Alameda Municipal Code § 27-1 Affordable Housing Unit/Fee Requirements

a. Mitigation of Affordable Housing Impacts. The purpose of this chapter is to (1) implement the goals and objectives of the Housing Element of the City of Alameda General Plan and the Strategic Plan of the City of Alameda, (2) mitigate the housing impacts caused by new, changed and expanded commercial and industrial development in the City of Alameda and (3) meet the need for housing affordable to persons of low- and moderate-income. The City Council has determined that affordable housing requirements are needed, has found the following requirements to be consistent with its General Plan and, pursuant to Government Code Section 65913.2, has considered the effects of the fee with respect to the City's housing needs as established in the Housing Element of the General Plan.

(Ord. No. 2859 N.S.)

a. Need for Affordable Housing. The City Council has found that persons of low- and moderate-income are experiencing increasing difficulty in locating and maintaining adequate, safe and sanitary affordable housing. As noted in the City's Housing Element, a regional shortage of affordable housing is contributing to overpayment for housing accommodations, sometimes leading to temporary or permanent homelessness. According to the Association of Bay Area Governments' Housing Needs Projections, the City of Alameda needs to provide housing affordable to persons of low- and moderate-income. Further, the City's Housing Assistance Plan identifies the need for rental subsidies for low- and moderate-income households.

b. Impact on Housing Needs Created by Nonresidential Development. Pursuant to the Affordable Housing Requirement and In Lieu Fee Methodology report prepared for the City of Alameda by Economic and Planning Systems Inc. in November of 1989, the City Council finds that the construction or expansion of nonresidential development is a major factor in attracting new employees to the City. A substantial number of these employees and their families reside or will reside in the City and place a greater strain on an already impacted housing stock. Employees who are unable to find affordable housing in the City are forced to commute long distances. This situation adversely impacts on their quality of life, consumes limited energy resources, increases traffic congestion and has a negative impact on air quality. Employers have or will have problems attracting a labor force.

c. Means of Meeting Affordable Housing Demand. New employees will compete with present residents for scarce affordable housing in the City. Increasing the production and availability of affordable housing is problematic. Prices and rents for affordable housing remain below the level needed to attract new construction. At the same time, escalating land costs and rapidly diminishing amounts of land available for development hinder the provision of affordable housing units solely through private action. Programs and activities to expand affordable housing opportunities can be accomplished through public/private partnership action. Federal and State housing finances and subsidy programs are not sufficient by themselves to satisfy the affordable housing needs associated with employment resulting from nonresidential development. It is the purpose of this chapter to establish a feasible means by which developers of nonresidential development projects assist in (1) increasing the supply of low- and moderate-income housing and (2) increasing the supply of housing in close proximity to employment centers.

d. Imposing Housing Requirement on Developers Whose Projects Create the Need. It is appropriate to impose some of the cost of the increased burden of providing housing for low- and moderate-income people necessitated by such development directly upon the sponsors of a development, and indirectly upon the occupiers. The imposition of an affordable housing unit/fee requirement is an appropriate means to accomplish the purpose of this chapter. In calculating the affordable housing unit/fee requirement, the City Council has taken into account other factors in addition to the simple calculation of contribution. These include impact of the unit requirements and in lieu fee on construction costs, special factors and hardships associated with certain types of development, and legal issues.

e. Rational Relationship Between Affordable Housing Need Created and Unit/Fee Requirement. The unit requirements and housing fees contained in this chapter are designed to create a rational relationship between the amount of housing need created by the land use and housing unit requirement or the size of the fee, taking into account the effect of such unit or fee requirement on providing affordable housing opportunities and economic feasibility of imposing such requirements.

(Ord. No. 2859 N.S.)

As used in this section:

Addition shall mean adding gross square feet to an existing nonresidential development project subject to this section.

Affordable housing shall mean for-sale or rental housing the total cost of monthly payments for which does not exceed thirty (30%) percent of household income.

City Manager shall mean the City Manager of the City of Alameda or his/her designee.

Development or development project shall mean any project undertaken for the purpose of development. Development includes a project involving the approval of a tentative map or involving the issuance of a permit for construction, but not a permit to operate.

Director of Development Services shall mean the Director of Development Services for the City of Alameda or that individual in the future which has the responsibility for administering the City's affordable housing development programs or his/her designee.

Gross square feet shall mean the area included within the surrounding walls of a nonresidential development as determined by the Director of Development Services. This area does not include enclosed parking for vehicles.

In lieu fee shall mean a monetary exaction which is allowed by the City in place of the construction or provision of affordable housing units.

Interior remodel shall mean all tenant or owner improvements to nonresidential space which results in a change in the type of use of the development.

Low- and moderate-income shall mean a household with total annual income at or below eighty percent (80%) of the median income, adjusted for family size, and in accordance with the Section 8 Income Limits as published annually by the Department of Housing and Urban Development for the SF-Oakland MSA.

(Ord. No. 2859 N.S.)

a. Unit Requirement. An affordable housing unit requirement is hereby established for new, changed or remodeled and expanded nonresidential development in the City. The City Council shall, by resolution, based upon the Nexus Study prepared for the City by Economic and Planing Systems Inc., in November of 1989, set forth the formula for determining the number of units to be provided, the beneficiaries thereof, the relationship between this requirement and the various types of new and expanded developments, and time for the provision of the units. The requirements of this chapter shall be met by each developer prior to the issuance of the building permit or, where a building permit is not required, the use permit for the new, expanded, or changed use.

b. Payment of In Lieu Fees. Developers of nonresidential projects may pay an affordable housing fee in lieu of providing units as described in subsection 27-1.4(a). The funds shall be used to pay for programs and activities to expand affordable housing opportunities for low- and moderate- income persons. The City Council shall, in a Council resolution, set forth the specific amount of the fee, list the types of programs and activities to be financed, describe the beneficiaries of these programs and activities, describe the reasonable relationship between this fee and the various types of new, changed and expanded developments, and the time for payment. The requirements of this chapter shall be met by each developer prior to the issuance of the building permit or, where a building permit is not required, the use permit for the new, expanded, or changed use.

c. Annual Review. On an annual basis, the City Council shall review the unit/fee requirements to determine whether they are reasonably related to the impacts of development and whether the described affordable housing units, programs and activities are still needed.

(Ord. No. 2859 N.S.)

a. General Application. The requirements of this section apply to new construction, construction of additional square footage to existing buildings, interior remodels, and changes in use that do not require interior remodels but that increase the employee density of the nonresidential development project as determined by the Director of Development Services.

b. Determination of Land Uses. For the purposes of the application of this section, nonresidential land uses shall be dived into five (5) classifications: retail, office, warehouse, manufacturing, and hotel/motel. The Director of Development Services shall determine the land use classification that best describes the nonresidential development for the purposes of assigning the fee to be charged. The Director of Development Services shall use the applicable table set forth in the City Council resolution establishing the specific affordable unit or in lieu fee requirements to determine the appropriate classification.

c. Fee Offsets for Existing Uses. The extent of the Affordable Housing requirement or in lieu fee shall be offset or adjusted to account for any previously existing unabandoned nonresidential use. For the purpose of this section a use shall be deemed unabandoned if it existed at any time within the two (2) year period prior to the application for the building permit or use permit which triggers the application of this section. The offset for existing use shall not exceed the amount of the fee or requirement computed for the proposed use.

d. Application to Lease Renewals at Former Naval Air Station at Alameda Point. It is the intent of this Section 27-1, that the Alameda Reuse and Redevelopment Authority shall pay an amount which would be equivalent to the affordable housing in lieu fee which would otherwise be applicable to new or renewed leases at the former Alameda Naval Air Station if such new leases or lease renewals would have triggered the application of the affordable housing in lieu fee, even though these new leases or lease renewals may require neither a building permit or a use permit at the time the lease agreements are entered into. The terms of such payment shall be established by mutual agreement between the Alameda Reuse and Redevelopment Authority and the City.

(Ord. No. 2859 N.S.)

a. Procedures for Nonresidential Development. Upon adoption of the unit/fee resolution, all applicants for new, expanded, or changed nonresidential developments, except those subject to a separate and binding development or owner participation agreement with contrary provisions, shall be required to fulfill their obligations under the affordable housing unit/fee as described herein and by resolution adopted by the City Council pursuant to the terms of this section prior to the issuance of the building permit. No building permit will be issued until the Development Services Director certifies that the developer has complied with the requirements of this chapter.

(Ord. No. 2859 N.S.)

a. Fee Adjustment. A developer of any project subject to the affordable housing unit/fee may apply to the Director of Development Services for a reduction or adjustment to the fee, or a waiver of the fee, based upon the absence of any reasonable relationship or nexus between the impacts of that development and the amount of unit/fee charged. The application shall be made in writing and filed with the Director of Development Services no later than the time of the issuance of a building permit authorizing construction of the project that is subject to the fee or, where a building permit is not required, a use permit. The application shall state completely and in detail both the applicant's factual basis and legal theory for adjustment or waiver and compare its proposal with the analysis set forth in the Nexus Study. The Director of Development Services shall consider the application and render a decision in writing within thirty (30) days. The decision of the Director of Development Services is appealable pursuant to subsection 27-1.7(b).

b. Appeal Procedure. A decision of the Director of Development Services on an application for a fee waiver pursuant to subsection 27-1.7(a) shall be appealable in accordance with this section. A person seeking judicial review of a decision shall first complete an appeal under this section. Any person wishing to appeal a decision of the Director of Development Services shall file an appeal to the City Council in writing with the City Clerk not later than ten (10) days from the date of the written decision of the Director of Development Services. The written appeal shall state completely and in detail the factual and legal grounds for the appeal. The City Council shall consider the appeal at a public hearing within sixty (60) days after the filing of the fee adjustment application. The decision of the City Council is final.

c. Fee for Adjustment Request or Appeal. The cost of the request for fee adjustment and appeal shall be borne by the applicant in an amount set forth in the Master Fee Resolution of the City Council.

d. Refund of Fee. If the affordable housing unit/fee is paid and the building permit is later canceled or voided, or if a use permit which triggers the application of the fee fails to vest within the terms of the use permit, the Director of Development Services may, upon written request of the developer, order return of the fee and interest earned on it less administrative costs if (1) the fees paid have not been committed, and (2) work on the private development project has not progressed to a point that would permit commencement of a new, changed, or expanded use for which a fee would be payable. If the findings required by Government Code Section 66001(d) are not made, a refund to the then owner of the property for which the fee was paid shall be made pursuant to Government Code Section 66001.

(Ord. No. 2859 N.S.)

a. Use and Disbursement of Monies in the Fund: Monies in the affordable housing unit/fee fund shall be used in accordance with and in support of activities to implement the City's adopted Housing Element, Housing Assistance Plan and Statement of Community Development Objectives. Activities shall be limited to direct expenditure for capital projects or incidental non-capital expenditures related to capital projects, including but not limited to land acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, subsidization, counseling or assistance to other governmental entities, private organizations or individuals to expand affordable housing opportunities to low- and moderate-income households. Monies in the affordable housing unit/fee fund may be disbursed, hypothecated, collateralized, or otherwise employed for these purposes from time to time as the Director of Development Services so determines is appropriate to accomplish the purposes of the affordable housing fund. These uses include, but are not limited to, assistance to housing development corporations, equity participation loans, grants, predevelopment loan funds, participation leases, loans to develop affordable housing or other public/private partnership arrangements. The affordable housing funds may be expended for the benefit of both rental or owner-occupied housing. Affordable housing in lieu fees may not be used to support operations, or on-going housing services not directly related to the construction, acquisition, rehabilitation or preservation of affordable housing units.

b. Accounting of Fees. All affordable housing unit in lieu fees shall be deposited into a segregated account and all expenditures of funds from the same shall be documented and included in an annual report which shall be available for public inspection.

(Ord. No. 2859 N.S.)

Any publicly-owned development that is used for a public purpose is exempt from the provisions of this section.

(Ord. No. 2859 N.S.)

a. The affordable housing unit/fee resolution may provide for an annual increase in the amount of the fee to reflect the percentage increase in the cost of construction or public improvements as reported in the Engineering News Record-Construction Price Index for the San Francisco Bay Area.

b. The affordable housing unit/fee may be adjusted from time to time, based upon amendments or updates to the Nexus Study.

(Ord. No. 2859 N.S.)