1 Kristie Ramos, CMC
From:Jessika Pollard
Sent:Thursday, July 20, 2023 9:50 AM
To:Kristie Ramos, CMC
Cc:Ian Gabriel
Subject:City Council Public Comments - Items 7 & 11
Attachments:Rancho Mirage AHO Support Comment ITEM 7.pdf; RM RFP Support ITEM 11.pdf Follow Up Flag:Follow up
Flag Status:Flagged
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Hello Kristie,
Please find attached a couple comment letters for today's city council meeting.
Thank you!
Best,
Jessika Pollard
Senior Policy Analyst
O: +760.239.7160
C: +760.898.9995
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RE: Environmental Assessment Case No. EA23-0004, Zoning Text Amendment Case No. ZTA23-0002, & General Plan Zoning Map Amendment Case No. GPZMA23-0001 Dear Mayor Kite, Mayor Pro Tem Downs, and distinguished council members, Lift to Rise would like to express our strong support for the City of Rancho Mirage adopting an ordinance to amend zoning in the city to implement the goals, policies, and programs of the city's certified Housing Element; such that to create an Affordable Housing Overlay (AHO) for two properties and change the land use designation from mobile home park to high density residential.
AHOs are one of many flexible tools to increase the supply of affordable housing in areas needing to meet their RHNA numbers. By adding an additional zoning layer to the base zoning regulations, Rancho Mirage has the potential to increase housing stability in an area with high development potential.
Given the geographic applicability of an AHO on the proposed parcels, it would offer great benefit to community residents as well developers. Residents will benefit from the proximity to amenities such as commercial services, retail, transit, and nearby parks while developers have the potential to score higher when competing for funding from the state. Additionally, this approach to streamlining affordable housing will aid in the city attaining a prohousing designation, further unlocking additional funding sources.
Similar to Inclusionary Zoning (IZ), developers are encouraged to allocate 25%-100% – determined by the city – of their units for 50-80% AMI as part of the guidelines for eligibility; however, unlike IZ, AHO offers incentives to developers to include affordable housing units in their developments rather than requiring them. These baseline requirements will qualify developers to apply for more AHO incentives – also determined by the city. Incentives best suited for Rancho Mirage may include impact fee waivers, in-lieu fees, enhanced density bonuses, or reduced parking ratios, to name a few. AHOs are a highly desirable tool in that they do not increase costs to the developer or the local government addressing the need for affordable housing.
With a compliant Housing Element, Lift to Rise is excited to see the city of Rancho Mirage take into consideration one of the many ways to increase housing for all and we urge the council members to support this resolution.
Lift to Rise was formed to transform the systems that generate the supply of affordable housing, recognizing that the combination of low wages and high housing costs are the root causes of financial precarity among Coachella Valley residents.
That is why Lift to Rise and over 70 cross-sector partners, including the City of Rancho Mirage, have coordinated around a shared goal of reducing the regional housing cost burden at a population level through the production of 10,000 units of affordable housing in the Coachella Valley by 2028.
Together, we are operating off a shared Action Plan which spans 5 key strategy areas:
1. Aggregating a pipeline of community-prioritized projects across the valley,
2. Growing a regional Housing Catalyst fund to spur production,
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3. Advocating at the local, state, and federal level for policies and regulatory changes that Support housing production in our region,
4. Engaging and mobilizing residents and elected officials in support of affordable housing, and
5. Keeping residents housed through a coordinated eviction prevention strategy.
We stand ready as a collaborative to support the city to increase affordability. We thank the City of Rancho Mirage for joining us in this work thus far and urge the city council to continue to prioritize the production of affordable housing to ensure that all residents are healthy, stable, and thriving and urge you again prioritize affordability with this recommendation.
Thank you for your time.
Lift to Rise