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Home My WebLink AboutCORRESPONDENCE - 11BSeptember 1, 2015 City Council Meeting Correspondence 11 B - Ordinance 2nd Reading for the Housing Opportunity Ordinance Date of Sender/Representative Agency 15 2 9/1/2015 Michael Balsamo, CEO Michael Balsamo, CEO CAUser*mibeeskmpl_Exhibhs_Compandence O.doc Building Industry Association of Southern California (BIA) Building Industry Association of Southern California (BIA) Building Industry Association of Southern California, Inc. BIR RANGE COUNTY CHAPTER August 4, 2015 Mayor Miguel Pulido Honorable Councilmembers City of Santa Ana 22 Civic Center Plaza Santa Ana, CA 92701 Re: Proposed Updates to the Housing Opportunity Ordinance Dear Mayor Pulido and Honorable Councilmembers: On behalf of our membership, I would like to offer our support for the proposed changes to the City's Housing Opportunity Ordinance. The Building Industry Association of Southern California, Orange County Chapter (BIA/OC) is a non-profit trade association of over 1,000 member companies employing over 100,000 people affiliated with the home building industry. The Orange County Chapter represents the largest member base within BIA Southern California. Our mission is to champion housing as the foundation of vibrant and sustainable communities. Statewide, Orange County is ranked 2nd only to the Bay area for the highest housing prices. This is largely due to 1) lack of adequate housing stock, 2) a jobs to housing imbalance, and 3) lack of available land coupled with excessive regulation on the housing industry. Policies that support the production of housing allow for fundamental economic principles of supply and demand to occur. Furthermore, The City of Santa Ana's Economic Development website identifies population density as 12,440 people per square mile, much higher than Costa Mesa, at 7,024 or, the city of Los Angeles, at 8,282 per square mile. In short, the City needs more housing, and the proposed changes to the City's Housing Opportunity Ordinance will create more flexibility and predictability for the development community. CCM: 9/1/2015 11B PRESIDENT JOAN MARCUS-COLVIN THE NEW HOME COMPANY VICE PRESIDENT JIM YATES RANCHO MISSION VIEJO TREASURER PHIL BODEM TAYLOR MORRISON SECRETARY MIKE GARTLAN KB HOME IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT DONNA KELLY LENNAR TRADE CONTRACTOR V.P. ALAN BOUDREAU BOUDREAU PIPELINE CORPORATIO ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT MARK HIMMELSTEIN NEWMEYERB DILLION, LLP MEMBER -AT -LARGE MIKE MCMILLEN TRI POINTE HOMES MEMBER -AT -LARGE SCOTT STARKEY STARKEY COMMUNICATIONS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER MICHAEL BALSAMO Specifically, we feel several key components of the proposal are favorable: 1. The adaptive re -use exemption 2. The SB 1818 concessions for projects above 20 units 3. The 15% moderate level income requirement for for -sale projects 4. Allowing a reasonable in -lieu fee for projects below 20 units Our only suggested modification to the proposed update would be to encourage the City Council to consider increasing the threshold for allowing the in -lieu fee to be utilized from 20 units to 50 units. Thank you for your thoughtful consideration. Respectfully, Michael Balsamo Chief Executive Officer Building Industry Association of Southern California, Inc ORANGE COUNTY CHAPTER September 1, 2015 Mayor Miguel Pulido Honorable Councilmembers City of Santa Ana 22 Civic Center Plaza Santa Ana, CA 92701 Re: Proposed Updates to the Housing Opportunity Ordinance (HOO) Dear Mayor Pulido and Honorable Councilmembers: On behalf of our membership, I would like to offer our concerns regarding the Council's proposed changes to the City's Housing Opportunity Ordinance. The Building Industry Association of Southern California, Orange County Chapter (BIA/OC) is a non-profit trade association of over 1,000 member companies employing over 100,000 people affiliated with the home building industry. The Orange County Chapter represents the largest member base within BIA Southern California. Orange County is ranked 2nd only to the bay area for the highest housing costs in California. This is largely due to 1) lack of adequate housing stock, 2) a jobs to housing imbalance, and 3) lack of available land coupled with excessive regulation on the housing industry. Policies that support the production of housing allow for fundamental economic principles of supply and demand to occur. Furthermore, The City of Santa Ana's Economic Development website identifies population density as 12,440 people per square mile, much higher than Costa Mesa, at 7,024 or, the city of Los Angeles, at 8,282 per square mile. hi short, the City needs more housing, however the Council's proposed amendments to the City's Housing Opportunity Ordinance will only make it more difficult to grow Santa Ana's housing supply, as these changes add cost, increase regulations and negatively affect the potential for new project investment. CCM: 9/1/2015 11B It BIR PRESIDENT JOAN MARCUS-COLVIN THE NEW HOME COMPANY VICE PRESIDENT JIM YATES RANCHO MISSION VIEJO TREASURER PHIL BODEM TAYLOR MORRISON SECRETARY MIKE GARTLAN KB HOME IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT DONNA KELLY LENNAR TRADE CONTRACTOR V.P. ALAN BOUDREAU BOUDREAU PIPELINE CORPORATION ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT MARK HIMMELSTEIN NEWMEYER 8 DILLION, LLP MEMBER -AT -LARGE MIKE MCMILLEN TRI POINTE HOMES MEMBER -AT -LARGE SCOTT STARKEY STARKEY COMMUNICATIONS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER MICHAEL BALSAMO Specifically, we are concerned with the following Council amendments proposed on the August 41h,2015 City Council Meeting. Increasing the In -Lieu Fee from $5 to $15 per Square Foot: This amendment triples the in -lieu fee from Staffs original recommendation. For a typical 1,000 square foot unit this equates to $15,000. This cost will ultimately be transferred to a would-be home owner or renter, making it more expensive to build and attain housing in Santa Ana. Furthermore, a fee of this magnitude may push developers out of Santa Ana to other jurisdictions. • Redefining Moderate Income from 110% of Area Median Income to 80%: This proposed change inappropriately modifies the definition of Moderate Income to be equivalent to a Low Income Household. There was consensus in the stakeholder meetings (and in the broader affordable housing arena) that achieving low income affordability levels with ownership housing is impractical for many reasons. Very low and low income levels are more efficiently served through rental programs. With the input from local stakeholders, Staff embarked on updating the City's Housing Opportunity Ordinance to assist Santa Ana with activating new housing in the City. We encourage the Council to preserve the original recommendations presented by Staff in order to incentivize new development. Thank you for your thoughtful consideration. Respectfully, Michael Balsamo Chief Executive Officer