Today is August 20th. This is a meeting of the 350 Midell affordable housing
project subcommittee. Often we have our subcommittees meet upstairs, but because
we knew we'd have a lot of folks here, we knew we'd be more comfortable in the
chamber. So, it's a little bit more formal than we have for some committees,
but uh it definitely serves what we're going to be doing today. So, I'm calling
the meeting to order. As we uh before we start any meeting, we like open time for
public expression. This is anything not on today's agenda. you have the
opportunity to share with the subcommittee if you'd like to do that.
Now is your opportunity to do so. If it's not on the agenda,
okay, if it's not about anything that we're talking about and you're welcome,
but not required to say your name and what part of Sanfell you're in and you
have two minutes.
» Good evening. I'm Gregory Andrew from Sarfell Meadows and I want to talk about
the u make a comment about the timing of the posting of this meeting which is not
on the agenda and that is to just let you know that
uh to not have posted it on Friday when meetings are normally posted which we
were looking for and to not get that posting until Monday is a tactic that
does not build trust with us in the neighborhood. Several of us commented,
"Why would they wait?" They knew this meeting was coming. It wasn't because
it's summer and there seemed to have been a deliberate decision to postpone
the noticeifica notification of this meeting. Now, you did it certainly
within uh what you're allowed to do within the Brown Act, but I want to let
you know that that approach is not a good way to build trust with us who have
been engaged with you and following this and looking to get more confidence and
more trust from you about your whole approach to uh this particular project.
So, that's my comment. Thank you. I'm so glad they were able to make it even with
the less than ideal from your perspective um noticing. Anyone else
like to comment? Not seeing any other public comment. Uh we will get right
into it because we have a big agenda even though it looks like it's only one
item. So we will be discussing initial summary and discussion of responses for
RFP which is request for proposals for the development of new affordable
housing at 350 Maryale Road. And I'm going to turn it over to looks like
Alexis and Greg. Oh, director Hinkle, the whole team. Okay.
[snorts]
Thank you. Good evening, mayor and council member. I'm Alexis Caption,
housing manager for the city, and I'm here with assistant director Greg Miner
and director Micah Hingle to present responses to the request for proposals
or RFP for the development of affordable housing at 350 Midale Road.
The purpose of this study session is to provide a summary of the top responses
to the RFP and to receive feedback on the application of the selection
criteria to inform staff's recommendation to the full city council.
We'll start with brief background on the city's housing landscape. We'll review
the 350 Midel acquisition and grant requirements, provide an overview of the
RFP, and outline next steps. Following staff's presentation, we will hand it
off to the development teams to provide brief presentations on their respective
proposals.
So, a little bit of background on where we are with housing in Sanfell and
Marin. are in a constrained housing market in part because as you can see in
this graph while the population of San Rafll continued to grow over the last
several several decades construction dwindled.
Limited supply has contributed to a lack of affordable housing and resulted in
Marin being the second most expensive metropolitan area in the United States
with the third highest median rent in California.
Increases in housing costs have far outpaced wage growth. So that more more
than four in 10 households in Marin qualify as low income. And the folks who
are low income are the same people that provide critical services and make our
community run. For example, based on their average
salaries in 2025, home health aids fall into the extremely lowincome bracket.
Preschool teachers are very low income and paramedics are low income.
Not having affordable housing has qu uh enough affordable housing has
consequences including homelessness, overcrowding and displacement,
rent burden and severe rent burden, meaning households are spending more
than 30% or more than 50% of their income on housing. And they may have to
choose between paying rent and other necessities such as food and medication.
Not enough affordable housing in Marin contributes to workforce shortages and
means that workers have to commute from out of county, contributing to pollution
and environmental impacts. We are also seeing a distortion of the
county's population pyramid shown here with a deficit of working age adults and
young families. And finally, we continue to see racial
disparities across multiple indicators with black and Latino households
experiencing higher levels of rent burden and lower rates of home
ownership. For example, understanding these impacts and that
affordable housing is important for the economic and cultural vitality of San
Rafale, the city council adopted the following housing and homelessness
priorities in their three-year strategic plan, including to facilitate new
housing development, assist in ensuring housing stability, support a housing
first model, and implement strategies that reduce homelessness. The project
that we're about to discuss is grounded in these established priorities. I'll
now hand it off to Greg to talk about 350 Midale.
» All right. Good evening. Um, so in further in in furtherance of the the
goals adopted by city council with respect to housing back in November, as
the the subcommittee members are are well aware, the city acquired 350 Midale
Road, a 2.5 acre property um shown here on the slide from a satellite view
perspective. Um, thanks to funding from the county of Marin. Uh, the site itself
was last used as an adult school. You can see three white structures in a
surface parking lot. Uh it's bordered on the east by the 101 freeway. Uh to the
north or above this picture, you have the smart station nearby and then you
have residential uses to the to the west and a combination of residential
commercial to the south. Uh the funding that the county provided
came as part of a grant agreement uh entered into between the city and
county. And with respect to Oh, I'm sorry. I glossed over the fact that this
is a a two-phase project as part of the the uh collaboration with the county.
The first phase being an interim shelter for unhoused individuals and the second
phase being what we're discussing uh tonight, the permanent affordable
housing development of at least 80 units. Um so in terms of the grant
agreements requirements for this phase of the project, uh the grant agreement
requires that the city must entitle the site for at least 80 housing units by
the end of June 2028. It also requires that the incomes of the tenants may not
exceed 80% of the area median median income. And just for a little
perspective, we provided what that 80% of AMI means for a fourperson household
here on the slide. And in terms of consequences, should the
city fail to entitle 80 units, the city would be liable for $100,000 for every
unit not entitled beyond u short of the 80 units.
So, as a first step towards realizing this vision, staff released a request
for proposals this spring to identify a developing an affordable housing
developer that could help realize this vision.
The RFP asked uh respondents to provide a number of
um components as part of their proposal, including an overview of their proposal,
such as their their vision, the site design, the affordability levels,
services plan, and their development timeline. Additionally, information was
requested about their teams and qualifications, the experience of their
organization, and those working on the project, followed by information on
their project financials, such as a pro-forma, information on their
pre-development financing strategy, operating budget, proposed purchase or
ground lease. And finally, information was requested regarding the financial
capacity of each developing team s and which required financial statements from
their most recent calendar or fiscal year as well as letters from the
developers lenders attesting to their capacity to undertake this project. Um
once the responses were received, a panel of city and county staff as well
as a representative of the chamber of commerce independently reviewed and
scored the proposals received based on the criteria that you see outlined on
the screen. Um in terms of the responses received,
there was uh there was a total of five responses altogether. The scoring across
all panel members identified three strong uh candidates in EA, Eden and
Saha. Across the while there were some uh
unique components to each proposal there was a lot of similarities as well which
was actually a good thing in the sense that all three provided commitments to
covering pre-development costs. All three identified funding strategies that
utilize state grants and federal tax credits. They all provided for community
engagement as part of their proposal. They all provided a timeline that met
the city and county's grant agreements of entitling at least 80 units by the
end of June 2028. They all identified services for future residents. They all
contain a mixture of unit types, including threebedroom units for
families, and they all propose leasing the property for 99 years for $1
annually. Um, all al all all that said, there were a couple differences as I
alluded to a moment ago, including the number of units being proposed, the
amount of parking provided, and neighborhood improvements.
And those uh differences and some of those similarities are outlined here in
this uh summary table. So for example, EAH um of the three uh candidates is
proposing the lowest number of units and so understandably also the the shortest
structure, a three-story structure. Um they are providing they also are
offering to provide the lowest average affordability level of 45% and the
lowest per unit cost. Um, in contrast, Eden is proposing the uh greatest number
of housing units as well as the highest structure. Um, they're also proposing
the largest amount of parking spaces per unit. And then they're and the most
costly per unit um proposal. In terms of affordability level, Eden and Saha are
proposing the same average affordability level. Um lastly, Saha is proposing uh a
level of units and stories that falls in between the EAH and Eden proposals um
while providing the the lowest number of parking spaces per unit.
Um so in the end Eden did score the highest um by the the average of panel
scores but they were followed closely by EAH and SAHA and ultimately all three
are qualified to sati satisfy the city county's grant requirements and we feel
lucky to have such strong respondents to our RFP. Um, at the same time, Eden's
proposal offers the most housing, the most parking, and it included
neighborhood improvements such as facilitating a permanent pedestrian
bicycle path or or an official pedestrian and bicycle path
between uh the 350 Midale site and the Midale community in the Smart Station.
Um, and when we considered both the need for more housing, as
Alexis described, the rare opportunity that we have before us with this uh
sizable site, and the fact that the city's going to invest time and
resources, whether or not we entitle 80 units or more than 80 units, these are
some of the compelling factors that led the panel to um score Eden the highest.
Um I will wrap up with just highlighting some next steps. This is this slide just
kind of provides like a a general um overview of where
the journey that we're going to be um commencing in terms of uh the steps
needed to actually finalizing uh the housing and and leasing the site. The
top half of this timeline identifies milestones related to the permanent
affordable housing project and below are milestones related to the interim
shelter. We're still in the very first milestone, the top left and today marks
really just the beginning of that process of selecting a developer. Um
hopefully uh after today's discussion staff will be in a position to present a
recommendation to the full council to enter into an exclusive negotiating
agreement and we'll be able to come to terms with the developer and uh move
along this this process. And then for those interested in staying um a breast
of this project and all the developments that uh including the next council
meeting, this is the project web page here. And there's also the QR code that
you can uh use to locate this web page. You can sign up for email updates um and
news posts related to this. So if you're interested in staying up to date um this
is the the place to go. So with that, if there's any more questions, if there are
any questions for staff, we're happy to answer that. Um if not, as Alexis
mentioned, the the three developer teams are ready to present and um we can hand
it off to the presenters. >> And before [clears throat] we end on
that and trans transfer over the development teams, one point of
clarification want to really make tonight is this is really not selecting
a project. Um, in essence, if you talk to these development teams, they can do
all three of these projects in independently, but really that's their
vision approach that when based on the input of our RFP, that's what they
basically called out themselves. But really tonight is just to select the
developer that'll actually be the city's partner in this. And then the project
will actually be better defined through the process of due diligence and uh
community input along with um the um uh exclusive negotiated rights agreement.
There's a lot of other factors need to come play. That's why we're really on
the early first phases of this, but this is just an indication of really what the
developers um team saw within this site for themselves. So just want to make
that point of clarification. >> Thank you. Any questions?
» Yeah, go ahead. Just a couple quick questions. Um,
it doesn't say in here anywhere, but I understand that all of these units will
be rental units and none of these are anticipated to be sold. Is that correct?
» Yes, that is correct. >> Okay. Building on that then um when you
did your financial analysis the proformas was it focused just on the
capital outlay necessary to get the building built or was there also a sort
of operating proforma for the decades to come.
» I mean my recollection has included both the construction and ongoing operations
as well as part as part of their proposals.
» Very good. Thank you. >> Thank you. I don't have any additional
questions so we'll go right to it. So the next part is a presentation by
affordable housing developers and it looks like you have slides for
them and I understand it. So >> can I just a point of process so each
fellow hi will have how much time have you allocated each
applicant just so we can I can
» I believe they're prepared to provide a 5 to 10 minute overview and then be
available for questions. >> Okay. And then um EAH was listed first
in our staff report just based on alphabetical order. And so but we defer
to the subcommittee if you there's a specific order that you want to proceed.
» No no this is great and so we'll hear the presentations five to 10 minutes for
each. We'll have questions and then we'll have public comment both questions
and comments and then there might be developers come back up and answer
questions. So >> that sounds great. Um, should I um let
you know when to for the slide or should I do it from
» I think we're sorting through some we're trying to make it full screen.
» Oh, sure. Sure. >> Um, well, while you're doing that, I
guess I'll I'll just start quickly. Um, so good evening. Uh, my name is Nor
Cauer and I had the opportunity to lead the EAH housing uh Maryale proposal. Um,
EAH was really excited for the opportunity to build in our hometown
again. Uh we own and operate 20 properties within 20 minutes of 350
Maryale. So um even just the dozens of community partnerships we've had over
the last you know 55 plus years are really great for us to tap into should
we be able to move forward with with the city on this. Um with me in the audience
I have our EAh development director Daniel Ry um and our architects Sema
Muscar and Justin Wong from Studio Tsquare right here if um you had any
questions for them. >> Yes. Oh, thank you. Perfect. Um, okay.
So, uh, because the city, um, did a great job kind of frontloading and gave
you a lot in the staff report about ourselves and our background, I'm just
going to jump right into, um, I had five critical points basically that
differentiate EAH and kind of reaffirm our ability to to execute what we've
proposed. Um, so first, uh, the EH design
acknowledges the Loscalinus Valley Sanitary District easement that's
running through the center of the site. Um so because of that we did create a
family oriented community with this constraint in mind um that fits the
scale of the surrounding neighborhood at three stories ensures the city dollar
goes as far as it can and leverage uh reflects the city's values on
sustainability, speed, open space and innovation. Um we didn't want to start
with a less timely potential option of the sanitary district relinquishing that
easement without doing you know some additional due diligence with you all as
a city partner and figuring out what they might want to do with that. So we
really just started with that as a constraint in mind knowing that there's
some flexibility should that change. Um so the EH design centers on an
environmental approach. Uh we'd be offering a modular full electric
execution. Um plus the potential for adaptive reuse of some of the existing
structures should the city desire it. Um we have completed two modular
developments in other parts of the Bay Area and are starting our third. So we
do have some experience with that. Um, and this translates to no concrete, um,
less noise, less waste, and less time during construction. Um, so that leads
me to my next point here. Um, so our proposal does have the lowest
cost of the three. Uh, tonight we rightsize the project to fit the
criteria for four viable funding paths um to increase our chances of getting
funded as quickly as possible or within the timeline that uh, Greg shared. Um so
and plus to [clears throat] increase our along with that to also have a possible
better interest rate and access to some upfront modular capital. So we would not
be able to to offer that high level of certainty of getting awarded these
particular types of funds um at the cost efficiency with a more expensive design.
So that is really why we went with the three-story garden style with the
potential for modular. Um in our proposal, EH had included a letter of
support from the San Francisco Accelerator Fund, the housing
accelerator fund. Um that fund requires family units stay under a $750,000 total
development cost per unit. Um and it allows us to access a much better
interest rate um than the market. And they also do have um a great modular
program that we can access. Um so in addition to designing most cost
effectively to have four viable financing paths, um EAH did want to
design with the neighborhood character top of mind. Um, our goal was to reflect
the values and priorities of the city with deeper affordability, larger family
units, um, had a density and parking ratio that was practical for families.
Um, the option to include permanent supportive housing with a potential
health care partner should, um, one funding become available and should that
be desired by the city. Um, and then also, you know, just a high level of
sustainability and a lot of open space. Um and again three stories also gets us
that cost savings but we left our design very flexible to add on uh or adjust as
we refine with the city as Mr. Hinkle mentioned. Um so my last point then is
uh uh collaboration with the city. Um so
connection to the smart train and buses are critical for our residents. Eh plans
to serve households at an average of 45% of the area median income which is just
under 100,000 a year for a family of four. Um so because of that we really
need to um prioritize state funding that can provide transit oriented development
um that can provide uh subsidies and operating support and really prioritize
state funds for lower-income households. Um eh has a very strong working
knowledge regarding improvements to the pedestrian path to the smart uh train
and to the bus station um and to downtown because of our prior
partnership with the city um and with the transit agencies. Uh we were the
partner for the affordable housing and sustainable communities program grant on
a Northgate mall project that did not move forward. Um but we do have all of
the the working knowledge and research and plans that we were going to be
submitting for that application which would be relevant for this site as well.
Um because it's the same station. Um and then with that, you know, so we'd be
bringing all that with us. Um and also would want to work with the city to to
ensure we understand how you'd like to build that path. um you know in the
right infrastructure improvement funds that would be available um should state
funding be allowed to to do that. Um so with that I'm going to end there um and
then I don't know if you want us to do questions now or after.
» Yeah if we have any top of the line questions or we just keep going through.
» We'll just keep going through. >> Yeah. Thank you so much.
Thank you.
» Okay. Can you make that? Oh, cool. Thanks. So, good evening. Um, I'm Tammy
Strauss from Eden Housing. We have a few more slides than our uh the previous
presenter, so I might talk a little faster. Tonight, we're sharing Eden's
vision for 350 Male Road. Our proposal is rooted in affordability, family
housing, transit access, community engagement, and partnership, and long
long-term stewardship.
Eden has been addressing California's affordable housing housing crisis for
since 1968. Our strength is that we're not only a developer, we're also a
long-term owner, operator, property manager, and resident service provider.
That means we remain accountable to the community well beyond construction.
Uh we have a strong and growing presence in in Marin County and in San Raphael.
Our recent work uh in San Raphael is our Vivivalon and Kasa Canal which uh was
designed by Van Meter Williams Pollock who's here with us again tonight. Oakill
in Marin City and Tamalco Homes and Point Rays. Um our local experience
helps us understand the context partnerships and expectations in Marin
County and in San Raphael. Okay. Uh, this project at a glance will
include 111 homes exceeding the city's 80 unit requirement. The homes will
serve households up to 60% of AMI with an average affordability of 49%. The
proposal will meet the June 30th 28 entitlement deadline and the uh RTDC uh
was mentioned RTDC was pretty high, but it reflects robust community engagement,
parking, and the proposed public and neighborhood improvements.
We've assembled a team with the experience needed to deliver a complex a
complex affordable housing project. Eden brings affordable housing devel
development, financing, ownership and operations and resident services
experience. Van meter Williams Pollock brings strong affordable housing and
mid-rise design exper expertise. and our engagement team engaged fora brings
community engagement capacity grounded in equity, listening and local t
context. Together our team is built for execution and partnership.
I will hand it over to Sarah. Thank you Tammy. Thank you all for
having us. My name is Sarah Vicaro. I'm principal with Engage for representing
our team here tonight at engage. Oh, thank you.
Um at engage fora we believe that design is better with diverse voices at the
table. Engage for specializes in leading thoughtful and authentic community
engagement that is not just informational but truly allows the
community and future residents residents to meaningfully inform the project. Our
approach will be to listen early while also being transparent about the project
goals and non-negotiables. Identify community priorities and
concerns and partner with the Eden and Ban meter Williams Pollock team to allow
the community's input to inform the project design and development.
Our engagement approach is rooted in deep listening and authentic
co-creation. Phases two and three in the middle of this diagram are where we will
spend most of our time engaging with the project neighbors, the broader San
Raphael community, and potential future residents to shape the project. Phase
one at the beginning is where we will gain valuable insights into the
community through one-on-one interviews. And then phase four at the end,
accountability. This is where we will report back to the community on how
their specific input has been integrated into the design and celebrate that the
project is stronger because of it. Our engagement process will be closely
coordinated with the project team and the city um to ensure the timeline um to
to to meet the entitlements timeline and to ensure that feedback can be
meaningfully informed at specific design decision steps.
Our team has developed a highly varied toolkit of events and exercises to
quickly gain an understanding of the community's values to build trust with
them and to explore design options to create a project vision together that
strengthens the design. We anticipate using multiple ways to reach people, not
just the traditional public meetings, but also neighbor outreach focus groups,
popups at local city events, community workshops, all with inclusive and
multilingual materials as needed. The intent is to meet people where they are
and make the participation easily accessible.
» Thanks, Rick Williams with Ban Meter Williams Pollock. Uh I've been a
resident of San Rafale since uh pretty much since I was two or three years old
and uh have lived here in the downtown for the last 25 years. and we've done a
number of developments which we feel uh respond to the community input that
we've received on those variety of projects uh in downtown and also in the
canal area and throughout Marine County. We've also developed a number of
streetscape projects that expand the impact of a development beyond just the
housing into pedestrian safety, bicycle access to transit to neighborhood
activities. And so that is another key feature of our proposal.
And we've done that on a number of projects with Eden Housing as well. Our
vision is really a family focused community uh affordable near transit
taking advantage of the local services but really it's about giving
opportunities for the residents and this will forward San Rafll's goals and give
more families the opportunity to succeed in San Rafll.
The overall area site plan is a one of simple circulation. We respect and
provide good access for the uh for the drainage way and all of that area
as well as bike access and pedestrian access. Uh we looked at multiple
projects, multiple different scenarios. There's many different uh opportunities
here and we'll listen to the community to refine and and develop the design in
its entirety. We've also used illustrations to give
the community really a very clear understanding of what the development
is. Here's a image on Maryale showing how the building relates to the street
and relates to the adjacent neighborhood as well. We even went to
uh into the neighborhood to Las Flores Avenue and took a picture of how the
buildings just kind of peak over the top of the homes that are uh directly across
the street the canal from it. We also because I live in Marin are
sensitive to the uh sensitivity to the viewing of uh the developments from the
freeway. And so we gave an initial image from how that would look as well.
And then one of the key issues was that we really developed a strategy of a
bicycle and pedestrian improvement access working very closely with the
neighborhood and adjacent uh residents and adjacent businesses to gain access
all the way to San Pedro Road. And it's also built with a vision of
sustainability, resilience, and wellness. So that so the solar system
will support a resilience hub. The bio swala will will provide the clean storm
water management and bike storage and repair stations will also provide
improvements and provide access both to transit and for the residents throughout
the area.
rather than repeat myself. Uh long-term deed restrictions will preserve the
affordability for at least 99 years. The design is going to prioritize
accessibility and inclusive design including accessible common areas,
units, amenities, and circulation.
Uh we're also have our own in-house resident services provider. Eden's res
resident services model model is designed to support stability and
community connection. Services may include on-site coordination, community
building activities, referrals, workshops, family programming, and
coordination with property management. The goal is not to provide just housing,
but to support residents need to thrive. Uh here we go. Financing our favorite.
We have deep experience assembling layered affordable housing financing.
That's kind of Lasagna right there. This 111 unit concept was designed to support
competitive funding applications while meeting the city's entitlement uh
timeline. Our early feasibility work will confirm a SQA path, an entitlement
path, design review, agency coordination, construction type, site
conditions, and partnership structure. The schedule again is in structured to
meet the city's requirement to be entitled by June 30th, 2028.
Um, entitlements, financing, design, and construction sequencing will need to be
carefully coordinated. Um, and lastly, thank you. Thank you for
the opportunity to be here and to present our vision. And we're ready to
deliver a feasible community responsive affordable housing development at 350
Mary Road. >> Thank you. And I know we're holding
questions, but Tammy, I have to ask. Yes.
» So, I really appreciate the outreach and you spent quite a bit of time talking
about that. Sarah did. And yet, or also you showed an image of what a building
would look like. So, I'm trying to figure out how those two mesh when
you're taking in input. And yet, there's and I know that design changes, but
maybe you could speak to that because I'm sure other people in the room are
» um I can give you an example. How about that?
» That would be great. in another community, we presented a fivestory
building um as our initial concept and through community engagement and all of
the workshops and things that we did, we found out that the community really
preferred a four-story building. So, what we did um through that feedback, we
redesigned the building, made it wider, not taller, actually um designed for
more units, but a shorter building. So that's it's just an initial concept and
we refine that through all of the community engagement that we do.
» Thank you. That help that's very helpful. Thank you so much.
» And anything else? >> Uh there might be others but I I just
had to reconcile that. So thank you. That was Yeah.
» Thank you. [snorts]
Okay. Good evening, mayor, council member, staff, community members. Thank
you for the opportunity to be here. I'm Eve Stewart. I'm the senior vice
president uh for real estate development with Saha. Um and also with our team
here tonight, we have April Ty. And April and I will
be sharing the presentation. And then our other team members naan my senior
project manager Katie Akerly with our architect Chris Hess and Jonathan Stern
are also here uh for questions later on. So quickly about SA uh we were founded
over 60 years ago. We've developed approximately 80 properties across seven
counties and in addition to our development activity we also provide
property management services and robust on-site resident services. We run a
volunteer program that brings in over 250 community volunteers annually to
support our residents and strengthen our connections in the broader community.
Because we're a long-term operator, we're always looking back to learn from
what we've done, where we've been successful, where we can improve. And
we're always looking forward to make sure that the new communities we develop
are ready for future challenges and that they will be beautiful, thriving
communities for decades to come. To do this, we collaborate with local experts.
We invest in community engagement and we work with our design team to iterate to
make sure that we are meeting community needs and can achieve broad-based
support.
We uh do have a strong presence in the North Bay. Uh we are not in Marin
currently. Um but we have several projects in Napa and Soma. Um and we
have local Sanfell expertise on our team. Um, and we've started to connect
with key stakeholders and have received support and endorsements from the Ritter
Center and Canal Alliance. Um, I'm going to pass it over to April to talk a
little bit more about community engagement.
Thank you, Eve, and good evening, Mayor Kate and Council Member Bushy, um, and
city staff. I'm April Tally, and I'll be supporting SAHA's community engagement
efforts for this project. I've worked on community engagement for large complex
developments including Northgate Mall here in San Rafale and the Patrol
redevelopment in San Francisco. As the city's project director for Northgate, I
served as the primary point of contact for community related questions and
communications, working alongside the developer to keep residents informed and
ensure the city's engagement requirements were met. The experience
that experience reinforced for me that engagement is most effective when it
starts early while there is still real opportunity to shape the project. That's
why our team plans to begin as soon as the ENA is executed. We'll work closely
with the city and the uh the community partners, nearby residents and
businesses to communicate early, listen to concerns, and offer different ways to
participate. The proposed unit count and parking ratio are a starting point and
we're open to refining both based on the input from the city and the community.
Thank you.
That's just a quick summary of the points April made. Um so getting into
this opportunity um our team of course uh looked very closely at the site and
there were several uh core values core principles that were informing our
approach. So of course we want to achieve or exceed the city housing goals
for the site in terms of number of units build an appropriate scale for the
neighborhood. incorporate universal design principles so that we have an
inclusive community for folks with a range of um abilities and challenges
from mobility to uh sensory and neurode divergent challenges. Um we are working
to enhance the urban design and street presence along Midale, improve smart
station connectivity and secure state funds for transit improvements. I'll
talk a little bit more about that in a minute. Um, and of course we want to
ensure the long-term climate resilience of our building and this community. Uh,
and also establish a financable pathway to getting this project done.
And importantly, as we looked at the site, so this is a massing study. It's
not a design. It just gives a sense of what could fit on the site and the
scale. Um so here you can see that we are
initially thinking about a fourstory design that would have um
bridge the scale of the neighborhood. There's you know different densities
there. So while this does add density to the neighborhood, it is um still kind of
a gentle like ramping um and not um we feel too out of scale with what's
already built there. Um we have primarily two and threebedroom
apartments in the scheme so that we can serve families um households with young
children or extended um families that might have elders also living with them.
The um parking approach is to do surface parking and that offers advantages
including cost effectiveness um and providing a buffer for the
neighbors to the south as well as the freeway. um the 101 there to the east.
Our bedroom count is 185 bedrooms in this scheme. Um and that's sometimes a
helpful metric to consider. Um the building itself of course will have a
lobby, spacious community and multi-purpose spaces as well as smaller
activity and meeting spaces. All upper floors will be served by an elevator.
And we will have on-site property management, an on-site
resident representative, so a staff person who lives on site uh with
maintenance and resident services offices. And again, inclusive and
universal design features will be incorporated throughout.
Um we've also taken an approach of orienting views toward the creek um and
preserving existing trees to emphasize connections with the existing ecosystem.
bringing in these bofilic features that enhance wellness um and also provide an
important buffer for flood control and storm water management.
We envision an active street frontage. Um and very importantly, we're focused
on active transportation connections and improvements to get this neighborhood
even more conveniently linked to the smart station. It is so very close. Uh
but there currently isn't um a formal way to expediently access the station
without, you know, going out and around. Um,
next slide is the same site plan, but uh, we wanted to emphasize the
sustainability features and the thinking that that we're bringing to this
project. And again, this is just the early initial thoughts and we're really
looking forward to engaging with the community and stakeholders to get their
input. But we envision an all-electric building that was energy efficient with
solar PV array to offset as much of our energy use as possible with on-site
generation. Uh we have opportunities to use panelized construction andor mass
frame building technologies to reduce construction waste and also speed up
construction schedule. Uh superior indoor air quality will be a goal uh
especially to address the potential impacts of being close to the 101 and to
protect against future smoke events. We've increased increased tree cover for
passive cooling, promoting biodiversity, um preserving site permeability, and
contributing to again improved mental health and well-being as studies have
shown when you have access to nature. Um and then back to this connection with um
the the active transportation network to facilitate biking, walking, scootering,
ways to get around uh that don't involve driving alone in your car essentially.
Um and of course the Disaster resilience and preparedness is something that's top
of mind for our operations um where we operate housing and we have a lot of
elders, seniors, people with special needs um and we want to be there to
support them um when the worst happens. Um so some of the features that we will
work to include um is a micro grid and that essentially provides an opportunity
to power the building through either a battery system or a portable generator
to ensure key functions um in the event of prolonged power outage or other
shelter in place um requirements. And that allows both our building residents
as well as other folks in the neighborhood to have a um a place of
refuge where you can charge your phones, store medication, get relief if it's
very hot out, um receive essential supplies, and also receive emotional
support. Now, we didn't do a design of the
building because again, it's a it's a massing study, but we have included
these precedent images just to give a sense of what we're thinking in terms of
architectural style, uh, materials, colors, and again, this um the scale of
the building and how it relates to the site and the open space.
our uh financing package and and as we heard includes um tax credits, taxes and
bonds and this state program which we fondly refer to as ASIC, the affordable
housing and sustainable communities. It's not the only way to fund this
project, but um the exciting part about ASIC is it comes with housing funds and
also transportation grant funds. Um SAHA has been very successful using this
program. We've built six communities so far with this money from San Jose to um
uh to to Napa and with Berkeley and Oakland in between. And so in addition
to the housing funds, you can include a package um for things like station
connectivity, bike ped improvements, uh transit passes. Up in the corner, you
can see some of the improvements we were able to do in San Jose. And it will also
fund uh fund um community events, you know, such as street closures um and
festivals. >> And thank you, Eve. Do you have any
closing comments? Because >> my time is up.
» I heard I heard a little dinging over there. That [laughter]
» Well, in conclusion, I will just say that we are ready to get started. Uh we
would be delighted to work with you and the community to see this project
through. [clears throat] Excuse me. Um and we can certainly meet uh the
timelines that the city has established. Thank you, Eid. Thank you, April. Thank
you. >> So, I know I have some questions. I
think my questions are broad, but I will hand it over to you first, but I just
want staff to speak to a moment. I was thinking, and both Council Member Bushy
and I were on the planning commission prior to being on the council, so we've
been in land use for a very, very long time, and this seems like a really
unusual situation. I don't think I've ever been on the receiving side of
hearing three incredible presentations. So could you just speak to that because
it it does feel unusual and just to maybe I don't know put that in context
for the community. >> I I don't mind taking that as a startup
and really for my colleagues if you want to add to that it it really is a unique
opportunity for Sanfell. I'm actually excited to bring this forward and you
can see what a hard like I'll pick all three. Um the the key is finding
location sites and lining up. And I do think we really do have to look at
really our land assets a little closer to see which ones we can evaluate over
time. It is one of our targeted ends for our our housing program to really look
at city- owned sites really looking at for surplus lands for affordable housing
development. I think I was most pleased with the level and quality of developers
who put on uh this project and I think it's really key about the size. We have
a lot of smaller portion parcels within our that are on our own asset, but the
ability to assemble a larger scale project near transit I think is really
why we got a nice robust kind of um put for for the development affordable
housing development community. Uh you got to remember this is the the top
three. We actually had five. Um so um and I anticipate really evaluating other
potential projects to bring in this level of developers if not others um in
the future. So, this here's really kind of a unique opportunity, but and I said,
it really is a um a real opportunity to try to bring forward needed housing to
this community. These developers uh are been successful across the Bay Area and
even some have not done projects we're in and they want to be and I'm I'd like
to try to find opportunities to broaden our uh opportunities for multiple
developers to bring housing to this community.
So just to follow up, so because the city owns the site, we're having this
conversation because it could be a private developer who wants to build
affordable housing and none of this would be daylighted. They would come
forward and say this is we've chosen. So again, for the community, this is a very
unusual situation, right? Am I correct? Because the city owns the property.
» Correct. If this was private property, in many ways it'd be simpler because
developers would simply say, "I'm entitled to XYZ under these different
state laws." But because it's public property, we have a little bit more um
flexibility in terms of shaping the project. At the same time, we've agreed
to certain terms with the the county, the the 80 units for example, and then
we've certain um citywide goals that Alexis highlighted. So those are sort of
shaping the conversation, but um it's much broader than say a private
development um proposal. >> And I would imagine that there are other
cities that have this possibility of um that owns a parcel and that they don't
have a public conversation that staff goes and selects and then they just
bring it to the council for approval. So again, we're adding something to the
process that's a little different. So okay, because that's it feels different
to me. So, you want to start off with questions and I have a bunch of broad
ones, but nothing specific. >> Uh, well, I want to concentrate on one
particular area and uh just to um uh follow up on um your comments. Yes, it
feels like we're on the other side of the table um in making um these
decisions. Um my questions um are focusing on the long term. Um and I
noticed we're we're approving a 99-year lease. Um, and I'm wondering if is there
a general like highle plan for the 99 years? Um, is the plan that we're going
to build whatever structure is built now will be repaired and maintained for 99
years. Um, will there be a rebuilding at some point? What is the um what is the
the long-term concept? And then to compare the different developers, my
question would be how long is each develop how what is the longest duration
of any functioning site that they've built to to compare them? How long have
they been functioning? So th that's that's where my question
is. Um do should we have staff take a a crack at
» I think I can try to respond to the first part of the question then the
developing teams can probably answer more specifically. Um, so I believe that
level th those kinds of details and those terms are what the city and the
developer team would finalize as part of their development disposition agreement
the next phase once we entered into the exclusive negotiating agreement and
that's what we would later bring back to council to approve
» in terms of like the the details for the long-term vision of the project
long-term operations rather. >> Okay. Thank you.
Did you want to hear how >> everyone runs up? I'm not sure how we're
gonna do this. >> Yeah, I guess [laughter]
» it's a little clunky. Sorry. As I said, that's why I wanted to level set this in
the beginning. That's an unusual situation.
» Um, well, so EA has been in San Rafll since 1968. Um, and we own and operate
all of the developments that we've built and keep them affordable in perpetuity.
Um, so when they come time for rehabilitation or maintenance, we'll,
you know, um, go through the the typical rehab process, maybe refinance, get some
tax credits, and upkeep the property. Um, I think the latest one in Sanfell
was Centertown. We just rehabbed that and looks great. Um, and to my
knowledge, >> so I'm I don't think you quite exactly
answered my question. >> What is the longest duration of a
functioning site that you've had? not how long you've been here.
» Okay. Uh I think our first one came online in 1972
and we still own it. >> It's in Marin somewhere. I believe it's
in Sano. I have to check. We We have a lot. Our portfolio just in Marin is over
2,000 units and we've got over 14,000 in our portfolio. So, but we our first
property we do still own it was from the early 70s.
» Thank you. >> Yeah.
» Thanks.
Thank you. >> Hello, I'm Dixie Bell, senior director
of real estate development for Eden Housing. Our first born on property was
born in 1968 uh which was the founding of um Eden. It's uh affectionately known
as JL around our office which is Josephine Lodge uh lum and it's uh
located in Hayward. Uh it's been uh rehabbed through the years three times.
So, um, we like our other colleagues here, um, are very strong arm. We don't
sell. That's it. We just don't. We're nonprofit developer and we'll go down
with the property as well. There are times in which we've had to feed our own
properties and uh where the properties can't sustain uh some sort of damage or
some sort of uh the operations doesn't uh doesn't sustain uh the operations of
it. some Yes. And we have to write those checks because the most important thing
is that our residents are served with clean housing. It's uh and and we're
there. We are there. We have we have fed properties for many years until we could
find a state funding program that could help uh renew the properties. So,
» and just for clarity, when you say you fed properties, you mean that you used
corporate funds? >> We used corporate funds
» to Thank you. >> Absolutely.
» Thank you, Dixie.
» Thank you. So, uh Saha similar vintage our original buildings uh were the first
building was completed in 1968. The vision at the time was to do five
buildings that with one that was slightly larger that would serve as a
hub. everyone could come and have services and activities and then four
smaller um properties in the vicinity um were kind of feeding into that. Um those
were all located in Oakland. They were originally financed through HUD and so
you know they were simple modest design but they have held up remarkably well.
They have been continuously operating and tenited and beloved by residents.
Um, and they have been renovated and some of them were renovated about 10
years ago and are still looking beautiful. And we're sort of finishing
out the final two that um, well actually there were originally five and then
there were about three more that came along in the early 70s and so we're
finishing out rehabs on those. So some of those buildings have persisted as
very nice communities for over 50 years without having a major capital um,
investment. they've been things have been, you know, the units get turned
every time someone moves out. We've replaced boilers, we've replaced roofs,
we've done painting, but in terms of doing a fullscale large renovation that
requires people to move out. Um, in in some cases, buildings have been um very
functional and comfortable for 50 years. >> Thank you.
» Thank you. >> That's your one. Okay. Well, I have a I
have a couple questions and they're for the staff just more um understanding. I
think it applies to all three of these incredible proposals. So, one of the
applicants talked about the sanitary district easement. So, is that something
that um I'm just wondering how that's going to manifest in this project
because we do have time to work [snorts] with them.
Yeah, that's really um it's part of the the selection of the the development
partner is to understand really the due diligence standpoint or the I guess the
parameters for the development of the project moving forward. You know, there
is an opportunity to modify that easement. There is or is not. It really
depends on the ability of the the district and desire, but it's also to
look at the utility pieces, design uh approaches, neighborhood feedback that
really will shape a lot of the project and their approach. Um, but I, as I
said, I if there's any specific questions related to it seems like, you
know, um, the designers actually acknowledge that and like they was part
of the package information that we put out in the RFP. So, it really is just
kind of project approach. Um but it does require you know coordination and we
actually um have been coordinating with philos valley sanation district on
multiple projects um resolving various easements. Pione is also another factor
for this site. So it's just really just kind of recognizing the development
constraints. Um we are actively engaged in this because at the end of the day we
want to deliver housing in this community. So we are working with that
end but um it's really is up to other decision makers and then constraints
that come about. So >> okay so in the RFP um there was a
discussion about neighborhood improvements. So I'm curious the staff
was looking at that you don't have to go through the rubric that you used but was
that part of it that so be transit or sorry access to transit or pedestrian or
whatever that might be. Was that already one of the criteria?
» Um, no. It wasn't explicitly requested, but it it fell under I I think the the
proposal scoring criteria. >> Okay.
» And as through the the last 10 months or so, one of the themes was what from the
adjacent community was are there any opportunities for benefits to the larger
neighborhood beyond just the provision of housing? and uh Eden proactively
identified formalizing that smart pathway the pathway to the smart station
and should that the city are I understand our public works department
is are is pursuing that independently so if um when when uh one of the follow-up
questions was okay if the city is able to address that um is there are you is
even capable of um improving bicycle and pedestrian improvements along Maryale um
the other direction and they they responded yes. Um we have heard from
some of the the other teams that they're familiar with the same some of the same
funding sources. Um but it was that uh Eden proactively identified that in
their proposal >> and that's something when you did the
ENA that could also be talked about with Okay Zen. Okay. So there was um people
some of the developers um alluded to unit mix about threebedroom two-bedroom
was that again another part of the criteria. Is there something that the
city with your expertise that we want this many threebedroom, this many two,
this many one or studio or was it more let's see what comes forward and what
came forward does it match with what you all are thinking we should be asking
for. Yes. So, we weren't prescriptive in um
the number of bedrooms uh that we were looking for, but we did direct um
applicants in our sort of workshop before, you know, when the RFP was
released before submissions were received um to look at the needs
identified in our housing element needs assessment. And one of those needs is
rental housing for larger families. And so, um, the top three proposals were,
um, responsive to working in those three-bedroom units. Okay.
» And so, that was a that was also a factor, a positive factor.
» Okay. So, that was included. So, on a related, is it your expertise, and maybe
the applicants would know better, do the number of units ever influence the
ability to get financing? I mean, you're talking about how this works for what we
have identified as needing our community, but you got to be able to
build the thing. So is there ever a correlation to the unit mix and types of
financing or not really? and my I don't know if that's a question you can answer
or the >> so the the best people to answer that
question are over here but I will tell you that um yes my understanding is for
instance like the ASIC opportunity that was mentioned there's a certain sweet
spot based on the last nine rounds of of you know the number of units and so um
our developers certainly were looking at um you know plugandplay what's what's
going to work right um but yes again they can definitely expand
» I saw nodding heads okay it seems that way But again trying to look at all the
different aspects of this. Um another question is around sustainability
features. So um s was talking a lot about the sustainability. Was that
another part of the again I know the RF is written a certain way but I'm curious
how staff responded to that because sustainability is important to the city
of Sanfal. We have it in our goals and objectives. So I'm curious how that
plays out in these applications. Um I believe that was one of the similarities
across the three proposals. There might be distinct approaches unique to each.
Um but you I feel like you're encountering some of the ch same
challenges the review panel encountered that we had three strong proposals that
had some significant similarities. >> So again just also understanding that
when we get when it gets to the ENA those are also things that can be talked
about as it's important to the city. Okay.
And talked about that and then director Engle I think you alluded to this
because Saha has done a lot of work in the region um but hasn't done anything
in Marin and I'm curious from a staff standpoint from a development standpoint
how does that I mean how do you react to that having folks that have been here a
very long time that know Samal to someone who's new but also been
successful and I know it's part of that grappling of the review panel but I'm
I'm curious about that >> um I think like for all housing
development we're looking for who can deliver a project. Um, you know, we've
gone through this whole proposals for many years for Sanfell of entitlement
but not constructed. So, for me, bringing in um
seasoned development groups that actually can build and have housing
occupied, that's that's really what we're looking for. So, um, both, you
know, existing uh, partners who have been working Marin and Center for a long
time, they've continuously done, but even for outside groups, we welcome them
all. Um really what's the bigger question is what's what's Marin County
need? We need all housing. Um okay. And really trying to find ways to get this
particularly affordable housing. So that's why this you know kind of does
open the door for us to be strategic about our approaches really looking at
what other opportunities do we have within this community to find ways to
bring in multiple development partners to bring this type of housing to the
community. >> That's great. That's very helpful. And
then my last question is and I know for sure each of the applicants referred to
this the whole financing what do they call stack of it. So we know that
because these three have come forward that you all looked at those financing
stacks and that like these are all achievable. I mean for us we don't have
enough information to Okay, because that is to your point, director, we have to
be able it has to be able to be able Okay. So there wasn't a certain type of
financing stack. It's just that it made sense to what we're asking for.
» Yes. And and what I would say is these developers, all super experienced, all
developers who work with tax credits, um and had a lot of similarities in the
types of funding that they identified. And I think one of the things that we've
seen with projects, affordable housing projects, is um there's
the funding is also we're in a moment of change with state funding. And so I
think like everyone has identified multiple opportunities. You saw one
proposal that had like four different scenarios. Um and so it's kind of like
depending on how the dust settles, >> we're going to, you know, we're going to
go with um one of those funding scenarios and and there were um similar
buckets identified across the teams. >> Okay, that's helpful. I don't have any
questions at the moment. Do you have any other council member Bashi? Okay. So,
with that, uh, we'll open up public Oh, yeah. Sorry. City Manager Natio. Yeah.
» Yeah. Thank you. Uh, Paul Natio, city manager, as we move to the public
comment, I wanted to go back to Mayor Kate's comment about, uh, this being an
unusual process. Um, just want to add two more points. Uh, one, we're the
owners of the property. Um, so that has certain implications. Um, also, uh,
because we went through the RFP process and received some really strong
proposals, we're also in this position because if any one proposal was head and
shoulders, uh, we may be bringing that right to the city council. Um, the other
part is wanting to have as transparent a process as possible. We could have had a
um ad hoc subcommittee that's not required to meet uh under the Brown Act,
but we chose to set it up this way in order to have as transparent a process
as possible. So that with that comes some challenges.
» Thank you. And I think it makes sense. I think then everyone understands what a
good um issue to have of these three fantastic options.
Um okay, so I'll open up public comment and as usual it's two minutes. You know,
there's a timer. You're welcome, but not required to say your name and what part
of Sanfell you're in. And you can both provide comments or input or question.
We are interested in what you have to say.
» Good evening. My name is Ken Dickinson. I'm a Sandrafell small business owner
Bay Area Computer Training. For over 20 years, I worked directly with EH Housing
as their enterprise systems trainer. From former CEO Mary MAG down to the
property and maintenance teams on the ground across California and Hawaii.
I've seen how they operate. That matters because a permanent
supportive housing unit is only a home if someone is there to keep the tenants
stable in the building safe. The June 2023 UC Berkeley Turner Center study,
which Eden and Saha both participated in, found that understaffed supportive
housing suffers nearly double the rate of rental delinquencies. And yet Eden is
proposing 111 units with no documented on-site staff planning that I could see
in their proposal. EA is the only finalist that answers this. A full-time
resident service coordinator, a part-time case manager through Episcopal
Community Services and a rent-free on-site manager unit guaranteed for the
full 99-year lease. That's not a brochure promise. It's a staffing
commitment on paper for the life of the building. Eh also wins on every other
front. Deepest affordability at 45% AMI so residents can actually stay housed
the lowest cost per unit. A three-story design that fits ordinance 1979's
negotiated height limits. the neighborhood already bought into
that proposal there and a faster timeline that avoids the litigation risk
and six figure per unit penalties tied to Eden's high density design which by
the way they have the option to expand that as I understand it six stories
they're local accountable already proven in neighborhoods like ours for 350
mirale I urge this subcommittee to support EAH housing thank Thank you.
» Thank you. And thank you for providing very
specific input. And what I'm thinking again, this is such an unusual
situation. So after we have all the public comment, so each of the the
applicants will have an opportunity to not have a long speech, but two or three
minutes to just maybe respond to what you're hearing because um especially if
it's that specific. So thank you. Go ahead, Mariana.
» Good evening, uh council staff. Um [clears throat] I am Marian Nanastad
from San Rafal Meadows and um [clears throat] I first want to comment
on the community engagement that both Mr. Hinkle and each of the presenters
have presented that I am looking forward to that we will have uh community
engagement with this. So thank you. While density is a valuable goal, the
primary mission of the 350 Midel project is to provide a permanent home for our
unhoused and special needs neighbors. For this mission to succeed, EAH housing
is the only developer that has submitted a proposal built on operational reality.
The June 2023 Turner Center study, which actually included data from the other
finalist, reveals that under re underresourced properties with fewer
on-site staff suffer from nearly double the rate of rental delinquencies and
significantly higher moveout rates. Without intens intensive on-site
stewardship, the most valuable residents are at high risk of cycling back into
homelessness. Eahh proposal directly addresses these
risks. First, they target the deepest level of affordability with an average
of 45% AMI, ensuring units remain re [clears throat]
uh reachable for those with the greatest needs. Second, they are the only
finalist to document a clear tiered on-site support team, a full-time
resident services coordinator, a dedicated case manager through Episcopal
Community Services, and a rent-free on-site manager unit to ensure 247
building stewardship. A 99-year lease is a century long commitment. We should not
select a developer offering a vague menu of services without a documented
headcount. I urge this sub subcommittee to prioritize long-term stability over
mere units counts by advancing the EA proposal. Thank you.
» Thank you.
» Hi, my name is Jennifer Wallace. I don't know if it's possible to go to the Eden
deck uh and bring up the slide where they showed the rendering from the yard
if that's possible while I make some comments. Um I too support the EAH
proposal. They seem to have addressed all the elements in the most balanced
way and um you know really excited to see their commitment to the
environmental aspect of this and um really loved the concept of the three
stories you know uh and the reason I was hoping to bring up the Eden deck is that
rendering from that was my house by the way in the picture um that's not what
five and six stories looks like and to count in their rendering that was is a
six-story building that they modeled and that's not what five and six stories
looks like from my backyard and from our street and a couple streets over. It's
it's a lot more imposing than that. So what I saw from the EAH version and also
understanding that designs can shift um but but that their opening approach was
recognizing the neighborhood feel and trying to fit into that as the other
apartments do along Maryale already at two and three stories plus also
addressing parking all the other elements. Um really appreciated that. So
thank you. >> Thank you.
Good evening. My name is Gregory Andrew and I live in Sanfell Meadows. And um I
think you just heard uh three very powerful and compelling reasons to
support the EAH uh uh proposal and uh select EAH as the developer for this
site. I uh find that after reviewing these that uh the eh proposal would be
the most uh affordable housing for the targeted population and it would be the
most compatible with the neighborhood. I think what you have before you is a
choice of uh we do own this property and so there is an opportunity to develop a
site that is compatible with the neighborhood or a project that imposes
upon the neighborhood. And I find that I find that the uh the Eden and Saha
developments seem to be out of character. they're too big and just
their look of them are out of character with the neighborhood. I did hear EAH
talk about the environmental approach and utilizing um uh what's already
there. I found that to be very uh interesting. I also heard EAH make
reference to the pedestrian path. So I don't think that is unique to uh to uh
actually all three of them did. So I don't think that is unique to Eden. I
have uh some questions I'd like to address and I'll hand these over to to
the staff which is what uh what were the proposals of the two developers that
were not selected in finalists Pacific Companies and Samuel Group please give
us some detail on those proposals uh a pedestrian path for the smart Meridale
smart station was not part of the EF RFP. How was it that Eden came to to
propose developing this path and were the other developers aware of this? Um
the evaluation group, the evaluation committee panel was uh city, county and
chamber of commerce. So with the chamber of commerce, why was no community
neighborhood u representative where there there could have been and there
should have been. So why don't you finish with No, go ahead and finish your
questions because this is a chance >> and then uh what I'd like to see more
detail on the development scores. You summarized them. They were Eden and EAH
were extremely close. So I'd like to see uh if I could the details on those
developments on those scoring. That's it. Thank you very much.
» Okay. Thank you. >> Other questions or comments?
Good evening. My name is Janet Shirley and I live two blocks from the 350
Midell site in Sanfeld Meadows. I'm here to not to talk about floor
plans or how many units. I'm here to talk about what happens after the ribbon
is cut on this project because that's when the project actually becomes
somebody's home. I've watched our city change. I've
watched buildings go up with big promises that disappear once the
developer moves on to the next site. What I haven't seen enough of is a
promise to actually stay, to have someone on site when a senior falls or
when a crisis develops at 2:00 a.m. in the morning.
EA is the only proposal with full-time
onsite staff and a resident manager who actually is going to live there, not one
who simply clocks in and clocks out. It's the only one reaching the deepest
affordability so that families who need this housing most can afford to stay.
And it does this at the lowest cost to taxpayers in a design that fits the
scale that this neighborhood already agreed to and wants. This community
deserves more than just a building. We deserve a partner who will be answering
the phone year after year after year for years to come.
not just a partner who wins the bid. So when this council weighs these
proposals, I'm asking you to look past the rendering and the unit counts. EAH
housing is local. EH housing has already proven itself in
our neighborhoods and EH EAH housing is the only finalist
that has built in the promise of long-term care into its proposal instead
of just a pitch. Because the difference between a housing
project and a home isn't the number of units, it's whether somebody's there to
answer the door year after year. I urge you to select eh housing as the
developer 3 for 350 Mary. Thank you. >> Thank you. And to be clear, we're not
making any selection this evening, but I appreciate the phrasing. Okay. Just want
to make that very clear. Anyone else?
» My name is Wayne Rabin. I live in San Meadows. Good evening members of
subcommittee staff. While Eden Housing has rec been
recognized with its 111 units density, we must look beyond physical blueprints
and long-term operation safety. Despite pre o proposing the largest, most
expensive project at $98 million. Eden proposal fails to document a dedicated
on-site manager or residential service staff member. We cannot run highdensity
housing on autopilot. The June 2023 terror center report, a study Eden
itself participated in, reveals that underresourced, understaffed properties
suffer nearly double the rate of rental discrepancies, delinquencies, and
sufficiently higher early exit rates. Without trained on staff personnel to
bring community and descalate crisis, these projects face severe
tenant instability, rapid staff burnout and costly property damagement
preventable by fires and flooding. So developers as developers present the
proposal tonight urge the subcommittee to demand absolute transparent team
regarding the staff and gap. Before we proceed the developer section this fall,
we must secure binding commitments for on staff staffing, headc counts,
accountability measures, and operational budgets. We must prioritize long-term
neighborhood safety and tenant safety over mere unit counts. Also, needen has
the most units. More units equal more traffic, which we do not need.
Thank you. Any other comments?
» Good evening. Uh Joe O'Hare and I'm a 36-year resident of the eastern part of
San Rafell and Peacock Gap. Uh I was the former CEO of Vivivalon. And when I
retired, I decided what I was going to do with my volunteer community service
work. And what was presented by the staff at the beginning of this
presentation is what really made me passionate about working and trying to
get more affordable and the right type of housing in in uh in San Rafale and in
Marin County. Um as a result um I went on the board of directors of Eden
Housing. I've served there for three years and I'm also on the board of
directors of Calmer and Home which is a strategic collaborative initiative of 40
nonprofits with the intent to try to remove the barriers so we can build more
affordable and workforce housing in all of our communities in Mirin. Uh why Eden
Housing? Why did I choose them? Obviously I did a project with them. I
spent 15 years working with them as the city did in building the the healthy
aging campus in downtown San Rafale and I welcome anybody to go look at uh the
residents, talk to the residents there, see what's done there. The mission of
Eden Housing is home is just the beginning and if you go over and see
what the services and the support and the full-time resident services that are
there, it'll answer many of the questions that the community has. Um,
also the city has worked with Eden Housing. As pointed out, we've we've
built over a hundred affordable housing units. Not only that one, but the one in
Cass Canal. They have over 200 other projects in development.
And I can tell you that um when we were selecting our affordable housing
partner, I spent a year going all over the Bay Area and looking at affordable h
nonprofit affordable housing developers. And when we just kept coming back and we
did an RFP like the city did and we selected Eden Housing because we saw
they were problem solvers. They're in their communities for a long period of
time. And uh I I do believe and I will tell you all that as a board member and
as a resident, I'll make sure that this project is the best that it can be and
be as good as the one we did at at the Healthy Aging Campus. Thank you.
» Thank you. Anyone else like to speak?
» Good evening, mayor, council members, staff. My name is Nicole Gardillo. I am
a field representative with the North Coast State Carpenters Union at Lago
751, which covers Marin County. I'm here tonight to talk about labor standards
and why it should be implemented here in San Rafael. We all agree that we need
more affordable housing in Min County, but we must also pay attention on how it
is built. Meaningful labor labor standards in play means that there will
be responsible con contractor that provides livable wages, health care, and
apprenticeship programs that may help build the future. These are not just
protection for workers. They are investments in the quality, safety, and
durability of the structures that are being built for our community. Let us
make sure that this project reflects our city's values. Please ensure that this
project will be built by a responsible contractor that includes labor
standards. Thank you. >> Thank you.
Any other comments or questions that anyone has?
Okay, I don't see any. I'll close the public comment. And as I said at the
beginning, I would have thought about it in the very beginning, but as I said,
it's an unusual proceeding. Um, I would like to give the each of the applicants
an opportunity just to say a few more words. You you heard public comment.
You've been sitting there thinking about other things like, "Oh, I should have
said that or I'd like to say this." This is your chance to do that. And we'll
just go in the same order. So, Nor, if you want to go up or or someone from
your team, however you want to do it. >> Uh, no, thank you. uh just really
appreciate this opportunity um to be here. I agree this is um unique
um for San Rafll to go through this process, but I think it's great. I will
say um I've gone through some similar processes now in other cities where they
put out an RFP and we come and do this and so uh you're right in line with with
a lot of other cities doing a lot of really cool things. So
» very awesome. Um uh I I think really the only other thing I wanted to mention was
um you know we even though we're waiting to see this process through we are still
you know wanting to consider our own due diligence as well. And so you know we
are in touch with the Lascalina sanitary district I would like to also find out
what that easement is if it's necessary not necessary you know that is why we
designed it in a way where um you know we didn't have to worry about it should
they need it. Um but you know we are in conversation with them and and we'll
we've sent them some of our plans just so they can let us know like oh yeah
this is what we're doing with it or not. Um uh and then um as far as uh you know
the the pedestrian path um I know that that did come up and um yeah absolutely
like our goal um like I mentioned is to make sure that we have good connection
to transit because our residents are going to need it. Um and so it's just
very critical for us. Um, I will say the the reason maybe we didn't bring up um
AHSC specifically in our funding stack that you saw is because it is um uh for
now it it no longer exists. Um there is a possibility maybe it'll come back in a
different form or they'll reverse their decision on the greenhouse gas reduction
fund at the state but as of now um we are not counting on AHSC. So, we wanted
to think through what else do we have available to us. Um, and you know, we we
will also keep an eye on what kind of funding will come through should Prop 1
pass on the ballot in November and the programs that'll get funded, which will
include some infrastructure grant funding. Um, so that might be a
possibility. Um, but again, you know, we just wanted to make sure we had enough
paths forward where, you know, if one didn't work, we had another one that we
could fall back on. And so that's why you saw those four paths um and not the
the ASIC program in there. Um, don't think I had anything else. If there's
any other questions that you had for me, happy to answer those, but any I don't
know if the team had anything else to add.
» Oh, yes. The Yeah, we we were very um intentional about the adaptive reuse is
just, you know, something I'm very interested in trying out um in our team,
Studio Tsquare, which we also worked on on the Northgate Mall project. So
they're very um well verssed in the area and in the in the land and the the law
itself and also the the connectivity to transit um because they were our part
our thought partner there. Um but yeah, we would love to keep exploring that
with the city because we we don't actually know what the plan is for your
interim housing. And so if those are not going to be around, that's okay. We'll
we'll figure something out. But if they are available, it'd be great to think
through what we can do with those. um you know as community center space um as
you know um just space for the the residents to be able to to do really fun
activities um potentially use it for neighborhood meetings that kind of
thing. So >> yeah, thank you.
» Thank you. Thank you for that. >> Tammy, do you want to speak or member of
your team? Thank you. >> Hi. Thanks again. Thanks for having us
back to uh respond. Uh I heard three things tonight uh about resident
services, the path to the smart train uh station and the height of the building.
Um it is amazing to have this level of involvement from neighbors um this early
in the process and thank you all for coming um to express your concerns and I
uh would really encourage everybody to take up Joe Joe's invitation to visit
Vivolon or to visit Kasa Canal because you will see at those uh properties like
all of our 160 properties there are on-site resident services managers who
live at the property 24 hours a day. So, um we have on staff janitorial, property
management, resident services, and even third party services whose jobs are to
be at our building 24 hours. I mean, not well, it's se seven days a week. Um but
there is a 24-hour resident services manager on site at all of our
properties. Um because that is um that is the true because all of our uh our
residents need services and they need support so that we can um keep them
there happily and sustainably. Um I'm going to turn it over. Oh, I one thing
about path station. Our proposal originally talked about establishing a
pedestrian connection from the property to the path station. Uh the city got
back to us and said, "You know what? The city's already thinking about this. If
the city should um find the money to do this to do this path, would you consider
doing bicycle and pedestrian improvements according to the city's uh
pedestrian and bicycle plan that go north to San Pedro Road?" And that is we
said yes, and we will take a look at that. Um I just wanted to clear that up
because I know there was two different slides on that. And I'm going to turn it
over to Rick to talk about the height of the building because
» just a short response out of my wheelhouse.
» Okay. Just a short response. >> Very short. So, one of the things we did
is we tried to show the uh we modeled the building, placed it in the the site
so that people could get a real honest appearance of what it looks like at
different heights. It was actually a fivetory scheme that we modeled. We
actually modeled a six-story scheme, too. and we saw the height of it and
lessened it. People get honest tradeoffs. We did that with Bivivalon
and we do it with Fairfax Mil Valley. We do it with all of our projects. So, they
get an honest review and it's very transparent and if they ask us to take
it from the backyard, we will take the image from the backyard and show it to
them personally. Um, also there are a lot of people in the community of San
Rafale. The community isn't just along Midell. it's within the whole city and
you're providing housing for the whole community. So, there are tradeoffs to be
had. Do you how do you maximize the value of the site for the city to use uh
their dollars in purchasing the property? There are also community
members that will live here eventually. And every time I complete a project, I
think, well, yes, we took we got the project approved
and we took a story off the building and we can do that and still achieve a high
unit count. If you remove 30 units from the development and it's 80 unit
project, the one group of people you don't ever have to ask a question or
answer a question of is why don't I have a house to live in? and those residents,
future residents, many of who might have already been
Sanfell residents don't get to speak for that answer. And
I think that's a really important thing to consider. So there'll be tradeoffs in
this process. Y >> nobody's wetted to the new design and
each of the developers would do a good job. we were a we decided to proceed
with a larger development so that we could have the conversation, have the
tradeoffs and work with the community on it.
» Thank you. >> Thank you, Ray.
And then um Eve. Yeah. Thank you.
» Thank you again. I guess it just in conclusion um I'd like you to take away
um from our proposal that you know Saha has a very strong presence in the
region. We have an excellent track record. We are a very hands-on um
organization and and developer. Myself, my CEO and all our senior leadership
team are involved in these projects. We have a really experienced staff. Um our
senior project manager Naan who's here um has worked on several ASIC projects
and done really beautiful communities again from San Jose to penol um and
we've augmented our team with uh folks who have a long history in the city um
and a lot of local expertise. So April Paley who will be part of our community
outreach and planning and design work going forward as well as Chris Hes. Um,
and I do want to clarify that we have budgeted for this project to have
full-time property management, full-time services coordination as well as
maintenance. Um, and we do have capacity within our services department to
provide case management for folks who need a little extra support. We do have
um a licensed clinical uh social worker who supervises all our resident service
coordinators so that they can get support and um extra resources when
families or individuals are needing that support. Um, we're also very adept at
working with other community partners and we've already started that process
by communicating and reaching out to Canel Alliance and Ritter Center to
think about, oh, folks need additional help, what are the resources in the
community and sort of building those connections um and broad-based community
support. Uh, one last thing is we do have uh 24-hour coverage for maintenance
or other emergencies and we um have a a way to we have a text system so that we
can communicate directly with residents so folks can sign up to get alerts and
announcements from us about activities um opportunities as well as important
safety alerts again if something happens. A couple last fall we had a
tsunami warning um for the bay and uh we immediately were able to push out to all
our residents who lived potentially in that zone and let them know make sure
they had seen the county warnings um and mobilize quickly there. So um again,
we'd love to work with you and we welcome the opportunity to engage with
neighbors as soon as we can so that we can plan um for their needs and be
responsive and deliver a really outstanding project for the community.
Thank you. Thank you and thank you for providing
that additional information. I think it's nice to have the opportunity to add
in and to respond. So, we'll bring it back for subcommittee
discussion and comments. I can see why you wanted to bring all of us into this
conversation. This is not an easy one. I do have two questions. Um, and maybe you
can just speak to this. There were assumptions being made about who will be
living here and I know we have other 100% affordable projects in Sanfell and
so I don't know if the assumption is always accurate that there are people
that were formerly homeless. So maybe you could just speak to who the 80
people might be and it might change over time. Um and then I would also be
curious what height is allowable by current zoning standards.
Yeah, thank you for the clarifying question. Um, because affordable housing
certainly can serve people who were formerly homeless um or at risk of
homelessness. um but also often serves um
every everyone really like um some of the examples we gave we gave in our
slides right were home health aids and um you know people who work retail or
people who are in food service or so it's it's an expansive
group that can live there and is a part of the community
» and so do our other affordable I'm just saying center town are there um onsite
case managers because I I'm just trying to figure out because I think that's a
really interesting comment that the community talked about or on-site
property managers or just the stability part the additional staffing. Do our
other affordable 100% affordable projects have that.
» So I think it depends on the project and the sort of level affordability and like
if there's permanent supportive housing, right? So, permit supportive housing is
going to have an additional um layer of support or like um more robust support.
Um and I think some of these proposals had said,
you know, if vouchers become available, we're happy to look at additional
permanent supportive housing, right? Ramping that up. Right now, we don't
have that voucher availability. And so I think that's why um it might have come
across as um unclear what the level of services would be,
» right? Because I know that this project when we when the city purchased property
was not to be permanent supportive housing, which does have a higher level
of care, >> right? And I will say um I believe all
three proposals noted that that they were um targeting family housing. So
which is again a little bit different than um individual PSH.
And I think the second question was about height. I believe the default
maximum height for this zone is 36 feet if I'm not mistaken. But under um state
density bonus law um affordable housing projects are entitled to increase the
density on site and given its proximity to transit and the level of
affordability. Um if this were a private development for example, I don't believe
the city could impose any density restrictions
» or any height restrictions >> or a waiver. Yeah, they ask for height.
Height becomes a waiver concern, but that's kind of the difference nuance on
this one is we actually do get an opportunity to basically set kind of
like the scale and >> size of this project. So,
» okay. And then we also had I'm looking at my notes here. There were some
questions about going through the projects not selected. I actually don't
want to spend subcommittee time. I can't even parse through the three that we
have here. So, um but there was uh information if you could share. I don't
know how much of that is public information. So, if you could speak to
the to that didn't and I do realize there's a proprietary aspect to these.
These are all pitches. So, I I again, but if you could speak to that. So, we
already talked about um smart path that was addressed. Oh, the resident uh again
for the finalist that there was a chamber of commerce and staff, but why
there wasn't a community member? Never heard of I don't know if we've done
that. Maybe maybe some of the developers have experienced that in other cities.
As I said, this is a brave new world for us, but if you could speak to that and
then the other one, oh, the development score. So again, I know we're trying to
also be sensitive to the fact that that some of this information is confidential
to the Anyway, but if you could answer kind of those those questions and as
much as transparent as we can be. >> Yeah, sure. So this uh we received five
responses. is the two that didn't rise to the top. Um some lacked exper
experience that the these developer teams have and some of the proposals
were maybe underdeveloped or they didn't provide um any they didn't out identify
any community engagement or any three-bedroom units. Some of some of the
factors that led to higher scores for the other proposals. Um and then the the
panel consisted of of members that had different um levels and different
specialties with housing background. Um so even though we did have a member of
the Chamber of Commerce, they they had affordable housing experiences which is
what they brought to the panel.
» And then >> and then in respect to some of the
scoring or details and this is really typical for the city when we do an RFP
process. uh those will become public information or at least not proprietary
information once uh the council actually selects a developer to move forward that
point then we could release additional information because as we noticed some
of these competitive process RFPs maybe the first one doesn't work out we know
the second one so we're still at give that opportunity to uh select the
various groups um but that that's why the information is put out once we've
actually made that selection and enter into the NA and DDA so
Fantastic discussion or questions. >> I just want to follow up just to to
clarify that if this property if the site were being developed by a private
developer that had enough um concessions there would be no height limit. The
sky's the limit. >> No, it'd be a little different. We do
have density uh would be actually because there is a density standard uh
outside the downtown. So there would be a limitation based on the base allowance
density. Even when you put the the bonus stacking on there, there would be a
limitation as compared to some of our downtown zones.
» And do you have any idea what that would be? That would be a number of units.
» Um there would be, but I I really always feel when we start talking about things,
I think there's other factors that would limit really this kind of like maximum
sky's limit approach and really is some of the built infrastructure and also
what the site can actually handle. M >> um so uh in this case it's a sizable
parcel but uh some of these questions do come to play but there is actually a
height allowance a base density project you would actually have to call out what
the maximum density allowance is for this parcel I think we calculated in
like 140 range I can't recall off top of my head but um there is there would be a
box that actually would have to maintained if a um private developer had
acquired the site and move forward with development of this
» okay thank
Now we're to the discussion part. >> Trying to think how we can help um guide
the discussion. I I really want the entire council to be up here because
this is uh very much a challenge. So I'm trying to figure out how we can give
input that's helpful. Um it's well I'll start because I'm already starting. Um I
I'm just thank you to all three applicants that want to build and invest
in San Rafll. Um, I just want to start with that. And this is a new area for
the city of Sanfal for us to be owning this property. Um, and so as we find our
way through this process, whether you've been working in Sanfal or you're new to
uh, working in here, I think you can already tell that we care very deeply
about what's built here and what it looks like and how it responds both to
adjacent neighbors, but as well as to the entire community. I think that's a
good point. Um we've been doing this work between us many many decades and
the reality is um any change in use often is met with resistance for folks
that might be nearest and that's what it is and recognizing that impact is real.
So, how do you balance? Uh, both of those are true. Um, and this council has
been very very committed to having affordable housing. And the fact we're
even doing this, 80 units at the very minimum is a lot of units. And I and I
want to make sure that we don't in the pursuit of perfection lose sight of the
fact that no matter what, we're going to get 80 units because that is what our
agreement is. So, I want to just be clear that for me that was um that's a
very important uh number that I'm I want to say I'm fixated on but I'm thinking
about I we didn't talk about parking and part of this is my other questions I
know get worked out I want to say worked out but you have additional
conversations in the ENA what I heard over all three was a willingness to take
in that input and a willingness to have the project morph and as I said at the
very beginning and put um Eden on the spot it's very difficult to s to believe
like oh we're going to take input when you have really beautiful renderings
And again, it's hard for people unless you're very wellversed in looking at
architectural drawings to understand how those could be changed. And so, there's
always going to be a tension there. And that's just the reality. So, thank you
for being brave and putting pictures on the on in the document because I know
that soon as you put a picture out there, people are going to start to
respond to it uh either positively or negatively. Um, I'll just stop by saying
or close by saying I do think the stability of the residents is a is a
critical part. And I recognize the folks in this area. It's going to morph over
time. It's a 99-year lease. Hate to break it to you, none of us are going to
be here. We're at the end of this, right? And so, how do we have the
flexibility recognizing whether it's service workers or our teachers or
nurses are going to be there. So, I don't want to have it. It's not
permanent supportive housing. So, I don't want it to be built that way.
That's a whole other realm. That is not what we're talking about here. um even
though there are folks who have been formerly homeless who will be offered
spots, but that that's very different than 100% um permanent supportive
housing. The environmental aspect is incredibly important. Once it's built,
it's not going away. So, um paying attention to that and the designs, we
didn't get it in designs. We're not going to do that to you. Setbacks,
things like that. I do think the pedestrian experience as well as a
community experience is important. Um and a lot of that can be addressed
through setbacks and through good design. So that's why I didn't want us
to get hung up on design. And then I do think uh having the character of the
neighborhood respected it. It's an unusual site because it's very
industrial in some ways. You have an old Chevron, you have fast food, you have
multif family housing, you have public storage. There's kind of a lot going on
there. So having ultimately the design and whoever's chosen recognizing that
you're in this liinal space between you know the freeways on one side and how do
you recognize that there's an established neighborhood there that has
its own architectural language and yet this other buildings that are kind of
all over the board. I think that's really challenging actually um from a
design perspective and this is not just throw up a big box and call it a day at
all. So, um I'm actually really pleased that the city will have the ability to
influence that design because we've seen some other designs recently come across
that, um to me have not been as respectful from what we want in terms of
good design. So, I know that's not all helpful in terms of delineating. Um and
I'll just stop at one more thing. The whole financial stack of it all and that
is it was talked about how that's a changing landscape. Um I am fully
convinced that all three that presented tonight would figure it out. you have
all had records of doing this for decades and decades and decades and
you've been meaning you've been figuring it out year after year after year. So I
am completely confident um that was something that was really important to
me to hear and I heard that tonight. So um so I like I agree with you all three.
[laughter] Yeah, council member Busheen.
» I totally agree that would that would be the simplest um thing would be to um
take all three of you because that you all have um are incredibly qualified.
We're thrilled and honored that um you have um um made the effort to um and and
they have the desire to be in San Rafel. But we do need to make a decision um and
we can't have all three. Um, and I think what would most help be most helpful
because as a subcommittee our job is to give you staff direction for what will
be brought forward to the entire council. So with thinking along that
what can I give you for feedback? Um, my feedback is that I agree with your prior
or the way you're approaching it. the items that you've listed on page three
about in the middle of the page um where you say the strength of the proposal is
it would provide the most housing the the reason I think that should be the
first um criterion addressed the purpose of this is low-income
housing and one of the other groups the the people who wouldn't get to live here
are one group that aren't here but in addition
um the taxpayers of Marin County that have provided $8 million that allow us
to be in this happy position of having to choose which developer we want. Those
taxpayers I believe want the most value for their investment and that's why I
think we should be focused on the number of units in making sure that there are
familysiz units included in that mix. But the the numbers matter here. Um we
we need numbers. Um we need many many many units. So I think focusing on the
number of the units is the uh the the the correct first criterion. And and one
the next one you have is parking which is something we did haven't talked about
a lot about here although heaven help us have we heard about parking for those
many decades. So, I I would offer for the neighborhood consideration that park
off-site parking is a huge issue and the the um amount of onsite parking is
extremely important and the closely related to that is the ability
to get to transit so you don't have to have so many cars. Um those two things
work together to um uh keep the trans the transportation on
site that that can be and and provide the neighborhood benefit of paths to uh
for everyone to use to get to transit, not to mention the greater environmental
benefit. And then that that plays into the the neighborhood improvement. And
finally, I think too you um maybe should add a criterion that's been talked a lot
about today. The the next one would be the on-site services. Um because as I
was listening to many of the um specifics of the development,
particularly the environmental ones, maybe it's because I come from the
electricity industry. I hear all these things micro grids photobotic [laughter]
and it's like these are very complicated very dangerous things. These are not
something even your on-site manager you you need expertise
to maintain and to um be able to fully utilize the resistant the resilience
potential of these facilities. And if we're going to put these complex,
expensive, and dangerous um items on these sites,
we need to have um staff with expertise and training that are able to safely um
interact with these um features. So um those are the criteria. That's how I
would approach it um for for the rest of the council so that we have a way of um
looking at the information in a sequence.
» And would you we had talked about units but also bedrooms. I'm trying I'm trying
to figure out how we get at the mix piece and I know you said they all had
the mix. Are you or would your response to that be like that would be figured
out in the ENA? >> Again, just trying to get our hands
around. Yeah, I think you have to look at this is the concept plans that
they've kind of like for their own project. What what if okay everything's
held equal. This is what we would pursue. Okay.
» The hard part is really the due diligence.
» What what capacity or what sewer allocation? There's a lot of questions
that come into play >> about getting there. So that's why it's
hard to get unit mix, but I think we just that's why we really are focused on
the developer and then recognizing all three developers could deliver what the
city is looking to deliver. Okay. >> But we don't want
all, you know, a whole bunch of of um studios, you know, exclusive studios. We
do want some family units. >> Agree.
» At at some fraction. >> Agreed. And then that's really made me
look at the percentages proposed to say whatever the actual build approach was
the same percentages of the intermix of units and then all three of them
actually gave a mix of units. So that's why I said that's the benefit bit versus
just one single type. And we've seen that uh in actual market rate projects
um coming in that were just one type of unit typology.
» Any city manager? Anyone else want I'm trying to figure out how we um don't
just have we can have a repeat of this meeting, but I'm I'm trying to figure
out what the next steps would be. I know in terms of these timelines, they're
very I mean the starting one was August 2026 and we're not selecting a partner
tonight and as far as I know August ends in a week and a half. So I I'm just tell
all of us from what you've heard how you want what's going to happen next. Is
staff going to make an a proposal of two of the finalists maybe? I mean that
would be to me as opposed to having three having maybe two I don't know but
I don't know. >> You know I believe based on the input
provided from the subcommittee that staff's prepared to actually bring
forward um a recommendation to council. Um I think um as I said we we do have a
luxury of three qualified firms. Okay. >> Um but I do believe we have um staff is
comfortable making a recommendation for council. So
» Okay. And then being prepared to answer or talk to the other ones. I'm sure.
Okay. >> Yes.
» City manager. Anything else? Being that this is a brave new world for all of us
in this room. Well, maybe not for the applicants. They've been they've done
this before, but for us on this side for a long time, right?
» No, I think uh staff's gotten some good feedback both in presentations
and from the uh subcommittee. um we'll work on uh most likely bringing forward
a recommendation to the full council which ultimately uh will make the
decision and as we typically do with all of our staff recommendations will likely
be our recommendation and maybe uh option or alternative should the council
discussion >> um warrant um going in that direction
» and will that be September October again I'm just trying to not to put you can
say by the month you don't have to say the exact meeting day because I know
there's a lot going on. >> We would be targeting uh September,
October for bringing that forward >> and so folks can know when it's coming
forward by subscribing to snapshot because again we we want to give people
as much when we know that it's coming forward. We want people to be able to
know how would they know when it's coming forward.
Um well, we'll communicate it on our um project web page and uh we can talk
about um maybe teasing out a long range calendar as part of our agenda process
so people can see what items are coming up.
» I think that would be great. >> Yeah.
» Okay. Well, with that um again, thank you all for being here. We appreciate
everything from both the applicants as well as the public that came and
provided their input. Uh this meeting is adjourned. Good night.