Weekly Poll: Affordable Housing in Dublin
Dublin has an abundance of affordable housing options for residents. The term affordable housing is often used to refer to below-market-rate (BMR) and Section 8 housing. BMR housing is subsidized by developers (as required by the city) and sometimes non-profit agencies. This type of housing can be a apartment, a condo/townhouse, or a single family residence that is rented or sold at a sliding scale rate that is below the market rate (thus the term). In Dublin, developers are required to set aside 12.5% of all new development for BMR housing. Developers can have the option to build 7.5% and then contribute 5% to a fund to build future BMRs at other projects.
The term “Section 8 housing” is actually a bit of a misnomer in that the housing offered to families can be the same as any other non-Section 8 apartment or home. The only difference is that the landlord is willing to accept a Section 8 housing voucher that is sponsored by the HUD agency.
Many residents feel that providing affordable housing is an investment in our community. Some support affordable housing – but only if qualified candidates are accepted into the program. Others might argue that market rate housing has already become affordable and that a subsidized program isn’t necessary or that affordable housing reduces the value of market rate housing. There are many pros and cons to affordable housing, but the important question is – are you in favor of having affordable housing in Dublin?
7:38 AM on August 20th, 2008
Hi John,
I live in the Dublin Ranch Villages area. Thanks to your earlier post on National Night Out, I had the chance to meet some of my neighbors from the Groves. All of them live in the building designated for seniors, and they absolutely love everything Dublin has to offer. One of the seniors told me she used to live in a new BMR apartment complex in San Ramon. Unfortunately she had to move out a year later for safety reasons, because the complex started getting some unsavory tenants.
I doubt most people would have expected someone like the senior I spoke to at National Night Out to be a Section 8 resident, but people like her are precisely why the Section 8 program was created. She told me that she gets angry when she hears about problems caused by the select few Section 8 tenants from other buildings, because the actions of those few are making the majority of the law-abiding Section 8 residents look bad.
Affordable housing in general is an investment in the community, but the program is not run as well as it can and should be in Dublin. If the percentages are not negotiable, Dublin should do its very best to attract people like the Groves seniors I spent time with at National Night Out. We should also invest more resources to make sure only qualified people get in, so taxpayers can see that their money are being spent on the people who truly deserve our help and not people who are just better at hiding their assets.
9:07 AM on August 20th, 2008
While Section 8 should be reserved for those that really need it, I’ve seen many examples of people who were on it that abused the system.
It seems that the people in charge of running this program are not doing a good job at monitoring the recipients.
Back in the late 90′s, after the Geneva Towers in SF were imploded, it forced those residents to find housing elsewhere. Well, most of those people moved to Antioch, which caused a rash of problems.
The last thing I want is to invite these kinds of problems to our nice town.
Every person that is on Section 8 should be carefully screened and a thorough background check should be done on each one of them before they are allowed to rent a unit in Dublin. And if they cause any problems, there should a clause in the lease stating that the city reserves the right to evict and a report will be sent to the Housing Authority or whoever runs Section 8 informing them of the incident. If they know there are consequences attached, then they will think twice about misbehaving.
I understand this city must have some affordable housing, but we should only extend help to those who are law abiding citizens and who will take care of the property. Also, we should limit the amount of affordable housing units because we don’t want to develop a reputation for being a Section 8 city.
9:18 AM on August 20th, 2008
Great post…. I too am extremely worried about all the unsavory folks that are now coming to Dublin, within the past 4-5 years. I see gang-looking youths walking around Stoneridge, I see them walking the streets of Dublin Ranch, and other neighborhoods.
The idea of BMR housing is a noble one indeed, however, like welfare, it can really be abused by those that do not need it, as well as those who bring more crime and blight to our community. This severely affects home values in the area for sure.. You do not see BMR in towns like Danville, Alamo, Los Gatos, Los Altos, etc…
Make no mistake about it, offering BMR housing most definitely does negatively affect your own home value (take a look at Antioch and other towns if interested)…
I think I am most surprised by the percentage of 12.5% of all new housing.. That means that more than one house in 10 needs to be BMR…
I for one am fairly upset about what I’m seeing happening in my own new neighborhood, and with Dublin continuing to support 12.5% BMR housing, I am saddened to say that I am probably looking to move away from Dublin within the next few years..
Section 8 is paid for by us, the tax payers… BMR is ALSO paid by us in 2 ways:
1) Anyone buying a new home, guess what? Your new home price is partly set by having to subsidize the lower price of the BMR units in that development. That is, you pay a little more, since the builder is not making as much as they would have on the 12.5% of BMR units..
2) By having Section 8 and BMR residents in the community, unfortunately means our home values go down. There really is no argument against that I don’t think.. You do not have Section 8 / BMR in wealthy areas– Those residents are protecting their home values.. Unfortunately, a good percentage of Section 8/BMR residents do indeed account for more crime than their counterparts, take worse care of their yards, etc, and have more cars parked all around (family members renting in the garage? Yep, seen it)….
I would love to only provide assistance to those like the seniors who need it, but unfortunately for every one of them, I see 10 times the amount of unsavory folks that are bringing more crime and more problems to our community.
Statistics also show that residents on Section 8 / BMR housing also typically score low and do poorly in school. There are many reasons for this (stress in family life, lack of pressure from 2 parents on the importance of education,etc.). The fact is that by adding kids into our schools from Section 8/BMR housing will in most cases bring our school scores down, which we all know brings home values down..
For me, it’s a noble idea, but one that has so many problems and unfortunate realities associated with it that I cannot agree that it’s good for our community..
11:07 PM on August 20th, 2008
In my experience Dublin BMRs require a significant time commitment and you will be properly vetted prior to making your purchase.
I went through the BMR process which entailed working with both the City of Dublin and Homebricks (the non-profit group overseeing the verification of my qualifications and purchase logistics).
The city’s and Homebricks’ process of verifying my BMR qualifications was a strenuous, loooong and thorough process. The purchase required significant amount of time on my part to facilitate movement on my application since I was dealing with both city bureaucracy, and non-profit efficiencies. Furthermore there are restrictions on the type of loan that you can take out.
I would be surprised if as anonymous said these “unsavory folks” are actually BMR owners. These “crime and blight” causing owners surely went through a ton of paperwork and bureaucratic heck in order to purchase a house.
Now the communal value of offering BMRs? I am a teacher. The Dublin BMR program allowed me to live in the city where I work rather than commuting 60+ minutes. This allows me to volunteer after school to coach sports, offer free tutoring after school and participate/lead after school activities.
Rather than condemning the Dublin BMR process maybe we should find out more about it?
Is it possible that Section 8 and BMR have different vetting procedures?
10:13 AM on August 21st, 2008
I am really grateful we have a Dublin teacher who has been so generous in sharing his/her experience with the city’s BMR program. I am in favor of supporting an affordable housing program that allows teachers, paramedics, the police, and other residents who provide essential services to live where they work.
What I am not comfortable with is the seemingly inflexible requirement of 12.5%. Is that quota dictated by the federal government, state government, or county government? When and how did this government entity arrive at that specific percentage? Why should we take discretion away from local government in managing the level of BMR inventory? The market has soften significantly, and I would argue that Dublin housing in general has become quite affordable. The city government should, therefore, have the ability to dial back the number of BMR units it requires until the market improves. Wouldn’t the money be better spent today at making sure foreclosed homes maintain their appearances, so they do not negatively impact their neighborhoods further?
I have always been curious about BMRs after the sale is completed. Does the city continue to monitor the owner’s income? What would happen to the unit, if the owner’s income rises above the maximum allowed for a BMR applicant? If the owner is not required to relinquish his/her residence, wouldn’t the city have effectively reduced its BMR inventory? Would that effective decrease in inventory compel the city to mandate more BMR units to be built? Is this strict quota the reason we have condos in developments like Silvera Ranch, where they are far away from public transit and make absolutely no sense?
I know the city has gotten complaints from BMR home owners about their inability to rent out their units, as they move onto other housing options. The City Council was very vague about these other housing options. How is it possible that people who qualify for BMR housing can all of a sudden afford to rent an apartment or buy a second home on top of the mortgage they pay for their BMR unit? Based on my quick reading of the minutes from this week’s City Council meeting, I believe the city will be buying back the BMRs at the price they were sold back when the market was hot. If my interpretation is correct, the BMR home owners will be able to profit from their real estate investment at the expense of everyone else. I doubt most market-rate home owners would consider this bail out fair. Please do not hesitate to correct me on this thread, if I misinterpreted the City Council’s intentions.
I believe owning your own home is a privilege, not a right, but I absolutely have no problem with a housing program that allows people who provide essential services to Dublin to live in Dublin, because their presence in our community is ultimately good for everyone’s property value. Finally, I should emphasize, in case it’s not clear, that my comment is directed at the city’s BMR program, not the Section 8 program.
10:24 AM on August 21st, 2008
Great comment Toshi– I totally agree– I really do value the work that teachers (especially!) and other listed individuals do, but I too have many concerns about the abuse of the system– I agree with the teacher here that those great, hard-working folks who are part of BMR housing should not be punished for the abuses of others, so it’s up to everyone to make sure that doesn’t happen– Our politicians need to enforce strict rules for acceptance as well as after-the-fact guidelines to follow.. If you fail to abide by certain rules (troubles with the law, recurring issues with HOA maintenance, or more than alloted number of cars in the household, then perhaps you lose your eligibility..
The person above (the teacher), is indeed the EXACT type of individual we all want to see succeed in the BMR program, but unfortunately the program needs to address the others that are slipping through the cracks.. If we address those, then that means we’ll be able to help more people that are deserving, and help resolve the issues we’re seeing now with problems related to BMR and Section 8 housing..
2:40 PM on August 23rd, 2008
I was talking with a friend last night about this issue and he said that he thought that BMR housing was only available to police officers, fire dept members, teachers, etc.. That would be great if that’s the case- Does anyone know if there are rules as far as who can apply for BMR housing? Can people who qualify for low-income, but who are not public service type employees qualify for BMR housing?
3:51 PM on August 23rd, 2008
Hi Anonymous – generally speaking, anybody making less than a certain level of income is eligible for BMR housing in Dublin (there are a few exceptions). However, the City of Dublin uses a point preference system to determine which applicants will be accepted into the BMR program. For example, BMR applicants that have lived in Dublin for over 1 year or have been employed in Dublin for at least 6-months will get 3 points. Dublin public service employees (e.g., teachers) will get 1 point. There are many other factors that can add to an applicant’s point total. Please check out this BMR application for Tralee at http://www.ci.dublin.ca.us/pdf/Tralee%203.2008.pdf to get more info about the criteria.
11:49 PM on August 23rd, 2008
Thanks John for pointing us to this priority point system. I wonder who came up with this unintuitive weighting system. Based on the table on page 5, public service employees in Dublin like teachers and police officers who live in another city or have not lived in Dublin for more than one year get only 1 point, while able-bodied private sector employees who have lived in Dublin for more than one year get 6 points. I fail to see how the current priority points system is giving preference to people who devote their lives to the greater good of the community?
4:43 PM on September 26th, 2008
A touchy issue for politician, balancing between what is right for the community and appeasing activist for housing.
Dublin has done more of its’ share with BMR/Section 8. It is time to look at our 12.5% ordinance and put a halt to it until surrounding towns (Pleasanton, Danville, Alamo) put up their share. Dublin need not be the armpit of the Tri Valley and 680 corridor.
Removing the BMR requirement reduces the cost of building a residential unit in Dublin for developers thus may get them to stop pushing for the highest density allowed to help them recoup the high cost of building in Dublin. Maybe they wouldn’t need to build such massive high density buildings or even single family that stacked on top of each other like sardines if the cost of building wasn’t so high, removing the BMR requirement is a start. Rezoning remaining undeveloped land is another.
To save politicians personal grieve, how about putting the BMR ordinance and high density ban up for a public vote in coming elections. Thus politicians would need to abide by the people’s will and not get flack for it.
Banning high density outside of the Transit Centers and repealing the BMR ordinance (to the dismay of Co. and State Official) but to the cheers of local residence which matters most should get a positive response at the polls.
4:46 PM on September 26th, 2008
To add to my previous comment regarding BMRs. I do agree that we should make some available to our Teachers, Firemen, Policeman, City Employees. But based on the points systems, we are giving preferential treatment to out of towners that have outgrown their welcome in other towns. These are the folks earliers comments refers to. Go to the Tassajara Safeway on a late evening and you see.
12:27 AM on October 15th, 2008
Dublin needs to stop building high-density multi-family housing; otherwise, Dublin will pay the consequences that come with “affordable housing”. Dublin should develop with the same mix of housing that Pleasanton, Livermore, and San Ramon have. If not, we will risk becoming the “Antioch” of the Tri-Valley.
10:21 AM on October 15th, 2008
DITTO!!