Title
Consider Updating Housing Policy to Meet Current and Future Needs. (Councilmember Matarrese)
Body
COUNCIL REFERRAL FORM
The Council can take any of the following actions:
1) Take no action.
2) Refer the matter to staff to schedule as a future City Council agenda item.
3) Take dispositive action if sufficiently noticed such that the public and Council have been provided sufficient information by the published agenda, and no formal published notice of a public hearing is required.
Name of Councilmember requesting referral: Councilmember Frank Matarrese
Date of submission to City Clerk (must be submitted before 5:00 p.m. on the Monday two weeks before the Council meeting requested): 08 Feb 2018
Council Meeting date: March 06, 2018
Brief description of the subject to be printed on the agenda, sufficient to inform the City Council and public of the nature of the referral:
Referral to Update Housing Policies
This referral requests that the City Council consider updating housing policy to meet today’s and future needs Updates to consider includes:
Income disparity measures:
- Starting a Community Trust Fund that will be available for rent and housing assistance to Alameda residents below a defined income level
- Establish Alameda minimum wage per the existing City Council direction ASAP (per past referral)
- Direct City Council representatives to regional and statewide organizations to officially ask these organization to promote, endorse and otherwise influence tax deductions for rent paid for low income households and other steps to close the wage gap.
Delivering Middle Class and Affordable Housing
- Placing Alameda Housing Authority, APC and Habitat for Humanity North Housing projects, which will provide significant numbers of affordable units, and other Housing Authority affordable housing construction projects ahead of
- Directing the Planning staff to negotiate deed restricted middle class, low to moderate income and senior housing as the first of public benefits for market rate housing developments
Homelessness
- Supporting effort to shelter Alamedans currently living on the street
- Establish a formal and methodical procedure for working with AHA, County, State and Federal to house Alameda’s homeless residents.
The policy updates should include using funding streams such as General Fund contributions based on unanticipated high property transfer tax revenue and sources that are fed by the high value of residential property.
Supporting Information
Because Alameda is a desirable place to live and because there is a widening gap between the middle class and lower income residents and the top 1%, housing costs are increasing dramatically.
Current housing policy is imbedded in the General Plan and its Housing Element, many of which do not reflect the current reality or the foreseeable future.
City housing policies should be updated considering these factors.
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