(a) In-lieu fees. The requirements of this article may be satisfied by paying a fee, in-lieu of constructing inclusionary units. The fee set by City Council pursuant to Section 9-10.306 shall be charged per leasable or saleable square foot of all units in a project. Any money paid pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited in the Affordable Housing Trust Fund as provided in Article 2.
(1) The payment of in-lieu fees may be used to satisfy the inclusionary housing requirement for the following residential developments:
(i) Any fractional number of inclusionary units required in a residential development.
(ii) Ownership developments.
(iii) Rental developments with 20 or fewer dwelling units.
(iv) Rental developments with more than 20 dwelling units, provided the City Council finds that constructing the required inclusionary units on site would be an extreme hardship, based on factors such as project size, site constraints, and/or excessively large affordability gaps. One way this can be achieved is for the developer to demonstrate that the imposition of the affordable housing production requirement would violate the California and/or United States Constitutions.
(2) In-lieu fees shall be paid according to a fee schedule adopted by the City Council and will be adjusted annually based on the percentage change in new home prices and average apartment rent increases in Ventura County.
(3) In-lieu fees shall be paid prior to the issuance of the first building permit for the development. For phased developments, the developer may pay a pro rata share of the in-lieu fee concurrently with the issuance of building permits for each development phase.
(b) Production of Rental Inclusionary Units as part of an Ownership Housing development.
(1) Developers of ownership housing developments are allowed to fulfill the development's Inclusionary Housing obligations with rental Inclusionary Units on a site that meets one of the following criteria:
(i) A separate Inclusionary Housing parcel that is created within the development site for the market rate residential development; or
(ii) A site that is located within one mile of the development site for the market rate residential development.
(2) City Council shall be the approval authority for the following:
(i) Development location for the off-site inclusionary production option.
(ii) On-site parcel option for the size and location within the original development site for the market rate ownership residential development.
(3) Rental Inclusionary Unit requirements.
(i) Fifteen (15%) percent applied to the total number of ownership housing and apartment units being developed.
(ii) Low-income level, unless developer volunteers to fulfill the requirement with very low-income units.
(iii) Bedroom mix is not required to match the unit mix provided in the market rate ownership housing development.
(iv) Notwithstanding subdivision (3)(iii) above, the off-site inclusionary units shall meet the following requirements:
1. No more than fifteen (15%) percent of the off-site inclusionary units shall be studios.
2. At least forty (40%) percent of the off-site inclusionary units shall include two (2) or more bedrooms.
(4) A market-rate developer may enter into an agreement with an affordable housing developer to construct, own and operate the offsite inclusionary units required to fulfill the inclusionary housing requirement, provided:
(i) The affordable housing developer has relevant recent experience and is approved by the City.
(ii) The affordable housing developer does not request any financial assistance from the City.
(iii) The affordable housing developer may apply to use the California Government Code Sections 65915-65918 (Section 65915) density bonus and the statutorily established number of incentives or concessions.
(c) Land Dedication. At the discretion of the City Council, the inclusionary housing requirement may be satisfied by the dedication of land as follows:
(1) The land shall be conveyed to the City at no cost.
(2) Payment in full of all property taxes and special taxes shall be made when the proposal for land dedication is submitted, and again prior to conveyance of the land to the City.
(3) The inclusionary units constructed on the land shall be set at fifteen (15%) percent of the rental units and affordable to eligible very low-income households.
(4) Location of the units:
(i) The land to be dedicated shall be located within one (1) mile of the market-rate development that is subject to the inclusionary housing requirement, unless the units are located within a moderate or higher resource area as defined by the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (CTCAC) Opportunities Mapping.
(ii) The inclusionary units constructed on the land to be dedicated shall not create an overconcentration of deed-restricted affordable dwelling units in any specific neighborhood, unless the units are located within a moderate or higher resource area as defined by the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (TCAC) Opportunities Mapping.
(iii) Overconcentration is defined as more than fifty (50) deed-restricted dwelling units for eligible very low-or low-income within one-fourth (1/4) mile of the land, or more than two hundred (200) deed restricted dwelling units for eligible very low-or low-income households within one-half (1/2) mile of the land.
(5) Upon submittal of a proposal for land dedication, evidence shall be provided that:
(i) The developer has control of the land to be dedicated.
(ii) The land to be dedicated is free of any liens.
(iii) Any encumbrances or easements that adversely impact the property's title must be disclosed and factored into the estimated value of the interests proposed to be conveyed to the City.
(iv) The land cannot contain any hazardous materials at the time the land dedication proposal is submitted:
1. The developer has disclosed whether any hazardous materials were previously contained on the site.
2. If any hazardous materials were previously remediated on the site, the developer has provided evidence that cleanup was performed in accordance with applicable law.
(v) The land has not been improved with any residential use for at least five (5) years prior to the submission of the land dedication proposal.
(vi) The land's existing General Plan and Zoning allows for residential use at a density sufficient to permit the development of the required number of inclusionary units.
(vii) The land is suitable in terms of size, configuration, and physical characteristics to allow cost-efficient development of the required number of inclusionary units.
(viii) The land is fully served by the necessary infrastructure to support the required number of inclusionary units prior to the conveyance to the City.
(6) The developer shall submit all necessary information to evaluate compliance with the requirements of this Chapter, including:
(i) Conceptual site plan and narrative description of a project that could be developed on the property.
(ii) An identification of the income and affordability restrictions proposed to be imposed.
(iii) A pro forma analysis that qualifies any financial gap associated with the identified development scope and describes how this financial gap will be filled.
(iv) If a Section 65915 density bonus will be required, an identification of the terms of the requested density bonus; incentives and concessions; and development standards waivers.
(7) City staff shall review land dedication proposals prior to consideration by the decision-making authority, to ensure they meet the requirements of this Section.
(8) The City shall re-convey dedicated properties to developers with experience developing affordable apartment developments targeted to very low-income households.
(§ 1, Ord. 1506-NS, eff. October 9, 2008, as amended by § 8, Ord. 1719-NS, eff. November 24, 2023)