HomeMy WebLinkAboutRDA Min 2002-04-22
4-22-02
Seal Beach, California
April 22, 2002
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The Redevelopment Agency of the City of Seal Beach met in
regular session at 6:45 p.m. with Chairman Yost calling the
meeting to order.
ROLL CALL
Present:
Chairman Yost
Agencymembers Boyd, Campbell, Larson
Absent:
Agencymember Doane
It was the consensus of the Agency to excuse the absence of
Agencymember Doane from this meeting.
Also present: Mr. Bahorski, Executive Director
Mr. Barrow, City Attorney
Mr. Whittenberg, Director of Development
Services
Ms. Yeo, City Clerk
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Chairman Yost advised those present that they would be
allowed to speak at the time the items on the agenda were
considered, staff will make a presentation, those present may
respond to the reports from staff, thereafter staff will have
the opportunity to respond to questions raised by the public,
and for those wishing to speak to items not listed on the
agenda they may do so at the Public Comment period.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Boyd moved, second by Campbell, to approve the order of the
agenda as presented.
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
Boyd, Campbell, Larson, Yost
None
Doane Motion carried
Chairman Yost announced that the Agency would recess at
approximately 7:00 p.m. to convene the City Council meeting
and receive a presentation by Supervisor Silva.
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PUBLIC COMMENTS
Chairman Yost declared Public Comments to be open. Ms. Lita
Donnelly stated on April 8th she received a letter from the
City which she thought was a thank you note for her services
directing traffic at the recent lOK, 5K, lK Run, instead it
was a bill for $732.56 which stated slie had not paid the
correct refuse bill, there are likely about sixty people who
received similar bills, she called the refuse company in an
attempt to find out the reason for the bill, she then went to
the Police Department and Recreation Department requesting to
work off the bill to which the answer was no. Ms. Donnelly
said when the City needed help due to their tight budget she
volunteered yet when she went to the City to ask for help for
a mistake that the City made in the amount of $732.56 the
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request was denied. In June of 2001 she received a notice
advising that the refuse would be increased, of which she has
a copy, she pays her bills on time but was told she now owes
this amount, her request is that that be canceled. Chairman
Yost suggested that the issue, with documentation, be
provided the City Clerk for the City Manager, with a copy to
her Council representative or the Mayor as well. Mr. Jim
Gibson stated that there have been problems with police
enforcement in the northern area of the downtown, 1st, 2nd
and 3rd Streets, the Rivers End Cafe have been hit with
graffiti, there are gang type persons in the vicinity at
night, break-ins and attempted break-ins of cars numerous
times, they are being stripped on the street, to which he
suggested some night patrols, it is felt it could be
patrolled more effectively in the evenings, there has been
graffiti on Main Street, windows being etched, painted, etc.,
this is new and not nice. Agencymember Larson requested that
the City Manager report back with regard to the policing
issue. Chairman Yost declared Public Comments to be closed.
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CITY CHARTER AMENDMENT - RENT CONTROL
Agencymember Boyd made reference to the recent discussions
relating to affordable housing and rent control, the opinion
of some members of the public is that the City should not be
involved in free enterprise that involves private property.
This is an Agency item that would direct staff to bring to
the Council consideration of a Charter Amendment as a pro
property rights initiative that would prohibit any Council in
the future from establishing any unilateral citywide rent
control, that could be accomplished"by the voters enacting a
measure to amend the Charter, which can only be amended by
the entire electorate, that means that rent control would be
taken out of the hands of a City Council and placed in the
hands of the voters. Agencymember Boyd provided a sample of
such measure language recently passed in the City of
Huntington Beach, and read an excerpt of the justification
that 'the result of social experimentation of rent control in
Southern California produces the following conclusion...rent
control does not provide more or better affordable housing
for anyone, especially the elderly or young families, those
who need it most, the imposition of rent control forces some
property owners to change the use of their property and to
change the use can often result in more development and
pressures which cause the destruction of neighborhoods.'
Councilman Boyd moved that the Agency direct staff to bring
back Charter Amendment language for Council consideration to
be placed on the November ballot. Chairman Yost seconded the
motion.
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AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
Boyd, Campbell, Larson, Yost
None
Doane Motion carried
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STATUS REPORT - RENOVATION/RENTAL ASSISTANCE - 1119 OCEAN
AVENUE
The Director of Development Services noted that this issue
was brought to the Agency at its March 25th meeting to
consider a proposal received from a firm proposing to acquire
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the property at 1119 Ocean Avenue through a probate sale, the
firm made an inquiry to the Agency that if they were
successful in that effort would the Agency be interested in
providing up to $150,000 of rehabilitation funds to assist in
rehabilitating the premises and up to $250,000 for long term
rental assistance to provide two units within the development
for moderate income persons or families and one unit for low
income persons or families, this being a four unit building,
the remaining unit would have no restrictions. The Director
reported that the Agency gave direction to proceed with that
effort, there were resolutions approved by both the Agency
and Council finding that the use of Agency funds outside the
project area were a benefit to the project area, "a number of
citizens expressed concerns with that program at the April
8th meeting, to that the Council requested a staff report for
this meeting. The Director noted that since then the probate
sale has occurred, the purchaser of the property is not the
firm that made the proposal to the City therefore at this
point in time the City has no proposal from anyone for any
type of rental assistance or rehabilitation program within
the community.
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The Director said however that based upon the concerns
expressed on April 8th staff prepared an agenda report
relating to those concerns and sets forth some thoughts of
staff. To the public comment that 'low cost housing should
not be provided in the most expensive area of the City, the
residents of Old Town do not deserve this type of program,'
staff responded that the provision for low- and moderate-
income housing should be provided in those areas where low-
and moderate- income persons and families reside currently,
and where the appropriate type of housing exists, this type
of program is seen as one that would assist existing
residents of the community, not a program trying to attract
residents into the community. He said based upon 2000 census
information it was not possible at this point in time to
provide the numbers of low, moderate, and above moderate
income persons or families that reside in the City, income
statistics from the 2000 census will likely not be available
until about mid-2003, however staff has tried to provide
information based on projections and estimates from the 1990
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census up to the current time, there are some 1998 estimates
compiled by the Southern California Association of
Governments as part of their Regional Growth Program for the
Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside counties,
fifty percent of median income is considered very low, their
estimates show that thirty and a half percent of all
households in Seal Beach, about four thousand households, are
within that income range, it is likely that a majority of
those reside in Leisure World, in the low category, which is
fifty-one to eighty percent of the median income, about
seventeen hundred households or twelve and a half percent of
the households fall into that category, in the moderate
category, of the eighty-one to one hundred twenty percent of
the median income there are approximately two thousand two
hundred fifty households, about seventeen percent, forty
percent of the households in the City are above the moderate
category, these 1998 projections show that approximately
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sixty percent of all households in the City fall within the
low to moderate income categories, and if those persons were
renters they could potentially receive assistance through the
programs that have been suggested for consideration. To the
question as to what is the median income, the Director stated
he did not have a median figure for 1998 however for 2002 the I
median income for a family of four is $75,600, that is the
standard number. The Director said if one looks at all of
the households in the City, and assume that all of the
households in Leisure World, about sixty-five hundred, are
either a low or moderate income households, there remains
about one thousand four hundred eighty-two households outside
of Leisure World that would fall within one of the income
qualifying ranges of the low or moderate income. He
mentioned a recent Orange County news article which reported,
based on some State estimates, that there are four hundred
forty-six households in the City that pay more than fifty
percent of their gross income for rent, the standard criteria
for a renter is thirty percent of income, when there are
numbers greater than fifty percent those persons are paying
an inordinate amount for rent and they do not have money for
food, clothing, medical necessities, etc., if some of those
households could be reached with the rental assistance
programs it would provide more spendable income for the
renter yet still provide the landlord with the market rent
for an apartment unit. with reference to 1990 census
information relating to owner occupied housing versus renter I
occupied housing within Old Town, again not having the 2000
data, there were just over one thousand owner occupied living
units, two thousand three hundred fifty-nine renter occupied
units, the renter occupied units is about sixty percent,
there has been some change in those numbers however not
thought to be a substantial change between 1990 and 2000.
It was the order of the Chair, with consensus of the Agency,
to recess the meeting at 7:04 p.m. in order to call to order
the City Council meeting and to accommodate a presentation of
Supervisor Silva. The Agency reconvened at 7:15 p.m. with
Chairman Yost calling the meeting to order.
1119 OCEAN AVENUE - RENOVATION/RENTAL ASSISTANCE - continued
The Development Services Director offered that the other
information staff was able to derive regarding income levels,
in particular the Old Town area, is the result of the Center
for Demographic Research at Cal State Fullerton, they have a
contract with the County of Orange to do housing and
employment type of projections, they work with cities in that
effort also, staff was able to obtain some 1997 information
from them, again based on estimates from the 1990 income
figures for Old Town directly, which is one census tract that
exists between Pacific Coast Highway and the ocean, it does
not include Surfside as it is a different census tract, their
projections based on the income levels in 1997 as compared to
the low and moderate income ceilings at that time as prepared
by the State, within Old Town there was one thousand one
hundred seven residential occupants of structures, thirty-
three percent of all Old Town residential units, who would
qualify as lower income, that is the fifty percent and lower
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level, moderate income in 1997 was estimated to be nine
hundred thirty-six households, twenty-eight percent of all
Old Town households, and above moderate income was estimated
to be thirty-nine percent, in comparison to the 1998 numbers
from SCAG it was forty percent above moderate and sixty
percent below, therefore the numbers are fairly consistent
based upon available information at this time. He noted that
if the same general trends are still appropriate in 2000 it
would be staffs estimate of the thirty-three hundred
households in Old Town that about two thousand are either low
or moderate income, those are felt to be existing residents
within the City that made a commitment to live in this
community, and it is the opinion that those people deserve to
be provided assistance if they qualify under the criteria
that is set forth within the various programs and the Agency
has funds that could be used to assist those people in
reducing their demands on their total income for rental
purposes, it continues to be felt that the program is one
that could be viable for the community.
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The Director noted that a second concern heard was that the
project that was before the Agency and Council was public
housing. The Director stated that is incorrect, public
housing is housing that is owned and managed by a public
entity whether it be a Redevelopment Agency, Housing
Authority, Non-Profit Housing Corporation, the Agency has not
imposed any mandate on any property to participate in any
type of housing assistance program, and it can not do that,
any participation between the Agency and an owner of a
property would be at the desire of the property owner to come
to the Agency and make a proposal, the Agency can not force
participation in any program that would be made available
within the community. A third concern was that the project
would be mandating rent control, and pointed out that the
Agency has just taken an action that would deal with that
concern. The Director stated that the assertion of rent
control is incorrect, explaining that rent control is a
formally adopted program by a city that puts an artificial
cap on the rents that a landlord can charge to rent his
units, Santa Monica and West Hollywood are examples of areas
that have had rent control for a number of years, this City
has never envisioned such a program, it has never been
discussed in his years with the City. What has been proposed
is a rental assistance program that allows rental units to be
rented at a fair market rent, which is what a willing renter
would pay to a willing landlord, rates are determined on a
yearly basis so rent fluctuates as the demand for rental
housing fluctuates up or down. The second component of the
program is that the rental assistance is an amount that would
be paid directly to the landlord by the Agency to make up the
gap of what the fair market rent of the unit is as opposed to
what the occupant should be paying if it is assumed they are
going to pay only thirty percent of their gross income per
month for rent, an example would be if a unit rented for
$1,500 per month, the income of the person or family in that
unit would only allow them to pay $1,300, thirty percent,
then the Agency would fund the $200 per month gap directly to
the landlord, therefore the landlord still receives the full
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market rent.
Another comment was the Redevelopment funds cannot be
utilized outside the project area. The Director advised that
there are specific provisions of redevelopment law that
mandate that if the Agency wants to spend its low and
moderate income housing funds outside the project area both
the Agency and Council have to make findings that it is in
accordance with and a benefit to the Redevelopment Plan to
spend the funds outside the project area, at the March 25th
meetings both the Agency and Council made those
determinations for the 1119 Ocean Avenue project, and now it
must be kept in mind that there is no longer a proposal for
that particular property. As a point of information he
mentioned that the Agency has undertaken other projects
outside the project area, acquisition of land and development
of the City Yard and Police Station facilities, the Zoeter
Place land leases and conversion of Zoeter Field as examples.
Concern was expressed that there was no notification of the
proposed projects, specifically 1119 Ocean Avenue, explaining
that under redevelopment law there is no noticing
requirement, City requirements are State law, however if the
Council has concern with this issue a policy statement could
be prepared as to what type of notification would be desired
for adjoining residents if the City were to consider future
rehab/rental assistance projects in the future.
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There was a concern also that the program would extend the
life of existing non-conforming multi-family residential
properties over and above what would happen if the assistance
was not provided. It seems to be clear that that would
occur, particularly with rehabilitation assistance to improve
and upgrade a structure. In current Code there are several
sections that allow existing legal non-conforming multiple
family residential properties to do rehabilitation work and
in some cases to expand the living units within the non-
conforming structure, Section 28-2407 of the Code sets forth
a number of types of improvements and expansions to non-
conforming properties that occur either at an administrative
review process at the department level, a minor plan review,
or conditional use permit hearing at the Planning Commission,
the plan review process requires notice to all property
owners and occupants within one hundred feet of the property
and the CUP requires notice within three hundred feet, the
major thrust of those provisions was to establish guidelines
for maintenance and improvements, and under certain
conditions the expansion of existing multiple family housing
inventory within the City, those provisions were determined
appropriate to encourage the retention of existing multi-
family inventory to provide a diverse base of available
housing opportunities, that was adopted around 1991/1992.
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An additional concern was that the proposal would require the
City to allow the same structure to be rebuilt because of the
agreements that would be in place if the building were
damaged or destroyed. The response was that under existing
Code, 28-2406, rebuilding of damaged non-conforming
buildings, allows for the complete rebuilding of an existing
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non-conforming structure to its current condition if the
damage is less than fifty percent, to his knowledge this has
been utilized on a couple of occasions where there has been
damage due to fire, etc., and if the structure is damaged
more than fifty percent there are also Code provisions that
either allow a minor plan review or conditional use permit
approval to allow the structure to be built in its exact same
condition or in a condition that would allow the same number
of units but may require additional parking on the property
depending on the ratio of parking to the number of housing
units. To the issue of expansions and rebuilding the Code
already allows that type of work to occur whether or not the
Agency proceeds with this program or not. Another comment
was that the Agency debts should be paid and the Agency
abolished, in response the Director offered that staff could
not obtain all answers to that issue within the two week
period of time, it is complicated given the commitment to
bond issues over the years, there are also housing
commitments that exist, to this issue staff would need more
time to provide additional information if the Agency so
directs. Also this issue, Agencymember Boyd mentioned that
there have been comments in the community that the City could
take private property by eminent domain, to that the Agency
or Council could amend the by-laws to remove that provision
as an option of the Agency. Chairman Yost noted that that
has been looked at, in fact the Code specifies that eminent
domain can not be done if it was residentially zoned prior to
1969 and used as such. The city Attorney advised that there
are ways to amend bhe plans and to change the ordinance,
under the current state of the law it is difficult to amend
Redevelopment Plans, a lengthy process that could take up to
a year. He noted that at the present time no residential
property within the project areas could be condemned, the
exercise of eminent domain is not permitted, those areas are
Bridgeport, Oakwood Apartments, the Trailer Park, and
Riverbeach Condos.
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The Director noted another comment was to pay the
low/moderate set aside penalty and provide no housing, to
that he stated that the process is not that simple, State law
does not allow an Agency to merely pay the penalty and
relieve the Agency of its responsibilities, the penalty is
actually a payment from non-housing setaside funds into the
housing setaside fund to do more housing assistance, if the
program gets to a penalty situation it actually increases the
amount of funds that needs to be expended. He offered that
additional information could be provided at the direction of
the Agency. Another comment was that the project would
impact adjoining properties, believed to be directly related
to 1119 Ocean however a concern that would be appropriate
should any other projects come to the Agency. The feeling of
staff is that no adverse impact can be seen in doing a
project if the owner of the property is intending to keep his
building as an apartment building and if the Agency provides
money for its rehabilitation where it may not have been
rehabilitated otherwise, and if the tenants within the
project are ones that would qualify for assistance, therefore
the tenants would be those that currently reside there. The.
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Director mentioned that the City did receive one e-mail
message from an individual expressing an interest in
participating in this type of program, this was a current
resident having an income of $21,000 per year, a single
mother and a child, requesting help. It is believed there
are people who would take advantage of the program if the
Agency were to proceed with that activity.
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The Director showed the current income limits in Orange
County for low, very low, and moderate income persons and
families by the number of persons who reside in a particular
household, an example, a four person household, that
household can makeup to $90,700 per year and be considered a
moderate income family, for a two person family it is
$72,550, for low income in a two person household it is
$43,500, a four person household is $54,400. He stated again
that the City as yet does not have the 2002 census income
information however when these types of family income levels
are seen that would qualify for low and moderate income, it
is felt that the large majority of persons who currently
reside in rental apartment units in the City do qualify under
the income criteria at this time, it is believed that the
programs being proposed recognize that fact and tries to
provide a program to provide those persons some assistance,
if those residents are paying more than thirty percent of
their gross income for rent they are eligible, if they are
currently not paying more than thirty percent now then they
are not eligible for assistance, the numbers show that there
are at least four hundred forty-six families that are paying
more than fifty percent of their income for rent, it is felt
one could immediately determine that those persons could use
some assistance.
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To a question from the Agency, the Director confirmed that
the property subject to discussion is no longer available,
the firm that made the proposal to the Agency for
rehabilitation/rental assistance was not the purchaser of the
property, and there has been no contact by the purchaser.
Chairman Yost mentioned that at this point the consideration
lies with the direction to staff, is this or something
similar to this type of program what the Agency wants to do
in the future.
Mr. Jim Caviola, 1117 Ocean Avenue, stated that the person
who purchased the 1119 Ocean property was at his home the
prior day, felt the Agency proposal was ludicrous, he paid
$800,000 for the property, is from San Marino. Mr. Caviola
made reference to the recent Orange County news article as
well, said he took excerpts from the article, noted that Mr.
Dunn, Santa Ana, is sponsoring a bill to make it a penalty to
not comply with affordable housing. He said at present there
are no penalties for cities who do not comply, it is because
there is a Redevelopment Agency is the reason that there is a
penalty, his position is to disband the Agency, pay the
penalty, borrow the money to pay the debt. From the news
article there are 1999 statistics from the Southern
California Association of Governments and from the listing of
all affordable housing statistics it says that Seal Beach has
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fifteen residents who live in overcrowded conditions, one
hundred forty-six people pay more than fifty percent of
income in rent, and the City is short 1.9 percent, in
calculating he used a thirty thousand figure even though the
population is twenty-six thousand, that would be six hundred
people according to State statistics, again, there is no
penalty for not having low income housing unless there is a
Redevelopment Agency. With regard to the Trailer Park,
before the purchase there was a forty year restriction on
those rents, after the purchase there was a thirty year
restriction, so after the purchase there was a ten year loss
of affordable housing in the Park, prior to the sale all but
five lots in the Park were restricted, after the purchase
twenty-five lots are unrestricted, net loss is twenty lots of
affordable housing. What happens in thirty years, there will
be no affordable housing at all in the Trailer Park, he is
not certain who owns the park, someone should research LINC,
but the owners of the Park, which it appears is not the
residents, will be able to sell with no restriction on the
use, conclusion, the Council approved $7.5 million for the
Trailer Park, approved $400,000 for 1119 Ocean, that is $7.9
million on low income housing for six hundred people, that is
$133,000 per person according to the State 1999 statistics,
he wants this stopped, wants to know where the money is
going, he wants no unnoticed behavior related to deed
restrictions, also said you can not rebuild a building if it
burns down more than fifty percent, said people are noticed
for a CUP, etc. but the 1119 Ocean had none, that is
outrageous. Mr. Gene Stegman, 13th Street, stated that he is
a fourth generation resident, his great grandparents bought
here when it was Bay City, and has a son who is a fifth
generation Seal Beach person. He asked why the Council is
trying to undo one of the great beach towns on the planet,
every time one turns around there is something going on,
Trailer Park, money, things people do not know, this is a
small town and should be treated like a small town, Old Town
is Seal Beach, it provides a great amount of sales tax,
property tax, use taxes, the Council works for the people,
serves at' the pleasure of the people. He would like to see
Old Town secede from Seal Beach and become its own city, the
Council would not have a job because they would not be
needed. Mr. Dan Smith, Trailer Park, believed to be a
designated area for low to moderate income housing, his
comments relate to a better utilization of the funds being
discussed. Mr. Smith mentioned having heard the proposal to
spend $400,000 for three low to moderate income housing
units, that amount in an area that is already designated for
low to moderate housing would buy eight two to three bedroom
mobile homes, eight units available for families, the units
being discussed are one bedroom which are studios. Ms.
Cynthia Metzger, Main Street business person, stated she
appreciates the conciliatory nature of the Council, it is
good to see that with reexamination there will be an attempt
to deal with the issue, as an owner of income property in
Long Beach for many years she knows that when people received
subsidized housing it went with them and not the property, it
is true it is not a form of rent control but it is a form of
property destruction because everyone who has a Section 8
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tenant has property destroyed, that is believed to be without
exception. The way this is being approached now it does give
the property owner the option of having a contract and
redevelopment for their property and when the contract
expires they would have their choice then as to what to do
with their property. It may not be a good idea to keep the
Agency yet she did not know that issue well. Ms. Metzger
stated she does feel that the City fails a great deal,
because of being the small city it is, to communicate to the
people and they do exercise their own will. She said she
would like to see in the local paper the City Council agenda,
future issues to be addressed, she feels that is not a
difficult thing to request, there have been so many things
where people spend hundreds of thousands of hours, dollars,
and energy on things learned after the fact. With regard to
the Trailer Park it is understood that the City has reneged
on allowing the residents to purchase the Park and that
persons residing there are being subsidized for their rent,
she understands there are people in the Park that are afraid
to speak up to ask the Council to adhere to the promises
made, that issue should be addressed and keep the commitments
made to the Trailer Park, let the residents purchase it, do
the improvements, and make the best of that situation.
Chairman Yost noted that the Council agendas are on the City
website, posted at City Hall and in the libraries. Mr. Bill
Ayres, Seal Beach, asked if the population of Leisure World
is part of the equation of the total population of Seal
Beach, are they eligible to participate in low income
housing. Chairman Yost clarified the question, is Leisure
World counted as part of the low to moderate income housing,
if not, why. The Director said the questions may be two
separate issues, there is provision in the City's Housing
Element for goals for construction of new low to moderate
income housing to accommodate future demand for people moving
into the City of Seal Beach, the Housing Element criteria
does not count existing populations and housing units, it is
a forward looking plan looking only at anticipated new
development to which you then need to plan for a certain
percentage of the new development as low/moderate housing, so
in that regard Leisure World does not qualify for anything.
With regard to any type of rental subsidy program or
rehabilitation loan programs for owners of residential units
or tenants of residential units Leisure World could be
qualified to participate in those programs depending upon the
criteria that the Agency ultimately approves for those loan
or grant programs that will come before the Agency at some
future time. Mr. Ayres said his point is that if they are
considered in the total equation for population, according to
the news article that should be 1.9 percent of the people for
this type of housing, if Leisure World could be taken out the
remainder of the City likely would already meet the criteria,
if there were a census of the Old Town area, including
bootlegged units, the City might be close to complying. With
regard to rental assistance, and at some point everyone
present would likely have qualified, it takes the owners of
apartments out of the free enterprise system because they do
not have to keep their units up as much because of the
subsidy, he too owns rental units and he spends considerable
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money to keep the property up in order to obtain a good rent,
it is somewhat an issue of competition. Mr. Paul Jeffers,
Trailer Park, Vice President of the Seal Beach OWners
Association, said the Board asked that he speak to the now
twenty from five spaces under the new regulatory agreement,
the Board is in favor of the twenty spaces as they like the
low to moderate income housing in the Park. Ms. Sue Corbin,
Seal Beach, spoke to development agreements and low income
housing requirements, then money transferred instead of
housing, to that she asked what happened to the money, all of
this needs to be put together to let people make a decision
as to what is going on, the Council does not know where
things stand. On the Hellman property apparently it is back
to fifty acres rather than one hundred and fifty acres, not
contiguous, the low income housing is not being done and that
was the basis for the lawsuit to begin with, what happens to
that money, low income housing belongs on the Hellman
property. Mr. Loren Washer stated he recently bought a
property one block east of 1119 Ocean, they paid a fair
price, in the process of improving the property, they need
their renters to be in, this is a unique community, the 1119
issue is something that should not come up, it should not
have even been discussed, it should be sold as a property,
the rents should be kept up, no one is going to help him with
his rents, he expects his renters to be able to afford the
rent otherwise they will not take care of the property and he
will have more repair. Mr. Chi Kredell, Seal Way, asked
where these types of proposals come from, the apartments at
1119 are believed to be one bedroom, mention was made of a
person paying $1,300 per month rent, a third of the persons
paycheck, that is some $40,000 per year bracket, will that
person be alone in the one bedroom apartment, unlikely, there
will be three persons in the one bedroom unit, this area does
not deserve that. Old Town seems to be the playground area
for four districts, anything they can not have or do not want
in their districts comes to Old Town, this is the most
expensive area of Seal Beach, 1119 sold for about $800,000
for a twenty-five to thirty foot lot, where does one get low
cost housing on that expensive property. Mr. Kredell
expressed appreciation to the City for doing a great job on
the beach this year, the best it has ever been done. He also
asked what happened to all of the trees that were to be put
in with the Bixby development. He asked if this is a City
proposal or is it the requirement of the federal government.
Chairman Yost responded there are two issues, one is the
Redevelopment Agency under which there is a requirement for
low to moderate income funds, the other is the City's Housing
Element requirement under State and federal law, the last
time the City was out of compliance with that it could not
issue building permits for anything, again, these are two
separate issues, the discussion is with regard to the issues
and what to do to fit within the guidelines. With regard to
the Charter Amendment suggestion, the Chairman stated that
will come back to the Council as it has the authority to
recommend a Charter Amendment restriction to not have rent
control, to the suggestion that it be worded so that there
can never be rent control, the Chairman suggested that the
forthcoming report could be reviewed with staff when it comes
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back to the Council. Mr. Kredell said he has always felt
that City staff works against the residents of this
community. He noted again that this is the most expensive
area of the town, in 1970 it was rezoned for single family
dwellings rather than multi-family, there had been a Code
enforcement officer until another Council took the officer
out of this district and there were more than three hundred
Code violations in just a short time, and now even though
duplexes are not allowed things are being built upwards such
as the doghouses. Agencymember Boyd mentioned that staff
will have a proposed Charter Amendment relating to rent
control on the next agenda. Ms. Geri West, stated that she
and her husband live on Electric Avenue, they qualify under
the moderate income category, they could rent a unit and the
Agency could then subsidize them $400 per month. Mr. Reva
Olson, Seal Beach, stated she wants to abolish the
Redevelopment Agency, can not understand why this City is on
such a tight budget that it has to have the highest utility
users tax in the nation while the Agency has so much money it
can subsidize developers and investors for millions, $150,000
for 1119 Ocean for an exterior paint job. Ms. Becky Jancs,
Spinnaker Way, said her comments were to rental assistance,
while it may be true that the renters living in Seal Beach
are probably higher low income people, if the rental
assistance is enacted as proposed, then as these properties
turn over there will be more people of lesser income coming
into the community, lowering the caliber of people in Seal
Beach and the quality of the town as a whole. Ms. Sylvana
Leon mentioned that she purchased a home is Seal Beach about
two years ago, a relatively low crime and gang free area, she
works in jails for juvenile delinquents, what she has found
is that when these youth live in subsidized housing they
trash the facility because they have no respect for property,
she would not want to see gangs and taggers in Seal Beach.
Mr. Jim Caviola said he likes living here, bottom line is
that the State wants this and that, City employees want
things, he wants a volunteer fire department, in the fall
there will be another party, the funds will be used to buy
trees and to buy a fire truck, which he heard the Authority
will not let them do, but that is a fire and safety issue,
that is not socialization, there are people who want to give
back to the community, doing away with the volunteer
firefighters is dismantling the moral fabric about which
people live. He recalled the bed and breakfast issue, his
address was identified as a possible bed and breakfast yet it
is not an antique house, now the rental assistance is being
considered next to his house, therefore it is a personal
thing with him, he understands history and culture, people do
not want deed restrictions on property in their neighborhood
and there is a due process right to notice.
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The Development Services Director explained that when staff
brings an issue to the Councilor the Agency it is because
they are responding to something mandated by another agency
in this regard, the Agency has certain requirements mandated
by Redevelopment law, a certain amount of funds that the
Agency obtains on a yearly basis to assist low and moderate
income housing within the community. He noted that this
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issue did not come up in the City until about 1999 because
prior to that time the Agency had pre-existing debts that had
to be paid first so there were no monies going to the housing
setaside fund, said he understands the emotions and concerns
of the community, it is thought that programs can be proposed
that the Agency can deal with that may not involve
rehabilitation and rental assistance within this particular
area of the community, staff can come back to the Agency at
some future date with alternatives to those programs. He
said several comments asked that the project at 1119 Ocean
Avenue not be done, there is no project at 1119, there was
never any imposition of a project at 1119 Ocean by the City,
that project came to the City from a potential purchaser of
the property, if that person had not come to the City there
never would have been any discussion of the issue, the City
is not trying to mandate programs and force something to
occur on a persons property.
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Agencymember Campbell emphasized her preference that the
format of meetings were such that questions could be answered
when asked rather than waiting until all comments are made,
this is because the Council is not allowed to take part in a
dialog. She offered that it is the option of a property
owner as to whether or not they want to apply for rental
assistance for their units, no one says that owner has to
take Section 8, a deed restriction is only if an owner wants
one, low income residents currently exist in the City, could
be one's neighbor and it is possible that they could apply
for assistance. Agencymember Campbell noted questions raised
regarding the Trailer Park and who owns it, it was Linc
Housing that bought the Park, the City issued bonds, the
residents are paying off the bonds, when the bonds are paid
the residents will own the Park, at that time the
residents/owners will need to decide what they want to do
with the Park, that is in writing, and a meeting will be held
the following week with Linc at City Hall. To a question
relating to what happened to the trees in her area as a
result of the Bixby project, said she too would like to know,
and offered that it would be nice if when votes are taken on
significant projects that there be more cooperation between
districts. Agencymember Larson said he would assume that
should any other proposition come before the Council
involving a parcel of property such as was under
consideration that there will be some means in place to let
the residents know what is going to be considered, there
seems to be a feeling that the people and the Council are on
opposite sides, his desire is that everyone be notified
whether they like a particular proposal or not, nonetheless
that would be in keeping with the rights under the
Constitution. Agencymember Boyd noted that the 1119 Ocean
property is now a mute point, in that regard staff requested
direction to either discontinue the negotiation process,
continue the negotiation process, or investigate alternative
site locations. To that he pointed out that there is an
affordable housing need by mandate, the people in the
downtown area are saying they understand that there is a
mandate however are asking that the City not concentrate the
effort to meet the affordable housing need in anyone
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particular area of the City. Agencymember Boyd mentioned
that an upcoming item on the agenda is adoption of an AB 1290
Implementation Plan, mandated by law, which is how the City
is going to implement goals and encumber funds to promote
affordable housing over the next five years, by law one
hundred fifty-eight new units need to be built, the question
is where does one do that, concentrate it in Old Town to
rehab existing units, the answer is obviously not, with the
limited amount of land does the City zone it for multi-family
apartment use that would be restricted to low income, that is
a strong potential, there is Boeing, Bixby, Old Ranch Tennis
Club, there is land in this City that is going to have to be
looked at to meet these needs. He suggested that the public
not jump on just one particular issue, the Council does hear
that the people want their property rights protected, that is
why a proposed Charter amendment will be on the next Council
agenda for consideration. Chairman Yost agreed that there
needs to be more notice to the public, although it complies
with the law that is not enough, it is obvious that people
were not noticed properly, he would request staff to return
to Council with some means of doing that whether it be within
five hundred feet or whatever. His belief is that what
bothers most people is the issue of deed restrictions for low
to moderate income housing for some number of years, he does
not favor that, feels there are other ways to spend low to
moderate income funds. Chairman Yost stated that the Housing
Element is the first issue, there is a requirement that the
City provide so many new low to moderate income units, to
that a statement was made that the City should do nothing
then there would not be a penalty, Chairman Yost countered
however that that statement is not true, citing the fact that
the last time that the City was not in compliance no building
permits could be issued, and there is currently pending
legislation to fine cities upwards of $500,000 if they do not
comply, that is not law as yet however there are requirements
that the City must abide by. The second issue is the
Redevelopment Agency and how that functions, that is an
entity that was established many years ago, the funds that go
to the Agency come from the property taxes of the properties
that are within the Redevelopment zone, that is the property
tax that is above the baseline value at the time those
properties were placed in the Redevelopment zone, primarily
the Trailer Park, Oakwood, Riverbeach Town Homes, some of the
Hellman units will be in the Agency zone, mentioned that
several things have been done through the Agency, the funding
of the greenbelt that runs through the downtown, the rehab of
Zoeter Field, Zoeter Place, the City Yard, and Police
Station, all accomplished with Agency funds. The Chairman
noted that at present the Agency has mostly bond debt whereby
Agency monies paid for those improvements, yet as part of the
Agency twenty percent of the funds that come in,
approximately $1 million a year, have to be spent on low to
moderate income housing, that is where the issue is,
explaining that the Agency is not flush with funds, it is
fairly tight and with debt, nonetheless there is the
requirement to spend twenty percent on low/moderate income
housing, if it is not spent by a certain date a fine is
imposed, and that fine comes from the general revenues of the
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City which are the monies from which the various departments,
City employees, maintenance, etc. is paid, the fine itself is
sizeable, an amount in excess of $400,000 needs to be
encumbered by June or a penalty will be imposed. Chairman
Yost assured those present that the Agency has heard their
concerns, the objection to the deed restriction with which he
agrees, yet there are requirements that must be fulfilled
which will be done as best they can, his preference is that
there not be negotiations, he does not support the City being
in the business of rehabilitation of existing units, also,
when something similar to this comes forth there should be
adequate notice. Agencymember Campbell offered that the City
is trying to work within the mandates on the City. Chairman
Yost mentioned that there are units behind the Rossmoor
Center, the Trailer Park which is the bulk of the low/
moderate income housing, units in Leisure World, the Navy
housing, and stated that the most logical solution to him is
the next agenda item which is providing assistance to persons
who already reside in the community with a certain amount of
funds to help them get to a certain level, there are a number
of people on limited incomes, this would be assistance to
encumber sufficient funds so that the City does not face a
penalty, that does not address the Housing Element issue, yet
the most pressing issue at this point is the $400,000 of
Agency funds that must be expended or be subject to a fifty
percent penalty by June 30th, that is $200,000 of General
Fund revenue, money that the City does not have. The
Executive Director confirmed the direction of the Agency to
discontinue negotiations although there are none, and bring
back no other such projects. The Chairman said specifically
anything having a deed restriction, and that staff report
back as to how to increase the notification process.
Chairman Yost also requested staff to look into the process
for dissolving the Redevelopment Agency, the positive of
doing that is that the Agency no longer has funds of which
twenty percent is required to be spent for low/moderate
income housing, yet on the other side it does not relieve the
responsibility of the Housing Element to provide low to
moderate income housing in some manner, there could be
financial penalties with that as well. Agencymember Boyd
noted again the upcoming Implementation Plan, suggested that
a noticing plan and guidelines for projects the Agency would
like to look at should be incorporated in that Plan so that
there is a consistent policy as to how those issues are
addressed in the future. There was an indication of a
consensus agreement with the direction.
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APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Boyd moved, second by Larson, to approve the minutes of the
March 25th, 2002 Agency meeting,.
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
Boyd, Campbell, Larson, Yost
None
Doane Motion carried
.
It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Agency, to
declare a recess at 8:25 p.m. the Agency reconvened at 8:38
p.m. with Chairman Yost calling the meeting to order.
4-22-02
PUBLIC HEARING 1 RESOLUTION NUMBER 02-2 - AB 1290
IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
Chairman Yost declared the public hearing open to consider
the AB 1290 Implementation Plan for 2000/2005. The City
Clerk certified that notice of the public hearing had been
advertised as required by law, posted, and reported no
communications received. The Director of Development
Services presented the staff report, explained that the AB
1290 Implementation Plan is a State mandate initially adopted
in 1993 which requires the City on a five year time schedule
to adopt a plan indicating how it intends to spend its
Redevelopment Agency funds over the five year term of the
Plan. He noted that the basic purpose of the Plan is to
allow the public to understand what projects the Agency
intends to utilize its Redevelopment funds for, both from the
housing setaside fund and non-housing setaside funds. The
Plan before the Agency does go through the different project
areas within the Riverfront Project Area, the current status
of each. The Director mentioned that during the 2001/2003
fiscal year period the current capital improvement program
for the City shows three projects that would be funded by the
non-housing set aside funds, improvements to the Library
which are primarily rehabilitation and upgrade improvements,
$42,000, there is $350,000 allocated for on-going maintenance
and monitoring activities for NPDES water quality compliance
issues at the City Yard facility, and a capital improvement
project of $2.3 million to upgrade the west end pump station
facility to deal with flooding situations that Old Town
experiences during storm events, those projects extend over
the five year period, all of the anticipated non-housing set
aside funds that would come to the Agency, for the twenty
percent housing set aside funds, which the Agency receives
approximately $200,000 per year, and with the current funds
on hand and the eventual reimbursement to the Agency of the
bridge loan for the Trailer Park acquisition project, the
IMPOP loan funds, there will be approximately $2.8 million
available in the housing set aside fund over that five year
period of time. He directed attention to Table 3 of the
staff report which sets forth the proposal as to how the $2.8
million in housing assistance funds would be allocated to the
different projects, one of the programs was that which has
just been discussed, the housing rehabilitation loan and
renter assistance program, which the Agency has indicated
they do not want to consider, staff would recommend that that
program be eliminated which is an allocation of $925,000 and
that the funds be reallocated to the other programs. He
reviewed each of the programs, the Home Improvement Loanl
Grant Program which assists current owners of homes, a
program offered by the Agency since 1998, $600,000 was
initially proposed, it is now recommended to increase the
amount to $800,000, the next program is improvements to units
within the Trailer Park to replace existing travel trailers,
initially $500,000 was proposed, it is suggested that that be
increased to $1 million, last is a mortgage assistance
program, basically a first time home buyer program to assist
moderate income people purchasing within the City, as
indicated in the staff report, the only areas that could
likely use that program is the various units within the
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Trailer Park and various condominium projects that exist
throughout the community, however given that the price of
homes in the City is so high that program would not be
applicable to single family homes, for this program the
funding is recommended to be increased from $175,000 to
$400,000, this would eliminate any rehabilitation/renter
assistance program.
I
Agencymember Boyd stated his opposition to adding any
additional funds to the Trailer Park project however would
support a new category for new construction which could be
how the affordable housing issue could be solved as there are
land use issues that are yet to be determined where a
developer could purchase a piece of land that would be large
enough for the City to contribute funds for new construction
whereby it would covenant that some of the units be set
aside, during the Bixby project he did propose a five acre
plus site that is currently yet to be built that is to be an
assisted living facility for seniors which could be
considered a multi-family apartment project site that could
have up to one hundred twenty units a certain percentage of
which could be set aside for affordable families, those funds
should be programmed for that, if no one uses them that is
fine, his point is that all of these funds should not be put
into just trying to preserve existing stock, putting more
money into the Trailer Park, or offering mortgage assistance,
as was said it is believed that mortgage assistance will be
limited, it is likely there are few that would even qualify
for a condo, even the units behind Rossmoor Center are close
to $300,000, again suggesting that consideration be given to
a category for construction of new units. Chairman Yost
likened the suggestion to what was the subject of discussion
earlier in the meeting, a deed restriction on new
construction to be low to moderate income housing for forty
or fifty years versus rehabilitation. Agencymember Boyd
questioned the difference between that and the Trailer Park,
there would be units owned by people, there has already been
a charge that there are people in the Park that are in what
is called a key money situation where they have owned a unit
that is affordable and has now been converted to market,
there are units in the Park that are for sale for $250,000.
The issue is how do you preserve long term affordable housing
within guidelines that the community finds acceptable in a
large enough scale, an example is that the County of Orange
issues a notice of funding availability, they will offer to a
developer that is interested in building apartment units up
to $30,000 per unit one time as assistance for construction
costs, loan defeasance, etc., it is a loan to be repaid, that
could be a guideline for the Council to propose how these
monies will be spent, it allows the community to say they do
not want the focus to be in only one area, what would be done
is limiting the amount of money that can be spent on each
unit, you would not see someone coming to the City when
buying an $800,000 fourplex and requesting $400,000 in
assistance, it also eliminates rental assistance and subsidy,
he believes that is the issue heard from the community at
this meeting, no rental assistance and subsidy. He noted too
the Trailer Park is being subsidized for rental assistance in
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the amount of $600,000 for five years for twenty-five units
and have programmed $500,000 to replace ten aging trailers,
that brings forth the question as to why houses are being
bought for people in lieu of creating long term affordable
housing.
The Chairman invited members of the public to speak to this I
issue if so desired. Mr. Jim Caviola, Seal Beach, expressed
his belief that government getting involved with subsidized
housing is unconstitutional. His belief is that the
Redevelopment Agency needs to be disbanded, as was said it is
all debt, if at some point the State determines to penalize
the cities then it will be dealt with at that time, if the
City wants affordable housing then do like Huntington Beach
where a developer is allowed to build a certain number of
houses to be sold at a certain price, referring to the Cal
State Fullerton statistics quoted by the Director he stated
that someone making between $50,000 to $70,000 per year can
afford to buy a house in the $300,000 to $400,000 range, not
deed restricted apartments, Boeing as an example could
accommodate a tract of two to three hundred detached homes of
various sizes that could be sold at market price, that is
affordable housing and would be better than a Costco. Mr.
Chi Kredell, Seal Beach, made reference to the 1119 Ocean
property and asked if these monies can be allocated outside
of the Agency area. The response was that they can citing
the City Yard, Police Station, Zoeter Field, greenbelt. Mr. I
Kredell inquired if the Navy housing, Rossmoor condos, and
Oakwood Apartments would qualify, his feeling is that they do
not, or, would the owners even consider accepting a subsidy
for a certain number of units. The Development Services
Director said what is envisioned under the first time
homebuyer program would allow, as an example, a condominium
in the Rossmoor area to be subject to someone making
application under the City program to help them acquire a
unit if their income level was in need of adjustment in order
to qualify to buy such unit, it could be likened to a silent
second trust deed on the property and should they remain in
the property for a certain period of time it would then be
forgiven over a twenty year period of time. Mr. Kredell
offered that it sounds as if the City has no choice, yet how
can $400,000 be spent when the areas mentioned are not likely
to be included. Ms. Rita Brenner, Trailer Park, stated that
the discussion relates to the plans and monies that the
Agency is thinking of using to redo things in the Park, the
City did not have to get into the situation with this money
because at the same time, without public input, the City
issued bonds that will now need to be paid back with the I
money of the citizens, at the same time there were many news
articles reporting there were thousands of dollars of federal
and Orange County funds allotted to help people of low and
moderate incomes to buy their homes, even those on welfare.
Ms. Brenner noted the proposal to use $500,000 to buy ten new
trailer homes, to that she expressed resentment stating that
many of the Park residents worked hard over they years for
their homes, many have been kept up beautifully, the Agency
should not buy homes, rather, develop a program that will
make them feel good, many of the residents are former school
4-22-02
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teachers, persons from the medical field, etc., what is
really needed in the Park is restructuring, the money could
be used for infrastructure, the streets, sewers, water,
electrical all need to be redone, the City is not looking at
the right issues. Mr. Fred Denny, Beachcomber Drive, stated
he is in commercial real estate, he sees the Redevelopment
issue somewhat from the other side, said that most people in
real estate, brokers, owners, developers, etc. look at this
type of situation somewhat as a way to manipulate money out
of government, a rather unhealthy kind of situation, when you
take money from a government agency it comes with strings
attached. His suggestion would be to find a way to get out
of the loop that the City finds itself in with the State and
federal governments, pay the couple of thousand dollars to
get out of this, is that something that is worth spending the
money on, if it is not possible to get out he would say
worthy recipients of low/moderate income assistance would be
seniors, veterans, etc. rather than a young person that just
wants to live in Seal Beach, this is like a modern day
socialism, a lot of the problems come down to demographics.
Mr. David Rosenman, Seal Beach, said he wished to focus the
comment that the City get out of this or find more creative
ways of how the City meets its low income housing, and
whether the City stays with a Redevelopment Agency. He
stated that if the internal staff is requested to produce a
report relating to this the City is setting itself up for
failure, in no way meant to demean staff capability but there
are people that are brighter and could look at ways that are
more creative, that could generate more options. Ms. Joyce
parque, 6th Street, asked where the twenty lots were lost for
affordable housing in the Trailer Park, prior to the purchase
deal all but five lots were restricted, who got them, someone
has them, someone is not paying their fair share. MS. parque
thanked Agencymember Boyd for suggesting a Charter amendment
for rent control, appreciation for the suggestion for
noticing requirements, and asked that a resolution be placed
on the agenda to cancel the contract of the Development
Services Director so that the people can see who is with them
or against them. Mr. Al Kamin, Palos Verdes Estates, stated
he recently purchased a property on Dolphin, he frequently
attends meetings in Palos Verdes, they have not gotten
themselves entangled in this type of situation, possibly they
could be contacted to see if they have encountered similar
problems and if so what have they done. He mentioned that
there is a high number of rental units in Old Town, possibly
the property owners could be mailed notices of issues as a
courtesy, he is in the community about three times a week but
was not aware of a pending issue of this type. Mr. Kamin
said what he has learned is that this is a special and unique
City and community, an easy place to get to know people
unlike some of the South Bay cities, if anything is done to
deny people the right to struggle to come here to live it
diminishes the character of the community. There being no
further comments, Chairman Yost declared the public hearing
closed.
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with regard to a question relating to the referenced number
of affordable spaces in the Trailer Park, the Development
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Services Director responded that he did not have specifics
relating to those numbers at hand, that was related to the
bond issue, however offered to obtain the numbers for the
members of the Agency. Agencymember Larson recalled the
first time he knew of Seal Beach he was in the Marine Corps
making seventy cents a day. Agencymember Larson recognized I
that some people do not like redevelopment, yet the residents
of the Trailer Park should understand that without the
Redevelopment Agency the Trailer Park would be something
else, it would have been sold, an apartment complex, or
without rent control of some sort the rents would be very
high, it took government to save the Trailer Park, that is an
advantage of redevelopment, there are minuses and plusses,
the issue being dealt with however is mandated by State law,
one can not ignore letters from the Attorney General that
warn the City of noncompliance, this issue is at the point of
voting on doing the things in the limited area as mentioned.
Agencymember Campbell recalled a comment of Supervisor Silva
that the coastal cities like Huntington Beach, Newport Beach,
and Seal Beach have a terrible time meeting their affordable
housing mandates because the land costs are so high, how does
one provide subsidies for a property that is valued at
$800,000, it is of interest too the reference to $300,000 to
$400,000 homes as being affordable yet there are houses that
are $100,000 that are barely affordable to many, the numbers
in this community are staggering yet it is the market, supply
and demand. How can the State mandates be met especially I
when there is really no land on which to put low to moderate
income housing on, that is why the City went towards the
rehabilitation programs, it is unbelievable too that when the
Housing Element was submitted there were a couple of people
in Sacramento that had the power to declare that it was not
in compliance, they have the power to fine the City and that
money would come from the General Fund. Agencymember
Campbell said it is obvious that people resent intrusions
into their neighborhood, however if there is absolutely no
housing land available there is a possibility that the State
could come in, buy a house and tell the city that they are
taking it down and replace it with a fourplex, the local
agency would have no choice, property rights is what this
nation was founded on yet when the State starts meddling it
does feel like socialism, people have lived the American
dream in that they have worked hard for what they have, they
were not given anything and resent it when someone else is
just handed something especially when it is perceived that
something is going to negatively impact their neighborhood,
there are however many low and moderate income people in this
community, there are only a few that ruin things for everyone I
else. Agencymember Campbell said she has lived in Seal Beach
for thirty-two years, it is her home, Old Town is her home as
much as is College Park East, this is her City, everyone
hates change and when the State comes in and tells the
community they have to do something she personally gets
incensed at someone in Sacramento impacting the General Fund,
the Housing Element, etc., and it is the Council that has to
explain it, deal with it, and carry it out. Agencymember
Boyd acknowledged the fact that the Agency has to implement a
Plan, staff has made solid recommendations, the Council has
4-22-02
I
heard that the acquisition/rehab/deed restriction/ rental
assistance program should be avoided, he would concur, he
would also agree with the suggested guidelines for
rehabilitation, there is $2.8 million that needs to be spent
in five years, that has to be encumbered, even if the
determination is to disband the Redevelopment Agency those
monies have to be spent before that time occurs, he would
concur with the recommendation to adopt the existing program
as presented with the modifications as to the distribution of
the additional monies in the amount of about $1 million rehab
projects, however put a larger percentage into the mortgage
assistance loans for first time home buyers, his feeling was
that the Agency did not want to pursue assisting developers
with new construction. He reviewed the modified numbers,
home improvement loan grants increased to $800,000, eliminate
the $925,000 for acquisition/rehab, for the Trailer Park the
$600,000 would be kept for the subsidy with $500,000 for
replacement/ rehab, and increase the mortgage assistance to
the remaining balance, that is the $2.8 million, the mortgage
assistance will bring forth people the community can embrace,
people who have worked hard for home ownership yet have a
moderate means of income, they will stay within the community
for some time given their pride of ownership. He expressed
his belief that that is what the community wants, they do not
want deed restrictions for multiple family properties rather
people who want to become part of the community, and if they
are of low to moderate income means it would be well to
assist them, noted too that there are several people who have
qualified for the home improvement grant program which was
implemented about four years ago. The Development Services
Director confirmed that there had been thirty to thirty-five
applicants however only six followed through with the
program. To that Agencymember Boyd suggested that in the
future the fact that there is a low and moderate income
program for home improvements should be publicized.
Agencymember Campbell said most of the previous applicants
were adult children of residents of Rossmoor and College Park
East who grew up in this area, can not afford to live here,
yet looked at that as a means of getting back into the area.
At the request of Member Campbell, Agencymember Boyd again
reviewed the modified numbers of the Plan, of the deleted
$925,000 acquisition/rehab monies apply $200,000 to the home
improvement loans for a total of $800,000, take the balance
of $725,000 and apply it to the mortgage assistance programs
or increase the home improvement programs to $1 million and
then apply the remaining $525,000 to mortgage assistance, the
Trailer Park remains at $1.1 million. Agencymember Boyd
asked if that will meet the objectives, the Director said it
meets the program guidelines, adding that should there not be
a good response to certain programs staff may request some
reallocation in the future. Agencymember Boyd pointed out
that this meets the objectives of the community to eliminate
deed restrictions and rental subsidies, putting the focus
back on ownership and rehab of existing properties.
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Agencymember Boyd moved to adopt the 2000-2005 AB 1290
Implementation Plan through the adoption of Resolution Number
02-2 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY OF
4-22-02 / 5-28-02
THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH ADOPTING AN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR
THE RIVERFRONT REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT AND THE SURFSIDE
REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT." Agencymember Campbell seconded the
motion. By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution
Number 02-2 was waived.
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
Boyd, Campbell, Larson, Yost
None
Doane Motion carried
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Chairman Yost mentioned that in 2002 the conflict of interest
laws changed and have gone to a raw distance, he has been
informed by the City Attorney that he is free to vote on this
matter in that it is a citywide project however when
specifics come back with regards to the Trailer Park he will
not be able to participate in a public way.
AGENCY COMMENTS
Agencymember Larson said he can share the concern of
Agencymember Campbell with regard to the State telling the
City what to do, he goes back to them taking away the
proposed golf course and giving back a swamp on the Hellman
property.
ADJOURNMENT
It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council,
to adjourn the meeting at 9:25 p.m.
Chairma~
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Seal Beach, California
May 28, 2002
The Redevelopment Agency of the City of Seal Beach met in
regular session at 6:45 p.m. with Chairman Yost calling the
meeting to order with the Salute to the Flag.
ROLL CALL
Present:
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Chairman Yost
Agencymembers Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson
Absent: None
Also present: Mr. Bahorski, Executive Director
Mr. Pieper, Assistant City Attorney