Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutRes 00-78 Replacement Plan Fred Waring Drive Imprvmnts .. CITY OF P .. Efrl DESERT 73-510 FRED WARING DRIVE rr •Id ,�(rr PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA 92 2 60-2 5 7 8 s 1/44 TEL: 760 346-061 P '•;�oR,� 0,1 FAX: 760 340-0574 QT info@palm-desert.org NOTICE OF PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA ITEM RESOLUTION NO. 00-78 - A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA, ADOPTING A REPLACEMENT HOUSING PLAN FOR THE FRED WARING DRIVE IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT. Recommendation: Waive further reading and adopt. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Palm Desert City Council will consider the subject item of business at its Regular Meeting of Thursday, June 22, 2000, at 4:00 p.m. in the Civic Center Council Chamber of the Palm Desert Civic Center, 73-510 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert, California. A copy of the meeting agenda is enclosed for your reference with the subject items highlighted. You may obtain a copy ofthe complete staff report by telephoning the Office ofthe City Clerk, (760)346-0611, extension 304. RACHELLE D. ' ASSEN ACTING CITY CLERK CITY OF PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA TUNE 16, 2000 t,PAINTED ON RE(Y(lED PAPER • Resolution No. 00-78 INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM CITY OF PALM DESERT DATE: 22 JUNE 2000 TO: ACTING CITY MANAGER, HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL FROM: LAURI AYLAIAN,PROJECT ADMINISTRATOR SUBJECT: FRED WARING DRIVE IMPROVEMENTS Recommendation: Staff recommends that the City Council, by minute motion, adopt Resolution No. 00-78 adopting the Replacement Housing Plan prepared for the Fred Waring Drive Improvements Project. Background: Under certain circumstances where a public project is expected to result in the demolition of affordable housing, the public agency must prepare a plan to replenish over time the area's supply of affordable housing. This plan is called a replacement housing plan, and is required pursuant to Health and Safety Code Section 33413.5. In addition to this, a second plan, which is also titled a replacement housing plan, is required when comparable replacement housing is not available for people who will be displaced by a project. This plan is required by Section 6124 of Article 4, Last Resort Housing, Title 25 of the California Code of Regulations, which are the guidelines implementing Chapter 16 of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code. The City of Palm Desert, together with the Redevelopment Agency, prepared a replacement housing plan in connection with the proposed widening of Fred Waring Drive. This plan fulfills the requirements of both laws calling for the preparation of a replacement housing plan. This plan is different from the Relocation Plan that was approved by the City Council on 25 May 2000,but it contains some of the same information. The combined Replacement Housing Plan ("Plan") describes how the City and Agency plan to replace the affordable housing stock over time, and how they will make sure there is affordable housing for people who are displaced by the proposed road widening. A copy of the Plan is attached to this report. It has been distributed to residents who will be directly affected by the road project and to various agencies that deal with planning and housing issues in the Coachella Valley. • Resolution No. 00-78 The Plan has also been reviewed and commented upon by an advisory committee formed for this specific purpose. The comments of the committee have been incorporated into the text of the Plan that is hereby presented. As is required by Health and Safety Code Section 33413, the subject resolution adopting the Plan has been prepared for your approval. REVIEWED AND CONCUR: Lauri Aylaian &474() Project Administrator Acting City Manager la Attachment (2) CITY COUNCIL 1)CTION: APPROVED t/ DENIED RECEIVED OTHER MEETIN ' DATE , - _ - • • ^. AYES: W, .. ..... 6RI01I11111111: r : . 1111E • NOES: 6- • ABSENT: 4 A ABSTAIN: VERIFIED BY: f 7 Original on File with City C rk's RESOLUTION NO. 00-78 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALM DESERT CALIFORNIA,ADOPTING A REPLACEMENT HOUSING PLAN FOR THE FRED WARING DRIVE IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALM DESERT HEREBY FINDS, DETERMINES, RESOLVES,AND ORDERS AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Health and Safety Code Section 33413.5 provides that a replacement housing plan be prepared and adopted by resolution before the execution of an agreement which would lead to the destruction or removal of dwelling units from the low and moderate income housing market. Section 2. The Relocation Plan adopted on 25 May 2000 by the City Council for the Fred Waring Drive Improvements Project found that comparable replacement dwellings are not available at an affordable price for the residents who will be displaced by the project. Section 6124, Article 4 Last Resort Housing, Title 25 of the California Code of Regulations (the "Guidelines") provides that a public entity must develop a replacement housing plan to produce a sufficient number of comparable replacement dwellings when the public entity cannot determine that such will be available as required. Section 3. In fulfillment of the requirements of Sections •1 and 2 above, a single replacement housing plan was developed and distributed for review and comment to impacted residents and local planning and housing agencies and housing advocacy groups. Neither written nor verbal comments were received from these parties. Section 4. In accordance with the requirements of Section 6124 of the Guidelines, an advisory committee was formed to review and comment upon the proposed replacement housing plan. One-third of the committee membership consisted of residents to be displaced, who were allocated one-half of the total votes of the committee membership. The recommendations of the advisory committee were incorporated into the text of the replacement housing plan. Section 5. The City had commenced acquiring properties on the north side of Fred Waring Drive between San Pascual Avenue and Deep Canyon Road. The structures built on these properties will be demolished to make way for the proposed road-widening project. The properties have been acquired through voluntary sales, and the residents are receiving relocation assistance and benefits. • • Resolution No. 00-78 Section 6. Fred Waring Drive Improvements Project Replacement Housing Plan dated 22 June 2000 is hereby adopted by the City Council. PASSED, APPROVED, and ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Palm Desert,this 22nd day of June , 2000,by the following vote,to wit: AYES: BENSON, KELLY, SPIEGEL, FERGUSON NOES: NONE ABSENT: CRITES ABSTAIN: NONE • JIM FERGUSON, MAYOR PRO TEMPORE ATTEST: RACHELLE D. KLASSEN ACTING CITY CLERK PROPOSED WIDENING OF FRED WARING DRIVE REPLACEMENT HOUSING PLAN PREPARED BY THE CITY OF PALM DESERT AND THE PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY Submitted for Consideration and Approval by the Palm Desert City Council 22 June 2000 CITY OF PALM DESERT PROPOSED WIDENING OF FRED WARING DRI V E REPLACEMENT HOUSING PLAN TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION 1 RELOCATION LAW OVERVIEW 1 REDEVELOPMENT LAW OVERVIEW 2 II. RELOCATION LAW REPLACEMENT HOUSING PLAN 2 III. REDEVELOPMENT LAW REPLACEMENT HOUSING PLAN 4 IV. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION/REVIEW AND PLAN ADOPTION 5 I. INTRODUCTION This replacement housing plan has been prepared to meet two goals. The first is to describe how the City of Palm Desert will meet the needs of the residents living on Fred Waring Drive who will be displaced by the proposed street widening project. The second is to describe how the Redevelopment Agency(RDA)will replenish the housing stock that will likely be demolished in order to accomplish the project. In accomplishing these two goals,the City of Palm Desert and the RDA strive to fulfill the requirements of two separate laws requiring preparation of a replacement housing plan. The City would like to avoid the confusion that would undoubtedly result from the preparation of two separate replacement housing plans, in addition to a relocation plan, for a single project. The two laws in question are: Chapter 16 of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, which is implemented through Title 25 of the California Code of Regulations; and Section 33413 of the Community Redevelopment Law, found in Part 1 of Division 24 of Health and Safety Code Section 33000. For clarity and ease of understanding,this plan will refer to the former as the"Relocation Law" and the latter as the "Redevelopment Law." What follows fulfills the requirements of both the Relocation Law and the Redevelopment law. For clarity,the information required to fulfill each of the two laws is grouped together and is titled appropriately. RELOCATION LAW REPLACEMENT HOUSING PLAN OVERVIEW The goal of the replacement housing plan required by the Relocation Law is generally to make sure that any residents who have to move so that the street can be widened have someplace new to move. The"someplace new" is referred to as"comparable replacement housing,"and must meet certain requirements, including being functionally equivalent to the homes replaced and being financially affordable to the displaced residents. The City's relocation consultants have determined that there is adequate housing available on the market to accommodate the residents on Fred Waring Drive who will need to be displaced. However,the available housing is considerably more expensive than the homes that will be purchased on Fred Waring Drive; enough so that the available housing doesn't meet the requirement for being financially affordable to the displaced residents. There are a number of ways in which the City could choose to remedy this situation. The City could build more houses and sell them at affordable prices; it could move the houses themselves to another location; it could rehabilitate run down houses to make them comparable; or it could make super-payments on behalf of the residents to bring the available homes within the financial means of the people who are displaced. The City has chosen to use the last method to meet its obligation to provide for those people who will be displaced by the widening of Fred Waring Drive. Page 1 • City of Palm Desert Replacement Housing Plan Proposed Widening of Fred Waring Drive Because of this decision,many of the requirements of the Relocation Law aren't really applicable to this Replacement Housing Plan. The Relocation Law requires that the replacement housing plan address things like zoning obstacles and environmental impacts,neither of which apply unless a new housing development is being constructed for the people who will be displaced. In the text that follows, discussion will be focused on only requirements of the Relocation Law plan that actually apply when super- payments are used to make comparable replacement housing available. The Relocation Plan and the Residential Relocation Assistance Program Handbook,both available from the City of Palm Desert,have much more information relevant to the people who live on Fred Waring Drive and who will likely have to move due to the road- widening project. You can call (760) 776-6421 to request a copy of either of these documents. REDEVELOPMENT LAW REPLACEMENT HOUSING PLAN OVERVIEW As stated previously,the replacement housing plan required by the Redevelopment Law is intended to ensure that the road widening project does not deplete affordable homes in the community. The idea here is to make sure that one affordable home is added to the community's inventory for every affordable home that is destroyed. For this project,that means that the City of Palm Desert should add 35 affordable dwelling units to the housing stock to replace the 24 affordable single family homes and five multi-family homes(four duplexes and one triplex, for a total of eleven units)that will likely be demolished on the north side of Fred Waring Drive between San Pascual Avenue and Deep Canyon Road. This replacement housing is intended to replenish the community's affordable housing stock,not to actually house the residents who are displaced from their homes on Fred Waring Drive. Therefore,the latter part of this replacement housing plan will focus on the City's plans to renovate dilapidated housing and construct new homes such that there is no net loss in affordable housing in the City. II. RELOCATION LAW REPLACEMENT HOUSING PLAN Information regarding the manner in which displaced Fred Waring residents will be accommodated is provided here in a question and answer format. More detailed procedural information is contained in the Relocation Plan and the Residential Information Handbook, both of which are available from the City of Palm Desert. Q. How will housing be provided for the people who have to move so that Fred Waring Drive can be widened? A. The City's relocation consultants found that there is housing available that is comparable replacement housing in all regards but price. Therefore,payment of Page s City of Palm Desert Replacement Housing Plan Proposed Widening of Fred Waring Drive amounts in excess of the caps in the Relocation Guidelines will make available comparable replacement housing. Replacement housing for the residents displaced by the widening of Fred Waring Drive will be made available by payment of a"super-payment". The super-payment will be an amount in excess of the $22,500 cap for owner/occupants and $5,250 cap for tenants. The residents can choose a home or apartment anywhere they want to live; they are not restricted to the City of Palm Desert. The housing survey on which entitlements for purchasing replacement homes are based will be updated every 90 days or more frequently if appropriate. Q. When will people receive their super-payments so that they can move? A. The City has already started issuing Letters of Entitlement to residents who qualify for relocation benefits, including the super-payment. The super-payment and relocation benefits will be available whenever the displaced residents move into their new home, as long as it is within one year of the date they move out of their home on Fred Waring. Q. How will replacement housing for the displaced residents be financed, and how much money will be used to provide it? A. Project funds have been made available for payment of the super-payments. These project funds will cover all relocation benefits, including housing differential and rental assistance payments. $2,088,000 has been allocated for payment of these benefits; the City will solicit reimbursement of a portion of project funds from the Coachella Valley Association of Governments. In the event that the allocated project funds are not adequate to cover all relocation benefits, additional project funds will be designated for relocation. Q. How much will displacees have to pay for replacement housing? A. Replacement dwellings will be purchased, rented, or leased from properties available on the open market. Therefore,the rates will be established by market forces, and not by the City or other governmental agencies. For replacement homes which are purchased with the aid of a mortgage loan, appraisals necessary to obtain the loans will be required by the lenders. These appraisals will verify appropriateness of the purchase prices. Q. Who will manage the replacement housing and provide social services? A. No new rental housing will be constructed to accommodate the people displaced from their homes and apartments on Fred Waring Drive, so there will be no need for housing management and social services. Q. How will rent levels be maintained for those who choose to rent, rather than buy, replacement housing? A. The super-payments made for displaced persons who chose to rent replacement housing will include rental assistance payments for forty-two months. These rental assistance payments will allow the displaced residents to sign long-term Page a • City of Palm Desert Replacement Housing Plan Proposed Widening of Fred Waring Drive leases which lock in the rental rates for that period of time. The rental assistance payments take into consideration the adjusted gross monthly income of the resident;the lower the income,the greater the rental assistance payment will be for the replacement dwelling. This will assure that the rent levels of the replacement housing are affordable to the displaced residents. Q. What happens to the proceeds from rental, sale, or resale of replacement housing? A. No such proceeds are anticipated because the replacement housing will be owned by the residents or by private parties, not by the City or another governmental agency. When a resident sells or moves from their replacement housing at some point in the future, any proceeds are theirs to keep. Q. How will referendum requirements or zoning obstacles be resolved? A. Since comparable replacement housing will not be constructed for the residents displaced by this project, no zoning obstacles or referendum requirements will be encountered. III. REDEVELOPMENT LAW REPLACEMENT HOUSING PLAN The RDA is committed to maintaining an adequate supply of affordable housing within the city limits. It has ongoing programs to rehabilitate deteriorated housing stock,build new homes, and provide grants and loans to low and moderate income residents who want to improve their own homes. The widening of Fred Waring Drive will likely result in the demolition of 29 single family homes, four duplexes, and one triplex. These properties are home to forty-one families (or individuals)who defined their income as follows: Very Low(less than 50%of median) 8 Low(50%to 80% of median) 12 Moderate(81%to 120% of median) 9 Above Moderate 3 Unknown, vacant, or decline to state 9 Total 41 Assuming that two-thirds of those who declined to divulge their income (six of the nine noted above)are either very low, low,or moderate income families, a total of 35 affordable income dwellings will be demolished. Of these dwellings,three are one- bedroom units,eight are two-bedroom units,three have four bedrooms, and the remainder have three bedrooms. The replacement of these dwellings is generally planned as is described herein. Page 4 . • • City of Palm Desert Replacement Housing Plan Proposed Widening of Fred Waring Drive Dwellings to be rehabilitated: Twelve apartments on Santa Rosa Way have been purchased by the City. These apartments will be fully rehabilitated by the Redevelopment Agency; rehabilitation may include construction of up'to twelve more units. The apartments are planned to be one-and two-bedroom units, and will be rented at an affordable cost to qualifying low and very low income families. Dwellings to be constructed: The City has purchased a 40-acre parcel of land on the south side of 42nd Avenue between Cook Street and Portola Avenue. One half of the land will be used for the construction of 144 units of multi-family two-,three-, and four- bedroom residences and approximately thirty self-help single-family, three- and four- bedroom homes. The multi-family residences will be rented at affordable rates to low and very low income families. Means of Financing: Means of financing rehabilitation, development, and construction include use of bond funds,tax increment funds, cash, and developer contributions. More specifically, anticipated financing includes: • Tax increment funds to purchase and rehabilitate the Santa Rosa Way apartments; • Bond funds and cash to purchase the land and provide developer incentives for the multi-family dwellings on the 40-acre parcel; • Tax increment funds and cash to purchase the land and subsidize construction of the self-help single-family homes on the 40-acre parcel. Financing schemes discussed here are subject to change due to cash flow considerations and constraints and details of specific development agreements. Article 34 Approval: The replacement housing under this Plan requires the approval of the voters pursuant to Article 34 of the California Constitution. It is hereby determined that this approval has been previously obtained, and re-approval is not required. Schedule for Construction and Renovation: Rehabilitation of the twelve unit apartment complex on Santa Rosa Way is scheduled to begin later in the year, and be completed in late 2001. (If new units are added, the construction of the entire complex will likely extend into 2002.) The new single- and multi-family homes to be constructed on the 40-acre site will be designed in 2000 and 2001, and will be constructed during 2002 and 2003. IV. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION,REVIEW,AND ADOPTION OF PLAN This replacement housing plan will be reviewed, commented upon, and adopted in accordance with the combined requirements of the Relocation Law and the Redevelopment Law. An advisory committee will be established to review and comment upon the plan; committee members will include residents who will be displaced and representatives of agencies in the Coachella Valley that are knowledgeable regarding local housing issues. Page City of Palm Desert Replacement Housing Plan Proposed Widening of Fred Waring Drive The schedule for review and adoption is tentatively planned as follows: Issue draft Replacement Housing Plan 16 May 2000 Invite residents to elect advisory committee members 16 May 2000 General notice of plan/distribution for comment 16 May 2000 Appoint residents to committee(if none are elected) 26 May 2000 Appoint agency representatives to committee 26 May 2000 Committee review and approval period 26 May— 12 June 2000 City Council and Redevelopment Agency plan adoption 22 June 2000 Comments on this plan should be directed in writing to: Lauri Aylaian, City of Palm Desert, 73-510 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert, CA 92260. Page 6