Friday, October 13, 2006 12:29 AM PDT

Michael Johnson

Board approves extension for affordable housing stakeholders

By: Gus Thomson, Journal Staff Writer

More meetings are in store for a stakeholder group formed 16 months ago to craft an inclusionary housing element that could require affordable housing units in new developments in Placer County.

The Board of Supervisors approved a request for a four-month extension for the stakeholder group to attempt to hammer out a draft policy or ordinance that would attempt to satisfy both affordable housing advocates and development interests.

The extension follows the resignation of attorney Susan Vergne in late August from the task force. Vergne represented the California Association of Business Property and Resource Owners through the law office of Brigit Barnes.

Barnes subsequently issued a statement saying that a solid package of clear incentives needs to be included in any new ordinance encouraging affordable housing. That would mean zoning code modifications so builders can establish how much of their profit would be reduced because of the affordable housing component, she said.

The Board of Supervisors has been seriously mulling the mandatory inclusion of affordable housing units in larger developments since it adopted a revised housing element in the county general plan three years ago.

Planning Director Michael Johnson said a draft inclusionary housing element has been before both the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors several times since then.

But because of the number of issues raised, supervisors elected to bring interested parties together to identify a program that could ultimately be considered by the board, he said.

Johnson said outstanding issues still being tackled by the stakeholder group include whether the county should pursue an actual target number of affordable units and whether it should track numbers on a yearly or monthly basis. Also still on the table is whether a targeted goal should be codified in a policy or ordinance, he said.

Supervisors voted unanimously to support extending the task force's discussion time.

"We've been talking about this issue so long it almost lulls you to sleep," Board Chairman Bill Santucci joked.

Santucci said he still wants to know how the county can deal with someone buying an affordable unit and selling it a year later for a profit. Supervisor Bruce Kranz said that his concern is that people who buy an affordable home can earn some profit so they can move up in the market.

Kranz added that affordable housing costs to builders will be borne by homebuyers.

"The market rate homes will subsidize the subsidized housing, which will make the cost of housing more expensive for people who are just in the market," he said.

Vergne spoke at Tuesday's meeting, telling supervisors that the success stories with inclusionary housing policies involve governments that provide incentives and subsidies, including density bonuses.

Attorney Herb Whitaker, of Legal Services of Northern California, said that while the work of the task force is incomplete the group continues to be willing to work on additional issues.

The Journal's Gus Thomson can be reached at gust@goldcountrymedia.com.