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Home Resource Center In the News Home Greenbelt Alliance in the News |
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Greenbelt Alliance In the News
December 5, 2006 VALLEJO COUNCIL TO DISCUSS INCLUSIONARY HOUSING ORDINANCE Bay City News WireVallejo's City Council Tuesday evening will begin discussion on a proposed ordinance requiring developers to provide a specified percentage of affordable housing in new residential developments and condominium conversions. There are more than 125 jurisdictions with such inclusionary housing ordinances in the state, according to a report by Vallejo officials. The range of percentage of units required by such ordinances to be affordable is typically between 10 and 20 percent, but may be as much as 35 percent, the report states. Over half of all programs in the state require at least 15 percent of the total number of units to be affordable and one-fourth of all programs require 20 percent or more, according to the report. A coalition of groups for affordable housing said home prices in Vallejo more than doubled between 2000 and 2006 and that a family of four needs to earn $100,000 a year to afford a median-priced home of $425,000. The majority of Vallejo families, 70 percent, earn $88,000 or less a year, the coalition said. New $700,000 homes are beyond the reach of many Vallejo residents who work as teachers, nurses and government employees, the coalition said, and 41 percent of Vallejo renters spend more than one-third of their income for housing. "The unbalanced housing market is forcing families to move out of Vallejo to find homes they can afford. This increases pressure to build on working farms and natural areas and increases traffic clogging the freeways,'' said Kate O'Hara of the Greenbelt Alliance. The inclusionary housing advocates say 59 of the Bay Area's 101 cities in nine counties have adopted inclusionary housing policies. Vallejo officials say the city has met a greater percentage of its goal to provide housing to very low income groups since 1999 in compliance with a lawsuit agreement which required the production of 425 very low income units by 2007. Officials said the city has not achieved its goal to provide affordable housing to low-income groups but has provided more than 300 units in the above moderate housing category. Almost 70 percent of Vallejo households earn below $75,000, falling into the moderate- income category, city officials said in their report. The council is not expected to take any action on the proposed ordinance Tuesday but will hold public hearings before the Vallejo Planning Commission and City Council early next year. ### |
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