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La Verne sets new affordable‑housing impact fees after Nexus study; ordinance to follow
Summary
After receiving a Nexus study from a consultant, the La Verne City Council set an initial affordable‑housing linkage and in‑lieu fee schedule and authorized staff to finalize implementing language; council emphasized setting fees below the maximum justifiable levels to avoid impeding development and will return with an ordinance for adoption.
The La Verne City Council on April 20 voted to set initial affordable‑housing linkage and in‑lieu development impact fees based on a newly completed Nexus study and directed staff to return with an implementing ordinance.
DTA Public Finance managing director Cuda Wu summarized the Nexus study methodology, explaining the fees estimate the "gap" between what new households can afford and the cost of housing and are expressed on a per‑square‑foot basis for residential and non‑residential development. "Our approach is looking at how many residents and employees would be created by new development and assessing how many households are generated as a result," Cuda Wu said.
City manager Ken Domer presented a proposed implementation schedule that sets fees well below the maximum justifiable amounts established in the Nexus analysis to avoid discouraging development. Domer cited example rates presented to council: commercial $10 per square foot, office/industrial $15–$25 per square foot, institutional $20 per square foot, and an in‑lieu (ENL) rate up to $45 per square foot for apartment developments that opt to pay rather than include affordable units on‑site.
Domer said the council’s action tonight sets the fees and that staff will return within months with an ordinance consolidating development impact fee provisions into a single municipal code section and enabling the fees to be effective. The resolution also authorizes the city manager to negotiate project‑by‑project fee applications and to approve annual adjustments tied to the California Construction Cost Index.
There was no public comment on the item. Council discussed the balance between collecting funds to produce affordable units and remaining competitive for new development; the motion to set initial fees passed on a 4–0 vote with Council member Casper absent.
Council’s approval codifies a fee framework intended to fund affordable housing production or subsidies while reserving the council and city manager flexibility to apply fees on a case‑by‑case basis during implementation.
