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C. 67
To: Board of Supervisors
From: John Kopchik, Interim Director, Conservation & Development Department
Date: February  10, 2015
The Seal of Contra Costa County, CA
Contra
Costa
County
Subject: Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) Program
APPROVE OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
Action of Board On:   02/10/2015
APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER
Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:
John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Mary N. Piepho, District III Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor
ABSENT:
Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor
Contact: Maureen Toms, 674-7878
I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED:     February  10, 2015
David Twa,
 
BY: , Deputy

 

RECOMMENDATION(S):

ACCEPT a report on the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities portion of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and potential application for the Heritage Point Project in North Richmond.

FISCAL IMPACT:

There is no impact to the General Fund. Staff costs to cover the cost to submit an application are budgeted through Housing Successor funds.

BACKGROUND:
BACKGROUND: (CONT'D)
    On January 30, 2015 the Strategic Growth Council (SGC) and the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) announced the availability of approximately $120 million in funding for the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) Program. The AHSC Program furthers the purposes of AB 32 (Chapter 488, Statutes 2006) and SB 375 (Chapter 728, Statutes, 2008) by investing in projects that reduce GHG emissions by supporting more compact, infill development patterns, encouraging active transportation and transit usage, and protecting agricultural land from sprawl development. Funding for the AHSC Program is provided from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), an account established to receive Cap-and-Trade auction proceeds.  
      
    The AHSC Program is administered by SGC. HCD will implement the transportation, housing and infrastructure component of the AHSC Program. SGC will coordinate efforts with HCD, working with the California Air Resources Board (ARB), to administer the broader AHSC Program, which includes the Sustainable Agricultural Land
Conservation (SALC) Program. Concept proposals are due on February 19, 2015 and complete applications are due on April 15, 2015.
  
The AHSC Program will assist Project Areas, as defined, by providing loans or grants, or any combination thereof, to projects that will achieve GHG emissions reductions and benefit Disadvantaged Communities through increasing accessibility of affordable housing, employment centers and key destinations via low-carbon transportation resulting in fewer vehicle miles traveled (VMT) through shortened or reduced trip length or mode shift from Single Occupancy Vehicle (SOV) use to transit, bicycling or walking.  
  
Two Project Area types have been identified to implement this strategy:
  1. Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Project Areas, or
  2. Integrated Connectivity Project (ICP) Project Areas
Department of Conservation and Development staff have reviewed the program guidelines and have identified a proposed affordable housing project in North Richmond, Heritage Point, that may be a competitive ICP project because it is in a disadvantaged community and the project is close enough to "shovel ready" to be competitive . The Heritage Point development site is a land assemblage of 0.75 acre assembled by the former Redevelopment agency in 2009-2011. The site is now an asset of the Housing Successor (County). The County is working with Community Housing Development Corporation (CHDC) of North Richmond on predevelopment activities.

The development proposal includes a request for the following entitlements from the County:

  1. approval of a Preliminary and Final Development Plan to construct a 4-story, 42-unit, multi-family affordable housing development with small retail and office uses on the ground level. Also proposed are incidental frontage improvements which include modifications to the median strip in Fred Jackson Way to provide more room for emergency vehicles. To accomplish this applicant is also requesting;
  2. a General Plan Amendment to change the land use designation from Commercial (CO) to Mixed Use (MU) and
  3. a Vesting Tentative Map to combine seven existing lots into two lots.

The development application was submitted May 14, 2014 and the Notice of Intent to Adopt a Mitigated Negative Declaration is expected to be issued in February 2015. A public hearing with the Planning commission is anticipated to occur in late March/early April of 2015.  
  
CHDC plans to submit a concept proposal for the AHSC program. County staff are assisting and the County is proposed to be named as a co-applicant, possibly along with the City of Richmond. CHDC also proposes to seek financing from the following sources: County funds as follows: Housing Successor; HOME Investment Partnerships Act (federal); Community Development Block Grant (federal), and State funds as follows: Greenhouse Gas Reduction Funds (Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities), and other possible sources. If CHDC is invited to submit an application for funding through the AHSC program, DCD staff will return to the Board of Supervisors on March 31, 2015 to provide a status update and seek approvals, as necessary.  
  
In addition, since the AHSC grant program is expected to continue or expand in the future, DCD staff will work to develop additional project concepts to respond to future requests for proposals.

CHILDREN'S IMPACT STATEMENT:

Not applicable.

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