CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
MEETING DATE: JUNE 17, 2015
PREPARED BY: Rebecca Garcia, Housing Manager/Community Development
APPROVED BY: City Manager
Title
2015 AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROGRAM UPDATE AND COMMUNITY PLAN TO END HOMELESSNESS
END
RECOMMENDATION(S):
RECOMMENDATION
1. Receive Affordable Housing Update from Housing Staff
2. Provide Policy Direction to Staff regarding:
a. Establishing Council priorities for the next housing project.
b. Selecting the next developer based on the historical negotiated approach or via a Request For Proposals (RFP) process, and
3. Adopt a resolution to endorse and support the Community Plan to End Homelessness in SCC, 2015-2020.
BODY
COUNCIL PRIORITIES, GOALS & STRATEGIES:
Ongoing Priorities
Enhancing public safety
Protecting the environment
Maintaining fiscal responsibility
Supporting youth
REPORT NARRATIVE:
During the June 17, 2015, City Council meeting, Housing staff will provide the City Council with an overview of the City's Housing Program activities. The 2015 Affordable Housing report (attached) discusses:
• History of City's Support of Affordable Housing
• Recent Housing Activity, Program Updates
• Future of Statewide Affordable Housing Funding
• Policy Actions for Consideration
• Regional Initiative on Homelessness
Policy Considerations
During the approval of the EAH project, the City Council discussed considering an RFP process for the selection of the next developer; however, a conclusive result was not determined, nor did City Council have an opportunity to discuss the type of project or priority it wanted to see next. Concurrently, Urban Housing Communities (UHC) was in conversation with staff as to its desire to purchase the Biseglia site for the development of a 40 unit affordable apartment community at the Northeast Corner of Monterey and Biseglia. UHC has remained engaged with staff and has relayed their ongoing interest and commitment to building a cost effective development that meets City Council's priorities.
Staff is requesting that City Council first consider its priority for the types of housing projects that could be developed. These include Multifamily, Senior, Transitional Age-Youth (TAY), or a Veteran project. Given the well known affordable housing crisis in Silicon Valley, and the overflowing waiting lists that are years long, there is a great need for all types of special needs housing. However, as we move towards the formation of the single next affordable housing project, staff is recommending that City Council consider the benefits of supporting a multifamily project with a Transitional Age Youth (TAY) component, similar to the multifamily EAH project that was approved by City Council. This recommendation is based on Council's existing priority to "Support Youth," and the fact that there are more services available to Youth in South County that could augment the project. The service coordination component to the project is critical and determines the success of the community that is developed, and it is important to consider in the early stages of the project. Existing South County services for Youth will provide ample opportunities to creatively partner with local service providers, and simultaneously serve a special needs population. As Morgan Hill determines how it could be a part of the regional homeless solution, or what its niche could be, Transitional Age Youth is one of the special needs populations for consideration. There are 800 plus Youth in Santa Clara County that age out of the foster care system with nowhere to live and no community to call home, and 900 plus families who are currently homeless.
Second, staff is requesting policy direction as to whether the next affordable housing developer selection be based on a negotiated approach or through a Request for Proposal (RFP) process. The first option is to utilize the City's historical negotiated approach. If Council directs staff to pursue this option, staff recommends that the City work with UHC to further refine a project proposal that is able to successfully compete for tax credits, is well equipped with resident services, and meets City Council's priority. This option would position the project to try and secure additional development funds, such as the County's various funding sources and the Housing Authority's upcoming RFP for 1,000 project based vouchers. The second option is to develop an RFP that meets the Council's priorities. If the Council chooses this option, then staff would 1) begin to draft and finalize an RFP, 2) solicit proposals later this calendar year, and 3) return to Council with development proposals in 2016.
The Community Plan to End Homelessness in Santa Clara County, 2015-2020
Lastly, staff will discuss the Community Plan to End Homelessness in Santa Clara County, 2015-2020 with the assistance of Jennifer Loving from Destination Home. Homelessness continues to be a pressing issue for Santa Clara County. The 2015 Homeless Census shows that homelessness in the southern part of the County is on the rise. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) 2014 Annual Homeless Assessment Report, among HUDs Continuums of Care, Santa Clara County has:
• the seventh largest number of homeless persons on any given night;
• the third largest number of chronically homeless persons;
• the fourth largest number of homeless individuals;
• the fourth largest number of unaccompanied homeless youth; and
• the fifth largest number of homeless veterans
To respond to this crisis, Destination Home and its partners have been working towards a comprehensive, regional response to homelessness for over a decade. The City of San Jose's 2003 Homeless Strategy, coupled with Santa Clara County's Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness, led to the formation of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Affordable Housing and Homelessness. After months of study and research, the Commission released an executive report in 2007, detailing several key recommendations needed to effectively address the needs of homeless people in Santa Clara County. In 2008, the City of San Jose and its partners created Destination: Home (D:H) to implement the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Affordable Housing and Homelessness. D:H is a public-private partnership serving as the backbone organization for collective impact strategies to reduce homelessness in Santa Clara County. In this role, D:H drives and aligns resources to end chronic homelessness and is improving how systems work together to intervene with episodic and situational homeless individuals and families at risk of becoming chronically homeless.
With D:H staff playing a coordinating role over the past year, leaders from the cities, the County, other government agencies such as the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Clara and the Santa Clara Valley Water District, service providers, philanthropy, community institutions, and business organizations created the Community Plan to End Homelessness in Santa Clara County (Community Plan - See Attachment A). Over 200 communities, business, and civic leaders participated in the six month planning process that included several summit meetings held throughout Santa Clara County. The Community Plan was developed to enhance the community's work towards ending and preventing homelessness among all homeless persons and families. Major points of emphasis in the Community Plan include:
1. Disrupt the System - Develop strategies and innovative prototypes that transform the systems related to housing homeless people.
2. Build the Solution - Secure the funding needed to provide 6,000 housing opportunities with services to those who are homeless and those at risk of homelessness.
3. Serve the Person - Adopt an approach that recognizes the need for client-centered strategies with different responses for different levels of need and different groups, targeting resources to the specific individual or household.
D:H's Board approved the Community Plan in October 2014. To ensure that all key partners are fully committed to the Community Plan's successful implementation, D:H is now seeking the City Council's endorsement and will go to other governing boards and elected bodies seeking similar support over the next few months. Endorsement by the City Council and these other entities would unify the community around long-term solutions to end and prevent homelessness. The Community Plan builds upon previous plans including the County's 2005 Ten-Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness: Keys to Housing and San Jose's 2003 Homeless Strategy. An annual Implementation Guide (see attachment B) will accompany the Community Plan, providing specific actions, goals, and milestones for each year.
Adding to the urgent need to collectively address the issue, most recently in May of 2015, Santa Clara County and the public-private collaborative D:H released a one-of-a-kind analysis of the public costs of homelessness, "Home Not Found: The Cost of Homelessness in Silicon Valley" by Economic Roundtable (Attachment C), the most comprehensive study on the cost of homelessness in the United States. The data on 104,000 individuals over six years has been crunched from 25 million separate records from hospitals, nonprofits and jails showing actual costs. Based on this study, the public cost is $520 million a year for medical care, incarceration and other interactions with public services.
The City Council's endorsement of the Community Plan would continue to advance the goal of supporting regional strategies in collaboration with other jurisdictions and agencies to end and prevent homelessness by creating permanent housing solutions. Second, the Community Plan's focus on developing 6,000 housing opportunities for homeless persons and families aligns with the City's Housing Element goals to 1) provide adequate housing for groups with special needs and 2) maintain a range of housing types for all age groups, served by transit, recreational amenities, shopping, and health and personal services, that allow residents to age in place.
Finally, the Community Plan's scope includes all homeless populations and enhances partnerships with the County to facilitate the need for additional services in South County, government agencies, housing and service providers, businesses, and other stakeholders, that will further strengthen the City's ability to effectively respond to the needs of its most vulnerable residents. An annual Implementation Guide will accompany the Community Plan, providing specific actions, goals, and milestones for each year that relates to the region as a whole. Staff will return to Council to provide updates on progress in reaching city-specific goals. D:H will also produce annual reports detailing the progress of the overall plan.
Endorsing the plan does not commit the City of Morgan Hill to any one component of the Plan, but rather encourages Staff to make recommendations to Council on ways in which Morgan Hill can proactively contribute to the goal in a way that is conducive to the resources available in Morgan Hill. Staff may return to the City Council with policy making decisions at a later time. If necessary, these items will relate to specific actions and will be brought forth on an individual basis.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: Inform
While the City's housing program engages in a wide variety of community engagement activities, the purpose of this report is to provide information and an overview of the City's housing program for the past year.
ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS:
1. The Council could choose to postpone its next affordable housing project at this time and direct staff to return at a later date.
2. The Council could choose not to endorse the Community Plan to End Homelessness.
PRIOR CITY COUNCIL AND COMMISSION ACTIONS:
None
FISCAL AND RESOURCE IMPACT:
None at this time; future impacts are dependent on Council direction and approval.
CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act):
Not a project
LINKS/ATTACHMENTS:
1. Attachment A Community Plan to End Homelessness in SCC
2. Attachment B Resolution
3. Attachment C 2015 "Home Not Found: The Cost of Homelessness in Silicon Valley"
4. Staff Presentation