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Atherton staff: ADUs and SB 9 applications are driving housing progress but low-income targets lag
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Summary
Staff told the council the town is about 39% of the way toward its very-low-income housing allocation and is relying heavily on ADUs and SB 9 applications; officials asked staff to improve post-permit tracking to confirm completed units.
Britney, a planning staff member, told the Atherton Town Council the town’s Annual Progress Report (Table B) counts housing units by issued permits and self-reported surveys and shows uneven progress across income categories. She said the town has recorded 37 units in the very-low/acute-low category against an allocation of 94 (about 39.4% complete) and 111 units in the above-moderate category against an allocation of 144 (about 77.1%).
"These numbers reflect projects that have an issued permit," Britney said, adding that ADUs make up the bulk of units counted at the lower income levels and that applicants report intended rental outcomes in surveys. She noted the town has received 19 SB 9 applications toward a target of 24 for the housing element cycle.
Councilors pressed staff on whether permit counts reflect completed units. A council member asked, "How many of these are in progress that are not yet complete?" Britney responded that the state metric is permits issued and that staff collect surveys at application, issuance and final certification, but APR currently does not capture final-stage confirmations. "There isn't a reflection of that at the final stage in the APR data at this point," she said.
The council asked staff to strengthen follow-up with property owners and applicants so counts can be validated at final completion. Staff said they already collect surveys at multiple touch points and will work to better report final-stage outcomes in future APR submissions.
The council did not take formal action on the APR during the meeting; staff will continue internal tracking and return with improvements to how final completions and income verifications are recorded and reported.
