~ CITY OF RANCHO MIRAGE
SPECIAL MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL
ACTING AS THE HOUSING AUTHORITY BOARD
TUESDAY. NOVEMBER 21. 2023 -1 :00 P.M.
RANCHO MIRAGE CITY HALL -COUNCIL CHAMBER
69-825 HIGHWAY 111, RANCHO MIRAGE, CALIFORNIA
MINUTES
CALL TO ORDER-1 :00 P.M.
a) Flag Sa lute
b) Roll Call: Mallotto, Marker, Weill , Downs.
ACTION CALENDAR
1. Discussion of affordable housing development and consideration to authorize staff and the general counsel to negotiate draft disposition and development agreements with accompanying deeds for the purpose of establishing site control for the development of affordable housing with The Pacific Companies, National CORE and USA Properties, and Blieu Companies for future consideration by the Housing Authority Board before the end of the calendar year.
Isaiah Hagerman, City Manager, introduced the item.
Marcus Aleman, Housing Manager, presented the staff report.
John Bigley, Blieu Companies, spoke of the effects of the high resource change . He noted that there were three ways for projects to get funded; bonds and tax credits, nine percent tax credits, and HCD funding. He explained how the point system worked for each funding type.
He mentioned he was ava ilable to answer questions and noted that his most recent project was Veterans Village of Cathedral City.
Mayor Pro Tern Weill asked the nature of the financing for the Cathedral City development.
Mr. Bigley replied that the Cathedral City project was a nine percent tax credit deal with VHHP (Veterans Homeless Housing Prevention) money, along with 53 County vouch ers. He noted the importance of understanding what one was signing up for when considering the different resources ava il ab le .
11/21/2023 Sp ecial City Counci l Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 4
7 Mayor Pro Tern Weill asked if Mr. Bigley anticipated using the same funding resources for the Rancho Mirage project.
Mr. Bigley replied that he would most likely use the same funding resources . He added that he would work with staff to determine the best resources to go after.
Mayor Downs asked if Mr. Bigley agreed with the staff report in that, if the designation changed to moderate, the opportunity to fund the project in Rancho Mirage would be gone.
Mr. Bigley responded that the opportunity would not be 100% gone, but it would be much more difficult.
Brad Anderson , Rancho Mirage resident, commented that the issue was not appropriate for a special meeting and there was no need to rush. He commented that the land designation change for the subject area was purposely done. He noted he would return at a later meeting to describe what affordable housing was . He added that he was glad redevelopment was gone .
Darren Berberian , The Pacific Companies , commented that losing the point would put the City in a tough position for affordable housing, as it was a very oversubscribed program. He added it would do a massive disservice to the City to not garner the point while it was there . He noted it would lock it in for seven years and there would be a ODA, stipulations , timelines ; all the securities that cities needed .
Council Member Mallotto commented that the City had made a significant commitment to affordable housing and City residents and now saw the potential to lose that opportunity. She noted that the Council valued its citizens and the promise made , and felt very privileged to have the subject opportunity , even with the short notice that the State was redirecting. She thanked those in attendance for their efforts and expressed hope for success.
Mayor Pro Tern Weill commented there was no question as to the necessity of the subject meeting being held as a result of the State mandate . He noted the Council had no choice if it wanted to meet the obligation of providing affordable housing for residents. He added that the Council would make every effort possible to get projects into a form that was financeable and approved; the special meeting was an example of that, as there was a need for approval before January 1st .
Mayor Downs commented that the subject matter was a critically important issue that the Council must face immediately. He noted that consultant Nicol Criste , was in attendance and asked her to explain more about the reason why the City must make a decision by the of the calendar year .
Ms. Criste commented that the high resource area design ation was a prime consideration wh e n the housing element was prepared and she had not seen a housing project go through the TCAC system, as competitive as it was, without full points . She explained that it was typically difficult to get projects funded in the Coachella Valley because big cities were more competitive; however, there were currently projects going in in the valley for the first time in many years. She added that, if a project did not garner full points, when there were 10 proj ects ahead of it that were garnering full points, that project would not get funded for years , if at all. She commented 11/21/2023 Special City Council M eeting Minu tes Page 2 of 4
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that she wished she could explain why TCAC decided to modify their maps, but they had a methodology that was nearly impossible to understand. She noted that losing the high resource designation, when high resource sites were specifically selected to improve potential , would definitely impact the ability to meet obligations under RENA. She reported she was currently dealing with another housing element that was about to get decertified for a different issue, as HCD was actively pursuing noncompliant cities ; however, there was a method to avoid that risk in the subject case.
Mayor Downs reported that the City originally asked for a request for quotations on 10 acres of the 25-acre parcel; however, when the City learned it was about to lose the designation , it was realized that there was an issue and concluded that a concept to develop affordable housing on all 25 acres should be brought to the Council for approval and award to three developers .
He added that, if the City did not get this done, it had a problem meeting that which the housing and community development agents in California required it to do over the next eight-year cycle of its housing element, which was to entitle 1750 affordable housing units . He added that the City had a unique opportunity to do that now and needed to try.
Council Member Mallotto commented that the business community, such as hotels, restaurants, and the hospital, had been expressing the importance of their employees having affordable housing in the City. She noted that the subject plan would provide tremendous relief to the business community and was just one portion of a very solid plan .
Mr . Hagerman clarified that the recommendation being considered by the Council was not a final approval, it was formal direction to staff to get things in motion and see if it could get done before the end of the year. He added that consideration of final approval would be brought back to the Council in the form of a public hearing at a regular City Council meeting in December. He noted that there were other agencies the City would need to rely on, like HCD; even if the City did everything right on its end, there was not guarantee it would get done, due to reliance on other agencies. Mr. Hagerman noted that the City received some great responses to the RFQ and was now able to interact with three developers instead of just one. He commented on the importance of the 25 acres within the scope of the City's housing element and affordable housing picture , adding that none of the units were planned to be age restricted . He added that about half of the parcel would be parkland and the other half would be multi-family affordable housing.
He reported that the three companies identified in the staff recommendation were the top three ranking companies.
Mayor Downs commented that the proposed process allowed the City to lock in the right designation prior to the end of the fiscal year.
Mr. Hagerman explained that disposition development agreements established site control Referencing the map included in the staff report, he explained that the 10-acre parcel identified as Parce l 1 was intended to go to The Pacific Companies, the 5-acre parcel identified as Parcel 3 was for National CORE and USA Properties , and the 10-acre parcel identified as Parcel 2 was for Blieu Companies. He noted that each company submitted a proposal which was reviewed by staff. He added that the DDAs established what would be done by the developer and what would be done by the City. He. reiterated that the item before the Council was not for a final approval, but for direction to staff to start the process. 11/21/2023 Special City Council Meeting Minutes Page 3 of4
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MOVED/SECONDED BY MALLOTTO/WEILL TO AUTHORIZE STAFF AND THE GENERAL
COUNSEL TO NEGOTIATE DRAFT DISPOSITION AND DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS
WITH ACCOMPANYING DEEDS FOR THE PURPOSE OF ESTABLISHING SITE CONTROL
FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING WITH THE PACIFIC COMPANIES,
NATIONAL CORE AND USA PROPERTIES, AND BLIEU COMPANIES FOR FUTURE
CONSIDERATION BY THE HOUSING AUTHORITY BOARD BEFORE THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR. MOTION CARRIED 4/0.
ADJOURNMENT -1 :31 P.M.
Date Approved by City Council: 12/07/2023 ~~n~
Kristie Ramos , City Clerk
11/21/2023 Special City Council M eeting Minutes Page 4 of 4