CC Resolution 11931Resolution No. 11931
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CAMPBELL
FINDING THAT THE PROBLEM OF HOMELESSNESS IN SANTA CLARA COUNTY
CONSTITUTES A CRISIS AND URGING JURISDICTIONS WITHIN THE COUNTY TO
CONSIDER POLICY OPTIONS FOR FUNDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR THE
PURPOSE OF HOUSING THE HOMELESS
WHEREAS, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, at the recommendation of
Supervisor Dave Cortese, created the Housing Task Force for the purpose of identifying
solutions to the immediate housing needs of homeless families and individuals across Santa
Clara County; and
WHEREAS, the 2015 Santa Clara County Point-In-Time Homeless Census & Survey found that
there are 6,556 homeless persons living within the County, and that 63% of them have been
homeless for one year or more; and
WHEREAS, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's 2014 Annual Homeless
Assessment Report found that, among the 48 Major City Continuums of Care in the United
States, Santa Clara County has 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; and
WHEREAS, the Homeless Census & Survey found that 39% of homeless individuals within the
County suffer from psychiatric or emotional conditions, 38% struggle with drug or alcohol abuse,
30% have a physical disability, 25% suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, 22% have
chronic health problems, and 63% have been homeless for one year or more; and
WHEREAS, according to research published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the
average life expectancy for individuals experiencing homelessness is 25 years less than those
in stable housing; and
WHEREAS, the 2015 Home Not Found study revealed that of the 511 homeless people within
the study's survey population who died between 2007 and 2012, 54% of them died outside of a
hospital or other institutional setting, which means that they died "quite possibly on the street;"
and
WHEREAS, the Home Not Found study also demonstrated that the cost of providing services to
homeless residents, including services in the health care and criminal justice systems, averaged
$20 million per year over the six-year study period, or $3.1 billion over the entire period; and
WHEREAS, in addition to impacting the lives of homeless residents, homelessness also poses
challenges for residents and businesses located near homeless encampments; and
WHEREAS, in August 2015, the San Jose Mercury News reported that the average monthly
rent in Santa Clara County had reached $2,552, making it one of the most expensive rental
markets in the nation; and
WHEREAS, the 2014-2020 Regional Housing Needs Allocation identifies the need for 9,542
new Low Income units and 16,158 Very Low Income units within Santa Clara County; and
WHEREAS, Destination: Home's Community Plan to End Homelessness in Santa Clara County
relies upon the "Housing First" model, which "centers on providing people experiencing
homelessness with housing as quickly as possible;" and
WHEREAS, the Affordable Housing Funding Landscape & Best Practices white paper found
that due to the dissolution of redevelopment agencies in California and cuts to federal programs,
affordable housing funding in Santa Clara County decreased from $126 million in 2008 to $47
million in 2013; and
WHEREAS, the Homeless Census & Survey found that 93% of homeless people surveyed
answered "Yes" when asked if they would want affordable permanent housing, were it available.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
CAMPBELL:
1. The problem of homelessness in Santa Clara County constitutes a crisis. It imposes
unacceptable costs, both in terms of public resources and human suffering, and requires
an urgent response from public officials across Santa Clara County.
2. The solution to the problem of homelessness is to provide homeless individuals with
permanent affordable housing or supportive housing. Construction of an adequate
supply of affordable housing will require the creation of new local funding sources.
These funding efforts will be most successful if implemented consistently across all of
the County's fifteen cities.
3. In the interest of promoting a consistent approach to affordable housing funding in Santa
Clara County, the Housing Task Force recommends that all cities in the County (and
other jurisdictions, where applicable) conduct their own analysis of the following
measures for funding affordable housing, and formally consider whether to adopt them:
a. Inclusionary Zoning -Inclusionary zoning requires that developers include a
percentage of below market rate units for low to moderate income households in
new market-rate, for-sale residential developments.
b. Affordable Housing Impact Fees -Impact fees are charged to developers to
mitigate the projected impacts of new market-rate developments on the need for
affordable housing. The first step for jurisdictions considering an impact fee is
often to conduct a nexus study to quantify the impact of new development on
housing need. There are two types of impact fees:
i. Residential Impact Fees are assessed on new rental or for-sale housing
development.
ii. Commercial Linkage Fees are assessed on new commercial or industrial
development.
c. Ballot Initiatives -Local jurisdictions have the ability to place tax measures on the
ballot for voter approval. As jurisdictions consider whether to place tax measures
on the ballot for the 2016 election cycle, they should consider including funding
for affordable housing within their measures.
d. Surplus Land -The County, Cities, and other jurisdictions have the ability to
prioritize surplus land owned by the jurisdiction for affordable housing
development, thereby facilitating affordability by reducing or eliminating land
costs.
e. Zoning Actions -Cities can take various zoning actions to encourage production
of both deed-restricted affordable housing and "naturally" affordable housing,
including:
i. Adoption of a second unit ordinance that enables homeowners to build
secondary residential structures on existing lots.
ii. Allowing the construction of micro-units of 200-400 square feet that are
relatively more affordable than other market rate units.
iii. Protecting naturally affordable existing housing, such as mobile home
parks. Cities can govern the conversion of mobile home parks through
policy, ordinance, or their general plans. In the event parks do convert,
cities can adopt replacement housing provisions that would require that
displaced inhabitants be fairly compensated, that replacement housing be
made available to displaced residents and that an affordable housing
component be required as part of the development plan for the converted
site.
iv. Incentivizing affordable housing by offering zoning benefits, such as
increased density or height or decreased parking requirements, to make
the production of affordable housing more economically viable.
f. Boomerang Funds -Boomerang funds are former Redevelopment Agency funds
that return to the County, cities and other local jurisdictions. Cities should
consider whether to commit 20% of their ongoing boomerang funds to affordable
housing, to partially make up for the affordable housing funding lost with the
dissolution of redevelopment agencies.
g. Adopt Community Plan to End Homelessness. All cities within the County that
have not yet enacted the regional Community Plan to End Homelessness should
formally adopt the Plan.
h. If the above measures are not sufficient to end homelessness, even when fully
implemented, and no new permanent source of funding for affordable housing is
forthcoming from the State, local jurisdictions could consider additional measures
that may be needed to solve the problem, such as a ballot measure solely
dedicated to establishing a permanent source of funding for affordable housing.
4. The Housing Task Force requests that all cities in Santa Clara County, the Santa Clara
County Cities Association, other involved governmental jurisdictions, and other
organizations participating in the work of the Task Force bring this resolution before their
governing boards for adoption, thereby joining together to acknowledge the crisis of
homelessness and pursue consideration of the above strategies, with the goal of ending
homelessness in Santa Clara County.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 5~h day of January, 2016 by the City Council of the City
of Campbell, California, as follows:
AYES: Councilmembers: Kotowski, Resnikoff, Cristina, Gibbons, Baker
NOES: Councilmembers: None
ABSENT: Councilmembers: None
APPROVED:
A low
dh
J on T. Baker, Mayor
ATTEST:
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Wendy od, City Clerk