Planning commission forwards proposed inclusionary housing ordinance to council after extensive review

The Monrovia Planning Commission voted April 9 to forward a proposed inclusionary housing ordinance (proposed Ordinance 2025-03) and associated Planning Commission Resolution 2025-0001 to the City Council for consideration at the May 20 meeting. Staff described the ordinance as the product of several months of study, developer and community outreach, fiscal analysis and consultant review.

Staff (Sherry, Community Development Director) and consultants described the ordinance’s core features: it would apply to new housing projects of five or more units in designated target areas (Station Square, Transit Village, West Huntington Drive corridor and South Myrtle Avenue/Old Town Extension) and to certain future sites captured by general plan or zoning changes and by-right projects on nonresidential sites. Ownership projects would be required to provide 10% of units at moderate income. Rental projects would follow a tiered requirement based on project size: 6% low-income for projects of 20 units or fewer; 10% low-income for projects of 21–49 units; and 15% low-income for projects of 50 units or more. The ordinance includes exemptions (accessory dwelling units, SB 9 subdivisions, emergency shelters, assisted living and transitional/supportive housing) and provides alternative means of compliance including on- or off-site construction within the city, conversion of market-rate units (subject to HCD review), and an in-lieu fee.

Staff and consultant Keiser/Kaiser/Keyser Marston (consultant name appears in the record as KMA; consultant present: Kathy Head) and Sage Crest Planning (David Blumenthal) presented a fiscal analysis: it examined the city’s “affordability gap” and recommended the thresholds above, income targeting, and a per-square-foot in-lieu fee methodology (staff used sample calculations in the presentation). Staff gave three example calculations: an ownership example using a $24.50 per-square-foot in-lieu rate (a hypothetical 5-unit, 1,500-sq.-ft. ownership project generating an in-lieu fee sample of $183,750); a net-new-unit example generating $73,500; and a 50-unit example producing a multi-million-dollar in-lieu fee total (approx. $2,000,000 in the slide example). The fiscal analysis also informed the proposed income and duration of deed restrictions: rental affordable units would require deed restrictions and monitoring for 55 years; ownership units for 45 years, according to the staff presentation.

Commissioners and consultants discussed application of the ordinance, including: how the RHNA (Regional Housing Needs Allocation) targets relate to the ordinance (staff clarified RHNA establishes goals and zoning must demonstrate capacity rather than requiring immediate construction of units); how in-lieu fees would be collected and managed (staff and KMA said fees would be collected by the city, likely before final certificate of occupancy or phased for large projects, and placed in a city housing trust fund with annual reporting and five-year accounting for unused funds); how off-site compliance would be reviewed to avoid concentrations of affordable housing; the need to monitor the program annually; and the interplay with the state density bonus law and future local density-bonus implementation. Commissioners asked whether in-lieu fees would permit developers to obtain density and not build units; staff clarified the proposed program restricts in-lieu fees for larger rental projects (projects above 20 units would be required to build on-site affordable units rather than pay in-lieu) and that the ordinance ties thresholds to state density-bonus triggers to avoid unintended consequences.

Public comment included property owners and residents. Questions and concerns raised by speakers included requests for clarity on allowable building heights and uses on private properties, traffic and infrastructure capacity (particularly at Myrtle and the 210 off-ramp), how the city will use in-lieu fees and the anticipated pace of fee accumulation, the definition of income categories (based on Los Angeles County area median income provided in staff slides), and neighborhood impacts from increased density. Staff responded with detail on RHNA, income definitions (area median income percentages), exemptions, monitoring requirements and the planned implementation steps: if the Planning Commission recommendation stands, City Council will consider the ordinance at its May 20 meeting and staff would return with an implementation program (including fee administration, monitoring and priorities for trust-fund spending).

After extensive commissioner discussion and public testimony, the planning commission voted to approve Planning Commission Resolution 2025-001 (the advisory recommendation supporting the ordinance) and forward the ordinance to the City Council. The vote was unanimous among commissioners present.

Next steps: the City Council will consider the ordinance and resolution at a May 20 Council hearing; staff indicated the ordinance and implementation policies (fee schedule adoption, housing trust fund rules, monitoring procedures) will be finalized following Council direction. Consultants recommended adopting sooner rather than later given changing market conditions; staff committed to annual monitoring and reporting.