The Subregion has experienced significant
growth in population and households during recent decades and housing demand
will likely continue to be high, given the attractive quality of life to be
found here. In addition, there is a growing awareness of the critical
importance of an adequate supply of housing to achieving a healthy economic
climate. For the Subregion, as well as the state and region, continued economic
vitality requires a full range of affordable and available housing within a
reasonable distance of employment opportunities.
In many ways, the housing market operates at a subregional, rather than a
strictly local, level. In light of this, and given the fiscal disincentives for
local governments that are often associated with residential development, there
are benefits to a subregional approach to addressing housing issues.
The following are issues relating to the
provision of housing that would benefit from being addressed cooperatively by
the Jurisdictions and/or for which local actions have subregional effects.
These Subregional Issues are:
How to:
- Ensure an adequate supply of housing
to serve the existing and future needs of the Subregion, including the needs of
large families, seniors, and others with special housing needs.
- Promote housing that is affordable to
the full spectrum of present and expected residents of the Subregion.
- Improve state and federal legal
requirements on local governments with regard to planning for, and providing,
housing.
- Protect, preserve and invest in
existing residential areas, especially those providing affordable or
moderately-priced housing.
- Housing supply, including special
needs groups
- The Jurisdictions should create a
subregional committee or task force to promote housing for very low, low and
moderate-income households and for people with special needs, through
inter-jurisdictional participation and public/private partnerships. Examples of
possible activities include: subregional programs to establish a housing data
base, co-sponsored joint development projects (especially for affordable or
special needs housing), legislative advocacy, and public education and
information.
- The Jurisdictions should coordinate
local efforts to designate and fund jointly the development of specific sites,
including vacant buildings, for the provision of temporary housing needs, such
as homeless shelters, transitional housing, and housing for seasonal workers.
- The Jurisdictions should continue
coordinated public/private partnerships to ensure mutual understanding of
subregional housing needs and the practices and needs and the practices and
needs of the development community, and to develop ways to improve housing
production and lower housing costs.
- Each Jurisdiction should encourage the
provision of special needs housing, including community care facilities for
seniors, mentally or physically disabled, and children, in residential and
mixed use areas and especially near transit and services.
- Each Jurisdiction should consider
streamlining processing for second units in urban areas.
- Each Jurisdiction should encourage
mixed use development and multiple family housing in appropriate locations,
especially near commercial and civic uses and in areas with existing or planned
transit.
- To meet a variety of housing needs and
varied levels of affordability, each Jurisdiction should encourage a range of
unit sizes and types and lot designs in new residential developments.
- Each Jurisdiction should encourage new
residential developments to include units and facilities to accommodate
households with children and seniors.
- Each Jurisdiction should establish
incentives and design guidelines for residential uses above ground floor
commercial uses.
- Each Jurisdiction should consider
adopting minimum, as well as maximum, densities within all residential planning
and zoning categories to prevent under-utilization of residential sites.
- Each Jurisdiction should consider
rezoning in order to increase residential densities in appropriate locations,
especially in areas with superior existing or planning transit service, while
protecting the quality of life in the "upzoned" area.
- Each Jurisdiction should consider a
policy that would maintain the overall residential capacity and mix of unit
types, consistent with the Jurisdiction's adopted general plan and its ability
to provide services.
- Each Jurisdiction should encourage
that development projects over a certain size occur at or above the midpoint of
the applicable density range.
- Each Jurisdiction should promote
opportunities for people to live and work in the same community.
- Housing Affordability
- Each Jurisdiction should consider
exemptions from certain requirements (e.g., zoning ordinance provisions,
subdivision standards and growth management programs) for housing affordable to
lower income households and projects providing an established minimum
percentage of affordable units, based on goals established by each
Jurisdiction.
- The Jurisdictions should explore joint
financing possibilities to provide lower-cost loans for the purchase,
rehabilitation and/or new construction of affordable housing.
- Each Jurisdiction should encourage
innovation in housing design and construction practices which might lower costs
(e.g., manufactured housing).
- Each Jurisdiction should actively
pursue redevelopment projects and spend lower and moderate-income housing funds
generated by such projects.
- Each Jurisdiction should identify and
consider making available vacant publicly-owned sites and buildings for the
development of affordable housing and or mixed use.
- Each Jurisdiction should establish an
"inclusionary" program to ensure the provision of affordable housing
through either on- or off-site construction payment of in-lieu fees or other
means. The Jurisdictions should consider adopting a standardization subregional
inclusionary program, which could help to "level the playing field"
throughout the Subregion.
- The Jurisdictions should work with
employers to develop partnerships and/or programs to make housing affordable to
their workers. Actions might include encouraging employers to facilitate
housing availability and affordability for their workers by providing building
sites, funding, or the provision of residential units. Incentives for such
participation might include faster processing for building permits, fee
waivers, etc.
- Improved state and federal legal
requirements regarding planning for, and providing, housing
- The Jurisdictions should support a
cooperative process to distribute subregional housing allocations, and advocate
for changes in state law to allow for the development of
subregionally-generated housing needs allocations.
- Protecting and preserving existing
residential areas
- Each Jurisdiction should identify and
implement steps needed to preserve existing affordable housing.
- Each Jurisdiction should promote
programs that provide replacement housing when residential units are lost or
destroyed. Each Jurisdiction should require that replacement housing be
constructed so as to avoid natural hazards.
|
