[MindHub] COM: SJV Housing Symposium, Thursday, January 10, 2008, 9 am - 3:20 pm, New Exhibit Hall, sponsored by City of Fresno Housing & Community Development Division

[Randy Nelson]

SJV Housing Symposium, Thursday, January 10, 2008, 9 am – 3:20 pm, New
Exhibit Hall, sponsored by City of Fresno Housing & Community Development
Division

Notes (not minutes)

Attendance 400+

 

I. Opening Plenary Session

 A. Michael Sigala (Housing & Community Development Division)

     1. Welcome to Nick Yovino, Keith Bergthold, etc, etc.(long list)

 B. Official address - Jeff Eben (Deputy Mayor)

      1. Quote, “How many wins have you had today?” (positive note)

      2. Cynthia Sterling (Council member)

        a. Affordable housing, homelessness are passionate issues

        b. Welcome to Council member Henry Perea, Jr.

        c. (Council members Xiong Blong & Larry Westerlund also attended by
noon)

  C. Official address by Assembly member Juan Arambula

     1. This is the appropriate time for this event

        a.. Planning for this event was before the credit crunch

        b. Pressure will be relaxed to get proper regional planning, etc.,
in place

     2. Legislative updates:

       a. 1C Infill Housing will release billions of dollars

       b AB 1129 will establish seed money for housing trusts in the San
Joaquin Valley

  D. Keynote Speaker: Lynn Jacobs, Director, State of California Housing &
Community Development

    1. Redevelopment is being undertaken 

    2. Advocates of NIMBY, not in my back yard are always obstacle

    3. Advocates of NOPES, not on planet earth are always obstacle

    4. Housing is infrastructure which is not to be confused with people
which are growth

    5. We are in the midst of a sub prime loan crisis

    6. We are 2 million shout of housing units in state

    7. We need $220K per year for growth

       a. We used $130K in 2006 for growth

       b. We used $100K for growth in 2007

    8. 1C Multi Family housing a success

    9. Half of 1C is refunding existing programs that came out of Prop. 46

   10. 1C has released $850M infill grants in the first grant round

   11. This Valley is targeted by California

   12. Need project ready for grant process awards

   13. 15% will go to low & very low income

   15. In Ventura, my home, a 20 table restaurant was approve downtown and
the sewer exploded 3 years ago because the sewer pipes were wooden.

       a. 1C will replace old wooden and brick sewers as they have in San
Francisco

  16. The Transit Oriented Development program is $300M

  17. Housing Trust Funds will be started

  18. Parks are allocated $200M

  19. Work Force Rewards, that is, those jurisdictions that issue the
greatest number of building permits receive money for parks, trails, etc.

  20. Credit counseling and discloser programs are funded 

  21. We need fixed rate loans and income level approved

  22. Universal Design, rebuilding and new building codes with emphasis on
green buildings and energy efficiency

  23. Fresno received $31.5M in the first 6 months of 1C. 159 affordable
units were constructed

II. Workshop Session I, Downtown Revitalization. Al Smith (Chamber), Scott
Johnson (City of Fresno) Reza Assemi, Nayini Saghdejian (Fresno native),
Forest City

   A. Nayini Saghdejian presentation on downtown Oakland project
(PowerPoint)

     1. Historic site were cataloged

     2. Sustainability and contamination on a Brownfield site were addressed


     3. 665 units in the Uptown Project 

     4 10K units for downtown Oakland are envisioned

     5. Result will be to live, work and play downtown

     6. BART, busses and autos make it a TOD site also

 B. Reza Assemi presentation on downtown Fresno (PowerPoint)

   1. Pearl bldg, Broadway Studios, Broadway mixed use (Cultural Arts
District Building), Vagabond Lofts, H St Lofts, Fulton Plaza, Van Ness homes
(before and after photos)

 C. Scott Johnson presentation

   1. Hotel Virginia

   2. Hotel Fresno

   3. Pasadena gives incentives front and back of project

   4. Legacy will be 168 living units, ice rink, and shops next to Selland
Arena. 

       a. Housing for Falcon, Fuegos and Grizzlies plus public

  5. Kern St improvements

     a. This will be an entertainment district

     b. We are talking with Hard Rock Café

     c. New light poles and banners are planned

     d. Visit FresnoStartUp.com

         1) Help for new businesses

  6. 52 of 192 letters to downtown businesses responded to City outreach 

  7. Development Partnership Center started in City Hall

  8 MRZ, Municipal Restoration Zone established

 D. Questions:

   1. José Barraza: In Chinatown, only one developer gets right to develop
and shuts out other developers

     a. Cynthia Sterling, Chinatown is a work in motion. Political will as
well as developer will are needed

  2. Audience to Reza:  Have you made any money?

     a. Reza, “It is a labor of love” at this point. Pyramid and Granville
have been very helpful. The next project is dependent on the previous
project. Eventually, it will all come together

  3. Political will question:

    a. Nayini Saghdejian ,Jerry Brown was the political will for the 10K
units in downtown Oakland

  4. Why local architects?

  a. Reza, accessibility was needed for local architects. That is, I needed
to go to their office immediately when I encountered a problem. I do these
projects in Fresno because I came here from San Francisco because of the
artist community. I am familiar with the territory. I really don’t know if I
could do these projects in unfamiliar territory.

  b. Nayini Saghdejian, in Oakland, authenticity is important

 5. Code question to Al Smith:

    a. Blackstone Ave process was used in the past with 1927 codes. 

    b. Now, form based codes are needed

    c. Diversity needed in downtown

III. Workshop Session II, Regional Planning:  Finance, Governance, and
Collaboration

   A. Panel:  Keith Bergthold, Planning Dept Asst Director; Paul Zykofsky,
Local Government Commission, Sacramento Blueprint; Kate Perez, Forest City;
Linda, updater of Housing Elements, crossroads issues

   B. Keith Bergthold, now it’s safe to talk about regionalism. In the past,
it was not a welcome topic.

   C. Linda presentation:

      1. Local Area Formation Commissions are critical when jurisdictions
are close and threaten to become indistinguishable from one another 

      2. Four income categories are used by State. Low, very low , moderate
and high.

      3 Regional Transportation Plans have a 25-30 year lifespan with 4-5
year updates

      4. Vision, consensus building process for water, land, air quality and
transportation

      5. Need to collaborate between local & regional governments

      6. Housing, transportation & regional blueprint must work together

  D. Paul Zykofsky presentation:

     1. I helped establish the Ahwahnee Principles in 1991 to address poorly
developed communities

    2. Before the auto arrived, communities were livable. They used water &
energy efficiently

   3 Greenbelts should surround jurisdictions

   4. Communities now compete on quality of lifestyle

     a. Communities have compact development

     b. Communities must compete globally

  5. An inclusive vision must have everybody on board

  6. In the past, land use did not have a priority

  7. Now, we must have a preferred scenario with an emphasis on infill

     a. We live near town or are working in an infill area

  8. PowerPoint project slide on Sacramento revitalization: Tower Bridge
west past Raley Field (River Cats home field) was turned into a boulevard
from a highway

 E. Kate Perez, Forest City presentation:

    1. Why Regionalism is Good for Developers

       a. Regionalism = Predictability = time $$$

    2. No to Crayola development (old zoning)

    3. Local aligns with regional plan

    4. Engage people

    5. Promote transportation networks

  6 Civic engagement

  7 State and regional blueprint

  8. Bottom line is Regionalism

  9. Questions:

     a. Darryl Rutherford, CA Rural Housing:  How does one get a willing
developer?

        1) Different type of developers exist for different applications.
They are all out there. The tipping point is the elected officials. Kate
Perez

        2) Just give information to officials first. No policy discussions.
Paul Zykofsky

     b. Audience member: The solution to traffic bottleneck on Fwy 99?
Another rail line? Freight vs high speed rail for people?

       1) Trade will grow. Kate Perez

     c. Matt Jendian: Density does not automatically translate into
affordability.

        1) Density allows affordability. Kate Perez

    d. Audience member:  What does future hold?

       1) Recession means less pressure for regional planning. Paul Zykofsky

       2) Transportation is the largest sector that contributes to global
warming.  Kate Perez 

       3) SJV is at a crossroads for regional growth. Kate Perez

IV. Keynote Speaker (during lunch):  Peter Katz, New Urbanism

    A. Link short feed back loops to long feedback loops in planning for
neighborhoods

        1. For instance, with dental hygiene, don’t tell a teenager to floss
because at 70 years old his teeth will look ugly if he doesn’t floss. Tell
the teenager he will get a date with his shiny teeth on Saturday night.

   B. As in Spain’s Grenada, shade in narrow outdoor areas is more desirable
for walkability. Narrow streets are pedestrian friendly. Connect an amenity
with people. Form based codes are needed.

  C. Changing policy is not enough, you need to change the rules

  D. How all the elements interrelate is critical

  E. Carlsbad Trader Joe’s changed the original plan in my community to give
it more visibility. The plan for the community was ruined by Trader Joe’s. A
beautiful entrance to the community was thwarted.

  F. Regulating mechanisms are critical

 G. A community needs granny houses to increase density & livability..

 H. Form based codes reduce subsidized housing

V. Award Presentation Speaker  Kate White, Urban Land Institute, San
Francisco

   A. Mission is (partly) : Responsible use of land

   B. Awards:

      1. John Wright (Clovis Planner): Lifetime Achievement Award, 35 years
a member

      2. Ed Kashian (Developer):  Lifetime Achievement Award, 37 years a
member

         a. Quote’ Tomorrow, don’t stop thinking about it.

         b. Questions to Kate, “Does this mean you want me to retire? Does
this mean I don’t have to pay my dues anymore?”

VI. Workshop Session III:  Planning For Affordable Homeownership, Randal
O’Toole of the CATO Institute

   A. In 1969, the Coldwell Banker House was at a ratio of 2 to 1 (Value to
Income)

   B. In 2006, it’s a ratio of 6 to one in Fresno and 10 to one in San
Francisco.

   C. in 2006, Growth Management Planning causes increases of housing prices

    1. Why in CA are the prices so high with no mandatory GMP?

       a. LAFCOS

       b. CEQA

       c. Planning appeals for any reason by anybody delay process

   D. Urban Growth Boundary in San Jose.

     1. Cows beyond the boundary in the rocky hills would do better in the
Valley.

   E. Need unregulated land outside city limits

   F. Allowing 8.5% of CA land to be developed rather than 5% would greatly
decrease the housing cost crisis in CA. In Fresno, the ratio is 6 to one
(Value to income)

  G. Private land is not private.

      1. General welfare is the court’s priority

      2. Writing a plan give rights away

 H. Social engineering, TOD’s and compact development all cause housing
prices to rise

 I. Portland subsidizes it’s trolley and it brought subsidized high density
urban areas

 J. City houses in Portland are double stacked mobile homes for $250K

 K. Job density makes sense to have high density transit as in NYC

 L. I am anti New Urbanism 

    1. Paths through developments increase crime

     2. Cul de Sacs reduce crime

 M. Children in owned single family residences do better in school

 N. Black political gains do not better blacks economically 

      1. Smart Growth is “Jim Crow”

 O. No inclusionary zones

 P. Need zoning reform

 Q. Ban Government Planning.

 R. Social engineering doesn’t reduce air pollution

 S. Houston has no zoning

     1. Home Owner Assiociations restrict new building and are efficient

  T. We’re doing a Symposium in San Jose titles, “Recovering from Smart
Growth”

  U. Questions:

     1. How do you have sewer & water?

        a. Privatize it

     2. Regional planning?

        a. I’m agin’ it  

     3. Privatization leads to monopoly.

       a. Wal Mart has no after sale service. Businesses can compete on that

     4. I am anti Peter Katz, New Urbanism & that restriction at Trader
Joe’s

     5. No subsidies to low income people

        a. Now, the non-profits want to subsidize as long as it goes through
them

    

Thanks, Randy Nelson

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