TO: COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC FROM: Christopher Burton
DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE Erik L. Soliván
SUBJECT: Housing Catalyst Team DATE: February 12, 2025
Work Plan Status Report
Approved Date
COUNCIL DISTRICT: Citywide
RECOMMENDATION
a) Accept the status report on the work to implement the Housing Catalyst Team Work Plan; and
b) Cross-reference this item to the March 18, 2025, City Council meeting.
SUMMARY AND OUTCOME
Staff is providing an annual report of the Housing Catalyst Team Work Plan (Work Plan). The Work Plan contains near-term strategies, programs, and policies from the 2023-2031 Housing Element that are underway or that staff anticipates initiating in the next two years. Staff continues to focus on the Housing Element implementation work and strategies in the Work Plan.
BACKGROUND
To coordinate the implementation of housing production, preservation, and protection work across multiple departments, the Housing Catalyst Team was established in 2018.
The team meets on a biweekly basis and is composed of staff from the Business Development team in the Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs; the Citywide Planning Division of the Department of Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement; the Housing Production and Policy Divisions of the Housing Department; and the Planning Team of the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Services.
On November 15, 2022, staff presented the final update on the Housing Crisis Work Plan to City Council. Understanding that much more work needed to be done to increase housing opportunity and production in 2023 and beyond, staff recommended the creation of the Housing Catalyst Team Work Plan. Development of the 2023-2031 2/12/25
COMMITTEE AGENDA: 2/24/25
ITEM: (d)3
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
February 12, 2025
Subject: Housing Catalyst Team Work Plan Status Report
Housing Element provided an opportunity to assess and outline all housing-related work over the eight-year period across the city. The goal of the Work Plan is to clearly communicate the status of City staff’s work for the following two years related to housing production, preservation, and protection.
On June 20, 2023, City Council adopted the 2023-2031 Housing Element, which includes over 130 strategies and programs envisioned for the eight-year term of the Housing Element. The work is intended to facilitate the production and preservation of housing units in San José and facilitate the City’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) of 62,200 units. On January 29, 2024, the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) certified the City’s Housing Element.
On June 26, 2023, staff presented the first version of the Work Plan to the Community and Economic Development Committee. On February 26, 2024, staff presented the most recent Work Plan report to the Community and Economic Development Committee and then to the City Council on March 19, 2024, concurrent with the Housing Element Annual Report. Each calendar year of the 2023-2031 Housing Element cycle, the City is required to provide an update to HCD on its progress in achieving the goals in the adopted Housing Element. The next Housing Element Annual Progress Report is due April 1, 2025.
ANALYSIS
Staff provides an annual report on the Work Plan to the Community Economic Development Committee in February. The report is then cross-referenced to City Council in March to be heard concurrently with the Housing Element Annual Progress report. The Work Plan is composed largely of programs and strategies included in the Housing Element. The items included in the Work Plan are those for which staff has already initiated work or intends to initiate work in the next two years. Staff or City Council may also propose additional work items related to housing that is a priority that is not included in the Housing Element. The current and updated Work Plan is included in Attachment A to this memorandum.
There are a total of 130 work items in the Housing Element, many of them with multiple components. Over the last year, staff completed several major work items in the Housing Element Work Plan and made significant progress on other work items. Each item in the Work Plan has an update that is included in Attachment A. Staff has also posts regular updates on work items in between formal annual reports through the Housing Catalyst Team Work Plan Dashboard.
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
February 12, 2025
Subject: Housing Catalyst Team Work Plan Status Report
Market Conditions and Housing Production
The San José Metropolitan area is the third most expensive rental market in the nation, according to Out of Reach 2024,
1 an annual report by the National Low-Income Housing
Coalition. In Quarter (Q) 4 2024, the average effective rent in San José across all apartment classes and sizes was $2,782.
2 Rents rose 2.7% year over year. The
residential rental vacancy rate as of Q4 2024 was 5.3%, 2 down from 5.6% in Q4 2023.
Vacancy rates for higher-priced Class A3 housing remain higher than for lower-priced housing. Class A properties had a vacancy rate of 10.4% in Q4 2024, while vacancy rates for less expensive Class C housing were lower at 3.9%.
Despite the expensive rental market, the most recent Cost of Residential Development study presented to City Council on October 20, 2023, indicates that all multifamily housing prototypes analyzed were infeasible under current market conditions. In particular, the cost of construction poses a significant hurdle to the development of new housing. Staff is working on producing an update to this report in early 2025. With the cost of financing, materials, and labor as the leading cost factors, current market and economic conditions continue to negatively impact the cost of building new market rate as well as affordable housing in San José.
These trends are reflected in San José’s housing production last calendar year as reported in the City’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) progress report.
Virtually no major market-rate developments started construction in the past calendar year. In the previous two calendar years, there was only one major development in each of those years that moved forward to construction.
Figure 1 below shows that the City was able to meet 5% of its annual market-rate construction permit goals and 47% of its affordable housing construction permit goals in 2024. Affordable units are those offering rents affordable to Extremely Low-, Very Low-, Low- and Moderate-Income households.
1 Out of Reach | National Low Income Housing Coalition
2 CoStar 2024 Q4.
3 Classes are CoStar categories determined by rent levels, with A having the highest rents followed by B, C, and F.
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
February 12, 2025
Subject: Housing Catalyst Team Work Plan Status Report
Figure 1 –2024 RHNA Residential Building Permit Performance In aggregate, over the first two years of the City’s 2023-31 RHNA cycle, Figure 2 below shows that the City has been able to meet a total of 6% of its market-rate permit goals and a total of 12% of its affordable housing permit goals.
In December 2024, City Council approved the new Multifamily Housing Incentive Program with the goal of motivating approved multifamily developments to move to construction more quickly by cutting various City fees. At the time of this memorandum’s writing, there are three developments interested in moving forward to a hearing through the new incentive program and have indicated they intend to initiate construction in 2025. Staff will continue to provide updates on the Multifamily Housing Incentive Program through the annual Housing Catalyst Team Work Plan update.
Attachment C contains a more detailed snapshot of the 2024 calendar year's progress in meeting the City’s RHNA goals.
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
February 12, 2025
Subject: Housing Catalyst Team Work Plan Status Report
Figure 2 – Sixth Cycle RHNA Residential Building Permit Performance Work Plan Highlights
The following descriptions provide highlights of staff’s progress in the calendar year of 2024 on key work items in the Housing Catalyst Team Work Plan.
Missing Middle Housing
A key program included in both the Housing Element and the Housing Catalyst Team Work Plan is P-35, “Small Multifamily Housing.” The goal of this program is to allow “missing middle” housing of at least four to 10 units in locations throughout the City. The “missing middle” housing concept refers to medium-density housing often missing in current and recent housing developments. This medium-density housing could provide more new housing units in a way that integrates well into existing single-family neighborhoods. This basic concept of gentle density motivated the state legislature to pass Senate Bill (SB) 9 in 2021. SB 9 requires cities to allow two primary units on single-family zoned properties and also allow for a subdivision of single-family parcels.
The allowances through SB 9 effectively allow up to four new primary units, including potential accessory dwelling units.
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
February 12, 2025
Subject: Housing Catalyst Team Work Plan Status Report
The initial response to SB 9 was limited but steadily increased over time. In 2024, 25 SB 9 lot split applications were submitted, and 10 applications were approved and/or recorded. The City received 14 SB 9 building permit applications, of which eight were associated with an SB 9 lot split. Five of the building permit applications were to convert an existing single-family residence to a duplex, five applications were to build a new single-family residence, two applications were to build a new duplex, one application was to convert an accessory dwelling unit to a single-family residence, and one application was to build a second single-family residence on a lot with an existing single-family residence.
Given the challenges to large multifamily development in the current economic environment, staff believes it is important to initiate work on the Small Multifamily Program as another route to help achieve the City’s RHNA goals. As a first step to start this work, staff is planning to include missing middle prototypes of four to 10 units in the upcoming 2025 Cost of Residential Report to understand the feasibility of these developments.
Impact and Level of Effort
To help staff prioritize impactful work, Housing Catalyst Team members assigned all Work Plan items a level of effort and estimated impact. Level of effort indicates how much work it will be and how long it will take for staff to complete an item. The impact reflects staff’s estimate of the potential positive effect on housing production, preservation, or protection that an item would have once it is implemented. For instance, if two work items have the same level of effort and timeframe, but one would have a larger positive impact, that item would be prioritized over the other. Additionally, the level of effort metric, along with estimated completion dates, provides transparency to City Council and the public, along with an understanding of the time and effort required for each item. A detailed description of the level of effort and impact is included in Attachment B.
HCD Emphasis on Specific Programs
In early January, HCD informed staff that it would emphasize monitoring and reviewing the progress of implementing those programs enumerated in its Housing Element certification letter. For San José, there were six programs specifically mentioned in the January 29, 2024 letter from HCD. All six programs are included in the Housing Catalyst Team Work Plan, and updates on progress for all six are below.
Affordable Housing Tools for North San José (P-4) – This program commits the City to pursue further strategies to catalyze affordable housing creation in North San José. In early 2024, Planning staff completed work on program P-3, “North San José Affordable Housing Overlay Zones,” which created two new housing zoning overlays in North San José. One overlay zone allows Mixed-income Housing and requires at least 25% of units to be restricted affordable, and the second overlay zone requires 100% restricted
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
February 12, 2025
Subject: Housing Catalyst Team Work Plan Status Report
Affordable Housing. In 2024, the City received one application for review of a mixedincome project with 362 market-rate units and 122 affordable units. Additionally, staff had preliminary conversations with property owners about one other site under the Mixed-income Overlay that is likely to move forward with a development application.
Thus far, the ministerial approval process has been attractive to these developers, and staff intends to evaluate the success of these overlays further before recommending any additional tools or changes in North San José under this program. Additionally, the Housing Department’s forthcoming New Construction Request for Proposals (expected in the first quarter of 2025) will prioritize the award of new construction of affordable housing in the North San José growth area.
City Infill Housing Ministerial Approval Ordinance (P-7) – In December 2024, City Council approved a City streamlined ministerial review process for specific projects in identified growth areas that meet objective standards and eligibility criteria. The streamlined process is a local approval process that streamlines Planning project review timelines by not requiring a public hearing and utilizing a statutory exemption for Ministerial Permits. The process applies to approximately 585 sites. Staff anticipates this process will reduce the length of time from Planning application submittal to Planning permit issuance by 25% to 50%. As part of its recommendation for approval, City Council identified future phases to expand this process to additional sites. In 2025, staff will reach out to developers, monitor the number of units entitled using the process, and track the average reduction in the length of time of permit issuance.
Diridon Affordable Housing Production Goal (P-9) – This Housing Element program notes the total estimated market-rate and affordable housing production capacity that could be realized by the time of the Diridon Station buildout or 2040, whichever is later.
To help the City meet its goals for affordable housing production in this key multimodal transit hub, the Housing Department’s forthcoming New Construction Request for Proposals (expected in the first quarter of calendar year 2025) will prioritize new construction of affordable housing in the Diridon Station area for award.
Small Multifamily Housing (P-35) – As discussed above, the first step to initiate this work item will be as a part of the 2025 Cost of Residential Development Report, which will include the study of several small multifamily typologies to understand the economics and market feasibility of building housing of four to 10 unit developments in the City. Staff will use the results of this economic analysis to inform its future policy work around small multifamily housing.
Evaluate Urban Village Planning Process (P-40) – The purpose of this program is to streamline the development of Urban Village plans to unlock more sites for housing beyond those identified in the Housing Element inventory. Staff is currently pursuing three pathways to complete urban village planning, with the goal of expediting the urban village planning process. Generally, most sites in unplanned Urban Villages, outside of existing residential, are designated as Neighborhood/Community Commercial which does not permit residential or mixed-use development except for 100% affordable
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February 12, 2025
Subject: Housing Catalyst Team Work Plan Status Report
housing or through the Signature Project Process (General Plan Policy IP-5.10). The key component of the Urban Village planning process is modifying those designations to allow for housing and mixed-use development.
• Combined Station Area Planning – There are two corridors with multiple station areas linked together by light rail: the Highway 87/light rail corridor stations and the N. Capitol Ave/light rail corridor stations. Staff believes that each of these corridors could be planned together given their proximity and that they are linked by a transit corridor. Additionally, staff is also interested in how this station area planning work for one or both of these corridors could be done in conjunction with work to align the City with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s Transit Oriented Communities (TOC) policy. Staff has applied for grant funding to do planning work in these corridors; grant awardees will be notified in March 2025. • Neighborhood Villages – There are 20 Urban Villages designated as neighborhood villages with only one of those Urban Villages having a completed plan. These villages are typically small and contain one or two shopping centers with local-serving retail. Staff believes there is an opportunity to create a framework to allow limited mixed-use development in these villages through a single planning process. Staff has begun analysis of these villages to understand potential capacity and the extent that this new strategy can be pursued outside of a General Plan Four Year Review. Additionally, further analysis is needed to understand if all neighborhood villages should remain Urban Villages, as some may be the only retail stores that serve locals in the vicinity of many existing residences.
• “Traditional” Urban Village Planning – There are still Urban Villages that staff believes should retain the more traditional Urban Village planning process that was used for the 15 current Urban Village plans. These Urban Villages are large and encompass many parcels with development potential. There are two processes currently underway that will result in a plan for three of these Urban Villages. This includes the Saratoga Avenue and El Paseo Urban Villages as one planning process, and the Alum Rock Ave East Urban Village. Further, an update to the Five Wounds Urban Village Plan is underway which will consolidate the four Urban Villages in the immediate vicinity of the planned 28th Street/Little Portugal BART station and add housing capacity in that area.
Review and Revise Planning Permit Conditions (P-41) – In 2024, staff began a review of the existing permit conditions for residential projects. In 2025, staff will work on updating permit findings for Site Development Permits, Special Use Permits, Conditional Use Permits, and Planned Development Permits to ensure residential projects are reviewed against objective development and design standards.
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
February 12, 2025
Subject: Housing Catalyst Team Work Plan Status Report
Key Anti-Displacement Work Items
San José’s Citywide Residential Anti-Displacement Strategy is a work plan adopted by City Council in September 2020. Twenty work items from the Anti-Displacement Strategy were integrated into the Housing Element. The near-term work items were also integrated into this Work Plan so they could be prioritized along with staff's other work.
HCD also noted the importance of work items related to the Anti-Displacement Strategy due to the interest the public expressed in these items. Selected updates on key strategies from the Anti-Displacement Strategy and items directly related to antidisplacement work are as follows:
Establish a Preservation Notice of Funding Availability (R-2) – In 2024, Housing Department staff completed a feasibility assessment, and City Council approved a $5 million preservation loan for a property being acquired and rehabilitated by the South Bay Community Land Trust. The loan will help to preserve 18 low-cost apartments and turn them into restricted affordable homes.
Preservation and Community Development Capacity Building (N-4) – In May 2024, City Council approved awards of four capacity-building grants related to community development programming to the following nonprofits: South Bay Community Land Trust, Sacred Heart Community Service, SOMOS Mayfair, Inc., and School of Arts and Culture at Mexican Heritage Plaza. All four are undertaking activities to learn about affordable housing development and/or housing preservation. The funds were special one-time funds obtained through a Community Benefits Agreement with Google for its Downtown West development. Contracts will extend through mid-2026. In addition, the Housing Department joined the Mayor’s Office to apply for a partnership for the Bay’s Future two-year policy fellow, which was awarded in late 2024. This is the third round the City has been successful in competing for a policy fellow to help develop production and preservation work items. In addition to exploring the use of health-related funding to support interim housing construction and operations, the fellow will work with the City’s partner under the award, SV@Home, to support its nonprofit capacity-building cohort in 2025.
Soft Story Program (R-13) – City Council approved the proposed Soft Story Retrofit Ordinance and accompanying rebate and financing program in September 2024. The retrofit requirements and associated processes will be effective starting April 1, 2025.
Housing and PBCE are coordinating communications with property owners and tenants regarding the Program. During the first phase, property owners will have 18 months to either certify that their building is soft story and subject to the Ordinance evidence that it is exempt. In the third quarter of 2024, Housing Department staff started to work with a community development financing institution to develop a loan product that will leverage federal rebate funds and local Measure E dollars. The purpose of the financing program is to help owners of buildings with apartments affordable to very low- and extremely lowincome tenants to finance any required seismic retrofit work. Staff also plans to use lessons learned to expand the City’s apartment preservation programs in the future.
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
February 12, 2025
Subject: Housing Catalyst Team Work Plan Status Report
Eviction Prevention - Housing Collaborative Weekly Eviction Prevention Court Clinic, Eviction (S-12) – During 2024, 43 weekly courthouse workshops were conducted on Wednesdays. The Eviction Diversion Settlement Program enabled 194 households to remain stably housed in 2024, and 6,162 households were assisted via calls, walk-ins, and emails. The City is actively engaging in efforts to identify additional funding to continue eviction prevention to meet this need by 2026. Housing is scheduled to provide an annual status report on housing stabilization and eviction prevention to the Community and Economic Development Committee in May 2025.
Tenant Preferences that Help Fight Displacement (S-20) – City Council approved the Tenant Preferences to Help Mitigate Displacement program in March 2024, which became effective immediately. Immediately following approval, Housing Department staff started coordinating closely with developers of new and existing affordable developments subject to the program to begin implementing the preference unit setasides for eligible applicants. Staff is finalizing written procedures for implementation.
Right to Counsel or Alternative (S-28) – In 2024, the Housing Department contracted with HR&A Advisors to complete a County-wide study on Eviction Court Alternatives.
The study is an examination of various eviction court interventions and an analysis of the feasibility of those alternatives, including evaluating the Housing Department’s current efforts that began during the pandemic. The goal of the study is to identify efforts the City can continue or initiate to prevent families from falling into homelessness after a court action and to reach residents and housing providers further upstream during the eviction process. The study should also highlight the gaps in the existing eviction court process ecosystem with respect to how the court, community service providers, legal aid, landlord bar, mediators, and the City coordinate efforts to resolve eviction cases and efficiently utilize safety net programs.
Local Enforcement of State Tenant Protections (S-32) – Senate Bill 567 (2023) became effective on April 1, 2024. This new law extends state protections to renters against steep rent increases and evictions without cause. It strengthens tenant eviction protection and allows cities and counties to help enforce the state’s existing rent increase caps. The Housing Department has contracted with Project Sentinel to offer landlord-tenant counseling through a hotline and neutral conflict resolution services.
Project Sentinel provides services to multiple jurisdictions and is able to interpret and disseminate information about new state laws and applicable renter protections, including the Tenant Protection Act AB 1482, to San José residents. In 2024, the Housing Department also contracted with Legal Link to increase outreach efforts by training community partners on basic rental housing legal issues and processes to sufficiently support families facing housing instability in accessing the right resources.
By increasing outreach efforts and coordination, the City will be able to increase access to renter protection information.
Create a Housing Balance Report (I-4) – Housing Department staff is working with a consultant to prepare the City’s first Housing Balance Report. The goal of the report is
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
February 12, 2025
Subject: Housing Catalyst Team Work Plan Status Report
to examine changes and trends in the City’s total housing stock (restricted affordable homes, Apartment Rent Ordinance apartments, and market-rate housing) to identify needs and to inform the City’s Production and Preservation strategies. The report, which is being funded by the Coro Foundation through the Partnership for the Bay’s Future, is scheduled to be presented at the Community and Economic Development Committee in April 2025.
Other Work Plan Highlights
Allow “SB 9” Type Housing on Additional Properties (P-11) – The City is in the process of updating the Zoning Code to allow SB 9 type projects on properties zoned R2 and properties listed on the City’s Historic Resources Inventory. This could potentially make approximately 10,500 properties eligible for SB 9-type small infill development. As part of this work, staff is also updating the City’s existing SB 9 standards to further facilitate SB 9 developments. The City engaged a consultant who assisted with outreach and provided policy recommendations. Two focus groups and two community meetings were held in the summer and early fall of 2024 to receive input from the public, historic preservation advocates, and design professionals. Staff is in the process of drafting final recommendations, which will be shared with one more round of community outreach in spring 2025. Staff plans to present final zoning amendments to the City Council for consideration by the end of Fiscal Year 2024-2025.
Loans for Affordable Housing (P-18) – In 2024, City Council awarded $78.1 million in commitments for four new affordable housing developments and closed financing on one new construction affordable housing development. Together, these properties will produce 503 new affordable homes. The Department plans on releasing a new funding Request for Proposals in Q1 2025, and all waitlisted applications will be refreshed and updated as the department continues to manage the active new construction funding pipeline.
Mixed-Income Housing (P-20) – In 2024, Housing Department staff worked on several affordable housing developments that included units in the moderate-income range as well as more deeply affordable. Through bond policy exceptions and enabling outside bond issuances, staff supported the following 314 new construction multifamily developments that included higher Area Median Income (AMI) units along with their deeply affordable apartments: Villa Del Sol with 113 units at 70% AMI, Martha Gardens, Monterey Road Apartments, and 2880 Alum Rock offering 67 units each at 70% AMI. In 2024, the City helped to facilitate or oversee other residential developments that also included a range of rent levels: 905 N. Capitol included 17 units with 100% AMI rents; Tamien Station included 65 units at 100% AMI rents; Alvarado included 8 units at 80% AMI rents; Bellarmino included 10 units at 80% AMI rents; 605 Blossom Hill included 239 units at 100% AMI rents and 23 units at 60% AMI rents; and 80 Glen Eyrie Avenue included 1 unit at 100% AMI rent. In addition, Housing Department staff approved 15 Inclusionary Housing compliance plans and five Affordable Housing Agreements for deals that plan to produce 327 affordable units integrated with the market-rate.
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
February 12, 2025
Subject: Housing Catalyst Team Work Plan Status Report
Interim Homeless Housing Construction (H-1) – In 2024, the Housing Department focused on completing several additional Emergency Interim Housing developments under construction that should come online in 2025. These include Cerone Emergency Interim Housing with 110 units, Cherry Emergency Interim Housing with 128 units, Via Del Oro Emergency Interim Housing with 135 units, and the Rue Ferrari Emergency Interim Housing expansion, which will add 100 more units. Additionally, the Branham & Monterey modular interim housing project, funded through HCD’s Homekey program and City resources, received a temporary certificate of occupancy in December 2024.
This site will deliver 204 units, with move-ins beginning in early 2025. Once completed, these projects will add a total of 677 new units and up to 826 beds to the City’s interim housing capacity.
This targeted expansion of interim housing supports the City’s Abatement Strategy, prioritizing families residing within a 1.5-mile radius of encampments or strategic hotspots to ensure the most vulnerable households receive the first opportunity for stable housing. This approach also enables partner departments to clear and maintain these areas – reducing urban camping and improving community health and safety.
By accelerating interim housing production and strategically placing resources where they are needed most, the Housing Department continues to enhance the City’s ability to provide safe, stable, and service-enriched housing solutions for San José’s unhoused residents.
Interim Housing for People Experiencing Homelessness in Hotels/Motels and Other Existing Buildings (H-2) – In 2024, the City served hundreds of persons experiencing homelessness through the use of existing motels/hotels. These include 159 families (households) served through the Motel Vouchers Program, 61 single adults housed at the Plaza Hotel, 76 households at the SureStay motel, and 102 single adults through the Temporary Housing Assistance program. Housing Department staff also made significant progress on two motel acquisitions/rehabilitations that will create interim housing for people experiencing homelessness: Pacific Motor Inn and Pavilion Inn. Utilizing an award from state HCD’s Homekey program, the Pacific Motor Inn began rehabilitation of 72 units in February 2024, received a certificate of occupancy six months later in August 2024, and was 100% leased up by early December 2024. The rehabilitation timeline of just six months reflects the City’s dedication to rapidly addressing critical housing needs and delivering much-needed housing. The Pavilion Inn motel – through a strong partnership with HCD’s Homekey staff, the Santa Clara County Housing Authority, the County of Santa Clara’s Office of Supportive Housing, Jamboree Housing, Bill Wilson Center, and the City – was purchased and rehabilitated to provide 43 housing opportunities for transition-aged youth ages 18 to 24. Pavilion Inn opened its doors to residents after receiving a certificate of occupancy in early November 2024. At least 541 households were assisted through these programs and properties in 2024.
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
February 12, 2025
Subject: Housing Catalyst Team Work Plan Status Report
Safe/Supportive Parking Programs (H-7) – In 2024, the City funded the Supportive Parking for recreational vehicles program at the Santa Teresa VTA lot, which accommodates 42 recreational vehicles and 28 commuter cars for program participants.
Last year, 55 households (81 individuals) were served at this location. Housing Department staff also developed the Berryessa Safe Parking Program, which will provide 86 designated spaces for oversized lived-in vehicles as part of the Department of Transportation’s Oversized Lived-In Vehicle Engagement (OLIVE) Program. This initiative focuses on universal design layout, operations methodology, and construction timeframes to ensure a well-structured, service-enriched environment that supports individuals and families living in their vehicles while reducing urban camping in residential and commercial areas. The site will offer secure, designated parking with access to restrooms and waste disposal. In alignment with the City’s Abatement Strategy, safe parking will be prioritized for individuals and families residing in oversized vehicles within a 1.5-mile radius and identified hot spots, ensuring that those most in need receive the first opportunity for placement. This structured approach allows for more effective outreach and engagement while supporting the city’s broader efforts to reduce oversized lived-in vehicle encampments and restore public spaces through coordinated outreach and service-based interventions.
Racial and Other Bias of Protected Classes in Homeless Shelter and Supportive Housing Systems (H-10) – The goal of this work item is to proactively eliminate bias in homelessness program design and implementation, ensuring that housing and homelessness services operate in a fair, inclusive, and effective manner. In 2024, the Housing Department began receiving monthly demographic data from the County of Santa Clara and analyzed it to identify any disparities among racial groups and other protected classes within our program offerings and participant outcomes. This data allows the Department to assess whether certain populations are experiencing disproportionate barriers to accessing or successfully transitioning through our housing programs and adjust accordingly. Starting in 2025, if disparities are found, the Department will implement targeted programmatic changes to address disparities.
These may include refining outreach strategies, adjusting eligibility criteria, or enhancing service delivery models to ensure equitable access and outcomes for all participants.
Know Your Rights Materials (S-23) – Housing Department staff conducted a communications campaign entitled “Renting Has Its Rights” from April through July 2024. The multi-channel campaign focused on the message that residents and owners should contact the City to better understand the City’s ordinances. The campaign included the creation of two printed brochures that were produced in four languages, four signs that will continue to be reused by the Department, a new City webpage, four educational videos that were produced in three languages, a public service announcement that was produced for a Vietnamese radio station, one podcast episode, 25 social media posts that ran on three social media platforms, 60 educational advertisements on VTA bus exteriors, and 10 educational billboards. The billboards created an estimated 7.1 million impressions. The bus exteriors created an estimated
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Subject: Housing Catalyst Team Work Plan Status Report
8.5 million impressions. Each social media post reached approximately 5,000 people, for a total of approximately 125,000 impressions.
Increased Support for Nonprofits to do Tenant and Landlord Outreach and Education (S-26) – In 2024, the Housing Department successfully allocated funding and contracted with the nonprofit Project Sentinel to provide neutral landlord-tenant counseling (a hotline) and conflict resolution services. The services are available to support rental properties not covered by City rental housing ordinances. The Housing Department also contracted with the nonprofit Legal Link to provide additional outreach under a community justice model-type outreach program. Staff meets monthly with these and other legal services providers to promote coordination, outreach, and program performance.
Persons with Disabilities Partnerships and Priorities (I-1) – In September 2024, the Housing Department convened a meeting with organizations that support persons with disabilities to discuss issues in housing accessibility, including those within the City's affordable housing portfolio. Issues raised include a lack of physically accessible units, a lack of clarity of which units are accessible and at what levels, and a lack of understanding of the breadth of disabilities in designing units. Housing Department staff plan to convene the group again in 2025 to gather additional feedback and conduct tours of affordable housing sites to evaluate accessibility. In addition, the Housing Department’s forthcoming New Construction and Preservation Request for Proposals (expected in the first quarter of calendar 2025) will incentivize the creation of affordable apartments for residents with physical disabilities.
Inclusive and Equitable Community Engagement (I-7) – In 2024, Planning staff identified resources to update the Council Policy 6-30 for Public Outreach for Pending Land Use and Development Proposals. Staff prepared a work plan to begin conducting outreach in 2025. Staff will work with the community to update the policy to ensure the City’s community engagement efforts are strategic and inclusive.
Completed Work Plan Items
In addition to making progress on the Work Plan items highlighted above, staff completed the following programs:
• P-14: Housing in Business Corridors
• P-24: Housing on Public/Quasi-Public Lands
• R-6: Mobilehome Park General Plan Designation for Remaining 56 Mobilehome Parks
• H-13: Regional Homeless Response Coordination and Planning • H-14: Emergency Shelters
• I-10: Lived Experience with Homelessness Seat on Commission New Work Plan Items
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February 12, 2025
Subject: Housing Catalyst Team Work Plan Status Report
In 2024, three new housing work items were referred to the Housing Catalyst Team Work Plan. These are work items not directly derived from the Housing Element but will be tracked and monitored through the annual reporting process and the Housing Catalyst Work Plan dashboard. Staff is denoting these new Council-assigned work items starting with the corresponding letter for their Housing Element goal, followed by “Z” and a number, as follows.
Development Incentives for Residential Construction (PZ-1) – The City is operating two programs that provide development incentives for residential construction. In June 2024, City Council approved changes to and an extension of the City’s Downtown Residential High-rise Program for new residential construction. The program gives incentives for the City’s Inclusionary Housing Ordinance, Parkland In-lieu Fee, and other construction-related taxes and fees to incentivize high-rise developments in the Downtown that will meet construction-related deadlines in 2025 and 2026. No developments took advantage of these incentives in 2024. As recommended by City Council, City staff will continue to look for ways to streamline construction approvals under the Downtown Residential High-rise Program. In addition, as noted above, in December 2024, City Council approved the new Multifamily Housing Incentive Program for certain dense multifamily developments that received land use entitlements prior to the end of 2022. The goal of the program is to incentivize multifamily developments that have already obtained land use entitlements to start construction more quickly by cutting various City fees. As of January 2025, there are three developments interested in using the Incentive program and starting construction in 2025. Staff will continue to provide updates on these development incentives through the annual Housing Catalyst Team Work Plan update.
Sale or Use of Algorithmic Devices for Residential Dwelling Units (SZ-1) – In September 2024, City Council requested that Housing Department staff and the City Attorney’s Office monitor other jurisdictions’ actions, lawsuits, and investigations into potential bans on algorithmic rent setting. Housing Department staff and the City Attorney’s Office prepared and submitted a workload assessment of the amount of time and staff resources needed to enforce a ban on algorithmic devices. The constitutionality of banning the use of algorithmic devices is under question, and such a prohibition would be unlikely to change housing costs materially. Staff will continue to monitor the situation as the issue matures and the City/County of San Francisco proceeds with the implementation of its prohibition.
Technology (Automation/Software) Needs to Address Recommendations from the Tenant Protection Ordinance Audit Report (SZ-2) – Housing Department staff is working internally with Code Enforcement on collectively assessing technology or platform needs that could address data needs across various programs involving multiple housing properties. Many of the programs are interrelated, and there is an opportunity to create efficiency with additional technology. Per City Council direction, staff will continue to provide status updates through the Housing Catalyst Team Work
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
February 12, 2025
Subject: Housing Catalyst Team Work Plan Status Report
Plan reports on any technology (automation/software) needs related to the recommendations from the City Tenant Protection Ordinance audit report presented to the Community and Economic Development Committee on October 28, 2024.
EVALUATION AND FOLLOW-UP
Staff is providing the second annual status report on the Work Plan to the Community and Economic Development Committee. This item is recommended to be crossreferenced to the March 18, 2025, City Council meeting to be heard jointly with the Housing Element Annual Progress Report. Staff will provide annual Work Plan updates to the Community and Economic Development Committee and City Council each February and March. Staff also has implemented a live version of the Work Plan on the City’s website that is updated throughout the year by Housing Catalyst Team members as needed to reflect the latest information on individual work items. Additionally, individual work items requiring City Council approval will be brought forward separately when staff work is completed.
COORDINATION
This memorandum was coordinated with the City Attorney’s Office, City Manager’s Budget Office, and the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Services.
COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION AND INPUT
This item will be considered at the March 13, 2025, meeting of the Housing and Community Development Commission. A subsequent update on the Commission discussion and any recommendations will be provided to City Council through a supplemental memorandum.
CEQA
Not a Project, File No. PP17-009, Staff Reports, Assessments, Annual Reports, and Informational Memos that involve no approvals of any City action.
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
February 12, 2025
Subject: Housing Catalyst Team Work Plan Status Report
PUBLIC SUBSIDY REPORTING
This item does not include a public subsidy.
/s/
ERIK L. SOLIVÁN
Director, Housing
/s/
CHRISTOPHER BURTON
Director, Planning, Building and Code
Enforcement
For questions, please contact Jerad Ferguson, Principal Planner, Planning, Building and Code Enforcement, at [email protected] or (669) 223-1160; or Kristen Clements, Division Manager, Housing Department, at [email protected] or (408) 535-8236
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Housing Catalyst Team Work Plan
Attachment B: Impact and Level of Effort Definitions
Attachment C: Progress on Housing Development