Housing Element Basics

+ What is the Housing Element and why does it have to be updated?

• The Housing Element is a key part of a city’s General Plan and must be updated every eight years, per State law.
• This project will update the Housing Element for the period of 2023 to 2031. This time period is the 6th Housing Element cycle.
• The Housing Element will set forth the City’s goals, policies, and actions to address new and additional housing types in order to meet Piedmont’s immediate and long-term housing needs as Piedmont grows.

+ What are the objectives of the Housing Element?

The Housing Element will provide:

• An analysis of housing needs in Piedmont
• Policies that address those needs based on the collective vision and values of our communities
• Programs that would help implement those policies
• Guiding framework for future legislation
• A sites inventory (also called the available land inventory or the opportunity sites map)
• The sites inventory is a crucial part of the Housing Element. In the sites inventory, a jurisdiction identifies where it has land capacity to meet the Regional Housing Needs Allocation for all income categories.
• The Housing Element sites inventory is in the form of a map and table listing features and characteristics of the properties, and the estimated number of units that could be accommodated on each site.
• State law regulates which sites are eligible for inclusion in the sites inventory, including minimum and maximum size, potential displacement of existing occupants, whether or not redevelopment is feasible on the site, and so on.
• A site’s inclusion in the inventory does not require that housing be built there. By including a site in the inventory, the City is demonstrating to the State that with the implementation of the programs and policies in the Housing Element, there is enough land capacity, or opportunity, for housing to meet the assigned housing target.
• The Housing Plan in section IV of the Draft Housing Element is the City’s policies and programs developed to achieve all types of housing demonstrated in the sites inventory, as well as additional housing programs to increase housing affordability, promote fair housing, reduce barriers, and continue compliance with State law.

+ Who is preparing and reviewing the Housing Element Update?

On May 3, 2021, the City Council selected a housing consultant team, being led by Lisa Wise Consulting (LWC), to prepare the Housing Element Update. The new Housing Element Update must be certified by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (CA HCD) by January 31, 2023.

Timeline, Deadlines, and Consequences

+ What are the consequences and potential penalties that the City could face if it does not have a Certified Housing Element by the January 2023 deadline?

Under legislation enacted in recent years, if a city does not comply with State housing element law by adopting a certified housing element by January 31, 2023, a court may limit local land use decision‐making authority including the loss of the right to approve or deny certain projects. Additionally, a city without a certified Housing Element can face significant fines and litigation. In effect, if a city does not plan to accommodate new housing units and growth in their community, the State of California will decide how the growth will occur, thereby diminishing rather than enhancing local control.

It's worth noting that State law provides a 120-grace period that ends May 31, 2023. If a jurisdiction adopts a certified housing element by May 31 it would have until January 31, 2026 to enact proposed policies and programs related to zoning. If a local jurisdiction missed the May 31, 2023 deadline, it would have until January 31, 2024 to enact proposed policies and programs related to zoning. However, the grace period would not apply to other consequences applicable during a period of noncompliance including becoming ineligible for certain grant funding and the process known as the "builder's remedy," which limits a city's ability to deny applications for new development.

Conversely, an HCD‐certified Housing Element makes cities eligible for numerous sources of funding and grants, such as Local Housing Allocations, Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Grants, SB 1 transportation funding for roadways and bridges, CalHOME Program Grants, Infill Infrastructure Grants, Pro‐Housing Designation funding, Local Housing Trust Funds, and Regional Transportation Funds (such as MTC’s OneBayArea Grants). These funding opportunities would not be available to the City if it does not have a certified housing element.

+ If 587 units aren’t built in the City within the next eight years, does that constitute non-compliance? What is noncompliance?

• No. There is no requirement that 587 housing units be built in Piedmont by 2031. The requirement is that the City develop a Housing Element and implement its policies and programs that allow for the construction of 587 housing units in multiple income categories. No owner of privately-owned land or publicly owned land is required to develop their property if it is not in their best interests.
• Noncompliance is the failure to comply with state housing laws, including the failure to obtain a certified Housing Element.

+ After the Housing Element is certified, when and how do the changes to density (and other zoning changes) take place?

In order to be in compliance with State Housing Element law, local jurisdictions in the ABAG region, including Piedmont, must implement significant policies and programs in their adopted Housing Elements within three years of the required adoption deadline of January 31, 2023. However, if a local jurisdiction fails to adopt a 6th cycle Housing Element by May 31, 2023, implementation of significant policies and programs must occur by January 21, 2024. Revisions to the Zoning Ordinance is a public process that requires community engagement and several public meetings. Community meetings generally occur before and during the drafting of a revised Code. The revisions are posted for public review and comment. The Planning Commission reviews the revisions and makes a recommendation to the City Council, which is the decision‐making body. Revisions to the City Code are by ordinance, in which the revised Code has a first and then second reading before Council, and which goes into effect 30 days after the second reading.

+ Recent newspaper articles regarding San Francisco's draft housing element suggested that cities misunderstood the grace period and that any city without a compliant Housing Element as of February 1, 2023 will be subject to all consequences of noncompliance. Is this true, and what is Piedmont doing to address the issue?

Planning staff have been in conversation with the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) throughout the Housing Element update process, and met with HCD reviewers again on Monday, October 17 to confirm understanding of adoption deadlines and consequences for non-compliance.

HCD confirmed the City’s previous understanding that if Piedmont adopts a compliant Housing Element by May 31, 2023, the City will have up to 3 years to study and implement proposed changes to zoning regulations. However, if the City fails to meet the May 31 deadline, these changes must be made by January 31, 2024.

The official State deadline for cities to adopt a compliant Housing Element is January 31, 2023, with an automatic 120-day grace period. HCD staff recently clarified that while the 120-day grace period remains in place with respect to timelines for enacting proposed policies and programs related to zoning, the grace period would not apply to other consequences of non-compliance including becoming ineligible for certain grant funding and the process known as the “builder’s remedy,” which limits a city’s ability to deny applications for new development while its Housing Element is out of compliance.

The clarification underscores the critical importance of adopting a compliant Housing Element as soon as possible in order to ensure the City is able to maintain local control over new development in Piedmont.

Article 34

+ What is Article 34 of the California Constitution?

Article 34 of the California Constitution provides a voter approval requirement prior to approving a “low rent housing project,” which requirement is subject to several exceptions. The issue of whether voter approval is required in a given circumstance is dependent upon the details of a specific project.

+ If the Housing Element provides for the development of affordable housing, does Article 34 of the California Constitution require that the Housing Element be put before the voters?

No. Article 34 of the California Constitution does not impose a requirement on public agencies to place planning documents such as Housing Element revisions before the voters.

Growth and Development

+ What are the advantages of embracing growth and preparing for change? How does embracing growth give the residents in the community the opportunities to shape and control how growth will occur?

One reason housing costs so much in California, and especially in the Bay Area and Piedmont, is that demand is much greater than supply. Adding housing in Piedmont should make more housing available and affordable to young families, and to the people who work in town at the schools, at City Hall, and at local businesses. This will benefit people who grew up in Piedmont and want to raise their families here. And it will benefit ageing residents who want a small house or apartment that doesn’t require a lot of maintenance.

A housing stock that is available to families of diverse incomes will also make our community more inclusive, which will lead to opportunities for community members across a wide spectrum of backgrounds. Piedmont community members can embrace growth by participating in the community meetings related to the Draft Housing Element and those related to the programs to implement the Element, and by supporting the development of new housing in their neighborhood.

Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA)

+ What is the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) and how does it relate to the Housing Element?

• Each region of the State is allocated a specific number of housing units to meet the housing needs of people in four income categories: very low, low, moderate, and above moderate. This allocation is termed the Regional Housing Needs Allocation or RHNA, pronounced “Ree-na.”
• RHNA determines how much housing each municipality must accommodate through its regulations. Piedmont is tasked with creating a plan to ensure land use and zoning regulations allow enough housing to meet the needs of the community. Piedmont does not have to develop all the housing needed, but the City must have a plan that allows the housing to be built.
• The RHNA for Piedmont is 587 housing units in the following categories in the following categories: 163 homes affordable to very low‐income households (earning less than 50% AMI or “area median income”); 94 homes affordable to households earning less than 80% AMI; 92 homes affordable to people earning 80 to 120% AMI; and 238 homes affordable to people earning more than 120% AMI.
• And that RHNA number was established by the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development and the Association of Bay Area Governments.

+ How is the Regional Housing Need Determined?

The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) starts the Housing Element revision process by determining how many additional units of housing each region in the State will need over each Housing Element cycle. HCD considers the projected population increase to determine the anticipated household growth rate, household sizes, household formation, vacancy rates and jobs-housing balance to determine an allocation of housing need for the region.

After determining the need for additional housing in each region, HCD allocates that need to the regional Council of Governments (COGs). Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) is the COG for the nine-county Bay Area. After HCD determines how many units of affordable housing will be necessary to meet the needs of the population in a given region over the projection period, it allocates that number to the COG.

Next, ABAG assigns each jurisdiction within the region with its “fair share” of the RHNA for the Housing Element planning period, based on an allocation methodology developed as part of the process. The assigned need is broken down by the same income categories as HCD: very low, low, moderate, and above moderate. ABAG’s final distribution of the entire region’s total housing needs numbers must account for the region’s total RHNA. The RHNA is used by jurisdictions to work with their communities to plan for future housing development, typically through a General Plan Housing Element Update process.

+ Why didn’t the City appeal its Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA)?

In June 2021, the City Council opted not to file an appeal of Piedmont’s RHNA of 587 housing units. This was based on City staff’s recommendation not to file an appeal for several key reasons, but on the whole, we determined that a successful appeal would be highly unlikely and that our efforts would be better spent on facilitating the development of housing. The vast majority of appeals filed in the Los Angeles and San Diego regions were denied.

Staff had already submitted seven letters to ABAG and California HCD expressing concerns about the RHNA due to Piedmont’s limited land supply. Staff notes that the RHNA assignments were not based on a City’s capacity to supply housing, its available land, or its environmental constraints. Instead, the RHNA was primarily based on a city’s estimated share of the Bay Area region’s projected population in 2050.

Staff’s determination that an appeal would be unsuccessful was proven correct. ABAG’s Administrative Committee denied all 28 appeals submitted by local jurisdictions in the Bay Area region, with the exception of the appeal submitted by Contra Costa County. The ABAG Administrative Committee partially granted that appeal because an area annexed to Pittsburg in 2018 was incorrectly included as part of unincorporated Contra Costa County. ABAG lowered Contra Costa County’s RHNA by 35 housing units. There are no further pending appeals or opportunities to appeal.

Impacts of Development

+ How does the City plan to assess the potential environmental effects that might result from the new housing in the Draft Housing Element?

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires that the City analyze and develop mitigation measures to reduce potentially significant environmental effects that may occur from the Housing Element Update. To this end, a programmatic environmental impact report, or EIR, is being prepared by the City with the support of Rincon Consultants, Inc.

The EIR will contain in-depth studies of the potential individual and cumulative impacts of the growth and related development, envisioned under the Housing Element Update. These include potential impacts of new development on land use, aesthetics, transportation, air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, noise, cultural resources, geology and soils, hydrology and flood hazards, hazardous materials, public services, recreation, utilities, and biological resources. Once a draft of the EIR is complete, it will be circulated to the public for review and comment. The City held a meeting at the onset of the EIR efforts on March 1st of this year, and the City anticipates releasing the draft EIR this coming fall.

The City will also be updating its Environmental Hazards (Safety) Element in response to the Housing Element Update to assess evacuation routes.

+ What is a "Fiscal Impact Study"?

A fiscal impact study evaluates the costs of public infrastructure and services associated with a development proposal.

+ How will the EIR assess potential impacts to the physical environment? Will it assess noise impacts?

The primary purpose of CEQA is to analyze physical environmental impacts, so although the Draft Housing Element itself is a policy document not a physical development project, we will develop a set of buildout assumptions and we will be assessing the potential physical impacts associated with future development and buildout under the Element. And yes, that includes assessing noise impacts associated with construction and operation of new residences.

Plans, Policies, and Proposals in the Draft Housing Element

Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)

+ What is the method for counting future development of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and the method for counting new units that could be added in single-family residential districts, as allowed by SB9, in the City’s Site Inventory to meet the RHNA?

The State-recommended approach for crediting ADUs toward RHNA is to use the annual average of ADU building permits issued since 2019 and project that average over the 8-year cycle or planning period (2023-2031). The source of this guidance is found in a memo issued by the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) entitled “Housing Element Site Inventory Guidebook Government Code Section 65583.2,” issued on June 10th 2020. Details on the recommended approach for forecasting ADU production into the future is found on page 31. The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) also provides additional guidance on how to utilize ADUs to satisfy the RHNA, including recommendations on how to project ADUs and estimate affordability levels. ABAG’s technical guidance memo is available at https://abag.ca.gov/technical-assistance/using-adus-satisfy-rhna.

Senate Bill 9 (SB9), which was passed as legislation in October 2021, allows property owners in single family residential zones to split their lot and/or develop additional units (e.g. ADUs or duplexes) subject to limited local control. The result is that it is possible to construct up to four units on what had once been a site for a single unit. HCD released a fact sheet memo on March 25, 2022, which includes an overview of SB9, and its potential relationship to the Housing Element sites inventory can be found on page 6.

Like ADUs, any assumptions of additional units to be built in Piedmont as a result of SB9 should be based on extensive analysis determining the likelihood of redevelopment on specific sites. While the City may develop programs or policies to help facilitate use of SB9 provisions, a conservative approach to ensuring adequate capacity for new housing would not overly rely on new SB9 units in single-family development to meet the City’s affordable housing goals.

+ What are the incentives and other changes under consideration for ADUs?

Listed below are an existing incentive and proposed new incentives for the development of ADUs that would be deed restricted to low or very low income households: Existing ADU Incentive:

• Unit size exception for 10-year deed restriction New Incentives:
• Allow taller ADUs (2-story or 2nd-story)
• Allow an additional ADU and greater floor area and lot coverage on properties where the primary residence is greater than 45 years old
• Allow ADUs developed within the walls of an existing building to exceed size limits
• Allow the applicant to use pre-approved plans
• Provide financing incentives

Zoning

+ What is the Zoning Ordinance and Zoning Map?

Chapter 17 of the Piedmont City Code is the zoning ordinance in Piedmont. The zoning ordinance must be consistent with the General Plan and serves as one of the tools by which the City implements the goals and actions included in the General Plan and its Housing Element. The zoning ordinance regulates development, including application processes, allowed building sizes, allowed land uses, signs, and aesthetics. The zoning map assigns a land use zone to each parcel in Piedmont. The land use zones in Piedmont are: zone A (single-family); zone B (public facilities), zone C (multi-family); zone D (commercial mixed-use); and zone E (single family estate). Visit the City webpage on zoning for more information and a link to the zoning map at: http://piedmont.hosted.civiclive.com/services___departments/planning___building/about_planning_/zoning_ordinance

+ What does “Mixed-use” mean?

Mixed-use development means apartment buildings with ground-floor businesses, such as retail shops, offices, restaurants, banks, cafes, and other local-serving uses.

+ What does “Multi-family” mean?

Multi-family housing means apartment buildings, including triplexes and four-plexes or more. Multi-family housing is permitted in zone C in Piedmont. Multi-family housing is also permitted in zone D as part of a mixed-use development with ground floor commercial uses.

Draft Housing Element Zoning Proposals

+ What zoning‐related actions are proposed in the current draft of the City’s 6th Cycle Housing Element? When do the zoning‐related actions occur?

The adoption of a Draft Housing Element does not enact any modifications to the Zoning Ordinance. The Draft Housing Element includes policies and programs that call for revisions to the Zoning Ordinance that allow for the housing described in the Element. Implementation of modifications to the Zoning Ordinance is expected to occur within 3 years after the Element’s adoption and will be subject to public review, community meetings, and consideration by the Planning Commission and City Council. Proposed zoning‐related changes in the current draft of the City’s Housing Element include revisions to regulations related to building height, setbacks, lot coverage, floor area ratio, on‐site parking, the number of dwelling units per acre (density), and permitting processes. The specific changes will vary by zone. The proposed implementation of 6th Cycle Draft Housing Element does not include properties to be transferred from one zoning district to another, nor includes any program that would reduce or enlarge a zoning district boundary with respect to size or area.

+ Why isn’t the City proposing amendments to zoning regulations in single-family Zones A and E?

The Draft Housing Element does include programs to amend the regulations for single-family properties in Zones A and E. These include:

• Amendments to incentivize the production of accessory dwelling units (ADUs),
• Amendments to establish objective design standards for projects submitted under the provisions of SB 9, which allows lot splits and the development of up to 4 units on properties zoned single-family, and
• Amendments to the subdivision ordinance to make it consistent with SB 9. Under current law, a property zoned single-family can have up to 3 independent dwelling units under regulations for accessory dwelling units, and up to 4 independent dwelling units can be developed under SB-9 regulations.

+ The Housing Element includes a program to increase the density of housing units allowed for properties in the multi-family zone C and the mixed use (commercial and multi-family) zone D, both of which allow multi-family housing development. The increased density would be up to 60 dwelling units per acre in Zone C and up to 80 dwelling units per acre in Zoned D. Is it possible to develop at that density in Piedmont?

For context, Zones C and D are primarily at Oakland, Linda and Grand Avenues, and in the Civic Center, with some multi-family parcels scattered into the fabric of Zone A in the western part of the City. It is important to note again, the Housing Element is about having land capacity to accommodate units. Overwhelmingly, it is private developers that build housing. The City is not responsible for building housing units, and the City does not require developers to build housing units at the maximum densities. As provided in the Draft Housing Element, the City is establishing policy that would allow the zoning ordinance to be amended so that these densities can be built to meet its RHNA.

But to the question, the short answer is yes, market trends in the region show that it is possible to develop at these densities. Market trends in the region show that development is indeed occurring at the 60 to 80 du/ac density proposed by Programs 1.G and 1.H in the Draft Housing Element. A feasibility analysis is not needed.

Sites Inventory

+ What criteria was used in selecting sites for inclusion in the Sites Inventory?

To create an adequate sites inventory, the City developed a comprehensive, iterative methodology to determine which sites best meet strict State criteria. First, the City identified all vacant sites that allow residential use based on City GIS data. Since the City is generally built out, the City also identified non-vacant sites that have residential development potential. Criteria for inclusion in the inventory included:

• Non-vacant parcels with surface parking
• Underutilized commercial sites with buildings where the existing uses are of marginal economic viability or the structures are at or near the end of their useful life.
• Larger sites that could allow residential development, regardless of other factors, and
• City-owned property
• Additionally, the City excluded sites that were unlikely to develop into housing over the next 8 years or had existing uses or functions that limit the ability to redevelop into housing.
• Then, according to State law and HCD guidance, parcels were categorized into different income categories based on the density allowed by zoning and parcel size. Importantly, the City’s sites inventory incorporates substantial public input. Please see Draft Housing Element Appendix B for more details regarding the sites methodology.

+ The EBMUD reservoir site and other sites that appear available for the development of housing are not included in the Draft Housing Element Sites Inventory. Why not?

Using guidance from HCD, City staff and the consultant team undertook a comprehensive review of properties across Piedmont to identify potential housing sites. This systematic analysis was further refined by input from the community. The City’s team of housing staff and consultants are in the process of revising the Sites Inventory (pages 157 to 163 of the Draft Housing Element published April 8, 2022) based on direction from the City Council, provided at the Council’s August 1, 2022, meeting. For more information, see the table in the Sites Considerations FAQ bulletin HERE.

+ The Sites Inventory includes properties that are developed with other uses (for example: businesses and houses of worship). Does this mean their existing uses/buildings need to be demolished and replaced by housing?

No. No property owner needs to do anything that is not in their best interests. The sites inventory is about the possible, not the inevitable. The sites inventory is a demonstration to the State that there is some ground truth to the City’s assertation that the implementation of the programs and policies in the Housing Element will allow for the construction of 587 new housing units by 2031.

+ Did City staff contact the owners of properties identified in the site inventory?

Yes. Director Kevin Jackson and Senior Planner Pierce Macdonald had conversations with many property owners, including those in Zones C and D, where multi-family development is currently allowed, and the owners of the five houses of worship. In the conversations we:

• Informed them of the process to update the Housing Element;
• Let them know what programs are being considered for zones in which their properties are located;
• And asked if they’d be willing to hear an offer from a developer if one came along. At this time, the City has not received any indication from property owners that they objected to the idea of housing development in the next 8 years.

+ What type of feasibility assessment is required for the Sites Inventory? What does that mean for realistic capacity?

An economic feasibility assessment is not required for the sites inventory to evaluate development on each site (for example, the City does not have to do the work of developers to research and analyze the financial feasibility or viability of a site, say, in the form of a real estate pro forma).

However, the sites inventory must be based on some demonstrated realistic possibility that the site could and would develop or redevelop into housing within the next 8 years. To show this, cities can look at local and regional trends which show that commercial or other non-vacant sites are being developed as housing.

Realistic capacity is the understanding that the particulars of a site and site requirements – setbacks, development standards, or the geometry of the parcel for example – mean that an applicant may not produce the maximum number of units that are allowed by zoning. This doesn’t mean that the site won’t develop. It just means that it may produce fewer units than the maximum allowed. Based on comparable developments that have occurred in and near Piedmont, a developer preference to get as much development potential out of each site, best practices, and the experience of other jurisdictions, the Housing Element conservatively assumes a 80% efficiency. This assumes that sites will build just less than the maximum allowed by the proposed Housing Element housing plan. In fact, many projects observed recently in the Oakland area utilize the State density bonus program, and builders develop projects well in excess of 100% capacity. The State does not allow cities to rely on the State density bonus to meet the RHNA, although it is likely projects will build in excess of 80% of the capacity.

Development of City Land

+ Why are City-owned sites with City facilities included on the Sites Inventory? Does this mean City facilities will be demolished and replaced with housing?

• Piedmont’s RHNA allocation includes 257 housing units that must be available to low or very low income households. The sites inventory in the Housing Element must show where there is land capacity for these affordable housing units to be developed in the next 8 years. After having researched the size of properties on which affordable housing projects typically get built and the number of housing units in those developments, without an active application for affordable development on a site, the State will only consider sites that are larger than half an acre and less than 10 acres as suitable for lower income housing. This disqualifies the vast majority of properties in Piedmont from being identified as a Housing Element site with the capacity for the development of affordable housing.
• In addition, due to the high cost of land in Piedmont, it is generally understood that a multi-family affordable housing development in Piedmont will only be economically feasible if the land is provided at little or no cost.
• The last three City budgets have identified the need to remodel or replace aging City facilities.
• The Draft Housing Element sites inventory includes City-owned sites because the City owns several large parcels of land, and if it were in its best interest, then the City might find it advantageous to set goals for its facilities on a property and seek proposals from developers that result in the development of affordable housing along with concurrent improvements to City facilities and/or services.

+ What considerations led to the selection of the City-owned sites that are included in the Sites Inventory?

a) Size; b) The parcel contained vacant land or City facilities that need to be improved and/or renovated to meet the community’s needs; and/or c) The parcel contained a facility that could be relocated in conjunction with housing.

• Corporation Yard Site: The Corporation Yard area contains two parcels. The larger parcel is 11.9 acres and contains the Corporation Yard, Coaches Field, Kennelly Skate Park and several acres of vacant hillside. The smaller parcel is 1.5 acres and contains the small “grotto” parking lot and vacant hillsides. The City has goals to expand Coaches Field so that it allows for a regulation-size soccer field. The Corporation Yard needs to be brought to modern construction standards and to be more efficient in its design to better serve the community. The location of Kennelly Skate Park makes it underutilized. Parking for Coaches Field can be improved.
• 801 Magnolia Avenue: This 0.31 acre parcel includes a building containing City offices and Recreation Department facilities. Originally constructed in the 19th century as a house, and then converted to a house of worship in the mid-20th century, the building contains an inefficient arrangement of spaces and needs to be brought up to modern fire and seismic safety standards.
• 120 Vista Avenue: This parcel is 0.83 acres and contains City Hall, the Fire Station, the Magnolia Avenue garages, Veterans Hall, and the Police Department, which is located on the basement level of Veterans Hall. That building does not meet modern seismic or fire safety standards. The Police and Fire Departments need additional office and dispatch space, modern dormitories, and an emergency operations center that is in a building that meets modern safety standards. Having been constructed 110 years ago, City Hall needs a comprehensive remodel and expansion to bring the building to modern safety standards and to provide sufficient office space and meeting rooms to better serve the community. On August 1, 2022, City Council directed staff to find alternative sites for the housing units associated with the 120 Vista Avenue site.

+ What is the process to develop any of these City-owned sites, and does this process require the City to donate land?

The City would first have to determine its goals for any City-owned sites through an open and robust public engagement process. Once goals for specific sites are established, the City would seek proposals from developers for those sites. A developer would be selected based on how closely their proposal aligns with the City’s goals. Any selected developer would need to submit applications for entitlements under the regulatory process, which normally includes public review and engagement specific to the proposed development.

The specific land transaction depends on the developer that is selected, but there are a number of options to develop City-owned sites for housing. The City could choose to sell land at fair market value, or could sell or lease its land for low cost to an affordable housing developer in exchange for the provision of affordable housing. The City would comply with all applicable laws, including the Surplus Lands Act, and Government Code section 37380 pertaining to leases. The City is not obligated to enter into any agreement and is able to pursue a process in its own best interest.

Corporation Yard

+ Does the Sites Inventory prioritize the development of the Corporation Yard area over other sites? Why don’t other sites need a specific plan to be developed? What are the benefits of preparing a specific plan?

The Corporation Yard site may appear to stand out on the sites inventory map because of its size and coloration relative to other sites on the map. But NO, neither the sites inventory nor the Housing Element, as a whole, prioritize any one site over other sites for development.

The preparation of a specific plan is recommended for the corporation yard area because of the many benefits of a specific plan process:

1. In developing a specific plan, further engagement is needed with the Piedmont community to discuss opportunities and challenges with developing this area
2. As part of a specific plan, roadways, sidewalks, traffic control, and emergency access can be studied and designed.
3. Under a specific plan, hazards such as wildfires can be mitigated, and public utilities, like water, electricity, and sewer service can be studied and designed.
4. Within the scope of a specific plan, community benefits and City goals and needs can be studied and incorporated into the specific plan’s implementing programs and actions. Such benefits include, but are not limited to parks, recreation facilities, modernized services and infrastructure, and native habitat; and
5. The specific plan programs and actions will govern future subdivision and development that follows, such as reserving space for roadways, sidewalks, planter areas, parks, playfields, public art, meeting spaces, and so on. Other sites in the inventory but that are not part of the Corporation Yard Area specific plan are still subject to the regulatory process. Developers interested in these sites will need to submit an application for development and comply with all City requirements.

+ Why are City-owned sites with City facilities included on the Sites Inventory? Why are we giving up public land? Does this mean City facilities will be demolished and replaced with housing? In regards to the Corporation Yard area, why are there so many housing units there, in an area that lacks access to services?

Piedmont’s RHNA allocation includes 257 housing units that must be available to low or very low income households. The sites inventory in the Housing Element must show where there is land capacity for these affordable housing units to be developed in the next 8 years. The State has researched the size of properties on which affordable housing projects typically get built and the number of housing units in those developments. So, without a developer having submitted an active application for affordable development on a site, the State will only consider sites in our inventory that are larger than half an acre and less than 10 acres as suitable for lower income housing. This disqualifies the vast majority of properties in Piedmont from being identified as a site with the capacity for the development of affordable housing.

In addition, due to the high cost of land in Piedmont, it is generally understood that a multi-family affordable housing development in Piedmont will only pencil-out if the land is provided at little or no cost, unless we allow densities and buildings on privately owned sites, like those in the Oakland Uptown neighborhood.

The Sites Inventory includes City-owned sites because the City owns several large parcels of land, and if it were in its best interest, the City might find it advantageous to determine the goals for its facilities and to seek an affordable housing developer to work with the City to develop affordable housing on its land, along with concurrent improvements to City facilities and/or services. The last three City budgets have identified the need to remodel or replace aging City facilities.

HCD guidance is clear that publicly owned non-vacant sites should be considered for inclusion in a Housing Element sites inventory when supported by a program to redevelop the sites for housing (See HCD Housing Element Site Inventory Guidebook Government Code Section 65583.2 May 2020 P. 38), and this is a strategy that is being used in a number of communities.

For example, in Southern California, the City of South Pasadena, which is similar to Piedmont in that it is highly land constrained, has included its public works yard in its site inventory. In public meetings, LWC has previously presented examples of housing development on public land in the Bay Area, including the redevelopment of a public works yard in San Jose and on the City Hall parking lot in Redwood City.

There are a number of reasons why the Cityowned facilities in Piedmont are particularly suitable for inclusion in the sites inventory for the Housing Element. It is our understanding that a number of these facilities have significant capital deficiencies and that they are likely to require substantial renovation and/or replacement at some point in the intermediate future. Because these sites are in strategic locations, it will be possible for the City to engage with the private sector to establish partnerships that would lead to the redevelopment of these facilities along with the identified housing programs. These sites have value that the City can potentially leverage to attract private partners and to move forward on the basis of a public-private partnership that meets the community's needs for improved facilities, along with the provision of additional housing.

As the owner of the property, the City would have the ability to shape the form, timing and nature of any future site redevelopment. Like any property owner, the City is not compelled to take any particular action that would not be in its interests if a City- owned site is included in the sites inventory.

Affordable Housing

+ What does “Affordable Housing” mean?

Affordable housing means housing where no more than 30% of the household’s monthly income is used to pay for housing and housing related costs.

Households earning less than the region’s median income typically have a harder time finding housing that is affordable, although housing affordability and overpayment can be an issue for households of all types and sizes.

Because of this, “affordable housing” is often interpreted as synonymous as “low income housing”, which is housing that is affordable to households with very low, low, or moderate incomes.

Many City staff members and employees of the school district have incomes that might qualify them for affordable housing.

+ What does “Subsidized Housing” mean?

Subsidized housing is housing in which deed restrictions, tax credits, tax exempt bonds, grants, HUD Section 8 vouchers, and other sources of public funds and interventions help in the construction of housing that is affordable to lower income households or help offset costs so lower income households can afford the cost of housing without paying more than 30% of their income for housing.

Not all housing affordable to lower income households is subsidized, although this is the most common way to facilitate housing for lower income households due to market conditions.

+ $2.1 million of Alameda County Measure A-1 funds would be available as a low interest loan to an affordable housing developer to build in Piedmont if the City gains approval of a project from the County Board of Supervisors. How is that being pursued in conjunction with the Draft Housing Element?

• Pursuit of funding, including Measure A-1 funds, is separate from the Housing Element, but can be an influential contributor to funding the implementation of Housing Element programs.
• The deadline for Piedmont to gain the Alameda County Board of Supervisors approval of a project to use the funds is now December 31, 2024.
• The City is currently considering identification of a site or sites to utilize the A-1 funds. At the recommendation of the Planning Commission, staff is recommending the City Council approve revisions to Housing Element programs 1.F and 1.L to provide additional clarity on the use of Measure A-1 funds for housing.

+ What is “Fair Housing” and what does it mean to “Affirmatively Further Fair Housing”?

• “Fair housing” means all persons have equal opportunity to be considered for rental units, purchase of property, housing loans, and property insurance, regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, disability, source of Income, Sexual Orientation, Marital Status, Age, Gender Identity & Gender Expression
• “Affirmatively furthering fair housing” means taking meaningful actions that, taken together, address significant disparities in housing needs and in access to opportunity, replacing segregated living patterns with truly integrated and balanced living patterns, transforming racially and ethnically concentrated areas of poverty into areas of opportunity, and fostering and maintaining compliance with civil rights and fair housing laws.

+ Does the City violate the requirements to “Affirmatively Further Fair Housing” by identifying 132 units near the Corporation Yard area?

No. AFFH requires that cities analyze their sites inventory to assess whether it contributes or exacerbates any documented patterns of segregation or concentration of protected communities, or contributes to or exacerbates any disparate access to opportunities for protected communities (for example: special needs communities including persons with disabilities, low-income households, and racial and/or ethnic minorities). Part of this goal is to understand how historic practices may or may not have contributed to the isolation, concentration, or segregation of certain groups or any disparities in access to opportunities for certain groups, and then to actively develop programs to improve fair housing conditions.

Piedmont doesn’t have any documented patterns of segregation or disparate access to opportunities within its boundaries, so housing could be located anywhere without concern for violation of AFFH. In fact, all of Piedmont is considered a “high resource” area by the State and Tax Credit Allocation Committee (TCAC). This means that Piedmont offers residents the best chance of a high quality of life, by economic, educational, and environmental criteria. High resource areas, like Piedmont, include high employment rates, low poverty rates, and proximity to jobs. Placement of any low-income housing anywhere in the City furthers the States’ objectives. AFFH does not require any sort of ‘equal distribution’ of housing units across a city nor does it prevent identification of an area for a large number of units. Housing must be placed where there is opportunity, consistent with State requirements.

While the State’s AFFH standards do not require that sites for new housing be evenly distributed throughout the City, the Draft Housing Element’s sites inventory identifies sites for affordable housing in multiple parts of the City. The inventory demonstrates that the City has the capacity for lower income sites near the Civic Center (in the center of the City) and at Zion Lutheran Church in the southeast portion of the City, in addition to the Corporation Yard area, as well as housing for all incomes distributed throughout the City, in all Zones.

+ What is the documentation of the "general understanding" that half the very low-income units can be considered affordable to extremely low income families?

Government Code (GC) Section 65583(a)(1). See bold text below. “The housing element shall consist of an identification and analysis of existing and projected housing needs and a statement of goals, policies, quantified objectives, financial resources, and scheduled programs for the preservation, improvement, and development of housing. The housing element shall identify adequate sites for housing, including rental housing, factory-built housing, mobile homes, and emergency shelters, and shall make adequate provision for the existing and projected needs of all economic segments of the community. The element shall contain all of the following:

• An assessment of housing needs and an inventory of resources and constraints relevant to the meeting of these needs. The assessment and inventory shall include all of the following:
• An analysis of population and employment trends and documentation of projections and a quantification of the locality’s existing and projected housing needs for all income levels, including extremely low income households, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 50105 and Section 50106 of the Health and Safety Code. These existing and projected needs shall include the locality’s share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584. Local agencies shall calculate the subset of very low income households allotted under Section 65584 that qualify as extremely low income households. The local agency may either use available census data to calculate the percentage of very low income households that qualify as extremely low income households or presume that 50 percent of the very low income households qualify as extremely low income households. The number of extremely low income households and very low income households shall equal the jurisdiction’s allocation of very low income households pursuant to Section 65584…”

+ Does HCD allow local jurisdictions to designate affordable housing on sites that are greater than 10 acres?

Yes. However, if a local jurisdiction includes a site that is greater than 10 acres in its sites inventory as an affordable housing development, the City must back that up with additional analysis. That is why Piedmont’s Draft Housing Element includes a program to prepare a specific plan for the City-owned properties in the Moraga Canyon area. The specific plan will carry out the additional analysis and planning for these large parcels where about 1.7 acres would be identified as a site or sites for affordable housing.