City Council Minutes 2019 04 09 SP

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City Council Meeting Minutes April 9 2019 Page 2 of 5 Fedler stated this is the fourth presentation they have given to elected officials and most of the feedback they have gotten is to hold off on the ballot question until 2020 Williams stated that with each passing year the problem is getting worse Currently 54% of renters in the County are cost burdened which is spending more than 30% of income on rent. Median home sales prices continue to climb We now have 52,000 County residents who pay more than half of their income for housing Fedler stated the five priorities of the collaborative are 1 To establish a regional goal, 2 Bolster Financial Resources, 3 Secure Land/Redevelopment Opportunities, 4 Preserve Affordability, and 5 Consider a Regulatory Process The Regional Housing goal was set at 12% by 2035 Each jurisdiction is working to meet this with multiple strategies that work for them Nine communities signed on to the partnership She reviewed the structure of the regional partnership What the Partnership needs most from the City Councils is to be champions for this work, help in thinking about creating funding solutions, promoting public support, and encouraging others to participate She reviewed their recent accomplishments Williams reviewed the recent polling around a possible ballot measure They tested voter reaction to two different proposals for either a property or sales tax at two different levels each Members discussed the results and other options Councilmember Loo stated from her reading of the results there does not appear to be much support for a new tax for this Williams stated the amount of support they see or don't see will strongly impact if the County goes for a ballot issue or not and when It is likely to require many things including the tax that would need to happen Williams noted some of the survey results 86% agree workers can't afford to work here, 76% think elected officials should do something, 72% think diversity in the community is desirable People do recognize the lack of housing and affordability is an issue Most say something should be done, but they don't know what exactly Members discussed how these results might affect a ballot proposal Williams noted outreach and education will be necessary 2020 is likely the earliest they would go to the ballot. Williams stated in 2019 the Partnership will focus on bringing partners together, helping people understand the issue, how access to affordable housing affects the community as a whole, and that it will take a regional effort to solve the problem He noted the housing summit scheduled for May 10 has been postponed until September Mayor Pro Tem Lipton asked if having people live near where they work is a goal He stated people have commuted for years and that is not new He asked if there is an assumption people shouldn't have to commute Krezek stated one of the things they hear