65B - HOUSING OPPTY REPORT - Laserfiche WebLink

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EXHIBIT 1 History of the Housing Opportunity Ordinance The first version of the Housing Opportunity Ordinance (HOO) was brought before the City Council as a Work Study Session on January 18, 2011. The initial proposal was conducted as part of the Housing Element update process. The draft HOO proposed that 15% of new housing should be set aside as affordable for 45 years (owner -occupied) and 55 years (rental). This draft HOO would be triggered by any applications for up -zoning, increases in residential density, increases in percentage of residential development, conversion of commercial or industrial to residential uses, and conversion of rental units to condominium ownership due to the Palmer court case. Other development options included the payment of in -lieu fees, substantial rehabilitation of existing apartments, or the construction of off-site units. A Planning Commission work-study session on March 14, 2011 included a technical study by Kathe Head with Keyser Marston and Associates (KMA) that provided a market-based formula for determining the in -lieu fee. On March 28, 2011 the Planning Commission recommended Zoning Ordinance Amendment (ZOA) No. 2011-01. Staff presented this proposal to the Community Redevelopment and Housing Commission on April 5, 2011. On May 9, 2011 an ad-hoc committee was formed and held two meetings on June 7 & 30, 2011 to discuss the proposed ordinance in detail. This discussion included a debate between the merits of a fixed fee vs. a market conditions fee. This proposal required developments of five or more residential units to include a 15% set-aside of affordable units on-site while accepting in -lieu fees only under unique conditions. On November 7, 2011 the City Council reviewed Item # 75B to adopt ZOA No. 2011-01. The Mayor and Council amended the proposed ordinance and voted 6-1 in favor of Ordinance NS - 2825. On November 28, 2011 the City Council held a second reading and adopted the first version of the Housing Opportunity Ordinance. [In a related action, on December 2, 2014 the City Council passed the Adaptive Reuse Ordinance (NS -2874) which required reuse projects to follow the HOO requirements.] A special meeting to revise the HOO was held by the Planning Commission on July 20, 2015. They voted 3-2 to recommend ZOA No. 2015-03 making the following changes to the ordinance: the fees would be assessed on a square footage basis, all affordability restrictions were to last 55 years, allowance for 15% moderate income of ownership projects, an explicit exemption for projects submitted prior to the 2011 HOO adoption, adding an exemption for adaptive reuse projects, adding exemptions for retrofitting, and requiring a 1 for 1 sq. ft. match for off-site construction. The City Council reviewed the proposals on August 4, 2015. Following additional revisions, a second reading was held on September 1, 2015 and formally adopted as Ordinance NS -2881. A minor revision clarifying administrative procedures and the applicability of the HOO was adopted as Ordinance NS -2885 on October 6, 2015. This was the last time a revision to the HOO occurred. 65B-7