CITY OF SUNNYVALE
Joint Study Session
City Council and Housing & Human Services Commission
June 13, 2006 5:30 p.m.
West Conference Room
Sunnyvale City Hall
MEETING NOTES
I. Call to Order
Mayor Ron Swegles called the meeting to order at 5:36 p.m.
II. Introductions
City Council
Mayor Ron Swegles
Vice Mayor Otto Lee
Dean Chu
Tony Spitaleri
Chris Moylan
Melinda Hamilton
Absent: John Howe
Housing & Human Services Commission
Chair James Callan
Ann Andersen
Charles Keeler
Micki Falk
Tim Persyn
Damon Kali
Patrick Meyering
Absent: Jana Seshadri
City Staff
Amy Chan, City Manager
David Kahn, City Attorney
Robert Walker, Assistant City Manager
Robert Paternoster, Director of Community Development
Annabel Yurutucu, Housing Officer
Victoria Chambers, Housing Senior Office Assistant
III. Discussion
An award presented to the City for the 66-unit affordable housing development at Moulton Plaza was briefly mentioned and passed around.
Amy Chan explained that the meeting was to keep an open line of communication between the Housing & Human Services Commission and the City Council, which point the Mayor reiterated.
As conversation starters the following questions were posed:
What are the biggest issues with which the Commissioners feel Council may be able to provide assistance?
How does the Commission feel about the new housing developments in the City?
The following comments were made by Housing & Human Services Commission, City Council members and staff:
Very high density may result in long-term problems of deterioration, as experienced in other regions.
The downtown area creates amenities for residents, such as shopping within walking distance. There is a trade-off of amenities that come with high-density housing.
There is a new study on the fiscal impact of housing versus the fiscal impact of industry. Housing generally does not pay for itself.
The City receives $0.11 on every dollar paid for property taxes. Downtown Sunnyvale will require a higher level of services. Some discussion of the Plan followed.
Some residents of Ortega Park feel isolated from the rest of the City. There is a feeling that they are not a part of the City. Many residents are upset about the delay of the mall redevelopment.
There is an increasing demand for more housing, but available land is quickly disappearing.
Other areas should be looked into for possible housing development, where zoning changes may be allowed to convert the area from industrial to residential.
IV. Discussion of Other Items of Interest
Does the Housing and Human Services Commission feel as though that their responsibility limiting their decisions of OGF funding mainly of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program has reduced their mission.
The Commissioners felt that they could take on more non-routine projects.
The Housing Officer explained that the HHSC was very involved in specifics of the Consolidated Plan 2005-2010. However, new Commissioners were not involved with that process.
More policy ideas could be generated.
Various study issues have been suggested by the HHSC, but tend to be ranked low by the Council.
The Council appreciate hearing concerns from the HHSC, whether in group or one-on-one meetings.
Some HHSC members may have felt overlooked by the change of the Outside Group Funding policy.
Council was asked to express their concerns on any affordable housing issues.
A discussion of the Housing Sub Element followed. The commissioners were asked how familiar they are with the Housing Sub-Element. The commissioners received copies of this document, but the current Commission was not part of the policy development of the document.
A further discussion on funding available to Sunnyvale and the difficulty for Council to lobby for funds, as California is not eligible for the available funding due to having different term limits for elected officials.
The National Community Development Association (NCDA) is active in efforts to maintain funding.
Council would like the HHSC to advise on updates of the Housing Sub-Element.
One commissioner expressed that housing is the key to building a city, and the percent of homeownership is declining, and asked the Council about condominium conversions.
Some comments followed; rental property may be available for other use.
There is difficulty in purchasing homes for people in many situations.
Sunnyvale should focus on keeping Sunnyvale residents in the city.
There should be diverse housing including rental housing.
Owning a Below Market Rate (BMR) home is not preferred by some because there is limited equity. It may be more beneficial to have more BMR rental housing to allow people to save to buy a market rate house.
Others feel the BMR program is a good tool to open up housing to people unable to purchase at market rate.
V. Public Comments
· None
VI. Adjourn
The meeting was adjourned at 6:40 p.m.