A developer’s plan to kick out residents of nearly 200 apartment units and replace their complex with $700,000 town houses gained the approval of the city council Tuesday night, in a 5-1 vote that required council members to balance the competing housing goals of ownership and affordability.
Lyon Capital Ventures will begin construction of 206 rowhouses at the northeast corner of Central Expressway and Rengstorff Avenue, currently the site of North Park Apartments, pending the approval of its building permits. The plan will net the city an estimated $4.3 million or more in BMR, or below market rate, fees, in addition to an annual increase in property taxes of nearly $200,000.
“I’m really concerned about the displacement of so many rental residents,” said council member Laura Macias, who cast the only dissenting vote. She said the project was “doing exactly the opposite of what we say we want to do, which is to increase the supply of affordable housing.”
Rental rates at North Park Apartments range from $1,049 per month for a studio to at least $1,425 for a two-bedroom.
The city is requiring Lyon to give the 421 residents of North Park 90 days notice before evicting them and to refund in full all of the security deposits. The company will also distribute information about affordable housing projects and available rental units in Mountain View, and give qualified tenants a $750 “moving credit allowance.”
But Mayor Nick Galiotto said that the project met a different goal of the city’s 2002 housing plan — increasing the amount of ownership units in a city that has been primarily apartment rentals.
“It doesn’t seem to get the same level of attention, but it was one of the elements we were looking at,” said Galiotto. He said the project was not a trade-off between ownership and affordability, but rather the city simply needs to find an effective use for the millions in BMR fees that the project will generate.
“To me the issue is how do we then turn that around and establish some so-called affordable housing in a more timely manner than we really have been doing recently.”
The developer says it has kept residents well aware of plans over the last several months, according to Martin Alkire, the city planner that has been working with the company. Lyon senior vice president Mark Kelly was not available for comment early Wednesday.
Several neighbors wrote letters to the city bemoaning the loss of heritage trees on the site. The plan calls for the removal of nearly 94 large trees, including five redwoods.
Council member Matt Neely was absent from the meeting to attend graduation ceremonies at Mountain View High School, where he is an assistant principal.
E-mail Jon Wiener at jwiener@mv-voice
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