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Council continues bond hearing for 1301 Broadway affordable housing amid union concerns
Summary
Council continued the TEFRA hearing on bonds for a 97-unit project at 1301 Broadway to the March 11 meeting after carpenters union representatives asked for more dialogue with the developer about labor standards. The developer said tax-exempt bonds totaling $85 million have been allocated and that parties are in ongoing discussions.
The Millbrae City Council on Feb. 25 continued consideration of a tax-exempt bond issuance by the California Municipal Finance Authority (CMFA) for a proposed 97-unit affordable housing project at 1301 Broadway, setting a datecertain to resume the hearing on March 11.
The item was a continuation from the council’s Feb. 11 meeting. Members of Carpenters Local 217 urged the council to delay action so the union and the developer could pursue “meaningful dialogue” about labor protections, apprenticeships and health-care commitments for workers on the project. Nels Zellander, a Local 217 representative, said the community benefit of tax-exempt bonds should include protections for workers.
The project team (AMG and Associates) and bond counsel said the state and CMFA have already awarded an allocation of tax-exempt financing. Jean Broussard of AMG told the council the allocation is $85,000,000 and that proceeds will finance acquisition, construction, improvement and equipping of the project. Broussard said the project is 96 affordable units plus one manager’s unit and that 20 units would be set aside for extremely low-income households (30% of area median income levels are referenced in the presentation). She said the financing timeline is constrained by state deadlines tied to tax-credit and bond allocations.
“[W]e are making a good faith effort to reach out to the unions,” Jean Broussard said, describing outreach and recent calls between the developer and union representatives.
Nut graf: Council members decided to allow two more weeks for the developer and Carpenters Local 217 to pursue discussions after union speakers argued the $85 million financing should come with stronger labor standards; the council continued the TEFRA hearing to March 11 to avoid prejudicing the project or improperly imposing conditions the law does not allow at a bond hearing.
Union representatives — including Anthony Carroll and Nels Zellander — told the council they support affordable housing but asked for assurances on prevailing wages, union or apprenticeship utilization, health-care provisions and local-hire practices. The developer said it had been in contact with union representatives since the last hearing and that higher-level meetings were being requested by the unions; the parties reported ongoing dialogue but no final agreement.
Bond counsel for the CMFA, Anthony Stubbs, told the council the TEFRA hearing is limited to authorizing issuance of tax-exempt financing and cannot be used to impose unrelated conditions on an already-entitled project. Stubbs said the state’s award of allocation was competitive and that there is a statutory timeline: if the bonds and tax credits are not closed by the state deadline, the allocation can be lost.
Councilmember Eileen Rinaldi moved to continue the item to the March 11 council meeting to give the parties additional time to meet; the motion passed 5-0. Staff and the applicant said they expect further dialogue before the next meeting.
Ending: The March 11 hearing will return with any updates the developer and the union can provide; the council instructed staff to set the item as a date-certain continuation.
