The
meeting was convened at 1:33 p.m.
Members Present: Chair Forrest Williams, Vice Chair Linda LeZotte, Council Member John DiQuisto, and Council Member Dave Cortese
Members
Absent: None.
Staff Present: Darrell Dearborn, Ed Moran, Leslye Corsiglia, Kent Edens, Pat Colombe, Renee Gurza
1. Status Report on Mayor’s Housing
Production Team Referrals (City Manager’s Office)
Upon motion by Councilmember Diquisto and seconded by Councilmember
Cortese, the Committee unanimously accepted the staff report.
2. Quarterly Housing Production Reports (Housing)
· Quarterly Report on the Project Development
· Quarterly Report on the Housing Rehabilitation Program
· Third Quarter Report on the Housing and Homeless Fund
Upon motion of Councilmember LeZotte, seconded by Councilmember Cortese, the Committee unanimously accepted the staff reports.
3. San Jose First
Employment Program (SJFEP) Report (OED)
[Recommend Drop]
Upon motion of Councilmember LeZotte, seconded by Councilmember Cortese, the Committee unanimously accepted recommendation to drop the staff report.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE
Members Present: Chair Forrest Williams, Vice Chair Linda LeZotte, Council Member John Diquisto, Council Member Dave Cortese
Staff Present: Darrell Dearborn, Ed Moran, Leslye Corsiglia, Kent Edens. Pat Colombe, Renee Gurza,
The meeting was convened at 1:33 p.m.
1. Status Report on
Mayor’s Housing Production Team Referrals (City Manager’s Office)
Leslye Corsiglia, Acting Director of the Housing Department provided an update of housing production activities that occurred during the month of April. Progress continues in implementing the HPT recommendations, many of which are of a long-term nature. Thirty-two percent of the items within the report (HPT recommendations) are completed or are a part of the proposed FY 2001-02 budget ; 11% of the recommendations are on hold; and, overall, staff has completed almost 40% of the recommendations.
a. Budget actions proposed as part of the FY 2001-02 budget process include:
· Increased funding for predevelopment activities in the Housing Department (Recommendation #1)
· Additional planning positions in the Planning, Building and Code Enforcement Department (Recommendations #55 and 62).
b. An information memorandum regarding customer service and improved coordination between departments working with housing developers was completed and sent to the City Council (Recommendations #33,34,35, and 63).
c. An information memorandum on improvements to Housing Department loan programs was completed and sent to the City Council (Recommendations #10,13,22,41 and 66).
d. An information memorandum on Construction Defect legislation currently being considered by the State legislature was completed and sent to the City Council (Recommendation #16).
e. An information memorandum regarding implementation of the Smart Permitting processes of the Santa Clara Valley Manufacturing Group by the City is underway and will be sent to the City Council this month (Recommendation #61).
Chair Williams stated that he would like to see within the chart format, the status of the recommendations (i.e., result, completed, etc.). Staff responded a column could easily be added to the matrix to allow for any necessary referencing.
Upon motion of Councilmember Diquisto, seconded by Councilmember Cortese,
the Committee approved staff’s report on the “Status Report on Mayor’s Housing
Production Team Referrals.”
2. Quarterly Housing Production Reports (Housing)
· Quarterly Report on the Project Development Program
Leslye Corsiglia, Acting Director of the Housing Department explained that this report covers activity for the third quarter of FY 2000-01. The objective of the Project Development Program is to expand the supply of affordable housing in San Jose by 6,036 units by July 2004 (referred to as the “5-year plan”).
Highlights of activity in the quarter ending March 31, 2001 are:
Units
Funding Applications on File 856
Fund Reservations Approved 966
Pre-Construction Phase 558
Under Construction 1,263
Project Completions 870
TOTAL 4,513
Project Development mainly focuses on funding for new construction or acquisition of rehabilitated properties for larger projects. For this current year ending June 30th, staff anticipates that it will be approximately 130 units short of its goal. For FY 2001-02, staff anticipates that it will be approximately 360 units short of its goal. Staff explained that the established goals were not achieved because many of the projects had difficulty in obtaining outside financing and others projects have applied for tax credits and have not yet received their tax allocations. Staff continues to monitor production goals closely.
Staff acknowledged that it may appear that targeted goals are falling behind, but staff explained that these recent activities will result in the construction dates being moved out and that there are plenty of housing units lined up for future construction to meet the goal of 6,036 by July 2004.
Vice-Chair LeZotte inquired that “if funding were increased and put it into Extreme Low Income (ELI), how would that affect the outcome of goals met?” Staff responded that with the current budget, overall it would reduce the total number of units by about 4%, and that ELI units typically cost $115K versus $67,500, creating the need to provide grants to help fund the project. These numbers merely reflect a 5-year estimate of what the approximate cost would be when considering land and construction costs.
Councilmember Cortese asked for an actual number of units the 4% decrease represents and staff responded the 4% was representative when looking at the costs from this date forward, rather than from the beginning of the program forward. Councilmember Cortese indicated further discussion reviewing the issue if the budget is not increased, what is the actual cost in dollars and number of units impacted.
Darrell Dearborn, Senior Deputy City Manager, asked which chart within the attachments was more current with regards to the number of cumulative units. Staff responded that the bar chart more accurately reflected the actual number of units.
Chair Williams asked about the 2001-02 Projections, with regards to the number of units currently being processed, and stated that in reviewing the charts some of the totals do not match. He requested that staff follow-up with a phone response regarding the discrepancy. Chair Williams also inquired if the current state of the economy would have any detrimental impact on projects in the program. Staff responded that the current economic climate would not impact the program and that it actually allows the City to keep projects on target when other developers fall out of the picture and the City is able to acquire land for developments.
· Quarterly Report on the Housing Rehabilitation Program
Staff presented its report on activity during the third quarter of FY 2000-01. This report included data on loan approvals, completions, grant awards, and cancellations. The Rehabilitation Program is a somewhat behind on loan approvals, but is exceeding last year’s schedule. Project completions are also somewhat behind, primarily because of the implementation of HUD’s Lead-Based Paint regulations and, secondly, because of a shortage of qualified contractors to help meet these regulations and program goals. To improve the program, staff is making some changes to align this effort to the Strong Neighborhoods Initiative areas and providing more rehabilitation loans and grants. The Department’s Loan Underwriting Section is fully staffed and efforts continue to market this program to general contractors, subcontractors, and lead-certified contractors.
· Third Quarter Report on the Housing and Homeless Fund
Staff presented a report that outlined the last 8 years of activity related to the Housing and Homeless Fund, since it began with an initial balance of nearly $2 million. Approximately $4.6 million has been added to this fund and funds have been utilized for various efforts ranging from capital repairs, neighborhood clean-ups, purchase of office equipment, telephone systems, food, clothing for interviews, art supplies for children, and shelter beds for youths, etc. Staff’s report also reflected the status of: new applications for Housing and Homeless Funds received during the reporting period; pending applications; and, an update on the progress of previously funded applications.
Chair Williams asked if there were any recommendations for how this program will continue to be funded. Staff responded any money that can be identified or comes back to the Department, is placed into this program. As far as exploring other resources, there are two other recommendations being prepared by staff for presentation to Council in the next 30 days.
Upon motion
of Councilmember LeZotte, seconded by Councilmember Cortese, the Committee
accepted staff reports on “Quarterly
Housing Production Report”.
3. San Jose First
Employment Program (SJFEP) Report (OED)
[RECOMMEND
DROP]
Darrell Dearborn provided an explanation for the recommendation to drop this item. The SJFEP report was inadvertently placed on the Committee’s May agenda when the Economic Development and Environment Committee was reconfigured and when committee workplans were being developed. This report is typically an annual report. The next SJFEP report will be submitted for the Committee’s review in September 2001.
Upon motion
of Councilmember LeZotte, seconded by Councilmember Cortese, the Committee
accepted recommendation to drop the staff report on “San Jose First Employment
Program.”
4. Proposed
Ordinance Amending Title 9 of City of San Jose Municipal Code to Restrict the
Discing of Vegetation on Certain Lands (Council Referral No. 5-4-99-15e)
Kent Edens, Deputy Director of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement, Pat Colombe, Planning Services and Renee Gurza, Senior Deputy City Attorney presented a report and recommended amending the municipal code on how the City is presently discing, plowing, or turning over the soil on vacant land that are two acres or greater. The vacant land could be a single parcel or a combination of contiguous parcels. With the urbanization of Santa Clara Valley, large areas of Burrowing Owl habitats are at risk of permanently being lost. The present practice of discing destroys the integrity of burrow entrances for the owls, effectively reducing the availability of habitat, and causing direct mortality to adult and juvenile owls underground in their nests. The proposed ordinance includes an exemption for lands:
· Actively being used for the production of agricultural products;
· Being developed pursuant to valid City planning and building permits; and,
· Determined by a qualified ornithologist as having little or no potential as a Burrowing Owl habitat.
In addition to amending the municipal code, staff recommended hiring an ornithologist to identify the above mentioned lands. Estimated cost of consultant services are estimated between $5,000 - $10,000 and the Habitat Reserve contains approximately $342,000 to help cover these fees.
Councilmember Cortese asked for consideration that a provision should also be written into the ordinance to create perimeter firebreaks and protect parcels of lands that abut against foothills, where severe fire danger exists. Councilmember Diquisto concurred on this point and the need to have firebreaks along these types of lands.
Co-Chair LeZotte asked what kind of guidelines have been created to help define “no potential” lands. Staff responded to defer definition to the expertise of the hired ornithologist. Co-Chair also asked what kind of enforcement mechanisms would be in place, i.e., fines, penalties, etc. Staff responded that administrative citations would be the fastest way to address this issue and they are looking at ways to structure stiff fines in such a way that this cost is not considered the price of doing business, but rather an incentive to mow lands and comply.
Chair Williams asked staff to incorporate the recommendations presented by the Committee members when this is brought to Council along with the expectation of the costs.
Upon motion of Councilmember LeZotte, seconded by Councilmember
Cortese, the Committee accepted the staff report, “Proposed Ordinance
Amending Title 9 of City of San Jose Municipal Code to Restrict the Discing of
Vegetation on Certain Lands (Council Referral No. 5-4-99-15e)” with the
recommendation that staff report back to be presented to the full Council for
action and that staff provide
information on additional costs for the creation of firebreaks.
Oral Petitions
Craig Breon, of the Audubon Society stated that he was appreciative for the position the City is taking in support of the burrowing owls. Cost differentials do exist between mowing and discing, but mowing can still be an effective firebreak. The Audubon Society is also preparing an update on various construction sites and water run-off at those sites.
6. Adjournment
Meeting was adjourned at 2:37 p.m.
Forrest
Williams, Chair
Economic
Development & Environment Committee