Affordable Housing Requirements OKd

In accordance with its General Plan, the City Council has established affordable housing requirements for all new residential developments of 10 or more units.

Developers who don’t want to abide by the new rules will have to pay to opt out.

“Various elements of the 2020 General Plan outline affordable housing goals,” housing Director Sal Gonzalez said at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. “The growth management element calls for a diversity of housing types to meet the needs generated by planned commercial and industrial growth. There should be a balance between the housing types and the income levels of the work force.”

The housing element calls for the distribution of affordable housing throughout the city, with an emphasis on home ownership, housing rehabilitation and development of financial assistance programs.

Under the new guidelines, 10% of a residential development would have to be classified as affordable housing. Of the 10% of the units designated as affordable, Gonzalez said, 5% would be for low-income and 5% would be for very low-income families.

If a developer decides not to designate 10% of the new housing units affordable, the cost would be $2,175 per apartment and $2,322 per single-family home. The money will be used for housing rehabilitation, construction and down payment and closing cost assistance for new or resale units.