FAQ
FAQ # 1: Does the 1600 School Street Apartment Building help the Town of Moraga meet its 2023-2031 Regional Housing Needs Allocation Number (RHNA) for affordable housing units required by the California Housing Mandate?
The 66-unit, 4-story 1600 School Street Luxury Apartment Project DOES NOT help the Town of Moraga make meaningful progress toward meeting its RHNA for affordable housing units.
Under the California Housing Mandate, the Town of Moraga is required to demonstrate to the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) that it has the capacity to add at least 1,118 new housing units by 2031. Of the 1,118 units, 673 must be “affordable housing units” reserved for residents who meet very low income, low income, and moderate-income thresholds:
| Income Category | Number of Residential Units |
|---|---|
| Very Low Income (<50% of AMI) | 318 Units |
| Low Income (50% - 80% of AMI) | 183 Units |
| Moderate Income (80% - 120% of AMI) | 172 Units |
Out of the 66 units in the 1600 School Street Project, ONLY 5 units have been designated as affordable housing units (in this case Very Low-Income units).
If this high-rise apartment complex is built, Moraga will still need to plan for the development of an additional 668 “affordable housing units.”
FAQ #2: How was a 4-story, 66-unit, 49-foot-tall building approved for this 2-acre site by the Moraga Planning Commission? What is going on here?!
Historically in the Town of Moraga, residential developments were limited to 3 stories, a 45-foot maximum height, and a zoning density of 24 dwelling units per acre (meaning only 48 units could be built on the 1600 School Street site, NOT 66).
By including 5 Very Low Income units in the 66-unit complex, Outdo Country Club Drive (the developer of the 1600 School Street Project) is attempting to use new state and local laws that award incentives and concessions to affordable housing developments to secure state and local density bonuses (allowing them to build more than 48 units on a 2-acre parcel) AND to obtain a waiver of the height and story requirements (allowing them to exceed the 3-story, 45- foot height maximum).
Moraga’s Affordable Housing Ordinance mandates that all inclusionary units (affordable housing units) in a residential building MUST meet certain design requirements, including that they:
- Be reasonably dispersed throughout the entirety of the residential development.
- Be comparable in terms of bedroom count to the market-rate units.
- Have access to all amenities available to the market-rate units.
However, the 1600 School Street Project DOES NOT COMPLY with the Town of Moraga’s affordable housing design requirements in several important respects. The project includes 16 1-bedroom units, 35 2-bedroom units and 15 3-bedroom units. However, the 5 VLI Units are limited to 4 tiny 1-bedroom units and 1 tiny 2-bedroom unit (with NO 3-bedroom VLI Units). Furthermore, the 5 VLI Units are located in the least desirable parts of the complex (e.g. near elevators, trash rooms or the lobby, or with windows facing the building or the busy street). And while all the market-rate units include in-unit laundry, none of the VLI Units offer this amenity. Based on the plans submitted to the Moraga Planning Commission, the developer has failed to comply with mandatory design requirements for affordable housing established by the Moraga Affordable Housing Ordinance and SHOULD NOT BE ENTITLED to the bonuses, waivers and concessions it seeks from the Town of Moraga.