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Committee approves change to Santa Fe Homes fee‑in‑lieu formula; bill moved forward
Summary
The committee approved Bill 2026‑11 to amend Santa Fe Homes program rules, clarifying fee‑in‑lieu calculations and changing the base used to compute the fee from 65% of AMI to 30% of AMI; the committee also waived a procedural rule to place the item on the CDC agenda.
The Public Works and Utilities Committee on June 15 approved Bill 2026‑11, a change to the Santa Fe Homes program that clarifies technical calculations for fees paid in lieu of providing on‑site affordable units and changes the base used in fee‑in‑lieu calculations from 65% of area median income (AMI) to 30% of AMI for determining base fee amounts.
Palmer and staff identified the bill on the agenda as a discussion item for committee consideration. Fabiola Chavez, the city’s affordable housing director, was present to answer questions. Councilor Bustamante moved to waive procedural rule 11‑4‑C‑3A so the item could be discussed that night and added to the Community Development Committee agenda; the waiver passed by roll call. The committee then approved the bill by roll call vote (Chairperson Chavez, Councilor Barrett, Councilor Bustamante, Councilor Fegali voting yes; Councilor Faulkner excused).
The bill’s stated changes are technical clarifications to Section 26 (fee and unit calculation language in the Santa Fe Homes program) and the explicit adjustment to use 30% of AMI instead of 65% when determining the base fee in lieu. Committee members discussed a procedural issue during the meeting because the interactive agenda and the PDF agenda showed the item under different indexes, which temporarily prevented some attendees from accessing attachments; the committee withdrew and re-took consent votes as needed to ensure the item could be discussed openly.
Next steps: the committee’s approval forwards the bill to the CDC and ultimately to the governing body per the city’s legislative process. The committee did not adopt implementing administrative rules or cite specific fee amounts tied to the new base; any detailed fee calculations are in the bill attachments and fiscal impact materials referenced in the agenda packet.
The first reference to the item in committee materials named Mayor Michael Garcia, Councilor Alma Castro and Councilor Pilat Faulkner as sponsors.
