The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

City makes housing policy official

By Natasha Collins

City Hall considers Sunnyvale's affordable housing policy so successful that the council voted unanimously Sept. 23 to make it an ordinance.

"It worked well as a policy and should work better to provide a diverse range of housing needs once the ordinance is implemented," Councilman Manuel Valerio said.

Until the vote, the requirement that high-intensity industrial developers contribute to an affordable housing fund was only a policy, not an ordinance. With the housing mitigation ordinance in place, developers must meet specific requirements if they want to build high-intensity projects, Vice Mayor Jim Roberts said.

The ordinance requires that $7.14 per square foot be paid to the city when a building rests on more than 35 percent of the lot. Only the portion of the building over the 35 percent is used to calculate the fee, which does not apply to additions to existing buildings.

"It gives people a choice. If they build over the 35 percent, then they pay a fee," Roberts said. "It is more like a tax on high-intensity development than a mandate."

Only a handful of companies have had to contribute to the fund in 13 years, but more than $1.2 million has been collected, said Dyane Matas, a city housing officer.

So far more than 200 affordable housing units, including the Carol Street Inn, have been built using the funds.

"It is important to have affordable housing for the labor force in Sunnyvale," Matas said. "It makes it easier for businesses to attract employees."

More importantly, the ordinance will help provide housing for those who would otherwise not be able to afford a place to live in Sunnyvale, Councilwoman Robin Parker said.

"The city has a diverse population whose housing needs must be met," Parker said. "As fewer and fewer people are able to afford single-family homes, the ability for us to provide affordable housing becomes more important."

The ordinance will not impede industrial development or high-intensity development, Mayor Stan Kawczynski said.

Councilman Jack Walker would rather not see high-intensity developments in Sunnyvale, but supported the ordinance so residents would get something in return for putting up with the increased traffic and other problems such developments produce.

The council also asked the staff if it could draw up a traffic mitigation ordinance that would require high-intensity or other developments that would increase traffic to pay a mitigation fee.

Council meetings are held every Tuesday at 8 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers.

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, October 1, 1997.
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