Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Inclusionary Housing In Lieu Fee topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Calimesa Planning Commission backs addition of in-lieu fee option for inclusionary housing; recommends City Council set fee
Summary
The Planning Commission voted to recommend that the City Council adopt a zone text amendment allowing an inclusionary housing in‑lieu fee and to establish an initial fee amount and resolution; the proposal sets an illustrative fee of $3.40 per finished square foot (excluding garages) and would require collection at building-permit stage.
The Calimesa Planning Commission on Oct. 13 recommended that the City Council adopt a zone text amendment and a companion resolution to add an in‑lieu fee as an alternative means of complying with the city’s inclusionary housing ordinance.
Planning Director Kelly Bussier and PlaceWorks economist Steve Gunnels presented a draft ordinance and fee study recommending the addition of an in‑lieu fee to Calimesa Municipal Code §18.13. Under the proposed code change, developers required to provide inclusionary units could choose one of four compliance methods: build required units on-site, build them off-site, dedicate land of equivalent value, or pay an in‑lieu fee.
Staff materials recommend an in‑lieu fee calculated by finished residential living area (excluding garages). PlaceWorks' recommended rate in the staff packet is $3.40 per finished square foot. Using a 2,395-square-foot example in the report, the per‑market‑unit fee would be about $8,100; staff said the total funds generated from 20 market-rate units at that rate would contribute roughly $163,087 toward the construction costs of an affordable unit when pooled and leveraged by an affordable housing developer.
Bussier explained the proposal would require payment of the fee at the time a building permit is pulled for the market-rate unit and that the fee amount would be set and updated by City Council resolution, with an annual CPI adjustment contemplated. The municipal code retains the 80% AMI definition for lower-income households; Bussier cited a Riverside County 2025 AMI figure of $103,900 for a family of four and said 80% of AMI is roughly $83,000 for a family of four.
Developers and landowners who spoke at the hearing expressed support. Rich (developer/landowner) said the in‑lieu fee provides predictability: “We’re here to support it,” he said, describing the difficulty of coordinating affordable‑unit delivery within a large specific plan and the financing complexity affordable developers face.
Some commissioners pressed staff on legal defensibility, overall development costs and how the fee would affect market‑rate builders. Staff and the PlaceWorks economist noted jurisdictions in the region have similar in‑lieu mechanisms (Redlands, Highland and Fontana were cited in the presentation) and said the fee is intended to be a share of the financing package for affordable developers, not a full subsidy of each affordable unit.
The Planning Commission voted to adopt Planning Commission Resolution PC 2025‑8 recommending that the City Council approve Zone Text Amendment 25‑2 (adding the in‑lieu fee alternative) and adopt Ordinance No. 418 and a City Council resolution establishing the in‑lieu fee. The motion passed; the vote tally recorded on the transcript was three ayes with no recorded no votes or abstentions (individual yes votes were not named in the hearing record). The staff packet notes a City Council public hearing is scheduled for Nov. 17, 2025.
If the City Council adopts the ordinance and resolution, staff said the city will create a special fund to receive in‑lieu payments; those funds would be pooled and typically used as a local match alongside low‑income housing tax credits, conventional loans and other funding to finance deed‑restricted affordable multifamily projects.
