HomeMy WebLinkAboutITEM #4 SUPPLEMENTAL - OPPOSITION LETTER - BIA ITEM #4
Opposition Letter from Building Industry Association BIA
of Southern Caiifornia, Inc.
Dated March 27, 2018
BuildingIndustry Association of Southern California, Inc.
Y
ORANGE COUNTY CHANTER SIR
March 27, 2018
Chairman Rvdcr Snilth PRESIDENT
MIKE GARTLAN
Tustin Planning ('onimission KB HOME
1000 Centennial Way
Tustin, CA Q2780 VICE PRESIDENT
RICK WOOD
TRI POINTE HOMES
Re: Item#4- Ordinance No, 1491, Inclusionary Housing
TREASURERISECRETARY
SUNTI KUMJIM
Dear Commissioners: MBK HOMES
On behalf of our membership, I write to express our strong and continued IMMEDIAPTE P ST PRESIDENT
EM
opposition to Inclusionary Zoning. MERITAGE HOMES
The Building Industry Association of Southern California, Orange County TRADE CONTRACTOR V.P.
ALAN BOUDREAU
Chapter(BIA/OC) is a non-profit trade association of over 1,100 member BOUDREAU PIPELINE
companies employing over 100,000 people in the home building industry. CORPORATION
ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT
We previously stated our apposition to Inclusionary Zoning but it bears MARK HIMMELSTEIN
repeating in light of the staff report included for this item. To be entirely clear, NEWMEYER&DILLION.LLP
BIA/OC stands in OPPOSITION to Inclusionary Zonin ; policies as they will MEMBER-AT-LARGE
chill development and increase housing costs. PETER VANEK
FOREMOST COMPANIES
We Will again note that in a study by Benjamin Powell, Ph.D. and Edward MEMBER-AT-LARGE
Stringham, Ph.D., titled, Housing Supply ami .1d1ordability: Do 411bi--able SEAN MATSLER
.
Housing ,�blundales Work?, the authors discovered' that in the 45 cities «.here MANATT,PHELPS&PHILLIPS,LLP
data was available, new housing production drastically decreased by an avera�-e EXECUTIVE OFFICER
of 31% within one year of adopting inclusionary liousiiipolicies. Additionally, STEVE LA MOTTE
the study suggests that inclusionary housing polices can increase new housing
costs by $22,000 to $44,000, with higher priced markets increasing by
$100,000.1
Supporting these conclusions is a recent report from the Legislative Analyst's
Office titled Perspectives on Helping Low-Income Ccililurnians AJ rd Housing.
In this report, it states that"attempting to address the state's al'I'ordabiliV
challenges primarily through expansion of go,,ci-nment programs likely would be
impractical." It continues to find that"many haLlsinu programs—vouchers, rent 24 Executive Park, Suite 100
control, and inclusionary housing—attempt to make 110USHI = more affordable Irvine, California 92614
without increasinp,the overall supply of housing. This approach does very littl 949,553,9500 ,
to address the underlying cause of California's hih housin« costs: a housing
shortage.'.
Despite the six-week interlude since this policy was first brought to the
Commission, the revised language once again has been brought forth with no
h)kvcll,Benjamin.Ph D :inks SIT-ineham.F(IAard,Ph.D. linusing Supply and Affordability:Do Affordable Housing
hlandaics 4%Olk' R,�a1011 Public Pnlic% Institute. April 2004,
study sessions, no community group involvement, and with no actual input from industry.
Worst of all, the Ordinance calls for an in-lieu option but then fails to specify any details or the
rate. Language included simply directs a"separate resolution"to address the matter which is
tantamount to asking for a"blank check" for future government spending. This alone is serious
grounds for rejecting the Ordinance until all information and requirements on those it will impact
can be brought to light.
Finally, despite the time taken to amend the language, no consideration has been given to the
development community currently undertaking projects within the City. Bringing homes online
can take years of work with very complex financing structures. The Ordinance, as drafted,
provides no grandfathering for those currently underway on projects and as such,homes could
wither on the vine at extreme cost to your community. This represents a serious threat to the
production of housing in Tustin.
For these continued reasons, we strongly encourage you to oppose this poles as it will
challenge/halt the production of housing in your city. We again offer our time and resources in
convening a working group and encourage an informed review of the six recommendations found
in the Housing Future Initiatives. Working together, we can address the affordability crisis.
Thank you for your thoughtful consideration
Respectfully,
Steven C. LaMotte
Chapter Executive Officer