Sonia E. Taylor
306 Lomitas Lane
Santa Rosa, California 95404
707-579-8875
19 June 2017
Shirlee Zane, Chair
James Gore
Susan Gorin
Lynda Hopkins
David Rabbitt
Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
575 Administration
Drive, Room 100 A
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
Via email
Re: Chanate
Complex, Approval of the Disposition and Development Agreement
Item 30 on the June 20, 2017 Board
Agenda
Chair Zane and Members of the Board of Supervisors:
As you all know, I have requested a thirty day continuance
of this hearing. This request is based
on the fact that the Disposition and Development Agreement package (hereinafter
“DDA”) before you for adoption is 169 pages long (1/2”+ of paper printed double
sided), and is very complicated and detailed. Although the package was released early, it still took me
until Thursday evening, June 15th, to complete my first reading and
review of the package.
Due to the complexity of the document, I had multiple questions
to be answered. Additionally, as a
result of reading the DDA I discovered the existence of a number of documents I
was unaware of previously, and couldn’t have known about prior to reading the
DDA. The County has made an
attempt to have relevant documents posted on their Chanate Complex website, but
it is unfortunately not complete -- for example, I was surprised to learn that
there is a third appraisal of the property.[1]
I believe that the DDA is the final and definitive document
regarding this project, no matter what previous documents say to the contrary,
so I think it’s important for me – and for all of us – to understand exactly
what it says. Receiving answers to
all of my questions, and receiving all the documentation I’ve requested – with
adequate time to evaluate it – will allow me to express a better informed
opinion about the project. And
that, I hope, will help the Board make a better informed decision about the DDA
and the project.
I am certain that you want to ensure that you are able to
make the best decisions possible for the County, and I believe that you
understand that the better informed the public is, the better decisions you
will be able to make representing us.
Please approve a continuance to allow me and other members of the public
to be fully informed so we can effectively participate in our government.
Since I cannot rely on a continuance being granted, however,
the remainder of this letter will cover what I do understand about this project
and the DDA. This letter should be
considered in conjunction with my previous communications to the Board on this
project, including my February 6, 2017 letter, my June 14, 2017 letter, and my June 16, 2017 email letter.
THE
SALE OF THE REAL PROPERTY:
Even if all that the DDA was accomplishing was a
straightforward sale of real property (which I dispute, later in this letter),
there are significant problems and unanswered questions in that regard.
1. On October
28, 2015, the County issued its Notice of Surplus Property with regard to the
Chanate site.[2] This Notice contained the following
definitive statement:
“Any proposal that offers less than $15
million for the purchase of the property will not be considered.”
The County did not receive any responses to this
Notice. Since responses to these
types of Surplus Property notices are generally from governmental or
quasi-governmental agencies, or non-profits such as affordable housing
developers, it’s probably no surprise that this definitive requirement of a
minimum purchase price of $15 million resulted in no takers.
2. On February
3, 2016, the County issued its Request for Proposals for the Chanate site,
stating:
“As indicated in the County’s Surplus Property Notice,
the County expects to generate at least $15 million in payments to Sonoma
County.”
This
is interestingly a less definitive statement about the sale price of the real
property.
The
County only received two responses to this RFP, and the selected developer is
paying far less than the originally demanded minimum $15 million.
3. There are three appraisals for this
site, dated, September 10, 2014, July 29, 2016 and (apparently – I haven’t seen
a copy) October 27, 2016.
Even
with possession of these appraisals, and time to review and comprehend them, it
is difficult to determine whether the sale price to the selected developer is
indeed the best price and/or represents fair market value. I have asked for all documentation
showing the assumptions and calculations the County has used to determine that
$6 million to $12.5 million is the “fair market value” of this real
property. Without that information
it is very difficult for me, or anyone, to ensure that the taxpayers of Sonoma
County are being well served by this real property sale.
In my February 6, 2017 letter to
the Board, I asked “What was the purchase price proposed by
the Johansen proposal, for the 400 units they were proposing?” Knowing this information would allow
all of us to evaluate the financial terms of the two proposals, apples to
apples, for 400 units.[3]
I have never received an answer to this question, and without this answer it is
impossible to evaluate whether the sale to Gallaher, et al., is a better deal
for the County taxpayers.
Although
the Brown Act allows the County to conduct real estate purchase/sale
negotiations behind closed doors, the irony is that in the case of this sale of
real property, if the County had held any portion of those negotiations in
public, it is possible that another developer could have offered the County
more money and better conditions than those being offered by the County’s
selected developer. It wouldn’t
have been good for the County’s selected developer – secrecy works for him –
but it could have been very good for the County taxpayers.
The
Board is required by law to sell County-owned real property for “fair market
value.” Since originally the
County set that value at $15 million, which is significantly more than the
selected developer will be paying, it is imperative that the public to be able
to verify the fair market value independent of simple County assertions.
4. After recent public outcry about the
sale price of this site, the County has created a new way of assessing the
value of the property – the “value of the sale.” To the best of my knowledge, this is not a term of law, but
is instead something the County has created to attempt to show that this sale
of County-owned real property is a “good deal” for the taxpayers, in spite of
the low sale price.
As
with the assessment of “fair market value,” it is impossible to determine whether
the “value of the sale” is a good deal for taxpayers without knowing the
assumptions, calculations, etc. the County used in establishing this
“value.” I have requested this
information, but have not yet received it.
In the Summary Agenda Report
accompanying the DDA, staff alternatively attempts to explain this “value” as a
“community value” of the sale.
While, of course, there is value to the community if this site is developed
in an acceptable fashion, that does not relieve the County from having to
obtain “fair market value” for the sale of this property. County staff speculates that the value
of the property to the developer, after construction of improvements, is $300
million, and I’m not sure how they arrived at that conclusion.
The Report contains a discussion
and table attempting to show this “community value.” This table takes credit for the monies that will be spent by
the developer to build the legally affordable housing. Of course, there will be a cost for
this housing, but the County cannot take credit for this – County law requires
developers to provide a minimum of 20% affordability on a project such as
this. Further, while the developer
will have to spend the money to construct said housing, he also will own it and
receive all the benefits of ownership in perpetuity.
Additionally, a missing portion
of this alleged “community value” is the cost to the County taxpayers if the
County were to renew their lease for 10 years at 80% of “fair market value” for
the County Morgue and the Health Services Administration. These amounts must be included in any
attempted recitation of “community value,” because that information it would
another factor that would allow the Board to determine whether the developer’s
purchase price is indeed acceptable, let alone “fair market value.”
Further, due to the terms of
the DDA (paragraph 3.17.2), it is clear that the developer can sell or
otherwise transfer this property at any time, and immediately be relieved of
all the requirements of this DDA.
Therefore, the County can hardly count on this invented “value of the
sale.” The July 29, 2016 appraisal
I do have a copy of clearly states that the value of this property with
entitlements alone is $30,640,000.
Using the July 29, 2016
appraisal and the County’s own
estimates, the County’s selected developer could apparently spend $8.76 million
to purchase the property, $1 million to conduct the required environmental
review, and $606,000 to obtain entitlements for the site, for a total of $10366
million, and then immediately sell the property for $30.64 million (or even
more), realizing a profit of $20.274 million without having to build anything.
The entire concept of “value of the sale,” or “community
value of the sale” is irrelevant, and is rendered useless by the provisions of
the DDA. The Board is required,
acting on behalf of all of the County, to obtain “fair market value” for this
County-owned real property.
Further, the Board’s responsibility is to get the best deal possible, it
is my – and other members of the public’s – responsibility to ensure you have
done so, and there is inadequate evidence to show that you have accomplished that
task.
DEVELOPMENT
PROJECT:
No matter how many times Board members and County staff
state that this is just the sale of real property, it is not. Repetition of an erroneous statement
doesn’t make it accurate.
This is not only the sale of real property, the County is
actively participating in (and it’s a requirement of the DDA at Section 3 and
elsewhere, and in Exhibit D to the DDA) the development of a “master plan” and
“Conceptual Project Plans” for ultimate development of the site. At paragraph 3.4 of the DDA the County
commits to working for the developer to facilitate the approvals at the City level, at taxpayer
expense. Paragraph 3.4 states, in
pertinent part, as follows:
“ . . . County staff will work
cooperatively with Developer to assist in coordinating and facilitating the
expeditious processing and consideration of all necessary Project Approvals by
City. Reasonable out of pocket costs incurred by County in connection with such
efforts shall be borne by Developer upon Developer’s approval of such costs,
which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld. . .”
In other words, the taxpayers will be paying the salaries,
etc., of County staff who will be assisting the developer with their City permitting
process.
After extensive closed door secret negotiations, this DDA
memorializes many required elements of the ultimate development. The public has had virtually no
opportunity to provide input into these elements, which include 20% legally
affordable housing, senior housing, veterans housing, 2 miles of trails and
removal of Sloan House and the Bird Rescue Center from the site.
The public may like these elements, and the development
plans might be great – I certainly think that 20% very low income housing is
good (although I’d prefer more) – but there’s no question that the public has been
excluded from participation in development of these plans, and should be
allowed to comment on the proposed development plan before the County requires
them, and certainly before the County takes the action to approve the within
DDA containing those elements.
THE
DDA CLEARLY FAVORS THE DEVELOPER, NOT THE COUNTY:
Nothing in the DDA prevents the selected developer from
selling the property at any time.
If he were to sell the property, the new owners would not be bound by
the DDA. As stated at paragraph
3.17.2:
“Neither
the holder of any mortgage or deed of trust on the Disposition Property nor any
person or entity, including any deed of trust beneficiary or mortgagee, who
acquires title or possession to the Disposition Property, by foreclosure,
trustee’s sale, deed in lieu of foreclosure or otherwise, shall be obligated by the provisions of this
Agreement to construct or complete the Improvements on the Property or to
guarantee such construction or completion.” (emphasis added)
Nothing in the DDA guarantees the benefit of the bargain for
the County. Instead, a careful
reading of the DDA shows that the County is essentially giving the developer
the land for free, there are no up-front financing costs for the developer, and
the developer gets County services for free to help him get his entitlements. And as soon as he has the entitlements,
the developer can then sell the land for a huge profit. To say nothing of the multiple other
ways enumerated in the DDA that the developer can get out of the deal at little
($100) to no cost.
This is a gift of public funds and assets in violation of
our Constitution.
Other terms of the DDA that favor the developer, and not the
County, are:
In Paragraph 2.2 the cost to the developer of additional
units above 400 was reduced from $16,250/unit down to $13,800/unit. Although it is stated nowhere in any of
the documentation, I believe that this reduction is a gift to the developer
because he can no longer develop Parcel J. Parcel J was erroneously included in the original sale, and
although the developer will be required to record a conservation easement on
Parcel J (if the sale is ever concluded), he will also get the benefit of that
tax deduction, rendering the necessity for lowering the potential maximum sale
price moot. This “negotiation” was
all to benefit the developer; there is no benefit to the County.
In Paragraph 2.3, the developer is required to deposit the
enormous and burdensome amount of $100 (yes, you read that correctly) as
independent consideration, which is all the County is guaranteed to keep if the
sale does not go through. It’s difficult
for me to express what a bad deal I think this is for the County. This taxpayer thinks that this
independent consideration ought to at least reflect the time and materials
costs the County has incurred during RFQ/RFP and negotiations.
In Paragraph 3.11, the developer is required to maintain a
general commercial liability policy in the amount of $2 million per occurrence
for bodily injury, personal injury and property damage. This hardly seems like an adequate
amount for a development project of this size. The developer should be required to maintain the same
insurance as any County construction project of similar magnitude, list the County
as an additional insured on his policy, and have a hold harmless clause for the
County.
In Paragraph 2.11.2, it appears that the County will be
paying for all utilities until the Closing. The County certainly should pay the utility costs for County
occupied buildings remaining on the site, and as needed to keep other
County-owned buildings in good condition prior to their demolition, but why
does this DDA contemplate the County taxpayers paying utility costs that the
developer will no doubt be incurring during development of this site?
Within 10 days of the approval of the DDA, the developer has
to deposit $2.5 million dollars into escrow (Paragraph 2.2). When the property closes, developer gets
a credit for that deposit against the purchase price, less the “independent
consideration” deposit of $100, which the County gets to keep. According to Paragraph 5.4, if the
agreement is terminated because (and apparently only because) of an uncured
default by the developer, the County can keep $500,000 of the $2.5 million
deposit as “County damages” – liquidated damages. If the agreement is terminated for other reasons, the County is
obligated to pay back the full $2.5 million (minus the $100). In BOTH cases, if the agreement is
terminated, the County will pay simple interest on the deposit they’re
returning. This is startling, and
not in a positive way.
Further, even more startling, it appears that the County
will not get paid for this real property until the development project closes,
as defined in Paragraph 2.7 and elsewhere in the DDA. This could be as long as 3 years (or more) after the date
the DDA is approved and executed.
For this consideration, the County gets $100. And perhaps, ultimately, the $6 to $12.5 million purchase
price (although without any interest).
In the meanwhile, during this lengthy period, the developer’s only
consideration is the deposit of $2.5 million. Presumably the County could earn interest on that $2.5
million, but I hardly think this is adequate consideration.
To provide reasonable and adequate consideration for the
County, the deposit should be increased at specified times (such as every 6
months). After all, the property
is being tied up while the developer spends 6 months to draft the Conceptual
Project Plans, and that has to be completed before the developer will even
begin the entitlement process with Santa Rosa.[4] Then the Santa Rosa entitlement process
is estimated by the County to take between 12 and 18 months. There needs to be some incentive for
the developer to work expeditiously, and once the entitlement process starts,
to cooperate with the City. To
provide this incentive for the developer, and to provide better consideration
for the County, this DDA should be amended to require the deposit to increase
every 6 months, to eliminate payment of interest on the developer deposit in all
circumstances, to require a significantly larger independent consideration
deposit, and to require the amount of “County damages” to also be raised every
6 months. Otherwise the developer has
exclusive rights to the property for a relatively minimal deposit, gets
interest on his deposit no matter what, and it only costs him $100.
Essentially, the County is giving their favored developer an
exclusive agreement for $100 with an unspecified term on 80 acres.
Again, this is a gift of public funds and assets in
violation of our Constitution.
CEQA:
Please refer to my June 14, 2017 letter on this subject.
OTHER
TERMS OF THE DDA:
Paragraph 6.11 of the DDA is quite disturbing, as well, and
I find it hard to believe that the Board has consciously approved of it. This paragraph provides as follows:
“Any alteration, change or modification
of or to this Agreement or the Project Agreements in order to become effective,
shall be made in writing and in each instance signed on behalf of each Party.
County, acting by and through its County
Administrator upon the approval of the County Counsel, may approve alterations,
changes or modifications to this Agreement and the Project Agreements without
further approval of the Board of the County as may be requested by
Developer’s construction lender or lenders, or as otherwise agreed to by the
Parties, provided such alterations, changes or modifications do not materially
increase or decrease the legal, equitable or financial obligations or rights of
the County hereunder, or decrease the amount of the Purchase Price.” (emphasis
added)
Further, at Paragraph 6.5, the County Administrator can
apparently designate anyone to act on her behalf, albeit under certain
conditions.
What this means, to be blunt, is that the unelected County
Administrator (or potentially another unknown unelected person) can modify the
DDA at will under rather generous conditions, without knowledge of either the
Board or the public, at the sole request of the developer. The possibilities for alterations to
the DDA that would be unacceptable to the Board and/or public are endless. I’m certain that my definition of a
“material” change would be different than that of the County Administrator or
her designee.
Even more disturbing, I can no provision in the DDA
requiring that any such alterations, changes or modifications ever be made
public, or even that the Board ever be informed of the changes.
This is an unacceptable delegation of the Board’s
responsibility.
PUBLIC
PROCESS:
I have been working with City and County staff and elected
officials for over 15 years supporting and opposing multiple large and small
projects, especially supporting projects concerning the construction of
residential housing of all types.
By far, the process the County has undertaken for this project is the
least transparent and most dismissive of the community that I have ever
experienced.
I find it hard to believe that you consider the process you
have undertaken acceptable. I’m
sure that you believe that everything you have done to date on this project has
been in compliance with laws regarding secrecy and disclosure. And perhaps that’s technically true.
However, your collective behavior has completely negated the
public’s right to receive all information concerning the actions you are
preparing to take, their right to be fully informed as to the actions you are
preparing to take, and their right to be able to be effectively heard on the
actions you are preparing to take.
Government is not designed to be efficient. It is designed to be fair. This
fairness is assured only by a completely transparent governmental process that
allows the people to know and understand what their government is doing.
As the League of California Cities states: “[T]he Brown Act is a floor, not a ceiling for conduct of public
officials.” A similar statement
applies to the Public Records Act.
In spite of the assertions in the documentation provided to
the Board for Tuesday’s hearing on the DDA, there has been virtually no public
process.
Only one public meeting was held, on October 14, 2015. According to the County’s own records,
173 people attended that meeting, 150 from the area around the project. Also according to the County’s own records,
the purpose of that meeting was not to solicit input on either the sale
or on the development of the site, but was instead – according to Chair Zane –
to:
- “Provide an overview of the Chanate
Campus and share the Board’s interest in developing this legacy property
in the best interests of the community.
- “Solicit information and ideas from stakeholders about
desired amenities and improvements to the Chanate Campus that will provide
an enhanced quality of life for the neighbors.
“[Zane] indicated
that information gathered from the meeting would be used in developer
solicitation and master planning process for the property.”
So, by the County’s own words, the purpose of this one
public meeting was not to allow the interested public and stakeholders
to comment about either the sale of the site or about any development proposed
for the site, as repeatedly and erroneously claimed in the DDA and elsewhere,
but was instead to gather information to then be used in preparation of the
Request for Proposals for the site.
In fact, the following pertinent question was asked by an
attendee at this October 2015 meeting, according to County records:
“How can we offer
opinions when we don’t know what’s planned?”
Good question, and goes to the heart of the purpose of that
meeting. The County response was:
“This is an initial
meeting, and the process of community outreach and meetings will continue in
the future, as we have more information to share and the master plan process
for the property begins.”
As became apparent though the County’s
actions, however, the County never had any intent to conduct any sort of
community outreach and meetings.Instead, the County chose to conduct the solicitation, receipt of and evaluation of the RFP responses entirely in secret, although to the best of my knowledge, there is no legal requirement for doing so. Further, I could not even obtain a complete copy of the RFP responses until Monday, February 6, 2017, one day before the last hearing on this project. Instead of this process, the County could have chosen to invite the public and stakeholders to review the RFP responses and used their opinions as additional information in the selection process for the ultimate developer of the site.
On June 21, 2016, the Board of Supervisors accepted the RFP responses on the consent calendar, with minimal Board and public comment.
Next, the County also chose to conduct the negotiations for sale of the property to the selected developer behind closed doors.
It is unclear when direction to
begin these negotiations was given.
According to the Summary Agenda Report for the 2/7/17 hearing: “September
8, 2016: Board of Supervisors in closed session authorized General Services to
begin Exclusive Negotiations with the Gallaher development team,” and, further,
that “In September 2016, your Board directed General Services to negotiate an
Exclusive Negotiations Agreement with the recommended Developer. The Exclusive
Negotiations Agreement (ENA) sets out the principal business terms and the
terms of sale as will be defined in the future Development and Disposition
Agreement (DDA).”
Checking the Board agendas for
September 2016, however, I discovered that there was no noticed Board meeting
on September 8, 2016, and the first September 2016 mention of these closed door
negotiations was on the September 13, 2016 agenda – a closed session was
listed, although the identification of the negotiating party for the purchaser
was not identified.
When did the Board give
direction to commence exclusive negotiations with the selected developer? Please provide me a copy of the agenda
and staff report concerning this direction.
It is also unclear exactly what
was discussed in these closed sessions.
The Brown Act clearly allows for the County to have conducted closed
door negotiations “regarding price and terms of payment for the purchase, sale . . .” of this real property. However, the Brown Act is to be construed narrowly, and the phrase
“terms of payment” means that what could
be discussed behind closed doors is the form, manner, and timing that the sale price will be paid.
In any event, it’s clear that
the public was completely excluded from the entire process surrounding the sale
and proposed development of this site.
Then the Board held its February 7, 2017 hearing in which
you adopted the Agreement to Negotiate Exclusively.
Since that time, there has been no public outreach, and no solicitation
of community input. Instead, the
Board authorized unelected County staff members to negotiate the within DDA in behind
closed doors.
As further evidence of the County’s utter and complete
dismissal of the public, in my February 6, 2017 letter I asked a number of
questions, requested responses, requested documents, and made specific requests
of the Board. To date I have received
no response from the Board in any way, shape or form. I have received the documents I requested in that letter
(because I independently pursued their production), but most of the questions
remain unanswered (one of the questions was only finally answered when I
received and read the DDA), and the Board did not respond to my requests in any
way. If the Board actually had any
intention of facilitating public comment, they would have directed someone to at
least answer my questions.
The County’s position apparently is that all public input
will take place when the City of Santa Rosa commences their review and
entitlement process.
To say that this is unacceptable is an understatement.
CONCEPTUAL
PROJECT PLANS:
The DDA memorializes what was already alluded to in the
Agreement to Negotiate Exclusively:
The unelected County Administrator (or her designated representative) and
the developer will develop Conceptual Project Plans for this site that will
form the basis for everything that is submitted to Santa Rosa to commence the
entitlement process (see paragraph 3.3 of the DDA, along with other locations
in the DDA). They will do this in
secret, without input from the public, or even the Board, with the final plans
completed (and I presume made public) when they are finalized 180 days after Board
approval of the DDA.
Just to be clear, these Conceptual Project Plans are not
“nothing.” They will include
preliminary site plans and elevations, and all of the elements required by the
DDA, which is quite far along the process of planning for the ultimate
development. All without public
comment.
As the attendee asked at the October 2015 meeting: “How can we offer opinions when we
don’t know what’s planned?” It’s
clear that there have been multiple possible times at the County level when the
public could have been invited to comment on what is planned, but the County
has and continues to thwart that public input.
While the public will have an opportunity to comment on these
development plans when this project goes to the City of Santa Rosa, by then the
proposed project will be fully formed.
Santa Rosa will find themselves in the unpleasant and unenviable
position of having to be the “bad guys” if they determine that the secretly
developed Conceptual Project Plans are flawed.
On top of that, the County and the developer are moving
forward with their Conceptual Project Plans without having any idea what will
be allowed to be built on the site, and where. As yet, there is no EIR, there is no seismic study, and
there is no geotechnical study for the site, or any other studies that may be
required. All of those studies may
necessarily significantly alter the developer’s and County’s plans for
development on the site, to say nothing of the City’s plans for development on
the site.
If the Board approves this DDA now, you will be agreeing
that it is acceptable to create development plans of this level and detail,
entirely in secret, by unelected County staff and the developer. I hope that you will agree that this is
unacceptable.
HOUSING:
As an advocate for legally affordable housing for 15+ years,
you’d think I’d be thrilled by this project. And, I am happy that the developer is proposing to build
very low income housing, which is much needed in our community.
Just to be clear, though, Board members and County staff can
stop lauding their “achievement” for “getting” this developer to build 20% of
the total housing as legally affordable units. County regulations
require that any developer of this site build 20% legally affordable units.[5]
I don’t think 20% legally affordable housing on this site is
adequate, and you can rest assured that I will be asking Santa Rosa to require
the developer to increase the amount of affordable housing. If you had had a public process, I
would have asked the same of the County, and perhaps I would have been
persuasive. Hard to say, since we
didn’t have the opportunity to have the discussion.
I also have multiple questions about other details related
to this development. After as
thorough a reading of the DDA as I have had the time to complete, and in spite
of previous assertions and allusions (including in the Summary Report for this
very item), there appears to be NO requirement for all of the housing to be
multifamily, or for all of the housing to be rental housing.
As you know, I have asked the General Services Department
the following questions about this developments housing:
1. It appears
the only required rental housing in this project is the legally affordable
housing (including affordable senior housing), Veteran’s housing and all the
market rate senior housing subject to Exhibit F of the DDA. Is that correct? Could the remainder of the residential
units on this site be for sale units?
2. Will the
project all be required to be multi-family housing or could all or part of the
market rate housing be single family housing? Will the legally affordable housing be required to be
multi-family housing (with the possible exception of the Veterans housing)?
3. Throughout
the DDA, the requirement of the developer is that the legally affordable
housing “shall include a mix of sizes and bedroom counts generally consistent
with the Project’s overall mix of Residential Units.” Why isn’t the legally affordable housing
required to a mix of sizes/bedroom counts that are consistent with the need in
Sonoma County? The way the DDA is
currently structured, the developer could chose (for example) to build mostly
one bedroom market rate units, which would mean that the legally affordable
units would also mostly be one bedroom units.
The answers to these questions matter, and will affect my
opinion of this proposed development plan. I would hope that these answers would affect your opinion of
this proposed development plan, also.
If this development project will consist of largely market
rate for sale units that are single family detached dwellings, for instance,
that would not only be contrary to assertions made to date, but would be a much
less desirable development from my perspective.
We are in a housing crisis. We need to be building the maximum amount of legally
affordable housing, and all market rate housing must be built in a manner so
that it is as affordable as possible by design.
If this project will no longer be an entirely multifamily
rental project, including the market rate housing, it will not be serving the
County or the populations of people who need housing in our community. In fact, if this project is going to be
80% single family detached for sale housing, it’ll be great for the developer,
but lousy for our County and City.
My question about the number of bedrooms the legally
affordable housing will have is quite relevant – the greatest need is for true affordable
family housing containing 3 and 4 bedrooms. While building studio, 1 and 2 bedroom legally affordable
units is better than nothing, there should be a requirement that this developer
be required to building the legally affordable units in bedroom mixes that
provide the range of affordable housing our County needs, not what is cheapest
for him to build.
On the subject of the possibility that the Veterans’ housing
could be SRO’s, I have to state emphatically that I am opposed to this
prospect. Additionally, this
possibility, now contained in a legally binding document, is a brand new
possibility that no one has had an opportunity to consider or comment on,
including the Board. The County is
spending a comparatively enormous amount of money in a separate project to
house Veterans in “tiny homes.”
Why is this developer being allowed to do anything other than build
actual complete housing units for Veterans on this site?
It is unacceptable for you to shirk your responsibilities by
saying that these decisions will be Santa Rosa’s “problem.” This Board is approving a very detailed
DDA with what no doubt will be detailed development plans forthcoming from the
County and the developer. You are
all responsible for the details in this contract, and I request you to demand something
better than this.
SONOMA
COUNTY AND CITY OF SANTA ROSA RELATIONSHIP:
Having lived in Santa Rosa since 1989, I am well aware that
Sonoma County and the City of Santa Rosa have at times had a contentious
relationship. I have, however,
never seen that sometimes contentious relationship reduced to a flat out threat
in a legal contract.
Paragraph 3.4 of the DDA clearly issues what I can only
characterize as a County threat to the City – if the City doesn’t approve at
least 650 units of housing on the site, the County will contemplate entitling
the project themselves.
It is clear that the County is more concerned about the
developer’s and their profits than about what is best for this site, or even
possible on this site, and what is best for the City of Santa Rosa and its
residents.
I have asked just exactly how the County contemplates to
entitle the project should they be unhappy with the entitlements Santa Rosa
approves, and have as yet not received a response. Please explain to me exactly how you contemplate to grant
entitlements for a property wholly within City limits that will need City sewer
and water (at a minimum).
Additionally, this same paragraph 3.4 states that the County
staff will work to coordinate and facilitate to ensure that the developer gets
his entitlements and permits as quickly as possible, and the developer will only
be responsible to pay for the County’s out of pocket costs in this regard, not
any of the other County costs such as staff salaries.
Why is the County going to expend County taxpayer monies for
staff salaries to benefit a private developer?
Please explain why you have not only chosen to exclude the
public almost entirely from this process, but have also deliberately and
intentionally chosen not to form a “partnership” with the City of Santa Rosa
for this development. While Santa
Rosa, of course, would not be a party to the sale of the County’s real
property, the County could have chosen to work cooperatively with Santa Rosa
from the beginning of this process.
I am not an expert in DDAs by any stretch of the
imagination. But even I can see
the numerous locations in the DDA where the County is held harmless by the
developer, potentially to the City’s detriment.
This real property is wholly contained within the City of
Santa Rosa, and Santa Rosa will have total responsibility for evaluating the
Concept Project Plans, evaluating the total project, evaluating all the
required studies, and will be the agency issuing all of the entitlements for
this development.
The fact that you not only have excluded Santa Rosa almost
as completely from the process as you have excluded the public, and then
compounded that exclusion by threatening the City, is deeply disturbing.
PARCEL
J:
While I am pleased that the Board finally realized that
protection of Parcel J has long been contemplated, and is required, I am
unhappy with several missing conditions in the DDA with regard to the
protection of Parcel J.
1. There is no
excuse for selling Parcel J to the developer, even with the requirement that a
Conservation Easement be applied to the parcel at closing. Ownership of this parcel should remain
with the County, and the County should immediately protect Parcel J.
In fact, there appears to be no provision in the DDA about
what happens to Parcel J if the sale and/or development of this project by this
developer is terminated for any one of multiple reasons, although the County
has acknowledged that this Parcel must be protected in perpetuity.
What provision has the County made to protect this parcel in
the event this sale never closes?
Further, as referenced above, since it will be possible for
this developer to transfer or sell this property at any time, and the new owner
will thereafter be able to evade the requirements of this DDA, does that mean
that any new owner would be under no obligation to protect Parcel J?
2. The
reduction in the sale price to this developer because he cannot develop on
Parcel J is absurd and unacceptable, as discussed above.
3. There is no
Exhibit to the DDA that sets forth the required Conservation Easement to be
applied to Parcel J. This lack
makes me question whether the County is serious about the protection of Parcel
J.
I believe the County should amend this sale to this
developer to remove Parcel J, should keep Parcel J in County ownership, and
then should either transfer Parcel J to the Open Space District (or other
similar agency/organization), and should cause the immediate and permanent
protection of Parcel J.
PROBABLY
A MINOR CONCERN:
In Paragraph 2.4.5, the County approves that OSL
Construction, Inc. is an acceptable licensed general contractor for this
development project. As of Monday,
June 19th, at 7:00 a.m., OSL Construction, Inc. contractor’s license is under
suspension for nonpayment of Workers’ Compensation Insurance (which expired on
May 1, 2017). Perhaps this is an
oversight, or perhaps it has been paid by now and the Contractor’s Licensing
Board website hasn’t yet been updated, but it is still concerning.
CONCLUSION:
I hope that you all have read and thoroughly comprehended
the DDA that is in front of you for approval. I hope that you all also have read all of the correspondence
you have received about this DDA and this project.
If you have, I believe you will conclude that the speed and
secrecy with which you have been conducting this property sale and project is
not serving the County, the County taxpayers, or the public.
You have already had to endure one embarrassing situation
surrounding the proposed development of Parcel J; I would hope that you now
realize that there are enough other problems with the within DDA that you are
willing to demand more time to educate yourself and the public about this
project.
Please continue the consideration of this DDA for a minimum
of 30 days, if not longer.
Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to responses to my questions contained in
this letter.
Of course, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have
any questions or require additional information.
Very
truly yours,
Sonia E. Taylor
Cc: Caroline
Judy, Sonoma County Director of General Services
Santa Rosa City Council
Santa
Rosa Planning Commission
David Guhin, Santa Rosa Director of
Planning & Economic Development
David
Gouin, Santa Rosa Director of Housing & Community Services
Sonoma County Housing Advocacy Group
Accountable
Development Coalition
Sonoma
County Transportation and Land Use Coalition
J.D.
Morris
Kevin
McCallum
Paul
Gullixson
[1] The “surprise” existence of this third
appraisal, dated in October 2016, is particularly disturbing since it was not
even alluded to in the materials for the February 7, 2017 hearing, and clearly
existed long before that hearing.
[2]
It is unclear if the Board knew that they were providing direction to take this
action, or if they even did provide that direction.
[3] I
have heard from a reliable source that Mr. Johansen was actually offering more
per unit for the base 400 units than did your selected developer.
[4]
Curiously, the up to 6 month time period for completion of the Conceptual
Project Plans doesn’t appear to be considered when County staff is stating
timeframes for the development of this site. As a result of this omission, it is likely that Closing,
under the best of all possible circumstances, will occur no earlier than 18
months from completion of the DDA, but could extend well beyond 2 years.
[5] While
the current City of Santa Rosa requirements are for only 15% legally affordable
housing, Santa Rosa is apparently planning to require a much higher percentage
of legally affordable units in projects they approve in the future, making it
likely that the 20% would be a minimum for Santa Rosa as well as the County.
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