Housing and Human Services Commission

City of Sunnyvale Action Summary Housing and Human Services Commission Wednesday, June 23, 2021 7:00 PM Telepresence Meeting: City Web Stream TELECONFERENCE PRESENCE: CALL TO ORDER Pursuant to Section 3 of Executive Order N-29-20 (March 17, 2020) and Section 42 of Executive Order N-08-21 (June 11, 2021), issued by Governor Newsom, the meeting was conducted telephonically. Chair Hiremath called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. ROLL CALL Council Liaison Gustav Larsson (present) PRESENTATION PRESENTATION - Recognition of Service Councilmember Larsson thanked the all the commissioners for their service. He noted that Commissioners Gilbert and Kwok were terming out and Chair Hiremath had been reappointed. He also welcomed new Commissioner Duncan and remarked that two new commissioners had also been appointed to start in July. He recognized and appreciated the efforts and recommendations that are passed on to Council by the Housing and Human Services Commission. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Jason Feinsmith, Sunnyvale resident, noted that the Mobilehome Park Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) report had inaccurately included an option 2 on the Mobilehome residents' proposal. CONSENT CALENDAR 1.A Approve the Housing and Human Services Commission Meeting Minutes of May 26, 2021 Chair Hiremath asked if there were any members of the public that wished to City of Sunnyvale Page 1 Housing and Human Services Action Summary June 23, 2021 Commission discuss the consent calendar, or for a motion. There were no members of the public wishing to speak and there was no discussion. MOTION: Commissioner Gilbert moved and Commissioner Kwok seconded the motion to Approve the Housing and Human Services Commission Minutes of May 26, 2021 as submitted. The motion carried by the following vote: PUBLIC HEARINGS/GENERAL BUSINESS 2 Presentation on the Lawrence Station Area Plan (LSAP) Update and Draft Subsequent Environmental Impact Report (SEIR) Senior Planner George Schroeder provided a slide presentation and answered questions of Commissioners. He indicated that staff was looking for comments from commissioners and public, and no formal recommendation. Commissioners approved of and encouraged all the density bonus incentives described during the presentation to meet the City's housing needs. 3 Housing Strategy Implementation: Update on Mobile Home Park Memorandum of Understanding Chair Hiremath introduced the item and gave a brief overview of how this item would be presented. Commissioner White noted that she needed to recuse herself from this item because she has a financial interest. Housing Officer Jenny Carloni provided the staff report and slide presentation. She noted that during oral communications a member of the public noted an error on the report and that she would point out the correction during the presentation. Ken Kravenas gave a short presentation on behalf of the mobile home park owners. Bruce Stanton gave remarks on behalf of the mobile home park residents. After some questions of staff from the commissioners, Chair Hiremath opened the public hearing at 8:29 p.m. Tim Kerr, mobile home park resident, spoke regarding not being able to reach an agreement on annual rent increase and new buyer space rent. He noted how City of Sunnyvale Page 2 Housing and Human Services Action Summary June 23, 2021 Commission important these items were to folks on fixed income. Encouraged the mobile home park owners to consider a 24-month cap on rent increases to new buyers. Gail Rubino, mobile home park resident, spoke in support of having the greater of 3% or 75% of CPI with no maximum for annual space rent increases. Dave Campagna, mobile home park resident, expressed concern regarding lack of transparency in the process, vacancy rates and pass-through cost to the residents, such as property taxes and capital improvements. He asked for help and protection for the residents from the City since the MOU is between the City and the Mobile Home Park Owners. Doug Johnson, Western Manufactured Housing Communities Association, spoke in support of the process and urged the Commission to support the MOU. Rick, spoke in opposition of the MOU. Lacy J Lodes, expressed appreciation for the hard work to arrive at the current terms, but expressed concern about using averages instead of medians, specially when some mobile home parks have very high space rents and skew the average. Debbie Wolter, Plaza del Rey resident, noted that the MOU is a temporary solution to protect residents but encouraged a Rent Stabilization Ordinance to protect residents in the long term and for the future of mobile home park communities. She noted that not all residents have signed long-term leases. Danielle Hoversten, Plaza del Rey resident, spoke in support of the MOU, but doesn't see it as a win for mobile home park residents. The MOU is not enough to protect the resident in the long term. Mari Adler, retired high school teacher and Adobe Wells resident, spoke to the difficulty of selling her mobile home due to the high space rents. She also noted that the increases are not sustainable for fixed income folks. Chair Hiremath closed the public hearing at 8:51 p.m. Bruce Stanton gave closing remarks on behalf of the mobile home park residents. Ken Kravenas, COO for Hometown America, owners of Plaza del Rey, provided City of Sunnyvale Page 3 Housing and Human Services Action Summary June 23, 2021 Commission closing remarks on behalf of the mobile home park owners. Chair Hiremath noted that there would be not action taken on this item by the Commission, but that staff was looking for feedback on the current agreed terms and input or recommendations to finalize the draft MOU and take it to Council on July 13. The Commissioners recognized the progress made by the owners and residents to arrive at agreements on 15 of 17 items and encouraged them to continue the discussion to get the MOU to Council for approval and implementation. The following items were noted during the Commission discussion: The residents and park owners are encouraged to move forward with the MOU. The Commissioners encourage the Mobile Home Park owners to continue to act in good faith and consider accepting the residents proposal of 3% or 75% of CPI, in the spirit of preserving affordable housing in Sunnyvale and taking into account that 36% of mobile home park residents are age 55 and older and potentially on a fixed income. The commissioners expressed strong support for limiting rent increases on new mobile home owners to once in 24 months. Minimizing the frequency of larger rent increases for turn over has a direct impact on the ability to re-sell the mobile home. A recommendation was also made to reconsider the rent cap for Plaza del Rey since $2,250 is based on today, and a cumulative cap may be a better approach. STANDING ITEM: CONSIDERATION OF POTENTIAL STUDY ISSUES Proposed Study Issue for 2022: Housing Affordability Speakers Series Housing Officer Jenny Carloni noted that Commissioner Sell submitted a proposal for a study issue. Commissioner Sell briefly spoke on behalf of her proposal. Chair Hiremath opened the public hearing at 9:44 p.m. No speakers Chair Hiremath closed the public hearing at 9:44 p.m. City of Sunnyvale Page 4 Housing and Human Services Action Summary June 23, 2021 Commission After answering questions, and some discussion the commissioners agreed to put the item back on the next meeting agenda for further discussion. Commissioner Sell noted that she wanted to incorporate some of the suggestions from the discussion. NON-AGENDA ITEMS & COMMENTS -Commissioner Comments Chair Hiremath noted that he had been reappointed and would be coming back in July, and that Commissioners Gilbert and Kwok will be missed since they were the more seasoned members. -Staff Comments Housing Officer Carloni also expressed gratitude for Commissioners Kwok and Gilbert contributions during their service and welcomed Commissioner Duncan. ADJOURNMENT Chair Hiremath adjourned the meeting 9:53 p.m. City of Sunnyvale Page 5