|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The planned housing project set for a portion of the abandoned walnut orchard known as the Borel property in the southeast outskirts of Danville has cleared another hurdle as of last week following a public hearing at the Town Council.
The required public hearing on Feb. 4 was aimed at allowing residents to voice their opinions on whether or not to allow the use of tax-exempt bonds from the California Municipal Finance Authority to fund the ownership and management of the 43 affordable rental units set to be part of the 167-unit housing project slated for development by Trumark Homes.
“Last year the Planning Commission approved the development down at the northern seven acres of the Borel Property, and included in that project are 43 apartment units that are going to be set aside for low or very low income residents,” City Attorney Rob Ewing said at the Feb. 4 Town Council meeting. “Those units are going to be owned and developed by Pacific West Communities. Pacific West has applied for up to $30 million in tax exempt revenue bonds that would be issued by the California Municipal Finance Authority, which is the joint powers authority here in California.”
Ewing added that while the hearing at the Town Council was required for those bonds to be issued, the town would have no other responsibility or liability in the issuance of the bonds – but that approving a resolution to do so would be a milestone in the process of both the project at hand and the overall need to allow for the development of new housing projects in the town, particularly low income units.
“The resolution tonight would be a great step in having that project move forward which will be a big help for us in trying to achieve our numbers under the RHNA allocation,” Ewing said.
Under the Regional Housing Needs Allocation formula, Danville is tasked with identifying sites and allowing for the development of a minimum of 2,241 new housing units in the current eight-year cycle from 2023 to 2031. Of those, a minimum of 652 units are required to be affordable to very low income households, and 376 are required to be affordable to low income households.
Vice Mayor Newell Arnerich emphasized that the hearing that night, while required, was essentially in order for the council to give their “blessing” for the bonds and the project set to be funded by them, with the town not otherwise being on the hook for any financial liability.
The public hearing garnered a single public comment, from Ramon Amaral, field representative for the Nor Cal Carpenters Union.
“We recognize the pressing need for housing in our community, and we are ready to contribute our skills and labor to make the vision a reality,” Amaral said.”However, we must oppose it at its current form. The developer has a history of choosing to bypass the responsible contractors opting instead for those who do not pay fair wages or provide essential health benefits, with little or no training to the worker. This decision undermines the very foundation of our community workers.”
Amaral added that this alleged choice has risks not just to workers themselves, but to overall projects and the communities they exist in, going on to call for requiring industry standards and fair wages and training for contractors.
“This project has the potential to be something great, but only if it’s built on the principle of fairness and equity,” Amaral said. “We urge the developer to reconsider their approach and commit to using responsible contractors who will ensure that the workers building these homes are compensated justly and given they need to care for their families. Let’s build a future where housing projects uplift the entire community, starting with those who build them.”
Arnerich sought to clarify whether or not prevailing wage requirements would be required by the state joint powers authority, and whether or not Danville had any say in the matter in any event. Ewing said that while the former point was the case, how exactly that would be enforced and what Danville’s role would be in it was unclear.
Councilmember Mark Belotz sought to clarify that the town would not be on the hook for any liability associated with the bonds, which Ewing also affirmed.
“Regardless of what happens, it doesn’t come back to us,” Ewing said.
Councilmember Robert Storer moved to approve the resolution authorizing the issuance of the tax exempt bonds, which was seconded by Belotz and approved unanimously by the council.
