After reviewing the Village Farms PIP I do not see how what is being proposed meets the requirements of Section18.05.050 that is equal to or better than what the city would get under standard affordability requirements.
I urge the Planning Commission to vote no on the PIP before you.
For example,
Under Section 18.05.050 18 acres would be set aside to meet the standard affordable housing requirements. However VF intends to remove 50% of that required land and asks the city to accept 9 acres of land. Removing 9 acres of land for the use of affordable housing is more acres than any affordable housing project has received in the history of Davis’ affordable housing that began about 1980.
It does not seem equal to the PIP requirements that 18 acres is culled down to nine.
Or that, the number of affordable units required are stuffed into 9 acres (31 units per acre) rather than 18 acres (15 units per acre). The city requirement is for a project to host 15 units per acre.
It does not seem equal to the PIP requirements that the density of affordable units goes up from 15 to 31 units per acre.
The cities for sale units single family ownership units are usually about 5 + units per acre
No single family affordable homes meeting the city’s requirements are being provided.
Dos Pinos a Limited Equity Housing Cooperative is 15 units per acre
The different categories of housing type and density are not being offered by the developer. Everything is hemmed in at 31 units per acre.
The VF project does not provide any single family detached units that meet the city requirements to provide a range of types of housing.
The City is not getting the range of housing types and qualitative land use it would get under normal standards.
Not part of PIP
The VF‘s For Sale component does not appear to meet the city’s goal of “sustained affordability” Once the unit is sold it is at market pricing and no longer is that unit affordable to the target income category.
The For Sale units should be removed from the PIP count.
My professional point of view is that the proposed LEHC is not feasible to meet 100% -120% of median income
I am a Founder of National Cooperative Bank and then
Regional Director of Co-op Bank
Co-wrote the law that established the first LEHC’s in the US
Funded//Developed 10 LEHC’s in California 1981-85
No new build LEHC of the VF size has been funded since 102 unit (Redwood Shores) done by me in 1983 (forty years ago) my last new build in 1985
At $600,000 per unit then a $50 million project
20% equity needed at 0% for forty years
Co-op share at $60,000 each unit required to get 10% equity of $4.9 million
Where does other $5 million in equity come from
No subsidy funding from any financial institution for LEHC
Property tax adds another $600 per unit per month
No existing comps for bank to use
Banks usually require 85% of units before releasing permanent funds
Not sure you can sell a unit with a $60,000 share in apartments of 30 units per acre
Many more deal breakers ask me about them?
With the LEHC not feasible and no single family affordable homes in the PIP then there are no ownership units in the PIP
In my opinion this PIP does not pass the test
The staff report does not contain the recommendations made by the Social Services Commission re VF proposal. Those should be provided. How can this report neglect to share those with the Planning Commission?
Throughout the staff report there are numerous references to staff lacking the information required to make a valid finding. Too many questions raised by staff go unanswered for this PIP to be formally considered or adopted.
What the PIP has put forward to the city is a PIP that I consider to be nowhere near equal or more than what the city would get through the standard requirements. We don’t get the type of housing required by the standard, nor the sustained/permanent affordability required that keeps those units affordable to the target population in perpetuity, nor the lower density set by the city.
We are not being offered a PIP that increases the units we want but are getting more of the units we don’t want and after the first sale will not stay in our affordable program.
How can this PIP be better?
Please vote no on the Village Farms PIP.
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