3rd and J Street Project (233 and 239 J Street) - Affordable Housing

Public Meetings Regarding Proposals

Two public meetings have been scheduled for neighborhood input and public review of the two proposals received on the parcels located at 233 and 239 J Street. The meeting dates, times, and locations are as follows:

Neighborhood Meeting - Monday June 8, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. in the Hattie Weber Museum at 445 C Street - (meeting notice )
Social Services Commission - Monday June 15, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. in the Community Chambers at 23 Russell Boulevard

Once reviewed by the neighborhood and Social Services Commission, this item will be taken to the City Council (acting as the Redevelopment Agency Board) for final review and action.

The proposals are available for review:

If you have comments or questions about the proposals submitted, please attend the meetings listed above and/or submit written comments or questions to Danielle Foster at dfoster@cityofdavis.org or (530) 757-5626.

Properties Purchased by the City’s Redevelopment Agency

In August 2005, the Davis Redevelopment Agency purchased the two 6,000 square foot lots located at 233 and 239 J Street, within the Old East neighborhood R-2 CD area. As currently zoned, these lots could accommodate two primary housing units on each, for a potential of four single-family homes. The Agency originally purchased these lots with affordable housing funds and with the following objectives:

Provision of affordable ownership housing near the downtown.
Provision of owner-occupied units on these lots.
Consideration of the relocation of historic and contributing historic homes to these lots, based on rehabilitation costs, moving costs, and the availability of appropriate homes.
Consideration of site-built affordable housing as an alternative to the relocation of homes, estimating a minimum of 4 to 6 units.

Upcoming Meeting Dates

Redevelopment Agency Board for the City of Davis
Tuesday December 9, 2008 at 6:30 p.m.
Community Chambers, 23 Russell Boulevard, Davis

Note: The staff report for this meeting can be found at the bottom of this webpage with other project documents.

Project Planning and Timeline

Once it has purchased land for affordable housing, the Agency has five years (August 2010) to either develop affordable housing on the site, sell the site, or restate its ongoing intent to develop the site with an anticipated project. In January, city staff went before the City Council (acting as the Board of the Redevelopment Agency) for direction on how to proceed with the two properties at 3rd and J Streets. The staff report for this item can be found at the bottom of this webpage.

Redevelopment Agency Board Direction:

At their meeting on January 8, 2008, the City Council (acting as the Board of the Redevelopment Agency) directed staff to do the following in relation to 233 and 239 J Street:

Further analyze an option for these sites that includes the relocation of up to four existing historic/contributing historic/vintage houses and the new construction of houses on the properties located at 233 and 239 J Street for the purpose of providing affordable low/moderate ownership housing. This option shall be reviewed with a strong commitment to neighborhood association outreach and good space planning.
Meet with owners of existing houses, perform inspections, and negotiate potential costs related to the relocation of such houses.
Prepare a more detailed project proforma, and hire an expert as needed, in order to determine more definitive costs for the completion of the project, using this concept.
Complete the necessary project analysis without incurring more than $10,000 in additional costs, outside of already budgeted staff time and annual weed abatement costs related to 233 and 239 J Street.
Return to the Board once these items have been completed and a more comprehensive analysis is available for review and action.
Negotiate the potential relocation of 311 B Street, with the objective of negotiating to not pay relocation costs.

Ownership Outreach and Project Options:

Based on Council’s direction, staff mailed an outreach letter to owners of vintage and contributing historic houses along B Street, Third Street, and other identified locations in Davis. With a positive response from the owners of 311 and 315 B Street, staff worked with a representative for the owners of these properties to develop five options for development of the two properties at Third and J Street.

These five options (Option A, B, C, D, and E) can be viewed in the documents portion at the bottom of this webpage.

Neighborhood Meeting:

The City/Agency hosted a neighborhood meeting at the project location (233 and 239 J Street) on May 12, 2008 at 7pm. There were twenty neighbors in attendance at that meeting who provided initial feedback on the five project options that have been developed. These project options range in density and the inclusion of one to two houses that could be relocated from 311 and 315 B Street as part of a proposed project at those addresses. Some of the feedback gathered at the neighborhood meeting included:

Items of Neighborhood Consensus
- Support for the relocation of at least one existing house
- Request for neighborhood involvement/input on the project design
- Project adherence to existing historic guidelines
- General preference towards ownership housing
- Concern regarding existing parking for 227 J Street in shared driveway (easement)
Questions/Concerns of Individual Neighbors
- Question regarding the effects of affordable housing on property values
- Discussion of possibility of preserving existing tree
- Consideration of common open space within the project
- Request to consider potential survey mistake on block, which could reduce actual property sizes by up to 30"

The Old East Neighborhood Association may plan a meeting of the neighbors to further discuss the five options presented. Please contact Tim Allis at teallis@ucdavis.edu if you would like more information on how to get involved with the Old East Neighborhood Association.

Historic Review of the Project Options:

The City contracted for a historic review of the five project options that have been developed for these properties. The review was to gain the opinion of a historic consultant on which of the project options would maintain the historic integrity of ether 311 B Street or both 311 and 315 B Street, as used in the project options. The project options, with the historic review, went before the City’s Historical Resources Management Commission at a special meeting on June 2, 2008 for their review. The Commission determined that Options A and B would be most favorable due to the historical integrity and reuse of both vintage homes. The Commission agreed that Option D also maintains the historical integrity of the relocated structure, but found it less favorable due the reuse of only one vintage home.

The Redevelopment Agency Board will be reviewing the project options, historical data, fiscal analysis, and neighborhood feedback at their meeting on December 9, 2008. At that meeting, they will direct staff on how to proceed with the use of the 233 and 239 J Street properties. The staff report for this meeting will be posted in the documents section below once it is available.

Note: The staff report for this meeting, historic evaluation for the potential relocation of 311 and 315 B Street, and the HRMC special meeting minutes from June 2, 2008 can be found at the bottom of this webpage with other project documents.

Attachments, Questions, and Comments

Available are the following project materials:

The City Staff contact is Danielle Foster, Housing and Human Services Superintendent for the City. She can be reached via email at dfoster@cityofdavis.org or by telepohone at (530)757-5691.