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Yuba City approves $1.5 million to close funding gap for Richland Village affordable housing
Summary
The Yuba City Council approved a $1.5 million loan from the city’s low/mod housing asset fund to help close a $2.5 million gap for the 133‑unit Richland Village project. Officials said the funds are redevelopment‑era housing dollars and that construction depends on final tax‑credit closing and RHA board approval.
YUBA CITY — The City Council on Tuesday approved a $1.5 million funding assistance package for the Richland Village affordable housing project, saying the aid is intended to help bridge a remaining financing gap and allow the developer to move to construction.
Doug Libby, Yuba City staff, told the council the project at 470 Bernard Drive is a proposed 133‑unit affordable development with an estimated total cost of about $67 million. The city previously committed $1 million; staff said a remaining gap of $2.5 million remains and that the Regional Housing Authority (RHA) has $1 million of unrestricted funds pending its board approval.
"If this council approves and our board approves tomorrow, we're putting shovels in the ground around October," Gus Becerra of the RHA said, urging quick action because the project’s tax‑credit closing deadline is approaching. Becerra told the council the state HCD funding of approximately $38 million and a roughly $900,000 California Energy Commission award are tied to a final closing, and that those awards would be at risk if the deal does not close in time.
Staff said the city’s contribution would come from the low/mod housing asset fund — funds that originated with the former redevelopment agency and are restricted to affordable housing uses — and that the fund’s balance is approximately $2.3 million. Libby said the city would withhold final payment until the project secures full financing.
Interim staff presentations noted the city is expected to receive about $3.1 million in development‑impact fee revenue as a downstream benefit of the project. The recommended resolution authorized the finance director to make a supplemental appropriation to fund account 298 (account 6098‑65305) and allowed the city manager or designee to execute necessary payment documents.
Councilmember Wade Kirchner moved to approve the assistance; the motion passed. Council discussion emphasized the project’s local economic and housing benefits and the urgency created by the tax‑credit timetable.
Next steps: RHA was scheduled to consider its portion of the request at a board meeting the day after the council vote. Libby and RHA cautioned that if tax‑credit closing does not occur by the project’s deadline (the presenters cited an October 26 target), awarded state and energy commission funds could revert and the project could lose that financing.
