New housing bills target parking rules, commercial sites

The no-parking bill is certainly awful. California politicians love anything that supports their fantasy of forcing everyone to ride bicycles.

Just so you know .....

SB-6 "Creating more affordable housing is critical to the achievement of regional housing needs assessment goals, and that housing units developed at higher densities MAY generate affordability ..."

CA 65538.2 "The following densities shall be deemed appropriate to accommodate housing for lower income households:
(iv) For a jurisdiction in a metropolitan county: sites allowing at least 30 units per acre.

This is the great big State bait and switch. Pretend that 30du/acre MAY produce affordable housing "for lower-income households" while in reality it produces dense LUXURY units.

Here are the facts for Menlo Park. From the Willow Village Housing Needs Assessment:

Studio APT required income: $118k --------113% of median = moderate
1BR ------ required income: $145k-$220k 121-148% of median = above moderate

These are based on downtown RWC and Bayfront Menlo Park units. Downtown Menlo Park apts are still higher.

Erratum: The "1BR" above should indicate "1BR -- 3BR"