CORRESPONDENCE - 75B - ADDITIONAL

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The Commission would like to commend the City for its leadership and commitment in encouraging and facilitating the development of homes affordable to lower income families through the Housing Opportunities Ordinance. With cuts in state redevelopment and federal funding the ordinance is a vital to the City in implementing its affordable housing goals. The Ordinance is an integral tool for the City to effectively develop homes that are affordable to lower income families in the City. With limited resources, potential changes to the Housing Opportunities Ordinance may limit and negatively impact future affordable home developments in the City. As the City moves forward in proposing changes to the Housing Opportunities Ordinance, the Commission urges the City to ensure changes would effectively strengthen the integrity and intent of the Ordinance to produce homes that would be affordable to lower income working families in the City. We believe a more comprehensive approach should be taken to understand the City's planning, affordable housing needs and resources for affordable housing. The Housing Opportunities Ordinance was established in 2011 and was created to: "-encourage the development and availability of affordable housing by requiring the inclusion of affordable housing units within developments that involve an increase in the density otherwise available under applicable zoning and development standards, a change in land use designation from a zoning regulation that does not permit residential uses to one that does permit residential uses; or the conversion of rental units to condominium ownership.7 if the Residential Project consists of units for sale, then a minimum of 15 -percent of the total number of units in the project shall be sold to Moderate Income Households, or lower.' If the Residential Project consists of rental units, then a minimum of 15 -percent of the units shall be rented to low or Very Low Income Households.' We want to provide the following recommendations: The Housing Opportunities Ordinance needs to apply to all developments that are proposing residential development. No exemption should be carved out. Residential development must include 15% of housing units to be affordable to low income residents. This will allow the City to capture the community benefit of affordable housing for its residents in the zoning and housing sites opportunities it has created for development. Adaptive reuse and Apartment to condominium conversions should not be exempted. 2. Developers should be given the opportunity to develop the affordable housing units; - On-site a part of the project (at their cost) - Off —site (at their cost) - An in lieu fee may be considered as an option i£tlne fee is commensurate with the cost to develop the affordable housing units. 'Santa Ann Housing Opportunities Ordinance, p. 1,201L s Santa Ana Housing Opportunities Ordinance, p. 3, 2011. ' Santa Ana Housing Opportunities Ordinance, p. 3, 2011.