The purpose of this memorandum is to transmit for City Council (City) consideration the Relocation Plan (Plan) for the Peyton-Grismer Revitalization Project (Exhibit A).

The Burbank Redevelopment Agency (Agency) and the Burbank Housing Authority (Authority) have been engaged in acquiring property for the Peyton-Grismer Revitalization Project (Project) located within the Peyton�Grismer focus neighborhood. The Agency acquired one of the two properties (1819 Grismer Avenue) comprising the Project and the Authority is undertaking actions to acquire the remaining property (1801-1815 Grismer Avenue) through eminent domain. In a concurrent action, Agency staff is negotiating terms of a Disposition and Development Agreement or DDA with the Burbank Housing Corporation (BHC) under which BHC is to acquire the two properties from the Agency, rehabilitate and operate a mixed-income, affordable housing development of approximately 60 residential units.

Acquiring and rehabilitating the Project will require the relocation of tenants and, accordingly, the necessity to prepare a Plan. Under California Relocation Guidelines, a relocation plan is required subsequent to the initiation of negotiations and precedent to any action triggering displacement, in this instance, acquisition and rehabilitation actions.

Consequently, on October 22, 2002, the Agency Board accepted the Draft Plan prepared by Agency's relocation consultants, Pacific Relocation Consultants (PRC), as the initial step in the tenant relocation process. The availability of the Draft Plan exceeded the minimum requirements under State Relocation Guidelines specifying that a relocation plan be circulated 30 days in advance of submittal to the local legislative body for approval.

At the time of preparation of this report, no member of the general public and only two future relocatees visited the Redevelopment Agency. A separate copy was also provided to the Administrative Office at Washington School, the nearest public facility to the Project, with no one requesting to read the document. In the event, though, that comments are received from the public between preparation of this report and Council consideration of the Plan, January 14, 2003, those remarks will be included into the Plan as a matter of record.

The Plan provides discussion in four primary areas:

The Project site is located north of State Highway 5, on the west side of Grismer Avenue, on a portion of the block bound generally by Elliott to the north, Grismer Avenue to the east, Morgan Avenue produced easterly to Grismer Avenue to the south and Keeler Street to the west.

As proposed, the Project entails the Agency's purchase of 87 rental units, 27 of which will be demolished by the time rehabilitation is completed, resulting in the displacement of 27 households.

The Draft Plan notes that "Generally, displacee households consist of 'very low' and 'lower' income households (86% of respondents in this field)." The following table summarizes reported income levels of those households (21 of 27 households) responding to PRC's survey.

The Draft Plan also observes that a "considerable degree of 'upgrading' in dwelling unit sizes based upon bedroom-count" will be required. Of the households interviewed (25 of 27 households), the following increase in bedroom size was identified, suggesting that most of the households to be displaced are currently overcrowded based upon the Agency's occupancy standard of two persons per bedroom plus one additional person.

Reported rents for the displacee households indicated that one-bedroom units rented between $625 and $700 per month, two-bedroom units rented for $800 to $910 per month and the one three-bedroom unit rented for $1,400 per month.

The Draft Plan points out that, with regard to rental housing, "there will be an increase in the monthly cost of replacement dwelling units in comparison to current rents." PRC indicates that, given today's tight housing market and the requirement that housing resources must be available in the open market when displacement occurs, (a) relocation staff will constantly canvas the city to locate rental units that are not currently advertised but may be available and (b) displacee households requiring 'Last Resort Housing' or extended rent subsidy payments will be counseled regarding the potential use of these payments for the purchase of a replacement dwelling. Should a displacee household be eligible to return to the Project and opt to do so, Rental Assistance Payments (RAP) will be pro-rated to the time the household occupies a unit again in the Project (described more fully under Table 6, "Computation of Monthly Housing Need and Rental Assistance"). Computation of a RAP under State Relocation Law is predicated upon the monthly housing need multiplied by 42 months.

The relocation program that the Agency is to implement is in accordance with State Relocation Law (Government Code Section 7260, et. seq.) and Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition (Title 25, Chapter 6) and, as such, is intended to achieve the following objectives:

• Inform all eligible occupants of the relocation process, assistance and benefits;
• Determine the needs of each eligible displacee household;
• Provide current information on replacement housing opportunities and an adequate number of referrals to comparable, decent, safe and sanitary housing units;
• Provide non-discriminatory relocation assistance to all relocated persons;
• Assist each eligible person to complete applications for benefits;
• Make relocation benefit payments in accordance with the State relocation guidelines;
• Inform all persons subject to displacement of the Agency's policies with regard to eviction and property management; and
• Establish and maintain a formal grievance procedure for use by displaced persons seeking administrative review of Agency decisions with respect to relocation assistance.

The Burbank Housing Authority acting as the lead agency determined that, pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Plan is covered under the Negative Declaration previously prepared for the Peyton-Grismer Revitalization Project.

There will be no direct fiscal impact to the City General Fund. Agency Low Moderate-Income Housing funds are budgeted and available under 305.CD23A.70005.0000.13160.

Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the proposed Resolution associated with the Relocation Plan for the Peyton-Grismer Revitalization Project.

A Draft Relocation Plan (October 22, 2002)

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