San Carlos refines criteria for below-market housing

At the City Council’s Monday meeting, Community Development Director Al Savay noted the need to more specifically define how the city would select those on the wait list for BMR units when they become available, adding the city currently uses one criterion, maximum income, and two preference criteria, whether someone is employed in the city or is a current resident. 

“As a considerable amount of BMR units are anticipated to be available over the next few years, staff is recommending that the council adopt … more detailed criteria and more clearly and fairly guide us moving forward,” he said, according to a video of the meeting. 

According to Martin Romo, the city’s Economic Development coordinator, 90 BMR units are currently occupied by residents and 29 BMR units are expected to become available as early as next year through approved projects like the Transit Village. He said the wait list doubled when the city allowed individuals to add themselves to it online earlier this year, bringing the total number to more than 500. 

On Monday, councilmembers voted 4-0, with Vice Mayor Matt Grocott abstaining, to adopt rules establishing a minimum household size of one person per bedroom, defining a resident household as having one person who has lived in the city for at least a year and expand the wait list preference categories to include former San Carlos residents who moved out of the city within a year. Also included in the recommended guidelines is a definition of one who is employed in the city as someone who logs at least 19 hours of work weekly and criteria for how household assets may be accounted for in addition to income in determining one’s status on the list. 

Councilman Mark Olbert asked whether retirement funds — which are excluded in the calculation for household assets in the new criteria — would be accounted for should a wait list member be retired. According to the new rules, households with assets below $60,000 would not see their status on the list change, whereas households with assets between $60,000 and $350,000 would have 10 percent to 15 percent of those assets considered as income in determining their spot. Those households with more than $350,000 in assets would not be eligible for a BMR unit. 

Stephanie Hagar, a vice president with BAE Economics, a firm hired to craft the recommended criteria, said assets that provide income for an individual would be included in the calculation for that person. 

Olbert also wondered whether the new rules might favor current or recent residents over those working in the city and may need a boost to be able to buy their first home. 

Councilman Ron Collins, a member of the city’s Housing Subcommittee which vetted the recommendations, said the rules were largely designed for situations of longtime residents who were priced out of the area for various reasons. City Manager Jeff Maltbie added that those working in the city will still be eligible for BMR units and would likely comprise a larger group than those who recently moved or are living in the city.

Andrea Germane said she has been a resident of San Carlos for 52 years and was hoping to finally own a home in the city by purchasing a below-market unit at either a 34-unit condominium building at 1501 Cherry St. or a four-story mixed-use structure at 777 Walnut St. But she when she received an email with the eligibility criteria for the BMR units offered at those developments, she was disappointed to find the units would be reserved for those making very low incomes, a level less than what she earns working as a full-time staff member at a school in Menlo Park. 

“I don’t understand why the income limits are so restrictive and don’t include any units with a low or moderate income level,” she said. “I’m here tonight because I’m feeling frustrated with a lack of concrete guidelines.” 

When Mayor Bob Grassilli inquired as to how developers make decisions on the number and type of BMR units they offer on a given project, Maltbie said many opt to make below-market units available at very low income levels to leverage tax credits and other incentives and make the financing possible for certain projects. 

Grocott said he would abstain from voting on the criteria because he felt the wait list was similar to a lottery, which he didn’t think fairly treats everyone on the list. He wasn’t convinced working with developers would do enough to create the affordable housing needed in the city, and said he felt the problem stemmed from too many of the region’s cities expanding commercial zones. 

“Government is supposed to do things where they treat people equitably and equally, not special things for certain people,” he said. 

Maltbie acknowledged the city’s limitations in adding more affordable housing, but said a recently-passed commercial linkage fee requiring developers to pay into an affordable housing fund if no affordable units are included on site could boost the city’s ability to partner with nonprofits and increase the affordable housing stock. Collins also noted the difficulties of bringing new units on quickly, but said he’s hopeful about grants and other programs available at the state and regional level aimed at creating affordable housing in the near future. 

“It’s not just a San Carlos problem, it’s a regional problem,” he said. “We’re doing everything we can, and so are neighboring cities.” 

anna@smdailyjournal.com

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