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Soledad council OKs amended agreement for Parcel E, adopts higher in‑lieu fee and land dedication
Summary
After extended public comment and debate, the Soledad City Council approved a second amended affordable housing agreement for Parcel E, accepting a land dedication and increasing the developer's in‑lieu payment to $25,000 per moderate‑income unit; Eden Housing remains the planned developer for the low/very‑low units.
The Soledad City Council on Wednesday authorized the city manager to execute a second amended and restated affordable housing agreement with HMBYLP for Parcel E, approving a modified in‑lieu payment and accepting a land dedication that staff said will be used for future affordable housing.
The action follows a staff presentation on the proposal, public comments questioning whether the city was ceding too much, and testimony from Eden Housing, which told the council it needs certain financing and timing certainty to complete the low‑ and very‑low‑income apartments planned on part of the site.
City staff described the deal as a package: the developer would dedicate a roughly 15,950‑square‑foot parcel to the city, and pay an in‑lieu fee for moderate‑income units the developer will not build on Parcel E. Staff recommended an in‑lieu amount of $20,000 per moderate unit, but during debate a councilmember moved and the council approved raising that figure to $25,000 per unit (the totals discussed in staff materials and during the meeting place the combined value of land plus fee in the range of about $575,000).
Eden Housing's development representative said its application for federal tax credits and other funding is pending; if credits are awarded the project will face deadlines to close construction financing. Eden asked the council to approve the amendment so its award timelines will not be jeopardized.
Several public commenters and one speaker from LandWatch Monterey County urged the council to demand more documentation from the developer and said the city should not take on risk to make a private project feasible. A resident also urged the council not to accept the swap without fuller information.
Council members pressed staff and the developer on several points: whether the 24 moderate‑income for‑sale units originally required under earlier agreements would have long‑term resale restrictions (staff said they did not) and whether those moderate units counted toward the city's housing totals if they are market resales in later years. Staff and council members also discussed the relative value of the land dedication, comparisons to in‑lieu fees in other jurisdictions, and the timeline and contingencies tied to Eden Housing's financing process.
The council approved the modified agreement and the higher in‑lieu fee by motion. The city manager and staff will return to the council with next steps for how the dedicated parcel will be used or developed and with the final executed agreement.
The approval does not itself transfer the dedicated parcel into the city's hands; staff said bank liens and existing loans on the property complicate timing and that the developer must obtain financing and satisfy lender conditions before the parcel can be released to Eden Housing or to the city.
