Hollister
– The City Council voted unanimously at its Monday meeting to
extend its moratorium on apartment-to-condominium conversions for
another 10 months.
Hollister – The City Council voted unanimously at its Monday meeting to extend its moratorium on apartment-to-condominium conversions for another 10 months.
Councilmembers said the extension will give the city more time to develop long-term solutions to Hollister’s rental housing shortage. According to city staff, the shortage is apparent in Hollister’s 2.1 percent vacancy rate, less than half the desirable vacancy rate of 5 to 6 percent identified in the city’s housing element.
Prior to the extension, the conversion moratorium was scheduled to end on March 28. Now it could last until Feb. 3, 2008.
City Planner Mary Paxton noted that permits for 312 multi-family units have been allocated for construction, but all of those projects are on hold until the state ends its moratorium on sewer hook-ups.
“Until the (sewer) moratorium is lifted, there isn’t much ability to overcome the shortage of multi-family housing in the city,” Paxton said.
Before the vote, local contractor David Haro told the council that he opposes extending the conversion moratorium. He said that the city’s sewer moratorium has already done enough damage to housing and to the local building community.
“I plead with the council to consider the impact of extending this ordinance,” Haro said.
Hollister resident Marty Richman also opposed the extension.
“On principle, the government should not tell private parties what to do with their property or investments unless it serves an overwhelming government interest,” Richman said. “And I don’t believe this qualifies.”
Richman argued that the city should not be discouraging condo development. Condos, he said, allow people who can’t afford single-family homes to purchase a place of their own, and the government should be encouraging more people to become homeowners.
“People tend to take much better care of what they own than what they borrow or rent,” Richman said. “They are more permanent and part of the community.”
Councilman Doug Emerson said that although he supported extending the moratorium, he does not oppose condo conversions.
“The problem I see right now is we do these conversions and we don’t have a plan to replace those apartments,” Emerson said.
He added that the city needs to tackle the issue because so few apartments were built in the 1990s and early 2000s.
“In the late ’90s, there wasn’t good planning, and now we’re dealing with these problems,” Emerson said.
Councilwoman Monica Johnson said city leaders need to ensure that affordable condos and apartments remain available so that Hollister’s workforce has a place to live. Johnson noted that the city is currently trying to more recruit police officers and teachers.
“(These are) all folks who aren’t looking at a big house,” she said.
City Manager Clint Quilter said the conversion moratorium will end once the council approves its long-term plans, and that’s likely to take less than 10 months. He added that city staff will be presenting a timetable for progress at the council’s April 2 meeting.
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or
ah*@fr***********.com
.
