Campbell officials are hesitant about a policy change that could increase affordable housing in a city advocates say has been at the forefront of housing solutions.
The Campbell Planning Commission on Tuesday unanimously recommended the city refrain from expanding its inclusionary housing policy, which would require smaller projects to convert at least 15% of homes into affordable housing or pay a fee that funnels into the city’s affordable housing budget. The proposed change would apply to developments with five or more homes. The existing policy applies to projects with 10 or more homes.
The proposal is based on an affordable housing nexus study that found expanding the policy to smaller projects would not deter development. The Campbell City Council has the ultimate say and still has to review the changes, but the proposal brought up concerns and confusion from planning commissioners about how the policy expansion could potentially hamper smaller developments in the city that didn’t have to pay in-lieu fees before. Campbell officials and local advocates who support the idea said the changes are necessary to boost affordability.
Planning Commission Vice Chair Matt Kamkar voiced concerns about the unintended consequences. He said the city should give developers more flexibility to encourage projects.
“Lowering the threshold goes the wrong way. I think if you’re trying to incentivize developers to produce, putting more burden on them is not the right thing to do,” he said at the meeting. “Taking obstacles away, that is the right thing to do.”
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Rob Eastwood, community development director, said the proposal will not affect future development because developers will still make a significant profit, regardless of if they add an affordable component or pay a fee. He said the city is getting more small projects because it’s difficult to build bigger developments under tough market conditions and existing financial constraints.
Over the past year, Campbell has seen four projects fall into the five to nine home range, according to city data. Eastwood said even if the developers choose to pay fees to avoid the costs of building affordable homes, the city can use the money to create affordable housing.
“If Campbell is serious about housing, and especially affordable housing, you just can’t do it without these tools,” he told San José Spotlight. “If we don’t use tools like taking in fees and using those to support affordable housing, or requiring just more affordable housing, we just can’t meet (our) housing goals.”
The proposal comes at a time when the city is trying to increase its housing stock to meet state mandates. Campbell was one of the first municipalities in Santa Clara County to receive state approval for its housing plan and aims to build 3,870 new homes by 2031, with 1,542 designated affordable for low-income residents.
The city has some affordable housing underway at major thoroughfares . VTA is working with Campbell to bring 90 affordable apartments on property at the Winchester light rail station. Another development will add 12 tiny homes near Campbell Park.
Campbell resident Jim Sullivan, who has lived in the city for roughly 20 years and been in development for about 35 years, said he supports the city’s affordable housing efforts. He said using the development fees may be more helpful to boost the affordable housing stock rather than requiring one or two affordable homes in a small project.
“They can make a lot of money and what’s the best way to use that money to the greatest effect?” he told San José Spolight.
Alex Shoor, executive director of housing advocacy organization Catalyze SV, said inclusionary housing can bring a social synergy among residents of different income levels. He said Catalyze SV typically favors building affordable housing with market-rate rather than squirreling money away from fees that may go unused for years.
He said he’s seen the city be one of the most progressive in housing countywide.
“Thinking about these long-term implications is really important, because we have to urbanize multiple parts of Silicon Valley to get the housing we need to bring the costs of living down for all of us,” he told San José Spotlight.
The Campbell City Council will discuss the policy on Aug. 20 at 7 p.m.
Contact Annalise Freimarck at annalise@sanjosespotlight.com or follow @annalise_ellen on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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