Concord seeks new bids to develop homes on city lot

CONCORD >> Almost a year after the City Council rejected a proposal to build a 310unit apartment building on a long-vacant city parcel because the developer failed to include enough affordable housing or union labor, the city is seeking housing plans from developers willing to provide both.

The proposed development site is located at 1765 Galindo St. near downtown, bordered by Galindo Street, Clayton Road and Concord Boulevard.

At least 15% of the units must be affordable to people at or below 80 to 120% of the area median income, although council members said during their Tuesday meeting they’d give higher priority to proposals that exceed that minimum requirement.

“The priority would be for those who provided the most affordable (housing) and at lowest rate (of affordability),” Councilmember Edi Birsan said during the meeting. “That’s important.”

The council said whoever is selected must sign a project labor agreement with the Contra Costa County Building Trades Council to ensure a certain percentage of the work goes to union workers.

The city hopes to issue a request for proposals in late spring and send applications to the council’s Housing and Economic Development Committee 60 days later. The council is expected to choose a developer by fall or winter. If all goes well, a developer would buy the property by December 2022.

But housing advocates say they’re not convinced the city is following state housing laws regarding the leasing or selling of public land and criticized council and staff members at a recent meeting for not prioritizing affordable housing developers in the bidding.

Under the amended state Surplus Lands Act, the city must give affordable housing developers first crack at the property and not issue a request for proposals to all developers at the same time, they argue.

“The (Surplus Lands Act) is clear in its requirement that affordable housing developers be notified first,” said Ursula Lindsey, a staff attorney with Policy Link. “Good-faith negotiations cannot take place with affordable housing developers if their proposals … are considered side by side with other developers.”

The City Attorney’s Office disagrees, however, and noted at Tuesday’s meeting that other state statutes govern the process of selling government property.

Though Birsan and Vice Mayor Dominic Aliano said they’re fine with considering affordable housing developers first, Mayor Tim Mcgallian said he trusts the city’s attorneys and doesn’t believe developers who aren’t strictly affordable housing nonprofits should be excluded.

“I don’t think every nonprofit affordable housing developer plays by the same rules, does the same thing,” he said. “I don’t even feel all of them are pro-labor. I feel there’s a disconnect there.”

He added that giving additional weight to proposals that include more affordable housing would be the better move.

Last April, the council scrapped Avalonbay Communities’ plan to buy the roughly 3 acres from the city for $4 million to build a 310-unit apartment building along with 6,500 square feet of commercial or retail space on the ground floor. The project was attacked by local union representatives who said it didn’t offer enough union work.

Housing advocates urged the city to prioritize affordable housing.

“You can’t quantify or measure the returns to your city when you make Concord a city for those of all income levels,” said Ronald Flannery, a campaign organizer with East Bay Housing Organizations. “Concord has a real demonstrable need for housing for low-income people.”