Affordable Housing Density Bonus Request
DATE: UPDATED 10/25/22
*PROJECT: 1265 Montecito Ave, Mountain View, CA 94043 - PL-2021-152 TO: Edgar Maravilla, Project Planner
FROM: Kevin Bussett, Studio E Architects on behalf of Charities Housing SUBJECT: Montecito Affordable Housing Density Bonus Request COPIES TO: File
MEMORANDUM:
A. Project Summary Information and Density Bonus Request The 1.04 acre project site is located at 1265 Montecito Ave., at the corner of Montecito Ave. and N. Shoreline Blvd and is currently developed with a two-story office building that would be demolished for the project. The current General Plan Land Use Designation is Neighborhood Commercial (CN) and the project is requesting a General Plan Amendment to High Density Residential which would allow a density of up to 80 dwelling units per acre or 83.18 base units (rounded up to 84 base units for affordable housing.) The project meets all other requirements of the R4 zone including a minimum 1 acre site, 160 ft lot width, and 60 ft maximum building height limit.
The applicant, Charities Housing, is proposing a five-story, 85-unit development with 84 affordable units for households with incomes at or below 60% area median income (AMI) and a three-bedroom manager’s unit.
The project requests a 1.2% density bonus to 81.73 du/ac to allow one additional unit beyond the base density of 84 dwelling units allowed under the proposed R4 zoning (85 units total.) The project is also within 0.5 miles of a major transit stop and eligible for a 0.5 spaces/unit parking ratio per State Density Bonus Law.
Finally, the density bonus request includes a development standard waiver to provide no personal storage, which is required at 80 sq ft or 164 cu ft per unit in the R4 Zoning District.
PROJECT SUMMARY TABLE
Lot Area: 45,296 sf (1.04 acres)
Floor Area Ratio: 2.3 FAR Max. (R-4 Zone at 80 du/ac)
Allowable FAR: 45,296 x 2.3 = 104,181 SF
Proposed FAR: 96,091 sf or 2.12 FAR
Residential Density: R-4 Zone: 80 du/ac max. x 1.04 ac = 83.18 units Proposed Density: 85 units / 1.04 ac = 81.73 du/ac
(Rounded up to 84 base units for affordable housing.)
(Project requests a 1.2% Density Bonus)
Attachment 9
1265 Montecito Ave PL2021-152 Affordable Housing Density Bonus Request 10/25/22 – Charities Housing Page 2 of 3
UNIT COUNT
Total Site Area: 45,296 sf (1.04 acres)
Total Floor Area: 96,091 SF
Total Rentable Area: 51,274 sf (See table below)
RENTABLE AREA NUMBER OF INTERIOR TOTAL
UNIT MIX BEDROOMS AREA
(24) Studios (28.6%) (24 bedrooms) 348 sf 8,352 sf
(18) 1-Bedroom (21.4%) (18 bedrooms) 517 sf 8,272 sf (21) 2-Bedroom (25.0%) (42 bedrooms) 666 sf 13,986 sf (21) 3-Bedroom (25.0%) (63 bedrooms) 984 sf 20,664 sf (84) Units (147 bedrooms) 51,274 sf
(1) 3-BR Manager not included in calculations. Interior area includes all interior walls, excludes exterior walls, party walls, corridor walls, patios, and balconies
REQUIRED PARKING
The project is also within 0.5 miles of a major transit stop and eligible for a 0.5 spaces/unit parking ratio per State Density Bonus Law.
Studio: 0.5 spaces/unit x 24 = 12.0
1-BR: 0.5 spaces/unit x 18 = 9.0
2-BR: 0.5 spaces/unit x 21 = 10.5
3-BR: 0.5 spaces/unit x 21 = 10.5
3-BR Manager's Unit = 0.5
TOTAL REQUIRED = 42.5 or 43 Spaces Required
44 Spaces Provided
INCOME AND RENT RESTRICTIONS
All 84 affordable housing units will have income and rent restrictions between 30%-60% area median income (AMI).
1265 Montecito Ave PL2021-152 Affordable Housing Density Bonus Request 10/25/22 – Charities Housing Page 3 of 3
B. Site Plan
Refer to sheets A1-1 through A1-4 for site plan and building floor plans. The building will be 100% affordable so there is no need to designate the affordable units. The only unit on Level 1 will be reserved for the manager.
C. Site Description
Project Address: 1265 Montecito Ave., Mountain View, CA 94043 APN: 150-26-004
Legal Description: Tract No. 3523, Block 4, Lot 1
Lot Area: 45,296 sf (1.04 acres)
Zoning: CN (Existing), R4 (Proposed)
D. Replacement Determination
1. Total number of dwelling units existing on site in 5 years preceding application: NONE
2. Total number of bedrooms in each dwelling unit: NONE
3. Total number of dwelling units subject to rent restriction covenants or laws: NONE
4. Total number of occupied units and the income and household size of occupied units: NONE
5. Total number of vacant dwelling units: NONE
E. Land Donation
This project does not request a density bonus for a land donation.
F. Child Care
This project does not include a child-care facility.
G. Child Care
This project does not include a child-care facility.
H. Condominium Conversion
This project does not involve a condominium conversion.
I. Waivers
This project does not request any Waivers
J. Incentives/Concessions
Concession #1: Eliminate personal storage space requirement.
The concession to remove the storage space requirement will save the project an estimated $2,040,000 in construction costs by eliminating the requirement to build 6,800 sf of conditioned storage space at an estimated $300/sf.
To provide the required 6,800 sf storage space without increasing square footage, the project would need to remove an estimated eleven (11) 2BR units. This would reduce the total unit count from 85 to 74 units and increase the estimated hard cost per unit from $560,661 to $588,601. The loss rental revenue from the (11) 2-bedroom units is equivalent to ~$3.38M in permanent loan financing (assuming 6% interest rate and 30 year amortization), creating a large funding gap. This funding gap would necessitate further reducing the number of units to be financially feasible and further increase the hard cost per unit.
In either scenario, this concession provides identifiable and actual cost reductions to provide more affordable housing units.
END OF MEMORANDUM
1265 Montecito Ave. PL-2021-152
Project Description 6/6/22 UPDATE 9/19/22 - Page 1 of 2 June 6, 2022 UPDATE 9/19/22
Edgar Maravilla
Mountain View Planning Division
[email protected]
Re: Montecito Ave. Affordable Housing Formal Resubmittal Project Address: 1265 Montecito Ave., Mountain View, CA 94043 Permit No. PL-2021-152
Project Description
Existing Conditions
The 1.04 acre project site is located at 1265 Montecito Ave., at the corner of Montecito Ave. and N.
Shoreline Blvd and is currently developed with a vacant two-story, 12,300 sf office building that will be demolished for the project. The site is adjacent to a 2-story apartment complex to the west, a shopping center across Montecito Ave. to the north, the intersection between Montecito Ave. and N. Shoreline Blvd. to the east, and a 3-story apartment complex to the south, separated by an 80 ft wide SFPUC easement.
A 10 ft Public Utility Easement and 5 ft Wire Clearance Easement run along the south/rear property line.
A 5 ft Public Utility Easement and 5 ft Wire Clearance Easement run along the west property line.
Proposed Project
The proposed project is a 100% affordable multifamily development consisting of one five-story, 85-unit development with 84 affordable units for households with incomes at or below 60% area median income (AMI) and a three-bedroom manager’s unit. The project will be four stories of wood framed Type V-A residential apartments on a concrete podium over a one-story Type I-A parking structure with common areas and utility spaces on the ground floor.
The current General Plan Land Use Designation is Neighborhood Commercial (CN) and the projec t is requesting a General Plan Amendment to High Density Residential which would allow a density of up to 80 dwelling units per acre or 83.18 base units (rounded up to 84 base units for affordable housing.) The project meets all other requirements of the R4 zone including a minimum 1 acre site, 160 ft lot width, and 60 ft maximum building height limit.
The project requests a 1.2% density bonus to 81.73 du/ac to allow one additional unit beyond the base density of 84 dwelling units allowed under the proposed R4 zoning (85 units total.) The project is also within 0.5 miles of a major transit stop and eligible for a 0.5 spaces/unit parking ratio per State Density Bonus Law. The density bonus request includes a development standard concession to provide no personal storage, which is required at 80 sq ft or 164 cu ft per unit in the R4 Zoning District.
1265 Montecito Ave. PL-2021-152
Project Description 6/6/22 UPDATE 9/19/22 - Page 2 of 2 Architectural Design Concept
The building has contemporary massing and design, featuring flat roofs and a variety of materials such as stucco, vertical board and batten siding, lap siding, decorative metal screens and guardrails, exposed board formed concrete, vertical T&G cedar siding, and steel awning elements.
The 'Z'-shaped mass is broken into two volumes connected by an open bridge spanning over a landscaped podium deck. The massing takes advantage of the triangular lot by pushing the rear mass against the rear setback and the front mass against the front setback. The resulting voids form two opposing courtyards that allow views through the building and reduce the building’s bulk and scale.
At-grade parking garage is accessed from behind and obscured by common rooms, lobbies, bike storage rooms, and a landscaped entry plaza that activate the primary frontage along Montecito Ave. A rhythmic pattern of full-height transparent storefront, French doors, and vertical tongue-and-groove cedar siding at the base of the front building offers glimpses into the high activity common areas, lobby with mailboxes, and manager office.
The corners and east facades facing the intersection of Montecito Ave. and N. Shoreline Blvd. are articulated with glazed bay window pop-outs, an open stair with decorative screening, and staggered fiber cement siding with vertical battens to provide interest and articulation. White stucco portions contain recessed stacked windows and smaller punched windows in a regularized, diagonal alignment. Balconies are recessed, painted a dark gray accent color, and have lower parapets and overhanging eaves to draw the eye down, add rhythm and break up the massing. A contrasting exterior finish of horizontal lap siding painted a warm tan to mimic cedar siding clad the interior of the rear courtyard and on the backside of the front volume. Along the driveway and at the northwest corner of the site, the building steps down one story to relate to the smaller scale of the adjacent existing two-story apartment building Landscape Design Narrative
The 1265 Montecito Ave. project landscape is designed to be a beautiful residential setting. The proposed quantity of trees and tree canopy coverage is planned to meet the City of Mountain View’s requirements.
Street trees, established by the Street Tree Master Plan, are introduced to Montecito Avenue in a planting strip along a new detached sidewalk. Storm water is engineered toward bioretention basins within the designed planting areas. Plant species will be selected and composed based on water needs, for m, color, and growth characteristics. Garden areas are defined across the landscape to encourage resident’s enjoyment of the outdoors, family gathering, and children’s play. The entry patio on Montecito Avenue is accessible and invites informal encounters as residents entry the building to park their bike, collect their mail and enter the elevator. Raised planters of shrubs and small trees will be arranged on the podium deck to define circulation and seating areas. The children’s play area is adjacent to th e laundry room and contained within the screen of trees along the southern easement. A BBQ patio located at the southwest corner of the property provides gathering area and is an attractive visual terminus at the driveway.
Sustainable Aspects
The building will meet the requirements of Title 24 Energy Code, Cal Green and the Mountain View Green Building Standards, including stormwater management, electric vehicle parking, long term bike storage for all units, capacity for rooftop solar photovoltaic panels, all-electric heat pump water heating and mechanical ventilation, water-saving plumbing fixtures, and drought tolerant landscaping.