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City might lose state funds because of housing problem
By Oakley Brooks
Saratoga's lack of affordable housing might cost the city money from its transportation budget, and force the city to withdraw from involvement in affordable housing ventures in nearby communities.
The state Senate is considering a bill that would reduce gas tax money to cities that don't comply with regional housing allotments. The Association of Bay Area Governments has assigned Saratoga to provide 539 units over the next six years, which the city must include in its new housing plan--due at the end of this year.
The city council also indicated that contributions it recently approved for a Cupertino housing project might cease next year, because Saratoga must focus within its own boundaries to meet its regional housing numbers.
"The ABAG process is a disaster," said Councilman Evan Baker. "The Dunn Bill just adds punitive penalties to that process."
Named after its sponsor, Orange County state Senator Joe Dunn, the bill would give a city six months to make final revisions to its housing plan, if the state housing and community development department decides the plan does not properly account for regional housing allotments.
After that period, the state controller would begin reducing state gas tax funds to the noncompliant city. A city stands to lose up to 60 percent of its gas tax money if it continues to fall short of the housing and community development recommendations.
Saratoga Administrative Services Director Mary Jo Walker says gas tax money made up 40 percent ($590,840) of the city's road maintenance budget last year.
The Dunn Bill would also require judges to award damages up to $1,000 per allotted housing unit in civil cases brought against cities that fail to meet regional housing numbers. That money would eventually return to the housing and community development department.
"The bill has consequences for local governments that wish to maintain themselves as enclaves and not maintain their share of regional housing," says Mark Stiver, who staffs the state Senate housing and community development committee for Senator Dunn.
Stiver says the Dunn Bill is currently in the Senate transportation committee for review, and he expects the legislation to go to the Senate floor near the end of May.
The bill has strong support from environmental and affordable housing nonprofit groups.
But it's also being protested by a coalition of cities led by the League of California Cities, a lobbying group. Saratoga recently joined that protest when Mayor John Mehaffey filed a letter against Dunn's legislation.
City officials are also frustrated that Saratoga's regional housing allotment might not allow it to contribute to housing projects, such as the 24-unit Heart of Cupertino venture sponsored by Cupertino Community Services. The nonprofit organization provides housing and living assistance in Cupertino.
On April 4, the council agreed to give $39,000 toward the $7 million project.
Councilman Baker says that with land at roughly $1.5 million-an-acre in Saratoga, the city's best method of increasing housing in the area is to contribute to developments like Heart of Cupertino. But state housing law doesn't allow Saratoga to count contributions towards units in surrounding towns as part of its own regional housing allotment.
And because Saratoga has a long steep climb ahead to account for 539 units, Baker warned Cupertino Community Services Executive Director Jaclyn Fabre on April 4, that next year Saratoga might not be able to give her group money.
"The squeeze is on," Baker said. "If there was a way to fund affordable housing here in Saratoga, our contribution now would be zero."
Of the 539 housing units assigned to Saratoga by ABAG last month, roughly half must be at or below Santa Clara County's affordability threshold of $313,000.
Saratoga city officials appealed the housing allocation in January, saying the job and population growth projections used in the allocation process were inflated. But the appeal was denied by the Bay Area council.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
