Title
Presentation on the CASA Compact; and Recommendation to Direct the Interim City Manager to Incorporate State Legislation Introduced to Implement the CASA Compact into the City’s Legislative Agenda. (City Manager 2110)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: David L. Rudat, Interim City Manager
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The CASA Compact (Exhibit 1) is a 15-year emergency policy package published in December 2018, to address the Bay Area’s housing crisis by “identifying and unifying behind bold, game-changing ideas.” The Compact was prepared by a blue-ribbon task force of elected and civic leaders convened by the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC). The Compact has 10 elements (policy initiatives). State legislation is required to implement a number of the 10 elements. Staff will make a presentation on the CASA Compact and it is recommended that the City Council direct the Interim City Manager to incorporate any State legislation introduced to implement the CASA Compact into the City of Alameda’s (City) Legislative Agenda to facilitate City support of such legislation.
BACKGROUND
The CASA Compact Preamble states that, “since 2010, the Bay Area has added 722,000 jobs but constructed only 106,000 housing units.” The Compact states, “with housing supply and demand that far out of whack, prices have shot through the roof and long-time residents as well as newcomers are suffering the consequences.” The CASA Compact is a 15-year emergency policy package to confront the region’s housing crisis. The Compact was prepared over the past 18 months and was published in December 2018.
The CASA Compact has been approved by both the ABAG and MTC governing boards (with certain conditions) and MTC staff is currently doing outreach to educate the community on the Compact. Councilmember Jim Oddie received this information and transmitted the CASA Compact to the City Council at its January 2, 2019 meeting and requested a presentation on the CASA Compact. At tonight’s meeting, Brad Paul of Bay Metro (formerly ABAG and MTC) will provide a presentation to the City Council and the public on the CASA Compact.
DISCUSSION
The CASA Compact identifies the Bay Area housing crisis as a failure to:
1) Produce enough housing for residents at all income levels;
2) Preserve the affordable housing that already exists; and
3) Protect current residents from displacement.
The Compact focuses future efforts to overcome the housing crisis around these 3 P’s, Production, Preservation and Protection. Reform, Revenue, and Regionalism are the 3 R’s that then form the crux of the Compact, which is made up of 10 elements, many of which require State legislation to be implemented.
The 10 Compact Elements are:
• Just Cause Eviction Policy: adoption of a region-wide policy to require landlords to cite specific “just causes” for termination of tenancy.
• Bay Area-wide Emergency Rent Cap: cap annual rent increases for an emergency period of 15 years (Consumer Price Index + 5%).
• Emergency Rent Assistance and Access to Legal Counsel: provide free legal counsel and emergency rent assistance for low-income tenants facing eviction.
• Remove Regulatory Barriers to Accessory Dwelling Units: extend current best practices to every jurisdiction.
• Minimum Zoning near Transit: establish minimum zoning in neighborhoods served by high quality bus service (as determined for purposes of the Compact, Alameda does not have any “high quality bus service).
• Good Government Reforms to Housing Approval Process: adopt standards for processing zoning-compliant residential applications, impact fees, inclusionary zoning, and downsizing and moratoria.
• Expedited Approval and Financial Incentives for Select Housing: ensure timely approval of zoning-compliant housing projects and create financial incentives for on-site affordability and prevailing wages.
• Unlock Public Land for Affordable Housing: promote increased utilization of public land (surplus and underutilized) for affordable housing.
• Funding and Financing the CASA Compact: Raise $1.5 billion annually from a broad range of sources.
• Regional Housing Enterprise: establish a regional leadership entity to implement the CASA Compact, track and report progress, and provide incentives and technical assistance.
The Compact recognizes that the nine-county Bay Area region is large and diverse, and notes that if jurisdictions have requirements related to achieving any of the various elements, these should not be preempted by the Compact. For example, some jurisdictions already have just cause eviction protection ordinances or have annual maximum rent increases that are less (i.e., more protective) than those proposed under the Compact.
The CASA Compact strives to address the emergency housing crisis in the Bay Area over a 15-year period. It envisions State legislation to implement a number of the elements. MTC staff has been working with members of the Legislature and a number of bills have been, or are expected to be, introduced to address the 10 policy initiatives described above.
In addition, the CASA Compact envisions supportive state action on the following calls for action:
• Redevelopment 2.0: legislation that will enable the re-establishment of redevelopment in California to provide a significant source of new funding for affordable and mixed income development;
• Lower the voter threshold for housing funding measures: legislation that will provide voters the opportunity to apply a 55 percent threshold for investments in affordable housing and housing production;
• Fiscalization of land use: legislation that will return e-commerce/internet sales tax revenues to the point of sale;
• Homelessness: policy interventions to house the Bay Area and a funding package that must include resources that help produce housing for formerly homeless people, prevent homelessness when possible, and make homelessness rare, brief, and non-reoccurring; and
• Grow and stabilize the construction labor force: increase the safety and desirability of construction work.
The City annually adopts a Legislative Agenda. This Agenda allows staff and the City Council to react quickly to most legislative issues as they arise and ensure there is a formal City position on a variety of legislative matters. The current Legislative Agenda for the City supports legislation that supports funding and development of affordable and middle-income housing. It is recommended that the Agenda be amended to specifically include support of legislation intended to carry out the CASA Compact policy initiatives.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
There is no impact to the General Fund from receiving a presentation on the CASA Compact and amending the Legislative Agenda to include support of legislation that implements the CASA Compact elements.
MUNICIPAL CODE/DOCUMENT CROSS-REFERENCE
The CASA Compact elements are consistent with the City’s Housing Element.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Amending the Legislative Agenda to include support of legislation that implements the CASA Compact elements is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
RECOMMENDATION
Receive a presentation on the CASA Compact and direct the Interim City Manager to incorporate into the City’s Legislative Agenda State Legislation that is introduced to implement the CASA Compact.
Respectfully submitted,
Debbie Potter, Base Reuse and Community Development Director
Financial impact section reviewed by,
Elena Adair, Finance Director
Exhibit:
1. CASA Compact