Commission Votes to Ax Affordable Housing

An apartment builder will not have to add 48 low-income housing units to its Los Alisos complex if the city council approves the planning commission's recommendation.

Earlier this month the planning commission voted 2-1 to eliminate affordable housing from the 10-acre, three-level housing complex, which will be built on the site of a vacant K-Mart building.

Developer UDR asked for the change following a Dec. state supreme court decision that . Mission Viejo's redevelopment agency would have helped pay for the affordable housing units.

"The imposition of the affordable requirement for this project was always interdependent on this funding," attorney Kerra Carlson said on behalf of UDR. "This property is not zoned as one of the affordable housing sites, and the city could not have unlaterally imposed affordable housing obligation on this site without the cooperation of UDR.

Commissioner Cliff Swan, who voted against the housing elimination, disagreed.

He said when the city began talks with UDR in Feb. 2011 to add an affordable element to their housing, the proposal came with extras for the developer. He said UDR was allowed to build 324 rental units rather than 254 units for sale because they agreed then to add affordable housing.

"I don't see how we can let you get rid of the low-income units unless you get rid of the entitlements," he said.

Commissioner Steven Spillman said K-Mart building is a "vacant eyesore," and that by accepting the removal of the affordable housing requirement, the project could go forward. And he said the city can still meet its state affordable housing requirements with the elimination.

Swan said whether or not the property is an eyesore is a responsibility of the property owner.

The commission's vote is a recommendation to the city council. The item has not yet been added to the city council's meeting agenda.