrification: At Risk of Gentrification; Early/Ongoing Gentrification; Advanced Gentrification Stable Moderate/Mixed Income: Stable Moderate/Mixed Income Susceptible to or Experiencing Displacement: Low-Income/Susceptible to Displacement; Ongoing Displacement Other: High Student Population; Unavailable or Unreliable Data 9 More information about this gentrification and displacement data is available at the Urban Displacement Project’s webpage: https://www.urbandisplacement.org/. Specifically, one can learn more about the different gentrification/displacement typologies shown in Figure 18 at this link:
https://www.urbandisplacement.org/sites/default/files/typology_sheet_2018_0.png. Additionally, one can view maps that show which typologies correspond to which parts of a jurisdiction here: https://www.urbandisplacement.org/san-francisco/sf-bay-area-gentrification-and-displacement
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-15
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 B.2 Housing Stock Characteristics
Housing Types, Year Built, Vacancy, and Permits
In recent years, most housing produced in the region and across the state consisted of single-family homes and larger multi-unit buildings. However, some households are increasingly interested in “missing middle housing,” including duplexes, triplexes, townhomes, cottage clusters and accessory dwelling units. These housing types may open up more options across incomes and tenure, from young households seeking homeownership options to seniors looking to downsize and age-in-place.
The housing stock of Monte Sereno in 2020 was made up of 95.6 percent Single-Family Homes:
Detached, 2.7 percent Single-Family Homes: Attached, 0.3 percent Multifamily Housing: Two to Four Units, and 1.4 percent Multifamily Housing: Five-Plus Units. There were no Mobile Homes in Monte Sereno. In Monte Sereno, the housing type that experienced the most growth between 2010 and 2020 was Single-Family Home: Detached. Figure B-18 shows housing type trends.
Figure B-18 Housing Type Trends
SOURCE: California Department of Finance, E-5 series. For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table HSG-01.
NOTE: Universe: Housing units
Production has not kept up with housing demand for several decades in the Bay Area, as the total number of units built and available has not yet come close to meeting the population and job growth experienced throughout the region. In Monte Sereno, the largest proportion of the housing stock was built 1940 to 1959, with 363 units constructed during this period. Since 2015, 9.2 percent of the current housing stock was built, which is 122 units. Figure B-19 shows housing units by the year built.
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-16
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Figure B-19 Housing Units by Year Structure Built
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Data (2015-2019), Table B25034.
NOTE: Universe: Housing units
Throughout the Bay Area, vacancies make up 2.6 percent of the total housing units, with homes listed for rent; units used for recreational or occasional use, and units not otherwise classified (other vacant) making up the majority of vacancies. The Census Bureau classifies a unit as vacant if no one is occupying it when census interviewers are conducting the American Community Survey or Decennial Census. Vacant units classified as “for recreational or occasional use” are those that are held for short-term periods of use throughout the year. Accordingly, vacation rentals and short-term rentals like Airbnb are likely to fall in this category. The Census Bureau classifies units as “other vacant” if they are vacant due to foreclosure, personal/family reasons, legal proceedings, repairs/renovations, abandonment, preparation for being rented or sold, or vacant for an extended absence for reasons such as a work assignment, military duty, or incarceration.10 In a region with a thriving economy and housing market like the Bay Area, units being renovated/repaired and prepared for rental or sale are likely to represent a large portion of the “other vacant” category.
Additionally, the need for seismic retrofitting in older housing stock could also influence the proportion of “other vacant” units in some jurisdictions.11 Of the total 1,245 housing units in Monte Sereno in 2022, there were 117 vacant units (9.4 percent).
Of the vacant units, the most common type of vacancy was For Rent (57.3 percent). 12 Figure B-20
shows vacant units by type.
10 For more information, see pages 3 through 6 of this list of definitions prepared by the Census Bureau:
https://www.census.gov/housing/hvs/definitions.pdf.
11 See Dow, P. (2018). Unpacking the Growth in San Francisco’s Vacant Housing Stock: Client Report for the San Francisco Planning Department. University of California, Berkeley. 12 The vacancy rates by tenure are for a smaller universe than the total vacancy rate first reported, which in principle includes the full stock (9.4%). The vacancy by tenure counts are rates relative to the rental stock (occupied and vacant) and ownership stock (occupied and vacant), but exclude a are significant number of vacancy categories, including the numerically significant other vacant.
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-17
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Figure B-20 Vacant Units by Type
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Data (2015-2019), Table B25004.
NOTE: Universe: Vacant housing units
Assisted Housing Developments At-Risk of Conversion
While there is an immense need to produce new affordable housing units, ensuring that the existing affordable housing stock remains affordable is equally important. Additionally, it is typically faster and less expensive to preserve currently affordable units that are at risk of converting to market-rate than it is to build new affordable housing.
Between 2015 and 2022, 139 housing units were issued permits in Monte Sereno.13 Of these, 41.7 percent were for very low-income housing, 7.2 percent were for low- and moderate-income housing, and 51.1 percent were for above moderate-income housing. Table B-2 shows housing permits issued by the City of Monte Sereno by income group.
The data below comes from the California Housing Partnership’s Preservation Database, the state’s most comprehensive source of information on subsidized affordable housing at risk of losing its affordable status and converting to market-rate housing. According to the database, there were no assisted units in Monte Sereno in 2020. Table B-3 summarizes assisted units at risk in Monte Sereno, Santa Clara County, and the Bay Area as a whole.
13 Source: HCD APR Dashboard (https://www.hcd.ca.gov/apr-data-dashboard-and-downloads) Page 10, as of August 3, 2022
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-18
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Table B-2 Housing Permits by Income Group
Income Group Permits Percent
Very Low-Income Permits 58 41.7%
Low-Income Permits 9 6.5%
Moderate-Income Permits 1 0.7%
Above Moderate-Income Permits 71 51.1%
Total 139 100.0%
SOURCE: California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), 5th Cycle Annual Progress Report Permit Summary (2020). This table is included in the Data Packet Workbook as Table HSG-11.
NOTE: Universe: Housing permits issued between 2015 and 2022. Notes: HCD uses the following definitions for the four income categories: Very Low Income:
units affordable to households making less than 50% of the Area Median Income for the county in which the jurisdiction is located. Low Income: units affordable to households making between 50% and 80% of the Area Median Income for the county in which the jurisdiction is located. Moderate Income:
units affordable to households making between 80% and 120% of the Area Median Income for the county in which the jurisdiction is located. Above Moderate Income: units affordable to households making above 120% of the Area Median Income for the county in which the jurisdiction is located.
Table B-3 Assisted Units at Risk of Conversion
Income Monte Sereno Santa Clara County Bay Area
Low 0 28,001 110,177
Moderate 0 1,471 3,375
High 0 422 1,854
Very High 0 270 1,053
Total Assisted Units in Database 0 30,164 116,459
SOURCE: California Housing Partnership, Preservation Database (2020). This table is included in the Data Packet Workbook as Table RISK-01.
NOTE: Universe: HUD, Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), USDA, and CalHFA projects. Subsidized or assisted developments that do not have one of the aforementioned financing sources may not be included. While California Housing Partnership’s Preservation Database is the state’s most comprehensive source of information on subsidized affordable housing at risk of losing its affordable status and converting to market-rate housing, this database does not include all deed-restricted affordable units in the state. Consequently, there may be at-risk assisted units in a jurisdiction that are not captured in this data table. Per HCD guidance, local jurisdictions must also list the specific affordable housing developments at-risk of converting to market rate uses. This document provides aggregate numbers of at-risk units for each jurisdiction, but local planning staff should contact Danielle Mazzella with the California Housing Partnership at [email protected] to obtain a list of affordable properties that fall under this designation. California Housing Partnership uses the following categories for assisted housing developments in its database: Very-High Risk: affordable homes that are at-risk of converting to market rate within the next year that do not have a known overlapping subsidy that would extend affordability and are not owned by a large/stable non-profit, mission-driven developer. High Risk: affordable homes that are at-risk of converting to market rate in the next 1-5 years that do not have a known overlapping subsidy that would extend affordability and are not owned by a large/stable non-profit, mission-driven developer. Moderate Risk: affordable homes that are at-risk of converting to market rate in the next 5-10 years that do not have a known overlapping subsidy that would extend affordability and are not owned by a large/stable non-profit, mission-driven developer. Low Risk: affordable homes that are at-risk of converting to market rate in 10+ years and/or are owned by a large/stable non-profit, mission-driven developer.
Substandard Housing
Housing costs in the region are among the highest in the country, which could result in households, particularly renters, needing to live in substandard conditions in order to afford housing. Generally, there is limited data on the extent of substandard housing issues in a community. However, the Census Bureau data included in the graph below gives a sense of some of the substandard conditions that may be present in Monte Sereno.
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-19
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 None of the renters in Monte Sereno reported lacking a kitchen or plumbing, compared to 0.9 percent of owners who lacked a kitchen and 0.9 percent of owners who lacked plumbing. Figure B-21 shows substandard housing issues in Monte Sereno.
Figure B-21 Substandard Housing Issues
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Data (2015-2019), Table B25053, Table B25043, Table B25049. For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table HSG-06.
NOTE: Universe: Occupied housing units. Per HCD guidance, this data should be supplemented by local estimates of units needing to be rehabilitated or replaced based on recent windshield surveys, local building department data, knowledgeable builders/developers in the community, or nonprofit housing developers or organizations.
Home and Rent Values
Home prices reflect a complex mix of supply and demand factors, including an area’s demographic profile, labor market, prevailing wages and job outlook, coupled with land and construction costs. In the Bay Area, the costs of housing have long been among the highest in the nation.
The typical home value in Monte Sereno was estimated at $3,974,465by January 2023, per data from Zillow. The largest proportion of homes were valued between $2M+. By comparison, the typical home value is $1,290,970 in Santa Clara County and $1,077,230 the Bay Area, with the largest share of units valued $1M to $1.5M (county) and $500k to $750k (region). Figure B-22 shows home values for owner-occupied housing units in Monte Sereno, Santa Clara County, and the Bay Area as a whole.
No Renters
No Renters
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-20
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Figure B-22 Home Values of Owner-Occupied Units
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Data (2015-2019), Table B25075. For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table HSG-07.
NOTE: Universe: Owner-occupied units
The region’s home values have increased steadily since 2000, besides a decrease during the Great Recession. The rise in home prices has been especially steep since 2012, with the median home value in the Bay Area nearly doubling during this time. Since 2001, the typical home value has increased 117.5 percent in Monte Sereno from $1,537,510 to $3,344,480. This change is considerably greater than the change in Santa Clara County and for the region as a whole. Figure B-23 shows the Zillow Home Value Index for Monte Sereno, Santa Clara County, and the Bay Area as a whole.
Figure B-23 Zillow Home Value Index
SOURCE: Zillow, Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI). For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table HSG-08.
NOTE: Universe: Owner-occupied housing units. Zillow describes the ZHVI as a smoothed, seasonally adjusted measure of the typical home value and market changes across a given region and housing type. The ZHVI reflects the typical value for homes in the 35th to 65th percentile range. The ZHVI includes all owner-occupied housing units, including both single-family homes and condominiums. More information on the ZHVI is available from Zillow. The regional estimate is a household-weighted average of county-level ZHVI files, where household counts are yearly estimates from DOF’s E-5 series For unincorporated areas, the value is a population weighted average of unincorporated communities in the county matched to census-designated population counts.
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-21
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Similar to home values, rents have also increased dramatically across the Bay Area in recent years.
Typical rents in Monte Sereno and the surrounding area were estimated between $2,350 and $6,750 in January 2023, per data from Zillow. Many renters have been priced out, evicted or displaced, particularly communities of color. Residents finding themselves in one of these situations may have had to choose between commuting long distances to their jobs and schools or moving out of the region, and sometimes, out of the state.
Based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survery (2015-2019). in Monte Sereno, the largest proportion of rental units rented in the Rent $3000 or More category, totaling 41.7 percent, followed by 36.7 percent of units renting in the Rent $1000-$1500 category. Looking beyond the city, the largest share of units is in the Rent $2000-$2500 category (county) compared to the Rent $1500- $2000 category for the region as a whole. Figure B-24 shows contract rents for renter-occupied units in Monte Sereno, Santa Clara County, and the Bay Area as a whole.
Figure B-24 Contract Rents for Renter-Occupied Units
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Data (2015-2019), Table B25056. For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table HSG-09.
NOTE: Universe: Renter-occupied housing units paying cash rent Since 2009, the median rent has increased by 45.5 percent in Monte Sereno, from $1,870 to $2,720 per month. In Santa Clara County, the median rent has increased 39.6 percent, from $1,540 to $2,150. The median rent in the region has increased significantly during this time from $1,200 to $1,850, a 54.2 percent increase.14 Figure B-25 shows median contract rent in Monte Sereno and Santa Clara County.
14 While the data on home values shown in Figure B-23 comes from Zillow, Zillow does not have data on rent prices available for most Bay Area jurisdictions. To have a more comprehensive dataset on rental data for the region, the rent
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-22
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Figure B-25 Median Contract Rent
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Data releases, starting with 2005-2009 through 2015-2019, B25058, B25056 (for unincorporated areas). County and regional counts are weighted averages of jurisdiction median using B25003 rental unit counts from the relevant year. For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table HSG-10.
NOTE: Universe: Renter-occupied housing units paying cash rent. For unincorporated areas, median is calculated using distribution in B25056.
Overpayment and Overcrowding
A household is considered “cost-burdened” if it spends more than 30 percent of its monthly income on housing costs, while those who spend more than 50 percent of their income on housing costs are considered “severely cost-burdened.” Low-income residents are the most impacted by high housing costs and experience the highest rates of cost burden. Spending such large portions of their income on housing puts low-income households at higher risk of displacement, eviction, or homelessness.
When looking at the cost burden across tenure in Monte Sereno, 19.2 percent of renters are severely cost-burdened (i.e., spend 50 percent or more of their income on housing), while 11.6 percent of owners are severely cost-burdened. Figure B-26 shows cost burden by tenure.
When one looks at both renters and owners together in Monte Sereno, 12.1 percent of households spend 50 percent or more of their income on housing. However, these rates vary greatly across income categories. In Monte Sereno, 90.4 percent of households making less than 30 percent of AMI spend the majority of their income on housing, while only 3.0 percent of residents making more than 100 percent of AMI spend the majority of their income on housing. Figure B-27 shows cost burden by income level.
data in this document comes from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, which may not fully reflect current rents. Local jurisdiction staff may want to supplement the data on rents with local realtor data or other sources for rent data that are more current than Census Bureau data.
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-23
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Figure B-26 Cost Burden by Tenure
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Data (2015-2019), Table B25070, B25091. For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table OVER-06.
NOTE: Universe: Occupied housing units. Cost burden is the ratio of housing costs to household income. For renters, housing cost is gross rent (contract rent plus utilities). For owners, housing cost is “select monthly owner costs”, which includes mortgage payment, utilities, association fees, insurance, and real estate taxes. HUD defines cost-burdened households as those whose monthly housing costs exceed 30% of monthly income, while severely cost-burdened households are those whose monthly housing costs exceed 50% of monthly income.
Figure B-27 Cost Burden by Income Level
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) ACS tabulation, 201B-2017 release. For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table OVER-05.
NOTE: Universe: Occupied housing units. Cost burden is the ratio of housing costs to household income. For renters, housing cost is gross rent (contract rent plus utilities). For owners, housing cost is “select monthly owner costs”, which includes mortgage payment, utilities, association fees, insurance, and real estate taxes. HUD defines cost-burdened households as those whose monthly housing costs exceed 30% of monthly income, while severely cost-burdened households are those whose monthly housing costs exceed 50% of monthly income. Income groups are based on HUD calculations for Area Median Income (AMI). HUD calculates the AMI for different metropolitan areas, and the nine county Bay Area includes the following metropolitan areas: Napa Metro Area (Napa County), Oakland-Fremont Metro Area (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties), San Francisco Metro Area (Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo Counties), San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara Metro Area (Santa Clara County), Santa Rosa Metro Area (Sonoma County), and Vallejo-Fairfield Metro Area (Solano County). The AMI levels in this chart are based on the HUD metro area where this jurisdiction is located.
3.0%
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-24
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Currently, people of color are more likely to experience poverty and financial instability as a result of federal and local housing policies that have historically excluded them from the same opportunities extended to white residents. As a result, they often pay a greater percentage of their income on housing, and in turn, are at a greater risk of housing insecurity.
Hispanic or Latinx residents are the most severely cost burdened with 58.8 percent spending more than 50 percent of their income on housing. Figure B-28 shows cost burden by race.
Figure B-28 Cost Burden by Race
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) ACS tabulation, 201B-2017 release. For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table OVER-08.
NOTE: Universe: Occupied housing units. Cost burden is the ratio of housing costs to household income. For renters, housing cost is gross rent (contract rent plus utilities). For owners, housing cost is “select monthly owner costs”, which includes mortgage payment, utilities, association fees, insurance, and real estate taxes. HUD defines cost-burdened households as those whose monthly housing costs exceed 30% of monthly income, while severely cost-burdened households are those whose monthly housing costs exceed 50% of monthly income. For the purposes of this graph, the “Hispanic or Latinx” racial/ethnic group represents those who identify as having Hispanic/Latinx ethnicity and may also be members of any racial group. All other racial categories on this graph represent those who identify with that racial category and do not identify with Hispanic/Latinx ethnicity.
Large family households often have special housing needs due to a lack of adequately sized affordable housing available. The higher costs required for homes with multiple bedrooms can result in larger families experiencing a disproportionate cost burden than the rest of the population and can increase the risk of housing insecurity.
In Monte Sereno, 47.8 percent of large-family households experience a cost burden of 30 to 50 percent, but none spend more than half of their income on housing. Figure B-29 shows cost burden by household size.
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-25
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Figure B-29 Cost Burden by Household Size
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) ACS tabulation, 201B-2017 release. For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table OVER-09.
NOTE: Universe: Occupied housing units. Cost burden is the ratio of housing costs to household income. For renters, housing cost is gross rent (contract rent plus utilities). For owners, housing cost is “select monthly owner costs”, which includes mortgage payment, utilities, association fees, insurance, and real estate taxes. HUD defines cost-burdened households as those whose monthly housing costs exceed 30% of monthly income, while severely cost-burdened households are those whose monthly housing costs exceed 50% of monthly income.
When cost-burdened seniors are no longer able to make house payments or pay rents, displacement from their homes can occur, putting further stress on the local rental market or forcing residents out of the community they call home. Understanding how seniors might be cost-burdened is of particular importance due to their special housing needs, particularly for low-income seniors.
In Monte Sereno, 81.5 percent of seniors making less than 30 percent of AMI are spending the majority of their income on housing. For seniors making more than 100 percent of AMI, 81.8 percent are not cost-burdened and spend less than 30 percent of their income on housing.
Figure B-30 shows cost-burdened senior households by income level.
Overcrowding occurs when the number of people living in a household is greater than the home was designed to hold. There are several different standards for defining overcrowding, but this report uses the Census Bureau definition, which is more than one occupant per room (not including bathrooms or kitchens). Additionally, the Census Bureau considers units with more than 1.5 occupants per room to be severely overcrowded.
In Monte Sereno, there are no rental households that experience moderate or severe overcrowding.
Ownership households, on the other hand, experience severe overcrowding (i.e., more than 1.5 occupants per room) at a rate of 0.5 percent and moderate overcrowding (i.e., 1.0 to 1.5 occupants per room) at a rate of 1.0 percent. Figure B-31 shows overcrowding by tenure and severity.
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-26
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Figure B-30 Cost-Burdened Senior Households by Income Level SOURCE: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) ACS tabulation, 201B-2017 release. For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table SEN-03.
NOTE: Universe: Senior households. For the purposes of this graph, senior households are those with a householder who is aged 62 or older. Cost burden is the ratio of housing costs to household income. For renters, housing cost is gross rent (contract rent plus utilities). For owners, housing cost is “select monthly owner costs”, which includes mortgage payment, utilities, association fees, insurance, and real estate taxes. HUD defines cost-burdened households as those whose monthly housing costs exceed 30% of monthly income, while severely cost-burdened households are those whose monthly housing costs exceed 50% of monthly income. Income groups are based on HUD calculations for Area Median Income (AMI). HUD calculates the AMI for different metropolitan areas, and the nine county Bay Area includes the following metropolitan areas: Napa Metro Area (Napa County), Oakland-Fremont Metro Area (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties), San Francisco Metro Area (Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo Counties), San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara Metro Area (Santa Clara County), Santa Rosa Metro Area (Sonoma County), and Vallejo-Fairfield Metro Area (Solano County). The AMI levels in this chart are based on the HUD metro area where this jurisdiction is located.
Figure B-31 Overcrowding by Tenure and Severity
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) ACS tabulation, 201B-2017 release. For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table OVER-01.
NOTE: Universe: Occupied housing units. The Census Bureau defines an overcrowded unit as one occupied by 1.01 persons or more per room (excluding bathrooms and kitchens), and units with more than 1.5 persons per room are considered severely overcrowded.
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-27
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Overcrowding often disproportionately impacts low-income households. In Monte Sereno, however, there are neither very low-income households (i.e., below 50 percent Area Median Income), nor above-moderate income (i.e., above 100 percent Area Median Income) that experience severe overcrowding. Figure B-32 shows overcrowding by income level and severity.
Figure B-32 Overcrowding by Income Level and Severity
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) ACS tabulation, 201B-2017 release. For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table OVER-04.
NOTE: Universe: Occupied housing units. The Census Bureau defines an overcrowded unit as one occupied by 1.01 persons or more per room (excluding bathrooms and kitchens), and units with more than 1.5 persons per room are considered severely overcrowded. Income groups are based on HUD calculations for Area Median Income (AMI). HUD calculates the AMI for different metropolitan areas, and the nine county Bay Area includes the following metropolitan areas: Napa Metro Area (Napa County), Oakland-Fremont Metro Area (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties), San Francisco Metro Area (Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo Counties), San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara Metro Area (Santa Clara County), Santa Rosa Metro Area (Sonoma County), and Vallejo-Fairfield Metro Area (Solano County). The AMI levels in this chart are based on the HUD metro area where this jurisdiction is located.
Communities of color are more likely to experience overcrowding similar to how they are more likely to experience poverty, financial instability, and housing insecurity. People of color tend to experience overcrowding at higher rates than White residents. In Monte Sereno, the racial group with the largest overcrowding rate is White, Non-Hispanic. Figure B-33 on the following page shows overcrowding by race.
B.3 Special Needs Groups
“Special Needs” refers to the following categories: large households, female-headed households, seniors, residents with disabilities, the homeless population, farmworkers, etc. Each of these Special Needs groups face unique challenges with respect to the availability of affordable housing. In Chapter 2 of the Housing Element, the City of Monte Sereno proposes to enact various programs that are designed to provide housing that is suitable for the Special Needs groups, and accessibility to much needed services. Some of these programs include, but are not limited to: “Accessory
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-28
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Dwelling Units” (Program I), “Special Needs Households” (Program J), “Seniors and Accessory Dwelling Units” (Program K), “Shared Housing Options” (Program L), “Fair Housing” (Program O), “Low Barrier Navigation Center” (Program P), and “Participate in Regional Homelessness Program” (Program R), etc. For an in-depth analysis of these programs, refer to Chapter 2 of the Housing Element.
Figure B-33 Overcrowding by Race
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Data (2015-2019), Table B25014. For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table OVER-03.
NOTE: Universe: Occupied housing units. The Census Bureau defines an overcrowded unit as one occupied by 1.01 persons or more per room (excluding bathrooms and kitchens), and units with more than 1.5 persons per room are considered severely overcrowded. For this table, the Census Bureau does not disaggregate racial groups by Hispanic/Latinx ethnicity. However, data for the white racial group is also reported for white householders who are not Hispanic/Latinx. Since residents who identify as white and Hispanic/Latinx may have very different experiences within the housing market and the economy from those who identify as white and non-Hispanic/Latinx, data for multiple white sub-groups are reported here. The racial/ethnic groups reported in this table are not all mutually exclusive. Therefore, the data should not be summed as the sum exceeds the total number of occupied housing units for this jurisdiction. However, all groups labelled “Hispanic and Non-Hispanic” are mutually exclusive, and the sum of the data for these groups is equivalent to the total number of occupied housing units.
Table B-4 provides and brief overview of special needs groups in Monte Sereno.
Table B-4 Overview of Special Needs Groups
Special Needs Groups Count Percent of Total
Households
Percent of Total
Population
Total population 3,479 -- 100%
Total occupied units (households) 1,130 100% --
Extremely Low-income (0-30% of HAMFI)
households 85 households 8% --
Total Senior Population 416 persons -- 12%
Senior Owner-Households 407 households 36% --
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-29
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Special Needs Groups Count Percent of Total
Households
Percent of Total
Population
Senior Renter-Households 9 households 0.8% --
Persons with Disabilities 236 persons -- 6.8%
Persons with Developmental
Disabilities1 12 persons -- --
Large Households 158 households 14% --
Female-Headed Households 35 households 3.1% --
Single-Parent, Female Headed
Households with Children (under 18) 0 households -- --
Farmworkers2 4,175 persons -- --
Migrant Farmworkers 216 persons -- --
Seasonal Farmworkers 1,757 persons -- --
Permanent Farmworkers 2,418 persons -- --
Persons Experiencing Homelessness3 0 persons -- --
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimate, 2019; U.S. Census Bureau CHAS 2015-2019 Data; USDA Statistics Services; California Department of Developmental Services, Consumer Count by California ZIP Code and Residence Type (2021).
NOTE: 1. California Department of Developmental Services, Consumer Count by California ZIP Code and Age Group (2020).
2. Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting and mining industry. Farmworker data is taken of the population 16 years and older. Data provided by USDA Statistics Services and taken at the County level (2017).
3. Total results from County of Santa Clara PIT Report (2022).
Extremely Low-Income Households
Extremely low-income (ELI) households are those that earn less than 30 percent of the median family income (MFI). Very low-income households are those that earn 50 percent or less of the MFI. Extremely low-income households typically face a combination of housing challenges related to income status, family size/type, disability status, access to housing opportunities and other household characteristics. Additionally, ELI households are more likely to experience overcrowding, cost burden, and substandard housing conditions. Extremely low-income households are typically minimum-wage workers, disabled persons, farmworkers, and seniors on fixed incomes.
The 2015-2019 Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) data indicates there were approximately 85 ELI households (8 percent of total households) in Monte Sereno (Table B-5). Of the extremely low-income households in Monte Sereno, 23 percent are renter-occupied households and 76 percent are owner-occupied households, or 2 percent and 6 percent of all households, respectively.
When analyzing cost burden by ELI households, approximately 75 ELI households experience severe cost burden (paying more than 50 percent of median gross income on housing) and 79 experience moderate cost burden (paying more than 30 percent of median gross income on housing). Of the ELI households experiencing some form of cost burden, the majority are owner-occupied households. There are no ELI households that experience overcrowding (Figure B-32).
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-30
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Table B-5 Extremely Low-Income Households, Monte Sereno, 2015-2019 Households Number Percentage of Total
Households
Total occupied units (households) 1,130 100%
Total Lower-income (0-80% of HAMFI) households 195 17%
Extremely Low-income (0-30% of HAMFI) households 85 8%
Extremely Low-income renters 20 2%
Extremely Low-income owners 65 6%
Lower-income households paying more than 50% 105 9%
Extremely Low-income paying more than 50% 75 7%
ELI Renter HH severely cost burdened 15 1%
ELI Owner HH severely cost burdened 60 5%
Lower-income households paying more than 30% 139 12%
Extremely Low-income paying more than 30% 79 7%
ELI Renter HH severely cost burdened 15 1%
ELI Owner HH severely cost burdened 64 6%
Lower-income households experiencing 1 of 4 Housing Problems 145 13% Extremely Low-income households experiencing 1 of 4 Housing Problems 80 7% ELI Renter HH experiencing 1 of 4 Housing Problems 15 1% ELI Owner HH experiencing 1 of 4 Housing Problems 65 6% SOURCE: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) 2015-2019.
NOTE: MFI = HUD Median Family Income, this is the median family income calculated by HUD for each jurisdiction, to determine Fair Market Rents (FMRs) and income limits for HUD programs. MFI will not necessary be the same as other calculations of median incomes (such as Census number), due to a series of adjustments that are made.
The four housing problems are: incomplete kitchen facilities, incomplete plumbing facilities, more than 1 person per room, and cost burden greater than 30%. ***Cost burden is the ratio of housing costs to household income. For renters, housing cost is gross rent (contract rent plus utilities). For owners, housing cost is "select monthly owner costs", which includes mortgage payment, utilities, association fees, insurance, and real estate taxes.
The Census Bureau Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) 2015-2019 dataset provides in-depth analysis on housing needs by income level according to types of households.
According to CHAS, housing problems are defined as having one or more of the following variables:
Incomplete kitchen facilities;
Incomplete plumbing facilities;
More than one person per room; and
Cost burden greater than 30 percent.
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-31
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 When analyzing housing problems in Monte Sereno, there are approximately 345 households experiencing at least 1 housing problem, of which 80 are ELI households. It is important to note that the majority of ELI households in Monte Sereno are owner-occupied households, and the predominant household type is married-couple family households. This may be indicative of a lack of housing variety to adequately meet the needs of households, which may exacerbate housing issues such as cost burden, substandard housing conditions, etc.
In partnership with West Valley Community Services (WVCS), a report was published highlighting the needs of Monte Sereno’s ELI residents. Many individuals that fall within the ELI category face housing insecurity and homelessness, food insecurity, and other extreme socio-economic issues. The issue of homelessness presents specific challenges, and those that are unhoused may experience challenges including safety, sobriety, food insecurity, etc.
It is imperative that the City of Monte Sereno continue to engage in outreach with residents that fall into the ELI category and/or are facing housing insecurity in order to understand that homelessness is a condition, rather than a choice; and requires specific strategies to address the challenges that come with these conditions. Without identifying these challenges, it is difficult to get people experiencing homelessness into housing.
In an effort to address these challenges, the City of Monte Sereno has crafted strategic programs and policies that are designed to provide housing and services for City residents that identify as ELI and/or are housing insecure. Program I (Accessory Dwelling Units), Program L (Shared Housing Options), and Program L.2 (Facilitate the Development of Affordable Housing for Extremely Low-Income Housing Residents) specifically target the ELI population to construct affordable housing suitable for this particular demographic. For an in-depth analysis of these programs, refer to Chapter 2 of the Housing Element Update.
Large Households
Large households often have different housing needs than smaller households. If a city’s rental housing stock does not include larger apartments, large households who rent could end up living in overcrowded conditions. In Monte Sereno, all units occupied by large households (i.e., five (5) or more persons) are owner occupied. In 2017, there were no large households in Monte Sereno that were very low-income (i.e., earning less than 50 percent of the area median income). Figure B-34 shows household size by tenure.
The unit sizes available in a community affect the household sizes that can access that community.
Large families are generally served by housing units with three (3) or more bedrooms, of which there are 1,035 units in Monte Sereno. Among these large units with three (3) or more bedrooms, 4.4 percent are renter-occupied and 95.6 percent are owner occupied. Figure B-35 summarizes housing units by the number of bedrooms.
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-32
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Figure B-34 Household Size by Tenure
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Data (2015-2019), Table B25009. For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table LGFEM-01.
NOTE: Universe: Occupied housing units
Figure B-35 Housing Units by Number of Bedrooms
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Data (2015-2019), Table B25042. For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table HSG-05.
NOTE: Universe: Housing units
Female-Headed Households
Households headed by one person are often at greater risk of housing insecurity, particularly female-headed households, who may be supporting children or a family with only one income.
Figure B-36 illustrates single-parent households in Monte Sereno, the County and neighboring cities/town. In Monte Sereno, female-headed family households make up 65 percent of single-parent households and male-headed households makeup 35 percent (Figure B-36). Compared to the
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-33
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 County and neighboring cities/town, Monte Sereno has a slightly lower percentage of female-headed family households. The Town of Los Gatos and City of Saratoga have the highest percentages of female-headed family households at 75 percent and 72 percent, respectively. This reflects an average 8 percent higher than the County and 9 percent higher than Monte Sereno.
Figure B-36 Single-Parent Households by Jurisdiction, 2019 SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimate, 2019
In Monte Sereno, the largest proportion of households is Married-Couple Family Households at 85.2 percent of total, while Female-Headed Households make up 3.1 percent of all households. Figure B-37 summarizes household types in Monte Sereno.
Figure B-37 Household Type
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Data (2015-2019), Table B11001. For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table POPEMP-23.
NOTE: Universe: Households. For data from the Census Bureau, a “family household” is a household where two or more people are related by birth, marriage, or adoption. “Non-family households” are households of one person living alone, as well as households where none of the people are related to each other.
3.1%
66.3% 64.8% 72.2% 75.2% 66.5%
33.7% 35.2% 27.8% 24.8% 33.5%
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
80.0%
90.0%
100.0%
Santa
Clara
County
Monte
Sereno
Saratoga Los Gatos Campbell
Male-headed Family Households
Female-Headed Family
Households
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-34
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Over the last decade, female-headed family households have increased and male-headed family households have decreased in Monte Sereno. Figure B-38 illustrates trends in single-parent households in Monte Sereno between 2010-201915. During this period, female-headed households climbed from 2 percent in 2010 to its highest at 6.4 percent in 2016. In 2017, the trend began to steadily fall reaching 3 percent by 2019.
Figure B-38 Trends in Single-Parent Households, Monte Sereno, 2010-2019 SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates, 2010-2019 NOTE: This table reports female- and male-headed family households as a percentage of total households in Monte Sereno.
Female-headed households with children may face particular housing challenges, with pervasive gender inequality resulting in lower wages for women. Moreover, the added need for childcare can make finding a home that is affordable more challenging.
In Monte Sereno, there were no female-headed households (with or without children) that fell below the federal poverty line. Figure B-39 on the following page shows female-headed households by poverty status.
15 The data reports female- and male-headed family household as a percentage of total households in Monte Sereno.
2.1%
3.3%
2.7%
5.0%
5.6%
6.3% 6.4%
5.2%
4.3%
3.1%
6.7%
2.0%
0.8% 1.0%
1.7%
2.3% 2.1%
2.9%
1.8% 1.7%
0.0%
1.0%
2.0%
3.0%
4.0%
5.0%
6.0%
7.0%
8.0%
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Female-Headed Family Households
Male-headed Family Households
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-35
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Figure B-39 Female-Headed Households by Poverty Status
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Data (2015-2019), Table B17012. For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table LGFEM-05.
NOTE: Universe: Female Households. The Census Bureau uses a federally defined poverty threshold that remains constant throughout the country and does not correspond to Area Median Income.
Despite female-headed households in Monte Sereno reaching a relatively average level compared to the region (Figure B-36), the City should prioritize the housing needs of female-headed family households as they are typically disproportionately impacted by housing challenges.
Seniors
Senior households often experience a combination of factors that can make accessing or keeping affordable housing a challenge. They often live on fixed incomes and are more likely to have disabilities, chronic health conditions and/or reduced mobility. Seniors who rent may be at even greater risk for housing challenges than those who own, due to income differences between these groups.
Figure B-40 illustrates the senior population in Monte Sereno, the County, and neighboring cities.
Regionally, the City of Saratoga has the highest senior population (23 percent) and Monte Sereno has the second highest senior population (22 percent). The County’s senior population is substantially smaller at approximately 13 percent. None Below Poverty Level None Below Poverty Level
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-36
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Figure B-40 Senior Population by Jurisdiction
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Data, 2019 NOTE: Senior population is defined as persons 65 years and older.
In Monte Sereno, the largest proportion of senior households who rent and the largest proportion who own both earn Greater than 100 percent of AMI. Figure B-41 shows senior households by income and tenure.
Figure B-41 Senior Households by Income and Tenure
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) ACS tabulation, 201B-2017 release. For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table SEN-01.
NOTE: Universe: Senior households. For the purposes of this graph, senior households are those with a householder who is aged 62 or older. Income groups are based on HUD calculations for Area Median Income (AMI). HUD calculates the AMI for different metropolitan areas, and the nine county Bay Area includes the following metropolitan areas: Napa Metro Area (Napa County), Oakland-Fremont Metro Area (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties), San Francisco Metro Area (Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo Counties), San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara Metro Area (Santa Clara County), Santa Rosa Metro Area (Sonoma County), and Vallejo-Fairfield Metro Area (Solano County). The AMI levels in this chart are based on the HUD metro area where this jurisdiction is located.
13.2%
22.1% 23.1%
20.8%
12.7%
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
Santa Clara
County
Monte Sereno Saratoga Los Gatos Campbell
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-37
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 People with Disabilities
People with disabilities face additional housing challenges. Encompassing a broad group of individuals living with a variety of physical, cognitive and sensory impairments, many people with disabilities live on fixed incomes and are in need of specialized care, yet often rely on family members for assistance due to the high cost of care. People with disabilities are not only in need of affordable housing, but accessibly designed housing, which offers greater mobility and opportunity for independence. Unfortunately, the need typically outweighs what is available, particularly in a housing market with such high demand. People with disabilities are at a high risk for housing insecurity, homelessness and institutionalization, particularly when they lose aging caregivers.
Figure B-42 illustrates population by disability status in Monte Sereno, the County, and neighboring cities in 2020. Ten (10) percent of the population in Monte Sereno has some form of disability, which is on par with neighboring cities. The County and City of Saratoga have the lowest percentages of persons with a disability at 8 percent.
Figure B-42 Population by Disability Status by Jurisdiction, 2020 SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, 2021
Over the last decade, the population of persons with disabilities has slightly increased in Monte Sereno. Figure B-43 illustrates trends in persons with disabilities in Monte Sereno between 2012- 2020. Since 2012, the population with a disability in Monte Sereno has increased 3 percent. Between 2016 to 2018, the trend began to steadily fall reaching 7 percent in 2018. However, it experienced a 3 percent rise in 2020. This is likely in part due to the population being comprised of nearly a quarter of senior residents.
92% 90% 92% 91% 91%
8% 10% 8% 9% 9%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Santa Clara
County
Monte
Sereno
Saratoga Los Gatos Campbell
With a disability
No disability
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-38
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Figure B-43 Trends in Persons with Disabilities, Monte Sereno, 2012-2020 SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, 2021
Table B-6 provides an overview of disability by type and age in Monte Sereno during 2020. Hearing difficulty is the most widespread disability in Monte Sereno (27 percent) with the highest concentration in persons 65 years of age and older. Vision difficulty is the least common disability with 7 percent experiencing this in Carmel-by-the-Sea. Overall, seniors (persons aged 65+) reported the most disabilities in Monte Sereno. Additionally, it is important to note, that 18 percent of persons with a disability experience self-care difficulty and 14 percent experience independent living difficulty. This indicates a need for housing options that facilitate assisted living and aging in place.
Table B-6 Disability Status by Age, Monte Sereno, 2020
Disability Type Under 18 18-64 65 and Over Total
Percent of
Population with
a Disability
Hearing Difficulty 0 8 180 188 27%
Vision Difficulty 0 0 50 50 7%
Cognitive Difficulty 16 20 42 78 11%
Ambulatory Difficulty 16 37 102 155 22%
Self-care Difficulty 16 44 61 121 18%
Independent Living Difficulty 0 57 42 99 14%
Total 48 166 477 691 100%
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimate, 2020
NOTE: These disabilities are counted separately and are not mutually exclusive, as an individual may report more than one disability. These counts should not be summed.
93% 90% 90% 92% 91% 92% 93% 93% 90%
7% 10% 10% 8% 9% 8% 7% 7% 10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
No disability
Disability
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-39
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 State law also requires Housing Elements to examine the housing needs of people with developmental disabilities. Developmental disabilities are defined as severe, chronic, and attributed to a mental or physical impairment that begins before a person turns 18 years old. This can include Down’s Syndrome, autism, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, and mild to severe mental retardation. Some people with developmental disabilities are unable to work, rely on Supplemental Security Income, and live with family members. In addition to their specific housing needs, they are at increased risk of housing insecurity after an aging parent or family member is no longer able to care for them.16 In Monte Sereno, there are seven (7) children under the age of 18 make with a developmental disability (58.3 percent), while there are five (5) adults with a developmental disability (41.7 percent).
Table B-7 shows Monte Sereno’s population with developmental disabilities by age.
Table B-7 Population with Developmental Disabilities by Age Age Group Number
Age 18+ 7
Age Under 18 5
SOURCE: California Department of Developmental Services, Consumer Count by California ZIP Code and Age Group (2020). This table is included in the Data Packet Workbook as Table DISAB-04.
NOTE: Universe: Population with developmental disabilities. NOTE: The California Department of Developmental Services is responsible for overseeing the coordination and delivery of services to more than 330,000 Californians with developmental disabilities including cerebral palsy, intellectual disability, Down syndrome, autism, epilepsy, and related conditions. The California Department of Developmental Services provides ZIP code level counts. To get jurisdiction-level estimates, ZIP code counts were crosswalked to jurisdictions using census block population counts from Census 2010 SF1 to determine the share of a ZIP code to assign to a given jurisdiction.
The most common living arrangement for individuals with disabilities in Monte Sereno is the home of parent/family/guardian. Table B-8 shows Monte Sereno’s population with developmental disabilities by residence.
Homelessness
Homelessness remains an urgent challenge in many communities across the state, reflecting a range of social, economic, and psychological factors. Rising housing costs result in increased risks of community members experiencing homelessness. Far too many residents who have found themselves housing insecure have ended up unhoused or homeless in recent years, either temporarily or longer term. Addressing the specific housing needs for the unhoused population remains a priority throughout the region, particularly since homelessness is disproportionately experienced by people of color, people with disabilities, those struggling with addiction and those dealing with traumatic life circumstances.
16 For more information or data on developmental disabilities in your jurisdiction, contact the Golden Gate Regional Center for Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo Counties; the North Bay Regional Center for Napa, Solano and Sonoma Counties; the Regional Center for the East Bay for Alameda and Contra Costa Counties; or the San Andreas Regional Center for Santa Clara County.
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-40
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Table B-8 Population with Developmental Disabilities by Residence Residence Type Number
Home of Parent /Family/Guardian 11
Independent /Supported Living 1
Other 0
Foster /Family Home 0
Intermediate Care Facility 0
Community Care Facility 0
SOURCE: California Department of Developmental Services, Consumer Count by California ZIP Code and Residence Type (2020). This table is included in the Data Packet Workbook as Table DISAB-05.
NOTE: Universe: Population with developmental disabilities. NOTE: The California Department of Developmental Services is responsible for overseeing the coordination and delivery of services to more than 330,000 Californians with developmental disabilities including cerebral palsy, intellectual disability, Down syndrome, autism, epilepsy, and related conditions. The California Department of Developmental Services provides ZIP code level counts. To get jurisdiction-level estimates, ZIP code counts were crosswalked to jurisdictions using census block population counts from Census 2010 SF1 to determine the share of a ZIP code to assign to a given jurisdiction.
Table B-9 show changes in the homeless population between 2017-2022 in Monte Sereno, the County and neighboring jurisdictions. According to the 2017 Santa Clara County Homeless Census and Survey Report and the 2022 Santa Clara County PIT Report, Monte Sereno has seen a decrease in homeless persons since 2017, totaling zero in 2022. Conversely, incorporated Santa Clara County overall has seen an increase in homeless populations since 2015 by approximately 61 percent.
Table B-9 Homeless Population by Jurisdiction, 2017-2022 Jurisdiction
Unsheltered Sheltered Total 2015-2022
2015 2017 2019 2022 2015 2017 2019 2022 2015 2017 2019 2022 % Change Incorporated
Santa Clara
County
4,204 5,259 7,652 7,454 1,817 1,775 1,594 2,230 6,021 7,034 9,246 9,684 61% Monte Sereno 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 *
Saratoga 10 12 10 0 0 0 0 0 10 12 10 0 *
Los Gatos 1 52 16 58 0 0 0 0 1 52 16 58 *
Campbell 53 94 74 216 0 0 0 0 53 94 74 216 307%
Total 65 158 100 274 0 0 0 0 65 158 100 274 368%
SOURCE: 2022 Monterey Homeless Count and Survey Comprehensive Report NOTE: % change was not calculated when jurisdiction was below 25 individuals.
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-41
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 In Santa Clara County, the most common type of household experiencing homelessness is those without children in their care. Among households experiencing homelessness that do not have children, 87.1 percent are unsheltered. Of homeless households with children, most are sheltered in emergency shelter. Figure B-44 shows household type and shelter status in Santa Clara County.
Figure B-44 Homelessness by Household Type and Shelter Status, Santa Clara County SOURCE: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Continuum of Care (CoC) Homeless Populations and Subpopulations Reports (2019).
For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table HOMELS-01.
NOTE: Universe: Population experiencing homelessness. This data is based on Point-in-Time (PIT) information provided to HUD by CoCs in the application for CoC Homeless Assistance Programs. The PIT Count provides a count of sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons on a single night during the last ten days in January. Each Bay Area county is its own CoC, and so the data for this table is provided at the county-level. Per HCD’s requirements, jurisdictions will need to supplement this county-level data with local estimates of people experiencing homelessness.
People of color are more likely to experience poverty and financial instability as a result of federal and local housing policies that have historically excluded them from the same opportunities extended to white residents. Consequently, people of color are often disproportionately impacted by homelessness, particularly Black residents of the Bay Area.
In Santa Clara County, White (Hispanic and Non-Hispanic) residents represent the largest proportion of residents experiencing homelessness and account for 43.9 percent of the homeless population, while making up 44.5 percent of the overall population. Figure B-45 shows the racial group share of homeless population.
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-42
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Figure B-45 Racial Group Share of General and Homeless Populations, Santa Clara County
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Continuum of Care (CoC) Homeless Populations and Subpopulations Reports (2019); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Data (2015-2019), Table B01001(A-I). For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table HOMELS-02.
NOTE: Universe: Population experiencing homelessness. This data is based on Point-in-Time (PIT) information provided to HUD by CoCs in the application for CoC Homeless Assistance Programs. The PIT Count provides a count of sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons on a single night during the last ten days in January. Each Bay Area county is its own CoC, and so the data for this table is provided at the county-level. Per HCD’s requirements, jurisdictions will need to supplement this county-level data with local estimates of people experiencing homelessness. HUD does not disaggregate racial demographic data by Hispanic/Latinx ethnicity for people experiencing homelessness. Instead, HUD reports data on Hispanic/Latinx ethnicity for people experiencing homelessness in a separate table. Accordingly, the racial group data listed here includes both Hispanic/Latinx and non-Hispanic/Latinx individuals.
In Santa Clara, Latinx residents represent 42.7 percent of the population experiencing homelessness, while Latinx residents comprise 25.8 percent of the general population. Figure B-46 on the following page shows the Latinx share of the homeless population in Santa Clara County.
Figure B-46 Latinx Share of General and Homeless Populations, Santa Clara County SOURCE: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Continuum of Care (CoC) Homeless Populations and Subpopulations Reports (2019); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Data (2015-2019), Table B01001(A-I). For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table HOMELS-03.
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-43
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 NOTE: Universe: Population experiencing homelessness. This data is based on Point-in-Time (PIT) information provided to HUD by CoCs in the application for CoC Homeless Assistance Programs. The PIT Count provides a count of sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons on a single night during the last ten days in January. Each Bay Area county is its own CoC, and so the data for this table is provided at the county-level. Per HCD’s requirements, jurisdictions will need to supplement this county-level data with local estimates of people experiencing homelessness. The data from HUD on Hispanic/Latinx ethnicity for individuals experiencing homelessness does not specify racial group identity. Accordingly, individuals in either ethnic group identity category (Hispanic/Latinx or non-Hispanic/Latinx) could be of any racial background.
Many of those experiencing homelessness are dealing with severe issues, including mental illness, substance abuse and domestic violence, which are potentially life threatening and require additional assistance.
In Santa Clara County, homeless individuals are commonly challenged by severe mental illness, with 2,659 reporting this condition. Of those, some 87.6 percent are unsheltered, further adding to the challenge of handling the issue. Figure B-47 on the following page shows the selected characteristics of the homeless population in Santa Clara County.
Figure B-47 Characteristics for the Population Experiencing Homelessness, Santa Clara County
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Continuum of Care (CoC) Homeless Populations and Subpopulations Reports (2019).
For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table HOMELS-04.
NOTE: Universe: Population experiencing homelessness. This data is based on Point-in-Time (PIT) information provided to HUD by CoCs in the application for CoC Homeless Assistance Programs. The PIT Count provides a count of sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons on a single night during the last ten days in January. Each Bay Area county is its own CoC, and so the data for this table is provided at the county-level. Per HCD’s requirements, jurisdictions will need to supplement this county-level data with local estimates of people experiencing homelessness. These challenges/characteristics are counted separately and are not mutually exclusive, as an individual may report more than one challenge/characteristic. These counts should not be summed.
In Monte Sereno, there were no reported students experiencing homeless in the 2019-20 school year. By comparison, Santa Clara County has seen a 3.5 percent increase in the population of students experiencing homelessness since the 2016-17 school year, and the Bay Area population of students experiencing homelessness decreased by 8.5 percent. During the 2019-2020 school year,
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-44
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 there were still some 13,718 students experiencing homelessness throughout the region, adding undue burdens on learning and thriving, with the potential for longer term negative effects.
Table B-10 summarizes students in public schools experiencing homelessness.
Table B-10 Students in Local Public Schools Experiencing Homelessness Academic Year Monte Sereno Santa Clara County Bay Area
2016-17 0 2,219 14,990
2017-18 0 2,189 15,142
2018-19 0 2,405 15,427
2019-20 0 2,297 13,718
SOURCE: California Department of Education, California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS), Cumulative Enrollment Data (Academic Years 2016-2017, 2017-2018, 2018-2019, 2019-2020). This table is included in the Data Packet Workbook as Table HOMELS-05.
NOTE: Universe: Total number of unduplicated primary and short-term enrollments within the academic year (July 1 to June 30), public schools. The California Department of Education considers students to be homeless if they are unsheltered, living in temporary shelters for people experiencing homelessness, living in hotels/motels, or temporarily doubled up and sharing the housing of other persons due to the loss of housing or economic hardship. The data used for this table was obtained at the school site level, matched to a file containing school locations, geocoded and assigned to jurisdiction, and finally summarized by geography.
Santa Clara County has approximately 23 emergency shelters, providing close to 800 beds year-round, with an additional 300 beds available during the winter months (November through March). There are also over 1,100 transitional housing beds throughout the County that offer a combination of stable housing and intensive, targeted support services for the mentally ill, those with chronic substance abuse, developmental disabilities, and other factors that prevent the homeless from returning to permanent housing situations. Transitional housing includes both single site and "scattered site" programs. Table B-11 provides a summary of emergency shelters and transitional housing near the City of Monte Sereno.
Farmworkers
Across the state, housing for farmworkers has been recognized as an important and unique concern.
Farmworkers generally receive wages that are considerably lower than other jobs and may have temporary housing needs. Finding decent and affordable housing can be challenging, particularly in the current housing market.
In Monte Sereno, there were no reported students of migrant workers in the 2019-20 school year.
The trend for the region for the past few years has been a decline of 2.4 percent in the number of migrant worker students since the 2016-17 school year. The change at the county level is a 49.7 percent decrease in the number of migrant worker students since the 2016-17 school year. Table B-12 summarizes migrant worker student population in Monte Sereno, Santa Clara County, and the Bay Area as a whole.
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-45
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Table B-11 Homeless Facilities Near Monte Sereno
Facility Beds Target Population Location
Emergency Shelters
Asian Americans for Community
Involvement 12 Women with Children San Jose
City Team Rescue Mission 52 Single men San Jose
Hospitality House, Salvation Army 24 Single men San Jose Our House Youth Services HomeFirst 10 Homeless and run-away youth San Jose San Jose Family Shelter 143 Families San Jose
Support Network for Battered Women 18 Domestic violence shelter- women and children San Jose Emergency Shelter/Transitional Housing
InnVision 178 Working men, women & children, mentally ill men & women San Jose
James Boccardo Reception Center 370 Families and single adults San Jose Transitional Housing
Next Door- Women with Children 19 Domestic Violence Shelter -Women and children San Jose St. Josephs Cathedral 45 Worker housing- men, women and children San Jose YWCA- Villa Nueva 126 Women and children San Jose
SOURCE: Santa Clara County Consolidated Plan, 2010-20
Table B-12 Migrant Worker Student Population
Academic Year Monte Sereno Santa Clara County Bay Area
2016-17 0 978 4,630
2017-18 0 732 4,607
2018-19 0 645 4,075
2019-20 0 492 3,976
SOURCE: California Department of Education, California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS), Cumulative Enrollment Data (Academic Years 2016-2017, 2017-2018, 2018-2019, 2019-2020). This table is included in the Data Packet Workbook as Table FARM-01.
NOTE: Universe: Total number of unduplicated primary and short-term enrollments within the academic year (July 1 to June 30), public schools. The data used for this table was obtained at the school site level, matched to a file containing school locations, geocoded and assigned to jurisdiction, and finally summarized by geography.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Census of Farmworkers, the number of permanent farm workers in Santa Clara County has increased since 2002, totaling 2,418 in 2017, while the number of seasonal farm workers has decreased, totaling 1,757 in 2017. Figure B-48 on the following page shows farm operations and labor in Santa Clara County.
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-46
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Figure B-48 Farm Operations and Farm Labor by County, Santa Clara County SOURCE: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Census of Farmworkers (2002, 2007, 2012, 2017), Table 7: Hired Farm Labor. For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table FARM-02.
NOTE: Universe: Hired farm workers (including direct hires and agricultural service workers who are often hired through labor contractors). Farm workers are considered seasonal if they work on a farm less than 150 days in a year, while farm workers who work on a farm more than 150 days are considered to be permanent workers for that farm.
Non-English Speakers
California has long been an immigration gateway to the United States, which means that many languages are spoken throughout the Bay Area. Since learning a new language is universally challenging, it is not uncommon for residents who have immigrated to the United States to have limited English proficiency. This limit can lead to additional disparities if there is a disruption in housing, such as an eviction, because residents might not be aware of their rights or they might be wary to engage due to immigration status concerns.
In Monte Sereno, 0.1 percent of residents five (5) years and older identify as speaking English not well or not at all, which is below the proportion for Santa Clara County. Throughout the region the proportion of residents five (5) years and older with limited English proficiency is eight (8) percent.
Figure B-49 below shows population with limited English proficiency in Monte Sereno, Santa Clara County, and the Bay Area as a whole.
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-47
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Figure B-49 Population with Limited English Proficiency SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Data (2015-2019), Table B16005. For the data table behind this figure, please refer to the Data Packet Workbook, Table AFFH-03.
NOTE: Universe: Population 5 years and over.
Conclusion
Among special needs populations, access to a variety of unit sizes would serve needs not currently addressed within Monte Sereno. Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) would provide the most efficient strategy to increase access to living among the large lots in Monte Sereno.
Large Households. The unit sizes available for rent in Monte Sereno do not currently serve large families. In order to serve this population better, it is important to listen to the needs of those who are willing to construct ADUs to analyze and consider incentives to encourage units suitable for larger households.
Female-Headed Households. Fewer Female-Headed Households live in Monte Sereno (3.1 percent) than those in Santa Clara County (9.8 percent) or in the Bay Area (10.4 percent). Finding ways to prioritize inclusion of this group with affirmative marketing for future rental opportunities may reduce this geographic disparity.
Seniors. Senior households who rent or own homes in Monte Sereno earn Greater than 100 percent of AMI, this could be an indication that there are not enough rental units affirmatively marketed to seniors within the region.
People with Disabilities. Because it is widely understood that the need for housing for this special needs group typically outweighs what is available, affirmative marketing and greater awareness of universal design may positively impact the number of units that residents may construct to serve this population. Outreach may focus on the community of people with disabilities now living in Monte Sereno to grow community partners to mitigate risk for future loss of aging caregivers.
0.1%
Appendix B Housing Needs Assessment B-48
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Unhoused People. Although unhoused people have not been counted within Monte Sereno city boundaries, it is understood that the most common type of household in Santa Clara County experiencing homelessness is those without children in their care. Among households experiencing homelessness that do not have children, 87.1 percent are unsheltered. Monte Sereno can become more aware of this problem and engaged in a regional solution.
Farmworkers and Non-English Speakers. Although the numbers of Farmworker families are decreasing in the area and there are few to no Non-English Speakers currently living in Monte Sereno, it is essential that Fair Housing practices become more widely understood throughout the region to decrease potential housing discrimination.
To address the fair housing issues identified in the analysis above for special needs populations, Programs G (Development Incentives), I (Accessory Dwelling Units), J (Special Needs Households), K (Seniors and Accessory Dwelling Units), L (Shared Housing Options), M (Countywide Cooperation), N (Reasonable Accommodation), O (Fair Housing), P (Low Barrier Navigation Center), Q (Implement Multi-Family Housing Re-Zoning), R (Participate in Regional Homelessness Program), and T (Housing Maintenance) are included in Chapter 2 of this Housing Element.
Housing Constraints C
APPENDIX
Table of Contents
APPENDIX C HOUSING CONSTRAINTS ..............................................................................C-1 C.1 Introduction ...........................................................................................................................C-1 C.2 Governmental Constraints...................................................................................................C-1 C.3 Non-Governmental Constraints .......................................................................................C-21 Tables
Table C-1 Residential Land Use Designations.........................................................................C-1 Table C-2 Residential Development Standards.......................................................................C-3 Table C-3 Monte Sereno Development and Planning Fees................................................ C-14 Table C-4 Comparison of Development Fees...................................................................... C-15 Table C-5 Comparison of Permit Processing Times ........................................................... C-19 Table C-6 Parking Requirements............................................................................................ C-20 Figures
Figure C-1 Wildfire Severity Zones ......................................................................................... C-25 Figure C-2 Wildfire Severity Zones and ADU Housing Sites.............................................. C-26 Figure C-3 Single Egress and ADU Housing Sites................................................................ C-27
Appendix C Housing Constraints C-1 EMC Planning Group
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element Update HCD Revisions July 2023 Appendix C
Housing Constraints
C.1 Introduction
State law requires that Housing Elements include an analysis of governmental and nongovernmental constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for all income levels.
Governmental constraints include land use controls, building codes and their enforcement, fees and exactions, and permitting procedures. Nongovernmental constraints are primarily market-driven and include land costs, construction costs and the availability of financing.
C.2 Governmental Constraints
General Plan Land Use
The Monte Sereno General Plan, adopted in 2008, is the City's primary land use control policy document. The General Plan Land Use Element identifies permitted land uses and development intensities for all land within city boundaries. Permitted uses in Monte Sereno include residential, public and open space. The general plan does not designate any areas in Monte Sereno as commercial or mixed-use. Table C-1 identifies the residential land use designations and their maximum permitted densities.
Table C-1 Residential Land Use Designations
Designation Maximum Density
Low Density Residential (R-1-44) 0-1 dwelling unit per acre Medium Density Residential (R-1-20) 1-2 dwelling units per acre Higher Density Residential (R-1-8) 3-5 dwelling units per acre Multifamily Residential (RM) 3-8 dwelling units per acre SOURCE: City of Monte Sereno
The age of the Monte Sereno General Plan may be a constraint to development, as the document represents the policy direction of the 2008 City Council. State housing law has changed dramatically since 2008 with land prices, development costs, and housing costs significantly more costly and constrained. Given the age of the general plan and the changes in the community and region since the plan’s adoption, the document is a constraint and should be updated. A program to initiate a general plan update is included in Chapter 2 of this housing element.
Appendix C Housing Constraints C-2 EMC Planning Group
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element Update HCD Revisions July 2023 Zoning Code
The Monte Sereno Zoning Code (Monte Sereno Municipal Code Title 10 - Planning and Zoning) implements the general plan by establishing standards and regulations for all development in Monte Sereno. To this end, the Zoning Code establishes four residential zoning districts: R-1-8, R-1-20, R-1-44 and RM, and development standards for these districts are summarized in Table C-2. Single-family homes are permitted uses in all districts. In the RM zone, multi-family housing is also a permitted use. The Municipal Code also includes a "Public" zone category, and in 2016 and 2020 the Public Zoning District standards were amended to allow residential uses, which facilitated additional opportunities for multi-family housing in the City.
In general, housing development standards such as the ones in place in Monte Sereno, would be inadequate to provide lower-income housing. The maximum allowable density in Monte Sereno’s RM District (its highest density, multi-family district), for example, is eight (8) dwelling units per acre, which even with applicable density bonus is significantly below the level typically needed to facilitate lower-income housing. In fact, HCD has determined that a minimum of 30 dwelling units per acre is typically required to facilitate affordable housing in Santa Clara County. Nonetheless, the City of Monte Sereno was able to meet and surpass its RHNA for the 2015-2023 planning period— even with such development regulations in place. It did so through the development of accessory dwelling units (ADUs), and this topic is discussed in full later in this chapter.
Given the City’s accomplishments under its zoning regiment, it is apparent that in Monte Sereno’s specific case, low residential development densities do not constitute a governmental constraint on the development of affordable housing.
Structural Coverage
The City's structural coverage limits of 20 to 40 percent, with higher coverage allowed on smaller lots, are not a constraint on the maintenance, improvement, and development of housing. Applying the structural coverage limit to the various zoning districts throughout the City would result in allowable structural footprints of at least 3,200 sq. ft. on the smallest single-family lots permitted in the City.
In the RM multifamily zone, the structural coverage maximums are applied on a sliding scale and depending on the size and topography of the lot. Maximum coverage is 40 percent but shall be decreased by 2 percent for each 2,000 square feet by which the area of the parcel exceeds 12,000 square feet. Additionally, coverage is decreased by two percent (2 percent) for each five percent (5 percent) of slope that the parcel exceeds a ten percent (10 percent) average slope, whichever formula reduction is greatest.
The limited structure coverage is not considered a constraint to development because the large lot sizes in the City afford a sizeable development footprint.
Appendix C Housing Constraints C-3 EMC Planning Group
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element Update HCD Revisions July 2023 Table C-2 Residential Development Standards
Zoning
Minimum
Lot Area
(sq ft)
Setbacks
Maximum Height Maximum Building
Size (sq ft)
Maximum
Structural Lot
Coverage
Maximum
Front Side Rear Units/ Acre
R-1-8 8,000* 25' First & 30'
Second- story
6' First & 10'
Second- story
30' First & 30'
Second-story
Single-story bldg. 21' 3,300
Two-story bldg. 30' 3,000 40 percent 5
Accessory bldg. 12' 600
R-1-20 21,780 30' First & 40'
Second- story
15' First &20'
Second- story
30' First & 40'
Second- story
Single-story bldg. 21' 4,950
Two-story bldg. 30' 4,500 30 percent 2
Accessory bldg. 21' 800
R-1-44 43,560 30' First & 45'
Second-story
30' First &40'
Second- story
30' First & 40'
Second-story
Single-story bldg. 21' 6,600
Two-story bldg. 30' 6,000 20 percent 1
Accessory bldg. 21' 1,000
RM 14,520 25' First & 30'
Second- story
6' First & 10'
Second- story
30' First & 30'
Second-story
Single-story bldg. 21' 2,600
40 percent 8 Two-story bldg. 30' 2,600
Accessory bldg. 12' Included in maximum
structural coverage
P 8,000 25' First & 30'
Second- story
6' First & 10'
Second- story
30' First & 30'
Second-story
Single-story bldg. 21' 3,300
40 percent 8 Two-story bldg. 30' 3,000
Accessory bldg. 12' Included in maximum
structural coverage
SOURCE: City of Monte Sereno NOTE: *Reduction in minimum lot sizes resulting from clustering of units is allowed in the R-1-8 and RM zone districts.
Appendix C Housing Constraints C-4 EMC Planning Group
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element Update HCD Revisions July 2023 The development standards and land use controls have historically not acted on constraints to produce single-family ownership units and ADUs. There are very few vacant and underutilized lots in Monte Sereno and consistently strong ADU production (see Chapter 4 for more information).
The Sixth Cycle Housing Element has introduced new programs to draw multifamily development to the town through Program Q (Implement Multifamily Housing).
Lot and Unit Size
Originally, Monte Sereno developed as a large lot, residential community with minimum lot sizes of one acre and one-half acre. Requirements for lots of this size can act as a constraint to housing. The majority of the City has been subdivided and already built at this density, with well-maintained housing, the majority of which is not likely to feasibly redevelop in the near future. Within the eastern part of the City, residential districts were designated with smaller minimum lot sizes, with three to five units per acre and 8,000 sq. ft. lots permitted. The R-1-8 and RM zones also allow for clustering which can reduce the minimum lot size even further depending on slope calculations and street improvements. Though these eastern residential sites are close in proximity to amenities, the small size lots act as a constraint for increased density at this location over time because it would likely be difficult and expensive for a developer to consolidate lots for multi-family construction.
Density designated with Monte Sereno zoning has been historically limited due to single-family use constraints as well as flag-lot prohibitions. Parking standards are more of a secondary constraint because there is not a demand for parking reductions to meet lesser standards, given the typical ample parcel size. However, these large lots have the ability to provide on-site parking for SB-9 and ADU housing types, and this type of development is more appropriate due to existing infrastructure and concerns over fire hazard severity and potential evacuation constraints due to the large number of single-egress road networks throughout the city.
There is no multifamily zoning available for new construction within the city. None of the residential zoning districts allow more than eight units per acre. The City has a single-family zone allowing five units per acre, though most single family zoning is zoned to allow not more than two units per acre.
To facilitate additional development, the Housing Element includes programs to: 1) incentivize ADU construction (program I), 2) facilitate parcel maps (Program C); 3) revise flag lot development standards in an effort to encourage new flag lots for residential development (Program D); and 4) modify SB 9 regulations to increase allowed building square footage requirements and incentive SB 9 production (Program E). These programs will also encourage a variety of lot sizes by removing constraints to creating flag lots and streamlining the review of parcel map applications as well as reducing constraints to SB 9 Urban Lot Splits.
Appendix C Housing Constraints C-5 EMC Planning Group
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element Update HCD Revisions July 2023 Clustering of Units
Section 10.05.050 of the City's Municipal Code allows special residential development exception to the minimum development standards generally required in the R-1-8, RM, and P/RM districts by allowing the clustering of homes on smaller sites. This provision can assist in providing a variety of housing types and affordability levels.
Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)
Accessory dwelling units (also known as second units) are complete independent housing units that can be either detached or attached from an existing single-family residence. Based on their relatively small size, and because they do not require paying for land or major new infrastructure, accessory dwelling units ("ADUs") are considered affordable by design. ADUs can provide affordable housing options for family members, seniors, students, in-home health care providers, and other small household types. ADUs can also be useful to generate additional rental income for the homeowner, making homeownership more financially feasible.
The State legislature has passed a series of bills aimed at encouraging single-family homeowners to add ADUs to their property by requiring local jurisdictions to adopt regulations to facilitate their production and streamline their approval. The State passed legislation in 2017 and again in 2019 to further assist and support the development of ADUs, including “by right” approval for units less than 850 square feet for a one-bedroom and 1,000 square feet for a two-bedroom unit. These projects must be approved at the staff level to help streamline the permit process. ADUs are allowed in the four residential districts and the City adopted substantial changes to its Accessory Dwelling Unit ordinance to comply with State law.
Over the last three years, the City has issued 53 building permits for ADUs (January 2019 through September 2022). Of the ADU constructed, over 80 percent were affordable to lower-income households.1 The City estimates that it will permit 225 ADUs in the 2023-2031 planning period based on the written letters of intention received by 225 property owners throughout the city. This is more than enough to accommodate housing for very low-, low-, and moderate-income households through the 2023-2031 planning period.
Although not a constraint, the City has identified improved tracking of ADUs as a goal in the 2023- 2031 planning period and will continue to collect information on affordability of ADUs and use of the units after construction is completed. Additionally, the City will continue to publish incentives through the City website and City Hall front counter, provide the ADU Handbook published by the State Department of Housing and Community Development directly to residents, and continue to evaluate the program for potential constraints and implement improvements to remove constraints. 1 Source: City of Monte Sereno post-construction surveys
Appendix C Housing Constraints C-6 EMC Planning Group
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element Update HCD Revisions July 2023 Two issues were identified as constraints to ADU construction and these were addressed with Ordinance NS-232 on December 20, 2022, which removed the owner-occupancy requirements for past and future ADUs as well as provides a strong amnesty program that exceeds the minimum timeframes required by state law. Program I implements on-going monitoring of the ADU requirements, including feedback and questions received by property owners, to determine where additional constraints can be removed.
Design Guidelines and Objective Design Standards
The City of Monte Sereno applies design guidelines and direction to homeowners and their architects or designers for the preparation of building and landscape places. The Design Guidelines apply predominantly to single-family residences. On January 18, 2022, the Monte Sereno City Council adopted Objective Design Standards as an addendum to the City’s Design Guidelines. The purpose of the Objective Design Standards is to provide property owners and developers with a clear understanding of the City’s design requirements for development of projects that qualify for ministerial approval pursuant to state law.
Objective design standards apply to building design for all proposed residential development subject solely to ministerial review, specifically projects submitted under Monte Sereno Municipal Code section 10.05.080 and Government Code section 65852.21; Monte Sereno Municipal Code chapter
13.06 and Section 66411.7 of the Government Code; projects subject to streamlined, ministerial review under Government Code section 65913.4, and accessory dwelling unit (ADU) projects submitted under Monte Sereno Municipal Code section 10.06.140, except those subject to mandatory approval under Government Code Section 65852.2(e). All proposed projects must also comply with all applicable development requirements in the Municipal Code, including but not limited to building permit requirements, zoning code requirements, grading permit requirements, and development standards such as height and setbacks.
Multi-Family Units
The City allows multi-family units and a wider diversity of housing types in the RM Multi-Family and Public (“P”) Zoning District/Public/Residential Multi-Family District.
Residential uses allowed in RM include single-family, duplex, triplex, renting of rooms, residential care homes, supportive housing and transitional housing and accessory dwelling units. Within the Public P Zoning District, the number of units is limited to up to three attached dwelling units.
Triplexes represent “missing middle” housing types and the City will continue to encourage this type of development in multi-family zoning districts.
Appendix C Housing Constraints C-7 EMC Planning Group
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element Update HCD Revisions July 2023 Transitional and Supportive Housing
Municipal Code Section 10.05 allows residential care homes, supportive housing, and transitional housing as a use “by right” in all residential zoning districts.
Emergency Shelters
In Monte Sereno, emergency shelters are now allowed as a use “by right," only subject to the objective standards allowed under State law with no discretionary review, in areas zoned as "Public" according to Municipal Code Section 10.05.045. Emergency shelters are those that meet the definition as contained in California Health and Safety Code 50801 (e). There is one area in the City with a zoning designation of "Public," a public elementary school 17770 Daves Avenue.
This site is appropriate and meets the emergency shelter needs of Monte Sereno. The City will establish written objective standards in its Zoning Ordinance compliant with State law addressing:
The maximum number of beds or persons permitted to be served nightly by the facility; Off-street parking based upon demonstrated need;
Size and location of exterior and interior onsite waiting and client intake areas; Proximity to other shelters;
Length of stay;
Lighting; and
Security during hours the emergency shelter is not open.
As described in Section 3 of this document ("Special Needs"), the 2013 Santa Clara County biennial count of homeless persons did not find any homeless persons in Monte Sereno. A regional approach to the regional experience of homelessness is how Monte Sereno believes will be the most impactful and successful way to contribute to a solution for emergency shelter needs. Programs J (Special Needs Households) and R (Participate in Regional Homelessness Programs) address working regionally to support unhoused populations.
Again, should there be a future need for homeless assistance in Monte Sereno, Emergency Shelters are allowed as a use "by right" in Public Zones ("P") in the City and only subject to the state allowed objective standards with no discretionary review. There is one parcel in the City with a Public Zone designation, comprising approximately 8.5 acres. Given the only other zoning categories in the City are residential, the Public Zoning category is the most appropriate for an Emergency Shelter. Only one site is zoned Public, a public school. City Hall is zoned R-1-8, is less than 0.5 acres and does not have capacity in excess of municipal service needs.
Appendix C Housing Constraints C-8 EMC Planning Group
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element Update HCD Revisions July 2023 Emergency shelters currently have the following standards:
a) Up to three (3) beds shall be permitted on the premises; b) No more than three (3) clients shall be permitted on the premises at any time. Families consisting of not more than three (3) individuals shall be permitted on the premises. A family consisting of three (3) individuals must include at least one (1) adult and at least one (1) member under the age of eighteen (18);
c) An on-site management plan is subject to review and approval by the City Manager and shall include, but not be limited to, the number of employees, hours of operation, provision for transporting residents, provisions for providing personal hygiene, and provision for supplying food;
d) All waiting and client in-take areas shall be entirely within the building enclosing the emergency shelter;
e) On-site management of the operation shall be present at all times that the facility is in operation;
f) Clients are limited to stays of no more than thirty (30) days; g) One (1) parking space per employee of the emergency shelter shall be provided; and h) The facility shall comply with all the health and safety requirements of County, State and Federal governments.
Emergency shelters are otherwise subject to the development standards that apply in the P district generally (there are no parking requirements specific to the P district).
The parcels where emergency shelters are allowed by-right are subject to a site analysis, reviewing proximity to transit and services, hazardous conditions, habitability, and feasibility of emergency shelter construction.
The 17770 Daves Avenue school site is appropriate for use as an emergency shelter, despite being a nonvacant, government owned site in part because of its proximity to Transportation and Services.
The site is near Winchester Boulevard, which has the most frequent bus services near Monte Sereno.
Standard (a), setting a limit of up to 3 beds, will be revised by program R to increase the maximum number of beds allowed by right to 15 beds.
Hazardous Conditions
There are no identified hazardous conditions on this parcel.
Appendix C Housing Constraints C-9 EMC Planning Group
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element Update HCD Revisions July 2023 Human Habitability
The site is near local grocery stores, parks, and other key services along Winchester Boulevard.
Feasibility
The site includes both an approximately 0.5-acre asphalt surface (currently used for play courts) and an approximately 2-acre open green space. Both of these areas have more than substantial capacity for an emergency shelter with suitable capacity.
Employee Housing
Generally, employee housing is privately-owned housing that houses five (5) or more employees and meets one of the following:
Living quarters provided in connection with any work, whether or not rent is involved; and Housing in a rural area which is:
Provided by someone who is not an agricultural employer; and Provided for agricultural workers employed by any agricultural employer.
Program H-2.6 in Chapter 2 of this housing element includes an action item for the City to amend the Municipal Code to allow employee housing serving six (6) or fewer employees in any residentially zoned area (Program H).
Single Room Occupancy (SRO)
Single Room Occupancy residences consist primarily of very small studio units with minimal kitchen facilities that serve single persons. These facilities would be considered multi-family housing. They are permitted in aal residential zoning districts.
Additionally, the City's Municipal Code (Chapter 10.05) specifies that "renting of rooms and/or the providing of table board to not more than two (2) persons so long as no kitchen facilities, other than those of the single kitchen of the main dwelling are installed or used" is an allowable use in residential districts.
Low Barrier Navigation Centers
AB 101, adopted in 2019, requires approval “by right” of low barrier navigation centers that meet the requirements of State law. “Low Barrier Navigation Center” means a Housing First, low-barrier, service-enriched shelter focused on moving people into permanent housing that provides temporary living facilities while case managers connect individuals experiencing homelessness to income, public benefits, health services, shelter, and housing. If the City receives applications for these uses, it will process them as required by State law. Program P has been included in the Element to develop by-right procedures for processing low barrier navigation centers without discretionary review.
Appendix C Housing Constraints C-10 EMC Planning Group
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element Update HCD Revisions July 2023 Farm Employee Housing
There were no reported residents employed in the industries of farming, fishing or forestry, in the City. Given the lack of presence of farmworkers in the community, the City has not identified a need for specialized farmworker housing beyond overall programs for housing affordability.
Mobile Home Parks
There are no mobile home parks located in Monte Sereno. The Municipal Code does not prohibit manufactured homes, and a new manufactured ADU was recently permitted. The city complies with Government Code Section 65852.3 in allowing manufactured homes in the same manner as conventional structures. When the city updates the Objective Design Standards, a specific standard will be added to further confirm that manufactured homes will be reviewed as required by this Government Code Section (Program B).
SB 35 Streamlining
Government Code section 65913.4 allows qualifying development projects with a specified proportion of affordable housing units to move more quickly through the local government review process and restricts the ability of local governments to reject these proposals. The bill creates a streamlined approval process for qualifying infill developments in localities that have failed to meet their RHNA, requiring a ministerial approval process, removing the requirement for CEQA analysis, and removing the requirement for discretionary entitlements.
The City has remained in compliance with RHNA according to the specific requirements of this law and is not subject to SB 35. Program Q.2 directs Monte Sereno to develop written procedures for SB 35 applications so the City is prepared should it be subject to SB 35 streamlining in the future.
SB9 California Housing Opportunity and More Efficiency (HOME) Act SB9, also known as the California Housing Opportunity and More Efficiency (HOME) Act, is a state bill that requires cities to allow one additional residential unit onto parcels zoned for single-dwelling units.
Since the adoption of this section of the Government Code, the City has adopted regulations to permit duplexes in qualifying single family zoning districts and is actively working to further update its Zoning Code to review current standards regarding subdivision under SB9. Program E is included in the Housing Element to update the City’s SB9 ordinance to ensure it complies with State laws and remove the current 800 square foot building size maximum allowed for SB9 projects.
A total of four dwelling units (main house, ADU, JADU, and SB9 unit) are allowed on all single family zoned lots regardless of lot size. The City will conduct a mid-cycle check-in (beginning in late 2027) to identify and mitigate any constraints encountered in the program preventing the utilization of SB9. If there are not at least 2 SB9 projects in development, the City will consider
Appendix C Housing Constraints C-11 EMC Planning Group
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element Update HCD Revisions July 2023 incentives to development, including allowing a Supplemental ADU in addition to the ADU and JADU allowed on each split parcel.
SB10 Local Modifications
SB10 is a recent (2022) state bill that allows for jurisdictions to adopt an ordinance that provides for multifamily housing of up to 10 units on any parcel. In 2023, Monte Sereno identified two parcels that would be rezoned to allow for multifamily housing at a minimum of 20 du/ac by June 2025:
15785 Winchester Boulevard (APN: 410-10-045) and 15791 Winchester Boulevard (APN: 410-10- 046). The parcels are approximately 0.4 acres each (25 dwelling units per acre on an 0.4-acre site makes for a 10-unit multifamily housing development).Additionally, the City will establish a process by which any property owner can request consideration of an SB10 multifamily rezone of their property. These rezones will be the same density range as above. Larger lots that could not meet the density range using SB 10 will be encouraged to consider a lot split. This will allow for additional multifamily opportunities throughout the City. This is a new process for a locally modified SB10 ordinance, beyond Monte Sereno’s rezoning process. The SB10 rezone application will have a minimal permit fee and, as described by the SB10 legislation, will be reviewed without the need to analyze environmental impacts as required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
This will result in a more streamlined review process than the current rezone application, which would be subject to CEQA review and costly special studies.
The local SB10 ordinance will modify development standards (such as setbacks or height) so as not constrain the development of up to 10 units on SB10 parcels. The ordinance will also go further than state law by allowing for applications for property owners to request consideration of an SB10 rezone. This will be a streamlined and ministerial process and with minimal fees.
This will be combined with a two-pronged outreach effort that will find property owners who may be interested in an SB10 process for their property and for potential renters. To identify property owners, the City will have outreach materials at City Hall and at local events, as well as convene outreach meetings annually. In addition, the City will affirmatively market to rental applicants that may be large households, female-headed households, farmworkers, or seniors.
SB10 is a new law, and the City may need to modify its ordinance or outreach in order to meet development goals. Program Q includes a mid-Cycle check-in (beginning in late 2027) to identify and mitigate any constraints encountered in the program, including additional outreach and/or additional incentives to the local SB 10 ordinance.
Constraints for People with Disabilities
State law requires the Housing Element to include an analysis of governmental constraints upon the maintenance, improvement or development of housing for persons with disabilities. Housing Elements also must include programs to remove these constraints to the extent possible and to
Appendix C Housing Constraints C-12 EMC Planning Group
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element Update HCD Revisions July 2023 provide reasonable accommodations for housing designed for and occupied by persons with disabilities.
Chapter 10.23 of the Monte Sereno Municipal Code provides reasonable accommodation to people with disabilities, and complies with the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act in the application of the City’s zoning, land use laws, regulations, rules, standards, policies, procedures, and practices.
Reasonable Accommodation: A request for reasonable accommodation may include a request for modification or exception to the land use rules for the siting, development and use of housing or housing-related facilities that would eliminate regulatory barriers and provide a person with a disability equal opportunity to housing of that person’s choice. To request a reasonable accommodation, a property would submit an application to the City. The application would be reviewed by the Planning Director. A hearing would be held on the request and the Director would render a decision on the application subject to the following factors:
A. Special need created by the disability;
B. Potential benefit that can be accomplished by the requested modification; C. Potential impact on surrounding uses;
D. Physical attributes of the property and structures;
E. Alternative accommodations which may provide an equivalent level of benefit; F. In the case of a determination involving a one-family dwelling, whether the household would be considered a single housekeeping unit if it were not using special services that are required because of the disabilities of the residents;
G. Whether the requested accommodation would impose an undue financial or administrative burden on the City; and
H. Whether the requested accommodation would require a fundamental alteration in the nature of a program.
The requirement of a public hearing and decision-making surrounding factors A, B, C, and F could be considered constraints to reasonable accommodation. Program N directs the revision of the municipal code to remove these factors.
Family Definition: The City's definition of 'family' does not limit the number of unrelated persons who reside in a residence. Below is the City of Monte Sereno’s the definition of family.
While the City is considering revising the definition, this current definition does not create a constraint on the development or use of housing;
"Family" means one (1) or more persons occupying a single one-family dwelling and living together as a single nonprofit housekeeping unit, as distinguished from a group occupying a rooming or boarding house other than as permitted herein, or a hotel or club. A family shall be deemed to include necessary servants; a family shall not be deemed to consist of persons
Appendix C Housing Constraints C-13 EMC Planning Group
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element Update HCD Revisions July 2023 occupying a one-family dwelling and/or its permitted accessory buildings and living as two (2) or more nonprofit housekeeping units; and
Typically, these kinds of definitions of “family” are used to prohibit boardinghouses and SRO occupancies in residential districts. The City currently allows SRO occupancies and individual room rentals in residential zoning districts.
Group Homes: Chapter 10.05 of the Monte Sereno Municipal Code allows residential care homes, supportive housing and transitional housing as uses "by right" in residential districts. The City does not have siting, separation, or separate parking requirements for residential care homes, supportive housing, or transitional housing. Residential care homes, supportive housing and transitional housing are permitted in the following residential zones with the issuance of a building permit, only:
• R 1-44 Residential District;
• R 1-20 Residential District;
• R 1-8 Residential District; and
• RM Residential Multi-Family District.
Below are the definitions for these uses allowed by right. These definitions are applicable to groups homes including six or fewer as well as seven or more people.
BC. "Residential care homes" means state-licensed facilities that provide care, services, or treatment in a community residential setting for adults, children, or adults and children and which are required by state law to be treated as single housekeeping units for zoning purposes. Residential care facilities shall be subject to all land use and property development regulations applicable to single-family dwellings.
BD. "Transitional housing" means buildings configured as rental housing developments, but operated under program requirements that call for the termination of assistance and recirculation of the assisted unit to another eligible program recipient at some predetermined future point in time, which shall be no less than six (6) months (Cal Health and Safety Code § 50675.2).
BE. "Supportive housing" means housing: (a) with no limit on length of stay; (b) that is linked to on-site or off-site services that assist the supportive housing resident in retaining the housing, improving his or her health status, and maximizing his or her ability to live and, when possible, work in the community; and (c) that is occupied by the following (as defined in subdivision (d) of Health and Safety Code Section 53260):(1)Adults with low incomes having one or more disabilities, including mental illness, HIV or AIDS, substance abuse, or other chronic health conditions and may, among other populations, include families with children, elderly persons, young adults aging out of the foster care system, individuals exiting from institutional settings, veterans, or homeless
Appendix C Housing Constraints C-14 EMC Planning Group
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element Update HCD Revisions July 2023 people; or(2)Individuals eligible for services provided under the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act (Division 4.5 (commencing with Section 4500) of the Welfare and Institutions Code), who include individuals with a disability that originated before the individual was eighteen (18) years old, but not including handicapping conditions that are solely physical in nature.
Program N.2 will revise Monte Sereno’s definition of Residential Care Homes to include both state-licensed facilities and facilities that do not require a state license to operate.
Fees and Exactions
Housing development is subject to permit processing and impact fees. These fees help to compensate the public for any impact associated with the new development. These fees are collected by the City as well as other agencies providing public services in Monte Sereno. Table C-3 presents Monte Sereno development and planning fees.
Table C-3 Monte Sereno Development and Planning Fees
Planning Fees Cost
New Home/Demo Rebuild/addition 50 percent or more of existing $2,800 Remodel/addition less than 50 percent of existing $1,900 Hillside development (av. Slope 10 percent or greater) $3,100 Permit amendment $1,300
Administrative Building Site Approval $2,800
CEQA Exemption $350
CEQA Initial Study/Negative Declaration $3,400
CEQA EIR (prepared by consultant) Actual cost + 10 percent admin. fee Tentative Map – 4 lots or fewer $3,000
Tentative Map – 5 lots or more $10,000
Use Permit – General $2,800
Use Permit – Special/Historic $2,800
Building/PW/Misc Fees Cost
Building – dependent on valuation $23.50 - $5,608+$4.75 for each additional $1,000 over $1M
Electrical, Plumbing or Mechanical $159 + 0.11 per sq. ft.
Solar $159
Demolition $159
Plan Review 65 percent of building permit fee
Grading and Drainage depending on cubic yards $265-$6,360 + $31 for each additional 1,000 cubic yards
Storm Drain $1,704
Appendix C Housing Constraints C-15 EMC Planning Group
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element Update HCD Revisions July 2023 Planning Fees Cost
Construction Tax $2,996
School Fees ($3.20/sq. foot)* $6,400
Sewer Connection $510
Water Connection* $7,300
Road Impact Fee (per $1000 of valuation of permitted work) $0.49 Microfilm, Copies and Miscellaneous Other Fees $5 per page SOURCE: City of Monte Sereno NOTE: * Indicates a fee paid to another entity As a comparison, Table C-4 lists estimated fees from neighboring communities within Santa Clara County.
Table C-4 Comparison of Development Fees
Jurisdiction Single Family Small Multi-Family Large Multi-Family Campbell $72,556 $20,599 $18,541
Cupertino $136,596 $77,770 $73,959
Gilroy $69,219 $40,195 $39,135
Los Altos Hills $146,631 N/A N/A
Los Gatos $32,458 $5,764 $3,269
Milpitas $77,198 $74,326 $59,740
Monte Sereno $33,445 $4,815 $4,156
Morgan Hill $55,903 $41,374 $36,396
Mountain View $90,423 $69,497 $82,591
San Jose $9,919 $23,410 $23,410
Santa Clara $14,653 $6,733 $2,156
Saratoga $64,272 $17,063 $15,391
Sunnyvale $133,389 $126,673 $98,292
Unincorporated County $25,166 N/A N/A
SOURCE: Santa Clara County Constraints, Fees, & Processing Times Survey Quick Summary, 2022 NOTE: Total Fees (includes entitlement, building permits, and impact fees) per Unit; and Monte Sereno staff.
Total fees in Monte Sereno are generally below other Santa Clara County jurisdictions for both single-family and multi-family housing developments. This fee structure appears reasonable and comparable to other surrounding communities and, as such, is not considered a constraint to development.
Appendix C Housing Constraints C-16 EMC Planning Group
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element Update HCD Revisions July 2023 Transparency of zoning and fees: The City is in compliance with new transparency requirements and posts all zoning and development standards for each parcel on the jurisdiction’s website.
Information required by Government Code section 65940.1(a)(1) is available on the following web pages:
https://www.montesereno.org/DocumentCenter/View/3754/Fee-Schedule https://www.montesereno.org/2339/ApplicationForms
https://www.montesereno.org/2342/Zoning-and-Development-Standards https://www.montesereno.org/2339/ApplicationForms
https://www.montesereno.org/2187/Finance-Department
Processing and Permit Procedures
The construction of new single-family homes, major remodels of existing homes, and new multi-family uses in the RM zone require a Site Development Permit and a public hearing before the City Site and Architecture Commission. It does not apply to ADUs, SB9, SB10, and SB330 developments.
Table C-5 Development Pathways
Development Type
Pathways
Objective/Ministerial Discretionary
Single-Family Home* X
Major Remodel of Existing Home X
New Multi-Family (not including
SB10 or SB330)
X
Accessory Dwelling Units (including
ADUs, JADUs, and Supplementary
ADUs)
X
SB9* X X
SB10 X
SB330 X
*=Municipal Code 10.08.040 outlines when a Site Development Permit is required. Only single-family homes and SB9 developments of two or more stories will require such a permit.
Appendix C Housing Constraints C-17 EMC Planning Group
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element Update HCD Revisions July 2023 Multifamily Housing and the Site Development Permit
Monte Sereno currently has two multifamily zoning districts: RM and P. Each only apply to a single parcel:
• RM: Montalvo Oaks (18840 Saratoga-Los Gatos Road) – Development complete in 2022 • P: Daves Avenue Elementary School (17770 Daves Avenue) – School site Multifamily development in these zones has historically occurred through a discretionary process.
Interested property owners could request a rezone to allow multifamily development on their property, either through the SB10 process or by requesting a rezone to a multifamily zoning district (Program Q).
If either zoning district allowing multifamily (RM or P) is applied to a new address, or a new multifamily zoning designation allowing a minimum density of at least 20 du/ac, the RM or P zoning standards will be modified to allow objective/ministerial development using objective design standards.
Permit Processing Times
Typical permit processing times are one to two months for a remodel and two to three months for a new home, including a 10-day public notice period. Additional processing time would be required if the project is not exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act.
Permit processing procedures for single family dwelling units require a design review approval. The design review does not pose a significant cost impact because the cost of application ranges from $1,900 for a basic remodel to $3,100 for a complex hillside home construction project. Compared with other construction costs such as the cost of materials, this application fee is nominal.
Site Development Permit Findings
Projects subject to the discretionary permit review process require the Commission to find the application consistent with site and building design requirements and to find that the proposed design retains the character of the neighborhood, mitigates significant visual impacts, meets City design guidelines, and meets other standards regarding landscaping, grading, tree removal, and drainage. However, applications for a new single-family house or new multi-family housing can be made through the objective review process of SB9, SB10, and SB330 which requires compliance with only objective design and development standard rather than discretionary review.
The Site Development Permit process is required for projects listed in 10.08.040 of the municipal code. Applications are followed by a hearing before the Site and Architectural Commission, which is noticed to all property owners within 300 feet of the proposed project. The Commission is required to make the following findings:
Appendix C Housing Constraints C-18 EMC Planning Group
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element Update HCD Revisions July 2023
1. Whether the proposed improvement and/or use is compatible with the character of the surrounding neighborhood in which it would be located.
2. Whether the orientation and location of the buildings take into consideration the visual impact which could result from the proposed improvement and/or use.
3. Whether the proposed improvements, including architecture, are consistent with the City's design guidelines.
4. If applicable, whether the proposed improvement and/or use will provide for minimum grading and retention of the natural contours of the land then existing in order to protect the natural slope of the lot.
5. If applicable, whether the proposed improvement and/or use provides for:
a. Retention of significant trees as defined elsewhere in the Code, unless the findings required by Section 10.15.070 of the Code can be made; and b. Preservation of solar access.
6. If applicable, whether the landscaping for the proposed improvement and/or use emphasizes the use of native materials in the area.
Site Development Permit Analysis
For discretionary site development permits, there are findings that allow for discretion. Explain the process in 1-2 sentences: every development is getting the planning director’s touch from the beginning: one point of contact navigating the functions of the process. The application of these findings are generally limited to design, massing, as well as landscaping and screening to address potential privacy issues. These issues are somewhat objective in nature, and the City promotes certainty in meeting these findings through design guidelines and pre-application meetings with planning staff.
Since 2020, over 60 Site Development Permits for new houses (excluding ADUs) were submitted and approved. None were denied. This process does not place a significant cost on the applicant, but more often requires minor architectural alterations and/or landscaping to minimize unreasonable impacts on surrounding properties. The majority of design review applications are approved within one month from the date of submittal. The permit process does not constrain housing development. The Site Development permit does not impact certainty for objective or ministerial approval, i.e. for projects involving an ADU or JADU, SB 10, SB 330, or SB 9 developments or two stories or more. The Site and Architectural Commission findings have not posed a constraint historically on housing development in Monte Sereno, but rather requires minor alterations as stated above. The findings are only required for single-family and SB 9 projects of two
Appendix C Housing Constraints C-19 EMC Planning Group
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element Update HCD Revisions July 2023 stories or more, major remodels of an existing home, and new multi-family that is not developed through SB 10 or SB 330. Consequently, permit processing procedures and fees do not appear to be a constraint to housing development.
As a comparison, listed in Table C-5 are estimated permitted processing time from neighboring communities within Santa Clara County.
Inclusionary Ordinance and Short-Term Rental
The city does not have an inclusionary ordinance and does not allow short term rentals. Therefore, these items do not directly impact the cost and supply of residential development within the city.
Table C-5 compares permit processing times by jurisdiction across the region.
Building Codes and Enforcement
Monte Sereno has adopted the 2022 editions of the California Building, Fire, Plumbing, Mechanical, Electric and Health and Safety Codes. The City has not adopted any amendments to these codes that significantly increase housing costs; the amendments recognize the City's location in a high fire hazard area near the San Andreas Fault and require fire-resistant roofs in the Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Area, additional bracing in certain situations, and fire sprinklers. The City Council adopted reach codes requiring all new construction to use electrical appliances within a building (except for cooking appliance), provide electrical infrastructure for up to three electrical vehicle chargers, and provide a water recirculating system. The City Building Official regularly inspects development projects to ensure compliance with all applicable codes. Inspections and approvals are completed promptly and do not add unnecessary delays in the construction of new housing. Code enforcement is pursued as a result of Building Official inspections and resident complaints and typically involves minor deferred maintenance. Building Codes and Code Enforcement are not considered a constraint to development.
Table C-6 Comparison of Permit Processing Times
Jurisdiction ADU
Process
Ministerial
By-Right
Discretionary
By-Right
Discretionary
(Hearing
Officer if
Applicable)
Discretionary
(Planning
Commission)
Discretionary
(City Council)
Campbell 1 1 3 N/A 5 8
Cupertino 1-3 1-6 2-4 2-4 3-6 6-12
Gilroy 1-2 1-2 2-4 N/A 4-5 5-6
Los Altos Hills 1-2 0.5-2 2-3 3-4 4-6 5-8
Los Gatos No Data 3-6* 1-2 2-4 4-6 6-12
Milpitas 3-5 4-6 2-3 6-18 N/A 12-24
Monte Sereno 0.75 0.75 1 1-2 N/A 1-2
Appendix C Housing Constraints C-20 EMC Planning Group
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element Update HCD Revisions July 2023 Morgan Hill 1-2 1-3 2-3 2-3 4-6 4-6
Mountain View 3-5 4-6 2-3 6-18 N/A 12-24
San Jose 2 1-3 7 7 7-11 5-12
Santa Clara 0-1 0-1 0-3 4-9 6-9 6-12
Saratoga 1 1-2 2-3 N/A 4-6 6-12
Sunnyvale 1-3 1-3 3-6 6-9 9-18 9-18
Unincorporated
County
4-6 6-8 9-12 12-15 15-18 15-18
SOURCE: Santa Clara County Constraints, Fees, & Processing Times Survey Quick Summary, 2022 NOTE: Permit processing times indicated in months *Time to first review; and Monte Sereno staff.
On- and Off-Site Improvement Standards
Due to the low-density and semi-rural character of Monte Sereno, the City typically requires only minimal on- and off-site improvements as a condition of approval for new residential development, particularly compared to the requirements of neighboring communities. Most new housing development occurs on existing lots that are already served by necessary infrastructure. The City may require a gutter, curb and gutter, or curb and gutter and sidewalk for a new housing unit depending on the location. Improvement standards are not considered a constraint to development.
Parking Requirements
In Table C-6, parking requirements are presented according to zoning designation.
Table C-7 Parking Requirements
Zoning Designation Lot with on street parking Lot without on street parking R-1-8 2 covered/2 uncovered 2 covered/3 uncovered
R-1-20 2 covered/2 uncovered 2 covered/4 uncovered
R-1-44 2 covered/2 uncovered 2 covered/5 uncovered
RM 1 covered/1 uncovered 1 covered/1 uncovered
P 1 covered/1 uncovered 1 covered/1 uncovered
SOURCE: City of Monte Sereno
For single-family homes located on streets with on-street parking, the parking requirement can be met by a typical two-car garage and two parking spaces on the driveway apron. The additional requirement for uncovered driveway parking for lots without on-street parking is designed to ensure that fire access is not impaired. The requirement applies only to above moderate-income housing.
Appendix C Housing Constraints C-21 EMC Planning Group
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element Update HCD Revisions July 2023 The reduced parking requirement in the RM zoning designation is important to note and is designed to ensure that parking does not serve as a constraint to multi-family development. Consequently, parking requirements appear reasonable and are not considered a constraint.
Summary of Governmental Constraints
Given the City's already developed land use pattern, the governmental regulations identified above are a responsible and thoughtful effort to maintain the character of already developed areas while providing opportunities for additional types of housing that can be more affordable. The clustering provision for R-1-8 and RM properties, which allows smaller lot sizes, is especially important in reducing constraints to the development of all housing types. Reduced parking requirements for RM lots also make housing more affordable.
Those constraints that were identified have been addressed with specific program actions. In order to encourage more lots available for development. Further, the City intends to continue to reduce identified constraints to the development of ADUs.
C.3 Non-Governmental Constraints
Land and Construction Costs
Land is expensive in Monte Sereno due to the limited availability of buildable sites, as well as the scenic setting and the area's existing upscale character. The current market price for unimproved land ranges from $6-$10,000,000 per acre. Similarly, high construction costs in the Bay Area also contribute to the high cost of housing in Monte Sereno. Based upon City building permit data, construction costs for new single-family homes typically range from $1,000,000-$2,000,000. Land and construction costs in Monte Sereno represent the primary barrier to affordable housing in the community. The difficulty of building in Monte Sereno virtually guarantees that, even in the absence of governmental constraints, housing in Monte Sereno will be very expensive. Except for ADUs, it is extremely unlikely that housing affordable to low- and moderate-income households can be constructed in Monte Sereno under any circumstances without considerable subsidy, public or private.
Availability of Financing
As a stable and affluent community, private housing mortgage financing is readily available in Monte Sereno. There are no mortgage-deficient areas in the City and no identifiable underserved groups in need of financing assistance. At the time this Housing Element was drafted, interest rates for homebuyers were increasing from a low of 2.75 percent in 2020 to 5.75 percent in 2022 for a fixed rate, 30-year mortgage. The current economic climate is uncertain and still affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing inflation, and the supply chain disruptions.
Appendix C Housing Constraints C-22 EMC Planning Group
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element Update HCD Revisions July 2023 History of Referendum
The city incorporated in 1957 in an effort to protect its semi-rural atmosphere against neighboring annexation pressure. In May 2016, the City Council approved Resolution 3621 to amend the General Plan designation of 17765 Daves Avenue to Public/Multi-Family Residential. The City experienced submission of a referendum petition, which was certified, requiring the City to either rescind Resolution 3621 or hold an election. As a consequence, the City Council approved Resolution 3706 in August of 2018, which repealed the Public/Multi-Family General Plan Designation for 17665 Daves Avenue, and instead zoned other land that was subsequently annexed into the City for development of 18840 Saratoga-Los Gatos Road. Given prior history and the limited number of parcels that are realistically capable for development into multi-family housing in the City, the potential that local zoning decisions regarding additional multifamily housing may be subject to referendum represents a potential constraint.
Requests to Develop Densities Below Those Permitted
New State Housing Element law now requires the non-governmental constraints analysis to evaluate developer requests to build at densities below the density identified in the Housing Element sites inventory.
In order to incentivize development which better implements densities planned in the Housing Element sites inventory, the Housing Element sets forth a program (#19) to ensure that there are adequate sites available throughout the planning period to accommodate the City's regional housing needs, “or " “RHNA”. The City has not received requests to develop at densities below those permitted.
Length of Time Between Application Approval and Building Permit Issuance
New Housing Element law now also requires an examination of the length of time between receiving approval for a housing development and submittal of an application for building permits.
The time between application approval and building permit issuance is influenced by a number of factors, none of which are directly impacted by the City. Factors that may impact the timing of building permit issuance include: required technical or engineering studies; completion of construction drawings and detailed site and landscape design; securing construction and permanent financing; and retention of a building contractor and subcontractors.
The majority of residential permits in Monte Sereno are for single-family homes, with building permit issuance generally taking 8-14 months after Planning approvals. Hillside properties may take a few months longer due to the need for technical and engineering studies. In Monte Sereno most approved projects are constructed in a reasonable time period.
Appendix C Housing Constraints C-23 EMC Planning Group
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element Update HCD Revisions July 2023 Environmental Constraints
This section contains information on current risks due to natural and human-made hazards.
Wildfire
Open space areas that are heavily vegetated and grassy are especially vulnerable to fire hazards. The risk of fire is highest in the steep, heavily vegetated hillside area south of Highway 9. The risk of fire is also highest during the summer and fall dry seasons. Because most wildfires are caused by people, increased accessibility to fire hazard areas further increases the risk of fire. Figure C-1 exhibits that approximately half of Monte Sereno is located within a very high fire hazard area, and even those areas not designated as high fire hazard are subject to wildfire, because one or more large trees are present on practically every lot in the community.
When housing is built close to forests or other types of natural vegetation, the structures pose two problems related to wildfires. First, there will be more wildfires due to human ignitions. Second, wildfires that occur will pose a greater risk to lives and homes, they will be hard to fight, and letting natural fires burn becomes impossible. Development in wildland urban interface areas will exacerbate wildfire problems in the future. State laws generally do not make an exception for fire hazard with laws allowing ADUs, and requiring SB 9 development to provide some mitigation measures either under existing building standards or state fire mitigation measures. A housing Sites Inventory reliant on Accessory Dwelling Units enable distribution throughout a community which increases AFFH opportunities, though distribution of sites also means distribution of fire risk for new housing units, particularly those with single egress, as shown with Figure C-2 and Figure C-3.
Lack of evacuation routes exponentially compounds the risk from natural hazards in Monte Sereno.
If a fire comes over the neighboring Santa Cruz Mountains, Highway 9 would likely be affected, which for many is the only way out of Monte Sereno. The primary evacuation route for the community is Saratoga-Los Gatos Road (Highway 9)—a two-lane highway, and according to a report by Hexagon Transportation Consultants, Inc. prepared for the Hacienda Project in 2018, the intersection at North Santa Cruz Avenue and Saratoga-Los Gatos Road operates at a very poor Level of Service E during peak hour2
. During an emergency evacuation (e.g., during a wildfire event), this key intersection would be expected to be unpassable for extended periods of time. Those that can get to Highway 17 would encounter an unmoving traffic bottleneck. Highway 17, has experienced tremendous traffic delays because of the additional 40 units being built adjacent to the on ramp at Lark Avenue, and access to this entrance will be completely clogged in an emergency.
Adding more housing to the area significantly increases the risk of trapped residents in a wildfire event to an unacceptable level.
2 Hexagon Transportation Consultants, Inc., 2018. “18840 Saratoga-Los Gatos Road Residential Development:
Transportation Impact Analysis.”
Appendix C Housing Constraints C-24 EMC Planning Group
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element Update HCD Revisions July 2023 The City’s General Plan include policies to mitigate against fire hazards; however, the extent and danger of the fire severity zones within Monte Sereno pose a significant constraint to development.
Seismic Activity
Monte Sereno is located within the seismically active San Francisco Bay region, one of the most seismically active zones in the United States. The faults in the San Francisco Bay region are capable of generating earthquakes of at least 8.0 in magnitude on the Richter Scale, producing very strong ground shaking in Monte Sereno. The closest major fault is the San Andreas Fault, which passes through Monte Sereno’s SOI southwest of Lyndon Canyon. A portion of Monte Sereno also is near the potentially active Shannon Fault, just north of Monte Sereno in Los Gatos.
Landslides and slope instability are the major geologic hazards in Monte Sereno. The hillside region of the city contains some rock formations conducive to landslides. The landslide zone is also present within the Sphere of Influence. Landslides and unstable slopes may occur in this area and can create hazards within the city as the slide debris and rock move down the incline toward the city's valley floor. According to the County of Santa Clara, approximately 75 percent of Monte Sereno is located in an area with a high potential for earthquake induced landslides.
To address these seismic hazards the City includes policies in the General Plan to reduce the threat of seismic activity including requiring new construction to be built using the most recent building codes to minimize potential damage to structures as a result of an earthquake. Development or substantial renovations in Monte Sereno must comply with the Uniform Building Code (UBC), which outlines standards for seismic design, foundations and drainage and requires that geotechnical engineering studies be undertaken for all major new buildings or earth works.
Appendix C Housing Constraints C-25 EMC Planning Group
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element Update HCD Revisions July 2023 Figure C-1 Wildfire Severity Zones
SOURCE: EMC Planning Group
Appendix C Housing Constraints C-26 EMC Planning Group
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element Update HCD Revisions July 2023 Figure C-2 Wildfire Severity Zones and ADU Housing Sites SOURCE: EMC Planning Group
Appendix C Housing Constraints C-27 EMC Planning Group
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element Update HCD Revisions July 2023 Figure C-3 Single Egress and ADU Housing Sites
SOURCE: EMC Planning Group
Appendix C Housing Constraints C-28 EMC Planning Group
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element Update HCD Revisions July 2023 Flood Hazards
Large-scale flooding is not a significant hazard in Monte Sereno. Most of the properties in Monte Sereno are built above the base flood elevation. However, both surface and subsurface local drainage problems do exist in some parts of Monte Sereno, and there is currently no drainage plan for Monte Sereno. Due to its minimal danger of flooding, the City is not included in the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) emergency program list of the National Flood Insurance Program.
Hazardous Materials and Hazardous Waste
Hazardous material usage and hazardous waste are primarily associated with residential uses in Monte Sereno. Household hazardous materials including pesticides, fertilizers and oil are the most commonly occurring hazardous material in the city. The California Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) is authorized by the Environmental Protection Agency to enforce and implement federal hazardous materials laws and regulations, including disposal and transportation of hazardous materials. Santa Clara County operates a Household Hazardous Waste disposal program for incorporated and unincorporated residents and small businesses. Household hazardous waste includes flammable, corrosive, toxic and oxidizer material and can be dropped off at facilities located in Sunnyvale, San Jose and San Martin.
The City’s General Plan and Municipal Code include policies and regulations prohibiting accumulation of hazardous materials.
Appendix C Housing Constraints C-29 EMC Planning Group
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element Update HCD Revisions July 2023 This side intentionally left blank.
Efforts to Locate Vacant Sites D
APPENDIX
Appendix D
Efforts to Locate Vacant Sites
D.1 Introduction
The City of Monte Sereno undertook extensive efforts to locate vacant, partially vacant, and underutilized sites available for housing development in the community. This appendix provides details on:
Recent actions by the Monte Sereno City Council to reduce fees for ADUs; Outreach to the First Baptist Community Church; and
Letters sent to 20 property owners whose sites had been identified as possible candidates for rezoning to allow housing development.
7-21-2022 City Council
Consider ADU Building Permit Fee Reduction
Title
Consider Reducing Building Permit and Plan Check Fees for Accessory Dwelling Units When the Property Owner has Formally Notified the City of their Intention to Construct an Accessory Dwelling Unit for the Next RHNA Cycle
Recommendation
Staff recommends the City Council adopt the draft resolution to approve a 50% reduction of plan check and building permit fees for new Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) and other secondary dwelling units for a maximum of 225 properties where the property owner has formally notified the City in writing of their intention to construct an ADU by December 15, 2022, and submitted a complete building permit application by July 1, 2029, so that such building permits will be issued during the current RHNA cycle ending December 31, 2029.
Background Information
The Housing Element is part of the City’s General Plan and identifies policies and programs to meet the housing needs of the city’s current and future residents. State law (Government Code Sections 65580-65589.8) requires that every city and county in California adopt a Housing Element, approximately every five or eight years. In addition, the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) reviews and certifies that each Housing Element meets all the requirements of the law. Monte Sereno’s current Housing Element was adopted in 2015 and the new document must be adopted by January 2023, but the state’s approval process can take several months.
Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA)
Every city in California receives a required number of homes to plan for in the updated Housing
Element. This is called the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA).
Monte Sereno’s RHNA for this upcoming Housing Element is 193, an over 300% increase from last cycle’s RHNA of 61. Under state law, cities do not need to ensure these homes are built, but do need to identify adequate housing sites, as part of their sites inventory, and put in place the proper zoning and address development constraints, so that the private sector can build the housing. The RHNA is broken down by income category, Monte Sereno’s income specific RHNA is:
Very Low Income: 53
Low Income: 30
Moderate Income: 31
Above Mod Income: 79
Total: 193
There are three main options for the Council to consider in order to plan for the required number of additional housing units: ADUs, projects constructed under the new SB-9 regulations, and rezoning sites to a higher density to allow for additional housing units.
These options were discussed at the Joint Special Meeting of the City Council and Site and Architectural Commission on May 24, 2022, the consensus from the Council and Commissioners was that efforts should be focused on meeting the RHNA requirements through the construction of ADUs.
Analysis
The standard methodology to estimate the number of ADUs that will be constructed during the
2023-2031 planning period is based on the average number of such units constructed since
2019, when the state law made it easier to construct such units. This is described in Attachment
1, the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) Technical Memo for Using ADUs to Satisfy RHNA. The following table shows the number building permits that were issued for construction of new ADUs each calendar year since 2019:
Year Building Permits Issued for
New
ADUs
2019 14
2020 9
2021 14
2022
(Projected based on 9 units issued through June
15)
18 Average 13.75
A straight projection of the average above would total 110 ADU which could be planned for the update Housing Element. However, as shown above, the number of building permits issued in 2020 for new ADUs was low. This is likely due to the beginning of the Covid 19 Pandemic and local health orders which required non-essential construction to cease for several months. The attached Technical Memo does indicate that a small amount of flexibility may be allowed to the straight average projection. If 2020 is excluded, the total number of ADU permits issued in 2019, 2021, and projected for 2022 is 46, which would project to 122 for the eight-year planning period of 2023-2031 in the updated Housing Element.
As noted in the Attachment 1, the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) Technical Memo for Using ADUs to Satisfy RHNA, a jurisdiction may project a higher number of ADUs that will be constructed during the 2023-2031 planning period if a robust, funded, and clear plan is developed to increase the production of ADUs.
As part of such program to justify an increased ADU projection, the City Council directed staff to schedule this special meeting to consider a fee reduction of 50% of the permitting and plan review fees for the construction of a new ADU or the conversion of an existing structure to an ADU. Depending on the size of the ADU, these fees total approximately $7,200 for each new ADU, which would be reduced by $3,600 if the 50% reduction is approved. It is important to note that there are other fee items that are not part of the proposed reduction program such as the City’s adopted Construction Tax and other fees that are state mandated. The Construction Tax is a voter approved tax that cannot be altered without an approved ballot measure. The other fees are not considered user fees as they are collected to cover the costs of specific impacts and state mandates.
The fee reduction would be available to a maximum of 225 properties. This was determined by applying a 15% buffer on the RHNA allocation of 193 (as recommended by the HCD), which results in 222 and adding a few more to round off the number.
The City Council Ad Hoc Committee and the Site and Architectural Commission Ad Hoc Committee for the Housing Element Update are developing a community-wide outreach program that will include neighborhood canvassing where residents will be informed of the updated Housing Element and the RHNA allocation as well as, if approved, the fee reduction program for ADUs. The intent of this effort is to inform the community of the Housing Element issues and request written intention from those residents interested in constructing an ADU or secondary dwelling unit by December 31, 2029.
Fiscal Impact
A 50% reduction in the permitting and plan review fees would result in approximately $3,500 to $4,000 per ADU permit, depending on the size on the building. If 225 permits were issued under the fee reduction program, this would result in decreased revenue of up to $900,000 over the eight-year period, or $112,500 on average each year.
Public Noticing
The City of Monte Sereno's council meeting agenda was posted on the bulletin board outside of Monte Sereno City Hall and the agenda with this staff report can be accessed on The City of Monte Sereno's website located at www.montesereno.org.
Attachments
1. ABAG Technical Memo - Using ADUs to Satisfy RHNA
2. Draft Resolution
From: Martin Carver
To: Martin Carver
Subject: FW: Letters Sent to Property Owners of Potential Sites
Date: Friday, July 15, 2022 10:16:30 AM
Attachments: Sites Letters Mailed 4-6-2022.pdf
Letters Mailed 5-19-2022 Bicknell Rd.pdf
Letters Mailed 5-19-2022 Vineland Av.pdf
From: Diana Perkins <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2022 1:00 PM
To: Ande Flower <[email protected]>
Subject: Letters Sent to Property Owners of Potential Sites Hello. Attached are the letters that were mailed to property owners of the sites on Vineland and Bicknell to see if property owners were interested in being considered for a re-zone.
Very little response was received from the property owners (I think on person contacted me to discuss), but we did receive strong feedback from several neighborhood residents that they were not interested in rezoning in their neighborhood.
Thank you,
Diana Perkins | City Planner
City of Monte Sereno, California
18041 Saratoga-Los Gatos Road | Monte Sereno, CA 95030
Office 408.498.5283
[email protected] | www.cityofmontesereno.org
Ande Flower
From: Roger McCarty <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, April 18, 2022 10:47 AM
To: Javed Ellahie
Cc: Pastor Daniel Sternquist; Steve Leonardis; Diana
Perkins
Subject: Re: Meeting?
Dear All,
I want to thank Mayor Ellahie for reaching out to us concerning the RHNA numbers. I had written this to him the other day. "In the meantime, I was a bit surprised to receive a registered letter from the City of Monte Sereno concerning the Housing Element and the potential designation of our property as a possible spot for being re‐zoned. I will continue to remind you all that we have always been opposed to this move. We do not have now, nor have we had in the past, any interest in being re‐zoned" I would like for this to serve as our stated position. Thank you for understanding our position and removing us from any current or future consideration.
Roger G. McCarty, Pastor
First Baptist Community Church
17765 Daves Ave.
Monte Serfeno, CA 95030
On Fri, Apr 15, 2022 at 6:04 PM Javed Ellahie <[email protected]> wrote:
Pastor McCarthy:
Staff has advised me that the letter sent to you was intended to let you know that the Church parcel is part of the inventory of lots that can be rezoned ‐ such a notice is required to be given to all property owners whose property could help satisfy the housing element requirements.
The notice also provides that if you do not wish your property to be considered – which we know is this case ‐ you simply have to so advise staff. Once your response gets to staff your property will not be considered for rezoning.
I hope this helps
Javed I. Ellahie
Mayor
Review of Previous Housing Element E
APPENDIX
Table of Contents
APPENDIX E REVIEW OF PREVIOUS HOUSING ELEMENT ..............................................E-1 E.1 Introduction ...........................................................................................................................E-1 E.2 Effectiveness of Element .....................................................................................................E-1 E.3 Progress in Implementation.................................................................................................E-2 E.4 Appropriateness in Goals, Objectives and Policies........................................................E-16 E.5 Summary – Overall Effectiveness of Programs..............................................................E-16 Tables
Table E-1 Overview of Adopted Program...............................................................................E-3 Table E-2 Housing Permits Issued, 2015-2023 .................................................................... E-14
Appendix E Review of Previous Housing Element E-1
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Appendix E
Review of Previous Housing Element
E.1 Introduction
In order to effectively plan for the future, it is important to reflect back on the goals of the previous Housing Element and to identify those areas where progress was made and those areas where continued effort is needed. State Housing Element guidelines require communities to evaluate their previous Housing Element according to the following criteria:
Effectiveness of the Element;
Progress in Implementation; and
Appropriateness in Goals, Objectives and Policies.
E.2 Effectiveness of Element
The City’s 2015 Housing Element identified the following goals:
Goal H-1: Provide Housing Consistent with The Character of The Community; Goal H-2: Construct Additional Housing to Meet the Identified Needs of All Income Groups in Monte Sereno;
Goal H-3: Maintain and Improve Existing Housing Stock; Goal H-4: Support A Continuum of Housing Opportunities for Members of The Monte Sereno Community in All Stages of Life, Including Those with or without Special Needs; and Goal H-5: Ensure Equal Housing Opportunities.
In order to achieve these goals, the 2015 Housing Element listed a series of policies and actions.
The policies covered a range of housing concerns, including support for the development of accessory dwelling units, providing appropriate zoning for lower and moderate-income households, removing governmental constraints, maintaining public infrastructure, and promoting equal housing opportunities for all persons. The policies complied with the State Housing Law guidelines in place at the time.
Cumulatively, the past goals, policies, and related actions were somewhat effective in meeting the ownership housing needs of special needs populations such as the elderly and persons with
Appendix E Review of Previous Housing Element E-2
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 disabilities, but less effective in meeting the rental needs of families with large households, seniors, farmworkers, female-headed households, and those experiencing homelessness. Several programs have been revised with this draft update as appropriate to increase and broaden the number of units available to those with special needs.
E.3 Progress in Implementation
To assess the City’s progress in implementing the 2015 Housing Element, the following key areas were reviewed:
Adopted Programs;
Production of Housing;
Preservation of “At Risk” Units;
Rehabilitation of Existing Units; and
Each of these areas is discussed in detail below.
Overview of Adopted Programs
Table E-1 identifies all of the actions the City committed to in the 2015 Housing Element. The table also includes a description of the progress that was made during the 2015–2023 planning period. Overall, the City is working to improve programs to increase the variety of housing types including increasing production of multi-family units and affordability programs.
Production of Housing
The 2015 Housing Element identified a Regional Housing Needs Allocation of 61 housing units in Monte Sereno between January 1, 2015 and June 30, 2023. The Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) was divided into the following income categories:
Allocation of 23 units affordable to very low-income households; 58 units constructed Allocation of 13 units affordable to low-income households; 9 units constructed Allocation of 13 units affordable to moderate-income households; 1 unit constructed Allocation of 12 units affordable to above moderate-income households; 71 units constructed With a total of 61 units allocated, Monte Sereno succeeded with construction of 139 housing units, over 200% of the RHNA. There was a shortfall in production of moderate-income and low-income housing units relative to the RHNA for Monte Sereno’s 5th Housing Cycle.
Appendix E Review of Previous Housing Element E-3
Monte Sereno 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031) Adoption Draft: May 2024 Table E-1 Overview of Adopted Program
No.
Programs/Actions
[The text provided in this column is a synopsis only; for complete program language pleasure refer to the 2015 Housing Element] Achievements/Effectiveness Continue/Modify
/Delete
Program H-1.1 Continue to require Site Development Permit approval for all new homes and to require project consistency with the City Design Guidelines.
Site Development Permits are required for all new
development, except where a discretionary hearing or
permit is prohibited by State Law (i.e., ADUs, SB 9).
In January 2022, the City Council adopted Objective
Design Standards that are applicable to ministerial
projects in accordance with State laws.
Modify
The City has modified
its code to provide for
ministerial approval
where required by
applicable law;
otherwise this
program remains in
place.
Program H-2.1 Continue to administer and improve the Second Unit Program in order to encourage the construction of additional Second Units affordable to lower income households. Specific tasks that the City will undertake include:
Continue to survey affordability and use of Second Units; Revise the approval process for Second Units;
Publicize incentives for construction of new Second Units; Continue the Second Unit amnesty program;
Review and revise Second Unit Program to remove constraints to Second Unit development;
Explore other innovative uses of Second Units; and
Further amend the Second Unit Program, such as by permitting junior second units, if necessary, to achieve RHNA production goals.
The City continues to administer and improve the
Second Unit Program, now referred to as Accessory
Dwelling Units (ADUs), and has taken the following
actions:
Continue to survey affordability and use of
ADUs;
Continue to publish incentives for ADUs through
the City website and at City Hall front counter
(ongoing), and such incentives include waiver of
permit fees;
Provide residents the Accessory Dwelling Unit
Handbook published by the State Department of
Housing and Community Development (HCD);
The City recently amended the local zoning code
to stay current with state regulations regarding
ADU construction;
The City recently enacted a revised amnesty
program to encourage property owners to
legalized non-permitted ADUs without code
enforcement penalties; and
Modify
The City recently
amended its ADU
regulations to comply
with new state law
coming into effect
January 1, 2023
under SB-897 and
AB-2221. This
program will continue
as it is required by
state law under
Government Code
section 65852.2.
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The permitting process for ADUs was
streamlined to no longer require a Planning
Permit, only a building permit is required.
Additionally, the City has adopted an ordinance to allow an additional residential unit on each single-family lot in accordance with SB 9.
The annual ADU survey has found that 93% of ADUs
constructed are used as dwelling units. And 74% are
rented at very low- or low-income levels.
ADU construction contributed significantly to Monte
Sereno meeting the RHNA requirements for both the
number of new dwelling units and the affordability
categories for the 5th Cycle Housing Element.
Program H-2.2 Explore and implement if appropriate other options to provide additional affordable housing opportunities within its existing housing stock.
The City continues to explore shared housing
opportunities and programs. The City continues to
coordinate and participate with the Santa Clara County
Housing Authority to seek opportunities for affordable
housing within Monte Sereno. However, there has been
no interest from developers to construct such projects in Monte Sereno.
Due to staff turnover, proactively contacting affordable housing providers proved difficult. The city did not
proactively contact agencies.
New Program L ensures that annual agency outreach to
encourage affordable housing opportunities will be
conducted in the future by requiring such actions be
reported on with each Annual Progress Report. City
Planning Staff will track outreach measures and their
results and include a reporting out to Council and to
HCD via the Annual Progress Report.
Staff will continue to listen and track inquiries that
include increasing housing units within the City and bring innovative concepts forward for Council’s consideration.
Modify to increase
accountability and
effectiveness
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As ADU construction has been the most successful way
Monte Sereno has seen new housing units constructed,
focus continues to be placed on further encouraging and incentivizing ADU construction as noted in Program H-2.1 above.
Program H-2.3 Evaluate progress towards meeting its RHNA, in particular new construction objectives for extremely low, very low-, low- and moderate-income households. If the City determines that fewer than 12 Second Units are constructed every two years, the City will evaluate and implement revisions to the Second Unit program.
As noted in section 6.4 below, the City greatly
exceeded the RHNA requirements for the 5th Cycle
Housing Element. Accessory Dwelling Units (Second
Units) were constructed filling the Very Low RHNA
numbers surpassing the City’s objectives
The permitting process for ADUs has been
streamlined to no longer require a separate Planning
application; ADUs submit for building permit only.
The City successfully constructed 12 or more ADUs
every two years during the 5th Cycle Housing Element
with a total of 86 ADUs permitted between 2015 and
2022. The very low and low income affordability levels
of new ADUs exceeded the RHNA requirements with
65 rented at level of Very Low Income (23 required)
and 13 at Low Income (13 required). Six ADUs that
were permitted were used for Moderate Income Leve,
where 13 were required. Also, 2 ADUs permitted were
used for Above Income Level where 12 were
required; however, the 74 new single-family houses
that were permitted were all Above Moderate Income
Level, so the total new dwelling units at this level
were 76.
As 12 or more ADUs were constructed every two
years and the Very-Low and Low-Income affordability
levels were exceeded, revisions to the ADU (Second
Unit) standards were not required as part of this
Program. However, the City made many changes to
the ADU development standards and permitting
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process to further incentivize their construction and
compliance with intervening state law during the 5th
Cycle and in preparation for the 6th Cycle. These
items are discussed in Program H-2.1 above.
Program H-2.4 Work with nearby communities to explore countywide housing needs and solutions. Provide a summary report of activities in cooperation with other jurisdictions/agencies.
The City currently participates with the Housing Trust
of Santa Clara County, the Housing Authority of
Santa Clara County and the Santa Clara County
Office of Affordable Housing. Activities and programs
include:
*Mortgage Credit Certification Program for first time
homebuyers
*2016 Housing Bond to fund housing needs of the
community’s poorest and most vulnerable residents
*Information about how to get connected to long-term
housing
*Information about emergency shelters
*Plan to tackle homelessness
*Rental assistance
Continue
Program H-2.5 Revise the Municipal Code (Section 10.05.045) Public ("P") zoning district by December 2016 to allow multifamily residential uses by right on the First Baptist Church site (17765 Daves Avenue). Make specific outreach with developers of housing affordable to lower income and special need households.
17765 Daves Avenue
In May 2016, the City Council approved Resolution
3621 to amend the General Plan designation of
17765 Daves Avenue to Public/Multi-Family
Residential, which would have allowed up to 5
dwelling units per acre on the approximately 3.5-acre
First Baptist church site. The zoning standards
discussed in the 5th Cycle Housing Element for this
site did not specify development on this site should be attached housing, rather it specified the density of up to 5 dwelling unit per acre.
Multi-family zoning was instead established at an
alternative site (18840 Saratoga-Los Gatos Road, see
Completed
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below) as a result of a referendum petition that was
filed and certified to require an election on Resolution 3621 or its repeal. As a consequence, the City
Council approved Resolution 3706 in August of 2018,
which repealed the Public/Multi-Family General Plan
Designation for 17665 Daves Avenue. This site is
currently zoned for two units an acre.
Instead of this First Baptist church site becoming the
destination for new multi-family housing during the 5th Housing Element Cycle, the City welcomed an
alternative opportunity to support housing
construction at 18840 Saratoga Los Gatos Road.
Representatives from the church site at 17765 Daves
Avenue expressly requested to have their site
included with the 6th Cycle Housing Element.
18840 Saratoga-Los Gatos Road
The City amended its General Plan and Zoning
Ordinance to allow multi-family residential uses at
18840 Saratoga-Los Gatos Road, the Hacienda site,
in June of 2018. This allowed for a new development
of 36 housing units.
In June 2018, the City Council adopted a series of
resolutions (3692 through 3697) which approved
annexation and development, of an approximately
4.5-acre site to construct 36 dwellings at a density of 9 dwelling unit per acre at 18840 Saratoga Los Gatos
Road. As part of these actions, the City Council
amended the Multi-Family General Plan designation
to allow 9 dwelling units per acre instead of the
maximum 5 dwelling units per acre that was
previously allowed.
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The project approved at 18840 Saratoga Los Gatos
Road resulted in a higher density than what was
approved for the 17765 Dave Avenue site and
contributed to housing diversity within Monte Sereno.
Only detached single-family homes existed in Monte
Sereno before this project was developed. The multi-family re-zoning locational change also resulted in overall more dwelling units constructed than what was
projected with the 5th Cycle Housing Element, as the
Saratoga Los Gatos Road site is 4.5 acres compared
with the Daves Avenue suite of 3.5 acres.
While the 5th Cycle Housing Element did not include a
requirement for the new multi-family uses to be
attached units, this project included one 4-unit
building, one 3-unit building, four 2-unit buildings, and 21 detached houses. This development resulted in
limited expansion of housing variety available within
Monte Sereno.
Staff encouraged the 18840 Saratoga Los Gatos
Road developer to include affordable units. However,
the developer was not interested in constructing
affordable units at this site. Moving forward, with
Program G, the City will include outreach to
affordable housing/non-profit housing developers to
increase likelihood of construction of affordable units.
The Final Map for development on the 18840
Saratoga Los Gatos Road site (named Montalvo
Oaks), was approved on November of 2019.
Demolition of the site occurred in fall of 2019 and
grading and improvements were approved and began
in 2019. Building permits for the model homes and
sales office were issued in December of 2019.
Building Permits for the remaining 35 single-family
dwellings and one accessory dwelling unit were
issued in August and November 2020. Construction
was completed at the end of 2022
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Outreach to Multi-Family Developers
Due to staff turnover, proactively contacting affordable housing agencies proved difficult. There is a lack of
evidence from former City staff that proactive outreach occurred during the 5th Cycle and the Program lacked
accountability measures. New Program L ensures that
annual agency outreach to encourage affordable
housing opportunities will be conducted in the future by requiring such actions be reported on with each Annual
Progress Report. City Planning Staff will track outreach measures and their results and include a reporting out to Council and to HCD via the Annual Progress Report.
New Programs G and L ensures that annual outreach is
conducted in the future by requiring such actions be
reported on with each Annual Progress Report.
Lessons Learned
City Staff has discovered through analysis of what
has occurred in Monte Sereno through the 5th Cycle
re-zoning efforts, the importance of regularly working
together with affordable housing agencies and
deepening relationships with property owners who
desire to be part of the housing crisis solution before adding sites to the Sites Inventory. Through
understanding the needs of agencies who produce
and manage housing units, additional opportunities
may be discovered and implemented to increase the
likelihood that Monte Sereno will broaden the variety
of housing options.
Going forward with SB-10 to allow multi-family units
within single-family neighborhoods (Program Q), City
Staff will include a housing-type requirement. Only
apartments will be allowed to be developed within
these newly zoned multi-family sites. To encourage
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Program H-2.6 The City will revise the Municipal Code to:
Allow employee housing that provides housing for 6 or fewer employees in all residential zoned areas;
Include residential care homes, supportive housing and transitional housing as a "use by right" in RM zones; and
Include Municipal Code Chapter 10.05 regarding SRO use as allowable in RM zones.
Modification to allow for residential care homes,
supportive housing and transitional housing in all
residential zoning districts was completed in
November 2016.
Municipal Code Chapter 10.05 now also authorizes
rental of single rooms in all residential districts.
Delete
Program H-3.1 Continue to pursue code enforcement on homes that are not maintained in compliance with City codes. On-going based on staff observations during routine visits and in response to complaints.
The City has a contract Code Enforcement Officer
who responds to code compliance complaints/issues.
Continue
Program H-3.2 Review and revise on a biannual basis the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) to identify public infrastructure priorities that will maintain the community's older residential neighborhoods.
Annually the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and
priorities are set and approved by the City Council
during the budget setting process. The City Council
also conducts mid- year budget review to make
adjustments as needed to the CIP. Beginning with
Fiscal Year 2017-2018, the City embarked on a five-year Pavement Management Program to improve the overall condition of the City's neighborhoods and
focused on streets using a Pavement Condition Index
(PCI) rating of 63 (fair) to a rating of 70 (good). In
Fiscal Year 2019-2020 this goal was revised to meet
the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s goal of
for the average PCI on local roads to be a rating of
75. As of December 2021, the City’s PCI rating is 72.
59 of the City’s 87 street segments have been
resurfaced since Fiscal Year 2017-2018.
Continue
Program H-3.3 Encourage energy conservation practices for new and existing residential dwelling units. Suggested actions include:
Continue to offer streamlining and fee waivers for solar panel installations;
Continue the "Build It Green" program and checklists; The City has adopted and enforces the California
Green Building Code. The City on an ongoing basis
provides resource material on green building and
conservation programs though the Planning and
Building Departments.
Continue
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Provide information regarding rebate programs and energy audits available through PG&E; and
Provide resource materials regarding green building and conservation programs.
In December of 2019 the City adopted the new
Residential Building Code with a local amendment
requiring pre-wiring for electric appliances regardless of the use of gas.
Program H-4.1 Support special need households (including physically and developmentally disabled) in securing affordable and appropriate housing.
The City will:
Promote the use of Second Units;
Continue to allow transitional housing, supportive housing and residential care facilities, including group homes for six or less persons, as a use by right in all R-1 neighborhoods;
Annually contact nonprofit housing sponsors to coordinate and implement a strategy for developing or making housing available; and Amend the Municipal Code to allow supportive housing, transitional housing and residential care facilities in the RM zone.
The City continues on an ongoing basis to promote
the use of Accessory Dwelling Units (second units) to
potential applicants. The City continues to allow
transitional housing, supportive housing and
residential care facilities in the R-1 zoning districts.
Modification to the Municipal Code to allow
transitional housing, supportive housing and
residential care facilities in the RM zoning district was completed in July 2016.
The City continues to coordinate and participate with the Santa Clara County Housing Authority to seek
opportunities for affordable housing within Monte
Sereno. However, there has been no interest from
developers to construct such projects in Monte Sereno.
As ADU construction has been the most successful way
Monte Sereno has seen new housing units constructed,
focus was placed on further encouraging and
incentivizing ADU construction as noted in Program
H-2.1 above.
Due to staff turnover proactively contacting non-profit housing providers proved difficult. New Programs G
(Development Incentives), Program J (Special Needs
Housing), and Program L (Shared Housing Options)
ensure that annual outreach is conducted in the future
by requiring such actions be reported on with each
Annual Progress Report.
Continue
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Program H-4.2 Work to develop a plan to meet the changing needs of seniors. The City of Monte Sereno is partnering with Santa Clara County Department of Aging and Adult Services
to become part of the World Health Organization's
Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities &
Communities.
Construction of ADUs and interest in ADUs has come
from many senior members of the community who
would like to continue living on their property but can no longer afford or maintain their main house. The
construction of ADUs provide an opportunity for
senior members of the community to remain in the
community and on their property while down-sizing.
Further, the ADU program has allowed other property
owners to provide a place for their aging parents to
live nearby, but still allowing for some level of
independence.
ADU construction has been the most successful way
Monte Sereno has seen new housing units
constructed. Focus was placed on further
encouraging and incentivizing ADU construction as
noted in Program H-2.1 above. Staff has heard
repeatedly from senior members of the community of
their desire to age-in-place on their property and
downsize into an ADU. Reducing the constraints to
ADU construction as noted in Program HE-2.1, has
resulted in a significant increase in ADU construction
over this Planning Period. To continue to encourage
ADU construction for seniors, Programs I (Accessory
Dwelling Units) and K (Seniors and Accessory
Dwelling Units) is established to continue to
encourage this option and remove constraints.
Home-sharing opportunities as an innovative
approach to expanding housing variety for seniors.
Program L in Chapter 2 commits the City to pursuing
Modify
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this option in partnership with agencies such as
Project Sentinel.
Program H-4.3 Review existing procedures and identify revisions to the City's procedures in order to expedite the development review process. The City implemented a Permit Tracking system for the Building Permit process in July of 2020. The
system enables the electronic tracking of the Building
Permit process including multi-departmental review
and scheduling of inspections. The system
streamlines the review of permits and dissemination
of comments to the applicants from the various
departments' review of the permit.
Additionally, the City added an electronic Planning
permit tracking system which tracks the status of all
Planning applications, pending reviews, and items
scheduled for public hearing. This streamlines the
application tracking for staff by providing automated
project status and reporting.
Continue
Program H-5.1 Continue to implement its "Reasonable Accommodations" procedures as contained in the Municipal Code.
The City continues to implement its Reasonable
Accommodation procedure. During the 2021 calendar
year the City did not receive any requests for
Reasonable Accommodation.
Continue
Program H-5.2 Provide written information on fair housing laws and resources at the Planning Department counter as well as on the City's website.
Written information on Fair Housing is available at the planning front counter and City's website. The City will continue to promote Project Sentinel as a resource for
fair housing information and advisory services. The City has received no complaints of discrimination in calendar year 2021.
Continue