Soledad approves $610,640 fee deferral to support Eden Housing’s 40‑unit Parcel E affordable project

The Soledad City Council on April 16 approved Resolution 62-24 authorizing the city manager to defer $610,640 in development impact fees to Eden Housing for an affordable-housing component of the Parcel E development. The deferral will be secured by a deed of trust and promissory note and repayable at the end of a 55-year affordability period.

Staff said Eden Housing will produce a 40-unit building, with one manager unit and 39 units restricted to low- and very-low-income households. As part of the city’s affordable-housing terms, staff will credit $10,000 per affordable unit; for 39 restricted units that equals a $390,000 credit. The total impact-fee obligation exceeded $1 million before the per-unit credit; the developer requested a deferral for the remaining $610,640 to improve the project’s competitiveness for funding sources such as Low-Income Housing Tax Credits.

City staff told the council the deferral is a standard tool to help affordable-housing developers secure capital and local matching funds for state and federal programs. The deed of trust and promissory note included in the staff packet were reviewed by the city attorney and finance staff, and the item was recommended by the city’s affordable-housing ad hoc committee.

Council voted unanimously to approve Resolution 62-24. Staff said the deferral does not eliminate the obligation; it secures the city’s claim on the property and will be collected when the property is sold, refinanced, or at the end of the 55-year affordability term, consistent with the recorded security instruments.