CONNECT with the CityThe People's Business: July 27, 2020
Hello, friends. It's probably time to start thinking up a new hobby, to take your mind off of the empty void you'll experience between Aug. 4 and Sept. 9, when there will be no City Council or committee meetings. There are only two more Council meetings before the legislative recess, including tomorrow's session, which we'll preview today.
Remember, if you'd like more detail on anything summarized below, click the agenda, then click on the item. Over on the right side of the page, you'll see links to a staff report and other pieces of supporting material.
City Council -- Tuesday, July 28
Tuesday's agenda includes 10 consent items that won't be discussed unless someone wants to, plus two ceremonial proclamations.
Highlighting the crowded discussion agenda is Item S500, Council President Georgette Gómez's proposal to extended the rent-payment 
deadline for residents and small businesses that have found relief in the City's eviction moratorium. Back in March, when the City Council approved a temporary ban on evictions of tenants who are unable to make rent or lease payments due to the pandemic, the moratorium was effective until May 31 and renters and business owners had until Sept. 25 to pay any unpaid rent. Since then, the moratorium has been extended multiple times and is now effective until Sept. 30. On Tuesday, with COVID-19 cases back on the rise, the Council President will ask her colleagues to push the repayment period out to March 31, 2021.
Here's what else is happening:
Olive Street Park (Item 335): The City has proposed creating the Olive Street Park on five parcels of land on the southwest corner of Third Avenue and Olive Street in Bankers Hill. It would include an open turf area, children's play area, adult fitness area, seating areas, walkways, a canyon overlook deck, and an AIDS memorial. A neighbor has appealed the City's determination that the park is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act, citing numerous environmental issues. The City's Engineering and Capital Projects Department would like the Council to deny the appeal and allow the park project to move forward.
Popular Market Site (Item S502): Last July, Kilroy Realty Corporation bought up most of an entire block in East Village -- bounded Broadway to the north, Park Boulevard to the west, 13th Street to the east, E Street to the south -- as well as the full block directly to the east, between 13th and 14th streets. In order to turn the two-block area into a mixed-use development of office and retail space, all that's left for Kilroy to acquire is a 20,000-square-foot piece of City-owned property -- known as the Popular Market Site.
Problem is, as a former asset of the Redevelopment Agency, the site is supposed to be used for affordable housing. While not interested in using this site for housing, Kilroy is open to helping further the City's affordable-housing goals some other way. To that end, the Council will be presented with several options, including placing the sale proceeds into the City's Housing Trust Fund, having Kilroy transfer a different site to the City to develop affordable housing, or having Kilroy partner with an affordable housing developer to develop affordable housing elsewhere. The site has been valued at $7 million by Kilroy's appraiser, $8 million by the City's appraiser.
- City Boards and Commissions (Item 330): In June 2017, the City Auditor released a performance audit of the City’s management of its advisory boards. The audit made 14 recommendations to improve the process for filling available positions, increase transparency, promote public participation, and monitor efficiency and effectiveness. Some of those recommendations have been implemented. On Tuesday, Council President Gómez will ask the Council to approve nine additional reforms that should make City boards and commissions more accountable, transparent, efficient, and effective.
San Diego Regional Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice (Item 333): The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires any recipient of Community Development Block Grant funding to certify that it is complying with the federal Fair Housing Act of 1968, which prohibits discrimination in housing. The City of San Diego is one such recipient. Along with this certification, the City must identify any impediments to fair-housing choice and take appropriate actions to overcome them. On Tuesday, the City's Economic Development Department will ask the Council to approve a five-year regional analysis of impediments, which lists following barriers to fair-housing choice:
- Lending and Credit Counseling
- Overconcentration of Housing Choice Vouchers
- Housing Options (for special needs groups)
- Enforcement
- Outreach and Education
- Racial Segregation
- Linguistic Isolation
- Public Policies (such as zoning ordinances)
Agreement with SDG&E on Montezuma/Mid City Pipeline (Item 332): The City is in the process installing roughly 4,900 feet of new water pipeline from the Alvarado Water Treatment Plant to the intersection of 69th and Mohawk streets in the College Area. Well, the City and San Diego Gas & Electric have identified several conflicts with gas utilities, which will have to be relocated. SDG&E isn't willing to pay relocation costs, so the Council will be asked to take nearly $1.4 million from a pot of money that had been reserved for utility relocation related to the City's Pure Water program and move it to this project.
- Subdivision in Ocean Beach (Item 334): The Development Services Department is asking the Council to take a series of actions that would allow a property owner to demolish a two-story house at 1750 Froude St. in Ocean Beach, subdivide the property into two lots, and build two new houses of 3,309 and 3,050 square feet.
- Community Facilities Districts Annual Special Tax Levy (Item 331): The City administers four Community Facilities Districts (CFD) that allow property owners in a geographic area to impose taxes or assessments on themselves to finance certain public improvements. As part of the administration, the City annually levies these taxes on affected property owners. On Tuesday, the Debt Management Department will ask the Council to do so for CFDs 2 (Santaluz), 3 (Liberty Station), and 4 (Black Mountain Ranch Village).
The City Council doubles as the San Diego Housing Authority, and in that capacity on Tuesday, they'll take up two items:
Acquisition of Hillcrest Inn: The San Diego Housing Commission wants the Council -- er, the Housing Authority -- to authorize the purchase of the Hillcrest Inn, located at 3754 Fifth Ave. (pictured), for $8 million. The Housing Commission would fix up the SRO (single-room occupancy hotel) and create 45 new apartments for low-income renters. The deal would include a covenant keeping the units affordable for 65 years.
State Housing Funding: The Housing Commission would also like the go-ahead to apply for $5 million in matching grant funding from the state Department of Housing and Community Development's Local Housing Trust Fund Program. The grant comes from the Veterans and Affordable Housing Bond Act, which voters passed as Proposition 1 in 2018. For the match, the City would put up $5 million from its Affordable Housing Fund. The Housing Commission anticipates using the funds to develop multifamily affordable rental housing or permanent supportive housing developments serving households with income ranging from 30 to 60 percent of area median income ($34,650 to $69,300 per year for a family of four).
Tuesday's meeting officially starts at 9 a.m., when the Council will listen to public comment on any items on the closed-session agenda. Then they'll retreat to closed session and return to open session at 11 a.m. Only City staff and credentialed members of the press may attend in person. However, anyone can participate and make comments by dialing 619-541-6310 and entering the access code 877861 followed by # when the item you're interested in comes up (full call-in instructions). Watch the meeting on cable TV channel 24 or AT&T channel 99, or stream it online.
Next up will be a post on the Budget and Government Efficiency, Active Transportation and Infrastructure, and Land Use and Housing committee meetings happening this week.
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