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Rocklin council pauses on inclusionary-housing ordinance after heated debate; asks staff for tiered fee models
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Summary
Council heard a Keiser Marston analysis recommending a 5% low‑income on‑site requirement and an optional in‑lieu fee (up to $5/sq ft), but members split between repealing the current ordinance and exploring tiered fees aimed at larger homes. Council directed staff to return with modeled tiers and ADU verification options.
City Council members spent the bulk of the March meeting debating whether to revise Rocklin's inclusionary housing ordinance and whether to adopt a commercial linkage fee, but took no final action.
Consultant Debbie Curran of Keiser Marston presented a yearlong feasibility and nexus analysis that examined typical Rocklin housing prototypes and found that single‑family development could absorb modest affordable obligations while multifamily and townhome prototypes were financially constrained. "We're suggesting an on‑site obligation of 5% units at low income," Curran said, adding that the study supports an in‑lieu fee of up to $5 per square foot for market‑rate single‑family projects as an alternative.
Industry and community speakers urged a more moderate approach. Jeff Short of the North State Building Industry Association urged a competitive, lower fee and suggested $2.50 per square foot as a reasonable compromise. "If you're going to have an inclusionary policy, make the fee reasonable," Short told the council. John Talman of Westpark Communities said the city should spread responsibility across tools — ADUs, commercial contributions, and gap financing for tax‑credit apartments — rather than rely solely on single‑family fees.
Councilmembers split on whether to keep, repeal, or rewrite the ordinance. Councilmember Janda said she preferred repeal if the council could not reach a workable approach immediately. Other members said they were not ready to repeal and instead favored a more targeted, tiered approach that would avoid burdening modest, entry‑level homes while extracting funds from larger, luxury house construction.
A prominent technical issue discussed was accessory dwelling units (ADUs). Staff and the consultant said the state and HCD credit rules limit how many ADUs the city may count toward RHNA without additional verification; staff noted Rocklin presently can only claim five deed‑restricted ADUs per year toward deed‑restricted RHNA numbers, a constraint that complicates using ADUs broadly to meet lower‑income goals.
Rather than adopt an ordinance tonight, councilmembers asked staff to model specific, tiered fee options (for example: lower per‑sqft charges on smaller homes, higher on very large homes), estimate likely revenue yields from currently vacant and entitled parcels, and evaluate ADU verification and deed‑restriction mechanisms that would be practical to administer. Staff also was asked to consult with development stakeholders and return options to the Planning Commission (tentatively April 7) and council (tentatively April 28). The council did not vote on ordinance changes at the meeting.
Why it matters: Rocklin faces a substantial RHNA gap in very‑low and low categories. Councilmembers said they want to avoid policies that unintentionally reduce feasible housing production, and favored targeted solutions that prioritize financing rental gap projects and preserving small, entry‑level ownership opportunities.
What's next: Staff will return with tiered fee scenarios, revenue estimates, and ADU/deed‑restriction options for further deliberation at Planning Commission and council hearings.
