By Clarence Cromwell
The state's repeated requests for more low-income housing in Los Gatos appear to be falling on deaf ears, but town officials insist they'd happily comply--if only they could figure out where to put the houses.
The California Department of Housing and Community Development is reviewing the town's latest attempt at writing the housing element of its general plan, a document required by the state to show that the town will have enough housing for the growth state planners expect to see here.
Town planners, not wanting to see the document rejected by the state a fourth time, paid planning consultant Melanie Shaffer Freitas $20,940 to write it. At a work session attended by members of the General Plan Committee, Planning Commission and Town Council, Shaffer Freitas explained the document; she isn't proposing that the town rework any of its programs because she believes her draft of the document will convince the state to accept the housing element.
If the state won't accept the housing element, the Los Gatos General Plan will remain incomplete. There's no penalty, but without a general plan the town can be stripped of its ability to issue building permits, if anyone sues to force completion of the general plan, said Planning Director Lee Bowman.Shaffer Freitas said the Los Gatos housing element has a good chance of being accepted because the town has excellent programs that help people buy or rent housing for less than the market rate--they just needed to be explained to the state.
"I think they're going to be happy with the programs," she said. "Los Gatos has done a good job with its programs. We have this spectrum in Los Gatos of lower-income people as well as upper-income people."
Los Gatos requires developers to sell a percentage of new homes they build at less than the going rate (if they build three or more houses), or pay a fee in lieu of donating the houses. Rental complexes must likewise provide below-market units. The town has a fund to subsidize construction of further affordable units. It has also encouraged nonprofit developers to set up a few affordable housing complexes in Los Gatos.
Shaffer Freitas conceded that the programs probably won't meet goals the state set for Los Gatos: 45 very low-income units, for people earning less than $33,700 a year; 44 lower-income units, for people earning between $33,700 and $42,100; and 55 moderate-income units, for people earning between $42,100 and $80,900. She projected that the town's affordable-housing fund would put into place 15 of the 89 units needed for lower- and very low-income people; she projected that the town would be able to subsidize none of the moderate income units needed. A problem the town expects to grow is rental housing for seniors with fixed incomes.
The reason Los Gatos can't meet state expectations, building officials have explained, is that the state expects Los Gatos to set aside land and zone it adequately for low-rent apartments. That would require as many as 30 units per acre and would mean three- or four-story apartment towers. Two-story apartment buildings won't be big enough to provide all the units and will cost more per-unit to build and for renters to rent. There isn't enough land with zoning that will allow apartments to meet the state's housing demands.
Town Manager Dave Knapp said it's a better idea to make developers include low-priced units when they build. It spreads affordable units around town and doesn't ruin the view. Town Council members have said they won't even broach the question of apartments taller than two stories and no one in Los Gatos is asking them to.
The town right now has a total of 236 affordable units: 179 very low-income, 49 lower-income and eight moderate-income units.
People in low- and very low-income categories couldn't come close to buying a traditional, one-family house in Los Gatos.
To buy a median-priced house here during 1995, a newcomer needed to earn $132,000 a year and probably paid $450,000, according Shaffer Freitas' report. (The report assumes that the buyer will get a 30-year mortgage, at 8 percent, with a 20 percent down payment.) To buy a median-priced condo, in 1995, a new Los Gatans had to earn at least $67,239 a year and would have paid $229,000 for the condo.
Data in the housing element showed that minorities aren't moving to Los Gatos. Nor has the town been expanding its base of housing as fast as growth requires.
The population was 90 percent white in 1990; the county population is 58 percent white including Los Gatos. And while the county's population is 20 percent Latino, 17 percent Asian and 3.5 percent African-American, the Los Gatos population is 4.7 percent Latino, 5 percent Asian and 0.4 percent African-American.
Los Gatos did not keep up to the countywide growth during the 1980s and lagged far behind other cities in expanding its housing stock.
Between 1980 and 1990, Santa Clara County grew by 16 percent but Los Gatos grew by only 2 percent. Monte Sereno and Saratoga both shrank by 4 percent. Other cities took up the slack: San Jose grew 25 percent and Campbell grew 33 percent. Morgan Hill swelled 40 percent just during that decade.
Between then and now--from 1990 to 1996--Los Gatos has added 413 new houses. The town had 12,235 units, as of Jan. 1, 1996. The rate of housing growth has been slower than it was during the 1980s.
The town has seen about 69 new houses a year during the past six years, compared to 96 a year during the 1980s. The town is running out of land and it's harder for developers to borrow money, after the federal government tightened up banking regulations.
Those who can afford to buy or rent in Los Gatos will find it extremely difficult to locate a particular place to put their money on. The vacancy rate for multi-family apartment complexes is currently hovering around 0.5 percent, according to Shaffer Freitas' report. Less than 5 percent vacancy indicates a tight apartment market.
About 36 percent of Los Gatos residents rented in 1990, according to information Shaffer Freitas gleaned from the U.S. Census.
About 40 percent of California cities have incomplete general plans because of their housing element, Bowman, the planning director, has said. Numerous cities around the state are currently complaining of the numbers of units the state expects them to make room for.
Some cities, including Los Gatos, have proposed merging their needs with other municipalities, so the required units could be built nearby, if not in Los Gatos.
The Town Council will hold a study session on the housing element Dec. 9 at the Town Council Chambers, 110 E. Main St. Planners expect that the council will be ready to adopt the housing element next spring, after a series of public hearings.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, November 20, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved