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Commissioners Press Horowitz Group to Boost Affordable Units; Applicant Says HCD Limits Apply
Summary
Commissioners urged the developer to increase affordable housing above the 5% very‑low units the density‑bonus law requires; applicant counsel said HCD found the city's preexisting policy was not a written standard, limiting the city's ability to impose 15%.
Multiple commissioners urged the Horowitz Group to voluntarily increase the project’s affordable housing beyond the 5% very‑low units that the applicant said triggers a 20% density bonus. Vice Chair and other commissioners described the city’s prior 15% practice as a long‑standing policy and asked whether the developer would meet the city 'halfway' by offering more units voluntarily.
Applicant counsel Andrew Fogg said the city had not adopted an inclusionary ordinance that was in effect at the time the preliminary application was filed, and that HCD concluded the city’s prior practice did not meet the legal standard to be applied retroactively. Fogg stated the project’s affordable component is governed by density‑bonus law and the applicant had applied for the density bonus starting at 5% very‑low income. He said he would relay the commissioners’ request to the Horowitz Group. "We will take it back, and we will have a discussion," he told the commission.
Provenance: topicintro SEG 565, topfinish SEG 1940
