Del Mar Community Plan Housing Element Goals

Since 1969, California has required that all cities and counties adequately plan to meet the housing needs of everyone in the community. California’s local governments meet this requirement by adopting a state approved housing plan as part of their “General Plan” or in the case of Del Mar, the “Community Plan.” Del Mar’s Community Plan includes a “housing element.” Del Mar’s Housing Element was approved by the state on June 6, 2013. (Source: May 21, 2018 City Staff Report)

Del Mar’s Community Plan Housing Element sets out five major goals regarding housing.

Del Mar’s Progress on Affordable Housing – a Timeline

Del Mar has been faced with the affordable housing challenge for years. The following is a timeline of the city’s progress on addressing this challenge.

2013

May 20, 2013: After approximately 18 months of review and analysis, the city council adopts the 2013-2021 Cycle Housing Element as part of Del Mar’s Community Plan.

June 6, 2013: Del Mar’s Housing Element is certified by the state. The original allocation should have been 61 units, but Del Mar was assessed an additional 15 penalty units (10 low and 5 moderate) because the City failed to achieve its 2005-2010 housing cycle goals and failed to demonstrate any feasible options for affordable housing (see adjacent table).

2016

October 3, 2016: A presentation is made by the Del Mar Housing Corporation (DMHC) to the city council. DMHC is a separate corporation funded by city fees which have been used to subsidize rents for qualifying families in Del Mar. The DMHC requests the City establish a capital fund with a target balance of $2.0 million within five (5) years. The fund would be used to acquire/rehab and/or develop affordable housing units. DMHC representatives note the failure of the city to make any progress. City staff notes the failure to make any progress. The city council supports the request and Council Member Al Corti proposes the city pursue the development of a plan to construct 22 units in 5 years (2022). The 22 units represent Extremely Low (4), Very Low (3), Low (5) and penalty units for Low (10) and hence the “22 in 5” affordable housing program is born. The 22 in 5 plan focus is to provide 22 affordable housing units by 2022 and to partially achieve the City’s share of the regional housing needs. The moderate-income and above-moderate income housing are thought to be “built naturally” and therefore not the focus of the program.

November 21, 2016: City council directs staff to move forward with a work program for the 22 in 5 plan with the bulk of the work to be prepared by a consultant who specializes in affordable housing implementation.

2017

May 1, 2017: The City hires a consultant at a cost not to exceed $98,250 to prepare a “22 in 5” report that looks at various solutions to create 22 affordable housing units by 2022.

2018

May 21, 2018: City staff provides a progress report showing zero affordable units being built through 2017 in Extremely Low, Very Low, Low and Moderate income categories. City staff outlines 60 objectives related to the housing element. The objectives not yet implemented include rezoning of certain areas and new land use designation for the Fairgrounds.

June 4, 2018: Affordable housing consultant presents its report which outlined 4 key strategies and 26 different options to attain 22 affordable housing units by 2022. The following table represents these strategies:

City council directs staff to move forward with following strategies: 1) Encourage condominium conversion; 2) Proceed with process to raise certain mitigation fees to increase revenues for affordable housing programs; 3) Proceed with process to rezone North Commercial and Professional Commercial Zone; 4) Obtain agreements for affordable housing on projects being developed (941 Camino Del Mar, Del Mar Resort, Watermark) and 5) Pursue partnering with the Del Mar Fairgrounds.

December 17, 2018: City staff presents request to proceed with an Environmental Impact Report (“EIR”). An EIR is a necessary step in rezoning the North Commercial and Professional Commercial Zones (Strategy #3). City staff requests the city council approve moving forward with an EIR and suggested that ALL Public Facilities Zones be included in the EIR study – namely the: 1) Library; 2) Post Office; 3) Civic Center; and 4) Shores property including the Winston School. Residents strongly oppose including the Shores property in the EIR. Their opposition was based on circumstances surrounding the 2007 Del Mar Shores campaign to purchase the Shores property from the Del Mar Union School District. That campaign was a joint effort of Del Mar residents, Winston School and the City of Del Mar to purchase the 5.3 acre Shores property which contains Winston School, playing fields and open space. The fundraising was successful with over 400 donors personally contributing $5,400,000 including Winston School’s $3,000,000 contribution in the form of pre-paid rent. In connection with this fundraising campaign, the city gave an important assurance to donors that the city was committed to preserving the property for its then current uses – Winston School, playing fields and open space. To show its commitment, the city unanimously adopted Resolution 2007-35 on August 6, 2007. Relevant parts of Resolution 2007-35:

• …the City is unable to finance the acquisition (of the Shores property) and the City desires to support and encourage fundraising efforts through the commitment to preserve the present uses (emphasis added) of the property.
• The purpose of the acquisition is to preserve the current open space and recreational uses of the property, including the ball field, and to permit the continued operation of the private Winston School, in keeping with the original dedicated intention (for school purposes only).
• The City’s long term goal is to maximize the open space and recreational uses on the property. Although other public facilities are permitted under current zoning, the City Council has no intention of pursuing other uses not consistent with the purpose of the acquisition such as a new fire station or city hall.

At the December 17th city council meeting, in response to a question of whether Winston School had ever considered affordable housing for its employees, Dena Harris head of Winston School firmly stated “no.” (Time stamp 2:17:03)

City council votes to exclude the Shores Property from the EIR.

December 20, 2018: City issues letter signed by Deputy Mayor Ellie Haviland in response to Winston’s proposal asking for changes to its lease. The city offered various options including a rent reduction if Winston built affordable housing. Actual excerpt from December 20, 2018 letter:

Build and manage affordable housing units. Units need to be affordable for the duration of the lease term. Incorporating housing units helps the City toward its affordable housing requirements. Hypothetical at 3 units would be equal to -$35,000 per year.

Value of one affordable housing unit = $11,000 -$12,000 lease reduction per year (based on extrapolation from “22 in 5” study).

The city includes a hypothetical number of units as an example – not a set limit.

2019

March 18, 2019: City staff informs city council that 1 accessory dwelling unit was approved for affordable housing.

June 3, 2019: City Council Members Druker and Worden report they are in discussions with State Representative Toni Atkins regarding the need for Del Mar, Solana Beach and the Fairgrounds to talk about options. (City Council Meeting June 3, 2019 Time 5:46:00)

June 17, 2019: City staff presents a sobering analysis of estimated affordable housing units that may be imposed on Del Mar in the next housing cycle starting in 2021 (see table below). City Council Member Gaasterland questions whether the assumptions and methodology for the allocation may be inaccurate.

Faced with the fact the city has made virtually no progress for years in affordable housing, a looming deadline of 14 months (Source: City Planning Director, City Council Meeting June 17, 2019 Time: 3:50:11) to submit a new Housing Element to the state that demonstrates progress or likely face additional penalties, and an anticipated requirement of even more housing units in 2021-2029, (Source: City Planning Director, City Council Meeting June 17, 2019 Time: 3:50:11), the City Council has a candid discussion regarding the need to take definitive action:

City Manager Scott Huth: You have the power to make this work. You don’t want to do this. You can change the zoning. You can incentivize developers to do it. You can make the decision to make the economics make it work. You are going to have to look at this in the next cycle to make this work. The state will not accept a plan that is just puff. It has to be real. Del Mar is going to have to find a trade-off to get the amount of housing. (City Council Meeting June 17, 2019 Time 4:32:37) The partnership idea is a good idea and the state is in a crisis so to go beyond your jurisdictional boundary is a good idea. (City Council Meeting June 17, 2019 Time 4:38:00)

Council Member Druker: Our best opportunity is to work with the fairgrounds so we need to work with the state to open that up. (City Council Meeting June 17, 2019 Time 4:38:41)

Council Member Worden: …we will be meeting with Fairgrounds and Solana Beach officials to start a discussion about various options available at the Fairgrounds. (City Council Meeting June 17, 2019 Time 4:39:39)

September 6, 2019: Solana Beach made a motion at SANDAG to reduce the number of units for small cities (including Del Mar) by 55%. Eight other cities supported the motion – Del Mar (Haviland) voted AGAINST the motion and it failed by 1 vote.

For Safari, click the following link:
SANDAG Board of Directors meeting on September 6, 2019 Councilmember Ellie Haviland (2:00 min. video)

Listen to the Solana Beach coalition's comments:

Other Resources

• Robert Hajek Letter to City dated June 14, 2019
• Grant Deed for Shores Property
• Letter to SANDAG dated May 21, 2019
• Del Mar “22 in 5” Affordable Housing Report (May 2018)