Attachment F

COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES AGENCY

SUMMARY: OTHER KEY HOUSING ELEMENT POLICIES AND PROGRAMS

Permit or Project File Number:

Board Meeting Date: December 16, 2003

PLN 2001-00766

Prepared By: Lisa Aozasa

a.

Protect Existing Affordable Housing

(1)

Low Interest Housing Rehabilitation Loan Program

The Housing Element includes a number of policies/programs aimed at protecting and preserving the existing housing stock, including existing affordable housing. For example, Policy 14.8 calls for improving the County's existing Low Interest Rehabilitation Loan Program by targeting available rehabilitation funds to unincorporated areas with the greatest housing needs (e.g. North Fair Oaks), increasing the number of multi-family rental units by working with landlords to rehabilitate multi-family housing for low income tenants, and coordinating with neighborhood revitalization and code enforcement programs.

(2)

Protecting Mobile Home Park Tenants

Policy 14.16 describes a number of actions that can be taken to protect mobile home park tenants. There are approximately 870 units in eight mobile home parks located in the unincorporated area whose residents have, to varying degrees, been recently subjected to rising rents and objectionable conditions at their parks. The Board of Supervisors has been working to address this issue, and as part of that effort have recently adopted a rent control ordinance.

b.

Provide New Housing Opportunities

(1)

Housing Endowment Fund

Policy 14.36 calls for the establishment of a Housing Endowment Fund. In fact, efforts to establish the fund are already well underway. The Housing Endowment and Trust of San Mateo County (HEAT-SMC) coordinates financial resources of public and private sector entities to address the need for affordable housing. The County committed seed money of $3 million to kick off the endowment fund, and to date 8 cities have joined with the County in a joint powers authority that will administer the funds.

(2)

Linkage Fees

Policy 14.39 calls for the establishment of an impact fee on employment generating (non-residential) development. Such fees are often called "jobs-housing linkage fees." These are typically one-time fees that local governments place on commercial and industrial development to offset the increased housing need created by new employment. Although there is limited new non-residential development in unincorporated areas, the County can lead by example on this issue, encouraging the other cities in the county to adopt similar fees. The first step in the implementation of a linkage fee is the preparation of a nexus study demonstrating that there is a reasonable relationship between non-residential construction and the need for affordable housing, and the amount of the fee is justified by the magnitude of the fee-payer's contribution to the problem. The County/City Association of Governments (C/CAG) is looking at the possibility of hiring a consultant to do a countywide nexus study that both the cities and the County could use in their consideration of linkage fees.

c.

Housing Individuals with Special Needs

(1)

Elderly and Disabled

The housing needs analysis included in the draft Housing Element documents that the County has sizeable elderly and disabled populations with special housing needs. Via Policy 14.49, the County will continue its existing successful programs to provide housing and supportive services to these special needs groups. For example, 94 affordable housing units for senior or disabled households have recently been constructed in unincorporated Colma, with another 73 senior units approved as part of the County-approved Moss Beach Highlands development, now under consideration by the Coastal Commission. The County Office of Housing also provides financial support through the federal housing programs it administers to affordable senior and disabled housing development in participating cities.

(2)

Childcare Services

Policy 14.55 seeks to address the critical housing-related need for expanded childcare services in the County by requiring the consideration of childcare needs/mitigation as part of the environmental review of larger projects, and the development of incentives to encourage the provision of childcare facilities as part of new residential, commercial and industrial developments. As a first step to implementing this policy, a consultant team hired by the County Office of Housing recently completed a report on innovative ways to link child care opportunities with housing development. The next step will be to evaluate which of the techniques highlighted in the report may be appropriate for adoption in unincorporated areas.

County's Housing Program Responsibilities

Policy 14.57 calls for the County to coordinate its housing activities with the cities of San Mateo County, recognizing that affordable housing development is a sub-regional issue that involves the entire county. In that regard, many efforts are already underway, including the move to establish the HEAT- SMC joint powers authority and a series of planner's meetings sponsored by C/CAG to promote increased coordination in collecting housing data, housing element preparation, and planning for affordable housing development.