60A - 4TH AND MAIN MIX USE DEVELOPMENT

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SPR No. 2019-01/DBA No. 2019-01 — First American Title Co. Development October 28, 2019 Page 5 Housing Opportunity Ordinance Compliance The City's inclusionary housing ordinance, known as the Housing Opportunity Ordinance (SAMC Sec. 41-1900 et seq.) applies to housing projects proposing five or more units that are also requesting an increase in allowable density or are in certain sections of the City that were "up - zoned" to allow additional residential development pursuant to an overlay zone or after November 28, 2011. As the proposed project is located in a section of the Transit Zoning Code area that was zoned for mixed -use development in July 2010 and is not in an overlay zone, and as the project does not propose an increase in allowable density, the Housing Opportunity Ordinance requirements of production of affordable housing do not apply to the proposed development. However, in an effort to respond to local housing needs based on the City's 2014 Housing Element, the applicant is voluntarily proposing to dedicate five percent (11 units) of the development to be attainable for very -low income households. The applicant will enter into a voluntary density bonus agreement (DBA), described and analyzed in the Project Analysis section of this staff report, to ensure the units are dedicated to such affordability levels for a period of a minimum of 55 years. Conformance to Transit Zoning Code Development Standards The California Density Bonus law allows developers proposing five or more residential units to seek increases in base density for providing on -site housing units in exchange for providing affordable units on site. To help make constructing on -site affordable units feasible, the law allows developers to seek up to three incentives/concessions and an unlimited number of waivers, which are essentially variances from development standards that would help the project be built without significant burden and without detriment to public health. The first version of the Density Bonus Law was adopted in 1979 and has since been amended at various times. Recent revisions allow affordable housing developers to request incentives/concessions and/or waivers for 100-percent affordable developments, even if they do not require a numerical density bonus. Moreover, in early 2017, the law was amended to restrict the ability of local jurisdictions to require studies to "justify" the density bonus and requested incentives/waivers and places the onus on local jurisdictions to prove that the incentives/concessions or waivers are not financially warranted. The project has been designed to conform to the development standards in the Transit Zoning Code, with the exception of the proposed onsite parking. However, pursuant to State of California Government Code Section 65915(p)(1) and 65915(p)(4), residential developments providing five - percent onsite affordable housing units at very -low income levels are entitled to provide onsite parking at the ratio of 1 stall for studio or one -bedroom units, and 2 stalls for two- to three -bedroom units. The applicant has elected to exercise the option to provide this parking ratio pursuant to the California Government Code through execution of a density bonus agreement. A. full description of conformance to development standards is provided in Exhibit 10 to this staff report. Although the project is proposing a total number of units (220) that is below the maximum City - prescribed density for the project site based on its acreage, the developer is able to seek the parking standards incentive in the California Government Code because it is providing onsite affordable units. 60A-34