Cupertino Debates What to Do with Expiring Affordable Restrictions

Several properties in Cupertino will lose their affordable housing restrictions next year. One of these properties is the Aviare Apartments, which will lose its affordable deed restrictions in 2026 (others owned by the company will not expire until 2038). Several other nearby complexes have similar deadlines in the next year or two. In response to this, city leaders are exploring options to require relocation assistance or other displacement policies to protect renters.

The situation arises because Cupertino originally recorded these affordable housing developments before state law, and common practice was to provide for 99-year deed restrictions on affordable housing properties. These practices typically occur when a city commits, leases, or donates land to an affordable housing developer in exchange for keeping the units affordable for a certain amount of time.

Cupertino will be exploring a suite of options at an upcoming council meeting and is expected to vote on recommendations soon. Housing activists are worried many renters will not be prepared to lose affordable options and are even proposing rent control as a means of addressing this issue. Others point to the development of future affordable housing, including over 800 units at the former Vallco site, but Cupertino has fought those developments and many others over the years. The displacement policies passed the housing commission unanimously and it is unclear what a new City Council, with two new members, will do with the recommendations

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Source: San Jose Spotlight

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