City planners have been directed to examine the best way to assist developers in getting their projects off the ground.
Hundreds of building permits issued to developers haven't translated into homes built - home builders say they're unable to develop land without bank loans to do so.
During their regular Morgan Hill City Council meeting Wednesday night, city officials met with developers who had fought to lower the amount of affordable homes built in the community first with them and then through an initiative.
The group of developers and other home buying insiders formed an official group called Citizens for a Balanced Community and spent $76,000 to form an initiative to reduce the required affordable housing maximum percentage in Morgan Hill from 30 to 20 percent. It also would have taken away the Morgan Hill City Council's ability to modify the part of the growth control system that dictates how the city allocates affordable housing. A Santa Clara County Superior Court judge threw it out on Aug. 8, agreeing with the city that the initiative put the city at odds with state law.
The developers have wrung their hands at the housing crisis for almost two years now.
Banks don't give loans to projects unlikely to make profits, they say. Developers have pointed the finger at below-market-rate, or affordable, homes for making profitability nearly impossible.
City Manager Ed Tewes set the tone for the evening with a staff report that focused on hard numbers rather than the pesky percentages that caused much of the rift on the affordable housing issue for the past several months.
Developers approached the city almost two years ago complaining about the amount of affordable housing all but required by the city, which caps at 13 percent of market-rate developers' alloted homes.
Natalie Everett Natalie Everett covers education and city issues for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106, ext. 201, or neverett@morganhilltimes.com.
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