Want a mix of housing? Require it!

Article published - Apr 2, 2007 by Chris Coursey
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat
It makes sense to concentrate new development downtown, as city officials envision with the Station Area Plan that was reviewed last week by the Santa Rosa Planning Commission.It's a positive step to plan for 3,249housing units and 6,000 extra residents close to the city's core. It's a wise move to pair that residential development with 300,000 square feet of shops and restaurants and 200,000 square feet of office space.But there's a big hole in this plan, and it flies in the face of its theme of "transit-oriented development."Nowhere does it require affordable housing.Some city officials take issue with that statement. The plan, after all, includes as part of its "vision" a statement that it will "provide for a range of housing choices and support a diverse population." There's even a line that states, "Housing is affordable ... "But having a vision of affordable housing is a lot different than having a requirement for it.Santa Rosa Mayor Bob Blanchard says affordable housing "is a valid issue" and it will be "a subject of discussion and review.""You've got to have it," he said.But he and other city officials have said in the past that affordable hous- ing already exists downtown. They also have said that by allowing higher densities and a mix of housing types downtown there will be a mix of housing prices.Both of those statements are true. But the affordable housing that exists downtown is a tiny fraction of the amount of new housing proposed in this plan. And unless developers are required to produce affordable units, does anyone really believe that a single new home will be sold or rented for a penny less than what the market will bear?Santa Rosa's inclusionary zoning ordinance requires developers either to include below-market-rate housing in their projects or pay an "in-lieu" fee to a fund the city uses to subsidize housing elsewhere.The 650 downtown acres included in the Station Area Plan aren't exempt from that ordinance.The problem is builders only are required to include affordable hous- ing if the project is larger than 15acres - and none of the properties within the plan area is that big, said city planner Ken MacNab.Further, the city exempts "mixed- use" projects from the ordinance, based on the expectation that multi-story projects with ground-floor retail or office space will include a mix of sizes and styles of housing, thereby creating a mix of prices.But the "mix" created so far ranges from high-priced to higher- priced. Developers predict condos in three high-rise buildings approved along Third Street will sell for $400,000 to $1 million. Monthly rents in a new mixed-use building off of College Avenue range from more than $1,300 for a one-bedroom apartment to almost $2,400 for some two-bedrooms.No doubt the developers will be able to charge those prices, but at what cost? Who are the people who will be able to pay them?The key priority of the Station Area Plan is to create "transit- oriented development" downtown. It is designed to provide more places to live close to a future commuter railroad, and place residential development closer to jobs.But empty-nest retirees living in downtown penthouses aren't going to fill the seats on a commuter train, and the waiters and baristas and clerks who work in all those new downtown businesses aren't going to live in $600,000 condos.If city officials truly want variety downtown - young and old, singles and families, retirees and office workers, shoppers and sales clerks - then they need to create housing that is affordable to people with a variety of incomes.And the only sure way to get that is to require it.