(a) Application. A party representing the Affordable Housing Development is encouraged to request and attend the Department's optional Pre-Submission Meeting (PSUB Meeting) referenced in Chapter 8 of the County Facilities Standards Manual (FSM), when the Affordable Housing Development is proposed as a component in part with a larger subdivision, or when the Affordable Housing is proposed in whole as a standalone development.
The applicant must complete the Affordable Housing Land Development Application Fee Waiver Request and/or the Affordable Housing Development Permit Fee Waiver Request in pre-approved forms provided by the Department. As part of the Fee Waiver Request, the applicant must include a realistic and clearly articulated summary of the proposed Affordable Housing Development and of the budget for the Fee Waiver Request, which must not exceed the Delegated Authority granted by the Board to the Director for the fiscal year when the Fee Waiver Request is approved. For Affordable Units for rent, the Fee Waiver Request must indicate that the monthly rent will be calculated in accordance with HUD regulations for Low Income and Moderate Income. For Affordable Units for sale, the Fee Waiver Request must include a rational explanation, including quantification, of how the purchase price of the Affordable Unit(s) in the Affordable Housing Development will be determined to attain the goal that the Affordable Units will be affordable/attainable to Low Income and/or Moderate Income households.
In addition to the optional PSUB Meeting, the applicant must request an introductory meeting between the applicant and an authorized representative of the Department to review the Fee Waiver Request for completeness. The purpose of this meeting is to answer questions regarding the Fee Waiver Request and provide further guidance on the Affordable Housing Fee Waiver process.
After the introductory meeting, the applicant may formally submit the completed Fee Waiver Request to the Department for review, which must be accompanied by an affidavit from the applicant in a form provided by the Department attesting to the County that the Affordable Housing Development will be completed and maintained as indicated in the Fee Waiver Request.
(b) Determination of Completeness and Eligibility. After receiving an Affordable Housing Land Development Application Fee Waiver Request or an Affordable Housing Development Permit Fee Waiver Request, Department staff will determine whether the application is complete and eligible based on the criteria above. If Department staff determines that the request is not complete, verbal or written notice will be given to the applicant specifying the deficiencies. If the deficiencies are not remedied within 30 calendar days of receipt of the notification, a determination will be rendered by the Department staff based on the information provided. If an application is determined to be ineligible, a written notice will be given notifying the applicant of the ineligibility of the Fee Waiver Request under the Program.
(c) Approval or Rejection of the Fee Waiver Request. If the Fee Waiver Request is approved, a copy of the approval will be provided to the applicant. This approval must accompany any Affordable Housing Land Development Application or Affordable Housing Development Permit Application at the time of initial submission to the County. In case of disapproval, the applicant will be notified and all applicable Land Development Application and/or Development Permit Application Fees must be paid at the time of submission to the County.
Approval of the Fee Waiver Request does not guarantee approval of the proposed Affordable Housing Land Development Application or the Affordable Housing Development Permit Application, which will be processed by the Department as any other Land Development Application or Development Permit Application, except for the process related to the Fee Waiver Request.
(d) Deed of Restrictive Covenants. Upon approval of the Fee Waiver Request, the applicant, as the owner of the land where the Affordable Housing Development will be located, must record a deed of restrictive covenants on such land in a form approved by the County, which will ensure that the Affordable Housing Development is completed and maintained as proposed in the Fee Waiver Request approved by the Department. The Department will not perform the review of the Affordable Housing Land Development Application or the Affordable Housing Development Permit until the deed of restrictive covenants on the land where the Affordable Housing Development is located is recorded. In special circumstances, at the discretion of the Director with input from the County Attorney's Office, when the applicant of the Fee Waiver Request has not acquired ownership over the land where the Affordable Housing Development will be located by the time of submission of the Affordable Housing Land Development Application or the Affordable Housing Development Permit, the applicant must pay the applicable Fees, subject to reimbursement by the County at the time of recordation of the Deed of Restrictive Covenants.
(e) Delegated Authority. Starting in fiscal year 2024 and for every fiscal year thereafter, the Board may determine the amount of the Delegated Authority, as part of the County's budget process. If the Board decides to make no changes, then the previous fiscal year's Delegated Authority will remain in place.
Fee Waiver Requests will be received by the Department on a rolling basis throughout the year on a first-come, first-served basis, and processed by the Department up to the amount of the Delegated Authority per Affordable Housing Development for the fiscal year when the Fee Waiver Request is approved. The maximum dollar amount of Fee Waiver Requests that could be approved by the Department on any given fiscal year cannot exceed the Delegated Authority approved by the Board for that given fiscal year.
The Board, in special circumstances at its own discretion, may approve by resolution an increment of the Delegated Authority previously approved for that fiscal year.
(f) Completion of the Affordable Housing Development Breach. The applicant must complete the Affordable Housing Development within three (3) years of the approval of the Affordable Housing Land Development Application Fee Waiver Request and/or the Affordable Housing Development Permit Fee Waiver Request. The Director, at his/her discretion, may extend the period for another year, if the applicant demonstrates that the delay is not attributable to fault of the applicant. Should the applicant be unable to complete the Affordable Housing Development for which the Fee Waiver Request was approved within such three (3) years, the applicant must pay to the County, within thirty (30) business days after the third anniversary of the approval of such Fee Waiver Request, the amount of the Fees previously waived.
(Ord. 22-10. Passed 9-14-22.)