Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Affordable Housing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council declines housing-overlay route, tasks staff to formalize $2.5M in-lieu funds as trust and study fee increases
Summary
After reviewing RHNA progress and state constraints, councilmembers agreed not to pursue an affordable-housing overlay but asked staff to develop a formal local housing trust fund for the existing $2.5M in-lieu balance and to study raising the in-lieu fee and return with recommendations.
Housing Manager Curtis Miller briefed the council on RHNA status and options to spur affordable development on Aug. 6. Miller said the city currently has $2.5 million in an in-lieu account and described legal and practical limits on compelling developers to build on-site affordable units.
Miller recommended against an "overlay" approach because similar measures have faced legal challenges in other California jurisdictions and because some state programs already create similar incentives. Instead Miller proposed formalizing a local housing trust fund and using the in-lieu balance to provide flexible, possibly revolving loans that could increase a project's competitiveness for tax credits.
Councilmembers expressed support for revisiting the in-lieu fee level (currently $2.50 per square foot) and for authorizing a study or updated analysis to set an appropriate fee for the Inland Empire market. The council directed staff not to move forward with an overlay at this time and to return with a study-session item on a housing trust fund and an in-lieu fee study.
