OCEANSIDE INCREASES AFFORDABLE HOUSING CONDITIONS
Projects in some areas will need to reserve 20% of units for low incomes
Affordable housing requirements will double, from 10 percent to 20 percent, in some areas of Oceanside under changes approved by the Oceanside City Council.
The increase is limited to new projects built in “smart and sustainable corridors,” which are mainly the more developed neighborhoods along east-west thoroughfares such as Vista Way, Oceanside Boulevard and Mission Avenue.
Also, in the future the city’s requirement for developers to include affordable housing will only include projects with 10 or more units, instead of four or more, under revisions the City Council approved Wednesday to what’s called the inclusionary housing ordinance.
“The challenge is to put density where it belongs,” Councilmember Ryan Keim said during the discussion. “It’s a thoughtful move in trying to get affordable housing in the right places.”
Only smart-growth corridors east of the city’s coastal zone, which extends roughly from the ocean to Coast Highway, will be affected by the increase in affordable units. Neighborhoods zoned for single-family homes are excluded.
The coastal zone was excluded because of the time needed to obtain approval from the California Coastal Commission, City Manager Jonathan Borrego said. A separate proposal is being prepared to increase the requirement in corridors there and could be presented to the City Council sometime next year.
Earlier this year, the City Council discussed a proposal to apply the minimum of 20 percent citywide. The council compromised, and asked staffers to prepare a resolution requiring 15 percent.
Further debate ensued when staffers presented the numbers Wednesday, and the council voted 5-0 for the final compromise. The revisions include allowing accessory dwelling units to satisfy the affordable housing requirements for new single-family home developments.
Mayor Esther Sanchez and Councilmember Eric Joyce have pushed for higher affordable housing requirements throughout the discussions. Oceanside, like cities across San Diego County, is behind its state-mandated goals for building affordable housing.
“We are so far behind,” Sanchez said. “We are talking about workforce housing. They can’t afford to live in our county.”
“This is such an urgent need,”
Joyce said. “It breaks up communities when people can't afford to live where they are from.”
Other council members have expressed concerns that the increasing costs of affordable housing requirements could prevent developers from building any housing at all.
Another frequently heard concern is that affordable housing is mandated by the state, and cities have little control over it.
Housing costs in Southern California have increased so much in recent years that beginning school teachers, police officers and people who work hotels, restaurants and other service industry jobs can't afford to buy their first home. In Oceanside, a family of four making less than $68,000 a year is considered
“very low income” for housing purposes.
The city's housing ordinance also requires that affordable housing within a development be of a size and quality equal to market-rate housing, that it be distributed equally throughout the project, and that occupants have access to the same amenities as those in market-rate units.
Some of the Oceanside residents who spoke opposed any mandated affordable home requirements.
“The premise that government should provide housing is essentially flawed,” said Richard Newton, who frequently expresses his views during public comment sessions. “It creates burdens on those who share the costs and causes economic issues.”
People who can't afford to live in Oceanside should go somewhere else, “the same way I can't live in La
Jolla,” Newton said.
Government-supported affordable housing should not be the same quality as market-rate homes, he said, “Affordable housing must, out of necessity, be of lower quality than more expensive housing.”
Other speakers said the city has a duty to help its most vulnerable residents.
“This is an important step in the right direction, although it is far from enough to close the gap in affordable housing,” said resident Diane Nygaard, who often speaks on environmental issues as a representative of the local nonprofit Preserve Calavera.
The changes will take effect 30 days after a second reading of the amended ordinance. However, projects already in the time-consuming approvals process will not be affected.