Encinitas planners discuss housing report, residents question data, sources

ENCINITAS — A two-member subcommittee of the Encinitas Planning Commission on March 20 recommended strategies to address the city’s low-income housing shortfall, drawing criticism from some residents who questioned whether its findings reflected a national pro-affordable housing agenda rather than data-driven analysis.

The ad hoc subcommittee’s recommendations, presented in a report by commissioners Robert Prendergast and Susan Sherod, propose various approaches to closing the city’s projected gap in housing production for low-income households.

The recommendations draw from the work of the city’s now-disbanded Affordable Housing Task Force. The subcommittee is expected to present its findings to the council for review.

“The goal is to meet our state housing obligations while considering the impact on the Community Character and minimizing the impact and subsequent costs of the impacts to the General Plan and provide a housing stock that includes all citizens of Encinitas,” the report states.

During the discussion, the commissioners reviewed the proposals and noted some of the issues with the analysis. The report projected a 119-unit shortfall in the city’s lower-income housing (low, very low) categories for Regional Housing Needs Assessment, or RHNA.

However, city staff said this number, while an accurate forecast last summer, was “not accurate” concerning the state’s current figures.

Planning Manager Patty Anders advised the commissioners that the “119” cited in the subcommittee’s report was not based on actual data from the California Housing and Community Development Department (HCD).

“I want to clarify thought that our remaining RHNA for low and very low is not 119,” Anders told the commission. “So I want to be very careful in sharing that information because it’s not accurate.”

According to Anders, citing the most recent official state figures, the city has produced 23.5% of its lowest income (low, very low) housing requirements under RHNA.

“That’s the good news,” Anders said at the meeting. “However, we still have probably closer to over 300 (low-income) units (remaining).”

The city’s total obligation for the low- and very-low-income categories is 838 units, and according to the city, there are 641 remaining for this cycle. However, city staff told The Coast News that some of the remaining units have already been approved, which will reduce that number as building permits are issued.

The subcommittee ultimately suggested that the city prioritize building these lower-income units, warning that failure could result in the loss of a “certified Housing Element” that would produce “cascading ill effects for the city.”

“Encinitas needs to be proactive, out in front of the state requirements, and thus be in control of the impacts of development and better control our growth rather than reacting to state mandates,” the report states.

The report outlines several additional strategies to address the projected shortfall, including joint ventures with private property owners to develop affordable housing on commercial sites and collaboration with groups such as the North County Transit District, Ecke YMCA and the Leichtag Foundation.

The subcommittee also recommends pursuing affordable housing opportunities on publicly owned land through partnerships with institutions such as the County of San Diego, the San Dieguito Union High School District and MiraCosta College.

As a model for 100% affordable housing, the report highlights Oceanside’s Seagaze apartments, which was supported through public financing from the California Municipal Finance Authority and the state’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities grant program.

The report suggests financial incentives for developers such as reducing or waiving city fees, establishing guaranteed timelines for permitting, offering grants and tax postponements, and exploring ride-sharing options to reduce parking requirements in less transit-accessible areas.

It also recommends tapping into alternative funding sources, such as the Amazon Housing Equity Fund, National Housing Trust Fund, low-income housing tax credits and federal community block grants.

Additionally, the report calls for reviewing city codes to encourage smaller and alternative housing types, including micro-units, tiny homes, cluster housing and manufactured housing.

“We are behind the curve of other municipalities while state restrictions have tightened over time,” the report states. “We need to act with care and speed. Review missed existing affordable, including NOAH (Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing).”

NOAH consists of existing, market-rate units that become affordable without government subsidies. Although these units help meet local housing needs, the state excludes them from RHNA calculations, which count only newly built homes.

Commissioner Steve Dalton, chairman of the Planning Commission, noted that zoning requirements under state and federal agencies such as HCD and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) had not yet been reviewed to determine if the subcommittee’s suggestions would be viable.

Additionally, several residents criticized the report, questioning the subcommittee’s use of housing data from unverified third-party sources cited in its analysis rather than official state figures.

Resident Susan Turney said the report relies on “unproven data” from the Chicago-based affordable housing advocacy group Preservation Compact and accused the subcommittee of continuing the work of the former Affordable Housing Task Force without direction from the current City Council.

“Your recommendations are founded on a Chicago nonprofit’s promotion of the controversial concept of NOAH, or ‘Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing,’” Turney said. “This is a YIMBY-supported philosophy, nothing more. Sound analysis cites sound sources.”

Turney argued that the report ignored official state data in favor of advocacy-driven narratives, such as raising alarms that the city is woefully behind in low-income home production, saying Encinitas is performing better than many cities across California in meeting affordable housing goals.

“According to HCD, for the 6th cycle as of this February, 34% of all cities have met 0% of very low and low allocations,” she said. “Encinitas has met 14.7% of its very low, and 6.7% of its low allocations to date. We are not ‘behind the curve.’”

Turney called on the commission to base its recommendations on verifiable data from the HCD, not nonprofit opinion or philosophy, adding, “Your report has no credibility without the use of credible data and is far from ready to present to the council and public.”

Resident Molly Hintlian also spoke during public comment, questioning the commission’s overall approach to affordable housing.

“I’m not against affordable housing,” Hintlian said. “My biggest question is if we so desperately needed affordable housing, why was this commission not asking more of the developers? We just approved over 1,500 apartment units that are supposed to have a percentage of affordable housing.”

The commission voted to revise and transmit the subcommittee’s five-page report summary, known as “PC-1,” to the City Council. Several commissioners supported the overall direction of the plan while requesting edits to clarify language and ensure legal and planning standards are met.

Planning staff will assist in finalizing the document before council review. The commission is expected to revisit its annual work plan next month, which may include follow-up actions related to affordable housing.

Jordan P. Ingram contributed to this report.