Belmont affordable housing project is moving forward

“This is a little slower pace than we had anticipated, but no roadblocks have come up,” said Jennifer Rose, a management analyst with the city. “We’re always optimistic when we say things will take a year. We tried.”

Rose attributed the slower-than-expected pace to LINC being based in Southern California and also said the small size of the parcel has created some minor design challenges. 

During a meeting Tuesday, Councilman Charles Stone said he’s cautiously optimistic about the project after citing another affordable housing development in the city known as Firehouse Square that repeatedly hit delays since it was conceived in 2012, but was finally approved that night. 

“I’m still cautiously optimistic about this project,” he said. “I hope we are doing everything we can from the city side to help get this project to the Planning Commission and then to the City Council.”

Rose expects Planning Commission review to occur shortly after the new year, adding that the LINC project does not have nearly as many terms to negotiate as Firehouse Square. 

“Both [the city and LINC] have a lot to do by March and it’s possible to not meet that deadline, but we’re trying at this point,” she said.

LINC is proposing only one-bedroom rental units, half of which will likely be reserved for those earning very low and extremely low incomes, Rose said, adding that none of the units will be above the low-income level.

Extremely low income is defined as $30,800 a year for an individual and $44,000 a year for a family of four. Low-income individuals earn $82,000 a year while a family of four at that income level earns $117,000 a year. 

Initially, half of the units were going to be reserved for seniors with special needs, but Rose said that number will likely shrink to between two and eight based on recommendations from the county. The other units will not have an age restriction.

The March 9 extension date was chosen because that’s the anticipated deadline for next year’s 2020 first round 9% tax credit application, according to a letter LINC sent the city. The project recently received $1.9 million of funding from the county.  

Stone hopes that recent funding commitments from local employers can also help fund the project.  

“There are rays of sunshine in the form of money from private Bay Area employers like Google and Facebook today announced $150 million is going to be available for affordable housing,” he said. “I’m very grateful for that, I think they can do a ton more, but they’re doing a lot more than other companies and I hope we’re looking at every possible funding source and helping the developer get the project to us because we need more affordable housing.” 

zachary@smdailyjournal.com

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