Staff returned after the September 28 discussion with a proposed work plan for reviewing affordable-housing policy. The stated objective was increasing the number of affordable units; staff described meetings with elected officials, housing partners, property owners and the Housing Commission.
Members disagreed about how broadly to revisit the inclusionary-housing calculation. The discussion included the relationship between units that could be built and units actually proposed, fees paid instead of providing units, and barriers to affordability. These were questions for review, not changes adopted at this meeting.
The committee discussed broadening stakeholder participation, connecting the work to the comprehensive plan, and watching possible state legislation. Near the end, members emphasized further learning before policy decisions. Staff floated 2029 or 2030 for possible future changes to give developers predictability; that was not an enacted effective date.
The September background report separates completed housing from future commitments. Staff reported 57 inclusionary units built between 2015 and 2025, with another 44 committed through development approvals. It also reported 99 city-owned affordable units, and 62 single-family homes made affordable through city grants since 2004, with 12 more committed under grant agreements. These figures describe different parts of the program and should not be treated as a count of newly completed homes.
The development table helps explain the debate over units versus payments. For listed residential planned developments approved since 2014, it reports 108 on-site affordable units among 837 total units, or 12.9%, alongside $3,622,800 in approved fee-in-lieu amounts. The table covers approvals, not a construction-completion inventory or proof that every fee has been collected, and excludes the eight government-funded Betsy Lassar Place units.
The October draft work plan proposed stakeholder meetings in late 2026 and 2027 and Housing Commission recommendations in the first half of 2027. Questions included calculating affordable-unit obligations by dwelling-unit count or building area, possible additional fees when a project builds below permitted density, and allowing more units at lower income tiers in exchange for city-provided benefits or relief. Any zoning amendments would also involve the Plan and Design Commission.